The Bon Bon Gazette

Kim Stagliano speaks out on CNN Re: Wakefield Autism/Vaccine Retraction

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:35:00 +0000

You know, its my daughter's birthday. If one more "helpful" friend points out to me the link on the Lancet article retraction - the Autism/Vaccine link being tossed out and Wakefield being lynched... Excuse me, but do you think I'm NOT following it all? I'm trying to enjoy my daughter's birthday but everywhere I turn I can't seem to get away from it.

My son has autism and his story is very similar to many other children also on the Autism spectrum. My son was very much a healthy and happy child for the first year of his life - until he went to a well visit and received a toxic cocktail of multiple vaccinations (including the experimental MMR-V a mercury containing vax, a flu shot, and others). That night he ended up in the hospital. The doctors said he had asthma. Over the following year he lost words and stopped meeting developmental milestones. We started early intervention to help him get caught up but he never did and he was ultimately diagnosed with Autism. I refused to let the doctors and schools write him off as just another number. Therapy, ABA, OT, PT, Speech, Behavior plans - it is all great and helps but I knew we needed to do more for him. A big giant red flag was the fact that in Kindergarten my son got sent home almost weekly. In fact, I originally began this blog as a place to rant against the school nurse who kept sending my son home.. day after day, week after week. My son was always getting sick. He would come home and then he wouldn't seem sick. I identified that the sickness usually correlated to things he ate.
I knew people who had put their autistic children on special diets and were seeing results - I knew it wasn't going to be easy and it would also be a financial challenge. I did it anyways - at first on a trial basis. We noted immediate changes when we eliminated milk and so we proceeded with eliminating gluten. We started supplements. Bit by bit, we watched our son make gains. Huge Gains. Not only was he no longer getting sick at school (aside from the usual seasonal stuff) he started to behave better and have less tantrums. He still has autism but he is a changed child.

Our story is not a fluke.

Vaccines hurt my child and biomedical interventions are helping him.

I want to share this link/video to someone who is a rock star and someone who I am honored to consider my friend :) Kim Stagliano - mother of 3 children with Autism. Kim blogs at Huffington Post and is the managing editor of Age of Autism

Happy Birthday Belle!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:06:00 +0000

Happy 5th Birthday to Belle!

Alex's finished movie - Ice Age Scrat visits Pixar UP!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:33:00 +0000

Alex really missed going to Small Factory since they had a bit of a holiday/winter break between lessons. This weekend he finally finished his creation in whice Scrat from Ice Age visit's Carl and the "Up" house from Pixar's UP.

Enjoy!

Louise Kuo Habakus to visit Brick SEPTA

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:27:00 +0000

Louise Kuo Habakus, Age of Autism's 2009 Person of the year will be visiting Brick SEPTA in February. Please mark your calendars and plan on joining us for this informative (and FREE) event!

Brick Township Special Education PTA presents
an introduction to Parenting For Wellness A Health Empowerment Series
Louise Kuo Habakus, MA, HHP

Please join us for an informative and timely look at nutritional and perspectives on parenting and family wellness. We’ll discuss the “New Normal” of children’s health, and how to take back parenting and make our life health choices. Bring your questions about cold and flu season, including prevention, vaccines and immune system support. Life Health Choices is dedicated to building community and creating change through informed choices affecting our lives and our health.

Individual registration louise@lifehealthchoices.com

Free admission & light refreshments

Monday, February 22, 2010
7:00-9:30 pm
Veterans Memorial Middle School Auditorium
105 Hendrickson Avenue, Brick, NJ

For more info visit Brick Septa's website at www.bricksepta.org

Really Cool GFCF foods we've tried lately

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:59:00 +0000

It is so hard to believe some days that the Alex who stands before us today is the same child who was barely verbal and tantrum-ruled when he was diagnosed with autism. The same child who went from eating everything in sight to eating about 5 things and ate those same 5 things for years. Until, in first grade we switched him to the Gluten and Casein Free diet. The diet, which limits food ingredients and made things even more selective for him opened him up to a whole new world of eating. The same child who now will eat a turkey leg or a hamburger and not just chicken nuggets and pizza. Before starting "the diet" I had images of my child starving or wasting away because he would have no food choices, but it has most definitely had the opposite effect.

