Korben's GF/CF Diet

A few weeks ago we decided to try the gluten free/ casein free diet with Korben. I wish I had a simple explanation as to why I am undertaking this huge feat. I have read numerous books and every website I can find on the diet and its effects on autism. All I can really say is that there is enough evidence out there that it works, so I feel like it would be silly not to try it.

A simple explanation of the benefits of the diet come from "Changing the course of Autism; A Scientific Approach for Parents and Physicians"
by Bryan Jepson, MD:

"Over the years many parents have reported that their child's behavior improved measurably after gluten and casein were removed from the diet. Gluten is a protein found in grains and casein is a protein found primarily in cow's milk. These proteins have been shown to be highly immune-reactive in children with autism.

Dr. Goodwin and colleagues were among the first to document an abnormal brain response to gluten from food in autistic children. Starting in the mid 1980s several researches showed that children who maintained a gluten and casein free diet did much better neurologically (improved cognition, language, etc.)
than those who did not."

Of the thousands of parents who filled in the Autism Research Institute's survey concerning dietary intervention, 66% said their child improved on a
gluten and casein free diet.

As far as Korben's doctors are concerned they mentioned alternative treatments such as diet and told me there wasn't enough research done yet to show exact results, so to just use my best judgement. There is so much unknown about autism still that I often feel alone. Luckily I have found some wonderful people through Jenny McCarthy's Rescue Angel program to help me out. One lady took me shopping to help me find all kinds of foods for Korben, and another made an autism took kit for me to help me get organized, provide me with tons of information, and basically has become a constant resource and place to direct my questions. These women are not doctors, but mother's of children with autism that have found alternative treatments that have helped their children.

So 2 weeks ago when I felt armed with enough information and had two wonderful women cheering me on, I started Korben on his "special diet". I wondered if I would have to do a lot of explaining at Korben's school and therapy, but both have been extremely supportive. His school even wrote up a health plan for Korben so that all the teachers know not to feed him anything other than what I send with him. His teacher told me they have many students on the same diet and she is excited to see what the results are for Korben. At therapy they even have a GF/CF shelf of food for the kids on this diet. They were also excited and very supportive and have given me even more information about the successes they have seen from the diet. I have felt very blessed to have the school and therapy help with Korben, but even more so now that I know I have their support on alternative treatments as well.

Some observations in the first two weeks:

* Korben seems to have better eye contact. I wondered if this was in my head, but his therapists that only see him once a week have both mentioned to me that his eye contact is doing much better, so yay Korben!

* There have been less temper tantrums...in fact Korben has been very calm. I also wondered if this was my own wish full thinking, but I had my suspicions confirmed two days ago when Korben got into the marshmallows (not gluten free). He was able to get one in his mouth and swallow it before I got the bag from him. Within 2 hours, he was throwing a tantrum that would have scared Nanny 911 right out the door. He continued to have tantrums for the rest of the night as well as the next morning. I gave him an Epsom salt bath that night to help him calm down, and by the next night he seemed back on track, so...you think what you want about it, but I think I'll keep him off gluten for a while.

* I wish I had taken a picture of Korben 2 weeks ago. All of you know that he is skinny and always has been, but his ribs were sticking out and he looked sick. He weighed 31lbs. Since we started the diet, he is looking more filled out and healthy, and currently weighs 35 lbs. :D

* The diet is easier than I thought it would be. It's not convenient, but it is doable. I have found lots of recipes that are making it easier, and basically I am just having to get back to the basics of cooking. I am getting really good at reading labels and recognizing hidden sources of gluten, such as "modified food starch and caramel color, etc." (I challenge you to try and find something in your house that is gluten free other than fresh fruit and veggies...best of luck :D)

* It IS possible to duplicate McDonald's fries and nuggets. However, even though the nuggets and fries looked identical to the fast food chain's, Korben wouldn't touch them. A stroke of sheer brilliance came and I called McDonalds to see if I could purchase some nugget and fries containers from them. They actually gave them to me for free...and now Korben will eat both foods. WooHoo! (I am putting that discovery up there with Santa, and the Tooth Fairy...sometimes deceiving your children is simply for the best and done completely out of love. :D )

* I don't want to brag, but my nuggets can run circles around good 'ol McDonalds. Last night Korben ate a grand total of 12 nuggets compared to the 3 he normally ate from our favorite fast food place. As you can see, I think he is going to do just fine on his special diet.

