Healing The New Childhood Epidemics

I just finished reading Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies by Kenneth Bock, M.D. and Cameron Stauth. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I have had it in my possession for a while, but delayed reading it because I was intimidated by it. I was afraid that I wouldn't understand all of the medical information. As soon as I started on it, I wished that I had read it all the beginning of our Autism journey. It is well-written for the general public and is easy to understand. It now holds a key place in my reference library.

I wish we could all have a Dr. Bock in our lives to help us navigate and treat the 4-A disorders. His approach to treating these conditions is comprehensive and above all, caring. Since most of us are limited to the confines of traditional and usually inadequate pediatric medicine to help our children, this book makes a terrific starting point in supercharging your child's treatment and gives a clear road map to improvement and recovery from Autism.

GFCF Chili

Ingredients:

2 green peppers, chopped
1/2 c chopped onion

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)

2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans pinto beans
3 cups water
1 bag (16 oz) frozen corn (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. chopped cilantro (loosely packed)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste

Spray bottom of large pot with cooking oil. Add green peppers and onions, saute over medium-high heat for several minutes. Add ground beef (or turkey), cook until brown. Add all remaining ingredients and reduce heat. Simmer until ready to eat.

Juice Box Hero

We are still trapped in potato land with Jake. I have not made any progress in expanding his diet and it is incredibly frustrating. I am giving him vitamin and mineral supplements, which helps ease some of my panic over his nutrition. Fortunately, he likes Hemp Milk which is a good source of protein and iron. He will drink juice, but only apple juice. Obviously, there's not as much variety in his diet as I would like.

This weekend, my mother gave me her electric juicer and I just took it for a spin. As I am writing this, Jake is drinking a carrot, a pear and some apples! I hope his little body doesn't go into shock from the new foods. I couldn't believe how tasty the juice is. I am looking forward to experimenting with different combinations of fruits and veggies. It does take some time and effort, but it sure is nice to give my son some better foods...even if he has to unknowingly drink them.

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Jenny McCarthy on The Oprah Show

Jenny McCarthy will be on The Oprah Show this Wednesday, September 24th. She is promoting her new book, Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds. If you have family or friends that doubt your pursuit of treating Autism and ADHD through diet and other biomedical interventions, encourage them to watch the show. They might come to see things a little differently.

Mother Warriors is available on Amazon now.

Try This At Home

We all know that television does not cause autism. But, did you know that you could use TV as a way to help develop language skills?

One of the many home grown therapies I use involves watching television with my son. In the early days after his diagnosis, it seemed like the Noggin network was the only thing that would hold his attention for any length of time. I began watching his favorite shows with him and asking questions about what was happening on the screen. I prompted him to respond to questions posed by the characters in those shows as well.

Dora the Explorer, Blue's Clues and Go, Diego, Go! all encourage viewer participation with questions. The characters ask a question of the viewer and there is a brief pause while they wait for a response. Often, this brief pause is too short for our kids to respond in time. If you have DVR or Tivo, use the pause button to give your child as much time as he or she needs. If watching a DVD, you can make up your questions catered to whatever area your child is working on and pause the movie as needed.

When I first started this with Jake his 'answers' were nothing more than silence or a scream because the beloved TV show was paused. After several weeks, he finally started responding. Those early answers were simply echolalia and irrelevant to the questions being asked. With more practice, his answers got more and more appropriate. He always enjoyed the applause he got from me after he responded. I also think the promise of resuming a favorite TV show provides good motivation for answering a question. We no longer have to pause the shows to wait for a response to questions. Jake is now a willing participant and will frequently volunteer a running commentary regarding what is happening on screen. I cannot help but remember how far he has progressed when I hear him say, "Look Mommy, that doggie is running." or "Look at those trees. They are green." Hard to believe that he was barely verbal 18 months ago.

