The Autism & ADHD Diet: A Step-by-Step Guide to Hope and Healing by Living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) and Other Interventions

258 Pages·2009·2.43 MB·English

by  Barrie Silberberg

The
Autism

&
ADHD

DIET
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO HOPE
AND HEALING BY LIVING GLUTEN
FREE AND CASEIN FREE (GFCF)
AND OTHER INTERVENTIONS
Barrie Silberberg
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Copyright © 2009 by Barrie Silberberg
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Storage and Use Chart (on page 64) from the book Te Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread
by Bette Hagman. Copyright © 1999 by Bette Hagman. Reprinted by permission of
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Tis book is not intended as a substitute for medical advice from a qualifed physician.
Te intent of this book is to provide accurate general information in regard to the subject
matter covered. If medical advice or other expert help is needed, the services of an ap-
propriate medical professional should be sought.
Published by Sourcebooks, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Silberberg, Barrie.
Te autism & ADHD diet : a step-by-step guide to hope and healing by living gluten
free and casein free (GFCF) and other interventions / Barrie Silberberg.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Autism in children--Diet therapy. 2. Autistic children--Care. 3. Gluten-free diet.
4. Casein-free diet. 5. Parents of autistic children. I. Title.
RJ506.A9S545 2009
618.92’85882--dc22
2008046040
Printed and bound in the United States of America
BG 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Tis book is dedicated to my beautiful,
wonderful, and amazing son, Noah.
Because of you and your success with the GFCF diet,
together we are able to make a diference in the lives of
so many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
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Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Foreword by Donna Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Chapter 1. Our Story, Our Miracle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Chapter 2. Before We Begin: First Ditch the Dyes,
Preservatives, and Other Problematic Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Chapter 3. Understanding the GFCF Diet:
Answering Common Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Chapter 4. Ready, Set, Go: Starting the GFCF Diet . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 5. Te Nitty-Gritty Part:
Putting the GFCF Diet into Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Chapter 6. Buying and Preparing GFCF Foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Chapter 7. How to Read Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Chapter 8. Eating Out, Vacationing, and Hospital Visits . . . . . . . . .99
Chapter 9. Te GFCF Diet in Action: Questions and Answers . . . 111
Chapter 10. Menu Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Chapter 11. Dealing with Naysayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Chapter 12. Success Stories from All over the World . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Chapter 13. Other Interventions, Services, and Diets to Investigate . 173
Chapter 14. Spreading the Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Chapter 15. My Son Noah’s Story… In His Own Words . . . . . . . . 209
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
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c Acknowledgments C
I would like to thank my parents, Blanche and Arthur Silberberg, who
always believed that I could do anything that I wanted to do. To my beau-
tiful, bright, precious, and very special daughter, Annsley Bella, whose
smile, love, and encouragement always give me strength and provide me
with joy. To my incredible, bright son, Noah, for just being yourself, and
always shining and soaring above and beyond our expectations.
To my dear friend Mary Parker for showing me the inspiring maga-
zine article, so many years ago, that helped me to help Noah receive
his diagnosis, thus beginning our journey. To my uncle, Samuel Kohn,
for reading my manuscript and helping me to edit it. To my wonderful
agent, Neil Salkind, who believed in my passion and my message, who
put up with my millions of questions so happily, and who quickly found
me a publisher for this book.
To Julie, Melinda, Rachelle, Natalie, Joyce, Petra and Alex, Phyllis,
Saswati, and Emma for taking the time to put your wonderful success
stories into words for this book. To Alan Friedman, PhD, for your help
and guidance with information about your peptide research. To Heather
Gilliam, MPH, RD, for your dietary wisdom and words.
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viii | TheAutism&ADHDDiet
To Dave Morrison, PsyD; Gilit Gat, MA, ATR; Benjamin Kohn,
OD; and Diane Mautner, MA, CCC-SLP (author of Draw Me a Story),
for critiquing and assisting me with the therapy segments. To Shula
Edelkind and Jane Hersey of the Feingold Association for assisting me
in appropriately wording details of the Feingold Diet.
Tanks to Dave Morrison; Karima Hirani, MD, MPH; and all the
others who’ve written endorsements for my book. Tanks to Donna
Williams for writing the foreword and sharing with my readers about
your success with the GFCF diet. Tanks to my editor, Peter Lynch,
for all of his assistance and patience every step of the way. Tanks to
Stephen O’Rear, my production editor, for seeing my manuscript through
its journey.
Finally, to all of my friends who encouraged me, supported me, and
had faith in me, who knew that I could do it!
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c Foreword C
At six months old, my immune defciencies began to manifest them-
selves through persistent infections and jaundice. By age two, in 1965,
I drank bottles of (high salicylate) honey, cans of sweetened condensed
milk, ate orange jelly and white bread with colored sprinkles, appeared
deaf, showed no response to pain, and had self-injurious behaviors. A
three-day hospital observation resulted in the label “psychotic.” By the
’70s, I ate boxes full of chocolate cookies and colored popcorn and ate
favored fuoride toothpaste (which strips the lining of the gut) from
the tube. I was then labeled “disturbed.” By the ’90s I was diagnosed as
autistic with a language processing disorder.
Around age ten, in 1973, I was introduced to complete meals and my
three-year-old younger brother and I were put on zinc, vitamin C, and
a multivitamin-mineral. He went from having six poorly pronounced
words only understood at home to speaking in sentences two years later. I
went from having around 10 percent receptive language to understanding
half of most simple sentences and acquiring challenged-but-functional
speech by age eleven. At frst, I went and vomited my family’s socially-
invasive food, but then they hung a mirror on the living room wall and
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