Question

[Turtle]

I've seen articles and posts about the relation between celiac and autism and i'm interested in knowing more about this. My biggest interest is does being a celiac increase your chances of having an autistic child??? Anyone have any thoughts or info?

Thanks so much....

Turtle

[Jnkmnky]

I do not think so UNLESS, you are undxed. I read an article that pointed to mass famines leading to more schizophrenia in the future *meaning, the starved mothers had babies that later developed Schizophrenia. There were at least two mass famines in the last century around the globe that later resulted in higher than average cases of schizophrenia. This seems to make sense. An undx pregnant celiac woman might be so nutritionally deprived if her villi are severely damaged that she would fit the "famine" definition???? That's not proven, but researchers HAVE linked Schizophrenia to Celiac and that is the only plausible reason I can see. Mind you, they never say WHY celiac and schizophrenia are linked, they just link them. I came across the famine link and made my own best leaps to tie Celiac to Schizophrenia. Now as far as autism goes- I would guess dietary issues pre-birth are the main concerns. Though, my son appeared to have some form of autism until the age of three when he went gluten free.... He was non-verbal, didn't interact much, didn't engage, laugh, or even seem to be aware of much going on around him. The gluten free diet cleared the peptides out of his brain and he "woke up". More amazingly than I can explain here. The reality was nothing short of miraculous. So the link between Celiac and autism stems from the leaky gut. Many autistics do well on a gluten/casein free diet because they have a highly permeable gut which leaks way too many peptides into the bloodstream. The peptides circulate in the brain- pass the brain blood barrier and have an opiate like effect on the body. Same with Casein. A diet rich with anti-inflammatory foods/spices and gluten/casein free is very helpful to an autistic person. Increases in verbal skills seems to be the most talked about benefit.

[Turtle]

Thanks so much....I'm a celiac (dx April 05) and have been on the gluten-free diet since May 1st. We want kids but not until I feel better. We also wanted to get as much info as we could about celiac, pregnancy, etc. to be as knowledgable as we can. I've read many other posts from others who are celiac and have had great pregnancies...so encouraging....I hope I fall into that category when the time comes.... Thanks again for taking time to respond.

[tarnalberry]

It's definitely not something that's been studied much at all. Even the dietary link with autism is considered speculative by many. And the "cause" of autism isn't known/understood either. But, in the studies of pregnancy outcomes among treated celiacs, there has not yet been seen a correlation to autism. I can't say if any of the researchers were actually looking for it or tracked children long enough for the potential of diagnosis, though.

[Turtle]

Yes, I agree....I am a child mental health social worker and see children w/ Autism and Aspergers from time to time and it's a very interesting dx....thanks for your feedback!

[SurreyGirl]

A diet rich with anti-inflammatory foods/spices and gluten/casein free is very helpful to an autistic person. Increases in verbal skills seems to be the most talked about benefit.

Dear JNKM.., please expand a little more about the anti-inflammatory food/spices - or point me in the direction where I could find out more. Do you mean antioxidant-type of foods, ie fresh veg, fruits and herbs - or is there more to it?

Inflammation does contribute to leaky gut, so I would be interested to work out how this can be minimised.

[Jnkmnky]

Dear JNKM.., please expand a little more about the anti-inflammatory food/spices - or point me in the direction where I could find out more. Do you mean antioxidant-type of foods, ie fresh veg, fruits and herbs - or is there more to it?

Inflammation does contribute to leaky gut, so I would be interested to work out how this can be minimised.

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All you need to do is google anti inflammatory spices and you'll get a bunch of sites to browse through. I'm currently using Curry and tumeric a lot these days in my lunch and dinner dishes. Cinnamon every morning. My kids hate the Curry and tumeric. So I use it on my foods after preparing the meal. I'm trying to show them that food is not always about taste, it's also about nurishment and healing. What a task!!! My son threatened to eat outside the other night when I put curry on my rice! He says the smell is gross. But my youngest actually had some sprinkled on his turkey sandwich the other day. So, I'm making progress.

