If this is your first time reading this series, start here.
Friend: “Miq, turn on your tv to the Today Show. They are talking about autism. I think you should watch!” (this was pre-DVR days)
What I watched on the Today Show changed our focus a bit on the autism path. J continued to go to therapy Monday through Friday. But we dove right into the world of dietary changes. Our family of four went from eating somewhat healthy food to a gluten free/casein free (wheat and milk free) diet. I read a book that I loved and that gave me a lot of hope.
Nowadays with so many allergies of every kind, putting a child on an extreme diet wouldn’t seem very unusual. Nine years ago, people (family included) thought we had lost our minds. I was making every little thing from scratch. There were (a lot of) days that I wanted to pull my hair out.
Not only were we spending twenty hours in a therapy waiting room, but I was driving forty five minutes to Whole Foods and seeing homeopathic doctors out-of-pocket over an hour away. I was talking with other parents of children with autism who had switched their sons diets as well. I attended a conference. Reading labels became my full time job. I was food monitor- not even a speck of regular food could touch my J’s lips without a panic attack from me. And J wasn’t voluntarily giving up the good stuff either. He was dumpster diving and trying to sneak anything he could get his tiny cute little hands on.
Between having a baby, a newly diagnosed child with autism and adding dietary restrictions to the mix, saying we were in survival mode doesn’t even come close to doing it justice. Add a few thousand forms to complete, observations to occur, interviews to participate in and meetings to attend….life was far from bliss.
And the real “fun” hadn’t even begun……