During your child’s first visit to the Celiac Disease Clinic, you will meet with a pediatric gastroenterologist  and a registered dietitian. Our extensive experience has allowed us to help hundreds of children with this condition live full, happy lives.

During each clinic visit, we will:

  • Help you better understand celiac disease
  • Teach you how to follow a gluten-free diet or check in on how you are doing with adapting to a gluten-free diet
  • Provide referrals as needed to other specialists, such as psychologists who can help children struggling with their diagnosis

Celiac Disease Tests

Doctors use two types of testing for celiac disease. These tests will either diagnose or rule out the condition. These include blood tests and tests on tissue samples taken from the small intestine through an endoscopy.

It’s important to know that testing for celiac disease relies on gluten being in your child’s system on a regular basis during the weeks leading up to testing. Be sure to have a discussion with your child’s provider before completely eliminating gluten from their diet. If possible, keep some gluten in your child’s diet until testing is complete.

If your child hasn’t yet had these outpatient tests, we may order them along with other tests, including an evaluation of your child’s nutritional status. Since celiac disease is a disorder that prevents the body from absorbing proper nutrients, it’s important to look for specific nutritional deficiencies such as low vitamin D and iron deficiency anemia.

Like many other conditions, celiac disease lab tests can have false positives. Be sure to wait for an accurate diagnosis before making drastic changes to your child’s diet.

We’re Here to Help

Most patients return to the Celiac Disease Clinic on a regular basis for check-ups, testing and to learn about new research or treatment options. We may see your child several times a year until their blood work shows normal results. Once the family is confident in managing a gluten-free diet, most patients return once a year for follow-up at our clinic.

Our team is available to answer questions from families in between scheduled visits. If you need resources or have any new concerns, please contact us at 602-933-0940.

Resources

  • Celiac.org website, which includes a wealth of information, including a blank 504 education plan template