Well, we’ve been a month into school & having a pretty ggod one at that!  Nathan started Grade 1 and has been pretty thrilled about going to school every day.

We’ve battled a bit of yeast mid-way through the month on the “advice” of his teacher.  Meaning – she noticed his ‘volume control’ was lacking, which is a major yeast sign for him.   A couple days of GSE & back to normal.

We started a new product – Natural Factors “Learning Factors” this month.  It is a protein mix meant to improve ADHD symptoms.  Is it working?  It definitely increased our yeast growth at first but Nathan is handling it well.

I don’t know if it is improving his focus at all, he’s just worked up to the full 1 scoop of powder this week.  I’m hopeful that this increased protein in the morning will also be of benefit to him.

We’re mixing it in potato milk and adding fruit to the mix. We tried it in juice, yuck.  Nathan likes it in chocolate milk also.  It is “wild berry” taste, so I think it actually works well with chocolate, gives it that chocolate-raspberry flavour.  You do need to blend it well, there is definitely a texture to this product.  We started out with a 1/4 dose and worked up.

Nathan’s IEP meeting is upcoming, so I am hopeful that it goes well.  I really want him to have a good year so I am focusing on feeding the brain right now.  We’re still working on gut healing and this Learning Factors is supposed to assist with that also. 

I’ll finish up a proper review in another month, once we’ve given it a fairer trial.

Nathan had a rough day yesterday.  He was overtired having been out late combining with Dad but that doesn’t totally explain the rotten day he had.  He had trouble sharing at daycare, was incredibly emotional about everything and even had an accident & wet himself.

When I came to collect him, he was pretty upset and his shorts were just slightly damp.  He just was completely overwhelmed, his eyes looked sunken slightly and dark circles plus red, but that may have been just from crying.

He was in bed by 8:30 & sleeping in about 10 seconds, so there was no doubt he was tired.  I’ve sent GSE for him to daycare today & we’ll dose again when we get home.  He’s been getting it now for almost a week and I am starting to be concerned.  Generally, we get rid of yeasty behaviours in about 3-4 days but these are new symptoms.

He starts school in 1 week & that is going to be the best thing for him I think.  He needs his routine, his teachers, his friends.  He needs to be around “older” kids who model good behaviour for him. 

I think we will go ahead and try a reduced sugar plan for a couple of weeks, just to see if this helps.  Heaven help me!!

There is a cookie thief in my house.  And it isn’t me, so don’t go there.  Yes, I have noticed that we are suddenly short of cookies again & yet I just made a whole bunch of them on Saturday.

I’ll admit it, I know the culprit too.  I’ve even caught him red-handed.  Unfortunately, I suspect that the cookie-stealing is a two-fold problem.  First, he’s hungry and the cookies are in reach.  I’ve tried putting them up but I can’t watch him every second and believe me, the minute I go to the bathroom I hear him in the cookie box.

The other problem is I *think* we are battling the yeast again.  It would make sense that he can’t get enough sugar and sweets, he’s trying to feed the beast.   We started the GSE again last week at low doses but will have to push it up higher yet.  I am also thinking we may have to attempt a reduced sugar/sugar free diet for a few weeks.

Yikes!  Sugar free?!?  What will we eat?  Never mind them, what will I eat?  Momma loves her that sugar-stuff.  However, since I can’t seem to wish a Bon Voyage to these 5 pounds stuck firmly to my rear end, perhaps a little “sugar break” would be good for everyone?

I’ve been working on reducing the sugar in our baked goods and have discovered that we can reduce another 1/3 cup without noticing.  I have already reduced the sugar in many of our recipes, so it’s more of a taste-experiment-taste situation.

Are you sugar free/reduced sugar?  How are you coping?  I’d love some advice!

I’m having a great e-mail conversation with a lovely woman these days & she said something that I thought really needed to be explored.

People told her not to pursue the GFCF diet because her child was responding so well to ABA and other therapy.

Wow.  Do people think the GFCF diet is a stand-alone intervention?  Or a last ditch effort to solve the autism puzzle?  The thing you try when nothing else works, so why not this too?

