Our daughter, who we will be calling "M", was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome in July of 2013. M is an amazingly compassionate child and tests at the top of her class. However, she is considered to have "HIGH FUNCTIONING AUTISM" a.k.a. Aspergers Syndrome. She struggles with social interaction such as eye contact, simple greetings and making friends. Aside from her social struggles, she exhibits numerous other traits of the "classic aspie" (i.e. sound and texture sensitivities, hyper focus for specific activities and a tendency to have meltdowns).
Unfortunately, we have been met with resistance courtesy of our insurance company. They rejected coverage for speech and occupational therapy. Eventually, she qualified for speech therapy and a specialist who visits her in her regular Pre-K classroom. She has shown amazing improvement since the interventions taken by Cobb County. After seeing how far she has come, we wanted to give her an extra leg up and that is where the new diet comes in!
For months following her diagnosis, I had been looking at implementing a GF diet as a "shot in the dark" attempt to help her. I read article after article about how children with Aspergers respond well to a GF diet. The concept came up in discussion multiple times with my husband- but it never became a reality.
One day my husband came home from work and brought it up again. Apparently, a co-worker of his has a child with Aspergers. When they switched him to a GF diet it changed his world! He explained that when he was consuming products containing gluten he felt like he was "in a fog". After hearing this success story, my husband was not only on board for changing her diet- he was excited! WE were excited!
At this point we were enthusiastic and motivated with only one obstacle standing in our way. Because she is enrolled in Georgia's lottery funded Pre-K, she is required to eat the food provided by the school. The meals and snacks are often packed with wheat products. We figured we could wait for the end of the school year and go GF over the summer and continue to make her lunches in kindergarten. That is when the mama bear in me woke up. Should SHE have to wait to make things easier for me? Should SHE have to wait so as to make it easier on her school's administrative staff? NO! This is about putting HER first and meeting HER needs.
We contacted her doctor to obtain a waiver that allows us to bring her GF food to school. Then we contacted the school. I was nervous that this would be a challenge- I could not have been more wrong. The new owner was more than accommodating and has even set up a meeting with me so we can "get this right for her".
So what is the next step? Time to explain what all this change means to M and take her out for some gluten-free shopping!
***If you are considering a modified diet for yourself or your child:
Contact your doctor or pediatrician. They can help you decide what is the best plan of action for you and your family***
I was at Costco this morning, I and saw GF chicken nuggets in the freezer section. The lady in front of me was buying them for her twins!
ReplyDeleteC - you amaze me with your insight into helping M. God really knew who would be great parents for her. We're so lucky!!!
ReplyDeleteFlippin' insurance companies. That makes me so mad, but it's awesome that you took matters into your own hands and made the switch to gluten free.
ReplyDeleteI think this is great the new path you are on with M. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI think it's amazing how the diet is changing kids' lives. Good for you - I know it must be hard work to keep the strict diet for her.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see you doing everything you can for your child and taking all the steps needed for her health. She is lucky to have such caring and wonderful parents.
ReplyDeleteThis is part of our life, as well. We went GFCF when he was 3, but I stopped it after it wasn't making much difference at the time. But, I learned that, in some children, it can take months for the gluten to completely "wash out" of their body, so it's something you have to stick with. Also, you can use digestive enzymes to assist with digesting any accidental gluten intake. There's tons of marketed GF foods, but also many, many naturally GF foods. Going GF is much easier than going CF. I recommend you print out lists of GF products (naturally GF, as well) and keep it on your for giving out to those who need it--including those at her school, friend's houses, family members etc. You will need to keep your GF products on the top shelf, if they're in a shared cabinet, so it will not get "contaminated" by the typical products in there; it's easier to just go all GF for the entire house, really. We're making another try for it this summer, as well. I'm glad that her school is being supportive and remember that it's within her rights to be GF, so keep that in mind when she starts K-12. It's becoming a more common way of life, so it's much easier to get cooperation than it was for parents 10+ years ago. I'm very interested to see if it will help with focus, over-stimulation and hyperactivity. Thank you for sharing your journey; we'll be right along beside you in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteTiffany @DaydreamingRealist.com
It is always better to go with NATURALLY gluten-free product. Sometimes it is ok to just grab a bag of GF crackers for a snack. Thank you for all of the pointers- we actually purged the panty- NO GLUTEN HERE!
DeleteI had a doctor who had me go gluten free for a month and I was shocked to see what gluten was in, from soy sauce to Mentos! It has no effect on me as far as we could see, but it is amazing to hear that it can have a positive effect on kids on the spectrum. I have a few friends who may be interested to try taking gluten out of their kids diets.
ReplyDeletethanks!
Mitch
It can take anywhere from 6 months to a year to see how much a GF diet can impact your health.
DeleteAlso Tic-Tacs, so, beware that.
