December 5, 2009

Five Reasons Your Child With Autism Should Go Raw

1.  You’re considering or are already on a GFCF diet. We had done a GFCF diet for our son when he was three years old.  We saw several improvements.  But everyday was a fight with him.  He didn’t like most of the foods or the substitutes for his old favorites.  And when it came to the supplements, forget it.  He would NOT take them, period.  And he was always watching how we did his food, ALWAYS.  So there wasn’t even a shot of sneaking them in.  Now, at the age of 10, he’s been raw for 6 months, and he loves the foods, and we have not felt the need for supplementation at this point.

2.  Your ASD child has been having bowel issues. Our son had bowel issues for YEARS.  Before we did GFCF, it was like he had chronic diarrhea.  Once we were doing GFCF, it was the opposite.  He would have trouble going.  Since he’s been raw, we have had no bowel movement issues what so ever.  He goes regularly, and it is easy and stress-free for him to go.  This has been not only a major relief for our son, but also for us as parents.  No one wants to see his or her child struggle with something so basic as going to the bathroom.

3.  Your child has issues associated with Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS). At the age of ten, our son had what I can only describe as a “child’s beer belly”.  That honestly was the only way I could think of do describe it.  He wasn’t digesting properly, and for whatever reason, it left his gut looking like he drank a six-pack a day!  Within the first two weeks of eating raw, it was gone.  He was eating nearly constantly at that point.  I truly believe it was his body’s way of getting all the nutrients it had been missing for so long, because after a while, it tapered down, and he now eats at pretty normal intervals.

4.  You would like to see improved eye contact. I can’t guarantee the same thing that happened for my son will happen for your child.  Each child with ASD is different, just like snowflakes.  But one of the big areas we’ve seen improvement in is eye contact.  So much so, that it really put me beside myself the day I realized that not only was he giving me eye contact, but he was talking to me and looking DEEP into my eyes, like he could see through my soul.  That was amazing to our family!

5.  You would like to see your child with ASD reach their full potential. We went from a child who could talk, but didn’t care if he was understood, to a child who will enunciate to make SURE he’s understood.  We went from a child who fought about doing schoolwork, to a child who reads for pleasure, creates and saves Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, and is truly funny and engaging.  We are seeing the potential that’s been within him all along, coming to the surface and out into the open.  Wouldn’t you love to see what YOUR child’s full potential will be?

Disclaimer: None of the information here is meant to diagnose, treat, or cure autism.  It is here for informational purposes only.  Your child may or may not have the same results, as each child with autism has different results with the raw food diet just like any other person who tries a raw food diet, with or without autism.  It is best to consult with your child’s doctor before changing their food program.

November 26, 2009

Top 10 Things to Help Your Child with ASD NOW!

When we receive the autism diagnosis, and even before, everything is a waiting game.  We wait for someone to believe us enough when we say something is not quite right to refer us further along the evaluation pike.  We wait for the appointment once we finally get through to who we’re referred to.  Sometimes we wait for a diagnosis because who we were referred to doesn’t feel, “comfortable” or “qualified”, to give a diagnosis “just yet”.  We wait for Speech appointments, Occupational Therapy appointments, Physical Therapy appointments, ENT appointments, and Optometry appointments.  When we finally DO get the diagnosis, we further have to wait for Developmental Psychologist appointments, Neuro-Psych appointments, DAN! doctor appointments (if we choose to go that route) and the list goes on and on.

Some of us have insurance that doesn’t even cover some of the most basic appointments.  Some of us can’t afford to do half of the interventions we’d like to do at any given moment.  Quite a few of these appointments have waiting lists that stretch to as long as a YEAR LONG WAIT!  We as parents want to help our children NOW, not a year from now, and we would like things that we can do immediately, if not sooner.  We are told there is only a small window of opportunity to help our children with various therapies.  So why are we made to wait so long?

What follows are ways to empower you as a parent.  Things you can do RIGHT NOW to engage with, work with, better understand, and take control of helping your child reach their full potential.

Disclaimer:  None of the following is meant as medical advise.  It is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure autism or any other disease.  It is intended for information purposes only.  It is valuable to seek the advice of an alternative health care professional before making any changes to your existing food program.

1.  Look into their eyes. I’m not talking about the kind of eye contact where you keep saying “Look at me”, and this can be done even if your child doesn’t give eye contact.  It is something that you may have to patient with a bit and work at, but the payoff is well worth it.  Even for the child who does not give eye contact, there are moments, where you can catch them at just the right time, and where you are both looking into each other’s eyes.  There is a soul connection that can be made here that is like no other.  It is where they can read into your true intent for them and how you view them, and where, I believe, if you dare to believe, you can meet with God.  This is not something that can readily be explained, it’s just something that is.  Try it, find out for yourself.  You have nothing to lose with it and everything to gain.  You’ll thank me for this.

