FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK FACTSHEET
PLEASE DON’T FEED MY CHILD
Chris’s
mother had finally discovered that her son’s behaviour was related to what he
ate, but found she couldn’t keep Alex on his new diet without support at
school. So she decided to write a plea for help.
“I was a
bit scared to put it in the school newsletter as it was fairly honest and I did
feel exposed,” she said. She was surprised by the results. So many parents
congratulated her on the change in Chris, or reported when he was cheating, or
shared stories of their own children’s diet problems with her, that she decided
the risk of telling the story was outweighed by the benefits and has given
permission for her story to be quoted here in the hope that it will help
others. This is what Chris’s mother wrote for her school newsletter:
“You probably all know Christopher W (in Ms G’s class). He
tends to be a child that you can’t miss and who is very in your face. He also
tends to evoke strong emotional reactions – people either love him or hate him.
There isn’t much room for middle ground with Chris.
When Chris was born he was a big, boofy boy. For the first
six month of his life he was a placid, calm, happy child. At six months, he
changed to being very, very active, fidgety and demanding. Looking back at that
time, three things changed – he started long daycare, solids and formula. I
also remember very clearly that his face changed as big dark circles and
creases formed under his eyes. He was labelled ‘naughty, disruptive,
hyperactive and violent’ by daycare when he was only 10 months old. He was
walking at that stage and continued to escape from the childproof room, or to
snatch toys from non-mobile babies.
Since that time he has been variously diagnosed by health
professionals as having Tourette’s Syndrome, the hyperactive type of ADHD, Oppositional
Defiant Disorder and others. Whatever the term, the symptoms are the same,
including unmanageable behaviour, poor impulse control, loud voice, vocal tics,
word and phrase repetition and lack of empathy.
Coupled with the behaviour has also been a range of other
medical problems including croup, asthma, headaches and stomach aches,
unexplained temperatures and eczema. Chris also suffers from glue ear and for
the last four years has had grommets inserted every winter to enable him to
hear clearly. (As I know now, these are all indicative of food intolerance.)
Last year I took Christopher to a paediatrician, looking for
a solution to his constant illness rather than his behaviour. The doctor took
one look at him – he was making duck noises and running in circles around the
waiting room – and diagnosed food intolerances.
We went home with a complex list of foods to avoid. Although
his health improved, his behaviour seemed to become worse, as it always has in
summer. Just before Christmas, I found the
I switched the family to the RPA exclusion diet during the
holidays. Gradually, as we removed foods from the diet and found acceptable
replacements, Christopher’s behaviour improved. Living with him became easier,
there were less sibling fights, and when he did misbehave it was easy to use
normal parenting techniques to modify behaviour – something that had never
worked before.
By the end of the summer holidays, I finally had a calm,
reasonable, sensitive child, who was able to play at other children’s places
without causing mayhem, would look at people when talking, and would allow
other people to talk without interrupting. Amazingly, Chris was keen to stick
to the diet, having realised how good he felt.
First day back at school and I had lots of positive comments
about how calm or grown-up Christopher seemed. A good start to the year.
However, as I write this, I am back to having a child who runs around making
chicken noises, uses a loud voice, is prone to crying and is violent and
aggressive. What happened? He got to school and started to cheat. He ate
chocolate cake, m&m’s, muesli bars and lollies. For him, even the smallest
amount results in a reaction. It is like being on a trip – he can’t control his
behaviour, and trying to discipline him has no effect.
So what do I need, or more importantly, what does
Christopher need? He needs the support of the school community to assist him to
stay on his diet – he needs recognition for the fact that he does suffer from
food intolerances – he desperately wants to feel in control of his life, and he
likes feeling calm and relaxed, so please, please, please don’t feed my child,
or encourage him to cheat. It will now take at least a week, probably longer,
for him to come ‘down’ from this latest reaction.
I also want to let the community know that as part of this
elimination diet, he will be going through controlled challenges this year
where he will be tested for the effects of various food chemicals. This will
mean that he will have periods where he does react and his behaviour will deteriorate
again.
There are a number of children in our community who suffer
from food intolerances and allergies – each child has different requirements
and reactions, but all of them need our support.”
www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info
The information given is not intended as
medical advice. Always consult with your doctor for underlying illness. Before
beginning dietary investigation, consult a dietician with an interest in food
intolerance. You can find a supportive dietitian through the Dietitians
Association of
© Sue Dengate update
