Asperger's And Gluten Intollerance (but Not Celiac?)

[imagine22]

I have read of links between asperger's and celiac but are there links between people carrying the celiac gene but who dont actually have celiac and asperger's?

I have celiac and I have a brother and a cousin with asperger's. My brother tested neg for celiac in the blood test. Im wondering if their issues are caused by gluten even if they dont necessarily have celiac.

thanks.

[GFBetsy]

It is quite possible that his problems are at least contributed to by gluten. You could look at the website www.gfcfdiet.com for more information.

[Ursa Major]

I have Asperger Syndrome. Going gluten-free has not made me any less autistic, but it has greatly helped with meltdowns. I only get those now when I have been glutened.

I don't believe that celiac disease causes AS, but rather that autistic people are more prone to having celiac disease for some reason.

Which is not to say that celiac disease and casein intolerance can't produce autistic symptoms in some kids, which go away when they go gluten-free and dairy free. That is not the same as true autism.

[Guest Villanfam]

What I've read about Autism and celiac disease is that although they may be associated, in a lot of cases, an entirely different situation is at play. Some people with autism may metabolize gluten and casein (protein in milk) into the form of an opiate-much like heroin. So basically, when they eat it they are getting a high off of it and are becoming addicted. This high is similar to the high that heroin users experience, and it could account for the traits typical in autistic children (finger flicking, head banging, spinning). As well as being withdrawn and having a fascination with parts of objects. Also typical of opiate users and autistic kids is the distress they feel when there are small changes in their environment or routines. There is def. some connection between the two. The frequency of celiac disease is higher in autistic people than in the general public. The results of the gluten-free/cf diet varies. Some see improvement right away, within the 1st week, some it takes a year or so, and others see no improvement at all. The improvement among those also varies, some are able to sleep through the night, some become more verbal and interactive, and some are completely "normalized" on the diet.

There is a website devoted to this diet with Autistic kids Open Original Shared Link. It is full of info on the diet

Ursa, is right. No one knows for sure what causes Autism. What they think they've been able to determine is that there seems to be two different types of people with Autism 1) those born that way, from day one 2) those who start to develop "normally" for example meeting all age related milestones, walking/crawling/talking ect. and then around year 1-2 start to deteriorate.

My son was in the later he was crawling by 6 mths. walking around furniture at 7 months and walking unassisted at 10 months. He was also talking normally saying things like "what's that momma?" using sentences, but by 2 it was all grunts and single words with no understanding what was being said to him (Auditory processing Delays) It was like we were speaking Chinese to him. He was extremely aggressive towards other children his age. He would bite them and attack them and us (sometimes). We put him in a Special Education Preschool and they first thought he had PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder) just one of the Autistic Spectrum Disorders, and quite obviously ADHD as he was constantly on the go except when his fav. movie was on, then he would hyper focus. But after testing came back unlikely that he had it, they just worked with him on the areas that he struggled with. Once very coordinated he was now unable to peddle a bike, use a pencil, use scissors, anything that required him to manipulate another object and use it properly. His teachers call him high functioning, but he still has real struggles, socially especially! They all like him, so that's not the problem. He has always loved being around other kids, and people. He thinks everyone is his friend, but he can't remember one of their names LOL. He introduces us to everyone (and I mean EVERYONE!) when we are out at the store or something " Hi there, I'm Augustus and these are my sisters, they're naughty sometimes, this is my Mom, she's white, and this is my Dad, he's a brown man (Husband Hispanic)." Then he tells them all about Dinosaurs and even shows them all of the "animal voices" he has. He's very charming

[Ursa Major]

You know that your son could have become autistic due to vaccine damage? Somehow, many kids are perfectly normal until vaccinated, and then show definite signs of autism. With many it is around the 18 month to two year range, when they get their booster shot. They'd show signs of reacting to vaccinations with earlier ones, but recover. But often the booster shot is 'the last straw', when the brain can't take any more assaults, and gets irreversably damaged.

