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Undiagnosed

Dear Drs,

My daughter is two. She has been labeled developmentally delayed and deals with what our Neurologist calls "Severe Myoclonic Epilepsy" She is on Trileptal for that. She has had surgery for Strabismus (when she was 9 months) and we have to patch her strong eye 4 hours a day. Weekly, she has PT, OT and Speech therapy.

She makes great eye contact, but we can't figure out what she actually understands. At this point, she is making sounds, but nothing seem purposeful. She is about a year behind with regard to purposful play, appropriate interaction, and language.

Our main concern at this point is her agressive behavior. She pulls hair, grabs forcefully at my neck and face. When we try to discipline (and we've tried EVERYTHING) she doesn't doesn't respond. She just grabs harder and longer...it's extremely painful and very upsetting...especially in public. She also bangs her head and pulls her own hair out...which I believe is frustration over lack of communication.

I have heard that sometimes gluten-free casein-free diets can alter behavior, but I don't know who to talk to about initiating this diet. Do you have ANY suggestions?? I may not have provided enough information, but that is a brief oversight.
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Avatar universal
Make sure that your toddler's hearing is tested by the experts. Maybe she can not heat that is why she is not speaking.
Helpful - 0
242606 tn?1243782648
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Before instituting any particular diet, be sure to confer with her pediatrician and with a nutritionist. Be aware that there is a paucity of research documenting the benefit of such a diet when it is instituted for conditions involving emotions and behavior (vs, for example, peole with celiac disease). One double blind study showed no effectiveness; a small single blind study showed some effectiveness re: autictic behaviors. You will not find unequivocal support for such a diet.
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