Taking away milk from non-autistic child with speech delay

[Anonymous]

We just saw Dr. Layton in Towson and are taking away cow's milk from the diet of our son with speech delay. He is not autistic and we are not going with the entire CFGF diet just the milk itself is being taken away and then we adding some additional supplements which will increase over time. Has anyone had any experience with this type of biomedical therapy for a child who is not autistic?

[Anonymous]

I don't have experience, but have heard of people talking that there might be a link between food intolerance and speech delay. I personally don't understand the connection, but maybe there's something you can google. Did the doctor explain the rationale to you? If not, I think I'd call him back and try to get clarification about that.

[Anonymous]

I'm completely chuckling. My now-five year old (today!) son with oral apraxia has refused to drink milk since the day he turned three. He used to drink upwards of 30 oz a day and then quit cold turkey one day (he was sick and refused to drink his milk) and never went back.

Maybe he knows something I don't? He has made great progress in those two years...going from being totally non-verbal to never shutting up. Maybe it's connected?? That would be the ultimate irony, given how much effort I have gone through to try to get him to drink it...

[Anonymous]

So what do you give in place of milk? Just curious what the dr recommended. My son loves milk and has some sensory issues. I've read that sometimes kids crave the foods they shouldn't be consuming.

[Anonymous]

We took away milk from my non-autistic son about 1 1/2 years ago at the suggestion of a pediatric immunologist because even though he did not have a milk allergy the immunologist said that in some pre-age 8 kids milk invokes a reaction that can overwhelm the sinuses, throat, ears, etc. That is exactly what was happening with my son. We stopped milk and the mucous reaction immediately stopped (does your son sneeze alot or always seem to have a runny nose?). His speech, which always sounded a bit stuffy with odd vowel sounds, cleared up. His sleeping improved immensely and he woke up refreshed instead of cranky. It was not as hard an adjustment to not having milk as you would think. We have managed just fine. Sounds like this could be what your son has. The difference was overwhelming and nearly immediate as soon as we stopped all milk. HTH

[Anonymous]

does anyone have any recommendations for alternative type of milk besides lactose free or soymilk that still has the calcium benefit?

[Anonymous]

Rice milk is fortified with calcium and vitamin D, but is VERY watery. We've heard that almond milk has more substance to it, but I haven't been able to find one with calcium and vitamin D.

[Anonymous]

We took milk away from our non-autistic child at age 5 (minor speech issue), and the difference was immediate. Our child was much more focused, speech clearer, better sleep, easier to manage, no more tantrums. We later discovered our child is allergic to milk.

Children don't need milk, they need calcium. Get some calcium powder from Whole Foods or a health food store, and put it in baked goods, juice and smoothies, for starters. My child drinks Trader Joe's organic rice milk, which is calcium-fortified and does not have carrageenan (a thickener found in most other milks).

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP 15:00. Did you take away all dairy or just milk?

[Anonymous]

17:34 it has nothing to do with the lactose in milk, which is sugar. The problem is generally the protein in the milk, which is still present in lactose free milk. Lactose issues can cause bloating and gas.

One sub that we use is calcium fortified OJ, another is Living Harvest brand hemp milk from Whole Foods - it has a good amount of protein, calcium, D and omegas. It tastes a lot like soymilk and works well for cooking, rice milk is very watery. I know that some people also remove soy. It's just important with really little kids (esp. under 2) to make sure that the fat and protein of the whole milk is replaced elsewhere in the diet.

[Anonymous]

15:00 here. We took away all dairy (except eggs). There's no substitute for cheese, but you can substitute sorbet for ice cream with little difficulty. We eventually took away soy too, because most kids with milk allergy also react to soy.

It's a good suggestion to replace the fat and protein elsewhere in your child's diet. We give fish oil and cod liver oil (Carlson's or Nordic Naturals -- at WF and health food stores) and have meat or eggs with nearly every meal. Our DC is also allergic to egg whites, so we only give DC egg yolks.

[Anonymous]

My son is 3 and a half. He has a severe speech delay. He was also born with cleft lip and a missing kidney. He has a extreme allergy to milk and any milk products. However we have had him on soy milk since he was a couple of months old. Resently we took him off that as well. He does seem to be getting better in his speech development. I do know he had a problem with drooling and his speech therapist told me to cut back on the high sugared soy milk he was on and that problem went away almost immediatly.
We are now thinking of taking him off of gluten and see how he does. Anymore recommendations are welcome.

[Anonymous]

Can someone point me to the citation connecting casein and speech delay?

And, is the speech issue an ideo/motor dyspraxia or something more like a muscle/hypotonia thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what do you give in place of milk? Just curious what the dr recommended. My son loves milk and has some sensory issues. I've read that sometimes kids crave the foods they shouldn't be consuming.

My son drink light Soy milk!

[Anonymous]

I find this very interesting. My 3 year old son who receives speech therapy twice a week absolutely loves milk-in fact he would drink it all day instead of eating. He has had the battery of allergy tests and we have never found a dairy allergy. He had a constant runny nose for for two years straight which has finally cleared up with nasal steroids but I'm wondering if we're merely treating the symptoms. He does have a mold allergy. Did your children test positive for milk allergies?