Dear BYU Psycology Department

Dear Dr. Mikle South,

Hello, my name is Celeste. I am BYU alumni and a Giant Steps parent. I attended the presentation that you and your students put on for the parents of the Giant Steps Preschool several months back. I was impressed with the work your students presented. You mentioned that as part of your research you meet with many parents and note their concerns. I have felt since that time a need and a desire to express to you some things about my journey with autism.

I have lived with autism in my family since 1993, when my brother with autism was born. Now I am the parent of a Giant Steps student. For most of those 17 years when my brother was growing up, I believed that autism is a neurological disorder only and that education is really the only thing that could help a person with autism. After my little son was diagnosed I studied a book called Changing the Course of Autism by Dr. Bryan Jepson. Dr. South, this book was revelation to my mind. I explained the behaviors and phases of my brother over all those years, and also the ones that were emerging in my son. Now I believe that autism is a disease of the body greatly affects the brain. Meaning, persons with a genetic tendency slip into autism when their bodies cannot cope with all of the toxins that enter it.

Since the summer of 2008 my son has been seeing Dr. David Voss at the Freedom Medical Center who treats his condition medically. My son eats gluten free, casein free, and usually sugar free. He is on a variety of dietary supplements that are closely monitored by his doctor. The results over time have been eye contact, communication, and awareness. Giant Steps has of course accelerated his progress even more. This biochemical intervention program is difficult to do, but it is much easier than having a child who is more severely autistic. When I am in a group of Giant Steps parents and they talk about their children’s different troubling behaviors, (such as screaming, running away, and making family life difficult in other ways,) I usually find myself thinking, “I grew up with that, and my son used to be just like that, but not nearly so much now.”

Unfortunately the compilation of research that Dr. Bryan Jepson presents in his book is a bit sparse. There are many gaps and many topics that need more looking at. There is no research whatsoever touching this program from psychology professionals as far as I am aware.

And so Dr. South, it is my plea that If you have any students that are at all interested in pursuing this area in their graduate studies, please encourage them. More substantial research in this area from a department such as yours would do a world of good, not only for children with autism in Utah , but for people with autism everywhere.

Thank you very much for your work in support of Giant Steps. I am very appreciative of what you and your students do.

Celeste Jean

This is the email I sent to Dr. South today. I know it is a bit presumptuous. However, here in Utah we have one of the highest rates of autism in the entire country, and I feel that this professor and his team of graduates have a great deal of influence. Already they do research that justifies to the minds of lawmakers the funding of the Giant Steps Preschool.

Yes, I am hopeful enough to think my small efforts could make a difference in his student's studies. At the least I know I will receive a short, kind reply. I have met Dr. South. He is a nice, fun loving guy. (This is the man who held a free drawing for candy bars at the above-mentioned presentation meeting. LOL!)

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is a very recent picture I took of Eli with his beloved teddy dubbed "Pink Heart Bear." Eli picked him out at a Macey's grocery store last February. I was surprised that he picked out the one with the most pink on it. He has never been huge into stuffies, but he still loves this bear a year later after all the different ages and phases he has been through.
It all seems so ironic considering his most recent 'like' is Spiderman. :)

Earth Balance Spread and Veganism

For awhile we were using ghee as part of our son's gluten free/casein free diet. Now we have found what we feel is an even better alternative. It is Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread. The cheapest place to pick this up in Utah County is Sunflower Farmer's Market. As compared to ghee, you get much more for your money.

*non-hydrogenated
*gluten/casein free
*varieties include a soy-free option
*completely vegan



I admit, the vegan aspect of this product is a big draw for me. According to The McDougall Plan, by John A. McDougall, M.D. and Mary A. McDougall, the higher you are on the food pyramid, the higher the amount of fat-soluable contaminants your food will contain. For example, the grains on the bottom of the pyramid will have the lowest amount of contaminants, while the breast feeding child on the top of the pyramid will have potentially the highest.

Concentrated contaminants can be avoided to a large degree by eating vegan. Another more current book on this subject that is very popular is called The China Study. I personally haven't read this one yet, but I plan to in the near future.

My family and I do not eat vegan, but since learning more about the health hazards and also the markets promoting meat and dairy products, meat has become much more sparse in our home. It is used once in a while for a flavoring, not as a main course. As for dairy, Eli does not eat dairy, and products like Earth Balance make limiting dairy so much easier for the rest of the family.

