I am Sean and Rory’s Mom. My name is Jennifer Becker and I have been cooking and working with the gluten and casein free diet for over five years now. It all started when I realized how nutrition and diet played a significant role in healing my son Sean’s autism.

As a baby, Sean was born with a compromised immune system, unbeknownst to his Dad and myself. We trusted our Pediatrician, who recommended many vaccinations at a very early stage of his development. Besides injecting live virus’ into his tiny body, he was injected with thimerisol/mercury in huge amounts which added to his dysfunctional immune system.

He would get monthly ear infections and be put on antibiotics, which added to his yeast overgrowth and contributed to his leaky gut. He was put on regular cow’s milk at age one and would only eat fried chicken nuggets, French fries, cheese crackers and yogurt and occasionally boxed mashed potatoes. Although Sean would get explosive diarreah, we were told this was “normal” eating for a toddler.

After more vaccinations, Sean’s language started to plateau. At 22 months of age, Sean began receiving speech therapy and occupational therapy through early intervention in our home. He was diagnosed with a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) at age two. Things were going very well until the tantrums. He became very moody, would wake up in the middle of the night screaming for hours. He was a very picky eater. His health was deteriorating. His occupational therapist (who happened to have celiac’s disease) recommended bringing Sean to a nutritionist.

Luckily we found D.A.N. (defeat autism now) Doctor, Nancy O’Hara and nutritionist, Vicki Kobliner. This is when I learned that many children today with PDD and autism have a somewhat gradual onset of these problems. The latest research is showing that there may be problems in the immune system, such as chronic allergies, and in the digestive system, such as chronic stool problems, in addition to the problems in the neurological system.

In the meantime, my second son, Rory, was born. Following the nutritionist’s advice, we decided to put both boys on the gluten and casein free diet. It was very stressfull at first, trying to figure out what foods they could or couldn’t eat. I truly believe that the diet, along with restricting environmental toxins as much as possible saved Rory from developing along the autistic spectrum.

As for Sean, he is my angel, sent to me from God. He is not recovered………yet. But I am forever hopeful and I am happy that he is definitely at a better place than he would have been without this diet. He doesn’t have diarreah or constipation anymore. He’s able to focus and learn. He doesn’t have a problem with loud noises or transitioning and sleeps peacefully all night.

However, I am always reinventing Sean’s food. When he cries, or gets headaches or is easily frustrated, it’s time to look at his diet. He first started gluten and casein free foods, then soy free, then egg free and corn free and potato free and even rice free. As his stomach heals he is able to eat more foods. I rotate all his foods (meats, fruits, veggies, flours, nuts, etc.) into a 3 day plan. This helps avoid inflammation.

In addition to discovering that the right diet was critical in maintaining Sean’s health; we also found that incorporating a cellular detoxification program into his regiment enabled his body to maximize its nutritional value. As his body safely removed the toxins, he was then able to properly break-down and utilize the foods to his benefit. This was apparent in his increased growth, muscle mass, weight gain and general well-being. “ Thank you Mary Coyle for helping us through this part and forever explaining this process to us. You are an absolutely amazing Mom and we are all lucky to have you to help our kids get better!”

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