"We are not just what we eat; we are what we eat, digest, absorb, and utilize" (from the Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook)
Wow...it is hard to believe that Monday's BIG day! We are going to see Dr. Megson and we have so much hope that she will be able to help us get Caleb on track. The way I look at it (and I may have high hopes)...we have 1 year to possibly get Caleb into regular Kindergarden. I have my hopes set that one year from now...we'll look back and say....Look how far we've come!!!!
Over the past few months, I have been trying to really educate myself with as much information as I can about Autism. I have come along way since the day that my friend Lisa explained to me that PDD was on the Spectrum. I have been reading books, listening to DAN (Defeat Autism Now) Podcasts, talking to other parents, and observing Caleb. We are also hoping to go to a few of the sessions at the 2010 National Autism Conference in State College, PA. As I've heard Joyce Meyer say, "I'm not where I should be...but thank God I'm not where I used to be." This education will enable us to help Caleb function in a typical world.
I am really fascinated that diet can play an important role in helping children on the Spectrum. This has provided a dose of hope! From what I understand....the Amino Acids are like letters in a word. The word that they make up are called peptides. Since many of these children have problems with their digestion, such as not enough digestive enzymes and/or leakiness of the intestinal lining...some of the words (peptides) are getting into the bloodstream. This causes problems in the body and potentially short-circuits brain functioning. Certain foods are harder to break down..Glutens, Casein, Soy, etc.
Dr. Megson will be conducting a Peptide test on Caleb to determine if Caleb has a leaky gut. This test will help us to determine if this diet...and which form of this diet is necessary. Many of these children are addicted to these type(s) of foods since they create Opiate-like effects. Caleb's favorite foods are Bread, Bread, Bread, Pasta. I have hope that this will help Caleb. I was also reading where lack of Zinc can cause depletion in Vitamin A which is the most notable symptom is eye contact. Another symptom is limited taste which could cause these children to eat something gross....like play dough. Magnesium depletion causes low muscle tone. Caleb takes Occupational and Physical therapy to help with the muscle tone on the right side of his body. There is hope, there is hope, there is hope!
I am also going to ask Dr. Megson if the intestinal problems Caleb had as a baby...could be linked too this.
To replace missing nutrients..the Doctor might recommend Cod Liver Oil (to replace Vitamin A)and Zinc. Certain things in the diet...dark green veggies...can help add back the magnesium or other important nutrients that are depleted.
Of course, I am looking into this with an open-mind. This diet may or may not work. It doesn't hurt to try it!!! If anything, Caleb will be eating healthier since this diet goes back to the early time where humans ate fish, meats, fruits, vegetables, and nuts and seeds. They did not consume milk, grains, beans, or potatoes because milk products were not available and other foods could not be consumed because they were raw and could cause severe symptoms. Eventually cooking and domestication brought those foods into the diet. Milk is not as healthy as our culture makes it sound yet it is in so many of the products that we consume on a daily basis. So many things aren't healthy for us to consume. Artificial Sweeter--contained in sodas -are the worse because they impair regulation of calorie intake resulting in overeating, etc. They can actually cause the opposite to happen...hmmm. They also deplete important nutrients in the body...opposite of what electrolye drinks like gatorade do. I'm not sure I even want to talk about hydrogenated oils which are basically mutated plastics that cause neurological problems, etc. One last important thing that I learned is that Wheat Flour is not really as healthy as it seems (actually white flour is not good either). Whole grains actually release sugars slowly into the body but when it is mashed down...it can cause blood glucose to raise much faster.
So if we haven't gained anything out of all this...we've gained the knowledge to eat better and maybe live longer because we are healthier.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Leaving a Legacy
As I look back over my life, two people that have made an impact on my life are my gram and pap. Not only did they give me my mom....but their resilience through lifes tough waters completely amazes me! How could they ever know that their legacy would make a big impact on my future?
