Autism and the Gluten-Free Casein-Free Diet

I don’t think I will ever forget that far away look in his big brown eyes. When my daughter was two I brought her to a Mommy and Me music class run by a friend. There were six of us in the class: my daughter and I, my friend and her son, and one other mother with her daughter. My friend had all sorts of instruments and fun songs to sing with the kids. My daughter really got into it. I loved watching her little legs bopping up and down to the music. And there is no feeling like that of a tiny little hand enveloped in your own as you rock together to soft music. But my friend’s son didn’t seem to respond the same way. He always had this look like he was in some other place. One day after class my friend confided in me that her son was having eating difficulties. He was two and he could only digest liquids. She thought he might have a swallowing problem but every time she brought him to her pediatrician she would be told that it was her fault. She must be feeding the child inappropriate foods. Or perhaps the child isn’t eating the right way.

We moved away the following year and I lost track of my friend. It wasn’t until a few years later that I heard that her son was diagnosed with autism and that she had become a consultant. She was training families with autistic children to institute a special diet – a gluten-free casein-free diet – that was supposed to help kids with autism. When I heard about the diet I knew I needed to discuss it on the blog. It never ceases to amaze me how destructive gluten can be to some people.

It seems that gluten is broken down by the intestine into several byproducts, one of which is gluteomorphine. This is a byproduct that is often found in abundance in the urine of autistic children. Some doctors suspect that it leaks into their bloodstreams. The effect of this byproduct is similar to the effect opiates have on people. It creates anti-social behavior, fogginess, and it blocks pain messages. For many autistic children the gluten-free casein-free diet addresses these issues directly.

Generally, the scientific studies regarding this diet focuses on both the casein-free and gluten-free diets, so it is difficult to say if one would work without the other. One study looked at autistic children with abnormally high protein by-products in their urine. The group was divided in half. Half were given a gluten-free casein-free diet for a year, and the other half were not. The group on the special diet manifested significantly fewer autistic symptoms when the year was over. Many more studies need to be done but at this point some experts on autism recommend that parents institute the gluten-free casein-free diet for three months to see if the child responds.

There is a urine test that could detect abnormal peptides which might point to gluten and casein intolerance, but the test has been known to give false negative results. It might still be worth it for parents to try it. At the very least it might give them incentive to institute the diet.

Here is a link to a website that provides information about autism and the gluten-free casein-free diet. It also has a helpful list of references for further study: http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/gluten-free-diet