Thanksgiving Menu

Food choices have come a long way since Pamela started a gluten-free, casein-free diet. In fact, they have come a long way since I blogged my first Thanksgiving menu post which always gets hits this time of year. I am very thankful that we can put on a traditional spread with traditional ingredients missing.

This year, we had a turkey and stuffed it with the cornbread stuffing mentioned in that first post. We have never missed making a favorite in our house, cranberry conserve—delicious on top of the turkey and very yummy mixed with yogurt in the race to gobble leftovers before they go bad.

I continue to experiment with old favorites as new products have come on the market. I have found coconut oil a delicious substitute for butter and shortening, which we used in mashed potatoes and biscuits made from the recipe on the back of a box of Bisquik, which debuted on our menu three years ago. The other wonderful product is Pillsbury's refrigerated dough for pie crusts. What's not to like: convenient and edible for Pamela. [Pillsbury now offers tubs of gluten-free pizza dough and chocolate cookie dough, too!] I still make the pumpkin pie recipe from the back of a can of Libby's pumpkin, double the spice.

We added two new items to the menu this year. Both were a hit. Neither required any substitution. I made maple-bacon roasted pecans for snacking, and they are so addictive! I am heavy-handed with spice, and I will probably increase the spice next time. Our vegetable was roasted asparagus: quick, easy, scrumptious.

Since we did not have time to make a health food store run, I invented with a whipped cream topping for Pamela's pie. I skimmed the layer of fat at top off of a can of coconut milk and put it in the refrigerator to harden. I whipped an egg white into a meringue, adding in a little sugar once the soft peak formed. Then, I folded the egg white into the coconut fat. Pamela loved it!

Our GF/CF Menu
Turkey
Cornbread Stuffing
Cranberry Conserve
Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Asparagus
Biscuits
Maple Bacon Pecans
Pumpkin Pie
Coconut Cream Topping

Little Sides for the Non-Dieters
Toasted Bread with Butter
Whipped Cream for the pie

Free Resources, Did I Say Free?

I don't do give-aways on this blog, but I do offer links to free resources that I love. In the past, I have shared my favorite free resources (Librivox, Best Web Buys, Paperbackswap, and Audacity audio editor) and here are a few more: (1) the new Ambleside Online forum, (2) a free seminar for families raising autism spectrum kids, and (3) a radio podcast with a scientific bent.

This fall, AmblesideOnline opened another free resource for homeschoolers and school teachers who follow a Charlotte Mason paradigm. They have created a well-organized forum, an online message board like no other. If you find slogging through yahoo message digests tiresome and struggle with finding the right search terms to find a thread of interest to you, the AO forum might be an answer to prayer. They offer:

• a welcome center to help forum newbies to get started,
• a curriculum help center set up by form (i.e., grade level) and other categories (family dynamics, international, etc.),
• a study hall for specific subjects and for discussions on Charlotte Mason's series, Parents' Review articles, exams, and Charlotte Mason schools
• a private area to which you can subscribe if you have specific needs that may require some level of discretion: special needs, gifted, AO alumni, etc., and
• an amble ramble for all sorts of random topics.

Every section of the forum is moderated by people who have expertise in that area and/or have a passion for the topic. Many of my close friends that I have actually met in real life are sharing their wisdom and experience: Amy Tuttle, Leslie Laurio, Melanie Malone, Jennifer Gagnon, Megan Hoyt, Laurie Bestvater, and Nancy Kelly. I bet you can guess what I moderate (Mathematics and LD/Special Needs) plus the red-headed stepchild of the Charlotte Mason's series, Formation of Character. Volume 5 is wonderful for special needs families because the children sound so familiar to those of us dealing with distracted children and major meltdowns. My belief that this treasure is the most neglected book of the six is proving true. So far, we are lacking in visitors.

Next month, a group of like-minded experts at Pro-Active Development are offering a free seminar to empower parents of children in the autism spectrum. They are focusing on new understandings of noninvasive therapy options such as Relationship Development Intervention, Brain-Body Connection, Magutova Sensory Motor Reflex Integration (MNRI), Cranio-Sacral Therapy , Eating and Feeding Issues, and more. Since Amy Cameron, the RDI consultant who refined our ability to guide Pamela, is interviewing me as part of the seminar, homeschooling is a topic I plan to discuss.

