Are Autistic children sensitive to glutens?

[crazyhouse]

I have a friend who has an 11 year old Autistic child. His step mom and I had watched a program called "my 27 kids" on TLC one of the kids was Autistic and they had him on a gluten free diet. The show said that it helped make his Autism more managable. So his step mom asked his mom if she had heard about this. The mom said she asked her DR and the DR said it was a myth. Who's right.
I hate gossip

[Charlie Girl]

If the child has a sensitivity to gluten, of course removing it from his diet would help him. He would be more comfortable and thus easier to get through to. Anyone would be that way.

I have read a study in which a group of autistic kids were given probiotics and the improvement was so profound the study had to be disbanded. The parents of the kids getting probiotics refused to take them off for the next part of the study. The ones given placebos didn't mind taking them off.

Probiotics affect gut flora. Gluten affects the digestive system. There could be a connection between having an unhealthy digestive system and autism being affected.

If I were his mom, I would do a study on the net about gluten and the symptoms of a gluten intolerance. If I thought that my child had any of the symptoms, especially after he ate wheat, rye barley or oats, I would try the diet.

I found this at About.com. I hope it helps.

allergies.about.com/cs/gluten/a/aa020899.htm

Symptoms of Celiac Disease

The symptoms of Celiac Disease can vary with each individual. They can range from no symptoms at all to severe gas, bloating, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. If untreated, malnutrition can occur. If left untreated too long it can be life-threatening.
Symptoms do not always involve the digestive system. It can cause irritability, depression, muscle cramps, joint pain, fatigue, and menstrual irregularities, to name a few.

Reactions to ingestion of gluten can be immediate, or delayed for weeks or even months.

[katiekat]

Having worked with alot of Austistic children I have learned quite a bit about the gluten free diet. I wouldnt actually call it gossip because alot of people believe it works. I cant say for sure if it makes a difference, I can only tell you what I have seen. I think it depends on the child and the severity of the Autism. If the Austism is very severe I havent seen anything proving this diet makes a difference. With kids who are higher functioning(like PDD) I believe it has benefited them. I do know these kids really crave food containg gluten and if allowed thats all they would eat. Also you have to follow it 100% to the "T" and the child can have nothing with gluten or it is completely worthless. I know Wegmans has an entire gluten free section in their stores.
I think it depends on the individual child but that it is worth a try. You just have to be totally comitted. Like I said before, I am no expert but this is just what I have seen in working with Autistic kids.

[lostmyshoe]

One of my best friend's has a son that is 11 and a high functioning autistic. I have never heard her say anything about gluton but I think I want to mention it to her. Her son is doing well but has issues with repetitive activities. He likes to open and close doors and gets hung up on certain things. He's a lot better then he was but these are still issues. I'm curious now to see if she's ever tried the gluton free diet. I wonder if that would help. Glad you started this topic. I'm going to talk to her about it the next time I see her.

[crazyhouse]

Wow You guys are so helpful!!! Katiekat can you tell me why they crave glutens? Tyler has a wieght problem and a cholesterol problem. Tyler wants chips or fries and if you leave him alone long enough he will lick the bottom of the pretzel bag clean or eat directly out of the salt shaker!!!! His step mom tries to curve his bad food appetite but his mom gives in to the screaming and makes bad food choices for him. She gives in. He is so smart and so loveable, I would hate to see him have a heart attack at 16 yrs or have to be put in a convelecent home because no one can take care of him.

[misty]

Well, I thought this could use some answers from parents who live Autism So I put the original question to the Created Special group. They are an autism forum we link with. They are an MSN group & you'll need to join if you'd like to post there, but they are an awesome group of moms of autistic children. Anyway, heres the reply they gave so far:

Hi,
First you are not gossiping, your question is legit.
I can only tell you from our personal exp and from a few other parents I know that have gone the DAN route. ( Defeat Autism Now).
First, there is no cure for Autism, no matter what kind of diet, supplements, chelation one use's, there is no cure for Austim.
The gluten free diet does help a child if they have gut issues, or have many allergies.
With having food allergies are mental status can be affected.
( EI: I am allergic to yeast so when I eat yeast I get migranes)
Many parents have reported that the GFCF diet has helped make their child's Autism more managable because your eliminating the allergens in the foods that could be affecting the childs behavior. Does this make sence?
If you go to educational links that we have here we have many sites that you can give to the parent to get her started. You can invite her to join the group also as we will help her anyway we can.
We did try the GFCF diet with Joshua and it only made things worse. He refused to eat alot of the foods and it is time consuming and very expensive. But that was 4yrs ago. Now you can buy almost all the GFCF foods at the grocery.
I have several recipies if the parents needs some help.
I hope this helps,
Dee

The link to the site is:

groups.msn.com/CreatedSpecialSupportGroup

[katiekat]

Crazyhouse. I looked this up and found that children who are sensitive to gluten(and casein) crave these foods because the allergic response activavates endorphins.
Another website I read said that some parents found that when they started this diet and removed gluten and casein from their childs diet they actually had withdrawl similar to someone who was going through withdrawl from narcotics.

[crazyhouse]

Holy cow! I have another ? for you. If Tyler had an Allergy to say glutens he would eat twice as much, but would he have a wieght problem. Or would he be to thin not taking in enough nutrients from dammaged Aveioli. My cousins daughter has Celiacs, so were well versed. My side of the family is from England. So is it the same as Celiac Disease or different?

[Charlie Girl]

My SIL has celiac disease and she is very overweight. Now that she knows about it and is eating properly, she is healthier than she has been in years and is able to lose weight.

[crazyhouse]

thats awesome! Being over wieght as a child is ruff. been there done that!