The Best Beginning

18/02/2026

Its so "normal" amongst coeliacs that its only spoken of when theres a particularly outrageous price hike...

The expense

€7.49 for breakfast cereal.

Not luxury though.. a medical treatment for an autoimmune disease

Child coeliacs are frontline at risk of food poverty, particularly places and times of food shortage around the world but also in "wealthy" societies.

Coeliac food choice is often limited and often very limited for a child coeliac.

It takes great effort to eat well and eat healthy.

Dont underestimate the gluten free burden for the coeliac child.

17/02/2026

Birth order, temprament, circumstances, environment, child experience, parent experience and societal ebb and flow. We are all made of atoms inside and out❤️

16/02/2026

Really interesting responses in this survey and helpful to think how being a coeliac feels for a child. ❤️

15/02/2026

Coeliac children can have a wide range of complexity in life...

Identity, isolation, compliance /non compliance to diet, learning needs, anxiety, feeding, fussy eating, ADHD, autism, dyspraxia other auto immune disorders, fatigue, other neurological issues and toileting.

These needs should be considered in context of the illness and the system and family supported around this. Psycho-social support is typical to many if not all medical ilness but not coeliac disease..

Ailish has over 20 years of experience working with medical /physical and mental illness as a senior social worker.

She brings the medical/physical and mental aspect of coeliac together through this and her experience as a Play therapist and is utterly child focused.

Ailish is experienced in child and adolescent mental health services (statutory and private) She continues to update (over 10 years) in infant mental health which impacts on the trajectory of child mental health and wellbeing and this influences her work hugely in suporting child coeliacs and their families.

All this combined provides a distinct and specialist lens to working with coeliac children and their parents.

Ailish is advocating for greater awareness amongst professionals in mental health services especially and all healthcare professionals to consider coeliac symptoms typical and silent and test as early as possible.

Her work is clincally supervised by 2 registered CoRU Social Workers (Physical and Mental Health) and Play Therapy work clincally supervised by a Play therapist.

She is also a diagnosed coeliac (26 years).

For a consult or discuss:
Ailishlydontherapy@gmail.com

15/02/2026

14/02/2026

12/02/2026

Coeliac disease has well known symptoms in children and adults ; tummy pain, diarrhea, vomiting weight loss, pallor, dark circles under eyes, bloated tummy and low iron on testing.

But what about those less well known or chronic "silent" signs;
Fatigue, poor concentration, sleeplessness, anxiety, poor or no appetite, picky eating, incontinence /toilet issues/ bed wetting, pica, headache, brain fog, poor coordination, difficulty with speech, agitation and impulsivity.

Children may live this as their "norm", they are developing so only know this feeling..
Coeliac disease has a prevalence of 1 in 10 where there is a first degree relative with the autoimmune disorder. 1 in 100 in the general population.

Coeliac children may recover very quickly on diet change but lots of areas (and parents) may need some support as little coeliac brains get used to the new world ...and thats not only the gluten free Bread

Test early!
Contact: ailishlydontherapy@gmail.com for consult or arrange an appointment.

12/02/2026

It's Child Mental Health Week

What a world our children have to navigate and each of them with individual needs.
Just a remind that physical health and mental health are not either, or.

Very often they overlap and complicate each other this is widely understood for adults but for children, not always...

Coeliac children manage both too.

12/02/2026

Did you know 1 in 5 children face mental health challenges? This week is and if you need help knowing what signs to look out for or when to reach out for support, check out our advice article - https://bit.ly/4c6ywV6

12/02/2026

11/02/2026

While Celiac Disease may damage our intestines, it can actually cause psychological issues.

I love how this Dr actually paid attention to neurological symptoms in his patients that led him to test them for Celiac Disease. Especially men.

"This raises an important question: Is celiac disease becoming more prevalent, or are we simply getting better at recognizing it in patients who do not fit the classic gastrointestinal picture?"

The answer is probably both. But in psychiatry, the under-recognition is particularly stark.

https://kevinmd.com/2026/02/celiac-disease-psychiatric-symptoms-when-anxiety-is-autoimmune.html

28/08/2025

If a relative dies when a child is very young or before they were born, they can feel confused, excluded or upset others have memories they can't share in.

For ways of helping them connect with the person and ideas on how others can help, including school, visit: childbereavementuk.org/child-doesnt-remember-someone-who-died