Have you seen how much gluten free foods are out there? Have any of you tried

Sugar is definitely a factor; it affects everyone not just those with autism. I know a woman who gets instantly sleepy if she has sugar. Can you imagine if that happened to everyone? Parents would let their kids have it all the time, lol!

This is really tricky question to most. It's hard to explain with us... we did try the gluten free diet, we didn't really notice a change, but we did notice a chance when we took milk away & switched to ricemilk. I don't know, but every time we give him regular milk & we do at times, just to see if we can see a change & for some reason it does cause him to act more, hmmm, how do I put this, he will seem more in his own world. Weird huh? So we stick with rice milk because we feel its better for him, plus he uses the bathroom a lot better now. But as far as going all out on the gluten free diet, yes we have, for over a year, but it just didn't do anything & we only noticed a change, small change once dairy stuff was lowered. Does that make sense? LOL! Anyway, I'm curious to see what other parents have to say about this gluten free foods.

we tried the GF/CF diet and noticed no change whatsoever in our child and we eventually gave up because it is expensive and it wasn't worth continuing when we didn't notice change in our child. the only change that has been happening is for all the therapy she receives and wraparound services

Oh my goodness, no sugar no gluten, I think you have to train your son to eat grass like a cow. I wonder what will happen to your son if I give him a big glass of ice cream float, followed by a bar of chocolate. I guess he will have enough energy to run double marathons.

Just because many kids who have Autism are allergic to gluten doesn't mean every child with Autism should be on a gluten-free diet. They are two totally different conditions. People who are allergic to gluten have results that show up on allergy tests. Some of them also have Autism. The two are NOT a causal link. More research needs to be done to determine if there is a genetic link or if people with Autism are more likely to have a gluten allergy. What is known is that ANYONE with a gluten allergy will have some behavioral changes after ingesting gluten. Because of both neurological reactions as well as physical pain and symptoms. It's very easy to tell. Have your son tested for a gluten allergy. It's a bonafide medical test.