Riding a Two Wheeler

Today was an amazing day! Doodle learned to ride a two wheeler! I wasn't sure how we were going to teach her to ride a bike without training wheels - perhaps she would be like Alice on the Brady Bunch, riding with training wheels well into adulthood. I was OK with that, but figured she wouldn't want that. I feared with all of her coordination and attention issues she wouldn't be able to ride, steer, balance, and peddle all at once.

Then, I found a website that gave me the confidence to try it this afternoon. Bicycle.net had a great article on how to take the fear out of teaching a child to ride a bike. He claimed to be able to do it in an hour - not days on end.  So, I had my husband take the training wheels off of Doodle's bike and she and I set off to try out the technique.

He was right! It took Doodle 1.5 hours to be riding around our pond on her own (and I got quite a workout running beside her.)

Getting started

Doodle's riding on her own!

Giving Mom a Run For Her Money

The website suggests four steps: 
1. Ride in a circle while you hold onto the seat and handle bars - going one direction and then the other. We did this for about 30 minutes (Bicycle.net suggests 10 minutes, but it took us longer to get the hang of it). 

2. Go to a park with a large grassy field

3. Hold onto to the seat and run along side your child - like traditional methods - while on the grassy field.

4. Let go. Let them ride until they are comfortable.

For us, we did step 1 and then worked on riding the straight-a ways on the road. We tried the grass in our large back yard, but Doodle couldn't get up enough speed to keep balanced, so we headed back out to the street. I ran beside her and eventually let go and she just kept peddling by herself. Sometimes she would get distracted or stop peddling and lose balance and I would be running beside her to help her get back on track. Eventually she figured how to run into the grass when she was going to fall.  


We did this all the way around our neighborhood pond - which is about a 1/2 mile! By the end, she was off and peddling by herself without my help. I'm so excited for her!

 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pancakes

So, I don't know about you, but I LOVE Pinterest. My love for Pinterest has quickly surpassed my love for Facebook. I love perusing through the creative pictures, recipes, arts and crafts out there on the web. What a great way to organize everything I love. 

I've been using this tool as a way to organize recipes for my family, myself (I'm a no carb/sugar person), and especially for Doodle. Well, the other day I found a fabulous pancake recipe for Doodle here. It looked delicious - and who wouldn't love the thought of cookie dough pancakes? Well, I didn't have cashews on hand, nor did I have amaranth flour, arrowroot, or brown rice flour on hand. (I live in the middle of nowhere, after all.) So, I adjusted the recipe to use the allergy friendly ingredients I did have on hand. Here goes:

1/4 Cup Sweet Rice Flour

1/4 Cup Pea Protein Powder

1/2 Cup Sorghum Flour
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/4 Cup AppleSauce
2 Tbsp Agave Nectar
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
Ghiradelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat griddle and pre-season with oil. Mix together with a spatula the dry ingredients.
2. Add applesauce, agave nectar, and vegetable oil. 
3. Stir in chocolate chips. 
4. Place a small scoop of batter on griddle - the dough should be thicker than regular pancake batter. Flip when golden brown and repeat. 

I didn't make the marshmallow cream - these pancakes were sweet enough on their own. So, we added some pure maple syrup and Doodle enjoyed! I made the entire batch of pancakes and froze the leftovers for breakfast during the week. 

Dad's Worksheets

Well, we've been putting a lot of time and energy into helping Doodle with math. She was doing OK most of this year - getting B's for her grades. Then 4th quarter hit and WHAM! nothing but F's on her tests. It was heartbreaking! Plus, she wasn't progressing on her Rocket Math - you know, those darn timed math tests that really have no basis in the real world. As frustrating as these tests are as a parent, it's a necessary part of first grade, so we went on the hunt for a good tool to help Doodle out.

In my quest, I found this amazing website from a Dad who was trying to help his daughter out. It's called Dad's Worksheets and you can find it here: Dad's Worksheets. The worksheets available on this site emulates the Rocket Math curriculum that Doodle's teacher uses in class. For Doodle, she just needs to get 20 problems done in a minute to move on to the next level. I say just, like it's no big deal. In fact, it's a huge deal to Doodle. She has spent the majority of the year trying to get off of level A. It seemed insurmountable to her.