DeleteIt's amazing how our dietary choices can affect our moods! I hope that your journey to be gluten free is an easy transition - it sounds like it is so far!
ReplyDeleteI think it's a wonderful thing you are doing for your daughter. It's amazing the changes that can occur with diet changes - and kudos to you and your husband for taking action now, rather than when it's "easier" or the timing is better!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea lotto funded kids had to eat the school food. That would drive me crazy! I'm assuming since you are still doing it, that things are going well for her. Can't wait to hear more!
ReplyDeleteGood for you for helping your daughter by making the switch to a GF diet. My cousin's daughter sounds a lot like yours. I am going to ask her if she has made the switch. If not, I will recommend this article to her.
ReplyDeleteMy mom eats gluten free and we are thinking about making the switch. I hope M is doing well changing over to GF
ReplyDeleteI have heard that going GF can really help a lot of people. I am glad that the school was able to accommodate the dietary needs.
ReplyDeleteI've been gluten-free for seven months now. It wasn't an easy transition but I'm used to it now. There are many options out there. My main struggle was giving up bread and sandwiches. However I just buy big leaf lettuce and make wraps in place of my sandwich meals. Lots of fruit and fresh veggies over processed snacks.
ReplyDeleteI have been gluten-free for seven months now. It was difficult to transition at first, only b/c I missed the breads I ate sandwiches with. However now I'm used to it and don't miss the gluten products at all. I eat more lettuce wraps now and lots of fresh fruit and veggies. I can't wait to hear how much of a positive change it makes for your daughter.
ReplyDeleteSounds like it's been a good transition so far. It is great that changing your diet can change your health and mood in a great way
ReplyDeleteUgh - we've been having issues with our insurance company too. We switched to my husband's plan and they denied coverage for OT. His therapist wrote an amazing appeal letter so we're waiting to see what they come back with. The self-pay costs are so high! We should look into diet modifications too.
ReplyDeleteIt is ridiculous! What is the point of insurance?
DeleteThe mind/food connection is amazing, isn't it? Hoping this produces positive results for her!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the school was so accomodating! I've heard good things about going GF. Along with his autism, my son has ADHD and we've gone the medication route with good results.
ReplyDeleteI've been amazed at how foods affect my own children. Even the smallest amount of red dye can be the difference in a tantrum or an angel.
ReplyDeleteGood for you in making the dietary changes that are working for her. It's so nice how many options are available now!
ReplyDeleteWe've been considering going GF. I've got tons of recipes that are GF so we know that we can still eat well.
ReplyDeleteI still on the fence on the whole GF thing. I know that there are people that it can genuinely help, but at the same time it has almost become a fad, which makes it more difficult for me to figure out what is true about the diet.
ReplyDeleteI am working on a post about fad vs raised awareness- it will be out next week:)
DeleteMy son is on a gluten-free diet because he has Celiac disease. I always find it interesting to see how many people choose to try the diet and what their reasoning is.
ReplyDeleteGluten causes problem for many children Obviously Celiac is totally different. I am willing to try anything to help our daughter. Going GF has resulted in a much healthier and happier child!
DeleteThat is great news that they are being so accommodating for the GF diet! I constantly think about going GF.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to hear the school was so cooperative! Have fun GF shopping. :)
ReplyDeleteI have heard from several people and read a few articles that say the exact same thing about the GF diet and autism/Aspergers. If nothing all you're trying something different but I certainly do you you see some wonderful changes on the diet :)
ReplyDeleteAs a mother to a child that eats GF I can attest that the changes are miraculous!
ReplyDeleteSweet girl. I think she will adapt and then flourish with her new diet.
ReplyDeleteMy son has Autism (he is very high functioning thankfully!) and are trying the chiropractor! People thought I was nuts but I figured if it helped it helped and if not - we tried! And so far so good! Going GF is next on our list! :)
ReplyDeleteI hate that insurance makes it so hard to recieve treatment but glad that you guys arent giving up and trying other alternatives.
ReplyDeletemy sister has a hard time getting my niece's gf diet right at daycare. Then they gave her a bagel and the shizzz hit the fan.
ReplyDeleteInsurance companies make me so angry!! I work in the medical field and the things they deny should be criminal! Glad you got the help you needed!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your new path for your family. I have heard a lot about Gluten Free lately but still have so much more to learn.
ReplyDeleteGlad that you're taking the steps o put her first. she's beautiful
ReplyDeleteWe are GF also. My youngest had GI issues for years, all of her test came back inconclusive and it was either try elimination diets or her to take yucky medication daily. We chose the diet, and it's been almost 2 years and she's a different child.
ReplyDeleteSo many people have gluten free diet today that the knowledge of what it means is slowly spreading. I'm glad that you and your daughter can relax now and know that she'll be safe.
ReplyDelete