Aspergers/Autism/Sensory Integration Chatter #3

[christy]

Yep we had tonsilitis.... even to the point that our GP suggested we get her tonsils out and grommets in with a referral to the ENT. We were dealing with all the behaviour as well.... and then DD2 was born and I went to a LC who said that she was allergic to dairy... and took one look at Matilda and said "I can bet you that she is allergic to dairy as well" . We went on a waiting list to see an allergist who was a GP as well, he did heaps of tests on Matilda and found she was severely allergic to cow milk protein... 4 weeks later, no more ear infections, no more throat infections, her faeces became normal and her speech improved. Her speech stalled at 2yrs 5mths for 7 months.

We were nearly convinced that we would see everything disappear and that it was only a milk allergy, not ASD or sensory... but we were wrong, the milk allergy was responsibile for a lot of things, but not her ASD stuff. Having said that, her meltdowns went from 6 hours a day on average to 3 hours and even missing the odd day. It was a HUGE improvement. So much so that DH went on a "milk is evil" kick and tried to convert everyone . I still suggest it to breastfeeding mums who have reflux issues or multiple ear infections because really, what does it hurt to avoid milk for a while?

ETA: theres a huge movement amongst the ASD community that gluten and milk intolerances are common. Most of the kids are allergic or intolerant to one or both. In fact there's heaps of autistic T-shirts that people wear that say GFCF C=caesin protein that is the main allergen (not lactose which is commonly thought). This is also why A2 milk is suggested.

ETA2: if you google gluten free/caesin free autism you will find heaps of info out there, some of it is quite... ummm..... antagonistic? I don't necessarily believe it all, which is why we went through all the testing, but I promise you it works for us.