I was born this way, my dad obviously had AS, and so do four of my six brothers and my sister. My sister is a lot more autistic than me, and is about as mature as a ten-year-old. Everybody else in the family denies it, and she has no feeling of being different. Even though I have always known I am different, I just didn't know what made me different until five years ago.

[ravenwoodglass]

For our family there is definately a connection between the two. And being gluten free has helped great deal with the presentation of aspergers symptoms in my DS and my husband. They both now use more direct eye contact, the flat aspect of their speech has resolved, the OCD component has disappeared and both are more interactive with others. My DH even signs cards now, a small thing I know but something he has never done before in the 20 years I have been with him. My DS has had the most remarkable recovery. If his gluten intolerance had been addressed at a younger age he would have had a much different experience in his pre and teen years. The gluten free diet does not 'cure' aspergers but for my family it has resulted in a great deal of resolution of the associated problems. I just wish I had not had to be close to death before celiac was found. The mental difficulties for my family have been much worse than the GI ones and seeing the changes in my family would encourage me to tell you that if you have a family member with aspie symptoms get them on the diet it certainly won't hurt and could help them a great deal.

[helen albanese]

My older daughter seemed to be headed to Autism- she was becomming withdrawn, sensitive to sounds, touch, rocking, violent outburst, her speech was disappearing. She had been a normal, active child until I weaned her from breastmilk at 12 mos, that's when the symptoms became more overt. That's the time my ex inlaws decided to fatten her up with pasta. By eighteen months,the celiac dx was made in NYC at St Vinny's. Thirty days later, I had my daughter back.... She has ADHD, dyslexia, shades of AS, however: she is mainstream- college, career, independant, driving, reading incessantly-I refused to accept a dx of emotional disturbance and special ed classes. I was fortunate enough to be in a position to dedicate time and energy and patience to her. My younger girl manifested differently, testing neg on the duodenal bx-eventually tested with bld test and coming up positive.Raised in a gluten free environment, gluten came into her life at her dad's house and again at my ex in-laws on visits. she assumed that she was gluten free, however because she fell off the growth curve, i had her to every dr. to find out before puberty. She was dx with celiac 16 mos before the onset of puberty-she was a size 6x at 11.5 yrs old and still had all her baby teeth. after dx, she grew to 5' in 16 mos and went to almost normal body size although she has a size 4 foot. Does a dx of AS/autism need gluten-free diet, would it hurt? Why do we have to have a cut/dry answer to our medical issues, since we are random genetic variables, shouldn't our medical care be tailored to our genetic differences

PS:i was dx with cs @ 45 yrs old after mis dx all my life-different symtoms

[Queen Serenity]

Hi all,

I'm very glad to see a post like this one. I had no idea that the two were even remotely related. I have had celiac's for over 11 years now. My son, who is going to be twelve tomorrow, was just recently diagnosed with Asperger's. I was carrying him when I started to become ill. It wasn't until he was 9 months old that I was diagnosed. Who should I go to for help with this? Does anyone know what kind of doctor that could understand this situation? Should I put him on a gluten free diet? He is the type of child who has big time issues with change. Putting him on a gluten-free diet would cause a great deal of strain. HELP! Please post any ideas that could help. Thanks!

Vicki

[celiacgirls]

Hi all,

I'm very glad to see a post like this one. I had no idea that the two were even remotely related. I have had celiac's for over 11 years now. My son, who is going to be twelve tomorrow, was just recently diagnosed with Asperger's. I was carrying him when I started to become ill. It wasn't until he was 9 months old that I was diagnosed. Who should I go to for help with this? Does anyone know what kind of doctor that could understand this situation? Should I put him on a gluten free diet? He is the type of child who has big time issues with change. Putting him on a gluten-free diet would cause a great deal of strain. HELP! Please post any ideas that could help. Thanks!

Vicki

I sent you a pm.