As the parent of a child on the spectrum….I extend and extra special Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mommy’s that deal with what I do every, single day.

There are days when it all seems too much, but guess what, it really is too much and we’ve evolved into such superior beings that now only some days are more than we can deal with. We’ve learned to sail through the other ones relatively unscathed. Pretty amazing isn’t it.

So, the laundry piles up, the car is filthy, the mail is unread and your hair needs a trim. These things happen so often, I’m not even sure I care anymore! I’ve let my old standards go and I think that it’s a good thing. Perhaps there is something charming about crusty car seats.

As spectrum Mom’s, we have a very unique problem to solve… How do we give our kids all that they need to live life to the fullest, without ever seeming like we’re fixing them? If we’re fixing them, that would mean they are broken, right? How do we navigate through a world that isn’t really equipped for our kids and try to create the perfect school setting? Find the right baseball team? The right therapy combo? The right summer camp? Do they exist? And why is it that just when you think you find the right fit and start to relax — all hell breaks loose?

We are warriors on the front line of autism and we’re not willing to settle. We will continue to carve the path that allows our kids to learn, grow and love. We will jump over hurdles and knock down walls along the way. Because, if we don’t, who else will?

So thank you other autism mommies. Thank you for being strong and amazing. For being understanding and loving. For being unbearably exhausted and still pressing on.
Happy Mother’s Day!!!

BREAKFAST

Protein Smoothie:
It take rice protein powder (I get it from whole foods) and blend it with bananas, strawberries and a splash of OJ in it. You can even sneak supplements in there as long as you blend them really well.

SNACKS

Big Pretzels
So, my son BEGS for the pretzels from Annie’s everytime we go to the mall (a babysitter slipped up once and bought him one). Today I decided to use a GF bread mix to make pretzels — just mixed it up as per the instructions, let it rise, rolled it out and shaped it into a pretzel. They came out delicious! I even ate one.  Great for lunches and snacks.

Sliced Apples and Nut Butter
A nice, healthy snack…it can even be a school lunch if you send enough nut butter.  Just slice up and apple and fill a little plastic tub (i use Glad…but don’t heat foods in them, they leach toxins) with your child’s favorite nut butter. They seem to like the dipping action – makes it kinda fun.

LUNCH

Turkey Meatballs
Turkey Meatballs are a great way to add protein to a variety of different meals. Jake loves “meatball soup”. Here is the recipe for the meatballs…use your imagination on how you want to serve them.. here are some of our favorite:

over rice with veggies
“submarine style” on a gfcf hot dog bun (Kinnickinnik) with sauce (Whole Foods, Whole Kid’s Organic) in Shelton’s GFCF chicken broth with rice and favorite frozen veggies over rice spaghetti with GFCF sauce (Whole Foods, Whole Kid’s Organic)

Turkey Meatballs:

1 lb. organic white meat ground turkey
1/2 chopped garlic clove (depending on your child you may want to omit)
Salt and Pepper

Mix ingredients in a bowl
Roll into bite size balls
Fry in extra virgin olive oil until browned on the outside and fully cooked on inside.

(You can also bake these – I haven’t done it, but I’m sure if you put them on a cookie sheet and bake @ 350 for about 1/2 hour, they’d be good. I’m guessing though, so make sure they are cooked thoroughly – if they are pink inside, cook them more).

Kickin’ Chicken Nuggets
This one is pretty easy and delicious for the whole family.

Take a bag of GFCF potato chips (Lay’s original is one) and smash them into tiny, bread crumb sized pieces (tiny helpers enjoy this part a lot).
Cut 2 inch cubes, or longer strips of chicken breast meat
Dip the chunks of chicken in egg then roll in the potato chip crumbs
Fry in extra virgin olive oil until crunchy on the outside and fully cooked on the inside.

Cool a bit and serve – or make a big batch and freeze some of them…they’re really good for quick dinners and school lunches

Complete Lunch
3-4 chicken nuggets with magic ketchup
1 envirokids peanutbutter or berry bar
1 santa cruz organics apple sauce cup
gfcf drink

easy to pack…doesn’t come back.

