If you notice your child acting unresponsive to her name right away, self-absorbed, or fixated on little things, or if she demonstrates extended tantrums, or acts out at home or in class, she could be diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s Syndrome or ADHD. ADHD stands for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

ADHD and Asperger’s Syndrome are classified as higher-functioning forms of Autism. These symptoms are, in some cases, manifested by a slow-acting, or delayed reaction food allergy. It’s hard to believe that simple food allergy could be the cause of a child’s non-responsiveness or acting out in school, but true.

Children with food allergies can be gentle and alert in one moment, or burst out with “wild monkey” behavior in the next. Other symptoms of food allergy are red earlobes, circles under their eyes, or that glazed-over look after certain meals. They could simply be victims of their own gastrointestinal system which lacks the correct enzymes for breaking down certain food. This will cause an allergic reaction that can cause their mood to change, or their perception of their surroundings. What makes this allergy reaction so hard to nail down is that it could be a delayed reaction; only taking hold on the child days later from the time she ingested the culprit food.

This kind of food allergy is called a delayed, or IgG-mediated food allergy, which is actually a delayed immune reaction to food. This kind of reaction can occur anywhere from a few hours to a few days after exposure to the reactive foods. Even more complicated is the fact that not one single food might trigger the effect. It could easily be a variety of foods. The child might even crave or demand the very foods that she is allergic to; strange but true.

A food allergy may only manifest once a certain threshold has been passed. A child can eat ice cream one week, and small amounts of bread every day, but once the family eats a giant pasta meal and the school lunch serves ice cream, and she eats muffins for breakfast, she’s past her threshold limit and will hit the ceiling within three days, having some catastrophic reaction that is really just an indication of her system trying to overcome the number of toxins it has been bombarded with lately.

Take extra time and patience to judge the results of a food elimination diet. See about having your child’s blood tested for Food Allergy. Try to start as soon as possible. The earlier you can diagnose this condition means better results and an easier life ahead.

ADHD or Autism is really a lifetime of effort for you, your child, and your family.