So, we printed out the worksheets and practiced every single night. After some concerted efforts, she was able to rise to level B! It also took some bribery of a large stuffed bunny from the local store - but she did it! Then, she did it again! She passed level B in a very short period of time! This time motivated by the promise of a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. Hey - whatever it takes! Now we are working on level C with hopes of surpassing before school ends on May 17th. I'm sure she will do it.

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Doodle loves cookies. I mean LOVES cookies. She really could live on cookies alone, if I let her. I make them because, selfishly, they make an easy snack to send to school. However, I also know that if she has too much sugar and not enough protein, I'm in for a rough evening when I pick her up from daycare. She is not a girl who can handle sugar without protein. So, I buy a pea protein powder from Kirkman Labs that I sneak into almost everything I bake for her. I love Kirkman Labs because I know they are all about pure ingredients that don't contain any of the common allergens. Kirkman is also a huge proponent in using diet and supplements to cure autism. So, I buy many things from them and the protein powder helps me sneak protein into cookies without Doodle noticing. A win-win!

Since we went egg-free in our household, it's been difficult to make a decent sugar cookie. The dough just seems to crumble which makes for a bad sugar cookie experience. Well, I finally figured out the missing ingredient - apple sauce! I added apple sauce to my latest batch of cookies and they turned out wonderfully - no more crumbly dough. Here's the recipe:

Vegan Sugar Cookies

1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 T pure vanilla
1 T egg replacer
3 T warm water
2 heaping T apple sauce
1 1/4 cup Sweet Rice Flour
1 1/2 cup Sorghum Flour
1/4 pea protein powder (use extra sweet rice flour if you don't have this)
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt

1. Combine shortening, sugar, agave nectar, vanilla in a large bowl. Beat generously.
2. In a small bowl whisk together egg replacer and warm water until frothy. Add to sugar mixture and beat. Stir in apple sauce.
3. Combine sweet rice flour, sorghum flour, protein powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt in a bowl. Gradually add to sugar/shortening mixture while beating with a mixer. Mix well.
4. Form dough into 2 balls and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
5. Sprinkle some sweet rice flour on a large, clean surface and roll out dough with a rolling pin. Cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter. Repeat step 5 as necessary.
6. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Cool on baking rack. Frost with your favorite frosting once cool.

I store the cookies un-frosted in the freezer and take out one at a time for school snack. I add a bit of frosting, before sending to school, that I keep frozen in our freezer.

Math Madness

Well, we are on the downhill side of first grade - where has the year gone? It seems that time really does fly when you have kids in school. This year, that has truly been the case. Every year that Doodle starts a new grade, I worry about how she will keep up with her peers, will she make friends, will she fit in on the playground, can she keep up. This year was no exception.

Doodle, of course, has surprised me and done exceptionally well in school. She really loves it. This year, however, she has met her arch nemesis - Math! She has struggled all year, but still scored well on most of her tests and came home with B-, B, and B+. It seemed she was improving, that is, until this quarter hit. She has brought home 2 F's in a row! On her quarter review test, she missed simple things that she had mastered months before. I think that I was more devastated than she was when she brought home the test. My heart just breaks that she has to struggle so hard in this subject. 

So, as with most things, I'm on a mission to make it better. I felt like we had tried most things: flashcards (didn't help), online games (she liked, but didn't help make progress), a Toy Story math book (helped some), and I even resorted to bribery. So, I decided to get out my Cri-Cut machine and make my own version of flashcards. First, I cut out some tags, then glued numbers to the tags and different colored stars representing the numbers to give her visual cues. I started real simple: 1+2, 3+1, 4+1, just to help her get through her Rocket Math timed tests. Then, I created tags with numbers from 0-9 with touch points that represent the number and help her count. I'm teaching her to use the number to help her figure out the math problem. The number 3, for example, had three different points, so she can use the points to count and come up with the answer.  This seems to be helping.

Also, a friend suggested we try hide and seek math. I hide 5 flashcards and she has 5 minutes to find the flashcards, bring them to me, and give me the answer. She really likes this game and it seems to be helping. I imagine, however, that we will continue this routine right through the summer months so we don't take a step backwards. I know second grade will be even more challenging with math.

One Week Without Eggs

It's probably completely coincidental, but two amazing things happened this week, the first week Doodle has been egg free.