Current Eco Friendly Obsession

My journey with autism in my family has taught me to look at earth conservation in a new light. I believe that many of our current epidemics that effect our children, (such as severe allergies, asthma, and autism,) are brought upon us by the environment, or our lack of care for it.

Here is my current eco friendly obsession. It is housing built from shipping containers. Steel shipping containers come to us in the form of imports. Once we take out the goods, these shipping containers pile up... it is simply not cost effective to send them back. Architects and builders are latching on to the idea of using them as building material. Here are a couple of links I found while searching "shipping container house" on Google. The photos on these links are great.

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/articles/containers.htm


"http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_news/8/twelve-amazing-shipping-container-houses.html


I made a little preliminary floor plan sketch based on 40' by 8' foot containers, using the method of just laying them on some type of leveled ground/foundation and cutting rooms between them. (And windows and doors, etc.) The really lovely thing about this type of building is that additions are easy to add as your family grows. The containers are all made the same and this makes them easy to stack.



I have all kinds of ideas for my container house should I ever have the opportunity to build one. The containers would be in a semi circle shape, which would shelter a green house that is glassed in the interior. Imagine, garden fresh organic vegetables in the winter! We would use salvaged and refurbished cabinetry, and sustainable bamboo flooring. I am sure there are so many other eco friendly things that can be used to make the container home very comfortable. I just haven't thought of them all or researched them all just yet.

School AGAIN?

This morning I looked in on Eli when it was time for him to get up. I thought I saw his little eyelids blinking, so I said, "Eli it is time to get up so you can get ready for school." As I walked down the hallway I heard him say, "Again?"

I laughed all the way down the hallway! Since I have only heard him say the word "again" only a handful of times, I wasn't 100% sure of what I heard. I went back to his room where he sat on his bed rubbing his eyes.

"Did you say 'again' because you are getting up for school again?" I asked him. "Yes," he said. He has a field trip today, so I told him that he was going to go to the fire station today and see the big fire trucks. I asked him if that sounded good. "Yes," he said, and he got up to get ready for school.

And I am still laughing....

The Toxin Tip and Canaries

When you are looking for the answer to a troubling question, and then you find it, you feel like it fits and you have a clarity of mind that tells you that you have found what you are looking for.

When I was in high school I did a research project on autism because I wanted to learn more about what made my brother the way that he was. At that time the sources I ran into said that the occurrence of autism was 1 in every 800. Just last month I was informed by an Autism Speaks representative that the Center for Disease Control has come out with a statement declaring the occurrence to be every 1 in 97. What an astounding difference! Even if the sources I read in high school were a decade old, and even if you account for better awareness and diagnostic methods in the medical community, there is still a ginormous increase that demands the question of "why?" Why is there a greater occurrence of autism today?

Dr. Bryan Jepson explains in his book, Changing the Course of Autism, that persons who become autistic have a lower toxin tip genetically. The increasing toxicity of our world, (plus medical interventions such as heavy metal containing vaccines,) causes toxin overload on their bodies. Because of their lower toxin resistance their body cannot deplete these toxins, causing autism.

Jenny McCarthy, while not a medical professional, had an interesting analogy in her book, Mother Warriors, that medical professionals specializing in autism use. Miners used to take caged canaries with them in the mines, she says, because the canaries were more sensitive to the lethal gases that could lurk in the mines. When a canary started having problems with the air, the miners would leave the mine quickly. In the sense that they are more sensitive to our toxins, and in the sense that they react first, the precious persons in our lives with autism are functioning as our canaries.

So why does cleaning up our earth matter? I think I just answered that question. In addition to the joy and wonderful abilities they bring to this world, our children are trying to show us what to do. Despite their communication challenges, this message could not be clearer. Let's listen, please.

Pizza Recipe

This is our favorite pizza recipe. It is gluten free and yeast free, which is important for Eli's special diet. I am also gluten intolerant, but unlike Eli I do eat some dairy products. Usually I will cut one third of the pizza off after the first bake, before I put the toppings on. Eli gets the third with no cheese and Jason and I eat the rest.

Modified from "Pizza with Easy Tomato Sauce," page 153 of The Kid Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook by Pamela J Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N.

1 1/3 cups garbanzo bean flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/3 cups water

Blend all ingredients thoroughly, beating for two minutes. Cover pizza pan with parchment paper. Spread out the dough using a wet spoon back. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Take it out and add sauce and toppings. I use Muir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce. (It is sooo yummy!) Bake for another 15-20 minutes. It will brown very well around the edges.