The  GFCF Diet Support Group

Information on this website is not to be used as medical advice  Permission has been given to print the following success stores.  These stories have been written by many parents who wish to share their story about the gluten and casein free diet and how it has improved the life of their child. Our gratitude is extended to everyone involved with The GFCF Diet Support Group.  They have taken the time and made the effort which has provided a dedicated and caring support system for every parent who wishes to use Dietary Intervention. Please send: 1.  Child's name/and your name 2.  Child's age now 3.  How long has your child been on the diet? 4.  Write what the gfcf diet has done for your child. Send to: Judy@gfcfdiet.com Child's name: Matthew  Age: 5 1/2 years On diet: 5 Days Mother's Name: Yvonne   I have been seeking help for my child since he was 8 months old. At first the doctor laughed at me and just said tantrums are normal, but Matthew's panic attacks were not tantrums. He walked very late (19 months) and as soon as he could walk he started pacing, accompanied by loud moaning and humming.  In many other ways he is normal, but his anxiety and social problems have been a real problem since he started pre-school. He was finally diagnosed with PDD-NOS a few weeks ago on Dec 8, 2008 and the doctor mentioned the success some have had with this diet, so I decided to try it.  WELL! Let me tell you it is a complete miracle. Matthew has paced and moaned every chance he gets since he could walk, and he HAS NOT paced or moaned AT ALL in 4 days! He is generally happier and playing creatively on his own, which is also an total miracle. I CAN'T believe I haven't found this sooner, but am so thankful that we have it now. Yvonne from ,Canada Child's name: Todd Age:  25 months On diet:  2  weeks Mom's name: Dr. Rosa   Dear Judy, Our son Todd is 25 months old and has been on the diet for 2 weeks.  Todd was diagnosed with PDD-NOS a month ago.  Since he has been on the diet, he is a completely different child.  His eye contact has improved with strangers, and he is responding to his name more often, if not always.  Just today we were in a toy store, and he was interacting with a complete stranger:  making eye contact, if fleeting, and repeating words when prompted.  He has noticed his toys for the first time, such as his ball and drum which have always been available to him but of which he took no notice before.  He is much more verbal, babbling in ever more complicated ways and using some words in a limited fashion.  Three months ago he was absolutely silent.  Today he said "bye" to his speech therapist, something we couldn't have hoped for just a few weeks ago.  He no longer engages in some of his old, repetitive behavior.  He is more curious about his home environment and explores new things more than he ever did before.  Generally, he is much more focused, much more active, and we would say a much happier boy.   We had hoped that Todd would be a good candidate for the diet.  He had self-selected almost exclusively to dairy products.  We never noticed a particular affinity for gluten-rich foods, but we have removed gluten from his diet as a precaution.  The very first day after we eliminated dairy, he was calmer and more focused than he had ever been.  That night, however, the withdrawal began - almost like an addict going cold turkey.  He had clod sweats and a fever.  That lasted for a day or two, and since then his progress has been accelerating almost every day.   It is truly amazing what this diet has already done for our wonderful little boy.  We thank God every day that we came across it.   We thank you and everyone else involved in spreading the news of this diet and providing the support and help to parents.  For our part, we tell everyone about the diet and what it has done for Todd.  We simply cannot believe that anyone would not at least try it.   Warmest regards, Dr. Rosa (mom) Child's name: Isaac Age:  4.8 yrs. On diet:  3 1/2 weeks Mom's name: Janeen  My name is Janeen , my son's name is Isaac - he'll be 5 in October.  He was diagnosed with high-functioning autism March 30, 2006.  I learned about the diet at the Walk Now marathon for autism.  A man at one of the information booths talked to me about his son and how the gfcf diet has helped him.  I wanted to try it because I was intrigued at anything that was within MY power to help my son and not be at the mercy of help from a therapist (for which we are still waiting in the eligibility process here in the state of CA - it's now the end of May!) so, I was happy to try something that I COULD DO to help. My mother-in-law found this website and it helped me to get started, because it was overwhelming. I starting 'easing him in' on the diet about 3 1/2 weeks ago.  I'll list the symptoms he had BEFORE the diet and the improvements we are seeing NOW: 1. Biting his arms when he would get upset - we have now not seen since starting the diet! 2. Terrified at the very sight of dogs, instantly scream - he's now even (with some coaxing) has pet a dog on the back with much interest in the dog and pride in himself! 3. He would just scream as loud as he could when he would get upset or frustrated - now he has expressed WITH WORDS his feelings, like: 'don't do that', 'I don't like that', he's even said 'that hurts my ears' - this is big! 4..  He wasn't at all socially interactive with kids that he didn't know and very limited interaction with kids that he did know - he took a child he knows by the hand and he said, 'come with me, let's go and pick out some videos' PLUS, I could also tell that it came from him and wasn't just repeating something that he had heard.  Also, today he asked a child he didn't know at the library 'are you watering the plants?' (the child was taking water from the drinking fountain and putting it on a nearby plant)  This is HUGE! Yesterday...he grabbed my hand and said 'come with me', I said 'do you want to show me something?'  He then said, 'yeah'....I walked over and he pointed out a spider web and said 'spider web'.  YAY! 5.  He has never asked a 'why' question before - the other day he asked after I put something in the fridge 'why are you putting it in the refridgerator?' - this is so exciting! 6.  