1.  Doodle's teacher sent home a note on Friday stating that Doodle was initiating conversation at school and had asked several kids to play with her. During her conferences, her teacher expressed concern that Doodle would play near other kids, but she hadn't ever seen her initiate conversation. 
2. Usually getting Doodle to clean up anything takes a herculean effort with lots of reminders to finish her task. Last night, I asked Doodle to pick up her room before bed, then left for a few minutes. Upon my return, her entire room was spotless! Who was this child?

Is this due to the removal of eggs? Time will tell. We're trying it out for the next 5 weeks to see if any positive behavior changes result - specifically her ability to focus at school. Stay tuned to find out the results.

By the way, I made my first batch of egg-free brownies last night - they were fabulous! I found the recipe from the Gluten Free Goddess here. I'll have to try them as cookies next time around.

Residual Autism

We had conferences for Doodle this week with her Kindergarten teacher. Doodle is in the midst of being tested through the school to see if she continues to qualify for special education. We will have that update in another month, but I wanted to see how she was doing in the classroom, prior to getting the test results back. Doodle has just the nicest, kindest, sweetest Kindergarten teacher you can imagine. She is very loving and patient - at least as far as I can see. I was very impressed with how far Doodle has come, as was her teacher. Doodle keeps up with her class academically and has made terrific progress in both reading and math. We just need to work on forming numbers correctly and in the right order all of the time.

One area of concern continues to be her ability to pay attention. Her teacher expressed concern again about being easily distracted. She can stay on task during an assignment at her table, but has difficulty focusing when doing other things like tying her shoes or getting ready to go outside for recess. She also mentioned that Doodle has a hard time making eye contact. She will initially look you in the eye, but turns away quickly. She also has difficulty approaching someone to play with her. She will play near other kids and wait for them to address her. I'm calling this residual autism. Once the kids notice her, they will invite her to play, but she rarely asks other children at school to play with her. It's hard for me to see this, as she constantly is asking other children in the neighborhood to play with her. She's best friends with our neighbor's daughter and they are constantly running between the two houses. I'm thinking she takes a long time to warm up to kids, but once she does, she is comfortable asking kids to play with her. Hopefully she will learn to overcome this trait.

As a result of the conferences, my husband and I have decided to try to eliminate more from her diet. Seems daunting to eliminate even more than dairy and gluten. I recently read an article where the researchers found that diet is equally effective in treating ADHD as medication.  The researches had children follow the Restricted Elimination Diet where they eliminated milk, gluten, eggs, and tomatoes from the children's diet. Since we are already gluten and dairy free, we've decided to eliminate eggs and tomatoes. Just like when we eliminated milk and gluten, I didn't really realize how often we use eggs and tomatoes. Eggs, in fact, are a staple in our house and it won't be easy finding a substitute for our morning breakfast routine. If you have any tips, let me know - I'm sure I will be fumbling around with this diet change for the next few weeks until we get it right.

The Power of Probiotics

I'm going to start the New Year off by talking about supplements again. Supplements were a key ingredient in helping Doodle recover from Autism and her developmental delays. Over the past two years, I have tried different supplements - one at a time - and monitored their affect on Doodle's behavior. Did she seem to improve? Was there any difference in her verbal skills? When taken off of the supplement, did she regress? Was her school noticing any differences? (Rule of thumb - never tell the school or daycare when you have made a change in the diet. Wait and see if they mention any differences to confirm what you are seeing is true.)

This past fall, I took Doodle off of Probiotics. Mostly because the brand we buy is fairly expensive and I wasn't sure they were really doing any good. So, we went for a period of several months without taking any Probiotics. I didn't think much of it, until we went Trick-or-Treating for Halloween. I watched as Doodle repeatedly stumbled, fell, and lost her balance (and it wasn't because she had on a tricky costume). She couldn't seem to run like the other little girl we were with - like her limbs weren't coordinated at all. She also didn't have this problem during the school year prior - when she was completely on Probiotics.  I told Doodle that she seemed "trippy" that night and we placed an order for Probiotics the very next day. Since being back on the Probiotics her "trippy" behavior has been eliminated and she is much more in control of her limbs. Lesson learned for me - keep up the Probiotic supplementation!

