Korben's GF/CF Diet

A few weeks ago we decided to try the gluten free/ casein free diet with Korben. I wish I had a simple explanation as to why I am undertaking this huge feat. I have read numerous books and every website I can find on the diet and its effects on autism. All I can really say is that there is enough evidence out there that it works, so I feel like it would be silly not to try it.

A simple explanation of the benefits of the diet come from "Changing the course of Autism; A Scientific Approach for Parents and Physicians"
by Bryan Jepson, MD:

"Over the years many parents have reported that their child's behavior improved measurably after gluten and casein were removed from the diet. Gluten is a protein found in grains and casein is a protein found primarily in cow's milk. These proteins have been shown to be highly immune-reactive in children with autism.

Dr. Goodwin and colleagues were among the first to document an abnormal brain response to gluten from food in autistic children. Starting in the mid 1980s several researches showed that children who maintained a gluten and casein free diet did much better neurologically (improved cognition, language, etc.)
than those who did not."

Of the thousands of parents who filled in the Autism Research Institute's survey concerning dietary intervention, 66% said their child improved on a
gluten and casein free diet.

As far as Korben's doctors are concerned they mentioned alternative treatments such as diet and told me there wasn't enough research done yet to show exact results, so to just use my best judgement. There is so much unknown about autism still that I often feel alone. Luckily I have found some wonderful people through Jenny McCarthy's Rescue Angel program to help me out. One lady took me shopping to help me find all kinds of foods for Korben, and another made an autism took kit for me to help me get organized, provide me with tons of information, and basically has become a constant resource and place to direct my questions. These women are not doctors, but mother's of children with autism that have found alternative treatments that have helped their children.

So 2 weeks ago when I felt armed with enough information and had two wonderful women cheering me on, I started Korben on his "special diet". I wondered if I would have to do a lot of explaining at Korben's school and therapy, but both have been extremely supportive. His school even wrote up a health plan for Korben so that all the teachers know not to feed him anything other than what I send with him. His teacher told me they have many students on the same diet and she is excited to see what the results are for Korben. At therapy they even have a GF/CF shelf of food for the kids on this diet. They were also excited and very supportive and have given me even more information about the successes they have seen from the diet. I have felt very blessed to have the school and therapy help with Korben, but even more so now that I know I have their support on alternative treatments as well.

Some observations in the first two weeks:

* Korben seems to have better eye contact. I wondered if this was in my head, but his therapists that only see him once a week have both mentioned to me that his eye contact is doing much better, so yay Korben!

* There have been less temper tantrums...in fact Korben has been very calm. I also wondered if this was my own wish full thinking, but I had my suspicions confirmed two days ago when Korben got into the marshmallows (not gluten free). He was able to get one in his mouth and swallow it before I got the bag from him. Within 2 hours, he was throwing a tantrum that would have scared Nanny 911 right out the door. He continued to have tantrums for the rest of the night as well as the next morning. I gave him an Epsom salt bath that night to help him calm down, and by the next night he seemed back on track, so...you think what you want about it, but I think I'll keep him off gluten for a while.

* I wish I had taken a picture of Korben 2 weeks ago. All of you know that he is skinny and always has been, but his ribs were sticking out and he looked sick. He weighed 31lbs. Since we started the diet, he is looking more filled out and healthy, and currently weighs 35 lbs. :D

* The diet is easier than I thought it would be. It's not convenient, but it is doable. I have found lots of recipes that are making it easier, and basically I am just having to get back to the basics of cooking. I am getting really good at reading labels and recognizing hidden sources of gluten, such as "modified food starch and caramel color, etc." (I challenge you to try and find something in your house that is gluten free other than fresh fruit and veggies...best of luck :D)

* It IS possible to duplicate McDonald's fries and nuggets. However, even though the nuggets and fries looked identical to the fast food chain's, Korben wouldn't touch them. A stroke of sheer brilliance came and I called McDonalds to see if I could purchase some nugget and fries containers from them. They actually gave them to me for free...and now Korben will eat both foods. WooHoo! (I am putting that discovery up there with Santa, and the Tooth Fairy...sometimes deceiving your children is simply for the best and done completely out of love. :D )

* I don't want to brag, but my nuggets can run circles around good 'ol McDonalds. Last night Korben ate a grand total of 12 nuggets compared to the 3 he normally ate from our favorite fast food place. As you can see, I think he is going to do just fine on his special diet.

I'll keep updating as things progress. Thanks everyone for your help and support, your prayers and phone calls.
We love you!