Hi,
I'm a psychologist and have been on a GFCF diet for some time now myself! At the age of 2 some children's taste buds are very sensitive to certain vegetables so that might be one of the reasons why she avoids those kind of foods.
The most important thing to remember in adopting a new diet is that it is a lifestyle change and should be taken one step at a time. Donna Williams has written a few books about her own experiences as a person with ASD, I worked with her a few years back and she said the salicylic acid exclusion diet (mentioned below) worked well for her. It might be useful to take a look at one of her books.
This blog covers nutrient high foods, this particular post (below) focuses on the problems she's been having with her toddler and the steps she went to resolve them.
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2009/04/the-food-and-behavior-connection-with-children-with-a-personal-update.html
Exclusion diets
The gluten free/casein free diet has been found to be particularly useful with people with ASD. This diet is generally a selection of products which are:
* gluten free, one of the proteins found in wheat, oats, rye and barley
* casein free, a protein found in mammals milk
* aspartame free, artificial sweetener
* MSG free. Mono-sodium glutamate, a flavour enhancer
You probably already know this, but I've included it just in case you didn't know about the last two.
This site (below) offers advice for people new to the "allergy" diets, specifically bringing attention to the other names that bad ingredients would go under. As it focuses on allergies it makes no mention of behavioural symptoms.
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/allergieshic_special_diets_for_food_allergies.aspx
Some people with ASD cannot tolerate certain fruits, yeast, sugar, nitrates, high salicylic acid and phenols. The following list is from the cleveland clinic link (above), foods containing salicylic acid include:
Fruits such as apples, avocados, blueberries, dates, kiwi fruit, peaches, raspberries, figs, grapes, plums, strawberries, cherries, grapefruit and prunes
Vegetables such as alfalfa, cauliflower, mushrooms, radishes, broad beans, eggplant, spinach, zucchini, broccoli and peppers
Herbs, spices and condiments such as dry spices and powders, tomato pastes and sauces, vinegar and soy sauce
Beverages such as instant coffee, wine, orange juice, apple cider, regular and herbal tea, beer, rum and sherry
Nuts such as pine nuts, peanuts, pistachios and almonds
Some candies, such as peppermints, licorice and mint-flavored gum and breath mints
It's a good idea to look on the site and familiarise yourself with the products (this list includes packaged foods, medicine, toiletries and cosmetics) that might contain the salicylate compound and ingredient names to look for.
It sounds like a lot and in most cases only certain foods will worsen her ASD symptoms if the salicylate compound is an issue and if ASD is what you're dealing with. A colleague of mine suggests using GFCF organic babyfoods to wean children into this diet. Alternatively, it might be worth booking an appointment with a nutritionist to help you in structuring a diet for her?
When you see GF, dairy free and sugar free chocolate do you mean dark chocolate with artificial sweeteners or agave nectar?
I really hope this helps!
All the best,
Leila