From December 3-7, 2012, the hosts will chat with ten different people about their experience in the world of developmental disabilities. If you want to participate in the free seminar, all you need to do is register. The discussions will begin at noon and 6pm CST. They aim to offer ideas to

• Improve overall quality of life for your family.
• Explore how you can make easy lifeshifts for optimal developmental change.
• Unlock your child's potential through innovative noninvasive techniques.
• Discover the importance of body-brain relationship, and so much more.

One of my Charlotte Mason study group friends turned me on to a podcast called Radiolab. One in particular affirmed a notion that mindful moms of children in autism spectrum have known for years: the brain and the gut are connected. What is the gut? The podcaster explained so concisely, "It's the interior space that runs down from your nut to your butt and it's called the gut." In fact, most conversations between parents like myself eventually end up on the conversation of *ahem* what comes out of the body. The second segment of the show appropriately called Guts validated what we have been doing for years! They interviewed Carl Zimmer, author of Microcosm, about the couple thousand of species of one-celled critters that live in your gut and weigh about three pounds. Professor of Neuroscience John Cryan described findings about how the yogurt-making bacteria lactobacillus acidophilus alter physical reactions to stress. Namely, probiotic-fed mice have lower levels of stress hormones and higher levels of GABA (the calming chemicals that our children in a meltdown lack).

And, if you think what we have been doing since 1995 "crazy talk," read on! Finally, some validation for this mindful mom (the term I prefer instead of warrior mom).

Wordless Wednesday: UnBelievable GF/CF Bread That Doesn't Have the Density of a Brick That Our Neighbor Brought from England

Hopefully coming to a Starbucks near us . . .

Wordless Wednesday: Pamela Hits the Jackpot at Walmart

Who Moved My Cheese?

Last Saturday, we drove our periodic, 2.5-hour round-trip pilgrimage to Earth Fare for Pamela's specialty gluten-free, casein-free foods. We breezed through the produce and wine section, hitting the gf/cf soy and rice cheese. Disaster happened--somebody moved her cheese, but Pamela did not panic. Since I happened to have my camera (what I really need is a headcam or TIVO in my eyeballs), I filmed how we both handled anxiety. You see, in public settings, I often experience anxiety trying to scaffold Pamela enough to prevent her from melting down. I end up overcompensating by doing a tad too much thinking for her in fear of inadvertently pushing her over her frustration threshold. On top of that, I was manning the camera, trying to focus it on Pamela, while guiding her and hopefully avoiding bumping into a stranger.

Pamela felt worried about the cheese but managed to stay calm and neutral while she picked out soy yogurt and pudding. I asked Pamela if she wanted to try the coconut yogurt (a new product) but she dismissed it for being different. I picked up two for Steve and I (vanilla and mango)--WOW, they tasted fabulously awesome! Pamela grabbed a can of whipped soy cream before looking on the other side of the cheese section. I knew she was starting to fluster mildly because she had difficulty spotting the buttery sticks and said, "I'm a detective!" I suggested she could keep looking or ask for help. She chose the former, and we breezed our way through the meat and refrigerated stuff. Pamela exclaimed loudly, "Looked everywhere." That is when I suggested we ask a storeworker, and, having exhausted all other options, she agreed.


Because Pamela stayed cool under pressure, I thought this moment perfect to spotlight for our work on connecting feelings and meaning to episodic memory. While Pamela had no problems with figuring out feelings, she needed major guiding to derive meaning. When asked for meaning, she talks about emotions. She did think of "searching everywhere" as one strategy when you cannot find something but had a hard time thinking of borrowing the perspective of a person she does not know. Even though she remembered the storeworker when she retold the story, Pamela could not remember the woman's role when thinking about meaning. My strategies were:

• Give an example of learning from a situation (touching a hot stove).
• Bring to mind people in the story, so she might learn to think about referencing workers at a store.
• Focused on what people knew when Pamela suggested anyone other than the storeworker: I did not know where the cheese was. David did not know. Grandpa did not know.
• Help her think of the situation as a story with main characters who all had roles.
• Stop the action when she was feeling overwhelmed.
• Generalize from the woman to a storeworker.

I remembered a book Steve bought called Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson and read it for a lark. The story includes two simplistic mice and two complex little people in a maze who face unexpected change when their cheese disappears. This very short allegory reveals how to handle change successfully. After I finished reading it in about an hour, I thought, "Where's the beef?" While I will jot down all of the insights on handling change before I post it at Paperbackswap, I had deeper questions like "Who is the cheesemaker?" "Did the cheesemaker post wall notes on finding cheese that never runs out?" "Is there more to life than cheese?" "Is there a true cheese that will provide joy in even cheeseless circumstances?" "Can the cheesemaker guide them to the true cheese?" "Is there life after the maze?"