I'll keep updating as things progress. Thanks everyone for your help and support, your prayers and phone calls.
We love you!

The New Do

For a while now, I have had the desire to do something drastic with my hair. I didn't really know why because I didn't mind my hair - other than it was in desperate need of a trim. It hit me last week when I was talking to Korben's therapist, that the reason I wanted to do something to my hair was not because it needed to be done, but because it could be done. It was something that I had complete control over.

Lately, I haven't felt like I have had much control over anything. I can't control the silly weather that won't decide if it is spring or not; I can't control Mike's long work hours; I can't control how fast Korben learns, or how often he gets sick, or how long it takes for him to recover; and I haven't had much gumption to control my weight...but I CAN control my hair. So I decided that I was either going to chop it off or change the color. In the end, I chose color.

It's amazing what a 3 hour appointment, a bold new color, and a fresh trim can do for your morale. I feel like now I can take everything on again. It's silly, I know. But I was able to make a decision, follow through, and complete it. It is done; it wasn't wishy washy, it wasn't difficult, it didn't take forever, and most importantly it was entirely within my control. I feel like a whole new woman, with a renewed energy and focus.

So if you are feeling a little down, or just need a little tune up...consider taking control and doing something drastic. :D

John Visit 2009

Last Sunday, John came to visit for a few days. As usual, it was a blast to have the ever humorous, fun-loving, super-tough, John in our home. The first night, we played a lot of games (a new one UNO FLASH was a big hit, and I highly recommend it). In true Fullmer fashion, John and I stayed up till 3am catching up on a whole lot of nothing. :D

On Monday, we decided to go to Powell's Bookstore. John was like a kid in a candy store and spent a bundle on books. I couldn't resist purchasing a few books either. It's a good thing we don't go very often because it's hard to contain myself when it comes to buying books. After the bookstore, Jake and Jess and Mike joined us at Olive Garden for some "real pasta" as John called it. Then while Mike finished up some work, the rest of us rode the OHSU tram. The boys thought it was fantastic and even got tram stickers.

The whole group at the top of the tram.

The boys and Uncle John with the Portland lights in the background.

On Tuesday, I took John to the Candy House in Portland. The best way to describe this house is what your wildest imagination can come up with to match the witches house in the Hansel & Gretel story. The place is incredible...and sells candy and baked goods, so you really can't beat it.

On Wednesday we decided to go to Newport (Oregon coast). It is 3 hours away, so we planned on making a whole day of it. We saw some fun things along the way and stopped to take pictures of them. The funniest one was right outside of Newport where a bunch of old double wides had their own little village. Just on the outskirts of the village was this:

I suppose with so many rainy days,
this is actually pretty clever. :D

The day was perfect for sightseeing...maybe a little chilly, but we were pretty much the only ones out visiting, so it was perfect for us. The boys loved walking along the boardwalk, and watching/listening to the sea lions chatter.

We decided to get he pass to go through the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum, the Wax Museum, and an underwater adventure. The boys were amazed with all of them...and so were John and I...there is some really weird stuff in that Ripley's building. :D

I don't think Johnny was as excited
to see me as I was to see him...

John and ET

It was really too cold to take the boys on the beach, but the spectacular view was really enough.
Isn't John a good-looking guy?

One thing I loved about visiting Astoria and now Newport, are the beautiful bridges that they have. Coming from a very inland Idaho, all of these bridges are such a different sight than I am used to. I think they are just awesome.

The boys were troopers through all the driving and loved having Uncle John here. Korben didn't even want to go to school because he was having so much fun with John...and if you have seen my other posts, you know he LOVES school. Both boys cried when John left to get on the plane -
it was really sad to see him go.
Thanks for visiting us Johnny! We had a blast!