Special Diets for Children With Brain Disorders

Raising a child with developmental difficulties is never easy, but it can be made easier through compliance with a specialty diet to treat the symptoms of the disease. Whether your child is suffering from ADHD, autism or Down Syndrome, symptoms can likely be mitigated by placing your child on a gluten-free, casein-free diet. Although learning the rules of this diet takes time, increasing your child's quality of life makes the effort well worth it.

Removing Gluten and Casein

Remove all sources of gluten from your child's diet to see whether it has any effect on their symptoms. Gluten is a protein found in many different types of grains, in addition to being used in certain products as an additive. According to websites such as Wheatfree.org, the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability, and AutismWeb.com, a gluten-free, casein-free diet may help reduce or eliminate some of the symptoms from common developmental disorders. Remove the following grains from your child's diet: wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, kamut, durum, spelt and triticale. Additionally, eliminate consumption of the following gluten-containing foods: cookies, crackers, pasta, bread, rolls, cereal, sauces, soups and candy. Check labels to look for gluten-free alternatives to ordinary foods, and always check with the manufacturer of a product if you are unsure whether it contains gluten. A number of gluten-free grains can be used for cooking, such as rice flour.

Remove casein from your child's diet to complete this nutritional approach. Casein is a type of protein found in dairy products such as milk, butter, yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and ice cream.

Considerations

Some sample meals that would work with this dietary approach include blueberry pancakes prepared with rice flour or another alternative gluten-free grain and scrambled eggs (made with a non-dairy product), homemade chicken and rice soup, and turkey sandwiches served on quinoa or another gluten-free type of bread. A number of desserts can be prepared for your child that involve neither gluten nor casein, such as sherbet, flour-free chocolate cake, homemade pumpkin pie and many others. For additional gluten-free recipe ideas consult the attached link below titled "Gluten-Free Meals."