Doodle in her Halloween Costume

There have been some studies to support the use of Probiotics for Autistic children. Some Autistic children suffer from an imbalance of bad bacteria in their gut and the Probiotics help to bring stability back.  I read this article recently about how a study on Probiotics in Autistic children was so successful, it failed. Parents of Autistic children who were given the Probiotic noticed such a difference, that when it was time for the two groups to switch (and go onto a placebo), the parents in the initial group dropped out - they didn't want to take their children off of the Probiotics!

For my Doodle, I've found the use of Probiotics with a daily supplement of Zinc also helps with her ability to focus. I had also been lax about giving Doodle her zinc every day and her teachers have been complaining about her ability to focus in class. Saying she needs to be re-directed many times during an activity. I decided to be diligent about giving Doodle zinc every day (I use a zinc lotion for this). After only one week, her teacher sent home a note saying that her ability to focus had greatly improved that week. Another note to self - be diligent about zinc!

Both the Probiotics and Zinc I order from Kirkman Labs. You can find them here, if you are interested.

Zinc - http://kirkmanlabs.com/ViewProductDetails@Product_ID@217@Product_Group_ID@1.aspx
Probiotics -  http://kirkmanlabs.com/ViewProductDetails@Product_ID@184@Product_Group_ID@1.aspx



I offer this advice based on my own experience. I am not a medical professional, so please consult your doctor before applying to your own circumstances.

Amazing Story

Thought I would share this amazing, inspiring story of an Autistic girl who finds her voice through the use of a computer at age 11. It's truly inspiring!

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/357/kims-picks-mute-autistic-girl-finds-a-voice

I hope all Autistic children are able to find their voice, just like Carly did! My quest is to continue to help Doodle find her voice and speak it out loud.

Soup Sunday

Fall has set in and our family has been craving soup. I have taken up the tradition of my family by serving soup every Sunday after church. Growing up, we would pile in the car and head to church. Every Sunday after church, we would stop by the local grocery store to pick up the Sunday paper, some rolls, and whatever we needed for soup. I've instituted the same tradition in our house (without the paper and rolls) by serving soup on Sundays. One of the soups that mom often served was Wild Rice Soup - a Midwest favorite. Doodle happens to love Wild Rice Soup, but we gave it up once she became dairy and gluten free. However, after much trial and error, I have finally perfected a dairy free/gluten free version of this classic soup. On the next crisp, fall day, cook up a pot and savor the last remaining days of decent weather.

Wild Rice Soup

4 Tbsp Dairy Free Butter
1 Medium Onion, chopped
1/2 Cup Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour
3 Cups Gluten Free Chicken Broth
2 16 oz cartons Coffee Rich Non-Dairy Creamer
1 1/2 Cups Wild Rice - cooked
2 Large Carrots - Shredded
1 Cup Ham - Cubed (prefer nitrate/nitrite free ham)
1/8 cup Sherry (optional)
1/2 Cup Slivered Almonds (optional)


1. Over Medium High heat, melt butter in a large pot. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent.
2. Add in Sweet Rice Flour to make a roux.
3. Whisk in chicken broth. Continue whisking until flour is dissolved. Cook for 2 minutes.
4. Whisk in non-dairy creamer - mixture should thicken. If too thick, add a bit more chicken broth.
5. Add in Wild Rice, Shredded Carrots, and Ham. Simmer until heated through. Add Sherry and Almonds, if desired.

I experimented with several different gluten free flours for this recipe and found that Sweet Rice Flour works best. It thickens the soup nicely, yet doesn't leave any after taste (as so many GF flours do.) I've also found that Sweet Rice Flour makes the best pancakes and waffles - they are light, airy, and crisp up perfectly. If you haven't tried Sweet Rice Flour for your GF baking, pick some up and see for yourself.

Enjoy!

Fried Plantains

Finding good Plantains in the middle of nowhere is a rare treat for my family. Being that 3/4's of my family has some kind of Haitian blood in them, plantains are a favorite food among my crew. If you're not familiar with plantains, they are cousins of the banana and come with a thick, hard peel. They are typically about twice the size of a regular banana with the peel on and are much starchier than a banana. Unfortunately for me, most of the plantains carried at the local grocery store are often too ripe, almost rotting when I do my shopping. So, when we find the bright green variety at the store, I usually snap up the whole lot. Inevitably, the cashier will ask me what they are and how I prepare them. If done properly, they taste like a thick, crunchy potato chip. If your looking to try something new, fried plantains make a great side dish for dinner - especially with Jambalaya or Creole Pork. Here's the technique we use for perfect plantains.

