It can sometimes be weeks or months before one can get in to see the dietician and acquire the correct information. Even then you may not get the insider info that can be so helpful when changing the diet for a child. Being gluten free for an adult can be challenging, but when you are doing if for a child who is a picky eater, it can be daunting.The following advise is NOT for a child with a Celiac Disease diagnosis. In this case you must eliminate gluten from your child's diet entirely and immediately. If your child has autism, ADHD, FAS, or other developmental disabilities, and you do not have a celiac diagnosis or testing for celiac disease pending, then you must begin your journey with an investigation.
1. Talk with your child's paediatrician. You might be surprised by the response you get! The paediatrician has a list in your child's file of different issues that may improve with a diet change. If you do not get a favourable response to your inquiry then you have a choice to make. You can go it alone and work to change the doc's mind, or you can look for a new doc. It does help to have the support of the paediatrician to make these changes. He can help you collect the appropriate information to assess whether the diet is making a difference.
2. Start keeping a food journal. If you have not already started a journal for your child, start now. I started keeping journals on and off since Matthew was a baby. Feeding charts, sleep charts and behaviour issues. I admit that I am not the best a keeping this practice up. I have numerous note books around the house with little notes jotted down about various issues we were having. They can be a great resource for you and your child's health care team. Make notes about what your child eats, how much, when, and any behaviours you notice associated with the foods. Personally I think it is important to start keeping this journal about one month before eliminating wheat entirely.
3. Start making a list of your child's favourite wheat foods. This list will be handy to keep in on hand when you go to the grocery store looking for replacements for those foods.
4. Start introducing your child to new gluten free foods. If your child is really picky about food you may want to start with foods that are easy for him to accept, like crackers. Once your child accepts a new GF food, eliminate its wheaty counterpart entirely. You don't want your child remembering how good the old stuff was!
5. Start reading food labels. Next time you go shopping read the labels on your favourite foods. You may be surprised what is in there! If you can find a GF alternative then try it. Watch out for malt, MSG, barley, and barley malt colouring. All these ingredients are wheat based.
6. Start collecting recipes. There are a number of great GF web sites and cook books that offer great child friendly recipes. One of my favourites is the Kid Friendly Autism ADHD Cook Book. This is a great resource for information and some wonderful easy recipes.
7. Do a trial period. Now that you have a number of GF foods your child is eating under your belt you can begin a trial of the diet. A trial period can be anywhere from two weeks to a month. I do not recommend going longer then a month with out making a solid decision. During this time it is really important that you make sure your child is completely gluten free. By the end of two weeks you should have a good idea of any changes that have occurred with your child.
8. Reintroduce the offender. After about two weeks reintroduce wheat for a day. Give your child a wheat serving at every meal. Take notes on your child's reaction. Your child might have a large reaction, or no reaction at all. You may feel you do not need to do this if you have already noticed a reduction in your child's symptoms. We did not do this for Matthew, as we suspected he may have celiac. We noticed his language increased and he was a much happier child. Again I stress, do NOT do this if your child has a Celiac diagnosis!
9. Get educated. If you have decided that you want to continue with a gluten free diet for your child after a trial it is time to really educate yourself about the gluten free lifestyle. It is a lifestyle for sure! Visit www.celiac.ca and www.talkaboutcuringautism.org for advice on what foods to avoid and other food options. You will need to make some changes in your kitchen too. You will need a new GF toaster, baking tins, cutting boards, bread knife, etc., and learn how to keep your child safe from contamination. The TACA site is full of great information on the GFCF diet and how to work it. It also has a great section on picky eaters. Personally, I don't believe autism is curable. I do believe that it can be managed and diet is just one way to make things better for a suffering child.
10. Get your favourite grocery store on board! We are very lucky here in Vancouver to have a great selection of GF options. However not every store will carry every thing you need. I found myself shopping from 5 different stores to get all the little bits! It was a full time job just shopping for Matthew's food, not to mention, expensive. Now I have it down to one main store, and I occasionally visit alternatives if I need some one off item. Save on Foods and Price Smart are the big name chain stores that carry the best selection of GF items. They are very good at bringing in requested items too! I am so pleased with how responsive they have been to my requests.
Here are a few hints for GF grocery shopping:
1. Most GF baked products, including bread, are kept in the frozen foods sections. Ask a manager, rather then a staffer, where you can find these items.
2. Check you labels!
3. Cheerio's, Rice Crispies and Corn Flakes are all coloured and flavoured with barley malt. They are not GF.
4. Watch out for soy sauce,jar sauces, and vinegar's. These often contain wheat.
In a later post I will get more detailed about what items can be found at what stores.
The above advice also can apply to eliminating dairy or any other food that may be causing a problem.
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