Pam P., from EEAC's PEP list, posted the following a while back about her success with gluten-free eating and her children, who have all been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Related disorders. I found it really interesting because I happen to be gluten intolerant myself (only recently discovered and diagnosed and I also have along family history of alcoholism on both sides of my family.

This isn't really the place for me to get into the whole gluten intolerance thing, but let's just say that this treatment seems completely plausible to me. For people who are sensitive, following the diet can help in more ways than just clearing up intestinal difficulties.

Here's what Pam said:

Many of us who have kids impacted by alcohol have found that it [the gluten free diet] has an incredibly positive impact. It is an incredible pain -- at least at first -- and you need to be 100% certain that you are eliminating every source of gluten and casein (there are lots of hidden soures, like soy sauce!). But it's fairly non-invasive, and three weeks or so should give you a sense of whether it helps, before moving on to meds or other treatments.

The below link is to an article by Diane Black, the woman who first put me on to the diet (we were both living in Scandinavia at the time), it gives more
background plus some diet tips: http://www.come-over.to/FAS/FASDnutrition.htm

Interestingly, all four of our FAS children (her three plus my daughter)tested positive to a test run to detect this condition at the University of Oslo.

My daughter herself was initially diagnosed by Dr. Albers with ARND almost exactly five years ago, when she was 19 months old; and also because now, at age 6 1/2, she is starting to infract on her diet for the first time because she hates being "different." And when she infracts -- eats gluten or casein products, like cookies from a friend's lunch -- she really becomes a child that I dislike being around! The personality change is quite striking, she begins acting like a kid with RAD, ADHD, even bipolar disorder (lying, stealing, "no conscience," violent fantasies, abusing her beloved cat, the works). When I can control her diet 100% (such as during school vacations) she's back to her normal sunny, cheerful, helpful self that I've known and loved for these five years. Even her teachers, who at first were very sceptical of all this "diet stuff," have noticed the difference and we're moving towards perhaps even getting her an IEP to ensure she doesn't have the chance to infract during school hours (she has no need for one otherwise, academically she's way ahead of her peers and while a bit immature socially she's holding her own)."

to be continued...