I've been really lucky lately in having the chance for Alex to try out some new gluten and casein free foods thanks to samples being sent my way.

Kenzoil review

I have shared many times how my son loves ketchup. The kid puts ketchup on everything - his eggs, his noodles, his potatoes, his fries, his chicken, his everything. A couple days ago he put ketchup on sweet potatoe, which made me gag but he ate it. Anyways, we tried a new condiment - Kenzoil. The name is reminiscent of something that goes in cars to make them run, I don't really love the name. But thankfully the product is nothing like motor oil. It is actually EVOO with basil, garlic and spices and you can use it in a gazillion different ways - as a sauce, dip, marinade. I first tried to give it to Alex similar to how he would eat ketchup but I assessed that the "taste" is a bit too grown up for him like that. Next, I tried cooking with it on his grilled chicken. Success and it definitely jazzed up plain bland grilled chicken. I also cooked his sunny side eggs with it and served his eggs on top of his Udi's bread like eggs in the basket, except they were greenish eggs. Another hit. Kenzoil is one of those products that I will just have to experiment with in terms of cooking but my goal is that maybe if I make Alex's food a bit more flavorful or seasoned he won't see the need to drown them so much in ketchup. Since it is a gluten free condiment, I'll definitely be trying more things with it.

Gluten Free Pita Review
Which brings me to Gluten Free Pitas. Since Alex is now eating more than 5 things - when we received a package of gluten free pitas from GFL foods they didn't last very long in my house. I used these for school lunches and stuffed them with grilled chicken. And that Kenzoil I just blabbed on and on about - the pitas go really well with it. I could not taste any difference between these pitas and a "regular" non-gluten free one. I don't think Alex ever ate a non-gluten free pita before, so this was a first for him. He liked how the bread was shaped like a pocket - this was very novel to him. When I gave him suggestions on what we could stuff it with - the only thing he wanted to put in it was chicken which was just fine with me.

Boomi Bar & Prana Bar review
While on the topic of school lunches - I have to pack Alex's lunch every day. It gets old because I do feel like I give him the same things over and over. I received some samples of Boomi & Prana bars which are gluten free, and they have a line that is also dairy free/vegan. Note: some of the gluten free bars have whey protein in them, so as with everything check the ingredients. These are laden with nuts. My husband happens to be allergic to nuts and for a long time we didn't give Alex nuts because we felt he could be allergic to them even though the results from testing were not conclusive on that. I've been allowing nuts and introduced almond flour with no issues. Still, I watched carefully for a reaction and proceeded with caution on these since his father has a nut allergy. Alex preferred the Coconut Acai prana bar over the the Apricot Cashew Boomi Bar. He started out with both of them quite enthusiastic but didn't finish them. I shared them with them and found these energy bars are really quite filling and I liked the taste. I'd buy them in the future, but be sure to cut them in half and just send him with a partial bar so they didn't go to waste.

I'm so thankful that Alex has gotten the chance to try these new foods out and expand his repertoire bit by bit. I am still impressed that he is being so adventurous and has clearly stepped out - taken a giant leap- away from his old limited diet ways.

What will he try next?

Related Links:
www.kenzoil.com
www.glutenfreepitas.com
www.pranabar.com

Disclaimer - I was provided with samples of the above products for our honest no holds barred review.

And he eats a Hamburger thanks to Video Games

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:57:00 +0000

Alex adores cooking games and food themed games on the Wii and Nintendo DS. His favorites include the Cooking Mama Games and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I've always found it very funny and ironic because he plays all these games that involve food that
1) he can't eat because of his GFCF diet
2)If he could eat it with GFCF accomodations, he won't because he is very selective - which is common in kids on the autism spectrum.
However, since we went to Disney his food profile has expanded and he has been on an uphill climb, trying new things almost weekly.

