Seaturtle - Yes, you could definitely try changing the diet before pursuing other treatments or interventions. I really hope that works for you (and others).
It's not easy changing a child's diet. We had to do it overnight. It was tough and seemed completely overwhelming, but we were committed and determined to do it. I'd say it took a good couple of months to get the hang of it and have enough alternative recipes/ingredients to fall back on.
DS's first neurofeedback gave us a list of foods to avoid/include. She advised us to bump up the good fats for healthy brain development such as avocado and extra virgin oil and to bump up the healthy proteins and vegetables. She said anything that converted to alcohol and that could negatively affect the brain was out. She said that we could slowly introduce something like oats after x number of months, but to initially eliminate it. This sounded logical to me, though I realize some may disagree and find this controversial.
It's not rocket science though and there's a lot more coming out on the topic (GMO-free, soy-free, corn-free, etc.) with various diets (Paleo, Fuhrman, raw, superfoods, etc.). The first neurofeedback provider (a brain injury specialist) suggested we take a look at Radiant Recovery concept of sugar (
http://www.radiantrecovery.com/). She squabbled with some of foods here and there which Radiant Recovery included, but overall they agreed on the concept of eliminating sugar from the diet.
When the neurofeedback gave us this list, we went through our cupboards, read every label, and got rid of more than half of the food since it had contained soy, corn, or some form of sugar. We're now making sure the fruit is limited to one serving per meal and is low in sugar content (i.e. berries). We're using coconut or date sugar as alternatives. We're also trying to include more superfoods like spirulina in our diet and being more creative.
