Treats cater to autistic

Downtown Aiken shops give children on restricted diets alternative goodies to celebrate Halloween
Web posted Wednesday, November 1, 2000

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By Greg Rickabaugh
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN - Taking autistic children trick-or-treating on Halloween is like taking candy from a baby.

Dustin Stout, 3, peers into the candy basket at Tea Garden Gifts on Laurens Street in Aiken, where his parents, Chuck and Denice Stout, took him and his sister, Ashley (left), 5, trick-or-treating Tuesday. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

These special-needs children react negatively to wheat and dairy products, and many of their parents are learning about the positive effects of eliminating the foods from their children's diets.

The special diets make Halloween a challenge for parents such as Denice Stout, whose 3-year-old son, Dustin, is autistic. She was one of many parents taking advantage of a special Halloween in downtown Aiken on Tuesday afternoon, where some businesses offered alternative treats for children on wheat- and dairy-free diets.

``Doing a gluten-, casein-free Halloween is a huge thing because, basically, if I went around the neighborhood, I would have to take everything he got and give it to my daughter,'' Mrs. Stout said, laughing. ``He wouldn't be able to have any of it.''

At businesses such as Tea Garden Gifts on Laurens Street, traditional Halloween candy was in abundance. But autistic children received Halloween stickers and paint sets.

Rebecca Sherard Winans of Aiken, who has an autistic child, helped arrange the special Halloween treats, talking to Aiken businesses about the need for alternatives during the traditional Halloween event, which is sponsored by the Aiken Downtown Development Association.

All children were invited, but businesses offering alternative treats put banners on windows or doors to let families know.

Autism occurs in young children before the age of 3 and is characterized by unresponsiveness to human contact, deficits in language development and bizarre responses to environmental stimuli.

Various ghouls, goblins, teddy bears and cartoon characters trick-or-treat their way through the downtown business district in Aiken. JONATHAN ERNST/STAFF

Ms. Winans said autistic children tend to have sensitivities to proteins in wheat and dairy foods. The protein in wheat is gluten, and the protein in dairy is casein.

In autistic children, proteins cross the blood brain barrier, causing multiple problems with sensory integration, hyperactivity, diarrhea, constipation, loss of eye contact, language and social behaviors. Avoiding these foods can greatly improve these conditions.

That was the case for Dustin, who barely said a word for the first 2´ years of his life. He simply grunted and whined, Mrs. Stout said.

Dustin started the gluten- and casein-free diet in February. Within two weeks, the word ``waffle'' popped out of his mouth. Since then, he has said 20 to 30 other words and made tremendous progress overall.

``It was very significant for us because he was, basically, totally nonverbal,'' Mrs. Stout said.

Reach Greg Rickabaugh at (803) 279-6895.

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