Discover how to improve behaviour and concentration for kids on the spectrum

Hi my name is Sharon and I just wanted to share with you how we were able to improve my son's executive functioning and concentration as well as reduce his ADHD and Asperger behaviour when he was young.

He was diagnosed at 5 with ADHD, then at 6 with Asperger's Syndrome. He was mainly affected by low executive functioning, poor concentration and social deficits.

When he was diagnosed, we decided not to medicate (he was a really happy easy-going kid) and to go down the Biomedical path. This incorporates diet and targeted supplements. So in this article I just want to tell you about my sons’ reactions to dairy and gluten in particular.

When our son was born, he did not feel pain which made him a very happy baby who rarely cried. At that time, we were unaware of this, we just thought we were lucky and had the perfect baby. So, all through his younger years he rarely cried, which makes what happened when we trialled A2 milk quite significant.

I knew it was the casein (protein) in milk that exacerbated his ADHD/Asperger's traits but when the A2 milk came out it was touted not to have that specific protein. So, I thought we would trial it. My son was about 8 years old at the time. He was so happy that I allowed him to have as much as he wanted-he probably had 2 cups a day. But by day 3 he was a miserable and blubbering mess. This just wasn’t like him at all, and I will never forget him looking up at me through his tear-filled eyes asking, “what is wrong with me?” and I said "I don’t know. Maybe it’s the milk?" Well, that was it, he made the decision not to touch another drop of that milk and he soon returned back to his happy self.

A few years later I had given in a little on the ‘no gluten’ rule and was giving him rye bread sandwiches for school. But he was really struggling at school, and he was about to start high school. I didn't think he was ready for high school and wouldn't be able to cope. So, I decided during the school holidays to stop the rye bread and be strictly gluten free.

Well, he became very unwell. He was really out of sorts, and extremely pale with huge black rings under his eyes. I was so worried that I had made him worse! But then 2 ½ weeks later he just 'woke up'. It was as if a light switch turned on in his brain and he was ‘back’. He was a totally different kid and able to concentrate much better. His Asperger traits also reduced significantly.

So, he remained gluten and dairy free and started high school. There were 100 kids in year 7 and by the end of the year he was awarded the most academically improved certificate. His science teacher from year 6 (who also taught year 7) said to me she was so worried about him starting high school. She said he was this ‘strange little kid who just sat with his head on the desk during class’. (Hearing that made me a little sad as I knew he only ever laid his head down when he was sad but was unable to express it).

So, what happened? Well dairy has beta-casomorphin and gluten is also broken down to gluten exorphins. If the child has a leaky gut these peptides can escape into the bloodstream and go to the brain. Both these peptides have an opioid effect as they have a similar molecular structure to opiate and sit in the opiate receptor sites within the brain.

So when my son had either of these, he was essentially ‘high’ or ‘tripping’ and when they were withdrawn he actually experienced morphine or opioid withdrawals. This is how significantly he was affected. The ‘highs’ made him spacey and unable to concentrate as well as exacerbating his Asperger traits. Casomorphin tended to make him high then quite depressed after a few days while gluten exorphins can affect him for up to 2 weeks and takes longer to get out of the system.

When my son is off both gluten and dairy, a stranger could not tell that he has Asperger's, and it definitely improves his executive functioning, concentration and social skills.

The reason I am sharing this is because, out of all the many therapies we tried, cutting out dairy and gluten were the most effective. Due to their opioid effect, they are also very addictive. So, if you have a kid on the spectrum and they just LOVE their milk or bread, that is a clue they are likely affected, and you may be able to improve their behaviours and ability to concentrate simply by cutting them out.

If you want to try this, I would suggest you taper milk down and mix with some other milk such as almond or rice milk over a period of a month or more and be prepared for the withdrawals (and tantrums).

Gluten is easier to substitute but it may seem your child will get worse before they get better. But it is worth giving this a try, especially when this is a relatively inexpensive therapy that could make a huge difference to your child’s concentration and behaviour.