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Special Diets For Special Kids: Understanding And Implementing Special Diets To Aid In The Treatment Of Autism And Related Developmental Disorders Books
pippadaisy's Full Review: Special Diets For Special Kids: Understanding And ...
My oldest child, my daughter Beanie, was diagnosed with Sensory Integration Dysfunction at the age of 31 months. When I use the term "diagnosed" I use it loosely; since it currently does not exist as far as the DSM is concerned, any diagnosis is an "unofficial" one.
Beanie has struggled with her SID; whether it is because of the severity of her dysfunction or because she went so long before we got her into the Early Intervention System, or because there is something else going on, we aren't sure. What we do know is that Beanie has many behaviors that don't seem to be "fixed" with OT, and she is currently being screened for either early onset bipolar disorder or Asperger's. We are hoping to find some answers to help her even more.
When we first started out on this long journey, we were blessed with an Occupational Therapist who grew to love our daughter almost as much as we do. Seeing several behaviors that Beanie exhibited that often presented in children on the Autistic Spectrum (such as head banging), she suggested that we try the gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet with Beanie, and pointed us toward the book Special Diets For Special Kids: Understanding And Implementing Special Diets To Aid In The Treatment Of Autism And Related Developmental Disorders. From here on out, I'm going to refer to it as Special Diets For Special Kids or I'll end up with carpal tunnel syndrome!
~&~ The Basics ~&~
Special Diets For Special Kids is written by Dr. Lisa Lewis, the parent of an autistic son. She found through trial and error that her son's symptoms improved once gluten and casein were removed from her son's diet, and has collected recipes and information about the diet into a book to help other parents.
Special Diets For Special Kids is divided into three sections. The first section has information essential to any parent starting to implement the GFCF diet, and has six chapters. The first is the story of Dr. Lewis' own son and how her family came to the conclusion that the GFCF diet helped him.
Chapter 2 is called "About Special Diets" and includes information on different types of issues that can impact children on the spectrum. It includes discussion of gluten, phenols, and antibiotic abuse with subsequent yeast issues.
Chapter 3 discusses the issues of food allergies and intolerances, and describes elimination and rotation diets, allergy tests, and additives.
Chapter 4 is "Tests and Nutritional Supports" and covers most of the common tests that many parents of children on the spectrum utilize, including Gut Permeability tests and Detoxification Tests, what steps to take after testing has been done, and information about supplements.
Chapter 5 covers the basics of actually feeding a child on the GFCF diet, including how to substitute for common ingredients, the basics of eating out, and has lists of "safe" foods and foods to avoid.
Chapter 6, the last chapter in this section, has information on how to deal with people outside your home, including family members, teachers, therapists, and babysitters.
The second section is the recipe section, with chapters for Mains and Sides, Breads and Breakfasts (divided into yeasted and yeast-free for those avoiding yeast as well), Ethnic & Holiday Foods (including Matzo Balls!), Cookies, Desserts, and Odds and Ends, which has everything from mock cheese to edible play clay.
The final section contains the appendices, which include mail order and online sources, how to do your own research online, other cookbooks that can be of help, and frequently asked questions.
~&~ Why I Just About Sleep With This Book ~&~
I'll be honest; I haven't tried most of the recipes in this book. The main reason behind that is simply that to start out, I tried to "fix" the things my daughter was already comfortable with rather than try a whole bunch of new things. I have used some of the recipes as a starting point, or for background on how best to modify my own recipes to be GFCF. My daughter already has eating issues, and trying new things is, well, next to impossible for her.
However, the first section has proved to be invaluable to me. Starting out on the GFCF diet can be a daunting task, even for someone like me who already did a lot of my own baking, and had baked bread before. Just knowing where to start, what to do, and what to look for seemed like more information when I'd ever learn, and Special Diets For Special Kids was my handy tour guide through the world of special diets those first few months.
The book itself is a large hard-covered spiral-bound book, so using it as a cookbook is very easy to do. It has also held up well to me carrying it everywhere in my bag, and some nights even falling asleep with it in bed where I'd been reading.
The personal experience that Dr. Lewis shares with regard to her son Sam was vital to my ultimate decision to try the diet with my daughter, and Special Diets For Special Kids made me feel like I actually had someone there holding my hand the whole way.
Eighteen months after we began the diet with Beanie, we have seen HUGE improvements. We have virtually no head banging, and the majority of her near obsessive behaviors have dissipated. The GFCF diet doesn't work for everyone, but the difference we have seen has been truly amazing to see. I can tell immediately if Beanie has had food that isn't GFCF, and it takes days for her to return to her "normal" state. At four, she is already able to articulate that eating a non-GFCF food makes her feel "yucky" inside.
While the amount of interventions presented to the parent of a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder or SID can be daunting, I decided the the GFCF diet was the least invasive of the alternative therapies I researched. A little bit of hard work has made a world of difference, and I owe it all to Special Diets For Special Kids for helping me start out down that path.
Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders or Sensory Integration Dysfunction may respond well to a gluten-free, casein-free diet. For more information on the diet, visit http://www.gfcfdiet.com. For more information about autism, visit the Autism Society of America at http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=allaboutautism.
Using a common-sense approach to a complex subject, Dr. Lewis, a mother of autistic children herself, offers specific examples of food allergies and i...More at HotBookSale
Using a common-sense approach to a complex subject, Dr. Lewis, a mother of autistic children herself, offers specific examples of food allergies and i...More at HotBookSale
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