Thursday was Nicholas' official meeting to discuss his treatment plan since his evaluation a couple of weeks ago with his occupational therapist. I sat nervously with the most genuine smile I could muster plastered to my face as I listened to her explain that Nicholas, developmentally, functions on the same level as a 13 month old baby. Aside from his speech therapy, Nicholas will attend OT 3 times a week for the next year. There is a waiting list for speech therapy so we will not be able to start until the end of April.
Not that this was the best news I'd received lately, but there is something so rewarding that comes with knowing you are throwing your heart and soul into helping your child...and it's paying off. What was also remarkably refreshing was the therapist's reaction to the differences in Nicholas' speech and behavior since evaluating him just 2 weeks prior. As she handed him crayons and paper to occupy himself during the meeting, he politely replied "wow, thank you so much!". He sat patiently and colored his paper as we talked and interrupted only to ask "mommy, can I have a snack?". As the meeting was coming to an end, Ms. N (the therapist) says she notices that Nicholas is talking better and behaving more calmly. I simply explain to her that he's been on a gluten free casein free diet for the past month. She smiles and says...well he's doing great.
So...our journey continues and my appreciation for the knowledge that improves the quality of life for autistic children deepens. As I throw myself deeper into the GFCF world, I realize how incredible the results can be. This morning, as I was getting out of bed, Nicholas says "hey mommy, what about pancakes?" I smiled and said, okay, let's go. As we walked downstairs he looked down and exclaimed, "mommy, where's your shoes?" I give myself a mental high five!
Tonight I made GFCF pizza with mozerella cheese and a crispy crust. For dessert? Soft, warm, chewy, chocolate chip cookies with sprinkles (completely GFCF). Nicholas was in heaven.
Continue to pray for us as we continue our journey. We are so appreciative of all those who have offered support.
God bless.
xoxo
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
My son...an addict?
Sometimes we learn our most important life lessons in our most difficult times. Today offered up such an opportunity. As I mentioned previously, we have only just begun our journey towards healing for Nicholas and though the road ahead will not be easy, I am committed to seeing him through. However, knowing something will not be easy, and experiencing the difficulties that present themselves are completely different things.
One week ago Nicholas began a diet that has shown miraculous results for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. A diet free of gluten and casein offers promising results for these children and many parents report marked improvement in just a matter of days. We, too, thought we had such a testimony to give. We have been slowly eliminating the gluten and casein from Nicholas' diet and for the first five days, things seemed to improve greatly. He was behaving in a more calm manner and having less tantrums.
However, the hand of God was already at work. Just yesterday I found myself in Barnes and Noble looking for a cook book that would open the doors of this diet a little wider for me so that I could continue to ease Nicholas into this GFCF (gluten free, casein free) world. I picked out a book titled, The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet: What it is, Why it works, How to do it (long title, huh?). Already feeling a surge of confidence from the improvements Nicholas already displayed, I felt I already had a good handle on this whole GFCF thing; all I needed was a recipe or two and we'd be set! Right? Wrong!
Within the first few pages, I read why these precious children have to begin such a diet in the first place. Though Nicholas had already started, this was only due to the results I'd read from other parents. I must admit my ignorance in saying that I didn't know exactly why they needed it in the first place. As I read the words, my heart broke into a million pieces. I learned that my little boy, my precious son, is as addicted to the types of foods he eats as someone who abuses opiate type drugs such as morphine. I also learned that casein and gluten are the most common foods to have this opiate effect. These foods act like a morphine to the autistic child's brain, dulling pain receptors (no wonder he doesn't cry when he gets hurt), causing social withdrawal, and damaging the speech and auditory processing units of the brain.
The saddest part is that when taken off such foods, these children will go through withdrawal symptoms (ranging from irritability to rage) eerily similar to those experienced by morphine abusers. Such symptoms are runny nose, diarrhea, headache, nausea, kicking movements, muscle spasms, and chills.
My first thought was, "thank God Nicholas isn't going through that". Yet, God was preparing me. Today, Nicholas exhibited almost every symptom of withdrawal experienced by morphine abusers. All I could do was pray for my little boy as I watched him cry for no apparent reason. In that moment, I could not understand what he was going through and my patience was wearing thin. However, the ache in my heart grew stronger as I realized what was happening. It is the saddest thing you can imagine.
Nicholas insisted on going to bed early tonight and after just a few minutes, I went upstairs to give him more kisses and tell him how much mommy loves him. Yet...he was already sleeping. I can only imagine that his little body is trying to recover and regain strength to continue this journey. I now know that getting Nicholas gluten and casein free is vital. I only pray that his pain goes away quickly so that we can get to the other side of this leg of the journey.
Please pray for us.
God Bless.
xoxo
One week ago Nicholas began a diet that has shown miraculous results for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. A diet free of gluten and casein offers promising results for these children and many parents report marked improvement in just a matter of days. We, too, thought we had such a testimony to give. We have been slowly eliminating the gluten and casein from Nicholas' diet and for the first five days, things seemed to improve greatly. He was behaving in a more calm manner and having less tantrums.
However, the hand of God was already at work. Just yesterday I found myself in Barnes and Noble looking for a cook book that would open the doors of this diet a little wider for me so that I could continue to ease Nicholas into this GFCF (gluten free, casein free) world. I picked out a book titled, The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet: What it is, Why it works, How to do it (long title, huh?). Already feeling a surge of confidence from the improvements Nicholas already displayed, I felt I already had a good handle on this whole GFCF thing; all I needed was a recipe or two and we'd be set! Right? Wrong!