Since we got him potty trained (number one came easy, but number two he had a lot of anxiety about) he would get constipated and hold it in - he would scream 'I don't go poo!' when I knew he needed to...I would have to force him to sit on the toilet - 2 weeks ago (one of the first successes) I walked down the hall and saw him on the toilet going number two all by himself!! 7.  He would repeat things over and over and over, usually things that he heard off of videos he watches - I haven't heard him repeat anything in a couple of weeks! 8.  He would say 'you (or he) want(s) to go outside' when talking about himself - now he has said 'I want to go outside', sometimes I have to remind him, but I can tell he's definitely understanding the difference now.   Last Wednesday, we decided to go out and get some 'ice -cream'.  We thought Sherbet didn't have any dairy and that it would be alright....well NEVER assume is the lesson!  The very next day, he was screaming at everything and not expressing himself with words, everything was a full-blown tantrum and I knew there had to have been something that triggered it, the Sherbet was the only thing he ate that was out of the ordinary...sure enough there is an amount of cream put in the Sherbet.  Since him eating the Sherbet he has yet to go number 2 again and he just screams about it like before!  The effects of that Sherbet are long when dealing with that area....we are still seeing progression (accept for that following day!) he's now back on track with everything else.   THANK YOU so much for this website!!!!  I am so grateful that I am aware of this and how much it has helped my son, there is still much progression to be done...he has by no means 'caught-up' with the other kids his age...but I believe someday people will not even notice that he's not 'normal'.  He's such a wonderful child and teaches me so much.   I was disappointed with the recent article in Time Magazine about autism (the cover story) everything about it was great, except NO mention of the gfcf diet!!  It has helped so many people that it is so wrong not to mention it.  I'm not saying that therapy doesn't help....although I don't know because we haven't started it yet, but clearly I can't deny that it has helped others.  I just felt it was wrong not to at least mention it, if even in theory.   Thanks again for this website.  I highly recommend it to other parents I know.  Parents should give it a try.....it's SO worth it!!!   Janeen Name: Shepard Age: 4 yrs 9 months On Diet: 3 weeks  I wanted to add our story to your list. Our son has been through speech therapy twice, and has just completed evals at our childrens hospital for developmental disabilities. We had heard the term autism/PDD thrown around a few times, and researched everything we could on the web and through the library. I had read about your diet when he was almost three, but didn't have the nerve to try it then......maybe I was in denial, boy do I wish I would have. It was like he started to slip away, and something recently was telling me to intervene quickly before we lost him. Three weeks ago, I decided to give it a try. I wanted to try it BEFORE he started any type of therapy so I could get a clear picture of how it helped him. I had read about therapists attributing any positive results to therapy, not the diet. Well, after 3 days without dairy, WOW! All of a sudden we had an alert child! He was talking more, making sense of the world more, and engaging us! When I phased out wheat/gluten it just got better. He is happier, his behavior is better, his muscle tone seems to be improving, eye contact is great, he is speaking like a young 4 year old would - but that's OK with us!!! For the first time he told me he was hungry - before I always had to ask. I doubt anyone would think he is different from other kids. He is asking kids to play with him. This diet and website was a blessing from God. When we went in a week ago for our formal diagnosis, we got Autism Spectrum Disorder/PDD-NOS. He needs language/communication therapy, a little OT and social skills training. When we told the doctor about the results (a teaching developmental ped) she said "some people see results, some don't - if you think it's working for you great". What a great disappointment, but not totally unexpected. When we told a pediatrician in our medical group that has seen Shepard before, and also attends church with us, she had never heard of the diet and asked very disapprovingly "well what does he eat?" Truly unbelievable that a lot of physicians don't believe in looking outside the box that ASD can lock children into. Luckily we are going to see a ASD ped in April that also is doing grant work on this diet - so we really feel hopeful that we are going to get proper help. We are also going to ask her about anti-yeast therapy. The changes are so great, and can come so quickly. I am fairly skilled in the kitchen, so I am adapting my good old Better Homes and Garden red checkered cookbook into gfcf recipes. So far there are many successes than foods he goes "EEEWWW" to. I am taking him off any residual soy this week, to see if there is any more improvement. I have also taken myself off dairy, and feel better! Hopefully I will have a dairy free house by the end of the year. I will say that having the support of my husband from day one has been a big advantage. And my 7 year old daughter is now learning to read labels in the store to look for ingredients he can't have. She is even enjoying his foods! Thank you for a great site! For anyone who is unsure of this diet - believe me, anything that could help your child is worth it. Child’s name:  Philip Age: 3 years; 2 months Mom’s name: Elena On diet: 7 months  My son was never diagnosed with autism, but he exhibited several symptoms including:  Obsessive/compulsive opening and closing of doors and locks; rarely made eye contact with anyone and was in a general fog most of the time.  He also never babbled as an infant and had not spoken by the age of 2 ½, except for a few simple words (e.g. Mama, dada).  He received occupational therapy for 4 months and speech therapy for 2 months.  I tried countless other remedies including fish oil, vitamins, massages, etc. – nothing seemed to work.  He remained in a fog.  On March 8, 2006, I was in the park with my husband and children and we met two fathers with autistic daughters.  They told me about GFCF.  I started the diet a week later – cold turkey.  GFCF transformed my child’s life.  