The untimely passing of their daughter Stacey Lou, a young teenage mom with a lot of promise. Through the sadness, they still managed to raise her son, Derek. Derek's father bolted shorty after Stacey's death. Derek was born with some complications. He was developmentaly behind and through out his childhood my grandparents fought to get him the help that he needed. This was during the time that society's idea of autism was "Rainman". Derek final diagnosis was "mental". I can tell you that Derek is NOT mental in any way, shape, or form!! MENTAL is not someone who at a very young age..knew the words and artist of almost any country song. MENTAL is not someone that is very organized and knows where everything is. MENTAL is not someone that can show love and hurt at the funeral of his "neice" Shana's funeral. When I picture mental I picture something so much different then Derek!! Every sign about Derek points to Autism. I can remember the difficulty he had with Math problems, etc. He had a low lack of concentration. He would not and still does not eat a lot of meat. I would imagine it has something to do with the texture. He would only wear certain types of clothing and would pull his socks up to his knees and drive my grandma nuts!!! Like Caleb, Derek was fascinated with push his toy cars. He has difficulty in certain social situations and can get frustrated at change.
How could they know that all the injustices that they received (the delays in a diagnosis..the school system that felt Derek was well off where he was, the challanges of medicine changes,etc)..was not done in vain?
My grandparents journey has imprinted the future for Caleb. Through all of this we are that much further along with our journey. They say the reason we should learn about History is because it can determine the future. You can look back and see the things that worked or maybe didn't and learn from those experiences. we will take those experiences and use them to help Caleb.
Please keep your prayers on Caleb....they are being heard. In the past few weeks, we have seem dramatic improvement in his speech and language. He is trying to tell us things more and his tantrums are very mild. Lately, he has been very loving. He LOVES to give hugs and kisses!!! I can see the joy radiating from him!!!
The end of this month is our trip to Virginia with Caleb. We are so excited about going to the Baltimore Aquarium the day before our visit to Dr. Megson. We have hope that Dr. Megson will help us get on a path for Caleb that will help him. We are still waiting to hear on the Fragile X test as well as the determination of whether the genetic defect is maternal or paternal. I expect to be receiving a call about that within the next week.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
The untimely passing of their daughter Stacey Lou, a young teenage mom with a lot of promise. Through the sadness, they still managed to raise her son, Derek. Derek's father bolted shorty after Stacey's death. Derek was born with some complications. He was developmentaly behind and through out his childhood my grandparents fought to get him the help that he needed. This was during the time that society's idea of autism was "Rainman". Derek final diagnosis was "mental". I can tell you that Derek is NOT mental in any way, shape, or form!! MENTAL is not someone who at a very young age..knew the words and artist of almost any country song. MENTAL is not someone that is very organized and knows where everything is. MENTAL is not someone that can show love and hurt at the funeral of his "neice" Shana's funeral. When I picture mental I picture something so much different then Derek!! Every sign about Derek points to Autism. I can remember the difficulty he had with Math problems, etc. He had a low lack of concentration. He would not and still does not eat a lot of meat. I would imagine it has something to do with the texture. He would only wear certain types of clothing and would pull his socks up to his knees and drive my grandma nuts!!! Like Caleb, Derek was fascinated with push his toy cars. He has difficulty in certain social situations and can get frustrated at change.
How could they know that all the injustices that they received (the delays in a diagnosis..the school system that felt Derek was well off where he was, the challanges of medicine changes,etc)..was not done in vain?
My grandparents journey has imprinted the future for Caleb. Through all of this we are that much further along with our journey. They say the reason we should learn about History is because it can determine the future. You can look back and see the things that worked or maybe didn't and learn from those experiences. we will take those experiences and use them to help Caleb.
Please keep your prayers on Caleb....they are being heard. In the past few weeks, we have seem dramatic improvement in his speech and language. He is trying to tell us things more and his tantrums are very mild. Lately, he has been very loving. He LOVES to give hugs and kisses!!! I can see the joy radiating from him!!!
