does gluten/ dairy free diet help with spd at all?

[inky leeuhhh]

sorry if this has been gone over a million times. dd is doing much better in certain areas than she was a couple of years ago (her dx is autism), but her sensory issues are still there. i was wondering if cutting out gluten and caisen (sorry, i know i butchered the spelling of that) could help her with the sensory stuff at all? i admit i need to do some more research, but i have been busy with the toddler so i figured this would be a good place to start. more specifically i notice a lot of stimming and other sensory aversions/ seeking behaviors that are causing her to be distracted and are giving her problems with anxiety. she has also had some nagging tummy issues and problems with constipation, in addition to stinky breath, so i'm thinking there's SOME kind of intolerance going on somewhere. any ideas? we are currently looking into getting her into OT as well, but having problems with finding something that our insurance will cover (they won't cover most therapies for children over the age of 7 @@).

i wasnt sure whether to put this thread here in special needs or over in nutrition/ healthy living, so please feel free to move it if it needs to be somewhere else!

[Stephenie]

We have had some luck with a gf/cf/sf diet with our son with SPD and our nautropath recommends it for all her SPD patients. (Though we were already doing sf/cf at the time of the diagnosis, he has physical reactions to those, so we were just giving up gluten at the time.)  I know others who have tried it and not had as much luck, but it couldn't hurt to try. 

[inky leeuhhh]

thanks for the reply! i found out we have a nearby university who does sliding scale nutrition/ allergy stuff (they specialize in naturopathics), so we are going to look into taking her in there to get a better idea of what to do. we'll see how it goes!

[MyLittleWonders]

Though ds#2 was never formally diagnosed with SPD, he had some big issues with movement (swings, slides, etc.) and water (would take a bath but would not swim, go through sprinklers, etc.), and was freaked out by wind. Going gluten free removed all those fears - it was like night and day. For ds#3 and I, dropping casein removed our anxiety. So, I do believe that gluten and casein both can cause sensory and other neuro issues in at least three of us. 

[Momma Aimee]

we have had success with http://www.feingold.org/ -- espcailly artifal sugars, colors and apples.  it is a noticable differnce, but it is not a lone fix, but it does really help.  i feel he CAN learn coping skills today because of the diet change -- so he still needs them, but before he could not even particpate to learn then or learn to 'see' himself needing them, today he can -- if that makes sense

[KimPM]

It really depends on if she is actually sensitive/intolerant to those elements of food.  It could be those, or any other thing she's ingesting.  Creating a food journal and process of elimination works best.  If there are actually food(s) she is sensitive to, removing them from her diet can help with sensory and behavior issues.

[dakotablue]

In a word Yes.

Longer answer, Sometimes, it depends on the child and if allergies are playing a role. Often I have wondered if for some of the kids it was the change from processed to non-processed food that truly made the difference. BUT I will say I am gluten free and it helped not only with my health (and thus mood) but also with mood swings I didn't realize I was having.

I tell every parent that it is worth trying because it can mean night and day for some kids, but it is not a cure all nor any guarantee it will work for your child.

[MyLittleWonders]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee 

we have had success with http://www.feingold.org/ -- espcailly artifal sugars, colors and apples.  it is a noticable differnce, but it is not a lone fix, but it does really help.  i feel he CAN learn coping skills today because of the diet change -- so he still needs them, but before he could not even particpate to learn then or learn to 'see' himself needing them, today he can -- if that makes sense

Feingold has also helped a lot here too in conjunction with being GF and CF.
 

[inky leeuhhh]

now i'm wondering if we should just try cutting out all processed food, artificial colors, yadda yadda ( i guess something like a traditional foods diet) and see if that helps her first? ah this is so confusing. i wish we could afford to take her in and get her tested for sensitivities. if we do an elimination diet, what items do we begin to eliminate first? would i begin with just gluten and move on to other things if that doesn't seem to be making a difference? i know it can take a long time for behaviors to improve after removing gluten from the diet. thanks everyone for your help, keep it coming!

[dakotablue]

The most effective way to do it, though the hardest is to eliminate all allergens for a period of time (like 2 months I think) then slowly reintroduce allergens one at a time to see if there is a reaction.

realistically...its easier to start with dairy or gluten then add more in as you go.

