Welcome
Welcome to the second addition of The Parents' Place sponsored by The Therapy Place staff. It is our hope to provide you with information regarding community events, helpful books and articles, clinic in-services, new equipment, home activities, creative parent ideas, and support for some of life's challenges. We welcome your input on topics you would like to see, strategies that have helped your child for things such as riding a bike or going to the dentist, recipes your kids love to eat or play with, or if you have information about upcoming events in your community, please pass them on so that we may share them with other parents. Our e-mail address is info@thetherapyplace.net. We look forward to hearing from you!

Editors: Brea Maday and Andrea Malecha

Gluten Free Casein Free Diets
Food allergies are becoming more and more common. Many children within the autism spectrum have food allergies, most often to gluten and casein. Gluten is the protein found in wheat, oats, barley, rye and triticale. Casein is the protein found cow’s milk. Children with these types of allergies often crave foods that contain them. It is hypothesized that the allergic reaction to these proteins can cause inflammation of the stomach lining which increases its permeability. This reaction can cause behavioral and gastrointestinal problems.

Removing gluten and casein from your child's diet can be challenging, but is not impossible. There are many books and web sites available to help you get started and stay on the diet. Some books that are helpful include:

Special Diets for Special Kids, Understanding and Implementing Special Diets to Aid in the Treatment of Autism and Related Developmental Disorders by Lisa Lewis, Ph.D.
This is book is written by a mother of a child with autism and food allergies. It is reader-friendly and included easy to make recipes. It also includes guides to help you learn different foods and additives gluten and casein can be "hidden" in. This book also describes the different types of symptoms your child may exhibit.

Successful Diet Intervention For Autism and PDD, Gluten Free Casein Free This is a 3-ring binder filled with helpful information including basic information about gluten free casein free diets, shopping list help, sample menus, recipes, and tips from other gluten free casein free parents. It is available on gfcfdiet.com

Is This Your Child? Discovering and Treating Unrecognized Allergies in Children and Adults, Doris Rapp, M.D.
This is an in depth book that looks at food allergies and behavioral manifestations of them. It provides helpful information on how to get started on a rotation diet and provides case studies of children with different allergies.