by Firefly07 » Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:32 pm
My 3 1/2 year old son has been diagnosed as 'autistic.' It took 3 pediatric specialists, the other 2 said they were sure he was, but weren't comfortable diagnosing him. (Maybe cause I REALLY didn't want them too.) He displays some of the behaviors. He doesn't usually make eye contact, (but he can now, & I'll get to why.) He tenses up & still flaps his hands about, especially when he gets excited. He makes squealing sounds, when excited. He rarely holds still, unless he's unconscious.
He is BRILLIANT. He is very physically driven. He is more interested in appliances & tools then toys, but if he gets to figure out how to operate something new, it doesn't matter if it's a toy or not! He is a very physically driven child & as a result of this & his height, people tend to think he's a little older then he is, except for his lack of speech that is. He understands more conversation then we can realize. He has other ways of communicating, non verbal that is very effective. One of the many words he said around six months of age was "yellow". He recognizes many words, & knows what they represent, like 'umbrella'.
Anyway I guess what I'm getting at is that he has even more specific dietary requirements, or rather, restrictions then most. Gluten is one of the worst things for him to eat. Soy created a food addiction. Of course I had him tested & he wasn't 'allergic' (I knew that, I told them that wasn't the problem I asked if the test could tell me more. I'm not a Dr, I couldn't tell them exactly what.
I sound crazy. I'm not... yet. So no soy no gluten & NO dairy. If I ate food with dairy & tried to nurse him, as a tiny infant it made him very sick. He wouldn't stop throwing up. & I don't buy into "they'll grow out of it." If it made him that sick, so what if he doesn't actually throw up or instantly die, it can't be good for him. I was doing alright with vegetarian diet around no gluten or dairy. tricky, but possible, but NO SOY?! I have been struggling with that. It slithers into nutmilks. it's as insidious as gluten.
No wheat,spelt,barley, rye, kamut & because of contamination risks & a similiar protein, so no oats either.
so far that leaves, rice,corn, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth... I'm sure there are many others I just can't think of right now.
I removed things slowly that I thought were unhealthy, I was raised vegetarian so no meat wasn't exactly a tragedy. I had removed eggs, but I'm feeling less creative now, so some oils & eggs have crept in, just because my mind is going blank.
I can't make regular gluten free bread. I've tried. It's a science, not an art. I'm no a scientist. You could play hockey with that bread & that is unacceptable.
I could make decent bread, oil free & it was still good. Just not gluten free. I've been making quick breads, usually as muffins. The kids especially like pumpkin raisin. I avoid foods i know to be gmo. that means if the corn isn't organic, I won't feed it to them. I'm having a harder time using my cookbooks. The good autistic cookbooks push meat, for lack of anything else. I KNOW better than that. Forgetting ALL the health problems one can expect on a diet of animal meat, an autistic child's digestive system doesn't function as it should, friendly bacteria that should be there isn't there in quantities & ratios it should be. (again can't validate the information, but it makes sense logically to me. gluten is a difficult substance to digest, & if a person's system doesn't work right, wouldn't it stand to reason it couldn't handle a difficult substances? There's more to it than that, but this is already enough to fill a small book.)
I have done a lot of internet research. (as the quality of my vision will attest.) I believe it can be fixed or cured, I KNOW it can be, but I'm not educated well enough, no smart enough to really figure this out & put the pieces together.
Autism seems to be caused by heavy metals. Whether from vaccines or some other source. I can't even get an accurate test for mercury, because a blood test won't give me an accurate reading of what's lurking in his system. I don't know how to find a test that will. I have reason to worry there may be arsenic in our water. The test that indicated 'safe' levels of mercury also indicated larger yet still 'safe' amounts of arsenic. When I can get the funds together I'll have our water tested, thoroughly. I sneak a teaspoon of bentonite clay 1 or 2 a day in a bottle of some kind of nutmilk. Clay is supposed to attract the arsenic, & take it out of his system.
When I can, I get hemp milk, but almond & hazelnut are good too. I've tried to blend up cashew & walnut, but I can't seem to make it smooth enough for him... yet. I'll figure it out somehow. anyways, distracted again.
Some parents seem to have noticed results by putting their children on a vitamin D supplement. The reasoning behind this is that deficient children are more likely to have autism, & boys more so than girls. & the theory goes that even a deficient person has some amount in their bodies & that somehow the estrogen in a girl helps her utilize small amounts of vitamin d. I can't verify this. & I don't know ANYONE who can help me to do so. Of course the way the theory actually goes, vitamin d deficiency is the cause. I don't see how that's possible, but I wonder if vitamin d has some affect on heavy metals or the way the body deals with them? I want to know, if it's knowable. I've heard someone else say that an overwhelming 67% of infants who get jaundice are autistic. Again most that believe there is a connection infant jaundice to be the cause. I see it as a possible indicator. If the body doesn't digest or break things down the way it should, & autistic peoples systems dont... but I don't see how it could be the cause, but again, what do I know?
I want to help my son. Since I removed gluten & soy from his diet. I've noticed significant improvement, & so have the other people in his life. He chatters & makes eye contact. He's able to focus better. When he looked my grandmother in the eye & said "Thank you your welcome," & then gave her a hug, (him initiating physical contact in a non painful form!) she cried.
God gave me a perfect child, something in this world is still hurting him & I have to figure out what it is fix it. & I'm so far out of my depth... I'm frightened my stupidity will prevent him from becoming the person I KNOW he is.
I'm feeling less & less creative. Soy is the most difficult ingredient in any cook book to replace. tofu? I can use mushrooms, or if it's soft tofu, a cashew cream sauce instead... but sometimes I just don't know what to do, especially when I'm replacing virtually every other thing in the recipe. a vegetable I don't have/can't afford, oil, no meat...
I don't know where to look. I finally bought a gluten free cook book only find it loaded with soy & dairy. I got a book using nuts to make loafs & sauces, only to find soy is a HUGE part of it, & I don't know how to replace it...
I'm sorry this is so long. I'm in way over my head. & I'm hoping I can get help here, I need it. Any information you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.