GFCF?

Caleb's occupational therapist has reminded me several times to look at a particular instance of Caleb's behavior and see what precipitated the event, what happened during the event, and what happened after the event.  Perhaps then I can start to pick up trends, seeing if there is a common theme as to what is happening before, during, or after Caleb acts out.

When looking back at Caleb's behavior over the past week, I have noticed that Caleb's outbursts have followed his meals or snacks.  Even a quick munch on some pretzels would coincide with Caleb acting aggressively or moody.

I have read about autistic children having success on a gluten-free/dairy-free diet.  It seems that autistic children have a more sensitive system than nuerotypical children.  Gluten and dairy can not only disrupt their digestive processes, but it can also affect their cognitive functions, behavior, social skills, and speech.

The gfcf (also called gdf) diet has not been empirically proven, but there is sufficient anecdotal evidence to suggest that this is a method worth trying.  If we are willing to spend money (lots of money, honestly) on therapy, and work on speech therapy and OT at home, why wouldn't we do everything in our disposal to make Caleb better.  Especially if the change we are to make is relatively easy.

These days there are so many gluten-free options, I am hopeful that we are able to find many suitable replacements for Caleb's favorite foods.  As for his bottles of milk, we are going to substitute soy milk.  Some parents also give their children magnesium and vitamin B6; we will be talking to our pediatrician before we make any such changes to Caleb's intake.  For now, Caleb will continue taking Poly-Vi-Sol and I would like to find a replacement source for DHA.

Here is hoping that gluten-free food doesn't taste like sawdust. 
Oh, and that it doesn't cost us an arm and a leg...