Maybe the Chesterton book is working overtime in my brain!

Loa, the GF/CF Dog

Today, a gorgeous sunny day with a bit of a breeze going, Pamela, David, and I met up with the entire Jamberry and Habeeb crew (Sly, Jman, SB3). The only one missing in action was Steve, who was helping out Tammy's brother with a favor. The next time, Jamberry and her boys--all four--will stay with us so that we can talk without Pamela and Jman looking for an escape hatch from the chatty mommas (actually, they were both VERY patient). I loved holding SB3 and got to see the gamut of his emotions: placid, sleepy, hungry, poopy, and giggly. Yep, I saw him laugh, and he was sooooo cute.

I enjoyed talking to Jamberry and Habeeb, fellow boat schoolers. How often can you talk about the Dark Ages, going over the wall, getting fried, Storm Brother's ice cream, Annapolis' version of the Ho Chi Minh trail, women's glee club, itchy wool uniforms, peacoats, overcoats, and reefers? See what I mean! You don't have a clue what any of that means. Not even Steve, the 16-week wonder, knows what some of it means.



Before moving onto my dog, I wanted to address Penny's comment from Monday's post, asking if Bob's Red Mill withdrew their oats a few months back because of gluten contamination. I was not too worried because Pamela showed no signs of a reaction to the cookies or eating an entire bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I emailed the company and, within 24 hours, they replied,

Our Gluten Free Oat products were withdrawn from the market for a few months because of a bad flavor and odor profile caused by the way they were processed. Our supplier has since updated their processing procedures and we now have a limited supply of Gluten-Free Steel Cut Oats.

Now, onto Loa, the GF/CF dog (the fawn colored one on the right) . . . ever since we moved to Carolina, we have struggled off and on with major skin problems. The first thing we treated was fleas, something unknown to her when we lived in Colorado, Alaska, and Minnesota. We got the fleas under control, but she continued to have unpredictable breakouts, which we thought might have been fleas. We got very aggressive with weekly flea shampoos and bimonthly treatments, but no change. The only thing that ever cleared her up were antibiotics and steroid shots, unhealthy for her in the long run. We even did the protocol recommended by the vet: Omega 3 oil, Benadryl, weekly baths with a special creme rinse, hot spray for new open sores, and dog food for sensitive skin. Even our most dedicated efforts failed. He finally told u$ Loa may re$pond to low-allergenic pre$cription diet.

Fortunately, what I learned with Pamela helped. At first, we tried Hills Prescription Diet canned z/d dog food. The vet prescribed antibiotics, but no steroids, so we could see the effect of the food sooner. She did very well for a week, so we bought more of the same plus Royal Canin's Potato and Duck dry dogfood. For two days, I caught Loa gnawing on rawhide and she had another breakout. Rawhide may cause allergic reactions, so we only let the healthy-as-a-horse dog chew them.

We started alternating between the two foods as a hedge against further food allergies. She got better and finished off the antibiotics. Last weekend, we ran out of Benadryl, and she had another breakout. I began to suspect the canned stuff, mainly because it had corn starch. I bought more Benadryl, so now we are doing the med and the corn-free potato and duck dogfood. If she stays clear for a week, then I test her with the canned dogfood with the corn starch for a test. I could go on and on with the variations I will have to do to isolate the culprit. Most of you know the process because you have done it with your autistic children. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

Extra! Extra! Oatmeal: Back on the Menu!

Good news!

A long-time, veteran listmate at Aut-2B-Home has family members with celiac disease so she has to be vigilant about staying gluten-free. She reported today that Bob's Red Mill is offering two kinds of GLUTEN-FREE oatmeal: gluten-free rolled oats and gluten-free steel cut oats! (Thank you, Sherri!!!)

Imagine

. . . blueberry cobbler for breakfast

. . . meatballs for lunch

. . . granola for a snack

. . . meatloaf for dinner

. . . oatmeal cookies for dessert!

I quote:

Gluten-sensitive consumers have avoided commercially grown oats because they can be subject to cross-contact with gluten-containing grains during planting, harvest, transport, milling and packaging.

To solve this dilemma and provide a beloved food (used for breads, cookies, cakes, breakfasts and more) to the 3 million Americans diagnosed with Celiac Disease, Bob's Red Mill has sourced oats from more than 200 pedigree-seed oat farmers dedicated to growing pure oats.

