As more information is found about autism, researchers are suggesting alternative forms of treatment. One of the ways to reduce symptoms is by eliminating dairy from an autistic person's diet. Researchers feel that one of the phosoproteins found in dairy, casein, is responsible for some of the behaviors of autism. By eliminating casein from the diet, an autistic person will be helped out with their behaviors. It has not been proven to show improvement in cognitive skills, social skills or motor ability.
One thing to note is that this isn't a cure for autism. This is only served as a way to help certain behaviors. Casein is found in all dairy products so it would mean removing foods such as milk, ice cream and yogurt from the autistic person's meals. Casein is also used as a binding agent and is found in some hot dogs. Another tactic that is used once casein is delimited from the diet is removing gluten as well. Gluten is a protein found in wheat products. This is believed to have the same effect as casein.
Before you start any of these programs, speak with your doctor about alternative treatments and discuss the methods you will read here. At this time you may also want to see an allergist and get tested to see if they have any allergies to food. It could turn out they are actually allergic to dairy products. When you first start the casein-free diet, keep a journal of the activities for the patient. You might want to start this about two weeks before you actually begin the diet so you will have something to compare it with. Right down all of the activities and note the times. If having a casein-free diet does help, you won't see the results right away. This is going to take several months, so you have to be patient.
Casein will stay in a person's system for some time so there is no way to know if the dairy-free diet is working yet. The same is the true with a gluten-free diet, but gluten stays in the system longer. Also you don't want to try too many things at once because too many changes can upset the autistic person.
If you do eliminate dairy from the diet, you have to find other ways to substitute calcium. Try vitamins or calcium-enriched foods. This is especially important in children because calcium is important for the growth of a child.
A casein-free diet can get expensive. You also might have some difficulty finding milk substitutes at the local grocery store. You can look through specialty shops or check nutritional stores. If you have no luck at either of these places, go on the Internet and find special mail orders websites. You can find all the foods you need here. The Internet also offers casein-free recipes. However, with more people suffering from dairy allergies and wheat allergies, many products are available without casein and gluten.
If after some time this method isn't working, you can safely add dairy back into your autistic child's life. Just because it didn't work, don't feel as though you have failed. This is only suggested as a way to curb someone of the behaviors of autism, not put an end to it.
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