Personally, I would start with a non processed diet, after getting used to that it is easier to eliminate other foods as you've already been down that road.

Also, as I said before in my post for myself, Tests don't always show in-tolerances, I haven't been 'proven' allergic to gluten, but there is a clear reaction in me when I have some, so much so the next day I can say I had something contaminated and of course find yet another thing I didn't know about(like my favorite french fries now have wheat flour). So don't feel bad about not being able to go get testing done.

Oh and also sometimes it is combinations of things, kinda like a glass a little bit of this or that and there is no reaction, but then add in more and more little bits and the glass will overflow. At least that is my understanding. I can be around cats on days when I've haven't had gluten in a few days, but if I have had contaminates then I will have an asthma attack. So individual reactions might not be seen, but combining things may (like cheese ok, bread ok, but then cheese sandwich disaster)

Its hard to know what exactly to do, and it is so so confusing. Especially since there are so many things to react to that I hadn't even considered before really getting into the nitty gitty with some of my families. Good luck!!!

[inky leeuhhh]

thanks for the input dakota. i just realized that dd2 has a peanut allergy that never showed up on the test (its an obvious allergy- she's covered in hives after eating pb), so yeah- the testing may not be the most effective thing. makes me feel better. i think we could all benefit from fewer processed foods in this house, so we will start there and see how that goes. i'll get rid of gluten next if there's no improvement. the feingold site was also pretty interesting!

[amyhulen]

Our daughter who is 14 suffers from some of these same issues. Originally diagnosed as having Dyspraxia, it wasn't until a friend suggested she might have a wheat allergy that I discovered gluten intolerance. Removing gluten from her diet caused a complete turn around with both her mental stability and physical. However being a teen who doesn't "see" the results of eating gluten we have had major struggles keeping her out of it. I know immediatly if she has eaten anything with gluten by the changes in behaviour.

There is TONS of information out there on gluten free/dairy free cooking and I have found it to be a much much healthier lifestyle for my entire family. I cut dairy from our diets in February due to my own intolerance.

[inky leeuhhh]

ok, so here's another question. how do you all explain the diet change to your kiddos?

[MyLittleWonders]

We just talked about how these foods might be making us not feel well or act well. For instance, when we went dairy free this past summer, I talked with ds#3 about how I think the milk was making both of us scared (he was having strong anxiety issues and I had already been dairy free long enough to know my anxiety was gone when dairy free). He understood and it was easier for him to not have yogurt and cheese (his favorite foods) because there was a direct reason why. When we went gluten free, only ds#1 was really old enough to understand (he was 6 and ds#2 was 3 1/2, and ds#3 was 1). We just said that we thought it was why ds#2 was having issues with his speech and why he wouldn't go on the slide or the swings, and why he didn't like water. Ds#1 probably has the least amount of issues, but unfortunately the rest of us need dietary restrictions, so while he's living at home, he'll eat the same diet we do. Even now we talk about what our lives were like before we eliminated foods/additives. Ds#2 knows he can speak clearly now because of going GF. Ds#3 knows he's not "scared" (anxious) about things like he used to be because of going dairy free. 

[inky leeuhhh]

thanks for the ideas everyone!

[beachcomber]

We haven't gone GF/CF but did cut all artificial colors and flavors and have tried to cut as much refined and processed foods as possible. At first we didn't know if there was a difference but then one of DD's interventionists gave her M&Ms the other week and she was through the ceiling hyper and agitated. So now we know for sure that artificial colorants/flavors in foods really do affect her. With processed foods, even if we do buy packaged foods we make sure they're organic and contain no GMOs or preservatives. As for refined, we've cut sugar and white flour out as much as possible. When I bake, I use apple sauce (organic unsweetened) or stevia. Honey is too expensive to be an option. Same for maple syrup. I avoid Splenda like the plague. It sets her off like nobody's business. To replace the white flour, we use whole wheat, buy whole grain products wherever possible, buy brown rice pasta, corn pasta and buckwheat pasta (whole wheat pasta tastes nasty), etc.