Once harvested, the oats undergo testing to meet the R5 ELISA standards, a rigorous test for the presence of gluten. Only oats that pass this test are shipped to Bob's Red Mill. They are again tested before they are packaged in the company's dedicated gluten free facility. Batch testing is performed once more after packaging.

Snoopy dancing in South Carolina!

"New Way of Approaching Autism"--DUH!

I just read an article called Scientists Make Gut-Brain Connection to Autism. In a nutshell, scientists at the University of Western Ontario have found that some bacteria produce propionic acid in the gut, a compound which just happens to be found in bread and dairy products. Rats begin to exhibit autistic-like behavior when given doses of propionic acid and develop inflammation of the brain. They go on to say that addressing health ought to be the first step in addressing autism and that behavior therapy alone is insufficient.

WELL, IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!!!

I really have to giggle at reading the subtitle "New Way of Approaching Autism" . . .

NEW??????

Let me think. I started tinkering with Pamela's diet in April 1994--well over thirteen years ago when I uncovered a connection between apples and insomnia. The reason why I became interested in diet was because of the Autism Research Institute. Dear old Dr. Bernard Rimland, may he rest in peace, had been beating that drum from the very beginning of his newsletter, Autism Research Review International. His editorial on autism and food allergies written in 1989 is what got me started on Pamela's first elimination diet in 1994. His cutting-edge recommendations for a gluten-free casein-free diet began as early as 1992. His informative newsletter was what jump-started parents like me in the days before the Internet. Dr. William Shaw begin reporting on a variety of compounds produced by bacteria and yeast in the gut as early as the 1994 ASA Conference in Las Vegas (I was there!), and you can read his thoughts on propionic acid presented at the 1996 conference.

AGAIN, I SAY NEW??????

I just hope this validates Dr. Andrew Wakefield who has been persecuted by the medical junta in England because he dared to go beyond the gut-brain connection to vaccinations. All I can say is Britain's loss is our gain!

P. S. I have spent the month updating my web pages. I just finished updating my autism-homeschooling page and added a section with inspirational books both about autism and off the beaten path. Pamela's page and my Charlotte Mason page are current, too!

Since When are Milk and Wheat *HIGH* Protein Foods?

I just about flipped when I read this quote because the sheer ignorance is stunning:

"I have parents who have got their kids on ... these very labor-intensive diets, on vitamins that they believe are ... detoxifying their baby's systems, and they're frightening," said Boston pediatrician Dr. Eileen Costello. "And, you know, some of these kids aren't growing because they're on diets with so little protein. So, there's a lot going on out there that we need to get a handle on."

First, the reason why parents restrict gluten and casein is a theory that states gluten and casein are incompletely digested. For some reason, the body breaks them down into peptides (gluteomorphine and casomorphine), not to amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. If this theory were true, then gluten and casein would not be contributing to the assembly of protein anyway (hint: gluten and casein would not contribute to the growth of children either).

Second, many kids have already narrowed down their food choices to about five foods, high in gluten and casein: milk, cheese, cereal, pasta, and bread, supplemented by French fries and chicken nuggets. Most children who go on this diet (and need this diet) end up expanding their food choices to include fruits, vegetables, and a variety of sources of protein! According to Lisa Lewis and Karen Seroussi at ANDI,

There may be a good reason your child "self-limits" to these foods. Opiates, like opium, are highly addictive. If this "opiate excess" explanation applies to your child, then he is actually addicted to those foods containing the offending proteins. Although it seems as if your child will starve if you take those foods away, many parents report that after an initial "withdrawal" reaction, their children become much more willing to eat other foods. After a few weeks, most children surprise their parents by further broadening their diets.

Third, many of these kids are not growing because their bodies are not properly digesting foods. My daughter Pamela wore the same size clothes for the two years prior to going on the gluten-free, casein-free diet and being treated for yeast problems. The runny, green, voluminous stools disappeared, too. Like the children featured in the Discovery Magazine article, Autism: It's Not Just in Your Head, Pamela stopped grinding her teeth, chewing on her shirts, tantruming excessively, etc. She started sleeping through the night, paying attention to her surroundings, speaking without being prompted, playing with toys, and using the toilet (because her bladder was no longer numb from the morphine).

"Got Milk?" types may cry, but what about calcium? According to the food pyramid genies, "Calcium-fortified foods and beverages such as soy beverages or orange juice may provide calcium, but may not provide the other nutrients found in milk and milk products." If these nutrients are only found in milk products, explain to me how the people of Thailand managed to survive and build a culture on cuisine completely free of gluten and casein.