Potato Chip Misery

Over the last couple of weeks, Jake's behavior has become increasingly more difficult. I am seeing more stimming, more meltdowns, more sleep disturbances, less talking and less eye contact. At the same time, he has self-limited his food choices down to only potato chips, specifically Lay's brand chips. We've been through this before. The last time this happened Fritos were the chips of choice. We quickly learned that Fritos have a cross contamination issue and we were inadvertently giving Jake gluten every time he ate them.

Lay's chips have been a part of his diet for a long time. Only recently has it become a problem. In GFCF circles, Lay's chips are often recommended as being safe for the diet. However, a quick review of the Lay's website shows that cross contamination is a possibility for almost all of their chips. The only exception is Lay's Stax which are produced on gluten-free lines. Unfortunately, I can't find them here in my area.

So, I am on the hunt for GFCFSF chips that I can give him. I expect that his symptoms will improve and his food choices will expand after we successfully remove Lay's chips from his diet. As frustrating as this situation is, it does provide even more proof that we are doing the right thing for Jake in following the GFCF diet. I hope this information is helpful for some of you who may be experiencing similar trouble.

Click here for gluten information on Lays.com: http://www.fritolay.com/fl/flstore/cgi-bin/ProdDetEv_Cat_351852_NavRoot_306_ProdID_364066.htm

Sneaky Ketchup

Jake is on an all potato chip and french fry diet at the moment and it is driving me crazy. I can't get him to eat anything else. Fortunately, he will dip his fries in ketchup. But, commercial brands (especially those with high fructose corn syrup) seem to bring on undesirable behaviors. So, I made my own ketchup and added some hemp protein powder for a nutritional boost.

2 - 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
1 - 6 oz can of tomato paste
1/4 cup sugar (heaping)
1 tsp salt
2 TBS vinegar
2 TBS hemp protein powder

Combine ingredients in saucepan and warm over medium heat. Stir until smooth. If texture sensitivities are a problem in your house, try running the mixture in a blender or food processor to get it really smooth.

Notes:
1. Onion powder would be a nice addition to this recipe, but I didn't have any on hand when I made this.
2. I used Del Monte Organic brand sauce and paste for this recipe. They are now labeled gluten-free.

GFCFSF Chocolate Syrup

Need a chocolate fix? Here you go.

1 cup water
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar OR brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

In a large saucepan, bring water, cocoa, sugar (or syrup) and salt to a boil. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes, whisking continuously to avoid boil over. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Sauce will thicken as it cools. Refrigerate and use to make chocolate 'milk' or as a topping for desserts.

Note: If you prefer a thicker chocolate syrup, try adding a bit of cornstarch to the mixture.

Jakisms II

We received the Connecting Emotions DVD by Spectrum Connections as a gift from my sister shortly after Jake was diagnosed. He loves this DVD, which features a music therapist working with a small group of children. They practice making faces to reflect different emotions and the therapist praises the children for their effort (i.e. "That's a good happy face!").

Not long ago, I was having a rotten day here with the kids. Both kids were incredibly cranky and there's was so much screaming and crying going on, I thought I was going to lose my mind. Then, out of the blue, Jake walked up to me and said, "That's a good mad face, Mommy!"

Situation diffused. I had no choice but to practice my happy face.

Fun With Echolalia (a.k.a Jakisms)

Echolalia has been Jake's primary method of communication for the last year. Initially, it all seemed to be random repeats from his favorite TV shows. But, as he improved, he began to use his echolalia more appropriately. Every now and then, he'll use his echolalia in a manner that I'm sure seems perfectly logical to him, but it leaves me in stitches.

One of my favorite examples is from a recent trip to the bank. We pulled up to the drive thru window and the teller asked, "How can I help you?". From the backseat I hear, "Uh, yeah, I'll have a number one combo with a coke please." Jake said it so clear, so loud and so exactly like his daddy ordering a Whopper...it was hilarious. The teller got a kick out of it too.

I guess Jake is paying closer attention than I thought he was.

Website Updates

Just wanted to let everyone know that I fixed the problem on my website www.SpectrumHope.com that was causing the pages to freeze up while loading. Now, I just have to figure out how to fix this blog feed...

