Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I am starting the hopefully therapeutic task of blogging my son's journey with autism. First off, when I say "my son's journey" anyone that is living with autism, no matter what method of treatment you apply, becomes a journey that the whole family endures. My strongest hope is that our journey story will ignite a thought that will help lessen the struggle of autism.
2006
My son's name is Oisin and his name means "Little Dear." As you can see, his name is a perfect fit. He was born in March 2004. He was diagnosed with autism when he was 22 months. For the following year and a half his life was filled with therapy appts and Dr appts. For me, endless reading late at night, I mean late!
Oisin's symptoms of autism at that time were no eye contact, hand flapping, dark circles under the eyes, no speech (until age 3.5 yrs old), hypotonia, unaware of anyone around him, no social desire, severe gastrointestinal problems, verbal stims, hyper running, limited diet, looking at the TV upside down (visual stims) and overall very spaced out, seeking out head pressure with his fist, loads of lead and mercury in his little body and sound sensitivity.
Spring 2007
Due to his severe diarrhea, we put him on that GFCF Diet. We were not one of the many families that saw obvious verbal or cognitive gains immediately, but we were strongly encouraged to continue because his diapers went from several explosions a day to a few appropriately shaped stool movements a day, within 3 weeks.
A couple weeks after 3rd his birthday, I started giving him some supplements that I researched. After a few months I started giving him 1 DMG a day for 2 weeks and then increased it up to 2 DMG. Being the scardy cat that I am, I hesitated to increase the dose to 3 tablets, so I kept him at 2 tablets for several weeks. After more research I finally felt comfortable giving him 3 DMG. Oisin was on his 6th day of taking 3 DMG a day when I went to California for my first DAN! Conference. I was out of town for 3 days. When I returned home, my husband looked like he was about to burst! He told me to take a seat (before I put my suitcase down) and he brought Oisin over to me and said to Oisin "say mommy" and for the very first time, Oisin said mommy. My heart was beating fast, I couldn't believe it. At 3.5 years old I finally heard my son say mommy. He began repeating everything we would tell him to say. Of course this is just repeating and echoing, but we were "over the moon" to hear his voice and to realize he had any verbal ability. All we could say was yippee!!!
2006
My son's name is Oisin and his name means "Little Dear." As you can see, his name is a perfect fit. He was born in March 2004. He was diagnosed with autism when he was 22 months. For the following year and a half his life was filled with therapy appts and Dr appts. For me, endless reading late at night, I mean late!
Oisin's symptoms of autism at that time were no eye contact, hand flapping, dark circles under the eyes, no speech (until age 3.5 yrs old), hypotonia, unaware of anyone around him, no social desire, severe gastrointestinal problems, verbal stims, hyper running, limited diet, looking at the TV upside down (visual stims) and overall very spaced out, seeking out head pressure with his fist, loads of lead and mercury in his little body and sound sensitivity.
Spring 2007
Due to his severe diarrhea, we put him on that GFCF Diet. We were not one of the many families that saw obvious verbal or cognitive gains immediately, but we were strongly encouraged to continue because his diapers went from several explosions a day to a few appropriately shaped stool movements a day, within 3 weeks.
A couple weeks after 3rd his birthday, I started giving him some supplements that I researched. After a few months I started giving him 1 DMG a day for 2 weeks and then increased it up to 2 DMG. Being the scardy cat that I am, I hesitated to increase the dose to 3 tablets, so I kept him at 2 tablets for several weeks. After more research I finally felt comfortable giving him 3 DMG. Oisin was on his 6th day of taking 3 DMG a day when I went to California for my first DAN! Conference. I was out of town for 3 days. When I returned home, my husband looked like he was about to burst! He told me to take a seat (before I put my suitcase down) and he brought Oisin over to me and said to Oisin "say mommy" and for the very first time, Oisin said mommy. My heart was beating fast, I couldn't believe it. At 3.5 years old I finally heard my son say mommy. He began repeating everything we would tell him to say. Of course this is just repeating and echoing, but we were "over the moon" to hear his voice and to realize he had any verbal ability. All we could say was yippee!!!
Autism Diet & Nutrition - GFCF Diet, SCD Diet, Body Ecology Diet, Low Oxalate Diet, Weston A. Price Diet, Feingold Diet, and more...: test - new page
Autism Diet & Nutrition - GFCF Diet, SCD Diet, Body Ecology Diet, Low Oxalate Diet, Weston A. Price Diet, Feingold Diet, and more...: test - new page: "Feingold Diet / Phenols
The Feingold Diet removes phenols and salicylates. Artificial ingredients such as artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, aspartame (Nutrasweet), and artificial preservatives such as BHA, BHT, TBHQ are made from a petroleum base and are strong phenols. Salicylates are naturally occurring phenols in plants—particularly in many fruits such as apples and grapes.
For some children, their bodies have difficulty processing phenols. Build up of phenols in the system can affect behavior and the body’s physical condition. This was first discovered by Dr. Ben Feingold, when he noticed that these phenols created hyperactivity in some children. Phenols can have negative effect on the brain when our chemistry can’t processes these phenols and they build up in the body. Although phenols and salicylates do occur naturally in healthy foods, children who are sensitive to these chemicals can have significant reactions.
Many children with autism, ADHD and other neurological and immune system disorders commonly have faulty sulfation systems and cannot process phenols and salicylates well. (See Nourishing Hope for Autism for an extensive explanation of this chemistry). Common physical signs of phenol sensitivity in children include dark circles under eyes, red cheeks/ears, ear infections, asthma, sinus problems, diarrhea, hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggression, headache, head banging/self-injury, impatience, short attention span, difficulty falling asleep, night walking for several hours, inappropriate laughter, hives, stomach aches, bed wetting and day wetting, dyslexia, sensitivity to noise/lights/touch, speech difficultie"
The Feingold Diet removes phenols and salicylates. Artificial ingredients such as artificial coloring, artificial flavoring, aspartame (Nutrasweet), and artificial preservatives such as BHA, BHT, TBHQ are made from a petroleum base and are strong phenols. Salicylates are naturally occurring phenols in plants—particularly in many fruits such as apples and grapes.
For some children, their bodies have difficulty processing phenols. Build up of phenols in the system can affect behavior and the body’s physical condition. This was first discovered by Dr. Ben Feingold, when he noticed that these phenols created hyperactivity in some children. Phenols can have negative effect on the brain when our chemistry can’t processes these phenols and they build up in the body. Although phenols and salicylates do occur naturally in healthy foods, children who are sensitive to these chemicals can have significant reactions.
Many children with autism, ADHD and other neurological and immune system disorders commonly have faulty sulfation systems and cannot process phenols and salicylates well. (See Nourishing Hope for Autism for an extensive explanation of this chemistry). Common physical signs of phenol sensitivity in children include dark circles under eyes, red cheeks/ears, ear infections, asthma, sinus problems, diarrhea, hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggression, headache, head banging/self-injury, impatience, short attention span, difficulty falling asleep, night walking for several hours, inappropriate laughter, hives, stomach aches, bed wetting and day wetting, dyslexia, sensitivity to noise/lights/touch, speech difficultie"
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