Perfect Plantains

1-2 Green Plantains
1 Cup Oil (or enough to fill a deep fryer)
1 Cup Water
Sea Salt

1. Trim the ends off the plantain and peel. Peeling can be tough - use your knife to slice through the skin on both sides of the plantain. Then slide your finger underneath the skin and gradually work your way down the plantain. The skin should come off easily once started.

2. Slice plantain into 4-5 large chunks.

3. Heat oil in frying pan or deep fryer. Once oil is hot enough, place chunks in oil until light brown.

4. While plantains are frying, place water and salt in a bowl.

5. Remove plantain chunks from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate. Next, flatten each plantain chunk. I use to small pieces of wood which we received as a gift from my Haitian mother-in-law. You can also place the plantain between 2 sheets of wax paper and flatten with a can of beans (or whatever).

6. Dip plantain's in the salt water and place back in the hot oil until crispy and golden brown. About 2 minutes.

7. Remove from oil and serve.

We like to eat these plantains fresh out of the fryer. Occasionally, we will make some Au jus and serve on the side to dip the plantains in. My husband particularly likes this, but they are great straight from the fryer.

Yellow Rice

My family is an avid consumer of rice. I'm not particularly fond of the dish, myself, but my husband and older daughter originally are from Haiti, so rice is a staple in our home. Doodle especially loves it when her daddy makes rice & beans with sardines. (Definitely NOT on my favorite list of foods!) To spice up regular rice, I often make yellow rice - it's simple, easy, and quick and makes the meal a little more interesting.

Yellow Rice

1 Cup White Rice
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Turmeric
1 1/2 Cups water
Salt to taste

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In an oven proof sauce pan over high heat, add Olive Oil and Turmeric. Add rice and cook for 1 minute on stove.

3. Add water. Bring to boil on stove. Cover.

4. Place rice in oven and cook for 20-25 minutes until water is evaporated. Remove from oven and serve.

This rice will not be as moist as traditional white rice recipes. That's just the way we all like it. If it's too moist, most of my family will not eat it. Cooking in the oven allows for a shorter cooking time - perfect for a busy mom like myself.

GF Chicken Nuggets

One of the foods Doodle used to eat regularly was chicken nuggets, chicken fries, and chicken strips. Since we have gone gluten free, she has had to give that up. Until now! I have finally found a decent way to make gluten free chicken nuggets that can be done with not a lot of effort. I adapted this recipe from the August issue of Cuisine at Home (my favorite cooking magazine.) The version to the left is actually made with Pork, but tastes equally as good with chicken.



Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets


1/2 to 3/4 cup GF All Purpose Flour
2 eggs
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 to 3/4 cup GF bread crumbs
2 thick boneless, skinless chicken breasts - sliced lengthwise in half
salt/pepper to taste
4 - 8 Tbsp Olive Oil

1. Whisk together eggs and dijon mustard in a small bowl.
2. On a large plate, pour GF all purpose flour. On a separate plate, pour the GF bread crumbs.
3. Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. With a mallet pound down the chicken breasts until about 1/8 inch thick. Salt & pepper the chicken breasts.
4. Dredge each chicken breast in the flour, then dip in egg mixture. Finally coat in GF bread crumbs.
5. In large frying pan heat olive oil. Once hot, place chicken in olive oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning as necessary.
6. Cut chicken into strips and serve.

Doodle especially likes this dish when I serve the nuggets with Honey as a dipping sauce. Pictured above I served the nuggets with my yellow rice and sauteed asparagus.

Flour-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I ran out of Kirkman Labs Pea Protein Powder this weekend and needed to bake snacks for the coming week for Doodle. I decided to snoop through my pantry for an alternative protein source for chocolate chip cookies. I dug out a jar of Almond Butter and decided to give it a try. I had made Peanut Butter cookies for the KId Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook and decided to adapt the recipe with Almond Butter and Agave Nectar. The original recipe called for a cup of Brown Sugar and I try to avoid using sugar in most of my baking. I substituted Agave Nectar for the brown sugar and came up with the following recipe.