On the second day he started making eye contact.  Within a week he could recognize and recite the entire alphabet.  I no longer had to call him several times to get his attention.  He responded to me almost immediately.  2 months later he “flunked” out of his speech therapy class, because he had become so talkative.  After only 2 months on the GFCF diet (with no vitamin or other supplements) he showed 10 months of improved development.  7 months into the diet, Philip is attending regular Pre-school and his language skills are nearly age appropriate.  Philip’s brother, who is 18 months older, was very aggressive with other children, but became calm and well behaved immediately after we started the GFCF diet.  I believe if your child has any attention problems or aggressive tendencies you must try this diet for at least 3 months.  It is a very small price to pay!  You must know doctors or speech therapists will never suggest this diet, because it is not a medically proven treatment.  I requested that it be recommended to other parents with students in Philip’s speech therapy program, but the therapist said she could not legally do so.  Therefore, you are on your own unless you find such remedies “in the park”.  Note:  The first month of cooking and learning the GFCF diet is very challenging.  Afterwards, it is a piece of cake, when you see the results!  It is the greatest blessing that I have had as a mother.  Praise the Lord  for answering many prayers like mine!   Elena - “If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it” (John 14:14)   Child's name:  Joey Age: 4 years, 4 months On diet:  3 months Mom's name: Julie I just wanted to add our story to the list. Our son Joey was diagnosed with PDD-NOS on September 25, 2005 at 4 years, 1 month.  He was verbal, but behavior was extremely difficult, did not respond to questions of any kind, and echolalia was thick. He also had terrible constipation and potty training was proceeding very slowly with nocturnal bowel movements almost every night.  Our doctor handed us the diagnosis, a flyer on PDD-NOS, and told us he'd always need help. That was it from a developmental pediatrician.  We were on our own to find out what we could do for our son. Thankfully, the internet is available now to help parents connect and help each other, since traditional medicine obviously has very little to offer at this point. We went cold turkey GFCF. I was and still am in nursing school in a very demanding program. However, I asked my instructors if I could switch to part-time status to allow time to shop and do this diet for our son, and to arrange for ABA and the numerous visits to a DAN practitioner that would follow. Joey adapted well to the diet. I'd say the results were instantaneous with significantly less difficult tantrums and sleeping well through the night for the first time in his four year old life. His language has increased greatly and echolalia is virtually gone, although his articulation is still poor (we have him in speech therapy now that we're funding ourselves since our county school system has yet to provide therapy to him). We're seeing singing, loads of imaginative play, he's drawing faces, responding to questions, coloring, and now recognizes all letters of the alphabet and his numbers. He is counting one to one correspondence to 15. He can pedal a bike and stimming is greatly reduced.  He responds with empathy to his siblings and seems to understand emotions in others very well, commenting on "sad faces" and "happy faces." He can tell us now that we're making him mad/sad, etc. instead of merely throwing a tantrum. He's  been attending a regular preschool and needs assistance, but socially he blends in well with the other children at this point and follows well with games and class activities. Through the diet and the ABA he's received, he just seems quicker and more alert and responsive overall. We now see what a highly intelligent little boy we have. His constipation is also GONE and he has potty trained entirely during the day, wearing only a pull-up at night. Although our son is less severely affected, I still feel that even a child like ours needs as intensive a treatment as someone severely affected. To be affected is to be affected - and we can't just minimize the higher functioning children with a less intensive approach. We are only three months into our treatment of Joey and plan to do much more. We're seeing a DAN doctor today in fact as I write this. We have so much hope and I don't doubt Joey will achieve something wonderful in his life. I so highly commend the people in the world of biomedical treatment who have brought this and other treatments to the forefront -- all of them. They are true pioneers and traditional medicine ought to stop sneering and start listening. The gfcf diet is not the cure all, but is the extremely important first stepping stone to treatment and, what is our our hope, a complete recovery for our son. Child's name: Ara Age: 9 years On diet: since April 05 Dad's name: Arsham Mom's name: Ani Ara was diagnosed to be autistic at age 3.5, never developed speech, has severe focusing issues and trouble with communication. We tried speech therapy for a long time and he started saying words spontaneously when he was 7 years old. 5 months ago we started the GFCF diet, this was recommended to us by a mother who cured both of her autistic boys with the GFCF diet. Within 4 months of starting the diet, Ara was potty trained, started reading, started saying long and sophisticated sentences, he lets us cut his hair without any problem, hand flapping has gone down to a minimum (only if he gets very excited), and he is involved with other children during games, in short he is a changed person. Such a dramatic change in such a short time was totally unexpected, hence we are now firm believers of this diet and recommending it to every parent who has autistic child. We are also giving Ara super Nu-thera as dietary supplement and planning to do some oral chelation therapy administered by an expert. There is still a long way to go but we are confident that Ara will grow up to become a normally functioning person. Arsam Antreasyan, PhD "... if all my possessions were taken from me with one exception, I would choose to keep the power of communication, for by it I would soon regain all the rest" - Daniel Webster Child's Name:  Zach  Age: 10 years On Diet: Since 1999 Mom:  Sheryl Zach was diagnosed as severely autistic at the age of 3. He had lost all speech and communication skills during normal development (until age 1.5). Six months after going on the diet 100%, he went from no speech, thru echolalia, then spontaneous speech.  