Confused and Annoyed

I know this is another really negative-seeming post, but it's all a perfect example of the emotional roller coaster my life is in regards to my son. I'm confused. I'm annoyed. I am hearing alot of jabber about the gluten-free casein-free diet (GFCF) and Biomed treatments for autism. There is so much information out there - some of it conflicting - and I don't even know all the information regarding these things, but to me, the whole thing smells very much like a 'fad'.

I know alot of people got offended right there.

I mean no offense. I'm not saying it is a fad. I'm just saying it seems like one, because some of the mums I speak to go on and on and on about it, and I can hardly google anything to do with autism without coming across it.

A little note on my personality: I can't stand anything that is a fad. In general, if the population is running towards something like crazy, I run in the opposite direction. I don't know why. It's just me. It is not often that I jump on the bandwagon with everyone else. Sometimes I do though - like with cupcakes. Hated the fad at first (seriously people, get over it! They're just cupcakes!) now I find myself baking them all the time. Go figure hehe.

I want to make something very clear here: I don't judge these people. I might hold a very different opinion, I might even feel very contrary towards the thing people go nuts over, but I do not judge them. Each to their own, and whatever works for you. And I am certainly not going to judge someone who has seen improvement in their child as a result of employing such treatments!

This is lunch on most days: A cream cheese sandwich, cup of water, and piece of fruit or yoghurt. The only thing he will have on a sandwich is cream cheese, Nutella or honey. And he always bites the top corner, and opens the sandwich and arranges them on his tray before he eats the rest :)

What does annoy me though, is when people look at me funny and with that sort of condescending way when I say that I'm not convinced. I hate that. I feel like they are judging on me for not agreeing with their views. Very upsetting. The evidence I have seen is just not compelling for me. I find it annoying when people condemn me for choosing to treat or not treat my son a particular way. I had one lady recently, who made me feel so evil for giving my son cows milk on his cereal every day. She said it was poisonous to these (ASD) children. I did not appreciate that. I have seen no evidence whatsoever in my son of any allergic reaction to dairy or gluten. No reason whatsoever to consider removing these things from his diet. In fact, to do so, would leave me with very few options for his diet! He's already very fussy! And think of the logistics and cost of it: to completely change his diet, while trying to manage the rest of my family, when there is NO evidence of a problem in the first place...... please. I have enough going on without that sort of pressure.

Having said all that, there is enough anecdotal stories out there for me to sit up and take notice. I'm not going to write something like this off just because it bugs me. The GFCF diet is something I plan to try at a later date. Just in case. The evidence is not compelling for me, it's true. My son shows no signs of allergy or intolerance to these types of foods, it's true. But I've heard enough stories to wonder if it might make a difference anyway. Right now, I can't do it. I just can't. But it's on the cards, and I'll blog about it when I get it going. Will let you know how it goes.


Would love to hear from people who have tried the GFCF diet, and their experience with it. Did it work? Did it not work? etc. Just looking for personal experiences here, no debating please. Thank you :)


xx