PBRC
Peanut Butter and Jelly between 2 rice cakes (make sure they’re gfcf) makes a very nice school lunch. Side that with a cup of gfcf applesauce and a juice box and you’re good to go.

Wrap Sandwiches
Rap up gfcf luncheon meat with lettuce and tomato in a corn tortilla…delicious! Chances are you’re going to make one for yourself too!

This site has a lot of interesting GFCF recipes. Love the school lunch recipe ideas!!

http://newdiets.com/index/School_Lunch_Menus.shtml

DESSERTS

“Ice Cream”
Take your child’s favorite frozen fruit (like strawberries or blueberries) and put it in a blender with a splash of water. Blend it until it’s slushy. Either serve right away or freeze. It becomes like a sorbet or italian ice (if you freeze it again).

Chocolate Cake

1 bag of Pamela’s Chocolate Brownie Mix
2 large eggs, or egg replacer (prepared)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup milk, rice or soy milk

Put all ingredients into a bowl. Mix thoroughly. For the fudgiest brownies, do not over mix. Pour into a greased 8″ or 9″ round, square or bundt pan. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes. Cake should be firm to the touch. Do not overbake.

Makes one layer cake or about 14 cupcakes.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
2/3 cup of coconut milk
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Buttercream Frosting

1/4 cup dairy-free butter, softened
1 cup organic powdered sugar
1 tsp gluten-free vanilla
1 tbl rice or almond milk (Rice Dream brand has a tiny bit of gluten-so avoid that brand if you are sensitive)
2 tbl raspberry or strawberry juice for the pink color (I had some frozen berries in the freezer, just defrosted and squeezed the juice out)

Cream butter-mix in powdered sugar, vanilla, and rice milk. Beat until smooth. Add more milk to reach desired consistency.

I’m not going to say that it’s easy following the GFCF diet, but I do know that it has really done wonders for us. Jake started at about 2.5 years old, which turned out to be a really good thing…because he doesn’t really know any better now. When you don’t know what Wonder Bread tastes like, you don’t really know that the GFCF bread is rather dense.

But to parents out there with older kids on the spectrum, I encourage you to try it for at least a month. AND, you can’t do this in a “kind of” manner. You really need to cut out all gluten (wheat, oats, rye, barley) and casein or you won’t see results. It’s an all-or-nothing thing.

It’s not easy, and you really need to relearn how to shop. But Jake was a new person within 30 days of being on the diet. Suddenly, he was in the same room as us…he wasn’t in his own world nearly as much.

We’ll be launching more GFCF foods in the Reverse Autism store this month. Check back there. I’m even going to create some “starter kits” for breakfasts, lunches, etc.

Below are some lists and additional Resources:
If you have any suggestions on what it would take to get you started on GFCF, post it here and we’ll do our best to get it for you.

Great news…Whole Foods now has a list of GFCF foods! Before I had to cross reference between the gluten free and dairy free lists.

Here it is…

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/specialdiets/SP_SHW_Gluten_and_Casein_Free.pdf

Enjoy!!

This really nice list from TACA has a whole section of safe candies and snacks you can get anywhere (even a gas station).

http://www.tacanow.com/foodlist.htm

Always read labels!! Companies change ingredients all the time.

Advice On…Snacks, How to Order in Restaurants, School Parties, etc…

http://www.gnd.org/diet/DietTips.htm

** It’s important to note that all of these recipes, product suggestions and such are submitted by parents like you. It’s up to you to confirm the accuracy. READ LABELS! Ask questions. Your Wendy’s may cook their fries differently then this posters…it’s your job to be sure.

You’ll be looking for GFCF juice boxes…here is a safe list!!

http://www.gfcfdiet.com/Beverages.htm

Interesting…kinda sad…music video to raise autism awareness.

http://www.frinkfest.com/

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cSdfCN5ewHY

Yes, it is a rap video…but it really makes a very nice point. Thank God for the people who have decided to make a living helping our kids. Speech, OT, Social Skills, Floortime, ABA… We all have therapists that have made this journey through autism survivable. From diagnosis day up until today…there has been an aide, a therapist or a behaviorist on my calendar every day. We all need to take a moment to thank these amazing, giving, understanding people (for the most – I have had a few nightmares that ended quickly) and realize how lucky we are to have them in our lives.

