The GFCF Diet - Not So Easy

I started Raquel on the gluten-free, casein-free diet on Saturday, after Mike and I went to Henry's Marketplace to stock up on food. Let's just say, it's not as easy as it sounds. I picked up some animal crackers labelled "gluten-free", for $6.99 mind you, and it turns out that they are in fact, made with wheat. So, I'm learning that just because it may be labelled gluten-free, that's not necessarily the case. And, just because something is gluten-free doesn't mean it is casein-free. It is also extremely important to plan meals. It's not that easy to grab something out of the pantry anymore.

Why the diet? The theory is that most autistic kids have weaker immune systems and digestive problems. This allows food proteins to pass through the bloodstream partially digested, particularly gluten (wheat) and casein (milk & dairy products). These then form peptides which have an opiate-like affect, causing harmful affects on the brain. Opiates can either cause or magnify autistic symptoms. You can learn more at http://www.gfcfdiet.com/. According to many, simply eliminating these two things can reduce symptoms, sometimes entirely.

I spoke with Elizabeth about it yesterday during our session. She has seen big changes in one of her "kids" after going on this diet. She will be going to the next meeting of the organization I just joined called Talk About Curing Autism. She said I'll meet many parents who are doing the diet. She told me that this particular mother orders a lot of the food on-line because it's cheaper and easier to find. Reading labels at the natural grocery store is very time consuming and was nearly impossible with Raquel with us on Saturday. I've also read that it's easier to start the diet in stages, removing casein first then gluten a couple weeks later. That is supposed to help reduce withdrawal type symptoms.

Therapy went well yesterday. Raquel was happy to see Elizabeth, but again, wasn't too interested in the toys she brought. We did some deep joint compressions which Raquel loved, and she was pretty happy the entire session. Elizabeth asked if I had heard from Regional, which, of course, I haven't, so I called my service coordinator while she was here. He said that the report from the screening has been received at the main office but that's about it. He said he'd send me a copy of the report as well as forward one to Elizabeth's boss. I still don't know if she's been approved for the new ABA program or if she's been given additional therapy hours. Hopefully over the next week I'll have some answers. I don't want to waste valuable time.

We did physical therapy at the park again, which went great. Trish was extremely pleased with her progress and told us to keep up the good work. She did tell me that she has given notice and will no longer be her therapist after the end of the month. She is moving back to Northern California to be near family and has accepted a wonderful position up there. I'm happy for her and am hopeful that we'll be able to have her replacement lined up before July starts.

Speech therapy went as expected. Raquel was very happy to see Mary but after about 45 minutes, she started getting bored and going to her room. She seemed very tired - I think the park wore her out a bit. Mary and I continued playing in an attempt to get her back in the living room, but she wanted no part of it. She eventually came out and Mary was able to complete her session. She wants us to continue with the nursery rhyme animations and keep repeating words we think she is saying. Mary is off next week so we won't have another speech therapy for two weeks. She would like Elizabeth to overlap on that session if possible, so I'll talk to her about it next week.