2.  Let go of your perception of normal. Life was not meant to be a struggle.  When you factor in autism, it’s easy to lose sight of that.  Sure, autism adds in a whole new set of stressors, I’m not denying that, but there is something I’ve noticed over the years in working with and coming into contact with families affected by autism.  Those that either cannot or will not let go of the idea of “being normal” have parents that are more stressed, sometimes to the point of being bitter, and children with more issues both physically and emotionally.  No child comes to us to be pushed into the little mold we create for them.  They come here ready to break the mold that made them, and should be given that opportunity no matter their “limitations”.  Each child comes with their own purpose, their own mission to fulfill on this earth, including and especially children on the autism spectrum and children with various disabilities.  Do not discount their “disability” as weakness.  When we as parents keep pushing to get them to “act normal” and “fit in” it creates struggle, justifiable rage on the part of the child, and can also manifest physically and mentally/emotionally in distorted sleep, constipation, rage, episodes of manic/neurotic behaviors, and a host of other problems.  If you let go of your perceived perception of normal, it is then easy to accept your child for who they are, and then watch as they blossom into who they are destined to become.

3.  Meet them where they are, not where you want them to be. Back in 1999 when we were doing the evaluations and into 2000, when we got the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, everyone kept saying that we had to bring Justin into our world.  What the majority of the “experts” failed to recognize, and therefore failed to do, was that you have to meet children on the spectrum right where they are.  You cannot force them to where you want them to be.  This not only creates frustration for both you and the child, it also leads to gaps in learning and missed opportunities in teaching the child with ASD.  There is no point dragging them from point A to point K, if you’re going to skip the building blocks of point B through J.  It frustrates the child who didn’t want to go to point K in the first place, and will later frustrate the parent when they don’t understand why the child doesn’t get points B through J.  There’s also the point that in meeting them where they are, you get a truer glimpse into how they think, how they learn, what it’s like to be a part of their world, and what is in their hearts.  You know, the important things in life.

4.  Take care of yourself first. I’m really starting to believe that we all learn this the hard way ourselves, but I’m hoping it’s not true.  When we first start to realize something is not happening according to the developmental timeline, a good majority of us forget that we need sleep, proper nourishment, movement, and 5 seconds to breathe every now and again.  We need to stop, gather our thoughts (and perhaps our senses as well?) and remember that if we’re not taken care of and okay, we won’t be any good at taking care of anyone else.  Besides, we all know, if Mamma ain’t happy, nobody is going to be happy. *wink*

5.  Look at your environment. Is your home set up for chaos or tranquility.  Is there so much stuff as to cause numerous distractions and possible set up for failure for your ASD child (if you have clutter, there is a lot to get into).  Is it time to possibly purge and organize your home and belongings?  A highly important aspect to look at is what you clean your home with.  What do your cleaning products contain, and how can you find better alternatives?  What your children breath in every day, as well as what goes on their skin, can play a positive or negative role on their health and/or behavior.

6.  See the child first, the autism later. One of the things that tends to happen when parents receive the autism diagnosis, is they look at their child like someone they don’t even know.  I believe it’s part of the initial shock/grieving process and that is perfectly fine.  However, once we get past that initial shock, sometimes we tend to focus a little too much on the autism, and forget about the joys and triumphs of the child.  We focus on their weak areas, and forget to acknowledge their strengths.  I’m all for helping our children develop further in the areas they are weak in.  But let’s acknowledge the child in all their glory first, their strengths shortly thereafter, and then use their strengths to help build them up in the areas where they may fall short of their peers.  An example would be using a love of music and songs/singing to help build vocabulary and develop speech.

7.  Manage volume levels. One of the things all parents, not just those of us with children on the spectrum struggle with.  Yet it seems even harder to get some of our children on the spectrum to keep in mind the difference between an “inside voice” and an “outside voice”.  One of the techniques that can be used to help in this is softly playing music in the background throughout the day.  I’ve found soft jazz and classical to be most helpful with this one.  Also, if we institute whispering for a while when noise levels get too out of control, this can be helpful and fun!

8.  Start researching early intervention protocols NOW. There several forms of early intervention now!  Many more than when we first got our diagnosis back in 2000.  The key to early intervention is doing your homework.  Find out what each one is about, what their success rates are.  What are their goals and outcomes?  Can you do any of it yourself and get started right away, saving you both time and money?  And the most important factor, is finding one that fits YOUR child, as each child responds to different therapies in different ways.  Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) was very successful for our child.  Floor time therapy may be more successful for yours.  What your goals and outcomes are, as well as your child’s learning style and temperament will be some of the deciding factors in what you choose.

9.  Take a look into dietary intervention. Some children have food allergies.  For some, it is more subtle, in the form of food intolerances, which do NOT show up on allergy testing (something even the allergist agreed with me on).  Our son responded favorably to a gluten-free/casein-free/corn-free diet.  It wasn’t until raw however, that he soared to new heights in communication, sensory issues, cognitive skills, and so much more.  For further information on raw with regards to autism, send an email to info@sunshineboatright.com so we can set you up with a consultation.  To get started now, you may wish to first look into an elimination diet, and go from there.

10.  Circle the wagons and gather support. Some of the best support I’ve received, outside of my husband, has been from other parents on the spectrum.  Even if you feel too tired, too emotional, or just too plain burnt out, it is well worth it to check out a local autism support group.  You can find them online and then find out when and where the meetings are.  There are also various support groups online to be found as well.  If you are doing raw, or are curious about doing raw with you child with ASD, I invite you if you haven’t already, to sign up for our Ezine: Soaring to New Heights on the Home page http://www.sunshineboatright.com.

Here’s an extra “food-for-thought” if you will, besides the above, please, keep your sense of humor.  There may be some days where it’s one of the few things that keeps you sane and out of the brownie pan. *wink*