Monster Box

It is bound to be a spooky night. My Eli is going actual door-to-door trick-or-treating in the neighborhood for the first time. Why is he going for the first time at the age of 6? Well there are many reasons for this. For one, he didn't care for many years, nor would be be able to get him to do it if we tried. Last year we let him trick-or-treat in more controlled conditions where we could control what he got. By that time he could even say, "Trick-or-Treat!" (His medically required diet takes all Halloween candy off the 'OK' list.)

This year when my friends ask me if we are going trick-or-treating with that concerned look, I tell them about the Monster Box. He is new to our family this season, and has been a great success through a recent Halloween Carnival and also an "Angry Birds" birthday party just last weekend. It works like this: Eli goes Trick-or-Treating, (or in the case of the BD party, pinata smashing,) and keeps his candy and brings it home. Right when he gets home, he wants to do the Monster Box.

The Monster Box is a "Cars" shoebox from the shoes we bought for him to start the school year with, and it is full of stuff, like dried papaya and pineapple, dimes, quarters, Phineas and Ferb temporary tattoos, crazy drinking straws, gluten free animal cookies, (and other little sugary treats the the box carries limited quantities of.)

There is an exchange system connected with this box. He looks at the "exchange rate paper" and hands me the one, two, or three pieces of candy he wants to trade for and what he would like for them. He keeps exchanging until his candy is gone and he has a pile of goodies that are "special medical diet friendly." It works like a charm. He is excited to get candy, and I don't have to worry about him eating it. LOVE it! Happy Halloween everyone!

1st Grade

This school year has been an interesting one so far for my first grader, Eli. He had the most wonderful small group autism class for kindergarten last year. It was full day and had all the structure, discipline, and appropriate challenges that he needed. He was mainstreaming for 30 minutes a day, without the help of an aide. By the end of the school year, all those extra hours in the classroom paid off. He was doing great. I placed him at the school he is now attending, fully expecting that he would just pick up where he left off and be able to have the type of structure that he had in the kindergarten class, and continue to increase mainstreaming time.
My little bear is going on 4 months now, and I have been waking up from newborn zombieland only to be disappointed when I realized that things are much different for Eli than I thought they were going to be. I don't blame anyone for this, really, as it is a good deal in part due to circumstances and different teaching styles. The class he is in is NOT bad, it is just not a great match for him. He was coming home with clenched teeth, ready for a fight. Sometimes he would just come home and start yelling at me. Then he would throw a fit in the evening... "I don't want to go to school. My friend is mean to me. He yells in my ear." Come to find out, Eli is the highest functioning child in his current small group autism class. The class can have a rather high noise level, and Eli has always had a strong sensitivity to noise. All the noise was causing him serious tension issues. Also, academically he can do all the typical 1st grade level work.
Eli's teacher has really earned my trust. When I went to her with my concerns, she put him in more mainstreaming time, and she went with him herself the first time to see how it would go, and so she could tell how much time would be appropriate for him. He is now mainstreaming 2 and 1/2 hours a day. While he does NOT behave like an angel the whole time he is in Mrs. H's class, Mrs. H is very experienced and works great with him. He also goes with an aide from his special ed classroom who takes care of him there. The overall result of the new changes? MUCH less tension! We are still having behavior issues that have appeared over the last few months, but the lower tension level is good, good stuff. He now has more appropriate role models, more appropriate challenges, and less inappropriate noise. He also still has his small group autism class in the afternoon, which is good for downwinding a bit and for getting individual help with his lessons. All these changes are very recent. We are watching very closely to see how things will be once he has settled into this routine. All we know right now is that this is great stuff.
I am already concerned for next year! My concerns are these: The small group autism classes in this school district are not going to become more appropriate for him as he ages, they are only going to cause him frustration. It is likely he may not be at a level next year where it will be appropriate to place him in a large, typical public school class setting. All my concerns combined cause me to think that a charter school will be a good option for him for next year. I believe that at a charter school he may be able to be with his typical peers in a smaller class setting, and I think that with the support a smaller classroom would afford, he would do very well. We are looking into options.

Back to School

We had an extremely eventful summer... let's see... we became homeowners, we had a baby boy, and we became very active staff of a gluten-free business. Add that to the autism therapy things which are just part of our life and we forget that that takes energy, too, and it was all exhausting to say the least. We now live in a white palace, as I have dubbed it, (a tall white townhouse that I just love,) we have an almost three month-old who is totally mild mannered and super social, we just finished our second publication for the business, and we have a six year old with autism who said to me tonight, "Mom, I have too much speed for you!" (We were playing a racing game on the wii and I about died when he said that... too funny!)

(This is an image that our team created for the September publication. As serious design work, I'm pretty sure it is not so successful, but it seemed to fit its' purpose, and Eli thinks it is really fun!)

We also had a casualty over the summer... my parent's marriage of 32 years ended. My parents also have a son with autism, my teenage brother. I had always thought that having an autistic child upped your chances of divorce significantly. My own observations of other families while I was growing up seemed confirm this. A quick google search brought up several pages that said the same thing: We no longer think it is true that divorce is more likely for these couples. Apparently couples with young children are more at risk for divorce, same with the parents with autism in the family. However, depending on the severity of the autism, their risk may not go down when their child ages as other couple's would. It was so strange, but awesome at the same time to have that myth debunked for me. (I admit that I still do believe what I heard a dad of 3 ASD children say in a panel discussion concerning autism and marriage. "It will make you or break you." He and his wife stressed the need for constant communication.) Of course I would never ever think of my brother as the cause for this separation. His condition was only one of many stresses on the relationship. My brother has been handling change well and is enjoying the new school year.