We followed up with ABA, AIT, and Fast-Forward and got our little boy back. He has now been on the diet .5 years and is just completing 4th grade in a regular classroom with no aide. The school is aware he had 'neurological damage' when little and has to be on this diet to prevent further damage.  We were advised by the ABA consultant to stop the 'A' label as he no longer needed it. He still has some social delays but is continually learning and progressing.  We expect he will be a full functioning adult, needing only his diet and vitamins/supplements to keep himself healthy. I cannot tell you what happens if he goes off the diet, as we never allow this. If we go out for dinner, I take his food along and ask them to heat any parts that need heating in the microwave. I keep frozen cupcakes (Pamela's Chocolate Brownie mix with a little honey added for moistness after thawing) in the freezer at school and at church, for when a treat is needed.  When we travel, I take a small cooler with freezer packs, tape it up and label it, and pack the dry goods in a hard sided suitcase. The airlines are very cooperative as long as there are no open liquids. We even take his own popcorn to the movies. How do we do it? Since we are a large family, I try to keep the meals mostly gf/cf and modify just the starches for Zach (ie: use Prago Traditional spaghetti mix and add meat, then mix ours with cheap noodles and Zach's with Quinoa spaghetti noodles). I tried baking his bread and buns from scratch and learned I am not a baker. So I do splurge and buy Papa's Loaf bread, Ener-G buns, and use mixes (Miss Robens and Bob's Red Mill) for other starches. I take Zach with me to buy ready-made items such as cookies, and he has to finish them before I buy a different brand. This helps him to be responsible for his choices.  If you're not sure about trying the diet because it's so much work my comment is "If there's a chance of getting your child back, isn't that worth it?" Our doctor said you have to do it at least 6 months. Plus, there are lots of us willing to help. ** PS - Zach's favorite meal is French toast made with eggs and water, Papa's Loaf bread, Pam spray, pure maple syrup, Johnsonville Original Breakfast Sausages, and Dari Free milk! Thank you Judy for all your hard work! **(Note: Join GFCFKids , our free on-line diet support discussion group, with membership totaling over 10,000 families or find a listing of local support groups across the United States on our Community Bulletin Board) Child: Geoffrey Age: 3/6 On Diet: 6 days! Mom: Dr. Tamara D Hi Judy, We are so excited we wanted to share our progress: Our son has not been formally diagnosed with autism and/or PDD but has been classified as a "late talker". He has never had any behavior problems or self-stim like activities and is a very warm happy and loving child. His speech demonstrated significant delays however (he was classified at around the 18 month old level). He is around the size of most 6 year olds so you can imagine how hard it was for him when other children approached him and all he could do was babble. We decided to give the diet a try and after 6 days it is amazing! Geoffrey would almost never initiate speech. Words were limited to songs or pointing out animals names or the names of shapes. This morning he brought me a book and said "Panda Bear" when we got to the page with the bear. He is laughing and engaging us in speech after just a few days. It almost feels like sleeping beauty waking up from a deep sleep. He has always been pretty engaging but even this has improved and he constantly wants us to read him books and he is very clearly repeating words. Before we started the diet his diet was very limited. Veggie nuggets and bread, grapes and tomatoes, ryr bread and butter for breakfast. Yesterday he actually tried eggs and a tiny bit of sausage. Thanks so much for this website and all the info you provide. We will keep you posted! Child: Kester Olivo   Age: 4 yrs. On Diet: 3 weeks Mom: Aixa My name is Aixa Olivo and my son is Kester Olivo , a  4 y/o with PPD-NOS.  My child has been on the diet for only 3 weeks but the changes have been great and I like to deeply thank the GFCF diet support web site for contributing to my child's improvement.  Before I started the diet my son was always in a bad mood. He used to throw himself on the floor, side walks, street, etc,  Everywhere we went, he always had a tantrum. He was biting himself and others, kicking, pushing us away, screaming his lungs out for days in a roll, etc... I couldn't go out to the stores with him because the crowds used to bother him.  I was so depressed that I spent days in tears without knowing what to do to help my little boy behave in a normal way.  I left the hospital with a diagnosis and no ideas of how to handle the situation or how to face it. Being a Registered Nurse myself didn't make a difference in confronting my son's problem, but at least it gave me the knowledge to understand better about his neurological disability and to try to find hope in it. I started the diet on my own with the help of this great web site. I also started my son with some supplements. At the beginning I was reluctant to place him on the diet. I thought that it was too difficult to follow, I was too scared, I knew my son favorites and only acceptable foods contained wheat on it. I was too afraid that he was going to starve to death. For my surprise, my child started to eat with the spoon and swallow his foods (no more pocketing)!! It this a miracle??? My son never swallow or chewed a whole variety of foods!!!  He started to make long sentences with sense and clarity. The screaming greatly reduced. His ability to focus is much better. He is now very friendly and lovable. No more head or feet banging at night time while he is asleep. His constipation disappeared, his bloating and gas symptoms are also gone. He was always smart, but now he is even smarter, he is already learning to recognize the alphabet in only a few days of practice.  