To make my toddler vegan?

[Bouncingbelle]

Sorry, can't find the section for special needs parenting. DS has just turned 3, non verbal, global developmental delay & suspected autistic traits. He also has excema, and has suffered from stomach bloating & constipation since his (extremely premature) birth.
I've been doing some research (on the internet so possibly not all true!) And some people have suggested that taking casein out of a childs diet can inprove their communication skills. Does anyone have any experience in this? Taking all dairy out of his diet seems like a huge step but will do anything if it helps him communicate.
Thanks

The percentage of eczema linked to foods is low, but it does happen. It is however more likely impacted by soaps, perfumes, pollen etc. You can try removing for 2 weeks only, that won't hurt health wise to see if improvement. But long term it is hard to replace the nutrients. We are dairy free under dietician and it's hard. Use fortified oat milk, one with iodine for brain development....only m&s and asda do it. Also bear in mind you then need to bring it back slowly over a couple of weeks.

You would however be better off doing a food and activity diary and noting links with flare ups.

Also I'm sorry OP but don't think it will help with communication.

My 3 year old DS doesn't drink milk never has apart from being breastfed until 2 yrs. He has cheese daily, so not sure on the casein content there and maybe one yoghurt a week. Then green veggies for calcium and vit c rich fruits etc, but he still has a significant speech delay. I suppose my point is your child doesn't need to drink milk to be healthy so you could reduce dairy, but I don't think it will make a difference to his communication.

UABU to make your toddler vegan IMO. Cutting out casin is not going vegan though.

You shouldn't be seeking medical advice from Google or Mumsnet. We are all cranks. Speak to your gp.

Cutting out dairy does not make you vegan, it makes you dairy free. Will you still give meat/fish, etc?

I honestly wouldn’t be messing about with an autistic child’s diet, nope nope nope

Thanks for the opinions, given me lots to think about. We really don't eat a lot of meat anyway (i tend to buy the veggie alternatives) & despite my best efforts to feed him fish, he hasn't touched it in over a year.
I guess i am in part trying to 'cure' the most difficult part of his autism, but for his sake not mine. Seeing his peers leave him behind breaks my heart & i will literally try anything to unlock the lovely little person i know is in there. But i really, really am not trying to change any of the little quirks or sensory seeking behaviour that makes him him. I guess i was hoping even just 1 person would say "that worked for my child" to justify trying it.
I'm also genuinely concerned about WHY he has permanent bloating/constipation. He had a LOT of heavy-duty courses of antibiotics (mainly for stomach infections) as a v young baby & im worried its somehow affected his gut health.
We were discharged from the hospital dietician a year ago but she was lovely so i will maybe ask to be rereffered and as someone else suggested, see if the drs could test for any kind of food intolerance.
With regards to the excema, we are already perfume/lotion/fabric softener/soap free. Everything bar goatsmilk soap seems to inflame his skin. Any other suggestions (particularly for shsmpoo - childs farm just irritates his scalp) welcome!

My son has CMP intolerance his symptoms are constipation and stomach aches.

We went Dairy free from around age 2 to 5 it fixed his constipation and improved his sleep and behaviour (probably because he felt less crappy) but did absolutely nothing for his speech or language skills which were severely delayed.

He can tolerate small amounts of dairy now but is much better completely dairy free

There is no test for food intolerance (except lactose and fructose for which there's breath tests). You just have to cut out foods and see if there's an improvement. A breath tat for lactose would not tell you if your son was intolerant to cows milk protein.

There's a link between gut health and autism - not that one causes the other but often people if the spectrum also have gut issues. Plus the antibiotics may have depleted up his microbiome.

I would def try cutting out milk for a couple of weeks. My DS has aspergers and is also lactose intolerant. He had stomach pains for years before I decided to just try cutting things out and the pains were gone in two days! Def worth a try and you will know within a couple of weeks. Oat milk is a good tasty alternative if he can't tolerate milk and you can get ones fortified with calcium. If the problem is lactose you can get lactofree milk.

I would also either invest in some good quality probiotics (symprove or vsl-3 I believe are both proven to actually get into the gut). Or, if you can your DS to take them even better would be fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, sayerkraut etc etc. Much cheaper and a more diverse range of bacteria. You can hide kefir in smoothies but if course dairy kefir is not suitable if intolerant to milk protein. I have ibs and this has been so much better since introducing kefir.

You could also have a look at the FODMAP diet. It's v complex and ideally you'd cut everything out for 8 weeks and then reintroduce but that might be tricky with a child and also I would be concerned about nutrients so maybe you could try one group at a time if the milk doesn't produce any results.

Oh and I am intolerant to fructans (having done FODMAP diet) so avoiding those has helped too obviously!

OP I work for in the field of autism and a lot of parents do cut out dairy and beleive it has positive impacts of their child’s physical health and behaviour. I havent seen both sides so I can’t comment.
Try it and see. But if there is a surge in communication, be skeptical as it could be a coincidence. After the vaccination nonsense I would take everything with a pinch of salt.
I think communication is practice, practice, practice. Sign, sign and more sign.

Re the constipation & bloating interesting you say he had antibiotics for a while as a baby @Bouncingbelle. My son needed three months of antibiotics and a few months later has now tested positive for coeliac disease. Maybe coincidence, maybe not? It doesn’t sound like it’s linked to his possible autism but may good to get that checked out as a separate issue.