And so it started, like this.... Alex has always been obsessed with making miis on the Wii. We used to try to be diligent and not let him make a million of them. But we have since caved and have come to enjoy the crazy miis that he comes up with or makes from the instructions on the mii characters website.

This one is a personal favorite:
The Hamburger head mii.

So, he has asked a few times for a Hamburger for dinner. I've held off on making it for him because, well... I figured he wouldn't eat it. But, he asked again and I thought I would just try it. If he didn't like it, I'd make him something quick like a sunny side up egg, another favorite of his as of late.

After procuring the $5.99 bag of Kinnikinnick buns from the grocery store I headed home to make burgers for the family.

He ate one, and then asked for a second! On the second. He asked if we could...

1. Slice the Tomato
2. Tear the Lettuce

These are steps from the Cooking Mama game and he scripted the game sequence as I did the above two steps. You can see a video of Cooking mama here making a hamburger.

Really, I wondered if he would eat this 2nd one with the vegs on it. His first one only had ketchup.

Today, my son ate his first (and second) hamburgers in his entire life!

A Day to be Awarded

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:09:00 +0000

The schoolyear got off to a rocky start for us at school with some issues largely revolving around food. But, things are looking up for the most part. As with anything there are good days and not so good days. Today was more than a good day.

After school I had to load Alex into the mom-van and drag him along so his little sister could make up a dance class that she had missed last week (going to the dentist). While she was in the class having fun - Alex and I waited in the car.

A car pulled up next to us and it happened to be a para from his class. Her daughter is older and also takes classes at the same Dance Studio that my daughter attends. She asked me if Alex had told me what happened at school today. Of course he hadn't - he is usually not very good at telling me what happened and I have to really pull it out of him and ask just the right questions. She asked me if I'd looked in his backpack, but I told her that I hadn't because we came right over to dance class. So she tells me...

They had an assembly today with a singer, Mr. Sprout. He asked for kids to volunteer to come up and sing a solo and Alex volunteered.

My son, who in the past has not even been able to ATTEND assemblies, or had to attend them wearing ear muffling headphones. My son who hates clapping. My son who doesn't like microphones or loud speakers.

My son, My Alex. He got up and he sang with his sweet little voice over the microphone on the stage in front of the entire school. There was clapping, and there were a lot of tears (from his teachers and paras who are "in the know" about how HUGE this is for him).

In his backpack I received a really nice note from his teacher. I seriously could frame this. When I'm having a bad day, I will read this.. over and over and over again.

I am so proud of Alex. He actually made me cry. The past 2 assemblies he has been participating, CLAPPING along and enjoying himself. Today he actually volunteered to sing in front of the entire assembly with the Presenter Mr. Sprout. It was beautiful. He has come so far already!

In his green folder, I found this Star Student Award.

For: Participating and singing during our Assembly.

I am so proud of Alex every day for his hard work but today even more.

Welcoming in 2010 with a Meltdown

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

I've been a little bit absent from the blog here as the kids as ever have kept me busy lately.

The New Year, 2010, got off with a rocky start. We went to friends house for a low-key New Years Eve celebration consisting of Wii games and good company. Alex was having a blast playing the Wii and showing off how good he is at making all sorts of "celebrity" miis and mii-look-a-likes. We brought some of his new games with us including Super Mario Brothers and Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games. He was happy, we were happy. All was good. As it got closer to midnight the kids -- who had made it without a meltdown and on relatively good behavior for being up way late, started playing on their Nintendo DS so we could watch the countdown on TV with Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest. Alex was looking forward to seeing the ball drop and was counting down with us. But, he made a fatal mistake and he looked at his video game and he missed seeing the ball drop!

We then entered the year with the biggest meltdown ever, tears, and serious upset.

Thankfully our friends live only about a mile away so we headed home and with the help of You Tube, I was able to find someone who had already uploaded the 2010 ball drop and so Alex got to watch it and he calmed down.

There are days that I really dislike Youtube because my son likes to find videos on there and play them over and over and over. It is usually harmless but he has found some things I would really rather he not. But this time, YouTube came to the rescue.