I want to advise the parents to take wise decisions on time for your child's well-being. Please, don't be afraid to try new things if this is going to contribute to the wellness of your precious child. Take one day and one step at a time and if you persevere you will be recompense with your child's improvement. Good luck to all of you. May God help you and guide you through the right path. Sincerely, Aixa  Child: Josh Age: 4 yrs. on diet:  22 months mom: Barbara My son is four years old. He was born at the end of March, 2000. He has been on the diet since August 5, 2002, at about 28 months of age. Our son rolled over at three months and sat up at five months, and other than chronic constipation and dairy allergies, he seemed completely normal and happy. His development gradually slowed, however, and by six months he stopped rolling over and almost seemed to "forget" that skill. He developed a noticeable tremor. He did not crawl or move around on his own until age 10 1/2 months, and even then his only motivation was chasing balls, which were his main obsession. He could play a form of "catch" as early as seven months, which impressed everyone but concerned me, because literally his*only* interest was balls. He didn't seem to care about books, animals, toys, or even other people, and he could watch television and amuse himself in one spot for long periods of time. By twelve months, he had one perfect word: "dog." By 16 months he was not yet walking, or even pulling up by himself, and he lost the word "dog." He finally began walking at 17 1/2 months. At 18 months he became obsessed with Blues Clues videos, but he focused only on the music and the hand motions made by Steve, the main character. He would have watched this program ten times a day if I would have allowed it. He did not recognize Blue or Steve or any of the other characters in other contexts, like toy stores or in pictures or when we went to a Blues Clues birthday party. He started standing in front of the mirror for long periods of time, watching himself do an elaborate set of hand motions that started as an imitation of Steve, but soon became more complex. Before long he was doing these hand motions every day, all day long. He began throwing huge, unexpected tantrums if we tried to read to him or if we took him in certain restaurants or to certain public areas. He wouldn't look at me if I tried to teach him a word. He never pointed. He had no words for the members of his family or for his friends and frequently did not seem to notice or care who was holding him. By 20 months I woke up with a knot in my stomach every morning. I dreaded play group because it became increasingly obvious how "different" my son was. Other children were beginning to show an interest in their diapers, each other, speaking, and the world in general. My son was increasingly tuning me out, never called me Mama, and showed no awareness of his body or his surroundings. When I took him to a petting zoo with a group of other children, he spent the entire visit picking up wood shavings off the ground. He didn't even see the animals, much less appear to be interested in them. Chuck E Cheese terrified him. He feared water, music, and unfamiliar videos, even those made for children, like Baby Einstein. He stopped eating with a spoon and went back to using his fingers. For his second birthday I invited only very close family members: my sister, my parents, and a family friend who is like an aunt to him. We bought a swingset for the backyard, hoping it might help his development if he had his very own slide and swing. When we let him outside that morning, he didn't even see it. He ran away in fear and terror when we all sang "Happy Birthday" to him. I found him squatting in a corner at the side of the house, doing his hand motions. I heard about the diet shortly after his second birthday, and finally got on the right path in August of that year, when he was 28 months old. He started talking ten days after we began the diet. He has been developing steadily and normally since that day. He is now four years old. He is enrolled in regular preschool and fits in just fine. He is fully potty trained. He speaks conversationally, in regular sentences, and although his articulation lags a little behind, any stranger can understand him. He played tee ball this year and he was one of the best players on the team. He has a sense of humor, he plays imagination games with his younger brother, and every day he is a little bit more like everyone else his age. It has been a long, slow process, with leaps in development and then weeks when he seemed to stall out, but overall he has gained four years of skills in a two year period. He loves birthday parties and was *so* excited on his fourth birthday when everyone sang and he got to blow out the candles. We invited ten four year olds, and he was proud and happy that all his friends were coming. He has absolutely no unusual behaviors and his only remaining difficulties are language and to some extent, social skills, although both of these things are improving rapidly. If  he gets something forbidden, particularly gluten, it all comes back -- the hand motions, the tantrums, the spaciness -- and now he finds it so upsetting that he is very vigilant about following the diet himself.  I feel blessed and relieved to have found Karen Seroussi's book when I did. Words cannot adequately express how absolutely grateful I am to her and to those who helped me in the beginning. I feel like the luckiest person in the world. There is just no way to describe the sense of relief and gratitude that comes along with such a dramatic change. My son is GFCF and also 100% soy free. Other than that, we have no limitations and take no supplements, although we incorporate a heavy dose of common sense into his diet. Like any mother, I try to limit the amount of sugar he eats and I try to make sure he gets a full package of nutrients, particularly calcium. We use Pacific Rice Drink because of the acidophilus. My son has had speech therapy and occupational therapy, off and on, although we have not noticed much difference during the off periods and the on periods. Mostly it just seems to be a matter of time for him. These stories meant the world to me when I started this diet, and I hope mine helps someone else. I remember when I first started the diet, I went to bed at night wishing, in some secret place, that this diet would be a miracle and I would wake up to a son who would say, "Good morning Mommy!" It didn't happen exactly that way. But two years later, I have a son who routinely says "good morning," who understands emotions and facial expressions as well as any other four-year-old, and who told me last night, while I was brushing his hair, "Know what Mama? I wuv you." Barbara Child: Ross Age:  13 yrs.  