No, Eileen, what really frightens me is . . .

* Why the naysayers ignore chronically inflamed white matter in the brains of autistic people and inflammation of the neuroglia, brain cells important in the brain’s immune response.

* The risk of autism doubles in a common variant of the MET gene modulates the gut, immune system, and nervous system.

* Autistic children produce only a small amount of glutathione because they have impaired methylation, which can lead to oxidative stress, which is associated with chronic inflammation.

* That doctors like this one think parents ought to accept digestive problems and infections and focus on therapies that ignore the gut-immune-brain triangle.

Happy Birthday, Pamela!

Yesterday, we celebrated Pamela's eighteenth birthday by taking the day off from school. Pamela has never done much in the kitchen, mainly because I have not encouraged her. Today, she helped me bake a cake, make the frosting, and decorate her birthday cake. She has never tried an electric mixer before and took to it like she was a natural in the kitchen. I tried to use many of the RDI habits we have been developing, and we had a great time!

I never have to plan "productive uncertainty" because calamities abound in my presence. While making the cake, a pan drying fell and crashed into the sink, and Pamela referenced me wonderfully. We both laughed and she asked if it was magic and I told her that it was gravity. Her brother, the cameraman, said the mixture looked like mud, and she laughed. I asked, “Mud?” She shook her head no. Then when I asked, “Is it batter?” She nodded like a champ. Then I had operator error on my part with setting the timer on the microwave! At one point in making the frosting, I wanted to indirectly hint to her that we needed sugar. I exclaimed, "It's bitter" and tasted the frosting. She thought I made a mistake, and then she tried it and make an awful face. She immediately went for the bag of powdered sugar!

To scaffold decorating the cake, I bought the Cake Mate Candy Decorations, which are gluten-free, casein-free. Her cake turned out beautiful, and it tasted delicious. My dad will usually say something if an ingredient is not just right. This gluten-free, casein-free cake was so good, he could not tell the difference. I will blog my recipes and scaffolded cake decorating ideas in another post.

Her cake turned out absolutely beautiful and much better than my first cake. I forgot the flour, so it boiled in the oven. My family called it the boi-oing cake! Perhaps, that early trauma in the kitchen has caused me to resist teaching Pamela to cook and bake.



We had a small family party and Pamela loved her presents and cake and ice cream. Even though she sat far from her cake, she blew out all eighteen candles in one shot! You would never guess that she could not blow out candles when she was four years old. She looks a bit overstimulated here and does not reference like she has been because of the intense joy she is feeling. You can see her smile very sweetly at the end of the clip.

Pamela loved her gifts so much that, after opening the last one, she had to make a victory lap through the house. She sprints to release excitement (hint: never tell Pamela great news in a parking lot).

Teddy's First Birthday

Pamela is amazing! Yesterday morning, she walked in the kitchen and studied the drawer where I store her gluten-free, casein-free baking mixes reserved for special occasions. She said, "I want a cake." When I promised to bake one, Pamela excitedly bolted out of the kitchen.

A few minutes later, she came back with a teddy bear given to her by her Oma about a year ago. Pamela announced, "Teddy is one year old. I want a candle."

How could I refuse the chance to indulge the desire for pretend play? Since I was planning a shopping trip anyway, I asked, "Pamela, would you like me to pick up some ice cream and sorbet when I go shopping?" She answered in the affirmative, of course.

After we finished our routine for the day, we headed to Wal-Mart and made an exciting discovery! They carry Van's Gluten-Free Waffles, Alexia Food's Gluten-Free Waffle Fries, and Turtle Mountain's Organic So Delicious Chocolate Velvet Dairy-Free Frozen Dessert. Pamela and I high-fived each other and Snoopy-danced down the frozen food aisle. Wal-Mart's selection will never compare to that of Earth Fare with Pamela's special foods, but I might be able to spread out our bi-monthly trips to the health food store an hour from home!

After dinner, we celebrated Teddy's first birthday. I was so glad that my dislike of baking did not kick in when Pamela quietly asked for an impromptu cake earlier in the morning. A grouchy "No!" on my part could have halted the whole experience. By taking her request in good humor and letting masterly inactivity be my guide, I followed her whim down a delightful rabbit trail, illustrating what Charlotte described,

The next element in the attitude of masterly inactivity is good humour––frank, cordial, natural, good humour. This is quite a different thing from overmuch complacency, and a general giving-in to all the children's whims. The one is the outcome of strength, the other of weakness, and children are very quick to see the difference. 'Oh, mother, may we go blackberrying this afternoon, instead of lessons?' The masterly and the abject 'yes' are quite different notes. The first makes the holiday doubly a delight; the second produces a restless desire to gain some other easy victory.