Don’t do this without speaking to a qualified dietician. This would be a massive change to your child’s diet and it won’t be easy for either of you. I have friends with vegan children and it’s VERY hard work for them to ensure their kids get a healthy and balanced diet (their words, not mine). They spend a lot of time planning meals to make sure they are getting all of the nutrients that they need.

YouTube and social media is not a credible source of information. You are making a huge lifestyle change and you need evidence based information and professional help.

Have you spoken to the GP about the stomach issues and eczema? Eczema can be a symptom of a dairy allergy. My DC were dairy-free for two years due to CMPI and digestive issues. If you do cut out dairy, don't use rice milk for under 4s as it contains low levels of arsenic. Oat milk is widely available and has a pleasant taste that children often like. Be aware that children with dairy allergies often don't tolerate soya either. I would still recommend doing this via the GP though and asking for allergy testing.

YouTube is a GREAT resource for learning all about a vegan diet for babies. I’m vegan and my friends who are too have the healthiest, bounciest babies! smile

omg please don’t listen to what any of the vegan nutcases say about nutrition on YouTube. They aren’t dieticians and most seem to feed their children high sugar diets. A child can survive on a vegan diet but their little growing bodies need so much more than us adults to develop properly. I’d only be putting my child on a vegan diet with a registered dietician overseeing it. Please steer clear of the YouTube vegan cult x

You can't cure autism and I'd be very sceptical that diet would improve communication, but it's definitely worth asking for a dietician referral and trying dairy free over the eczema and constipation. My DD is dairy free and drinks oat milk. She's also just started having soya yoghurts at 3. But if he is a fussy eater and won't eat fish and you dont eat meat it might be tricky, so def talk to a dietician.

He was born vegan so it's not a huge leap :)

But it is wonderful that you are willing to make what you must see as a bit step to try to make his life easier.

Others have suggested you're trying to cure him, but as an autistic mother of two autistic kids, I can say with confidence there are foods that make communication and therefore life, harder for each of us.

So it's about taking away the obstacles that are in our power to do so, and going vegan is definitely a positive way to do that.

As an autism parent please step away from you tube and other so called online experts and advice. They play on your fears to sell a product or get a like. Please speak to your GP, paediatrician anyone who is evolved on your child's medical care and diagnosis. Autism is lifelong, my own child was non verbal untill late childhood, it takes time and learning aids such as tne picture exchange communication systemay known as PECS to help your child understand the meaning of communication. But it's not one size fits all thete are many other helpfull ways to help your child so please speak to a speech therapist about this. It takes hard work and patience o help your child learn to understand the meaning g of communication before they can communicate, it's not a quick diet fix. Take care.

Are you seeing a speech and language therapist? Does your DS go to nursery?

My DS1 has autism and didn't say a word until he was about 3 and a half. Being at nursery really helped him, it was like all the words were in his head but just weren't coming out. Once he started speaking, he didn't stop! He was also dairy free from 3 months old until he was almost 3, he doesn't like eggs and he's never eaten meat no matter how hard I try! So ime a vegan diet didn't improve communication but it certainly helped with eczema and constipation.

Does your DS see a dermatologist for the eczema? Get a referral if not. We still use all the prescribed stuff for DS1. We have oilatum shampoo, its been the only thing that doesn't irritate his scalp.

You're getting good advice on here OP. Please, pleas don't do this- research shows the GFCF diet leads to children being low in calcium and potentially brittle bone disease etc. later in life. I know one family who have done this with their child for 2 years (age 11-13)- the poor little thing is still autistic, but now noticeably underweight at well.

I know it's not what you want to hear, but autism is caused by neurological differences in the structure of a child's brain. Best thing you can do is put pressure on local services for as much early intervention as possible, followed by intensive support when your son goes to school. This is much more productive than any bogus diet.

P.S. I found T Gel coal tar shampoo after 10 years of dry scalp irritation and it really stops the itching!! Available with or without fragrance, I think. It's about 10 quid from the pharmacy.

He was born vegan so it's not a huge leap

Duh! If babies were born vegan, they wouldn't be able to breast feed! Breast milk is an animal product 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

He was born vegan so it's not a huge leap babies aren’t born vegan if the mother has been eating meat throughout Pregnacy. Plus you can’t impose a lifestyle or ethical belief on a baby, babies don’t even know where their nose is let alone if they think eating animals is good or bad 😂

Im really appreciating everyones input. I know to be dairy free might be normal for some (i use rice milk as i find normal milk makes me feel sick but know not to give it to DS but i do eat cheese etc) but it feels like a huge step for me.
We have been trying makaton almost since day 1 (sing & sign classes, followed by makaton classes) to no avail. Not a single sign from him. We have had speech therapy input for over a year (still not a word) and are currently trying to introduce PECS whilst waiting on a referral to the Hanen programme. He also goes to a tiny nursery (6 kids to 3 staff most days) 5 mornings a week, so i AM trying to help him in 'conventional' ways, honestly.
We have just been awarded DLA for him which I was going to use to fund additional speech therapy. Maybe I should use it to fund a dietician just to get his stomach/skin issues sorted first & if it has any other effects then great but keep going with the intervention. I know he's very young and it probably sounds like im pushing too much on him, but i dont see the point in waiting till he starts school for the problems only to be even worse!

Thing is, he is DEFINATELY not stupid. He can work a phone or a tablet better than DH can!