This week sucked. I'll just come out and say that. Some days are good and some days are hard, and this week the hard days overcame the good. We met with Autism Journeys. It's a therapy place in Lehi for kids with autism. They focus on socialization skills mostly, using Floor Time and kind of downplayed ABA therapy. The people were nice but it didn't feel right. So far, we've been implementing ABA therapy using this website the Psychologist at the Pingree school recommended and it's really great. I think this may be the best approach for Holds. We have an appointment this week with the school district to see what they can recommend for him. Anyway, so after he went there he was just so keyed up - that night he was just a crazy person. He gets really stressed out when anything or any place is introduced. Especially one that is stressful or intimidating.
Anyway, so then this week he had a program at his preschool. So far this school has been awesome for him. They are very structured, the teachers are AWESOME, it's regimented so he's used to it, they are really sweet to him and encouraging, and it's really nice. Dr. Peterson said as long as he's experiencing "wins" there, keep him there. He said the Pingree school is better for kids who are less high-functioning. But if he regresses, we should consider it. Did I mention that this Pingree school is $25,500 for a year? For preschool. My entire University education - including my stint at Cambridge University - was less than that.
Anyway, I'm getting off point. So I went to his preschool Spring program and it was just absolutely heartbreaking. Holden just got so scared that all the parents were there. It was completely overwhelming for him. He barely engaged in the songs. And he burst into tears the moment it was over and begged to go home.
That night he peed his pants twice. I think it's because he was just stressed out. I know that happens to 3 year olds occasionally, but it never happens to Holden. He's too big of a perfectionist. He hates making mistakes so it made it even more traumatic for him.
That's all. I'm sad this week. And that's all there is to say today.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Thursday, May 05, 2011
The Assessment
I'm happy to report that Holds is doing very well on the full GAPS diet. Intro/detox was hard but he's thriving on the full diet. He sits happily eating carrots, drinking beet/carrot/lettuce/apple juice, cheese and meat. Now that there is a variety, he's happy. And I love the fruit is a huge reward to him.
Me? It's not as easy. I've been sick and tired all week. I caught a cold and had a bunch of other issues I will not disturb you with. Wes just feels achy. But I have to admit that most of my issues are mental. It's REALLY hard to make every single meal from scratch. It's tiring. It takes so much time. I work for 10ish hours a day and then cook for another 4. But seeing Holden actually eat things that are super healthy for him is a big payoff. But I have a lot of sympathy for people who have to go gluten free now. Baked goods just don't turn out the same using coconut and almond flour. But at least I have my sour cream :)
We've been doing this diet for a week and I'm hoping it starts feeling a little more normal soon. Today was a great day. We had hamburgers for dinner wrapped in lettuce, rather than a bun. Holden ate 3! They were so good.
Anyway - that's the diet update.
Today we met with the psychologist at the Carmen B. Pingree school. Everyone there was so unbelievably kind. I loved it there. They have a really long waiting list, but the doctor thinks Holden is too high-functioning for the school anyway. At least for now. But I got on the list anyway, in case he regresses or something. He told us what we already knew - Holden has high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.
He has trouble emotionally and socially connecting with others, particularly his peers. Jabber is 70% of his language base, but he didn't score as language deficient because he just barely passes. The doctor encouraged us to use ABA therapy to help close the gap between what he's doing and what other kids his age are doing. Same thing for what he's not doing that other kids can do. When he was talking I just kept remembering all the things I studied being a Psychology major. I mean we focused mostly on Behaviorism at USU but it seems so counter-intuitive when it's your kid and not a pigeon or a lab rat that I'm working with.
But he gave us a lot of great advice and information to consider. We have several more appointments this month and then we'll be able to make our decision on the best therapy for him.
Me? It's not as easy. I've been sick and tired all week. I caught a cold and had a bunch of other issues I will not disturb you with. Wes just feels achy. But I have to admit that most of my issues are mental. It's REALLY hard to make every single meal from scratch. It's tiring. It takes so much time. I work for 10ish hours a day and then cook for another 4. But seeing Holden actually eat things that are super healthy for him is a big payoff. But I have a lot of sympathy for people who have to go gluten free now. Baked goods just don't turn out the same using coconut and almond flour. But at least I have my sour cream :)
We've been doing this diet for a week and I'm hoping it starts feeling a little more normal soon. Today was a great day. We had hamburgers for dinner wrapped in lettuce, rather than a bun. Holden ate 3! They were so good.