On diet:: 1 1/2 years mom: Beverly My son Ross was diagnosed with Asperger's when he was 10 years old.  As an infant, he had major food intolerance and was on a central line for feeding for 9 months.  He also had continual gas and diarrhea during infancy.  At two years of age, he was also diagnosed with a deficiency in his pancreatic enzymes. Ross was a hyper kid even while on his central line.  I just attributed it to  his being a boy, very different from his two older sisters. At age six, Ross was diagnosed with ADHD and Central Auditory Processing Disorder, and placed on Ritalin which appeared to calm him considerably. Once he was diagnosed with Asperger's, I began to do research.  When he was on Spring Break from school, I decided to try the elimination diet which we had used with his older sister years earlier, due to allergies.   In retrospect, I was actually beginning the GFCF diet without knowing it.  His withdrawal was immediate.  He had a severe headache and appeared to "hurt" all over as if suffering from the flu.  After two days on the diet, he began to beg for his food, then demand it, in anger.  Not wanting to cause him to break the diet totally, we allowed him a burger at school on the fourth day.  He tolerated this fine and seemed appeased. By the end of the first week, he was a much calmer child.  After about nine days on the diet, I began doing research on the internet and found the GFCF diet.  I called for my husband to come and read the research which confirmed what we had been seeing already.  All of the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place and we knew we were on the right track.  Ross was taken off gluten and seemed to have no adverse effects when it was inadvertently added back into his diet three months later.  He cannot have any milk or soy products.  When there is an accidental infraction to these products, he will become sick in about an hour and report he is dizzy, has a fever inside, and that his head is pounding.  He is very vigilant about reading labels and he is beginning to make the connection between how bad he feels when the infractions occur and what is causing the bad feelings.  I am so grateful for all the material published that helped me along the way.  We bought the diet package and read it religiously. My son would not be where he is today if it had not been for this diet and the information made available regarding it. Beverly Child: Benj Age: 11 on diet: six months mom: Annie I felt compelled to tell our story because I read very few stories on how older children and adults respond to this diet- Our son Benj was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome in November of 2003. He's an extremely bright kid and has always managed to "get by" within the school system with good grades. He has an amazing vocabulary and command of language and he has a photographic memory.  We always accepted his "eccentricities" as just part of being an extremely gifted child ( and he was just like his dad). In retrospect, we now know otherwise. He always had his nose in a book ( he taught himself to read at age 2), but he never had any friends and he loved lining up blocks and legos. He hid under desks when he felt uncomfortable and had strange eye contact. He also had odd play- loved the same toys and the same books- He had problems understanding idioms and he has had difficulties with changes in routines. He was an extremely fussy child, and he loves to spin things!  After starting 5th grade, he started to become extremely aggressive, he began stimming excessively and he began hitting himself. His organizational issues have always been less than desirable , but we began to see it effecting his grades. Neither my pediatrician, nor the staff at the public school he attends agreed with me when I mentioned Asperger's.  After getting a diagnosis from a pediatric neurologist, the school district listened and did a another round of testing.....and FINALLY agreed with me. We put the entire family on the GFCF diet in November. We went cold turkey . Within three days, Benj's teachers were asking me if we'd put him on medication. He has become calmer, and more aware of his surroundings. Since then we've encountered little miracles daily- He has become more empathetic, he has begun noticing how certain family members resemble each other. He has started to tell little white lies. The circles under his eyes and His "allergies" have disappeared. He no longer hits himself and he has made five friends this year. His room, while still cluttered, is not the DMZ it was.  He will on occasion share a spontaneous giggle of joy, now-  If Ben gets gluten or diary in his system - the "old" Ben come back- and it takes about a week to back on track- My husband, who now knows he's AS as well- is less edgy, more flexible and happier since starting the diet- Benj will always have Asperger's - we know that -and he will always have his issues to face-  but, this diet has done wonders. Child:  Logan  Age: 2 years 7 months On Diet:  this round 4 months Mom: Lora I write this with trepidation.  Because my X, Logan's father does not believe he truly has Autism.  He believes that all of this stems from me trying to manipulate our divorce agreement etc.  However the story goes way way back. This is Logan's second time on the GFCF diet.  The first time we did this, I had no idea what it was called.  All I knew was that something was bothering my child and I had to do something.  Logan is not my first child - so when the doctor and my husband said I was just being an over-involved, over-protective mother I knew they were wrong.  But the point is.... I was all alone in the search.  The search for something to make my child stop crying all the time, something to help him sleep, something to make it easier to dress, bathe and play with him.  Something to take away all of the "pain" that he was in.  