Can a change in diet help my Aspergers son?

[juggle]

I have a son aged 6,who has recently been diagnosed with mild Aspergers. Things are starting to get difficult for him at school as having trouble concentrating, without fiddling and fidgetting. Very bright (tested by EP this summer) but find it very difficult to put pen to paper in Maths and English, and keep on task once he's started writing. An OT who is seeing him for an assessment for dyspraxia said that a gluten free diet had been proven to help children with ASD. Since then I've been looking on various websites and seen adverts for books which claim that a gluten and dairy free diet helps (book by Marilyn le Breton). Before I go and completely restock our pantry and fridge,does anyone have any experience with cutting out gluten and/or dairy for Aspergers/Autism? he already takes omega 3 fish oil, and has a wide range of fruit and veg.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

Hi juggle,

With regards to school have you considered applying for a Statement for your son from the LEA?. You can as the parents write to the LEA and ask for your son to be assessed. You do not need school to do it for you, actually it is better if such requests are made by the parents as parents can appeal the decision if the LEA say no to assessment. If they agree to do this your son will eventually get a legally binding document outlining support strategies to help him along with a set number of hours of support per week. IPSEA are very good in this regard and there are model letters on there you can use.

I write the above as I know of a number of children with special needs who have struggled a lot at school primarily because the special needs support they need is not in place. Your son is six and will start Junior school next year; if you can get him a Statement then hopefully this will go some way into helping him at school.

IPSEA's web address is www.ipsea.org.uk.

[saintmaybe]

Hi juggle,
My Ds2 is autistic, and having resisted for about a year we went gluten and casein (dairy) free. In his case it was very effective, to the extent that even people who didn't even know him very well were remarking on it. Within 3 days of taking out casein he was responding to us talking to him much more, and about a month later we took out gluten and it was more subtle, and took a few weeks, but I think more profound; he felt more 'present'. On the other hand I know another child who didn't seem to benefit from the diet. You've probably seen references to Sunderland Uni's autism research dept? Paul Shattock is the guy's name, I believe, who's done a lot of research on this. It's quite 'science-degree', but worth a look. Sorry, I don't know how to do the link A word of warning; although it's usually recommended that you remove gluten/casein seperately, you do need to do both, as they work the same way and you have to be really strict; according to the theory if you're going to let any at all into his system you might as well not bother at all... It's a bit daunting I know, but in my child's case we would never go back because although it is some extra work and expense it's really made a difference, and on occasions when there's been a slip-up at school, etc., we've seen the effects on him. The Marilyn le Breton book is great, and Argos do their (v. cheap) cookworks breadmaker which works really well for gf bread. I'd really say give it 6 months and if it makes no difference you can stop the diet, but at least you'll know, rather than wondering what if...Good luck, hope it works out for you and your son.

[Jimjams2]

Often the children who benefit are those who regressed following a period of normal development. DS1 is gluten free and has mainly goats milk. No peanuts either. He's very affected by diet- will bang his head hard enough to bruise if he has something he can't tolerate.

Enzymes are another alternative. THE SUNDERLAND TEST WILL GIVE YOU MORE IDEA ABOUT WHETHER THE DIET IS LIKELY TO WORK. whoops!

[juggle]

Thanks for all your comments..
Attilla- not sure he's bad enough to get statemented and not sure whther they'd do it (or if it would make any difference) as he's at an independent school.Thanks anyway.
saint maybe and jimjams...I think I will give it a try....well get the book first! What has the Sunderland trial discovered? I haven't come across any mention of this! How do you know if it's gluten or milk that he's intolerant to? He showed no signs of any developmental problems until the last 2 years (he is 6)and then it was only apparent at school. He's now becoming more difficult, intractable and emotional at home so may be he is one who has regressed.
Thanks for your help...it's all so confusing as to know what to try to help them.

[Jimjams2]

The Sunderlansd test looks for a couple of things- first IAG in the urine- if present it means that the gut is probably leaky and certain things such as gluten are likely to cause problems. It can show the presence of beta caseiomorphine (a milk product) as well (shouldn't be there).

If its going to work it should work very quickly (imo- not necessarily the official one). All the people I know that found the diet made a difference saw the change quickly - within days- I do know people who have stick it out for a year with no change before giving up.

My most recent experience is with ds3, we were concerned about some aspects of his development (his eldest brother is severely autistic), had him tested at 17 months- he;s been kind of gluten free, but we made it stricter, plus we switched form cows to goats milk (which is kind of odd but goats is easier to digest and has a different form or protein) wiithin days he went from not passing the chat test to passing the chat test- which is important in terms of autism.

Have a look at Sunderland- you don't need to do the test but I've always found it helpful.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

"Attilla- not sure he's bad enough to get statemented and not sure whther they'd do it (or if it would make any difference) as he's at an independent school"

Hi

I would still enquire about the possibility of getting a Statement for your DS even though he is in an independent school. It is so not a question of "whether he is bad enough to get statemented" (I reckon you've been told that by others) - basically if his needs are not being met and the school cannot meet them then a statement should be issued.

I would have a word with IPSEA as well.

[juggle]

Jimjams...thanks for your comments ...how do I get this Sunderland test done..? I can't find anything on the internet...and would love to get him tested before I start on the diet, as I know it's going to be a battle with him. He eats a really healthy diet but it'll be hard to explain to him why he's not able to have cereal and toast in the morning like his younger brothers; but if it might help I'm prepared to go with it.

[PeachysAreNotAChristmasFruit]

Hi

My son samuel is HFA, so really similar to AS (my paed says she see's them as the same tbh). He started a gluten free diet in October, he was on dairy free since just after birth anyway.

A typical night for Sam now (has improved somewhat) involves about half an jhour of battling, and him settling at about 11.

Saturday he ahd gluten and I was reminded what it used to be like- I ahd torestrain him for 1 - 1.5 hours )physical full restraint) as he was trying to harm his brothers and myself; that was followed by intense crying and him sleeping about midnight. That was my life pre-siet.

Have yout hought about www.bibic.org.uk? Mys on goes there and the diet 9they have a nutritionist) is part of his program.