John, Mike, Kristie…you’ve all had a huge impact on who my son is and who he is becoming.

Thank you!!

Posted by Sammystin

Hello everyone!

This is the first time I’ve joined a forum… I think it’s great that we can share information and learn from each other.

I built a website last summer and am still adding content to it.  My son Sammy was diagnosed with autism 24 months ago.  He has come a long way since then and most people cannot tell that he’s even autistic now… yes, he’s still a bit stubborn, but has very good understanding of the language that it’s much easier on the whole family.  His greatest challenge continues to be language, but he’s very verbal now in two languages (we speak Korean at home).

Sammy’s in mainstream kindergarten and special education at the same school.  I remain hopeful that he’ll be all mainstream by the 2nd or 3rd grade.

I truly believe that autism can be cured…. I think it’s mercury, environmental toxic, and immune disorder and as I continue to give him healthy stuff and stay away from chemicals, he’ll continue to get better!  Please visit my website and get more information including Sammy’s full story.

_____________________________

http://www.best-autism-help.com
http://www.beautifullypure.ecrater.com

So…Jake got sent home from school on Friday. He had a tummy ache and was peeing a lot. Of course, I thought..urinary tract infection and knew we would have to go to the doctor. I called my DAN! doctor, she was out of town, so off to the old pediatricians office we went.

Jake was great – it used to be so horrible when we went in there for ear infection after ear infection. He peed in the cup like a champ. Waited patiently, it amazed me how much he remembered about the place after not being there for years. Although he was very much into his own world in those days, he was still in the present…make sure you realize that and act accordingly.

So…we wait and we wait for the results to come in and guess who the doctor is??? Our old pediatrician (I switched later on), the very one that told me – even after I questioned the safety based on an article I read – that the MMR was safe. Plus, on that day 4.4 years ago, hgave Jake the chicken pox vaccine and the MMR on the same day… all the while Jake had sniffles.

The interesting thing is…I don’t hate him. I didn’t want to punch him. He was very interested in how we’ve been and I told him very busy battling autism. He looked at Jake like, “he’s not autistic” and i said, “yes…we’ve almost won the battle.” The funny thing is…he looked at me and said, “I hope you’re still immunizing.”

It amazes me. Okay, they are in denial. Okay, they don’t think it’s the vaccines, but if there was even a question, a shadow of a doubt…would you ever say that to a Mom who’s been put through the wringer?

All the things that I’ve learned over the last 3 years…heavy metal toxicity, GI damage, gluten, casein, yeast management, probiotics, chelation….all of the new knowledge I have, every conference, interview, crying spell, moment of joy…all of that, and nothing changed for this Dr. He still thinks the exact same way that he did the day he said, “The MMR is fine, I gave it to my kids.” Bottom line, you are in charge of your child’s well being. This guy has his degree and is clearly not interested in learning more. If Jake was under his care, we’d be screwed right now. He would’ve scratched me all the way into the office, bit the nurse, screamed uncontrollablly during the whole visit and been untouchable by the doctor.

As I’ve said before, what your pediatrician doesn’t know, can hurt you.

Think biomed!

