An open mind

I've just come back from a 2 day autism course. I haven't done any courses for a while, figuring that after 6 years I've lived most of the stuff that courses cover. It was a Positive Partnership course funded by the Government. It was a great 2 days, not so much because of the content of the course, but the networking with the other mums (and a few Dads). We had such a laugh about our crazy lives, living with our special kids, and the mad mad things that they do and that we have to do to make all our lives run smoothly. It actually was very therapeutic and we all agreed that it was a place where we could all be open and not judged. Don't get me wrong, I have an amazing support system and my family and friends are awesome, they truly are, but there's so much stuff that goes on that someone looking from the outside would just not "get". So it was fabulous to be relaxed and having a laugh and knowing that there's so many others out there treading the same path.


Now the disappointing part was some of the content of the course. They were presenting a list of "evidence based" practices, and rating other possible therapies. Now I agree that parents of kids with Autism are very vulnerable and may spend time and money on scams which claim to "cure" their child so you do need to be careful. But on the list of "don't try this because it's not proven" was my passion - the dietary and biomedical side of autism. Even though this has been something parents have been doing for years, even though there are tens of thousands of families following dietary intervention, even though there are books and studies and very well esteemed practitioners advocating the approach, the official view of Autism providers in this country is this is a no-no. I am frustrated. It's a safe and non invasive protocol. It helps thousands and thousands of kids, yet many many thousands more will never have the chance to see if it works because it is presented to their parents as  dangerous and unproven. My pediatrician was happy to write me prescriptions for as many drugs as I wanted (which was none of them thanks very much) but told me that the diet was not double blind peer reviewed trialled and published, was unproven and unsafe. 


When we began Tim on the gfcf (gluten free, casein free) diet, my husband was sceptical and we began a whole lot of tests to see what actually came up to give him some "proof" that this was the right track. Our boy was sick!! He had multiple food allergies, toxic levels of metals, extremely low nutrient levels, compacted faeces - all of these detected with conventional medical tests (but your average run of the mill GP won't know about them) .....The removal of the offending foods was the first step, getting some minerals into him was the next, and we went from there. No wonder he screamed all the time and didn't sleep at night, this wasn't just part of his autism, he was in pain constantly. Getting him well on a dietary and biomedical level meant we got him back to the point where he could begin learning, and then all the traditional behavioural therapies could be effective. Changing Tim's diet and getting his health back on track changed our lives. It makes me so so sad that it could change other kids lives too, but so many won't ever know it's an option. It's not a miracle cure, it might not work for every child, but it should be presented as an option.


Tim is now a picture of health and his diet is now the envy of every mother at school. He eats every fruit and vege under the sun, takes home made hummus for snacks, we make his cakes/muffins and treats from scratch with no preservatives - yet this is frowned upon as a dangerous protocol? Let the kids eat junk and artificial crap and pop them on an assortment of prescription drugs - this is what our government says is OK. It doesn't make sense to me.


I finished off my course with a movie night with my girlfriends and a big glass of wine with another autism mum. We fantasised about how we would change the world, shake things up, offer support, build a wellness centre and look after the kids and mums who are on this path. We don't think we can do this for a few years yet, but we're putting it out there as the vision of how we hope things can be.

Walking the walk

Well, here it is, my first blog! See you can teach an old dog new tricks! Just as I've mastered Facebook and Twitter, I've moved onto a blog, there's no stopping me!!


I've had an interesting time the past few months, as I've developed allergies of my own. It has been a frustrating and sometimes scary journey, trying to figure out what it is that's causing my problems. I'm still not to the bottom of it ... gave up on traditional medicine, as I did with my son 6 years ago. I'm awaiting the results of my blood tests from my naturopath this week, which will be a relief when I finally know what I'm dealing with.


It's quite an ironic situation, since I have had my business, Allergy Friendly Foods, for 5 years now and that's what I do every day - talk to people who have allergies (or mostly, talk to mums whose kids have allergies). Tim, my allergy boy, has had a long list of food intolerances and has been on a special diet for 6 years. I'm 100% strict with him - he has nothing that he isn't allowed and I spend a lot of hours and money getting great tasting, safe food for him. I generally eat what he does so he isn't singled out, but I'm very lenient with what goes into my mouth when I'm out/in a hurry ... you know how it gets.  I find it interesting that I will now have to be more diligent with myself now that there are real effects from what I'm doing. I guess you never really want to change the status quo unless you get the wake up call to do so, and now I've taken the call I have no choice but to make the change. As well, in the past 2 months, my daughter developed eczema and tummy pains and following naturopathic consults for her as well, we found out she is intolerant to a few foods. Guess what, since she has changed her diet, the eczema and pains have gone away.


So I know I will have to change what I do, and I know I will have to apply the same stringent rules to myself as I do to the kids. It will be a relief to finally have a roadmap to getting myself healthy again, though I hope the list isn't too long. Between the kids we already have to avoid gluten, dairy, soy, corn, sugar and yeast! There will be no excuse for me if my problems are in that  list (especially since I have a warehouse full of products that fit the bill), just the discipline to treat my own health with the same importance as the kids. 


I'll let you know what comes back, keep your fingers crossed it's nothing too obscure or makes our list any longer!