I have a daughter that's on the Autism spectrum, and one of the things that seemed to help her behavior was putting her on a gluten-free diet. It seems like there are a lot of kids on this diet. It doesn't matter what the reason is, it is very important that they stick to it even when they go to someone's birthday party.
If you are in control of the food because it's your child's birthday, then you don't have as much to worry about. It does become hard, however, when you send them off to someone else's house. You probably worry that your son or daughter will eat something they shouldn't. This article deals with some ways to deal with this scenario.
The first thing you need to do is talk to the parents of the child having the party. Because restricted diets are a lot more common now than they used to be, I'm sure the parent won't look at you like you're an alien from another planet. Explain to them why your child is on a gluten-free diet, and the potential harm it could do to them.
During your discussion, find out what type of foods they will be serving at the party. Even though more people are becoming aware of gluten-free diets, they often don't know what foods contain gluten. When they tell you what they are planning for the party, let them know which foods contain gluten.
Offer to bring the gluten-free alternatives for your son. As you probably already know, there are fabulous gluten-free recipes available that your child has probably already had at his own birthday parties. This will take some of the pressure off of the host because they won't have to worry about accidentally preparing some gluten-free recipe improperly, and making your son sick. It will also free them up to worry about the food for the majority of the kids at the party.
Another important thing will be making sure there isn't any cross-contamination of typical foods with your son's foods. Cleaning hands and utensils between handling typical foods and gluten-free foods is necessary, and the host should know this. One way to ensure this is done is to offer to help at the party. Most parents will not hesitate to have an extra set of hands assisting at the party, especially when there is a child with special dietary needs.
Another way to have your child avoid the gluten-filled foods at the party is to get him nice and full before you send him to it. He'll be less tempted by the food that's bad for him if his belly is filled with food that is good for him.
Kids party planning gets complicated when you have to figure out ways to keep your child from inadvertently eating something he shouldn't. If you haven't prepared the menu, try to inform the child's parents that your child has special diet needs. Even if they haven't prepared anything different for your child, at least you'll know that he is hopefully going to be kept from something that could harm him.
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