Within the first few pages, I read why these precious children have to begin such a diet in the first place. Though Nicholas had already started, this was only due to the results I'd read from other parents. I must admit my ignorance in saying that I didn't know exactly why they needed it in the first place. As I read the words, my heart broke into a million pieces. I learned that my little boy, my precious son, is as addicted to the types of foods he eats as someone who abuses opiate type drugs such as morphine. I also learned that casein and gluten are the most common foods to have this opiate effect. These foods act like a morphine to the autistic child's brain, dulling pain receptors (no wonder he doesn't cry when he gets hurt), causing social withdrawal, and damaging the speech and auditory processing units of the brain.
The saddest part is that when taken off such foods, these children will go through withdrawal symptoms (ranging from irritability to rage) eerily similar to those experienced by morphine abusers. Such symptoms are runny nose, diarrhea, headache, nausea, kicking movements, muscle spasms, and chills.
My first thought was, "thank God Nicholas isn't going through that". Yet, God was preparing me. Today, Nicholas exhibited almost every symptom of withdrawal experienced by morphine abusers. All I could do was pray for my little boy as I watched him cry for no apparent reason. In that moment, I could not understand what he was going through and my patience was wearing thin. However, the ache in my heart grew stronger as I realized what was happening. It is the saddest thing you can imagine.
Nicholas insisted on going to bed early tonight and after just a few minutes, I went upstairs to give him more kisses and tell him how much mommy loves him. Yet...he was already sleeping. I can only imagine that his little body is trying to recover and regain strength to continue this journey. I now know that getting Nicholas gluten and casein free is vital. I only pray that his pain goes away quickly so that we can get to the other side of this leg of the journey.
Please pray for us.
God Bless.
xoxo
Friday, March 14, 2008
Why Kiss Hugs?
My son Nicholas...my sweet little baby boy (well, I say baby, but he's actually 3 years old) was diagnosed with Austism Spectrum Disorder/Sensory Processing Disorder very recently. I knew about Autism. I'd read the books, done the research, and felt fully prepared to debunk any notion of him having anything remotely related to Autism. Yes, my motherly instinct told me something wasn't quite right...but Autism? I didn't consider myself a mother in denial until I heard that official diagnosis.
Nicholas always makes eye contact, gives more hugs than I can count in a day, tells me he loves me, and has never been shy. I never imagined that the way he liked to line or stack his toys, the way he'd only observe other children playing rather than joining in, or the clear inability for others to understand his language was related to Autism. The frequent tantrums, the inability to understand logic, and his complete lack of interest in every single toy he owns were all signs I missed somehow.
However, here we are on this journey. I, like many mothers, believe Autism is treatable and can be reversed. We have only begun our journey towards healing, but already I see changes in my beautiful son. Just today, we had a whole conversation about his dog, Davidson. He told me how Davidson likes to chew on his toys and I told him I would "spank Davidson's little tail" if he didn't stop. His big smile and silly laughs let me know that he knew I was just joking. This is a small, but substantial milestone.
This blog is being created to keep family and friends updated on Nicholas' progress as we continue this journey towards healing. The name...Kiss Hugs, is very fitting. Every night when I tuck Nicholas in for bed, I can walk about two steps before I hear "Mommy...kiss hug!" A kiss hug is when I kiss Nicholas all over his little face and give him a big squeeze that always makes him laugh so hard...sometimes he gets hiccups. It's become my most treasured part of the day and I soak it in with all my might. Just as I soak in those precious moments, I am soaking in every bit of information I can that will improve the quality of Nicholas' life. I am so grateful for those in my life (and you all know who you are) that have supported, and continue to support, all my efforts on this journey.
Please check back for updates on Nicholas. I will post very soon.
God bless.
xoxo
Nicholas always makes eye contact, gives more hugs than I can count in a day, tells me he loves me, and has never been shy. I never imagined that the way he liked to line or stack his toys, the way he'd only observe other children playing rather than joining in, or the clear inability for others to understand his language was related to Autism. The frequent tantrums, the inability to understand logic, and his complete lack of interest in every single toy he owns were all signs I missed somehow.
However, here we are on this journey. I, like many mothers, believe Autism is treatable and can be reversed. We have only begun our journey towards healing, but already I see changes in my beautiful son. Just today, we had a whole conversation about his dog, Davidson. He told me how Davidson likes to chew on his toys and I told him I would "spank Davidson's little tail" if he didn't stop. His big smile and silly laughs let me know that he knew I was just joking. This is a small, but substantial milestone.
This blog is being created to keep family and friends updated on Nicholas' progress as we continue this journey towards healing. The name...Kiss Hugs, is very fitting. Every night when I tuck Nicholas in for bed, I can walk about two steps before I hear "Mommy...kiss hug!" A kiss hug is when I kiss Nicholas all over his little face and give him a big squeeze that always makes him laugh so hard...sometimes he gets hiccups. It's become my most treasured part of the day and I soak it in with all my might. Just as I soak in those precious moments, I am soaking in every bit of information I can that will improve the quality of Nicholas' life. I am so grateful for those in my life (and you all know who you are) that have supported, and continue to support, all my efforts on this journey.
Please check back for updates on Nicholas. I will post very soon.
God bless.
xoxo
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