Boston Globe Columnist Baard on “New” Tech for Mapping Common Autistic Characteristics

Check out this blog entry from Mark Baard about new mapping techniques to try and determine if there are any physical characteristics common to autistic children that can be used for early intervention.

Scanning Faces for Autism

(If only they will use this tech for good instead of evil…)

Claire Danes to play autistic scientist in HBO pic

Apparently Claire Danes is in negotiations with HBO to act in a movie about Temple Grandin, a leading scientist who also happens to be autistic. You can find out more about Dr. Grandin HERE.

Be careful with Sorbitol in Autistic diets with bowel issues

For those who have their children (or themselves) on special diets due to bowel issues connected with their ASD, take care when consuming items that contain sorbitol.

Sorbitol (aka glucitol) is an alcohol-based sugar that metabolizes more slowly in the body, which normally might be a good thing when you want to avoid large blood sugar spikes. However, if too much sorbitol is consumed it may cause irritable bowel syndrome to act up, causing bouts of diarrhea. It is an ingredient in some non-stimulant laxatives. It also can cause fructose malabsorption.

So if you have cut a lot of sugar out of your diet due to ASD or other issues, just make a note of how much sorbitol-sweetened foods, candies and other edible items you might be consuming if you have IBS or other intestinal issues. If you notice a difference in bowel issues when you or your ASD child consumes foods containing sorbitol, you might want to cut back on these items and substitute other items for them in the diet.

Some foods and other items containing sorbitol:

Drupes (or stone fruits) which include prunes, plums, nectarines, cherries, coconuts,
and also blackberries (druplet aggregate fruit from brambles), blueberries, and related fruits.

Other products that may contain sorbitol, or similar alcohol sugars like xylitol and mannitol:
Chewing Gum
Breath Mints
Mouth Wash
Liquid Cold and Flu medicines
Other “sugar-Free” items – check your labels for any ingredient ending in the letters “ol”.

There have been some instances where people who are habitual gum chewers (or mint eaters) have experienced a rapid and undesirable weight loss from over consumption of these items containing alcohol sugars. It is also in question if these substances might be actually dangerous for diabetics.

Related articles:
How Sorbitol causes IBS
Drugs.com FDA Info Article

Get Rid of These 2 Major Diet Bombs!

I really love Dr. Mercola… and this video may not have anything specific to do with Autism, but these two substances are something I personally believe needs to be out of most of EVERYBODY’S diets anyway. More and more people are being diagnosed with gluten sensitivities, resulting in such illnesses as eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and other chronic illnesses with aggravating and debilitating symptoms. 

Since I believe that diet can relieve many of autism’s symptom’s and behavior, I wanted to post this video (although not in all cases, many people have had success with exclusion diets in improving behavior and focus in autistic children, and these substances come with many health issues… ).

Are Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Diets All They’re Cracked Up To Be?

Proponents of going gluten-free and dairy-free for ASD individuals have cited studies that show a link between celiac disease, possible allergies inherited from parents and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). I’m not citing my sources right now – they’re over in that stack of papers and I haven’t had my second cup of coffee yet so I’m not getting up out of this chair for anything but coffee right now.
I personally think it is a combination of circumstances and genetics, so this is just one theory.

But the story goes something like this… a parent who might have allergies or immune issues (athsma, arthritis, celiac disease and probably a whole list of other ailments) might have a child with autism. That child might or might not end up with gluten and dairy sensitivities. Generally it is called Celiac disease, but since science has arbitrarily definitively decided there is no link between autism and celiac disease, then I will just call it a Gluten-Casein (G/D) sensitivity. Celiac disease does not necessarily indicate a sensitivity to casein, the protein in dairy products that some ASDs are sensitive to. I’ll stop before both of us are confused. Suffice it to say that celiac information could be helpful to people with ASD just for the gluten info involved.

What happens with this type of G/D sensitivity is that the child/adult cannot effectively process these two proteins, and instead convert them into a substance not unlike an opiate – which is supposedly why you might see a child who is in a “behaviorally challenging episode” with the pupils of their eyes dilated very wide and often either laughing maniacally or acting as if they are in a stupor. You might see the same type of thing in a drug addict who has just gotten a fix, and you know, I’ve seen a few of those as well… but that’s another blog.