Logan was a child that did not sleep well (sometimes not at all), was so stiff that bending him to place him in a high chair or bath seat was sometimes horrifically difficult, and he did not cuddle.  When he ate he bloated up so bad that the gas ended up surrounding him, he bloated in the front of his stomach, he bloated beneath his rib cage, he bloated around to the small of his back.  He would have such painful gas that he would scream - not cry but scream- from midnight until 4am when I would in desperation give him a suppository to help him pass the gas.  He also had sleep apnea (undiagnosed until age of 2 but I knew he had it) so when he did sleep in brief 20 to 30 minute segments, I feared for him every second.  What you also need to know is that I work in the field of Early Intervention.  I work with families that come to the system for help.  I am the person that connects these families with all of the resources and help and hope.  Yet with my own child I was utterly alone.  Not totally alone I guess.  I had my mother who whole heartedly agreed that the issue was feeding related.  I had a close friend who is a speech language pathologist and works also with early intervention, who witnessed weekly the pain and issues facing this dear child.  While they could agree with me that something was going on, they could offer no suggestions that seemed to help.  I finally got a reluctant pediatrician to make a referral to a GI Specialist who by phone recommended a hypoallergenic elemental formula.  Try it for 2 weeks prior to seeing him.  If it did not work, stop.  I was so desperate that I ordered a month's supply.  Within 5 days I was convinced it was the answer.  Celiac disease.  That had to be it.  We had tried every formula known to man (I breast fed until 4 1/2 months even going gluten free myself but with little effect on his discomfort).  It was amazing.   His muscle tone improved, he was more alert during waking, and slept more.  Still not through the night, but more.  He was more playful and more affectionate.  I should also add that during this same time period I made a referral into he EI system and he began receiving speech and physical therapy and just before his first birthday occupational therapy was added.   While the formula helped - the GI symptoms did not go completely away.  The GI specialist spent less than 5 minutes and did not complete any more than a cursory physical exam and stated as he left the room he does not present as a child with a serious GI disorder.  My response was I don't think I ever said that I think my child has  serious GI disorder, what I said was my child can eat nothing more than applesauce without having pain.  I remember remarking to the partner of our physician that he could eat nothing but applesauce and pears without discomfort.  No green vegetables, no sweet potatoes, no cheerios or oatmeal.  I was told that there was nothing in cheerios or sweet potatoes that would cause these symptoms in a child.  None the less, all grain was removed from Logan's diet.  No soy, no potatoes, no rice, no oats, no wheat, no corn.  I had myself put him on the GFCF diet (milk products had previously been "banned").  Signs were posted on the fridge and by the high chair to remind babysitters, grandmas and the like.  They all thought I was nuts.  After a few weeks of this (and lots of support from our OT who was the first to tell me about "Leaky Gut") Logan started getting better.  He slept through the night for the first time.  In a few weeks the progress was so advanced that PT and speech therapy were discontinued.  We did continue with OT for sensory issues.  About this time, his father filed for divorce.  The strain had been too much.  Having a child that was so needy took what was left of an already strained marriage (due to mental health issues, alcohol and messy in-laws) and shredded it.  The dad resented all of the time it took, all of the expense of the food and formula, all of the therapy, the unhappy stressed out, exhausted mom who no longer had time to pacify his needy-ness. Upon moving into a safe house, we could no longer afford the formula or the specialty food.  At the age of 18 months Logan had to be taken off of our homemade diet.  His speech failed to progress.  He began to have problems with joint attention.  He withdrew from touch.  He began self stimulation in ways that he had never done before.  So I the mom was faced with the questions - is this new, an affect of the separation and all of the violence of the past months?  Or were these things always there, waiting to come out.  Is this typical 18 month language loss of autism or the byproduct of serious GI pain? Since December of 2003, Logan has been following the GFCF diet.  His muscle tone is greatly improved though he still shows a good deal of asymmetry.  He still craves vestibular and prospective sensory input but no longer self stims to the point of injury.  His language has improved.  He was using 1 word spontaneously from a vocabulary of about 20 words and had about 10 echolalic phrases up to 5 words in length.  He still prefers cuddling on his terms, but now his terms occur almost all the time.  At the age of 2 years 4 months he recognized himself in a picture for the first time.  He attends a community daycare (that substitutes their menu with items from home).  His teacher sent home a note about 2 months after starting the diet this time..."I love my new Logan". Yeah - me too.  Child:  Eric Age:   3.6 years On Diet:  2 1/2 weeks Dad:  Andre Editor's Note: Keep in mind that not all ASD children are alike.  Not every ASD child has loose bowels or constipation. If your child has autistic tendencies, regardless of stool problems, please read the other success stories that are included in this section.   A short success story to share for anyone who is wavering about trying the diet.  He's only been on the diet for 2 1/2 weeks, but I could have written this message on day 1.  Eric has had chronic loose stools since last July (diagnosed in Sep), so about 9 months.  In January when we went dairy free, he started having maybe 1 out of 10 bowel movements that were normal (well formed and firm).  2 1/2 weeks ago, on the VERY SAME DAY we went 100% gfcf, EVERY SINGLE bowel movement he has had for these past 2 1/2 weeks has been "normal."  It cannot be a coincidence and in my mind is absolutely and certainly attributed to the gfcf diet because that is the only thing we have tried and changed over that time frame.  