I’m telling you – IT’S NOT ONE OR THE OTHER!!  Diet interventions work hand-in-hand with other therapies. Think about it, if you feel horrible, fuzzy headed or tired all the time, how can you pay attention to holding a pencil?  Or putting one foot in front of the other?  Or learn to ride a bike?

The short answer is, you can’t.   Imagine being hung-over.  Really badly, college-aged hang0ver and being forced to learn a new skill.  Think about how all you want to do is go to sleep and ignore the world.  I think that is what it must have felt like for Nathan.  So, with the diet, we’re clearing out the hangover and allowing his natural talents and gifts to shine through.  Are we finding all the keys to helping him?  No.  But we’ve made progress.

We have got to get the message out that Biomedical interventions are part of treating the whole child.  ABA therapy all on its own isn’t the answer and neither is biomedical.  The fact remains that the kids need other therapy, often simply because their development has been delayed by their medical problems.  The speech, occupational, physical and play therapies are necessary to “catch them up” to their peer group.

We also have to get the mesage out that the GFCF diet is just food.  There’s more to “biomedical” than just the diet.  There is a difference, though most parents doing GFCF are also doing biomedical plus conventional therapy.  There is hope out there.  Nathan is a shining example of it.  Show off your shining star – spread the word.

Autism rates in the US (ages 2 – 17) are now at 1 in 100. One percent.

It wasn’t very long ago it was 1 in 10,000. Or even 1 in 166. Or 1 in 150.

Actually, if you factor in the .6% that had a ASD at one time, but don’t now, we’re down to 1 in 58. Age of Autism has had some really great articles on the subject, but I feel like we’re all just shouting into a vacuum.

According to the NIH, whose studies can be found here, in 2007 that works out to: 1.7% of boys currently have an ASD diagnosis (and .9% used to have one). Girls are at .4% with ASD, and .3% for used to have an ASD.  (Just enter “autism” in the search box & follow the prompts)

Something is terribly wrong. It isn’t just better diagnosis.  It isn’t that parents want the new “cool” disorder labeled on their child.  I wrote a piece on my other blog It’s All About Potential on this same subject, but am repeating & expanding on some of it here too.

I am just SICK to find out that rates of Autism are this high.  Why is no one doing anything?  Why does my family continue to look at me like I grew a third eyeball when I say “my children will not be getting the H1N1 vaccine”?  (My children are not going to be guinea pigs, sorry.)  Why do I feel like the only thing I talk about these days is Autism?

Do you know what I think the real “problem” is?  People still see ASD as a death-sentence.  A death to all their dreams, goals and opportunities for their child.  They see Autism as a form of mental retardation or mental illness.  (The fact that it is considered “only” a pyschiatric disorder may help that perception)  And, what do we do about mental illness?

We shun it.  We ignore it.  We pretend that it doesn’t affect us or even exist outside our cozy little world.  We pretend that the only treatment is behavioural intervention and drugs.  Lots of drugs if possible.  Certainly that is better than finding the root cause of the problem?  If you have a headache, take a Tylenol.  (Don’t bother to turn down the music, that can’t be the problem)

But back to the statistics.  My son’s school has about 75 children enrolled.  Using the 1 in 100 stat, there should be 1 or less kids with ASD.  Using the 1 in 58, there should be 1 to 2 children.  Well, there are for sure 2.  (I think there is at least a third, but that’s just my own opinion)  So, even in that small population, the stats bear it out.

Here’s the thing.  Both the children with confirmed ASD were born in 2003.  Thimerosal has been removed from Canadian vaccines since long before 2003.  My son never received a flu shot either.  He didn’t get Hep B at birth but he did receive all his routine vaccines on time.

After the age of 6 months, he got most of them likely harboring an ear infection.  He was on many rounds of antibiotics and had general anesthesia at 16 months when he had ventilation tubes inserted in his ears.  His little body was just constantly assaulted with infection and trauma.

To me, any of those things could be the “trigger” for his autism.

Except.