The end of this month is our trip to Virginia with Caleb. We are so excited about going to the Baltimore Aquarium the day before our visit to Dr. Megson. We have hope that Dr. Megson will help us get on a path for Caleb that will help him. We are still waiting to hear on the Fragile X test as well as the determination of whether the genetic defect is maternal or paternal. I expect to be receiving a call about that within the next week.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
"If for some reason Autism had been erraticated from the face of the Earth...Men would still be socializing in front of a wood fire at the entrance of a cave"
Temple Grandin
Now I don't buy into the whole caveman concept but I do agree with Temple's suggestion that if autism was completely removed from the face of the earth....many of our great ideas in the world would eliminate. Have you all seen the way that Miss Gradin thinks, draws, designs? I'm not saying that all autistic children are creative...but I do know that there is always something they are really good at or really like and if we encourage them (as any other child)....they can excel beyond what we have ever imagined!!!
Did you ever wonder if you could see inside your childs mind...what are they thinking? I find myself doing this so often. Somehow when your child is not so vocal....and you know they are retreating somewhere in their mind....you really have to consider how much he/she is taking in. I am reminded of an old nursery rhyme...
A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?
As I look back over history....children with disabilities were not always accepted into society. It is hard for me to imagine the idea of institutionalizing a child because they lacked some type of ability. The fact that Caleb has a Speech delay does not mean he cannot function as a child that does not have autism.
You take the blind man for instance....he may not be able to see but all of his other senses are in tune. Infact, I would not be afraid to bet that his sense of smell, hearing, touch, and taste are so much more acute then someone with all five senses. He learns to function...maybe by the use of braille or a seeing eye dog. He uses his other senses to guide him. Same thing can happen for an autistic child...Autistic children and children without the disorder will use the same part of their brains for perception....but the part that brings everything together is out of sync. Is there a way to help Caleb bring things together more easily...maybe be able to focus.
Instead of being preoccupied with the things my children can't do....i want to focus more on the things they CAN do. I want to encourage them to be all they can be and if there is something holding them back.....overcome that obstacle. Maybe there is a different way to "sync" with Caleb's brain then that of the typical child. Maybe he's just like the Macintosh computer...just programed different but when his language is used....WOW:)
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 Rule or the Pareto Principle? This principle took into account that 20% of something is always responsible for 80% of the results. If I spend all my time focused on what Caleb CAN'T do YET instead of focusing on what he CAN do.....then he'll be discouraged and most likely all the things he is excelling at will soon fall behind.
In a few weeks we are going to see Dr Megson. Will she have all the answers? Probably not...but I do maintain hope that she will help us see things through his eyes. Are there things we can do better to help him gain focus? Is there really a way we can change his diet to help with this? Are there other avenues we could be taking? It has to be worth something knowing that she is focused on the autistic child. All the Doctors we have seen up until this point have not specialized in this area!!! I'm not saying that they did not have knowledge but I really believe when you have someone that devotes their life to a certain area...that has to count for something!!! You see, we want to make things better for Caleb...so his world can be less frustrating and more joyful.
Caleb is fixated on any kind of riding equipment...cars, riding lawnmower, four-wheeler, dirt bike. He LOVES riding with his dad on the various "toys" that we have around here. Did I mention the Moped? At first, I was nervous about his dad taking him for rides....but then I realized that Caleb really LOVES to do this with his daddy and I can tell that daddy enjoys it too!!! I could let my "fear" of what "could" happen discourage Caleb and have him withdraw even further into himself or I can learn to overcome some of my fear and encourage him. I could let my "fear" that he might be like this for the rest of his life...shelter him and stop him from doing things because he may not be "skilled" in a certain area. I think not!!!
In Mitch Albom's book, For One More Day...the main character Chick goes into the library to get a book. The librarian tells him the book is to hard for him to read and makes him pick another book. When he goes out to the car his mom questions why he got the same book they read before. Chick tells her he picked another book out and the librarian told him it was to hard for him to read. The mother marched him back into the library and she told the library to NEVER TELL A CHILD THAT SOMETHING IS TOO HARD FOR HIM. They walked out of there with the book. This is how we all need to fight for our children. We should NEVER let ANYONE EVER TELL US OR OUR CHILDREN THEY CAN'T DO SOMETHING! Where there is a will...there is a way!
