Colin is 9.5 now. He simply doesn't eat anything without checking with me first. If I am not there, he doesn't eat it. At a homeschool activity at a dear friend's house, she had made sure the snacks available were gluten free for him (and for her son who is GFCF), but I forgot to tell Colin. The person running the snack part told him she thought they were fine for him and my friend's son was eating, but he couldn't check with me because I was doing another part of the activity, so he chose not to eat.

I'm not sure this is the ideal solution, of course, because I can't be there for everything, but it works for now anyway! When he's older he'll have to take some responsibility for checking things on his own.

He's started reading packaging, though, and lately I've let slip in some things where the label says "processed in a facility that also processes wheat or gluten" and things like that. He gets all up in arms with me. :-) So I think he'll be ok.

I also talk to him from time to time about *why* he's on a GF diet--how gluten affects him and how it makes him feel. I emphasize that with the ataxia portion of his gluten reactions, he won't see the reaction right away so he might think it's fine to eat gluten, but it will sneak up on him and he will slowly have less and less balance.

Rachel