My own son is in the first grade! I can't believe it. He is in a small group autism class. I am looking forward to doing volunteering and becoming familiar with how they run things and how they discipline and such. It is sweet how they think he is such a great reader and so responsible, but that also makes me concerned for how well he fits the class. Should they be surprised that he can read and that he is independent? I don't think so. I think they should expect that. We will see how the year unfolds. He seems to enjoy school and I have not noticed any regression in behaviors, so it is quite possible that we are in a good place. Here's to a brand new school year!

New Website

The Gluten Free Consumer now has a new website! www.gfconsumer.com
As for this new site, it is simple, clean, and I think it is quite nice. As for my blog, hopefully I will be back to my regularly scheduled posting after the September issue is out. :)

The Gluten Free Consumer is Here!

The first issue of The Gluten Free Consumer, is now in the print! It is way exciting for me to do my fist professional graphic design project. I am happy with how it turned out, although I also see lots of room for improvement. If any designeries out there have suggestions on the cover/logo, I am all ears. It has been a long time since I have had a professor to offer a critique. :)


This first run has been relatively small, however, it is not too late to lay claim on a "trial version" of the mag, (a.k.a. the August issue.) It can still be ordered at www.allergymenu specialists.com. Much larger numbers projected next month!
Although my main job was to do the designing, I was also the author of the article titled, "We Speak: Adjusting to a Gluten Free Lifestyle," which I am particularly proud of. My brief article shares tips on how not to sabotage your own efforts, and assures readers that you are worth the effort to make hard steps toward their own wellness! (This article was written for those eating gluten free for medical reasons, such as Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance.)

I was particularly proud of this article because providing useful information to help others with the dietary struggles we have been through is what this company is all about. I want people to know that their health is worth sacrificing for... sacrificing the time to relearn how to eat, sacrificing old favorites for new ones... we really just want to support people in their efforts towards better health! You are so worth it!

The Gluten Free Consumer

I have been busy, busy, busy! In the past, I have promoted a company called "Allergy Menu Specialists," here and here. and It is my brother in law's gluten-free based business and he has been trying to find his niche in the market for several months now. Now we think he has found it with his new publication, The Gluten Free Consumer. His wife has celiac disease and their focus is to connect the gluten free individual with resources such as articles from professionals, product reviews, and recipes. This makes me a busy mom because I am the designer for his publication. I got my associates in graphic design in 2002 and have never designed professionally, but I have faith that the program I went through was a good one and that my skills will increase with use. I am very excited about this opportunity. He is sending out his first issue in August, and you can have it sent to your home for $1.50. Here is a teaser for the tasty recipe that is included in this first issue...




















(it is unfortunately not casein free, but I will hint that there is another equally tasty recipe included that is both gluten and casein free!)

Here is how to order if any readers are interested: Go to www.allergymenuspecialists.com. Click on the shopping cart. From there you will have the option of selecting subscriptions. If you would like to give it a trial run with the August issue, select "trial version." I have a feeling this publication is going to be great!

The Diet for Little Bear's Gut

Little Orson is now 16 days old. At his two week appointment he proved that he is living up to his name, (which means "bear cub,") by weighing in at 9 lbs, 9 oz. Also at his two week, the subject of gut issues was discussed.

Our older son, Eli, has had horrible gut issues in the past which were related to his condition.(Now that we have found correct information and good medical help, Eli's gut has been much happier these last couple of years!) Naturally, we have been doing everything we can to help our newborn to not have to go through the pain our older son had to.

Imagine our distress when we brought home our well-adjusted newborn, to have him start randomly screaming at 12 days old. It was a pain cry to us, and so I talked to his doctor about it. (Orson's doctor is also Eli's DAN! doctor.) I felt that it had to do with gut issues, mainly because my doctor required me to be on an anti-biotic when I was in labor. So, even though I was determined to have an unmediated labor, I found myself on an IV and worrying about my baby's gut. Despite taking pro-biotics the following week after his birth, the sudden screaming cry has made it appear as though his gut was struggling.

The plan to help little bear's gut is this: yeast protocol diet for me, the breastfeeding mom, along with an anti-fungal, along with pro-biotics for both of us. Let me just say, this diet is extremely challenging for me, who already has many diet restrictions. Now in addition, no starches, limit vinegars, no sugar, no fruit, no fruit juices for the next two weeks. I am trying very hard to keep on top of all of this, and I am finding it very challenging as an exhausted mom of a newborn. My little bear seems to be happier already, though. His random cries have been smaller in quantity and volume.

A recent happy discovery is that I can now tolerate gluten-free oats! I could not resist a gluten free oatmeal raisin cookie that my sister-in-law offered me last weekend, and that is how I discovered I can now tolerate them. So now on my yeast protocol diet I very happily eat a bowl of gluten-free oatmeal with stevia, vanilla extract powder, and cinnamon. Pretty wild for someone who grew up hating hot cereals. :)