Gluten Free Casein Free (GFCF)

Gluten Free Casein Free (GFCF) is an elimination diet of gluten (found in wheat flour, barely, and rye) and casein (found in milk and dairy products).  In some cases children with autism are sensitive or allergic to foods containing dairy (casein) and gluten and may experience behavioral issues such as, hyperactivity, temper tantrums, problems with eye contact, and speech skills.  It is believed that some of these behaviors are reactions to the discomfort of digestive problems due to gluten and casein. The GFCF diet has reported improvement in children’s behavior, social, speeches and learning skills.  If you notice some of the symptoms mentioned above, you should seek advice from your doctor about starting a GFCF diet.

Related Sites

http://www.gfcfdiet.com/  This website is a free resource to help parents and caregivers implement the GFCF diet properly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpR_0_O0xT4   A five minute video by Dr. Vikki Petersen presenting a study done on GFCF diet with children on the Autism Spectrum and the impact it had on their health.
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/gluten-free-casein-free-diets-for-autism   Article describing the GFCF diet and how it works.

Books

The Autism Cookbook: 101 Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes by Susan Delaine.
Description:  Besides GFCF, recipes are free of rice, egg, soy, nuts and fish. Easy to prepare recipes for sesame-ginger chicken, Asian noodles, chili and chicken enchiladas. Though it has some baked goods, it does best with family dinner recipes.

Special Diets for Special Kids, Volumes 1 and 2 Combined by Lisa Lewis Ph.D. and Dr. Bernard Rimland.
Description:  Combines two of her popular and pioneering books on the GFCF diet into one new volume, while adding more than 200 updated recipes and information on the diet's "positive effects" for kids with autism, ADHD, allergies and Celiac Disease. Our favorites: recipes for blueberry muffins, chicken nuggets and mock macaroni and "cheese."

The Autism and ADHD Diet: A Step-by-Step Guide to Hope and Healing by Living Gluten Free and Casein Free (GFCF) and Other Interventions by Barrie Silberberg.
Description:  A complete guide to the GFCF Diet. Barrie Silberberg, a mother who honed her skills using the GFCF Diet with her son who was diagnosed with ASD, gives you everything you need to know to put the diet into action with your child.

Tools

2014/2015 Gluten/Casein Free Grocery Shopping Guide by Dr. Mara Matison and Mr. Dainis Matison.  Finding products that are both gluten-free and casein-free doesn't have to be a hassle anymore. Thanks to the Gluten/Casein-Free Grocery Shopping Guide, you won't have to spend hours looking at nutrition labels or calling food manufacturers any longer. Instead, you can take this handy guide, which fits easily inside your purse on your trips to the grocery store.  It contains listings for over 25,000 food and drink items which are entirely free of casein and gluten. Major food brands like Heinz, General Mills, Del Monte and Frito Lay are all included. Items from your local supermarket chains, like Kroger, Wal-Mart, Wegmans, and Publix are listed as well. Thanks to this handy, compact guidebook, you'll be able to quickly look up the information you need within seconds.

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/09/gluten-free-casein-free-recipe-index.html  This website has a variety of gluten and dairy free recipes.

http://www.childrensmn.org/manuals/pfs/nutr/126098.pdf  This article, presented by the Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota, provides a brief overview of the GFCF diet in addition to a list of gluten and casein foods to avoid.  (Note:  This is a pdf file and will be downloaded to your computer when clicked.)

Parent Forums

(Some forums require you to sign in to Yahoo or Facebook to locate forum names.)
Forum Name:  GFCF Community Bulletin Board
http://www.gfcfdiet.com/communitybulletinboard.htm   You may click on your state and find support groups of parents implementing a GFCF diet.