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  • diet question (0 / 0)

    Sue, have you had any experience with Asperger's families trying a gluten/casein free diet?  I'm really curious about this -- not as a "cure" per se, but if it could help I'd be willing to try it. I'm also curious about how this all could also be related to Miles's eczema, because Eli is not Aspie and does not have eczema so the contrast is stark.

    Miles and His Favorites: The World As Seen By an Eight Year Old

    by Hillary on Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 07:22:47 AM PDT

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    • No experience of it.. (0 / 0)

      ..and I've heard mixed reviews, but there's a big CDC double blind, multi-year study that's due to report back some time this year that's been looking at it (how do you do a double blind study on diet, anyone?). I'm waiting to see the results of that. Placebo effect in autistic populations is huge (lots of wishful thinking), so any study that isn't double-blind isn't worth the paper it's printed on IMO.

      "You're never more alone than when you're alone in a crowd."

      by Expat Briton on Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 07:28:08 AM PDT

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    • Many families swear by it (0 / 0)

      It's actually much easier to do than you think - there are many options out there now, and most big supermarkets have things that are either dairy free or gluten free, or both.  There's alot of info on the internet.

      The other thing is it's easy to reverse - if it's not helping, you just stop.  One doctor I know recommends casein (dairy) free to every parent - little risk and if it works you know right away.

      by Sue in Queens on Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 01:24:13 PM PDT

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      • interesting (0 / 0)

        Interesting he starts with casein and not gluten.  I'm willing to give it a go, and Wegmans has tons of vegan and gluten free substitutes for baking, cereal, pasta, etc.

        The part that will be hard will be things like when they want a special treat like a donut, and, the dreaded ice cream....I promised my husband I would ask around and research and then we'd discuss it.

        Thanks for the info.

        Miles and His Favorites: The World As Seen By an Eight Year Old

        by Hillary on Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 04:17:24 PM PDT

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        • It's not as hard as it used to be (0 / 0)

          I tried dairy-free, gluten-free temporarily. It turned out I didn't need to, but in the end I rather enjoyed the fact that I was forced to try all kinds of new foods, some of which I still eat.

          Yeah, no ice cream. There are still plenty of wonderful yummy foods out there. Popsicles. Sorbets. I made a pumpkin pie, and I still use that  crust recipe. One of the finest, quickest, most child- and adult- friendly deserts you can make is a tofu-based chocolate pudding. You'd never know it's tofu. You can get Mori-Nu tofu and add their chocolate mix (mainly cocoa powder and sugar), or Alton Brown has a scratch recipe for it. I make it all the time. Open tofu, add to blender. Put in mix. Put in water. Press button to blend.

          The hardest thing is breads, but there are many options; it's just a matter of finding one that appeals.

          There are so many internet resources out there that I think you'll find it less difficult than you expect if you are already accustomed to cooking. (It would be much harder if you usually eat in restaurants.)

          by shenanigans on Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 09:46:49 PM PDT

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          • a friend of mine is editing a cookbook (0 / 0)

            on gluten free baking

            she's not the creator of the recipes- she is working for a chef at the culinary institute of america (cia) in hyde park

            one of her kids can't eat gluten, so when she was approached w/ the project she was very excited

            by thankgodforairamerica on Sat Mar 01, 2008 at 06:23:07 AM PDT

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