Gluten-Free Casein Free Diet Research

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

Seeing that we are continually gaining new members, I am re-posting a previous

message regarding research. To those of you who have received this message

earlier, I apologize. To be honest, I haven't gotten that many responses and I

am hoping by continuing to re-post I will get some valuable data. Thank you for

your understanding.

Dear Parent/Caregiver,

I am a Registered Dietitian and graduate student under the direction of Dr.

Mildred Mattfeldt-Beman in the Department of Nutrition & Dietetics at Saint

Louis University. I am conducting a research study to find out whether there is

an association between access/interaction with a registered dietitian and degree

of feeding and nutrition related problems that parents and caregivers encounter

when trying to use the Gluten-Free Casein-Free (GFCF) diet as a treatment for

autism.

The purpose of this research is to learn more about the use of the GFCF diet to

treat autism. In order to gain a better understanding about the issues that

arise from the use of this diet, parents of autistic children are being invited

to provide input.

Participation in the study will involve completing a one-time online survey.

The survey is estimated to take 20-30 minutes. The survey will include

questions about whether you have tried the GFCF diet to treat autism for your

child, whether you were counseled by a registered dietitian/nutritionist

regarding the specifics of the diet, other treatments you have used to treat

your child for autism and whether you noticed any improvements in symptoms of

autism.

I am providing you with a link to the survey. Simply click on the link and you

will be directed to the survey. Rest assured that all responses are completely

anonymous and confidential. The survey vendor will send me only the results of

the survey. There will be no way to trace any responses to any individuals or

families. Only one survey will need to be filled out per family.

Link:

http://academic.slu.edu/easysurvey/public/survey.php?name=GlutenFreeCaseinFreeDi\

et

Your participation in this research is voluntary. You may choose not to be a

part of this research. There will be no penalty to you if you choose not to

take part. You may leave the research study at any time.

Although you may not receive any direct benefit for participating, completing

the survey will provide valuable information that can benefit the autism and

medical community. This information will be used to obtain valuable information

which will allow registered dietitians and other healthcare professionals to

provide optimal care for families who are using the GFCF diet to treat autism.

By completing the online survey, you are giving your informed and voluntary

assent to participate in the above study. You should save this document for

your records.

If you have any questions concerning this research study, please contact:

Rabia Rahman RD, LD

Phone: 314-977-8523 or E-mail: RAHMANR@....

If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant or if you

believe you have suffered an injury as a result of taking part in the research,

you may contact the Chairperson of the Saint Louis University Biomedical

Institutional Review Board (314-977-7744), who will discuss your questions with

you or will be able to refer you to someone else who will review the matter with

you, identify other resources that may be available to you, and provide further

information as how to proceed.

Sincerely,

Rabia Rahman RD, LD

Graduate Student, Saint Louis University