THE AUTISM FOOD CLUB

The Autism Food Club provides the practical implementation of dietary intervention. The organisation aims to turn scientific research around food and diet into tasty plates of food for the whole family with a specific focus on the autism spectrum & related developmental conditions. Although targeted at the autism spectrum, anybody will benefit from these fantastic recipe ideas and simple scientific explanations.

Why?

Various lines of evidence have suggested that the use of a gluten- and casein-free (GFCF) diet may improve some of the more life disrupting aspects of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) at least for some. Coupled to an increasing volume of recent research reports highlighting some of the potential mechanisms accounting for a dietary effect, the requirement to translate research findings from ‘bench to kitchen’ has never been more important. The Autism Food Club (www.theautismfoodclub.com) bridges that gap.

Some of the most recent reviews of the evidence surrounding the use of the GFCF diet for autism¹ whilst not wholly confirmatory, highlight how for some on the autism spectrum, dietary intervention may be an important addition to other educational and behavioural interventions. Positive changes to areas of attention and hyperactivity and communication represent some of the more commonly reported observations

How?

A few years back, a fortunate moment led to the meeting of a dietitian, a chef and an autism researcher. Our ideas are simple: translate the science around dietary intervention for autism into something readable for everyone and offer a range of tasty, balanced and easy to make recipes which are gluten- and casein-free.

Where?

Find us on our website www.theautismfoodclub.com or come and interact with us on our Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/theautismfoodclub ) and Twitter 

( https://twitter.com/AutismFoodClub ) pages. Routledge’s have also published our book “Autism: Exploring a gluten and casein free diet: a practical guide for families and professionals” (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415727634) which is full of recipes, background of the science and then an in-depth look at the science and steps to undertake a gluten- and casein-free diet.

All the best 

The Autism Food Club team Elouise, Mark and Paul

1.    Whiteley P. et al. Gluten- and casein-free dietary intervention for autism spectrum conditions. Front Hum Neurosci. 2012; 6: 344.

MAKING MEALS FUN

Thank you Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer for this guest blog and for the great ideas you present for parents and kids! 

www.kitchenclassroom4kids.com

In the first few months of transitioning my family to eating gluten and casein-free, I wanted everything to be perfect:  I would scour recipes to find the perfect gf bread, order expensive snacks online and spend hours planning meals. What usually happened when serving those meals was that my son, who has autism and motivated the dietary change, would take two bites of whatever food that I had slaved over and then get up and run away from the table. I would bring him back to his plate, cajole him to eat more, and maybe he would take one more bite. Mealtime in our home became, in a word, miserable.

Soon I realized that something needed to change if we were going to be able to stick with dietary changes as part of my son’s healing process. And I was motivated to stick with it: within a few months of eating gfcf, my son was finally sleeping through the night and having normal bowel movements. I realized that it wasn’t the diet that needed to change, but my attitude and approach towards it.

Over the last five years, these are some of the ways that I’ve been able to sustain and embrace the gfcf diet:

1.     Awareness of my attitude: I first needed to acknowledge the amount of pressure that I was putting on myself in creating meals and the pressure that I was bringing to my son at mealtime. I started to take a few deep breaths before sitting down at the table. Rather than slaving for hours making complex recipes, I started to cook simple, whole foods: chicken breast sautéed in coconut oil, meatballs made with grassfed beef and served over gf pasta. These meals were much more successful with my whole family than the ones that took hours to prepare (recipes are in my book “The Kitchen Classroom”) and I didn’t come to the table completely frazzled.

2.     Getting the Kids Involved: One of the best ways that I’ve been able to make eating gfcf work well in my house is involving my kids in meal preparation. What I’ve discovered is that all of the fine and gross motor skills that my son works on in therapy can be practiced through chopping, stirring, mixing, unpacking groceries, etc.  Bringing my kids in to wash fruit for a fruit salad or break apart the celery stalks that will be on their dinner plate makes them both more eager to taste everything that I serve!

