INSIDE OUT

If I truly knew how important having an imagination was, I would have fostered that with my son so much more.

As it is, my son seemed not to be interested in imagining. He loved balls, running, singing, dancing, and all the things that you would expect out of little boys. Surely, he was fine.

Well, the more we learned about those symptoms that would put my son on the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), the more we realized that my son really didn't know HOW to imagine if he tried. He was more interested in facts. Facts about dinosaurs mostly. He would pretend to be a dinosaur - or so we thought. What he was actually doing was scripting what he would see on the computer. He might have repeated things he saw in brief word or action, but he wasn't turning that action into an idea. If you asked him what he was doing, he would have no context to any storyline. This, to me and the rest of those who know about ASD, would clearly know this difference. But, that was then.

I am so thrilled today, watching and listening to S. Not only is he creating story lines, he is using WORDS to create them. He is inviting his brother to play along with him. He is initiating his own ideas and continuing the context of the story as it changes. For those who know ASD, this is the goal!!

The only things I've done to recover my son is elimination dieting and probiotics. Nothing more, nothing less. He has had no behavioral therapy and no biomedical therapy of any kind. Not to say he won't need any of those things. I just can't state enough how important the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is for those who have ASD and who have seen results with eliminating gluten and/or casein. SCD is the way to go. Do not underestimate its value in the recovery of the gastrointestinal tract (GI). Taking gluten and casein out of the diet is important, yes. Yet, it's merely a bandaid solution to what it is revealing to you. That there truly are complex proteins affecting the brain. The only way complex proteins can affect behavior is if the gut is leaky. The concept behind the leaky gut theory shows its evidence when you take away these proteins and the behavior is minimized.

Elimination diet is truly an amazing thing. For all those children with A-disorders: Autism, ADHD, Allergies, and Asthma, a link can be found with what is happening within the GI.

What on Earth is happening to our children?