You are what you eat! Never have I believed in the truth of this statement more than in the past few weeks.
Even before Andy was officially diagnosed he was on the GFCF diet. The diet has been a life changer. It was the beginning of us to rescueing our son from the clutches of Autism's dirty little hands. While there has been NUMEROUS improvements thanks to this diet Andy was still battling yeast and constipation on and off over the past few years.
As parents we do not feel that Andy needs to live like this indefinately...so we started searching for the next option.
As parents we do not feel that Andy needs to live like this indefinately...so we started searching for the next option.
On April 27th, as a family we started to follow a new food protocol called SCD. In the most basic terms the diet is the elimination of grains and sugar. It consists of meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. I am amazed at the changes we've seen in Andy already is such a short period of time.
Here are some of the changes...
- Within the first 5 days Andy's SLP commented on how calm Andy was as we were talking in a hallway and he was waiting patiently for me to finish.
- Eye contact - the hot button topic for all parents with children with Autism. Andy's eye contact has improved so dramatically to the point that many other people have commented that he's starting to use "eye contact" to get your attention.
- Emily dropped a piece of her muffin on the ground. She was calling me to come pick it up, Andy got off his chair and picked it up. Emily, of course, started to scream that he had "her" muffin. Andy put the piece of muffin back on her plate for her and then sat in his chair. It was amazing...just a few short weeks ago he never would have even noticed it.
- Whenever Emily gets dropped off from daycare, one of the 9 year old boys always comes to say 'hi' to Andy. Last Tuesday, Andy threw his arms around him to give him a HUG.
Here are some of the notes for his recent IBI sessions...
- Andy seems more 'adventurous' these days.
- Andy spontaneously wrote an A (on the chalkboard)
- Andy had an incredibly morning showing off his talents and programming for a visitor today.
- While washing his hands in the bathroom, Andy pointed to the soap containers. He seldom uses a point finger for requests so this was fantastic!
- While washing his hands in the bathroom, Andy pointed to the soap containers. He seldom uses a point finger for requests so this was fantastic!
While these are all subtle changes, they are truly changes that we've been striving for as a family. These subtle changes have had a HUGE impact on our daily lives. Never was this more evident then last Monday when Andy was unintentionally given a GFCF muffin for a snack.
For three days after the muffin Andy lost his focus and happy demeanor. We noticed that he was fidgety, like he had ants in his pants, and couldn't stay still. He also became whinnier and lack of interest in playing with other toys as he had been in the weeks previous. He became quite focussed on the tv and his iPad.
Hmmm....I think we're on to something here.