When is DTT Unreasonable? When Diet Eliminates a Behavior!

When Pamela was five, only two books on Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) were accessible, and I bought them both: Let Me Hear Your Voice and The “Me” Book! We lived in Louisiana at the time, and ABA therapists were nonexistent in our area. I ran a Mommy ABA program, and Pamela learned her preschool academics very quickly (colors, shapes, numbers, letters, adjectives, verbs, etc.). I still find Discrete Trials Teaching (DTT) useful when Pamela struggles to learn a new concept.

Some ABA proponents pooh-pooh dietary interventions because "the lack of scientific evidence that casein and gluten cause autism is concerning" or "few if any conclusive, valid studies have been performed on them." They leave out many important points.

First, look up diet at the free online index of the Autism Research Review International, and you will find scientific studies on diet and autism. Unfortunately, these studies do not meet the golden standard of being double blind, placebo-controlled. That would require a group of autistic children to go on the gluten-free, casein-free diet. The researchers would have to split the group in half, randomly selected, and all would be given pills. Half would receive gluten/casein-laced pills, while the other half would receive non-allergenic pills. No one involved in evaluating the children, including parents, would know which children are truly free of gluten and casein. How many parents are willing to go through the hassle of a diet, not knowing if they are giving their child the troublesome ingredients?

Second, dietary intervention has helped tremendously with what appeared to be a major behavioral problem. From the ages of two through four, Pamela slept only four hours a night. She had night sweats, tossed and turned, gagged when stressed, and ground her teeth. She did have a history of food allergies (we had her skin-tested at eighteen months of age because her health was so poor). We had eliminated foods for which she tested positive: almonds and eggs. We thought it wise to search for connections between food and behavior. I split up her foods into four day cycles, trying to keep related food (i.e., rhubarb and buckwheat are related) on the same day. Miraculously, all of her sleep issues disappeared on all but one day! Through trial and error, we traced it back to apple products. Pamela lived for apples, applesauce, and apple juice. She was so sensitive that Thanksgiving sweet potatoes mashed with apple juice for liquid made her suddenly pull an all nighter after two months of normal sleeping patterns! In fact, every time she had a major disruption of her sleep cycle, we were able to trace it back to apples. Every time. That may not meet the golden standard for all autistic children, but it did in my sample size of one child!

Third, let us analyze that one situation using behavioral terms. The antecedent (apples in any form) causes a behavior (insomnia), and the consequences are a foggy child with foggy parents. The behaviorist would develop an elaborate program of antecedents designed at getting Pamela to stay in bed and try to sleep backed up by positive reinforcements (or negative ones) to encourage that behavior. Would it not be easier to eliminate the source of the problem, apples? Mr. William Ahearn would have advised me that children like Pamela “will not benefit from dietary restrictions of any kind unless they also have a food allergy or intolerance.” Her skin testing for apples revealed absolutely no food allergy or intolerance!

Fourth, the apple connection was not a lucky fluke. Removing gluten and casein from her diet solved other behavioral problems. After years of failing at potty training, Pamela established bladder control within two weeks of starting this diet. She was out of daytime diapers within two months. The issue was that the morphine in the gluten and casein was masking her ability to sense a full bladder. The typical antecedent for a child to go to the bathroom (a sense of fullness) was not present! This was not simply coincidence for one of the signs of eating gluten and casein was losing bladder control. In one instance, Pamela snuck half a biscuit at a family reunion. When someone told me of her offence, I predicted to my relatives that the next day she would be irritable, develop a rash, and wet herself--behaviors not displayed in the past couple of days at the reunion. All three predictions came true the next day. Once again, Pamela had no response to wheat (gluten) or milk (casein) to the skin testing done on her, but the behavioral connection was predictable and avoidable.

Finally, how can one ever determine that specific foods are antecedents to problem behaviors if one rules out them from the beginning? What ever happened to scientific curiosity and inquiry? One can still stay cloaked in the mantle of the scientific method and investigate a possible link between diet and behavior. Using the scientific method, why not form a hypothesis "Apples causes Pamela to have insomnia" and develop a study to test it? Dad can give Pamela apples (or the placebo of pears) on randomly selected days, secretly without Mom's knowledge. Then Mom can measure how long she sleeps and the wetness of her sheets. Is that not the scientific method in action?