Flour Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 14 oz jar of Almond Butter
1/2 cup Agave Nectar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Cup Dairy Free Chocolate Chips
1 Teaspoon GF Vanilla

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place Almond Butter in a medium sized bowl and blend at high speed for 2 minutes.
3. Add Agave Nectar, Egg, Baking Soda, and Vanilla. Blend on high speed for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in Dairy Free Chocolate Chips.
5. Refrigerate dough for 10 minutes.
6. On a greased cookie sheet, place spoonfuls of cookie dough 1-2 inches apart. Place in heated oven and bake for 9 minutes or until light brown.
7. Remove from oven and cool on cookie rack. Dip in glass of dairy free milk and enjoy!

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Such a simple thing...

I'm sitting in our office/toy room posting on my Facebook account, when I look over to find Doodle drawing a picture and writing some words. I am amazed and surprised that she has just spelled the word 'Foot' all by herself - no help from Mom! The letters are formed perfectly and in exactly the right order next to each other on the paper. This seemingly small achievement for most 5 years old is monumental in our house. Just 3 months ago, we could barely get Doodle to consistently form letters - let alone in a straight line and in a coherent word.

What is the big difference? School would tell you all of the work they do with her - physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy. These things are helpful, but she's only been back in school for 2 weeks and she has made tremendous progress over the summer - more than all of school year put together last year. The difference, I have discovered, is the extra Vitamin D she started taking in June of this year. Clerks in the store comment how much more verbal she is. Sunday School teachers make the same comment. Daycare comments that she initiates play with other children now - something she had never done before and certainly something most autistic children avoid. Her attention span has dramatically increased - something I wasn't sure we would ever get under control without medication. Vitamin D has made all the difference.

Doodle's vitamin regimen is as follows:

L'il Critters Gummi Vites
L'il Critters Omega 3
L'il Critters Vitamin D
Nordic Naturals Children's DHA (for a small amount of additional Vitamin A)
Kirkman Labs Zinc Sulfate Topical Cream (Zinc is needed for your body to retain vitamins - plus it helps during the long, cold midwest winters to keep Doodle healthy)
Kirkman Labs Probiotic

I've tried other vitamin combination's - B/12 Magnesium vitamin, added Epsom Salt to her bath for additional magnesium, and a liquid vitamin with extra B6. None of these vitamins seemed to make a difference for Doodle, so I have stopped using them. I typically introduce one new vitamin at a time and watch for a difference in behavior. I started simple with Zinc lotion and the Gummi Vites. I then added the Omega 3 vitamins and noticed an increase in verbal ability. I then tried the B/12 Magnesium combination - which didn't make a difference for Doodle. I then added the Nordic Naturals and again noticed an increase in verbal ability. Finally this summer I added the vitamin D and that is when things really turned a corner.

I would recommend checking with your doctor before starting any vitamin regimen. I have done most of the research and work myself - checking with my sister-in-law who has a master's degree in nutrition. There is a lack of decent medical doctors in the rural area that I live - let alone a doctor that would believe that diet makes a difference. I tried a child nutritionist who is 60 miles away and walked out of the appointment completely exasperated, frustrated, and crying. I vowed to figure it out myself through patience, research, and trial. This approach has worked for me, but if you have the resource available near you, please use them.

I may be optimistic, but I am hopeful by next year when she starts Kindergarten she will need minimal services at school and will be nearly recovered.

My health insurance company recently sent a newsletter which contained some common questions about Autism in it. One of the questions "What are some myths about Autism?" Their answer: "Some parents believe that changing a child's diet can help autistic children. While it can't hurt to change a child's diet, there is no proof that it helps." I'm here to tell them they are just plain wrong. I have living proof in my home that diet and supplements make a world of difference! It's frustrating that a large insurance company would publish such unsubstantiated remarks. The fact is, there have been relatively few studies on the impact of diet on Autism - so to claim there is no proof, is misleading. There is no proof because you have never funded a study. My life and Doodle's life have been made infinitely better by a simple change in diet. I would never go back.

So, to all of those nay-sayers and skeptics, I say "Phooey to you!" I'm going to keep on doing my best to recover Doodle - with or without you. I know what's made a difference and that is all that matters.