I think something is wrong.....

[newmomma26]

My sister-in-law has a son who will be three this December.  I have a daughter who is only 3 months younger than him.  My daughter has been speaking in sentences and playing imaginary games with older toddlers for a year now.  I realize that all kids develop at a different pace, but I also have a daughter who will be 1 in two weeks, and she is already saying more words than my nephew and is more social when playing in a group.  My nephew attempts to say momma and dada, but I still can't understand him.  He has a word for his brother; it sounds like "bri bri"  and as far as I know, that's about all he says.  He sits by himself and does things in a repetitive manner, although he is very loving and likes to get attention.  I've asked my sister-in-law if maybe it was his hearing, not wanting to alarm her or seem rude, and she said she probably needed to take him to get it checked.... but that was months ago!  Even my mother-in-law has said my 1-yr old will probably be talking before my nephew.  Does that seem odd to anyone else?  I wonder what, if anything, I can do to help my nephew, without making my sister-in-law and mother-in-law hate me.

[888mom]

speech delays don't necessarily mean autism.  They can mean hearing loss, verbal apraxia, language processing disorders, and probably a whole lot of other things a speech pathologist could diagnose/figure out.  My sister was about 3 1/2 when she started speech therapy (she's an adult now).  I guess back then, they didn't do early intervention before about 3 or 4, like they do nowadays in the Birth to 3 programs.  But, anyways, figuring out if there are issues would be a good step.  Starting therapy at an earlier age generally helps children progress a little faster, and by the time they hit school, they will have worked through some of those speech issues.   In the U.S. there are usually developmental preschools, through the public school system, to help with speech delays.  If your child is under 3, you can go through the Birth to 3 program and they transition you to the school system.  After age 3, you have to contact the school system  yourself, I believe.  The pediatrician's office should have contact information or be able to point your sister-in-law in the right direction.

Ruling out hearing issues is generally done, as well.  We did that for my daughter.  We ended up having to have her have a sedated hearing test because she freaked out in the room for the regular one.  But, most kids do okay in the regular test (she hates closed doors and they wouldn't let her take the test with the door open for some reason).

[Eldermom]

Dairy products especially casein shuts down the speech center of the brain.It is worth it to try a completely dairy free diet. Read all labels for milk, casein, whey, butter ingredients. It will take 3 to 6 months to see results.  Once the child is speaking clearly, and someone feeds him dairy products/ingredients it will only take 4-7days for the speech to become garbled and then disappear again. Putting him back on the diet will again take 3 months or more to clear the speech. Should this prove to be true for this child I would also recommend going gluten free, too. Have patience!

Eldermom

[888mom]

I was advised with my daughter to get her tested for milk allergy, casein sensitivity before changing her diet (although I did temporarily change it and had problems getting her to eat anything so I talked to her pediatrician and that's why they tested her... got a big lecture on not goign to the pediatrician first before doing anything).  Her developmental pediatrician who diagnosed her with PDD also cautioned me against changing diet with consulting a doctor first.  Also had her tested for wheat sensitivities.  Many autistic children will have these sensitivities and will be helped by these diets.  But NOT ALL are helped by it.  Also with autistic children having limited diets, making sure they get the right nutrition is important.  If you want to stop milk/casein, I think you soy milk is an option (does goat's milk have casein in it?).  One of my nieces has a milk intolerance and has switched to soy.  I myself found I have a wheat sensitivity and probably have had problems my whole life.  I try to limit my gluten amounts when possible.  My health has improved significatnly.  I also am diabetic, so that is a good thing for me to avoid anyways... I try to eat bread that is sprouted grain bread.  I don't think it is entirely gluten free, but it is made out of the sprouted grains and is not processed (it's how they ate bread thousands of years ago).  I did find out my daughter was allergic to eggs.  Having her have a diet free of egg products (eggs are used in muffins and some breads and desserts like cookies and lots of baked goods and some boxed ingredient things and some things like lasagna).  Anyways, I noticed improvement with her after removing eggs completely from her diet.  I also found out she had a slight allergy to soy... so I am not switching her to soy milk, so I am leaving her on regular organic milk.  The doctors did make sense though, saying that if there is not an allergy or sensitivity, then it wouldn't help, whereas it would help if there was one.  Now, if I switched her diet without checkign with the pediatrician first and having her tested for things... I might have switched her to soy milk and made things worse since she actually has a slight allergy to soy!  Also helped finding out the egg allergy thing.  :)

[888mom]

Can you give some web links that show studies about casein shutting speech center of the brain down?  I am curious to read about it.