I am sure that some scientifically minded types me write me off as some airheaded, bubble brain. I earned my degree in operations research (statistics) at the Naval Postgraduate School, and I do understand a thing or two about the scientific method and statistical research!

P.S. Mr. Ahearn expressed concern eliminating specific foods for children already self-limiting food choices. What he does not realize is that removing addictive (morphine-laced) foods allows children to expand their food choices down the road. In our travels, Pamela has tasted and enjoyed a wide variety of food: pickled octopus, salmon, raw oysters, sushi, quinoa noodles, fried yucca, baked plaintain, pupusas with curtido, chiramoya sorbet, collard greens, etc. Rather than bake with a few related foods (wheat, oats, barley, and rye), the flours I use are made from sorghum, rice, garbanzo beans, fava beans, tapioca, potato, soy, corn, amaranth, quinoa, corn, and buckwheat. What say you?

Another P.S. All of you Charlotte Mason homeschoolers are probably wondering what this has to do with masterly inactivity. In her books, she liked to juxtapose contrasting ideas and then poke holes in those she rejected. I am emulating her approach in outlining my principles of education as they apply to a person with autism.

Social Stories about the GF/CF Diet

Pamela started a gluten-free, casein-free diet back in October 1995. We did not go out much, and we all ate the same food for the first year. It was pricey, so eventually the rest of us ate typical food while Pamela ate her special food. I made our food look the same: we all ate the same meat, sauce, veggies; the only difference was the pasta. She cooperated with her diet very well.

When we started going to a homeschool cooperative, Pamela’s cooperation fell apart. All of these kids were eating yummy-looking things before her very eyes, and she wanted to be like them. Pamela started sneaking these foods by grabbing them off plates. I even got her eating off a plate from the trash. I realized I had never properly explained her diet. I wrote a series of social stories and compared her food to commercials (she liked ads and jingles). The information helped because she started asking me if something had wheat before trying it. We saw no more rebellion--absolute cooperation and obedience once she understood why avoiding wheat was so important.

Now, over ten years into the diet, she knows to look for gluten-free and casein-free on the labels! She knows what foods in the house are safe and fixes her own snacks. All it was took was three stories (not commands or rules, but explanations). While I do not encourage you to use these stories, they are a model to get you started. We have the greatest success when we incorporate Pamela's interests into it (in this case, commercials).

Story 1: We Need to Figure Out . . . Why Should I Eat Special Cereals?

I am a girl named Pamela.

Sometimes I eat cereal. I watch TV commercials about cereals like Rice Krispies and Cocoa Pebbles. These cereals are at stores like Wal-Mart and Giant Eagle. But, Mommy usually does not buy Rice Krispies and Cocoa Pebbles for me. Some people eat Rice Krispies and Cocoa Pebbles. Daddy eats All Bran. These cereals have lots of wheat. Some people feel good when they eat wheat.

Wheat may make me feel silly. Sometimes it makes me pee in my pants and wet my bed. It even makes me feel itchy on my arms and legs. It's very hard to talk when I eat wheat.

I usually eat Mesa Sunrise, a special cereal from the health food store. It's just like Frosted Flakes. Mommy buys Mesa Sunrise because it has no wheat. Mommy wants me to eat Mesa Sunrise because it has no wheat. When I eat cereal with no wheat, I usually feel good.

I will try to eat cereal that has no wheat. It's a good idea to let other people eat Rice Krispies, Cocoa Pebbles and All Bran.

Story 2: We Need to Figure Out . . . How Are My Foods Just Like TV?

I watch TV commercials about interesting foods, but I should not eat wheat. Wheat makes me feel itchy and silly. Mommy makes special foods with no wheat, just like food on TV.

For breakfast, we eat Puffed Rice, Mesa Sunrise, egg rice cakes and fruit pudding, just like Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Eggo Waffles and Jello Pudding. For lunch, we eat hot dog soup, corn noodles and fried rice, just like Campbell’s soup, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Rice A Roni. For dinner, we eat rice lasagna, tacos and hot dog soup, just like Hot Pockets, Taco Bell and Campbell’s soup. For snack, we eat Knox Blox, Pamela's Cookies and fruity shakes, just like Jello Jigglers, Chip Ahoy and ice cream.

Other people feel good when they eat wheat. That is okay. I should let other people eat foods like the ones on TV.