My GFCF kid + Udi's Gluten Free Foods = Happy Kid

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Alex got a special gift the day before Christmas. A sampler box arrived from Udi's Gluten Free Foods for him to try out. It was perfect timing as we had long since finished our loaf of gluten free sandwich bread and they are not yet available at the Jersey shore. YET. You can however order them online and they ship anywhere in the US. I have plans to do this soon soon soon.

So, in the box was a loaf of their awesome sandwich bread as well as a whole grain (but still gluten free) loaf. It is rare that my son gets "whole grain" anything because of being gluten free!

There were also 2 boxes of the giant muffins: blueberry and lemon streusel. I popped the lemon ones in my freezer but Alex cracked right into the blueberry ones and was so happy. When he saw the muffins he asked me "Did it come from the oven?" As if I had just made it. So cute! Well, those 4 muffins were gone at the 1-a-day rate. It wasn't until the last muffin that I was able to break off a piece when he wasn't looking to taste it for myself. And so, I could see for myself why he ate them. Pretty darn good and not super sweet either. I'm not a big fan of blueberry muffins because usually the entire top is coated in sugar and they are almost crunchy - pleased that these were not like that at all.

Fast forward to today...

So, being that we are on winter break - the kids have been out of school for 2 weeks (also thanks to snow days here last week which gave them 3 extra days). My daughter asked me for pizza for lunch. I usually send her into pre-k on Wednesdays with pizza for lunch as Alex can't really have pizza (too many GFCF infractions) without me jumping through a lot of hoops to make him his own. Well, since little sis wanted Pizza I decided that we could do make your own pizza and how convenient because I had a 2 pack of the Udi's gluten free pizza crusts in my freezer from the sampler box. We usually use the Kinnikinnick Pizza crusts that are now sold in my "normal" grocery store (Stop N Shop) freezer section for $10 a box - it is robbery but kids love pizza and my son is no exception. So, while my daughter had her regular pizza (laden with gluten and dairy).

Alex made up his own on an Udi's gf crust. His pizza just had sauce on it with some tomatoes and seasoning - no cheese.

I am used to him eating 2 of the single serve pizzas but I could easily get away with 1 of these since they are pretty big (maybe 9" round?) . I cut it into 8 pieces.

He made quick work of eating almost an entire pizza and was so happy.

Yay for Udi's! Thank you from Alex!

Christmas Redux

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:29:00 +0000

What a nice white christmas we had here! The snow has since melted away and boy it was cold but it really added to the feeling of Christmas.

The kids as always scored big!

My daughter is loving her new best frien d, an American Girl Doll complete with pretty purple eyeglasses. Her christmas was complete with many many a girly gift, including Pink Emu Knee High Boots, barbies, DVDs & DS games, and of course Zhu Zhu Pets.

Alex received lots of DS and Wii games, DVDs, and books that he asked for. Big hits include the Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs DS game and Wii Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs as well as his new Perry Chattering Plush. A very happy Alex, indeed.

Both kids had been longing for the As Seen on TV Touch N Brush Hands Free Toothpaste Dispenser, which Alex received. It immediately set his little sister Belle into a fit of jealousy because even though at first she thought they could "share it", this didn't work because they use different kinds of toothpaste. So, off I went to Walgreens and came home with a second one. We are now a 2 Touch N Brush family and peace has been restored. The funny thing is that several friends also with kids who have autism also had the Touch N Brush under the tree. I have noticed that a lot of ASD kids love those As Seen on TV items. In fact, I am certain that a few of the kids (my son included) can recite the commercials.

The best gift that I received this year is my son's better understanding of Christmas and the fun in GIVING gifts as well as receiving. This year he had specific things in mind that he was very set on giving.