No vitamins, supplements, enzymes, probiotics etc.  Nothing at all except the diet.  In fact, given the time lag of digestion it almost tracks right to the hour.  It is too soon to report on other progress he makes (hopefully), but by then we will have tried other interventions as well as the diet, so it will be tough to attribute future progress to any one particular intervention such as the diet, but the one thing that is 100% certain in our case is that the gfcf diet immediately halted a 9 month long stool problem. This doesn't mean it will work as well or as quickly for everyone, but there is absolutely no reason not to try it.  There is far too much anecdotal evidence for anyone to stay sitting on the fence on the issue, or to try only cf free because it's easier.  Thanks, Andre Child: Nicholas Age: almost 4 yrs. On Diet: 4 weeks Mom: Elaine Jermyn Having read most of the success stories already I have to say that mine is not much different really. Basically my son from the time he was born to about 2 years of age -DRANK MILK and that is all he would have. He was officially diagnosed autistic when he was almost 4. Having read only comparatively recently about the gfcf diet I immediately stopped giving him milk....which lead to a total removal of gluten/dairy products as well.  Since doing so I have seen a remarkable change in his behavior - He will run up to me with good eye contact and speak in 5-6 word sentences whereas before he would not even acknowledge my presence. He will be 5 years old on November 1st and I have to say that I have great hope for his future and I am just so glad that this intervention has worked for me because I only started doing this about 1 month ago. Mother of Nicholas Jermyn aged 5 (almost!!) Child:  Caroline Age:    27 months On Diet:  4 months Mom:  Stephanie My daughter was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum 4 months ago. (September 2003) We were told that she was in the moderate to severe range.  I put Caroline on the GFCF diet 4 days after the diagnosis.  This website is awesome as I printed off the "illegal foods" and went to the grocery and natural foods stores.  I made a couple of mistakes early on...but mother's instinct is an amazing thing--when I would question an ingredient--I would go to the website and find whether or not it was legal or illegal.  I always erred on the conservative side.  This was my daughter after all. The improvements since implementing the dietary intervention are numerous.  Her eye contact has improved so much that she appears neuro-typical.  She doesn't gaze into space and giggle like she used to--it was very odd behavior of which we now know is an autistic like behavior.  She responds to her name!  We had her hearing tested because we weren't sure if she had a hearing problem--the hearing test was passed with flying colors--her responsiveness has improved due to the dietary intervention. Her stimming is minimal now--prior to the diet she would flap her hands, tippy toe constantly-- since putting her on the diet--the stimming behaviors have diminished significantly.  We have also increased her sensory input to decrease these behaviors..but the sensory "diet" was introduced recently and the reduced stimming behaviors occurred before the increase in the sensory input--again, I attribute the improvement to the gfcf diet. The two biggest improvements are the following Prior to diet--she was VERY fussy!  Fussed all of the time, whine, whine, cry and more crying.  This behavior has virtually stopped--when she fusses it is for an appropriate reason:  she is tired, her big sister took a toy away from her, etc.  Affection and Cuddling:  Prior to the diet--Caroline did not want to be held or cuddle.  She would arch her back and push us away.  We would have to sneak a kiss in as she would push us away.  Since the diet (this took about 10 weeks to see improvement) she gives kisses, gives them on command, she cuddles, she gives hugs, she likes to be held and read to--AMAZING!!!!  Selfishly, this is my favorite improvement. We work hard to find new foods to introduce and new flavors.  We have also had to remove yeast and soy from her diet...but the effort is worth the reward.  I have spoken to other parents about the diet and I get the following responses: It's too hard, it's too expensive, I will never get my child to give up cheerios, etc, etc.  I want to scream--"Who is in charge here?"  "This is your child's welfare we are talking about!"  The money thing is a misnomer, too.  In the beginning, it might be slightly more expensive because you are trying new foods and your child may not like them...however, your child will find the foods they like and you can incorporate this into your grocery budget...so do you really need that bottle of wine, that six pack of beer, all of the prepared non-gfcf foods?  Those are expensive.  Can you really look back at the end of your life and be sure that you tried everything for your child?  I want to be able to do everything possible for my child, everything that I know to do.  Isn't our goal to have our children be self-sufficient and tax paying citizens?  If it is, are cheerios, milk, teddy grahams worth not having that as an outcome???? Since Caroline's diagnosis, we have incorporated the diet, increased her therapy hours, incorporated a sensory diet for her vestibular issues and instituted some ABA activities and implemented some of the DAN protocol.  The therapy that Caroline has been on the longest is the diet--3 months after her original diagnosis--we had another assessment performed on her by Autism professionals.  Her diagnosis is mild NOT moderate to severe.  I attribute a lot of her improvement to the diet...not all  but a lot.   We have a long road ahead of us--she has communication issues that we must resolve and sensory (vestibular) issues that we have to stay on top of--but we have unlocked our child from the fog and again the diet contained a key to accomplishing this significant improvement.  God Bless all of you who have identified the dietary issues and created the informational websites and material for the rest of us to benefit from--try the diet, ignore the initial cry's for the cheerios, etc.  You are the parent, you are in charge and you will see your child improve! Stephanie

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