Anyway, aside from those symptoms, there may also be increased flapping or other stimming (or self-stimulating) behaviors that manifest. If you notice these types of things soon after the child eats wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oatmeal, or after they’ve had dairy from cow, goat, or other milk producing animal product, then they may have a gluten and/or sensitivity.

You can have your ASD individual tested for this at your doctor’s office or through your naturopathic practitioner. I highly recommend if you do go the naturopath route that you also have them double tested at the doctor. Just my opinion. Testing will tell you if this is indeed an issue that needs to be addressed in the ASD individual’s diet.

My daughter has been on a GF CF diet for about 8 months now, prescribed by myself since we are home schoolers with one income and our budget is super tight, and I have to say that her behavior has improved by quite a bit. She still has days where she is just precocious, but at least I know it is not due to gluten or dairy allergies – unless she’s been sneaking something behind my back.

A GF/DF diet is not practical for everyone – the products that are prepackaged and the mixes are really kind of expensive, and unless you have a grain mill and a really great cook book like I do that has flour mix recipes in it, then you’re going to spend a lot of money getting what you need.

There are several options for saving money on the products if you either have access to the internet (which you do if you are reading this online… duh!) or if you have a local buying group that buys in bulk. Amazon has quite a lot of GF/DF products that you can buy by the case, which may prove to be expensive at first but practical in the long run. It may help if you get together with other parents of ASD’s in your area and buy as a group so you child doesn’t have to eat a case of the same thing all the time. (“Gee, mom. Wylde pretzels for dinner again?)

I have found the easiest way to keep track of the things I want to order is to make an Amazon wish list, which you can also share with family if they are the helpful type. You can order them by either price, highest to lowest or visa-versa, or by degree of urgency of need, highest to lowest.
That way they can also look on your wish list to see what you may need right away and buy the most urgent or the most expensive for you as a gift. (Must be nice…)

Many parents of ASD’s also recommend going organic, and since we’re dealing with brain issues here, I tend to lean toward trying to go organic when I can afford it, and other times I just pray and bless the food, if you know what I mean. I try not to angst too much over that issue, but knowing the types of foods that are more likely to be grown or raised organically (or nearly so) without having certification helps – if only for my own peace of mind. Often you can find these products at your local farmer’s market, so you have the added advantage of being able to support you local farmer, which helps your community and also cuts down on oil usage from shipping food over state lines.

The reason I mention organic is that some products that are GF/DF also end up being organic, which adds to the cost because organic items are more in demand than they are available, thereby driving the price up. This is one other reason to grind your own from bulk, since even organic bulk grains are cheaper per ounce/pound than many prepared flours or precooked items that are not organic.

The GF/DF diet will take a little work in more ways than I’ve already mentioned… you’ll really have to get diligent about reading labels. I probably spent a good 6 months reading every single label of items that we normally bought, and eliminating the products that had any gluten or dairy in them from our grocery list – completely. I still buy some things that contain them, but try to stick with foods I have to cook or mix myself to get anything out of them. If you get prepackaged items (like granola bars, cookies, fig nuisances, chips with wheat or oats, etc.) and keep them around, chances are that your child WILL try and sneak them, especially if they’ve gotten used to consuming them. Corn products are safe since they contain prolamins and not gluten, even if the label says it is corn gluten. This is a corrupted term, so buy all the corn products you like. Just check the label to make sure they don’t supplement it with a gluten containing grain. (Like Sun Chips – looks like a corn chip, but contains wheat.)

You also have to be careful about products such as Tofutti, which is a dairy-free product that you might think is okay to use as a substitute for dairy, but it has gluten in it. (Sorry!) It is, however, a rather tasty substitute for people with just a dairy-type sensitivity.

There are a few other things I recommend avoiding, such as monosodium glutamate, aspartame, and other neurotoxins. (Yes, I DID say neuroTOXIN.) I will talk about those in another post.

I guess the main thing is to read those labels and be diligent. And don’t despair – many GF/DF foods ARE edible.