I don’t believe that “having” an ASD is a problem.  It is simply a different way of looking at and relating to the world.   I believe that he was born this way and that is okay.

The problem is that he is not healthy.  The fact that he can’t eat gluten or casein foods without going into meltdown mode is Not Healthy.  The fact that he has consistently nasty BMs is Not Healthy.  The fact that he is chronically with a stuffy nose is Not Healthy. 

And, all those things contribute to him also having a global developmental delay.  How do you learn at 100% when you don’t feel 100%?  Short answer?  You can’t. 

Our goal is to make him healthy.  Happy.  Successful in whatever he chooses.  He can dig ditches or probe brains.  I don’t care.  Just as long as he’s healthy and happy.

After all, when I prayed for him, all I wanted was for him to be happy, healthy, compassionate, generous and kind.  Not a short order, but do you know the only part we’re struggling with is healthy.  We’ll get there, I have faith.

These waffles are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. I took the originial recipe from “The Kid Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook” and then ran with it. Hey, I love to experiment and give credit where it is due!

Applesauce Waffles

1 cup GF Flour blend
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3 eggs (separated if you have time to make the “fussy” version)
1 cup milk sub
1/3 cup applesauce
1-2 Tbsp oil (depends on your waffle iron. My “non-stick” likes the recipe to have a bit of oil in it)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Fussy version: Blend the dry ingredients. Separate your eggs, whites in their own bowl, yolks in with the dry ingredients. Add milk, applesauce, oil, vanilla and cinnamon. Stir together. Let sit for 10-20 minutes. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter. Bake on a waffle iron.

Regular Realistic version: blend dry ingredients. Dump the rest on top. Don’t bother to separate the eggs, what you think I have time for that?? Blend together. Let sit for 10-20 minutes while you give supplements, get kids dressed and attempt to do a little therapy before breakfast. Bake on a waffle iron.

Serve with syrup or plain. These are great the next day, heated or cold. If they make it that long! Makes about 10 squares.

It occurs to me on a pretty much constant regular basis that all this Biomedical intervention has the possibility of bankrupting not only me but thousands of other families.  And, if it doesn’t bankrupt me, it surely will put a “crimp” in our lifestyle that other families simply don’t have.

Don’t get me wrong.  My child is worth every single penny.  Hearing him talk, watching him play with others, learning to read, enjoying his toys, these are all things that money cannot buy, right?

Well, I’d argue that he wouldn’t be doing a lot of those things without all the diet, supplements and therapy he is getting.  But, that is besides the point.

We are lucky that all of Nathan’s therapies have been covered by Provincial programs.  Well, all that he’s been able to access.  There are tons of behavioural interventions (ABA, RDI, Floortime) that he couldn’t access, partly because it took too long to get a diagnosis and partly because we don’t live anywhere near a place where he could get access to more.  I would have gladly paid to send him for 1x weekly therapy, it just simply wasn’t an option.

But back to my original thought.  We are doing biomedical basically on the cheap.  We have done no formal testing (at $500-1500 per test), simply gone on symptoms, research and faith.  We only just finally saw a DAN! last month ($250 for the visit, plus nearly $00 in supplements) and haven’t begun to explore things like HBOT (to rent one is about $3000/month).  For us, we’ve gotten results, great ones, from diet and some supplements.  I think more can and should be done.

What about those who are doing more?  I know.  I know.  The therapies they are trying aren’t proven to work.  Point is, someone has to try them in order to know if they do or do not work.  So, instead of supporting these families, we find them having their electricity turned off because they spent the hydro bill money on therapy.  I guess I just don’t understand it at all.

I fully buy into the concept of “pay now or pay later”

As in – you pay for treatment now or you’ll be paying for a lifetime of care. 

I just wish the rest of the world could see it that way too.  So, here’s just a thought – if you know someone who is really struggling to get by this month & you have just a little extra, why not slip them $10?  It isn’t much but it seems that all we have in the biomedical community is each other.

If you are interested in doing more, visit Tori at Lend4Health.  She’s matching people who need a short term loan with folks who have a bit to give.