[newmomma26]

I found this on thedietchannel.com:  

The allergy-autism connection

A number of medical research studies reveal the possible association of certain food allergens such as wheat and casein with increased levels of immunological antibodies in autistic children. Some research suggests that components of foods called “opioids” act as toxins in many autistics and disrupt their central nervous system functioning. High levels of wheat and casein antigens (i.e. substances that stimulate an immune response) markedly affect neurological functioning and behavior. Such allergenic foods may also promote digestive problems in children including diarrhea, constipation and vomiting. Diet therapy to ameliorate autistic symptoms generally involves eliminating gluten (a protein in wheat products) and casein.

I also found information indicating that dairy allergies lead to frequent ear infections, and when these occur at an early age, it can lead to speech delays.  However, I was unable to find any information indicating dairy products affect a person's speech center of the brain.

[MJIthewriter]

The evidence you presented I've seen on various sites, but I agree that I have yet to see Eldermom's claim that the speech center is shut down...

I also read something interesting on an allergy site about the different type of reactions such as the typical IgE allergy and then two different intolerance allergies.

The site claimed that if you have an IgE reaction, you can't have an intolerance type reaction to the same thing... I don't know how true that is or not, but I found it interesting because wheat tested positive as a #2 on the scale when I went to an allergist, had the back scratch test done...

So makes me wonder if I would be gluten intolerant if I have an actual allergy?  I eat wheat, but I have over the years considerably cut back... I used to eat bread like an addiction, but after getting enough "wonder" bread, lost its appeal...  I guess I tasted more of the processing and chemical additives which turned me off....

Milk no allergy, but I've never been fond of drinking it.... Goat milk though I have an allergy to... I don't drink stuff that comes from animals... tastes to me like the smell of "wet dog" or murky... ick...

I find that an interesting juxtaposition... Because according to sites that support the opoid theory, I should have loved milk and been drinking it like crazy...  I don't ever remember really enjoying it. In fact I always had to have it flavored with either strawberry or chocolate if I wanted to drink it... My parents practically had to force me to drink it by begging and insisting my bones would get weak without drinking it...

I will eat cheese, ice cream, and yogurt though... Those I will eat as long as the milk flavor is well masked by flavoring. Once ice cream melts, then it's ick to me...  I like to eat spicy cheese if I eat cheese.  I have recently cut down on cheese but still eat ice cream from time to time.  I think if I have an intolerance it may be more in the lines of lactose intolerance... I am trying to keep note whether I have worse days eating cheese/dairy than if I don't to see if I have an intolerance to Casein or not...

The ear infections thing is interesting... I too had a huge number of ear infections. I don't know if this is a common occurrence with all children or just autistic children.  That's something that needs to be looked into. My doctors don't seem to think I get ear infections much anymore...

[Eldermom]

Since I am an" elder "  mom  I observed the effects of dairy on my son's nervous system long before there was any info out there on GF/CF diet. So my statements are by observation--anecdotal if you will. However , once when a speech therapist thought she was the instrument of my son's speech success , I said , "watch me turn it off. " She was amazed at what dairy could do in a day or two. .. and the time it took to bring it back.    I belonged to a support group and other mothers of autistic nonverbal children thought I was crazy til they tried a dairy free diet and found that their childern could speak. They also gave back dairy just to prove to themselves how fast speech would disappear and how long it took to get it back. They were grateful for my experience. We are now also gluten free, and using a low sugar and low oxalate diet. All my son's allergies affect his CNS and result in behaviors. He does not react as most do with a respiratory response.
Eldermom