Anyway - that's the diet update.
Today we met with the psychologist at the Carmen B. Pingree school. Everyone there was so unbelievably kind. I loved it there. They have a really long waiting list, but the doctor thinks Holden is too high-functioning for the school anyway. At least for now. But I got on the list anyway, in case he regresses or something. He told us what we already knew - Holden has high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.
He has trouble emotionally and socially connecting with others, particularly his peers. Jabber is 70% of his language base, but he didn't score as language deficient because he just barely passes. The doctor encouraged us to use ABA therapy to help close the gap between what he's doing and what other kids his age are doing. Same thing for what he's not doing that other kids can do. When he was talking I just kept remembering all the things I studied being a Psychology major. I mean we focused mostly on Behaviorism at USU but it seems so counter-intuitive when it's your kid and not a pigeon or a lab rat that I'm working with.
But he gave us a lot of great advice and information to consider. We have several more appointments this month and then we'll be able to make our decision on the best therapy for him.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
GAPS Intro Diet: Stage 1 - 3
We started our Intro to GAPS diet this weekend, on Friday. Holden woke up and immediately asked for "chockit milk" to which I replied "Holden, remember chocolate milk was part of the toxic jungle, so we threw it out in the garbage?!" His face fell. And he ran to the door and said "open the door, open the door!" I don't doubt that if he had been allowed outside in the freezing cold he would have figured out a way to climb inside the garbage to retrieve his cereal and chocolate milk.
The first day wasn't bad. I had a work lunch and had to sit and drink water while everyone had Iggy's, but I had eaten my homemade chicken veggie soup before and I was satisfied. Holden skipped breakfast but then finally ate some soup with Wes for lunch. I was sick of chicken soup after just one day of it for every meal and decided to make a different kind of soup. Holden skipped that as well.
Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 1 menu
Breakfast – Chicken Soup (chicken, carrots, squash, zucchini, garlic) w/ sour cream
Snack – Ginger tea with honey
Lunch – Chicken Soup (chicken, carrots, squash, zucchini, garlic) w/ sour cream
Snack – Chicken Broth
Dinner – Farmer’s Market Chicken (rutabaga, roma tomatoes, parsnips, leeks, baby spinach leaves). w/ sour cream
Snack – Sour cream with honey
And probiotics - therapeutic strength.
GAPS Intro Diet Stage 2
Saturday was a different story. I woke up with my heart racing so fast it was like I had sprinted for a mile. I couldn't calm it down. I was shaking really bad and I just kept thinking "Whelp, this is die-off" I threw up and everything and was just really, really weak most of the day. And then I did what any responsible 30ish mom would do: I called my mother. Who came promptly and took care of me and my boys. My dad worked on my garden and my mom helped us all day. They're amazing. Holden slept in until 10:30 and was irrational and frustrated all day. And he put himself on a starvation diet - not eating anything. We could barely get him to drink water. Apparently this is somewhat common. There are a lot of blogs out there where people are talking about getting through GAPS and kids just don't like change. It's really tough.
Where was Wes in all this? Wes has not experience ANY die-off symptoms, which means he has a good balance of the good bacteria. He thinks this is due to the 2 years he spent in Bulgaria drinking yogurt for every meal. Makes sense to me. Here's what I ate on Stage 2 (we are moving through the intro pretty quickly.)
Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 2 menu
Breakfast – Cooked vegetables with soft boiled eggs
Snack – Mint tea w/ honey
Lunch – Farmer’s Market Chicken (rutabaga, roma tomatoes, parsnips, leeks, baby spinach leaves). Serve with avocado, soft boiled eggs, and yogurt.
Snack – Chicken broth
Dinner – Farmer’s Market Chicken (leftover) with eggs
Snack – Sour cream with honey
We backed off the probiotics on Holds on Sunday (day 3) to see if that helped. He was still very weak from not eating anything. He still refused the broth and soup. His general language was unintelligible today. He screamed in jabber and muttered a lot. It was frightening. I tried to catch it on video but he stopped right before I took this.
We got him to eat a few bites of chicken today. And for supper he had a few bites of chicken soup and vegetables and we rewarded him with some strawberries.
Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 3 menu
Breakfast – Smoothie (2 eggs, fresh apple juice, carrot juice, and yogurt)
Snack – Soft boiled eggs and mint tea
Lunch – Swedish Gravlax (skinless, boneless salmon fillet, salt, water, honey, and ground pepper – leave at room temperature for 1-1 ½ hours). Mashed cauliflower.
Dinner – Chicken Tortilla Soup (chicken broth, stewed tomatoes, chicken, sweet pepper, avocado, cilantro, egg yolk and sour cream) with a couple strawberries
Snack – Pancakes (made with eggs, sunbutter, and zucchini) with honey.
Finally this evening I made the "pancakes" that's recommended on Stage 4 just to see what they were like. Holden saw me eating one and jumped off the couch. He hate one, then wanted another, then 2 more! I was SO happy to see him eating something. He went to bed full and I am going to bed more at ease!
The first day wasn't bad. I had a work lunch and had to sit and drink water while everyone had Iggy's, but I had eaten my homemade chicken veggie soup before and I was satisfied. Holden skipped breakfast but then finally ate some soup with Wes for lunch. I was sick of chicken soup after just one day of it for every meal and decided to make a different kind of soup. Holden skipped that as well.
Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 1 menu
Breakfast – Chicken Soup (chicken, carrots, squash, zucchini, garlic) w/ sour cream
Snack – Ginger tea with honey
Lunch – Chicken Soup (chicken, carrots, squash, zucchini, garlic) w/ sour cream
Snack – Chicken Broth
Dinner – Farmer’s Market Chicken (rutabaga, roma tomatoes, parsnips, leeks, baby spinach leaves). w/ sour cream
Snack – Sour cream with honey
And probiotics - therapeutic strength.
GAPS Intro Diet Stage 2
Saturday was a different story. I woke up with my heart racing so fast it was like I had sprinted for a mile. I couldn't calm it down. I was shaking really bad and I just kept thinking "Whelp, this is die-off" I threw up and everything and was just really, really weak most of the day. And then I did what any responsible 30ish mom would do: I called my mother. Who came promptly and took care of me and my boys. My dad worked on my garden and my mom helped us all day. They're amazing. Holden slept in until 10:30 and was irrational and frustrated all day. And he put himself on a starvation diet - not eating anything. We could barely get him to drink water. Apparently this is somewhat common. There are a lot of blogs out there where people are talking about getting through GAPS and kids just don't like change. It's really tough.
Where was Wes in all this? Wes has not experience ANY die-off symptoms, which means he has a good balance of the good bacteria. He thinks this is due to the 2 years he spent in Bulgaria drinking yogurt for every meal. Makes sense to me. Here's what I ate on Stage 2 (we are moving through the intro pretty quickly.)
Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 2 menu
Breakfast – Cooked vegetables with soft boiled eggs
Snack – Mint tea w/ honey
Lunch – Farmer’s Market Chicken (rutabaga, roma tomatoes, parsnips, leeks, baby spinach leaves). Serve with avocado, soft boiled eggs, and yogurt.
Snack – Chicken broth
Dinner – Farmer’s Market Chicken (leftover) with eggs
Snack – Sour cream with honey
We backed off the probiotics on Holds on Sunday (day 3) to see if that helped. He was still very weak from not eating anything. He still refused the broth and soup. His general language was unintelligible today. He screamed in jabber and muttered a lot. It was frightening. I tried to catch it on video but he stopped right before I took this.
We got him to eat a few bites of chicken today. And for supper he had a few bites of chicken soup and vegetables and we rewarded him with some strawberries.
Here's our GAPS Diet Intro: Stage 3 menu
Breakfast – Smoothie (2 eggs, fresh apple juice, carrot juice, and yogurt)
Snack – Soft boiled eggs and mint tea
Lunch – Swedish Gravlax (skinless, boneless salmon fillet, salt, water, honey, and ground pepper – leave at room temperature for 1-1 ½ hours). Mashed cauliflower.
Dinner – Chicken Tortilla Soup (chicken broth, stewed tomatoes, chicken, sweet pepper, avocado, cilantro, egg yolk and sour cream) with a couple strawberries
Snack – Pancakes (made with eggs, sunbutter, and zucchini) with honey.
Finally this evening I made the "pancakes" that's recommended on Stage 4 just to see what they were like. Holden saw me eating one and jumped off the couch. He hate one, then wanted another, then 2 more! I was SO happy to see him eating something. He went to bed full and I am going to bed more at ease!
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