For his sister, he gave her a Kevin Plush from the Pixar Up movie. I had already given her a "baby Kevin" that she loved but he was insistent on getting her Mommy one. Well, these are exclusive and you can only order them from Disney Movie Rewards. So, with the help of friends (and facebook) I was able to reach out and get an unused code so my husband could create a DMR account to order it (I'd used my allotment when I ordered the baby one for Belle). She loves it, and has been sleeping with it every night. Alex also insisted on giving the cats gifts. In particular he wanted to get a green collar with a Belle for our one cat that has never worn a collar. (The other cat has a red one). For the other cat he got a bag full of green cat toys. Green being Alex's favorite color and the cats being his friends, they also must like green. Happy the cat was very unsure about the green collar at first and hid in the bedroom closet for about a day. He's since had an attitude adjustment and is wearing it... happily. Of course, I think Alex likes it better than he does. If I can get a picture of the cat I'll add one to this post - because hip hip hooray - I got a new digital camera, since mine broke shortly before Thanksgiving.

Christmas was tough this year for me being the first Christmas without my Dad, but the joy on my childen's faces and being able to share in their joy helped me through. And this picture, is for my father - who I know is smiling from Heaven. My daughter wearing a dirndl dress that he purchased from Germany. I know that Grandpa, my Pop, would have loved to see her wearing it.

Merry Christmas to All.

Merry Christmas!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 12:16:00 +0000

Merry Christmas!

My little Prima Princessa and the Nutcracker Ballet

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:26:00 +0000

It can be tough being the little sister of a big brother with Autism. All the family activities are planned around whether or not we can attend as a family and with the needs/concerns of the Autistic child in mind. There are a lot of special events, especially around the holidays, that get skipped because they would be too difficult for her brother, Alex, to handle. At age 4, she doesn't always realize what she is missing out on - but I don't want her to feel like she missed out because of her brother and end up resenting him. Because of this, I try to plan special things that my daughter can do that are just for her.

As a child, I remember taking a trip every Christmas to go see The Nutcracker ballet. I usually went with my father, who I especially miss this Christmas - it is our first without Grandpa and fond memories of him are so close to the surface for me. When I found out that The Nutcracker ballet was being performed nearby, I purchased tickets for us to attend. My daughter loves ballet and is in her 3rd year of classes already! I figured that at close to 5 years old she could sit through the performance and would enjoy it. One of her favorite DVDs of all times happens to be Barbie in The Nutcracker and more recently, Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker.

In preparation for attending The Nutcracker Ballet performed by the Company of Dance Arts, we watched Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker many many times. Unlike the Barbie version which takes many liberties with the storyline, the Prima Princessa version is the "real" Nutcracker. We first fell in love with Prima Princessa last year when she received Pri ma Princessa Presents Swan Lake DVD. What is so great about both is that they include real ballet performances of the actual ballet with child-appropriate narration explaining what is happening in that ballet Act. Unlike musicals or plays, there is no spoken word at The Ballet so kids may struggle with understanding the storyline as it is played out through dance. In between segments of dance, Prima Princessa includes video clips of children dancing ballet and illustrates real dance moves with proper terminology. My daughter takes dance class and knows many moves but she didn't know the names of the moves she was learning until watching the Prima Princessa DVDs. If you have a little girl who loves to dance, these DVDs are must haves for your collection and a nice diversion from the usual Barbie dreck.

Since she had watched her Nutcracker DVD, oh.... 10,987 times (or thereabouts) over the past few months - I think my daughter knew the Nutcracker storyline better than I did. She was counting and waiting for the days to attend the live performance. We had a close call due to a huge blizzard here in New Jersey and our Saturday afternoon performance ended up getting postponed until Sunday at 7pm. When the snow didn't stop, I feared that we wouldn't be able to attend the ballet at all. My daughter cried. I cried. I felt mad! But, we still had Prima Princessa and if we had to dress up fancy and sit down and watch it together (kicking out the boys) I would have. The good news was - the snow stopped and the roads started getting plowed out. I decided we could get safely there and back to the rescheduled performance. My daughter was over the moon excited and couldn't get ready fast enough. I worried a bit that sitting through the 2 hour program would be difficult for her - even with the 10 minute break. When we got there it was magic. My daughter sat eyes wide open and loved every minute of it. She took in every saute, glissade, and passe and couldn't take her eyes off of the dancers. Even cuter was when she was doing her own narration, ala the Prima Princessa fairy, and explaining to me what she saw on the stage. There was a little girl about 10 years old sitting near us and she commented to my daughter that she sure did know a lot about The Nutcracker! The credit goes only to the fact she has watched her beloved Prima Princessa DVD so many times.

