Background
As with most other children with autism, Evie had very poor sleeping patterns. In Evie’s case, she would take several hours to fall asleep, would often wake during the night having fallen asleep, and would wake early if she did fall asleep. When she was awake, she would sometimes throw herself against the bedroom wall. She could be awake for over 4 hours, and was very noisy during this time. This meant we did not get a full night’s sleep for many years, and lack of sleep and the stress of caring for an autistic child proved very stressful.
When Evie was about nearly 5 years old, we decided to have tests run to assess if Evie would benefit from a wheat-free and gluten-free diet. The urine test (obtained through the University of Sunderland) showed that it was possible she would benefit from a wheat and gluten-free diet, although not a casein-free diet. We also established, through a hospital Consultant Paediatrician with a special interest in diet and related therapies for children with autism, that she required supplements for the following:
Positive Effects of the diet and multi-vitamin therapy
As a result of the diet, Evie’s sleeping patterns changed, and gradually she slept through the night, although this is still not completely consistent. As a result of the additives (all of which were added separately, and we recorded behaviour, language, play and other changes), we began to see that she was calmer, less hyperactive and more able to concentrate. In the summer of 1999, we changed the children’s multi-vitamin, and the resulting behaviours were so bad that we were forced to stop the Lovaas home programme completely. Once we had tracked down what was wrong (we think it was due to a banana base in the vitamin), after a few weeks she was fine again, and therapy could re-start. We are just grateful this happened when she was not at school, and we were able to limit the problems we saw.
We still maintain a very strict wheat-free and gluten-free diet. Evie’s range of foods is still very limited (her choice, not as a result of the diet itself). She eats pizza, pasta, pancakes and bread products, all made with wheat-free flour. She will eat no meat, fish, vegetables, fruit or pulses, although very occasionally she will eat rice. She also enjoys chips from a well-known fast-food supplier! She drinks only still mineral water (again, her choice). In terms of snacks and desserts, we do not give her sweets, although she does have limited chocolate, which is good in terms of helping with energy levels. She eats wheat-free and gluten-free crisps and biscuits and organic gluten-free vanilla ice-cream. We also need to be careful with certain colourings, as these can make her hyperactive.
It is still a challenge to think of creative ways to introduce the vitamins and minerals into her limited foods, with ideas including putting minerals (which can be cooked) into her dough base when making chapatis, etc. and introducing vitamins in liquid form as much as possible. (A good source for these is "Biocare".) The dietician also made useful recommendations about adding supplements such as powdered milk and brazil nuts. These help to increase calcium and selenium levels, and can easily be added when making home-made biscuits, etc. We obtain most of Evie’s vitamins, minerals and dietary produce on prescription through our very helpful G.P.
In summary, we would say that by far the main thrust of Evie’s management has been the Lovaas educational programme. In addition, the diet and multi-vitamin therapy has provided a good method of stabilising her behaviour and medical status, providing her with a sound night’s sleep, so that she can concentrate. The diet and vitamin therapies thus facilitate her ability to learn on her home programme and at school. But we are in little doubt that Evie would not have made the improvements she has done without the Lovaas approach.