Grains that contain/may contain gluten:
Wheat
Rye
Barley
Triticale
Spelt
Kamut
Oats (oats are sometimes planted close to wheat
fields and occasionally may be cross pollinated with
the wheat. You can find certified gluten-free oats only through
Bob’s Red Mill at this time – that I know of.)

One caution with oats is that you should wait for a little while after you start your GF/DF diet to reintroduce even GF oats into the ASD individual’s diet.

Some experts say that since wheat is in the grass family, other grains in the grass family should be avoided. The effectively cuts out most grains completely, and many of the grains some experts have considered not safe for celiacs are being tested now and considered safe. I would just stick with products that have been tested for gluten content and found free of it. Products that have been tested will generally have a certification seal on it. The ELISA Gluten Assay is one organization that tests for gluten, and the products certified by them pass my test. All of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free products are tested by them. I really like Bob’s Red Mill because they now have a very large selection of gluten-free products.

Good dairy substitutes:
Rice Milk (Rice Dream is a good brand)
Almond Milk
Soy Milk
(Again, some experts may suggest that soy also contains gluten since it can be used as a base for flour because of it’s binding properties, but it does not have the specific gluten in it that wheat does, and is considered a legume. Although soy may be an additional allergy issue specifically for celiacs, all legumes are generally considered safe for an ASD diet. Again, I recommend that a doctor test for this as well.)

I highly recommend buying a good cookbook such as Bette Hagman’s The Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods. This fantastic book has a section at the beginning of the book that give you recipes for gluten-free flour mixes that are useful for all sorts of applications. I have gone through mine and highlighted the recipes that do not have dairy in them, and those that do usually can be adjusted to work with dairy substitutes.

Here are some other helpful websites for you to look at that may contain useful information for an ASD GF/DF diet, even if it is not specific for ASD individuals.

gfcfdiet.com – The Official GFCF Diet Support Group FREE Informative Website – Dietary Intervention Treatment For Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Celiac.com

Things Jenny McCarthy Didn’t Have Time To Say On The Oprah Show

Page with links to DAN! Doctors, Naturopaths, and nutritionists. Make sure you read the page before clicking the links as it contains important information.

Many children have indeed benefitted from a GF/DF diet. So don’t be afraid to try it out and see if it works for you and your family.

Always consult a medical professional to determine the best treatment path for your ASD child. All opinions on this webblog are just that – my opinion – and should not be construed as medical advice or expertise. D*****, Jim, I’m the mother of an autistic child, not a medical doctor.

*********************
Note: make sure you monitor for low iron and fiber with this diet. Eat plenty of fruits and veggies! That’s an order!

Also, statistics are now saying that 1 out of 133 persons now may be gluten sensitive (and not even know it!)… That statistic is suspiciously close to the statistic for the rate of autism now.

Things that make you go Hmmmm….

Michael Savage… has savage words for autistic children.

Today it was brought to my attention that the ultra-right-wing talk show host, Michael Savage, made some very disparaging comments about autistic children as well as their parents. Now, please do not get me wrong – I believe in free speech, and I also happen to be rather conservative politically… so when I here moronic things like this, I can understand why many people do not like “conservative” people. Please be advised we do not all feel like Michael Savage does… if he actually HAS any feelings at all – besides a seething anger and contempt for most people, that is. This audio clip will make you wonder, too.

 SAVAGE RANT ON AUTISM

Would you be so kind as to contact his corporate sponsors and ask them to no longer do business with this sad, petty, little man? It will not help their image and they should be made aware of this fact…

Greetings Parents of Autistic Kids!

I am a proud parent with three children, one of whom is autistic. I most likely won’t post a bunch of personal stories about my own life and experience with autism, although I may make a personal comment every now and then.

My main goal is to eventually be a resource site for parents of auties – a central place for links and information about this disorder, as well as news and views… 

If you have a resource or news item to submit, please “leave a comment” on the About Me page so I can research it before posting. Please make sure you cite your source with a URL reference if the item is a website. 

Please note that I am not an expert on this subject, just a person who wants to be involved and be a blessing to as many people as I can.