If you want to bake Gluten Free, you will likely have much more success with a blend of flours. Bette Hagman, the guru of gluten free cooking has several blends that I have had great success with.

And yes, you can buy pre-mixed gluten free flour blends. They are more expensive than doing it yourself & I’m cheap. I’ve never bought a pre-blended flour so I can’t comment on them.

When you make flour blends, you want to make a lot so that you can stir, scoop and mix. (Stir the flour before measuring, measure & mix into your recipe)

Basic Gluten Free Flour Blend
2 parts Brown Rice Flour
2/3 part Potato Starch Flour
1/3 part Tapioca Starch Flour

When I mix this I do 2 cups, 2/3 cup, 1/3 cup. Stir. Then repeat until I’ve either run out of flour or filled the container. Some people also sift them together. I tried it & don’t see the difference. I recommend stirring with a whisk as it blends the flour together better.
This is an all-purpose, works in everything kind of flour.

Featherlite Flour Blend
1 part Brown Rice Flour
1 part Tapioca Starch Flour
1 part Cornstarch
1 Tbsp Potato Flour

Ok, many people recommend it as 3 cups each flour & 3 Tbsp potato flour. Notice that is NOT potato starch, but the actual potato flour. You don’t need much or the results will be gummy. In order to just try the blend, you can blend 1 cup of each flour & 1 tbsp potato flour. It is a toss-up as to which blend I like better.

There are other blends as well, but let’s start there. Be sure to whisk your mix well, before measuring and once it is in the bowl.

I saw this on the “Hot Blogs” list here at WordPress & thought to myself - this woman has written a great post on why she won’t be getting the H1N1 (Swine Flu) vaccine.

Now, she’s not a GFCF blogger, so it was even more satisfying to know that we’re not the only ones concerned about the vaccine.

Check it out here:  Why I Won’t Be Taking the Swine Flu Vaccination

Here’s another blog reporting on the US National Guard practicing in case there are riots over getting the swine flu vaccine.
Check it out here: Vaccine Riot Drill

And clearly I can’t get enough information so here is another really well written blog article – A Dangerous Shot in the Dark You need to read this one too so that when someone asks “why” you have plenty of ammo.

My stat counter tells me that people want to know what they can buy in a Canadian grocery store that is GFCF. Well, like I said before, there isn’t much & what is available is expensive. Cost aside, it is easier to tote a mix or two to Grandma’s house instead of all the ingredients for pancakes.

So, what’s good? Here’s a list of things I buy (and I’ve included a few Grandma favs at the end).  All this stuff is available to me locally, some in  a Health Food store, others at Sobeys/Safeway/Superstore

Tinkyada Pasta (all shapes) – super awesome pasta that even gluten lovers love!

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips -mini chips, so use less, expensive but allergen free. Great chocolate taste

EnviroKidz Cereals – Leapin’ Lemurs (chocolate & yellow “corn pops”), Koala Krisps (chocolate “rice krispies), Panda Puffs (peanut butter “corn pops”), Amazon Flakes (frosted corn flakes). All excellent subs for your kid’s cereal bowl

EnviroKidz Cereal Bars – like rice crispy bars, comes in various flavours, check not all are CF

EnviroKidz Animal Crackers – vanilla – staple for emergency snack at the daycare

Van’s Waffles – looks like Eggo, tastes like Eggo

El Peto Hot Dog/Hamburger Buns – stay together, good taste, not my favorite, but kid likes them

Kinnickinick Tapioca Bread – excellent, thin slices

Kinnickinick Donuts – doesn’t matter what kind, all incredible.  You won’t want to share!

Only Oats – Certified GF oats, all varieties good

Elco Rice Crackers – bunch of varieties, I’ve only tried plain

El Peto Pancake Mix – kids love this at Grandma’s

Celimix Dutch Chocolate Cake mix – again, a major Grandma favorite

Celimix Flax Bread – Grandma makes it. She loves it. Me, not so much, but it’s about what the kids think, they like it.

There’s more, but this is from my last few shopping trips.  Let me know if you see something & want a review on it.  Chances are we’ve “been there, tried that”.