I am always reluctant to give out unsolicited advice, it has rarely done me good...however, I am a parent of a child with ADHD, and so I totally relate to the desire to help someone out who is struggling in their family in a way that seems so help-able. I know from all we've done for my daughter that often, diet is but one piece of the puzzle. That is not to say that it isn't a vital piece, only that in all likelihood, even on a pristine diet, there may still exist some behaviors that are challenging(to say the least). Assuming that these parents are open to exploration, I think that Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride's website would be a great start. http://www.gapsdiet.com/ She is definitely someone who has contributed hugely to healing behavior disorders in children through diet and gut healing, but she is not "paleo" enough to be off-putting to your friends who may be suspicious of that label. I wish I could tell my past self much sooner about Julia Ross' work with mood disorders, and any parent of a child with a behavior/mood disorder who asks advice of me will get sent in that direction as well. http://www.moodcure.com/

Mark Hyman's The Ultramind Solution has some good examples of kids being treated for behavior problems by replacing gluten, dairy, and sugar with whole foods. He doesn't mention the word paleo at all, and he doesn't claim that everyone needs to give up gluten and dairy, just that everyone try it for two weeks and see it makes a difference. I don't think the book references studies too heavily, but that also makes the book's approach less confrontational in nature because it promotes self-testing over the rote following of studies.

But, unless your friends are already on board with semi-paleo eating, it's going to be uphill battle to convince them that what they themselves think they're fine eating is damaging their kids.

I dunno, I always knew that my daughter was slightly ADHD but when I went primal and quit eating grains, I started to notice a change in behavior patterns. One day in particular - she hadn't had any wheat for a couple weeks but then she had wheat at all three meals in one day (my husband isn't paleo and I was gone for the day, so they had pancakes, Mac & cheese, etc) and the next day she was out of her mind hysterical, uncontrollable, and pretty much an emotional basketcase.

Sorry I have no help, but it was that day I realized that it wasn't that I needed to discipline her more or better, but she was reacting to the wheat. I always blamed myself, thinking I needed to parent her better, but in fact she just had this inability to control her behavior. I would look back and see that yes, she would try to control herself but just couldn't.

Wheat caused that.

I don't think I'll forgive the FDA for that.

Nora Gedgaudus- Primal Body, Primal Mind. I am a behavior therapist for kids with behavioral issues and in working with some actively involved parents, many have noted significant behavior improvements after switching to a paleo based diet (without knowing it to be 'paleo' at all).

Nora is inspiring in this regard.

I stumbled upon this website awhile back and have been exploring it. Some people think it is a matter of pulling the sugar, but then they turn to things like NutraSweet. Big mistake! I work with kids at school who eat Low fat, no fat, limited sugar and are bouncing off the walls.

The Autism diet often prescribed is no gluten, no dairy, but people (at least the ones I know) aren't taught to stay away from nitrates, colors, preservatives, corn syrup and other things that may take one down the road to ill health. But they did what their doctor told them to do.

After I started talking with my daughter about Paleo, she told me that she switched to feeding our 4yo grandson less cereal for breakfast and more protein, healthy fats and complex carbs. Within a week she noticed a huge difference in his behavior and sleep patterns.

But I'm sure you realize that this can be a Pandora's box topic. You may get warm receptive responses and may not. Like the parents who think their child needs an antibiotic every time the kid sneezes. No matter what you say, they are right and you aren't a doctor. (Another pet peeve)

Anyway, here is one website...http://wellnessmama.com/wellness-101/

The GAPS diet might be another place to start.

If I get an opening to talk nutrition with the parents (and it's a tricky subject!), I mention the Feingold Plan. We have been on it for a couple years, and it's been an enormous help to us.

http://www.feingold.org/

You start out with some small adjustments that are key: eliminating artificial colors (Red 40 is particularly egregious, I really wish we'd ban it) and particularly bad preservatives (BHA, BHT, and TBHQ). You also limit natural salicyaltes, as many folks who are ADHD/OCD/anxious, etc., are salicylate sensitive. This is tricky, as it means temporarily eliminating fruits that kids tend to love, like apples, grapes, strawberries, and more. After a time, you test these foods back in and see what works for the child.

Some folks on the Feingold Plan also cut out wheat and/or dairy, some go caveman, but others are able to get great results just from eliminating the artificials and being careful with salicylates.

I'm not aware of any...but if a parent asks, or comments something like, "oh wow, I can't believe how well behaved and polite your kids are. I've never seen any quite so good." That's my opening to mention consistent discipline, and just as important good nutrition without all the toxic foods most kids are eating. The comments have been the same since they were toddlers as they are now at age 10 and 16. That's the opening, and if they are interested then I explain about the foods.

Of course if someone's kids are just running wild, I usually just roll my eyes and comment, "damn, I wish people knew how to be parents these days."