Chrissy

A New Earth

Reading used to be my great escape from the pressures of real life. Since we hopped on the autism train, I have had very little time to read for pleasure. I'm still reading a lot, but it almost always involves books on treating autism. Needless to say, it is hardly the escape I used to enjoy.

I decided to indulge in a book for me and picked up a copy of A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. It only took a few seconds for me to connect the author's lesson to autism. So, I did not quite escape the reality of autism in my life while reading this book, but it most definitely helped me learn how to better manage life affected by ASD.

For those struggling with a new diagnosis, A New Earth reminds us to live in this moment. For many of us, that means letting go of dreams we once had for our children. For others, it may help ease the chronic worry that comes with raising a child with special needs. For me, it has brought about more enjoyment in spending time with my children. I am able to focus on them completely and stop worrying about what I haven't gotten done yet...what a blessing!

There are a multitude of complex emotions that come with the autism diagnosis. A New Earth is a fantastic tool in helping to navigate it all. I highly recommend this book.

Homemade Rice Milk

Store bought milk substitutes take a big bite out of our monthly budget. Here's my recipe for Rice Milk. You can make a gallon of it for just a few cents.

4 cups water
1/2 cup rice
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBS sugar (or other sweetener to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Additional 8 to 12 cups of water

In a saucepan, bring rice and 4 cups water to boil. Add vanilla, sugar and salt. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is soft (about 20 minutes). Keep covered, remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.

Add 4 more cups cold water to mixture and blend until smooth. You may have to do this in 2 batches depending on the size of your blender. Pour through fine mesh strainer into a gallon pitcher. Add additional 4 to 8 cups water to pitcher until desired thickness is achieved. Chill and shake well before serving.

Notes:
1. Any rice will work, but I used Enriched Long Grain White Rice for this recipe.
2. You can add in powdered calcium for an extra nutritional boost.
3. This recipe produces a very mild flavored rice milk, there is plenty of room to add more sweetener and/or vanilla extract if you prefer.

Enjoy!

A Friend in the White House

I do not have any interest in making this blog political. I have been biting my tongue for the last several days, since Sarah Palin was named as McCain's VP choice. I am excited by her role in this election not only because she is a woman, but also because she has a child with special needs. There are so many critical issues that need to be addressed in this election. But, for those of us raising children with special needs, there is ONE issue that we are most concerned about. How can we best help our children reach their full potential?

I was truly moved when Governor Palin stated that she would be our advocate during her convention speech. I am anxious to learn exactly how she plans to help us. Let's pay attention folks...this could change everything.

Chrissy

Are You Ready?

A vital key to success with the GFCF diet is to always be prepared. That means having appropriate food, snacks and beverages easily accessible when needed. I always carry a snack for the kids in my purse in case hunger strikes while we are out and about. I also keep a supply of snacks for them at school and daycare.

Now, we are in the midst of a busy tropical season. Since we live on the coast of North Carolina, we know that we must be prepared for hurricanes and the resulting power outages, flooding, and lack of fresh water. Click this link to see FEMA's recommendations for an emergency supply kit: http://www.fema.gov/plan/prepare/basickit.shtm

Tropical weather is not the only potential disaster or emergency that could happen, so it's a good idea to be prepared year round. Our emergency kit includes all the usual items such as flashlights, batteries, canned foods, water and first aid supplies. In addition, I keep it stocked with shelf stable GFCF foods. You'll want to pay attention to the expiration dates on these items and rotate your supplies accordingly. It's also a good idea to have a small supply of toys and diversions for the kids as part of your emergency kit.

GFCF Mommy had a great post on preparing for a hurricane: http://gfcfmommy.blogspot.com/2008/08/we-interrupt-this-blog-for-message-from.html

Many people recommend keeping a second supply of medications for your emergency kit. This practice is not always affordable, so I keep a list of our medications and supplements. That way, I can just grab and go if necessary.

Hope this information helps. Being caught unprepared could easily sabotage your child's diet (and progress), so why risk it?

Chrissy