Mommy wants me to feel good and stay healthy. She spends extra time cooking special foods for me because she loves me. It's a good idea to only eat food Mommy makes for me.

Story 3: We Need to Figure Out . . . How Do I Eat Food with Homeschool Kids?

We do many special things with homeschoolers. On many Tuesdays, we go to the co-op where we do art. On some Tuesday nights, we have meetings with special things for children to do. On some Thursdays, we play together at the park. Sometimes, we have special events like the Spell-A-Thon or Medieval Feast.

We usually eat food with the homeschoolers. The mothers help children get their food. Then the children sit at the table and eat their food. If they are hungry, they usually ask for more food. Their mothers help them get more food from the food table. When they are finished, they try to put their dirty paper plates, cups and napkins in the trash.

Sometimes I eat the same food as other children: fruits, popcorn, chips and cabbage soup. Sometimes Mommy brings special foods for me because wheat and milk make me sick: cookies, noodles and French fries. It's not a good idea to take food off other children's plate. If I am hungry, Mommy will be happy to give me more healthy food. I will try to tell Mommy, "I want more food."

The trash has dirty food. Sometimes dirty food has bugs in them that will make people sick and throw up. People can be killed when they eat dirty food. It's not a good idea to eat food from the trash. If I am hungry, Mommy will be happy to give me more healthy food. I will try to tell Mommy, "I want more food."

Mommy loves me very much. Mommy wants me to eat healthy food. Healthy food helps me do fun thinks like draw, paint and sing. Healthy food does not make me sick. Mommy can help me find healthy food when I am hungry. If I am hungry, Mommy will be happy to give me more healthy food. I will try to tell Mommy, "I want more food."

GF/CF Diet on the Road

With just a little planning ahead, Pamela is able to stick to her GF/CF diet wherever we go. She has not had a major diet violation in years because she understands the importance of her diet. However, when she did, symptoms of exposure to gluten/casein included extreme irritability, loss of bladder control, spaciness, rashes on her arms, and difficulty speaking. Staying on her diet enables us all to travel with fewer mishaps.

Before we left home, I shopped for very specific things that are hard to find on the road. For breakfast, I brought two boxes of GF/CF cereal (Amazon Frosted Flakes and Mesa Sunrise) and three packs of single-serving, shelf-stable soymilk in case our room lacked a refrigerator. I packed snacks, wrapped individual to carry in a hip pouch while walking around in the park: Crispy Rice Berry Bar, Apple Breakfast Bars, Soda Crackers, Sesame Pretzel Rings, and Jennie's Chocolate Macaroons.

You can also investigate in advance what foods are safe at the big-chain fast-food restaurants you might visit on the road. You can find some information at the GF/CF diet website, but you can also contact the company directly. We attend a youth prayer breakfast every Tuesday morning, so I emailed Hardees and asked for information about allergens. They sent me a huge PDF file with everything I needed to know! McDonald's has information about food allergens online.

Pamela enjoyed her second day at Universal Studios, this time Universal Studios Florida. Today Pamela explored the movie-related attractions with her brother and three cousins. She rode Shrek 4D Motion Simulator, Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast which wreaked havoc on my tendency toward motion sickness, TWISTER...Ride It Out which thrilled David (wanna-be storm-chaser), Terminator 2:3-D—I thought Arnold broke his leg, MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack, Jaws which was Pamela's favorite ride, and Earthquake. We tried to ride E.T. Adventure, but it broke on and off during the day. Pamela balked at Revenge of the Mummy, and I was glad to skip that one myself! She loved the Jaws ride so much she did not mind riding it again after sunset. The ride is much more eerie in the dark, and we all enjoyed the repeat.

We attended three of the four live shows. Pamela enjoyed the Horror Make-Up Show once she saw that the blood was fake (ketchup) and the people were safe. Some autistic children might be too literal and concrete for this show, and I could have done without the montage of movie clips earning a PG-13 Rating! I am not sure how much Pamela enjoyed the Blues Brothers, but the rest of the family had a blast. In hindsight, I wish we had substituted Lucy—A Tribute for the Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue, which contained more adult humor than I liked and deserved the PG-13 Rating and, of course, the teens of the male persuasion loved it.

Diet aside, the thing that made this whole trip possible was the Express Plus Pass, which allowed us to bypass long lines. We waited fifteen minutes at most. We saw rides with waits as long as one hundred minutes! For an autistic person, this pass is a must!

If you would like to read our lessons learned from this trip, click here and here!