3.     Playing with your food: This one might seem like a no-no, but I like to find ways to play that are good for everyone. To encourage my kids to eat a wider variety of fruits and vegetables, I started picking a letter of the week and  buying produce to match the letter. Although my son is just now learning to read, working on the letter recognition was an important part of developing his pre-literacy skills. I’ve made my 45 alphabetical recipes into an ebook called ABC Fruits & Veggies 4 Me!

4.     Setting the mood: As busy parents, sometimes our goal is simply to get through our meals with everyone intact. When I’m able to take that extra moment before we sit down, I put on some mellow music to listen to while we eat and this also helps to shift everyone’s mood.  My son takes longer to eat than my daughter does but what we’ve worked out is that she can choose a few books to bring to the table when she finishes. This helps her to enjoy staying at the table with us. Think about what simple elements like music and books that could help to make your meals more pleasant.

5.     Remember 2 words—“Not Yet”: I often coach parents who lament that their children will not try new foods, especially fruits, vegetables and protein and have trouble sitting for meals. My answer is always “Not Yet”—but with patience, persistence and some creative strategies,  here is hope that your child will begin to eat a wider variety of foods and that meals in your home will become important family connecting time. Please don’t hesitate to send me your questions or concerns—I’m happy to brainstorm: gabrielle@kitchenclassroom4kids.com.

Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer is a writer, cooking instructor and parenting coach. Visit her at www.kitchenclassroom4kids.com

SHOULD THIS BE A WORRY OR NOT?

It is reported that about 75% of the children on the autism spectrum have eating challenges and there is no shortage of literature, therapies and advice on what might help. 
As a parent with a child who is not eating a healthy diet you worry. As with any child who has eating issues preventing healthy diet you need to investigate the "why" even if the advice you get is "don't worry/they will be fine/it's a phase/they will grow out of it/they will eat enough so as to not be hungry...... etc, etc" 
With 30 years experience with autism and having a nutrition background I need to tell you that you do need to be concerned. Every child needs a healthy diet to promote healthy growth and to provide the nutrition they need to perform and achieve their personal best in play, school work, sports, music, art, sleep, behavior, social interaction, emotional growth, independence ~ LIFE! ~ all the things you hope for for your child. Autism itself may well play a major role and often alongside other issues. All need to be investigated.

If your child is not able to eat foods ~ chew, swallow, digest ~ start by making sure there is nothing physically wrong. Some children have needed surgical treatment that has been the solution to allow them to enjoy a healthy diet. 
Next, if you suspect there may be some food allergies ask your pediatrician for a referral for allergy testing to confirm or rule out your suspicions. 
If you know or suspect your child has sensory processing issues then they need to be addressed. I can recommend a good starting point http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-processing-disorder-checklist.html and consulting with an Occupational Therapist who specializes in SPD would be very beneficial.
You may now have to consider that although your child does not have allergies perhaps they have sensitivities or intolerances to certain foods. They may even be favorite foods! You can check this yourself by eliminating some foods to see if there are obvious benefits. This is an area where many parents of autistic children find some answers - specifically with gluten and casein.
I personally have experience with eliminating gluten from my diet and seeing significant health benefits in 3 weeks. It has been 3 months since I removed gluten from my diet and I won't be eating it anymore. It is certainly worth a try. I would say the same for casein, which will mean you eliminate all products made with cows milk.
This would appear to be a good resource to begin learning more about these dietary needs http://www.gfcfdiet.com/.
Whatever you find to be the problem, if there are still issues preventing your child from choosing to eat a wide variety of healthy foods then I would strongly recommend you investigate how The Eating Game can help. It will support any special diet you use as it is you, the parent, who presents the food choices for your child to use with The Eating Game. You can contact me at  jean@theeatinggame.ca if you want more information.
If you have anything to share that may help another person, please consider leaving a comment.