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own
Matthew 6:34
Temple Grandin
Now I don't buy into the whole caveman concept but I do agree with Temple's suggestion that if autism was completely removed from the face of the earth....many of our great ideas in the world would eliminate. Have you all seen the way that Miss Gradin thinks, draws, designs? I'm not saying that all autistic children are creative...but I do know that there is always something they are really good at or really like and if we encourage them (as any other child)....they can excel beyond what we have ever imagined!!!
Did you ever wonder if you could see inside your childs mind...what are they thinking? I find myself doing this so often. Somehow when your child is not so vocal....and you know they are retreating somewhere in their mind....you really have to consider how much he/she is taking in. I am reminded of an old nursery rhyme...
A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?
As I look back over history....children with disabilities were not always accepted into society. It is hard for me to imagine the idea of institutionalizing a child because they lacked some type of ability. The fact that Caleb has a Speech delay does not mean he cannot function as a child that does not have autism.
You take the blind man for instance....he may not be able to see but all of his other senses are in tune. Infact, I would not be afraid to bet that his sense of smell, hearing, touch, and taste are so much more acute then someone with all five senses. He learns to function...maybe by the use of braille or a seeing eye dog. He uses his other senses to guide him. Same thing can happen for an autistic child...Autistic children and children without the disorder will use the same part of their brains for perception....but the part that brings everything together is out of sync. Is there a way to help Caleb bring things together more easily...maybe be able to focus.
Instead of being preoccupied with the things my children can't do....i want to focus more on the things they CAN do. I want to encourage them to be all they can be and if there is something holding them back.....overcome that obstacle. Maybe there is a different way to "sync" with Caleb's brain then that of the typical child. Maybe he's just like the Macintosh computer...just programed different but when his language is used....WOW:)
Have you ever heard of the 80/20 Rule or the Pareto Principle? This principle took into account that 20% of something is always responsible for 80% of the results. If I spend all my time focused on what Caleb CAN'T do YET instead of focusing on what he CAN do.....then he'll be discouraged and most likely all the things he is excelling at will soon fall behind.
In a few weeks we are going to see Dr Megson. Will she have all the answers? Probably not...but I do maintain hope that she will help us see things through his eyes. Are there things we can do better to help him gain focus? Is there really a way we can change his diet to help with this? Are there other avenues we could be taking? It has to be worth something knowing that she is focused on the autistic child. All the Doctors we have seen up until this point have not specialized in this area!!! I'm not saying that they did not have knowledge but I really believe when you have someone that devotes their life to a certain area...that has to count for something!!! You see, we want to make things better for Caleb...so his world can be less frustrating and more joyful.
Caleb is fixated on any kind of riding equipment...cars, riding lawnmower, four-wheeler, dirt bike. He LOVES riding with his dad on the various "toys" that we have around here. Did I mention the Moped? At first, I was nervous about his dad taking him for rides....but then I realized that Caleb really LOVES to do this with his daddy and I can tell that daddy enjoys it too!!! I could let my "fear" of what "could" happen discourage Caleb and have him withdraw even further into himself or I can learn to overcome some of my fear and encourage him. I could let my "fear" that he might be like this for the rest of his life...shelter him and stop him from doing things because he may not be "skilled" in a certain area. I think not!!!
In Mitch Albom's book, For One More Day...the main character Chick goes into the library to get a book. The librarian tells him the book is to hard for him to read and makes him pick another book. When he goes out to the car his mom questions why he got the same book they read before. Chick tells her he picked another book out and the librarian told him it was to hard for him to read. The mother marched him back into the library and she told the library to NEVER TELL A CHILD THAT SOMETHING IS TOO HARD FOR HIM. They walked out of there with the book. This is how we all need to fight for our children. We should NEVER let ANYONE EVER TELL US OR OUR CHILDREN THEY CAN'T DO SOMETHING! Where there is a will...there is a way!
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own
Matthew 6:34
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