Removing casein

[Twinmumum]

Hi there, I’m just wondering if anyone removed casein from their LO’s diet even without any apparent stomach problems? If so did it have any positive effect in ‘lifting the fog, so to speak? My 18mo dd has always shown autistic traits and at her (and her twin bother’s) s&l assessment the other day the therapist agreed that there could be something more than a speech delay there but said signs of asd appeared very mild if at all. She always seems tired, lying on the floor or sofa, or resting her head on me throughout the day, while her twin brother has boundless energy running and playing all day. I feel like I should ask for a blood test for anaemia/ iron deficiency etc but wondered if cutting dairy would help with her focus and awareness?? Thanks!

[blanklook]

Definitely have her bloods done and tell them about her tiredness and lethargy, you may have to make sure they understand how different to her peers she is with it, most medics adopt a wait and see attitude for the very young. Ask for a referral to a paediatric OT, in some areas you can self-refer. It's possible your dd could have hypotonia or hypermobile joints which result in her tiredness, the OT should be able to dx that.

If your dd has no digestive issues then I'd leave well alone for now. She's 18 months old, she needs to grow and be nurtured, please explore medical avenues before dietary intervention for one so young.

If you think she has any food allergies, they can be picked up by the NHS, so again ask for a referral.

I know you want answers and positive action and i know how frustrating it is not to be able to "fix" everything, but please slow down, take a breath and see what your local healthcare teams can do for your dd first.

[livpotter]

This may not be relevant but at that age I was worried my ds (suspected ASD) might be anaemic too. We had blood tests done by the paediatrician but his levels were fine. He was constantly lying down and also falling asleep randomly. He generally seemed very low energy. He started doing sensory integration with an OT at 2.5years and his energy levels picked up massively. I now wonder if the lying down was a need for sensory input and the falling asleep was because he was overwhelmed.

[Twinmumum]

Thanks blanklook, I’m going to look into the OT referral system in our area tomorrow and ask our gp for a blood test.

Livpotter thanks for that, that is really interesting to know! Does your ds still have ‘suspected’ asd or has he been diagnosed since? Hope you don’t mind me asking. I’m just so unsure with our dd atm! Some things she does I’m convinced she’s autistic but then other times I think she couldn’t possibly be. She has pretend play, loves cuddles, sits and reads books, has ok eye contact. But i was sort of relived that the slt saw some of what causes my doubts iykwim.

[livpotter]

We've been waiting 12 months for his stage 2 assessment, which will be in a couple of weeks, then he'll be diagnosed. Hopefully!

He's 4 now and quite clearly autistic (headbangs, minimal pretend play, no social skills with other children, loss of speech etc) but at 18 months we had no idea. He had a big regression just after 2 where he lost a lot of his speech and became very withdrawn. That's where the differences between him and other children became really noticeable. Now I see autistic traits in everything he does! I constantly marvel at how his brain works. Anyway sorry bit of a ramble. I would definitely recommend OT particularly if you think she has any sensory issues. It's made a huge difference to my ds.

[Twinmumum]

Wow 12 months! Everything takes so long it seems! Hopefully you will get a diagnosis soon now then. Fingers crossed. Thanks for your help and info about your ds- definitely don’t see it as a ramble! It’s really interesting to hear other people’s stories and experiences. Thanks for sharing x

[livpotter]

No problem, I hope you get to the bottom of it all x