I am parent to a child who has autism and have done a lot of reading on this. My understanding is that at a minimum, the diet would need to be followed 6 months before trying to reintroduce it and many follow it for 1-2 years (you will need to consult with your doctors about this and may need further testing). We use enzymes (AFP peptizyde from Houston Nutraceuticals) to help my son digest gluten because he eats so few items outside of carbohydrates to begin with. A good book to get is written by Lisa Lewis, called Special Diets for Special Kids which gives recipes along with other information regarding dietary changes (she has a child with autism) An invaluable resource is a book called Children with Starving Brains.

For an autistic child, the gluten free diet should be followed for life. You may also want to try going casein free as well. Both a gluten and casein free diet have proven to aid in many autistic children. Do a google search for gluten casein and autism. You’ll find many, many links about the correlation. Good luck!

I would suggest transferring to any specialised diet by using a ‘change one’ method which basically means you change one item at a time and this way you can monitor yourself if the diet has to completely gluton free or you reach a manageable level by replacing only some items, be it the main items only or the treats. For example our son has a reduced gluton free diet by substituting some of his school lunch box with gluton free products (try Tescos ‘Free From range which is readily available and reasonably priced) i.e. he has the ‘free from’ chocolate bar so doesn’t feel any different to the other kids but is not actually eating a chocolate bar. I found the main culprit for stomach problems though in another area and perhaps you may find benefit from researching this too. Existing enzymes after a meal which are not absorbed normally by Secretin which is naturally produced in our bodies, although in autistic children (any level of autism) it can be produced at a reduced rate or not at all. Without getting too technical and medical (i’m just a mum who has researched this!) with abnormal level of secretin in the gut Secretin does not travel to the three areas it is needed in the brain, the amygadala, hypocampus and cerebellum (excuse spelling, am only a mum!) We give our son a homeopathic remedy of human synthetic Secretin and since taking the Secretin our son has increased concentration, eye contact, balanced moods etc etc the list of positives is endless. We didn’t tell anyone he had started this and was called into the school to talk about the difference in our son! Recommended this to friend whose son has Aspergers Syndrome and she has experienced the same (school called her in too) I hope this is of help to you and your son is very lucky to have parents willing to go the extra mile for him.

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, found in wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is found mainly in foods, but is also found in products we use every day, such as stamp and envelope adhesive, medicines, and vitamins.
I add a link for the supportive organisation and dietary advice should be obtained from them.
Hope this helps
Matador 89

Here’s a website you can get gluten free products from. I don’t know much about it, but I found this website when looking for sugar free stuff since I am diabetic…
hope it helps a little bit at least!

my friend is allergic to gluten. Seeing as he’s allergic i don’t think he can ever start eating it again. It is very restrictive and you have to check the ingredients of things that you would never suspect, like soda and candies.