The GFCF Diet is a diet which entirely eliminates intake of the naturally-occurring proteins gluten (found in wheat, barley, rye, triticale, malt, spelt, oats, kamut, whole meal flour, semolina, bulgur, couscous, wheat berries, groats), and casein (found in 75% of milk proteins). Gluten is commonly found in breads, pastas, crackers, cookies, cakes, and cereals. Casein, on the other hand, is found in milk products such as buttermilk, evaporated milk, yogurt, cream cheese, ice cream, and butter.

It has been established by professionals that a majority of children within the Autism Spectrum have "leaky guts" or damaged intestines, as well as many food intolerances and sensitivities. This condition is believed to have been likely caused by excess use of antibiotics, yeast overgrowth, immunization, genetic predisposition and environmental toxins. In addition to this, many children in the spectrum suffer from Celiac disease, a medical disorder in which gluten cannot be tolerated.

Because of the "leaky gut", food containing gluten and casein are not properly broken down in the digestive system so they enter into the blood through perforations in the lining of the intestines. This situation causes an opiate or drug-like effect and has shown to react with areas of the brain such as the temporal lobes.

For many years the Autism Research Institute (http://www.autism.com) has kept track of parent-recorded responses of their autistic child to special diets. According to the February 2006 ARI Publication, 50% of the children improved by avoiding milk products (based on 5,847 responses); 49% improved with avoidance of wheat (3,367 responses); and 65% improved on a gluten-free and casein-free diet (1,818 responses).

Other reports on the effectiveness of the GFCF diet come overwhelmingly from testimonials of individual parents or teachers and studies conducted by Defeat Autism Now! (DAN) medical practitioners. Reported results range from reports that the diet has no discernible effect to claims of complete recovery following implementation of a gluten-free casein-free regimen. A more common report suggests that removing casein and gluten from an autistic child's diet increases eye contact, attention span, and general mood while decreasing problems like tantrums, self-stimulatory behavior or stimming (such as hand-flapping and rocking), and aggression.

1. Introduce foods that have no gluten or casein before starting the diet. Serve fruits and vegetables at every meal. Use a favored food item as an incentive to get your child to eat a new dish. Wait for two days to observe any physical reactions in your child to the new food. If there's no reaction, continue giving it, but if yes, stop.
2. Take away one food at a time. Eliminate milk first, butter next, then ice cream, and so on until all dairy products are out.
3. Adopt the GFCF diet one meal at a time. Start with snacks. When your child is successfully eating gluten-free and casein-free snacks, try it for breakfast, then lunch, and finally dinner.
4. Monitor your child closely for any physical reaction (rashes, hyperactivity, etc.) to every food that you add even if it doesn't contain gluten or casein. Observe as well for any reactions when you take away food. These reactions may just be withdrawal symptoms which last 2 weeks. For some kids, things may get worse before they get better. If your child responds positively to the GF-CF diet, continue with it.
5. If you are having difficulty implementing the GFCF Diet, it would be good to consult a dietician or a nutritionist.