Posted by twistedmom

Hello.  My name is Amy and I have an almost 12 yr old son (his birthday is this Thursday) who was diagnosed about 2.5 yrs ago with PDD-NOS.  When he was in kindergarten, he was diagnosed with ADHD and possibly Bipolar Disorder (he met the criteria for it, but was very young and the dr wanted more evidence).  Over the past few years, I’ve dealt with doctors and school officials to try and get him in the best special ed program that I possibly could.  He was hospitalized in first grade because he wasn’t gaining any weight and his meds had to get sorted out in a safe environment, so instead of sending him off to a children’s hospital, the psych he had at the time told me that they could get him into the local mental hospital/drug treatment facility.  This was his second psych that hospitalized him and that was the ONLY treatment I let her do with him (she started talking about schizo-affective disorder and institutionalizing him).  It was miserable while he was hospitalized because I could only spend an hour a day with him and at 6, he wasn’t able to understand why Mom and Dad put him in a place like that.  He was the only small child in that place and the rest of the kids there were all teenagers on suicide watch.  I was furious that I let her talk me into it because I ended up with CPS interviewing me about malnutrition and neglect.  Luckily, the transitional facility that he was in filled the CPS officer and told her that his medication (Adderall) was affecting his appetite.
Fast forward to the end of his second grade year and his re-evaluation and the diagnostician and a specialist sit me down to tell me that he’s got PDD-NOS.  I freaked.  I’d already been thru the process and arguments with teachers.  Now they unload this on me.  I cried for hours.  They didn’t give me much information and it scared me.  What was I up against this time?
I went home and sat down at my computer, trying to pull up everything I could about PDD, Asperger’s, and ASD.  They moved my son out of the Emotionally Disturbed class and put him into a program for Autistic children, which was a blessing.  I’m still not thrilled with the system, but for now it’s working.

I got divorced from Josh’s father and it’s been really hard on him.  I’m engaged to a man with two daughters and one of them has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, she and my son get along famously but she’s only 7.  It’s been a real adjustment, trying to fill everyone in on behaviors and how to deal.  I figured it was about time to get some support.

Amy

****************************

Wow Amy…what a story. Josh is lucky to have a mom like you. I’m happy to hear he’s getting along with his step-sister-to-be. It’s so nice to see our kids connect to another child. At first a diagnosis is very upsetting, but eventually it’s a good thing as it allows you to start planning a course of action based on fact vs. suspicion.

I’m not sure how Josh’s weight is doing now, but a few years ago Jake withered down to nothing. We worked with a nutritionist and found out his stomach enzymes weren’t strong enough to digest most foods…she gave us some enzymes to help him digest and he started eating meat within a few days…he hadn’t eaten meat in almost a year. It took a good year, but he wen’t from skin and bones that wasn’t growing any taller to pretty healthy. He still has a pretty limited diet, but he’s kept his weight at an acceptable level.

Let me know if you want to know any more about enzymes and I can send you some links. I’d love to hear what kinds of treatments and therapy you are working with now.

Welcome to the RA forums!! We’re so happy to have you here.

All the best!!

Elynn

Posted by Anne

I’d like to tell you about our daughter Lissy. Maybe it may offer you hope. Lissy was diagnosed at three years six months as severely autistic, with severe learning disabilities, profound speach and language difficulties and a severe and complex sensory disorder affecting all seven sensory systems, anorexic with severely disturbed sleep patterns and hyperactivity. At that time, we were perhaps the only ones who believed in her potential to be a well functioning child. Lissy is now rising seven. she is a dearly loved child and we are immensely proud of her. Lissy’s diagnoses is now simply high functioning autism, she is in some academic areas two years above her peers. she attends mainstream school and is doing really well. We used a wide range of interventions because her difficulties were so complex that no single approach would have been enough. Because we live in the U.k we were able to get a lot of health care for free and what wasn’t available we brought in. We used discrete trial methodology, Greenspan ‘floor time’, on advice from her nutritionist we excluded gluten, all dairy, all additives etc and use a lot of supplements including those for increasing the health of the bowels. we continue to use Carol Grey social stories, we continue to use occupational therapy and physiotherapy techniques to develop proprioception – however, Lissy just sees it as ball games and ‘ballet’ and just great fun. We used art therapy and music therapy – she’s now great at art and music. We also attend The British Institute of Brain Injured children, which whilst it is not available on the NHS is fantastic and a source of up to date knowledge and expertise. I won’t pretend that it’s been easy, we still believe we have a way to go before lissy’s reached her full potential but she’s on the road to health and we are so very, very glad that we are traveling with her.

Don’t take my word for it…watch this video of recovered children and decide for yourself.

http://www.autism-recoveredchildren.com/