[taweavmo3]

I don't know anything about a link between being celiac and having an autistic child.....but I think there is a definate link between autistic symptoms and celiac (for some, not all celiac kids). I still worry about my little girl, some of her behaviors still seem off to me. She doesn't understand things that are not logical, or tangible. When she started carrying her baby dolls around, I thought she was finally starting to pretend play. But she still doesn't really "pretend" with them, if I ask her to feed her baby, she tells me she can't. If I play with her dollhouse family, and we each have a doll....I'll make the doll talk, but Emmie just stares at me blankly. She also doesn't understand the concept of Christmas, Halloween, or dressing up. If it's something she can't see, she doesn't understand. I may be making a mountain out of a mole hill, and I don't even talk about it anymore since dh is tired of hearing my worries. But even family members have noticed that she can't answer simple questions, and that doesn't seem right to me. I don't know what else to do though, I feel stuck!

In our local support group, there is one autistic/celiac child. Like jnkmnky, I also believe it's due to the opioid excess theory, gluten acts as a neurotransmitter and hinders brain development. Regarding pregnancy and autism though, I really wouldn't worry too much if you are already gluten free. I have just recently found out I am preggo again, and although I haven't been tested, I have reactions to gluten. So I am staying gluten free from now on. For what it's worth, I have two boys who are developing normally and are right on track. I think my daughter's neuro delays are strictly due to gluten toxicity, not from being malnourished while I was pregnant.

So there's my long winded post......thanks for starting this topic, I love to read what other people think about this as well.

[Jnkmnky]

I don't know anything about a link between being celiac and having an autistic child.....but I think there is a definate link between autistic symptoms and celiac (for some, not all celiac kids). I still worry about my little girl, some of her behaviors still seem off to me. She doesn't understand things that are not logical, or tangible. When she started carrying her baby dolls around, I thought she was finally starting to pretend play. But she still doesn't really "pretend" with them, if I ask her to feed her baby, she tells me she can't. If I play with her dollhouse family, and we each have a doll....I'll make the doll talk, but Emmie just stares at me blankly. She also doesn't understand the concept of Christmas, Halloween, or dressing up. If it's something she can't see, she doesn't understand. I may be making a mountain out of a mole hill, and I don't even talk about it anymore since dh is tired of hearing my worries. But even family members have noticed that she can't answer simple questions, and that doesn't seem right to me. I don't know what else to do though, I feel stuck!

In our local support group, there is one autistic/celiac child. Like jnkmnky, I also believe it's due to the opioid excess theory, gluten acts as a neurotransmitter and hinders brain development. Regarding pregnancy and autism though, I really wouldn't worry too much if you are already gluten free. I have just recently found out I am preggo again, and although I haven't been tested, I have reactions to gluten. So I am staying gluten free from now on. For what it's worth, I have two boys who are developing normally and are right on track. I think my daughter's neuro delays are strictly due to gluten toxicity, not from being malnourished while I was pregnant.

So there's my long winded post......thanks for starting this topic, I love to read what other people think about this as well.

Hey, my celiac son is a little off, too! Don't worry too much yet. My son was not making word=picture associations in his brain when language should have been developing due to the fuzz in his brain from the leaky gut/opiate. He's very off-beat in a cool way. He's more of an observer, but he launches into great imaginative tales and reveals just what he's been thinking. You might try music for your daughter, you should definitely be reading to her. Get small chapter books like Magic Treehouse. She needs to turn the movie screen in her brain ON in order to visualize more. Just plug along until she starts making connections between her thoughts and the real world. Music is good because you can ask her how certain sounds make her feel. Play upbeat sounds and give her language to express the how the sound makes her feel. Play slow/sad/angry music and ask her how that makes her feel. A Beethoven musicCD would have a lot to choose from. My first child had a stroke and was paralyzed. I did a lot of therapy with him. Anything to stimulate a child's brain is the best medicine of all. And repitition is great. Just keep the dialogue stimulating. You have enough words and imagery at YOUR disposal to help her re-discover the same book, music, picture, texture...over and over and over..... It's great therapy. Email me if you want to chat.

What helped me in dealing with my son's delays was to put his age back a year in my mind. When I did that, he was developing accordingly. It's not easy. You've got to ignore a year of your efforts. But it's done wonders for me to remind myself that he's not 71/2..... he's 61/2. I have to do that periodically and it keeps my expectations at a level that are realistic to his ability. He's in the top reading group, he's excellent at math, he's super-social and outgoing and friendly. He's responsible and he's very easy going. .... But he's not accomplishing those things at a 71/2 year old's level. He's doing them all at a 61/2 year old's mentality. See if your daugher fits into that mold better.. A year behind your current expectations of her based on what's considered "normal".