My littlest brother Ben is a bright, loving, wonderful kid. But he's also an autistic one, which can make things a little difficult. However, one of the best tools we've found in helping him is a diet called GF/CF. We eliminate gluten, casein, MSG, and aspartame from the foods he eats.
As you can imagine, for an 11-year-old this can be quite trying. Nothing seems fair when all of your friends and family can eat pizza, ice cream, cupcakes, chips, or even just normal school lunch. However, after my parents' three week trial period in which they took him off the diet (after previously being on the diet for three years), we could clearly see a difference in his behavior and moods. He is calmer, he does not get as upset, and he is able to think things through.
Ben was not happy about returning the diet. He told my Grandma once "I would be so sad if I had to do the diet again". But the effects it has on his day to day handling of change and events is undeniable. To encourage refraining from foods he shouldn't eat, and to encourage eating things like fruits and vegetables, I made him a calendar reward system.
It works like this: If he eats a fruit, vegetable, tries something new, or spends 30 minutes exercising, he will get a star for each. If he goes the whole day without eating something he shouldn't he gets a Cars sticker. If he can get a certain number of stickers before June 1 (his 12th birthday) I'm giving him my I-Pod touch.
I also told him I would do the diet with him. This blog is devoted to my experience with this diet, rules of the diet, recipes, and any research that is being done on it.
The first day of this was met with success- he even asked his teacher for a different treat instead, that didn't have gluten.
Wish me luck :)