The two of us had a magical time at the ballet together. I am glad to have taken the time and braved the snow to appreciate her for her without being in her brother's shadow.

Yes, watching The Nutcracker ballet with Belle, I fell in love with my daughter all over again. I am so proud of the beautiful and smart young girl she is shaping up to be.

Related Links:
Prima Princessa Presents Swan Lake
Buy Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker
Prima Princessa Website

Disclaimer: I did receive the Prima Princessa DVDs to try for review purposes.

Carnivorous Snow in New Jersey

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:19:00 +0000

We woke up to even more snow today! Not a surprise.. hockey was canceled.

There is so much snow, you can't even see my husband's car - it is buried. My van was completely blocked in and the snow was practically up to the windows.

This is the most snow I have seen in New Jersey since we moved here 5 years ago.

Kurt went out to dig the snow out and Belle went out to play. She made a snow angel and couldn't stand up. She announced that "the carnivorous snow is eating me".

I took a video on my phone. She had such a blast. Both kids want to go back out and build new snowmen but Daddy needs to thaw out. He was out there for close to 3 hours and still isn't done!

Snow in New Jersey

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Well, we've got snow on the Jersey Shore.

The kids couldn't get outside fast enough.

To make this:

So... the weekend plans have completely been shuffled. Today I was supposed to take Belle to go to the Nutcracker ballet. She'd been preparing for weeks and had a special new pretty dress all ready to wear. Snowed out. The performance is rescheduled for tomorrow night at 7pm - that is late for a 4 year old, because it is 2 and a half hours long. She may just have to enjoy her Prima Princessa Presents The Nutcracker DVD instead.

Alex was supposed to go to computer school but the snowy dangerous roads put a halt to that today. Class was canceled.

Tonight we were supposed to go to a neighbors house for the Santa deliveries from the local firehouse, that looks to be off as well.

Tomorrow Alex was supposed to go to the Elks christmas party for special needs children - that is postponed as well - til next weekend - of course, after Christmas but the kids will still enjoy.

Today we are staying inside, safe and warm - enjoying family.

Green Gluten Free Cake

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 03:12:00 +0000

Because no birthday is complete without cake...

Here's the green cake that Belle and I made for Alex. Its actually chocolate cake, with a whole container of green sugar sprinkles on the top of dairy-free frosting.

Happy Birthday to Alex!

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Today is Alex's 9th birthday.

It is so hard to believe that my 'baby' boy is growing older and I am the mother of a NINE year old. Next year will be double digits. I haven't cried yet as I usually do on his birthdays but the day isn't over yet.

Today at school they took a field trip to the Shoemaker and the Christmas Elves show at the Algonquin Arts center. Afterwards the class was having pizza so I sent in 2 gluten free individual pizzas made on Kinnikinnick gfcf crust. The pizzas were a hit and the teacher said he ate both of them!

I also made him a gluten free chocolate cake from Namaste Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix. Then, I had to send that in to school! I didn't trust that the cake carrier would make it on the school bus so I put it into a re-usable bag (UP of course) and sent that in. Half the cake came back home, so the kids did a pretty good job on that too. Gotta love hungry boys!!!

So, tonight we are going out to dinner to celebrate. We asked Alex where he would like to go - pick any place. He picked to go to the diner, of all places. Good choice!

And of course we will have gifts. He asked me after getting off the bus if he "earned a gift". I can't believe these haven't been ripped open yet. He was going to open them but his little sister has proclaimed that he can't open them until after dinner!!!

Here's my birthday boy wearing a new shirt that I got him just for the occasion.

Can you tell GREEN is his favorite color?

I broke one of my own rules about using holiday wrapping for his gifts. The foil bag is a Christmas gift bag but it was the only dark green they had at the store and I figure since the gifts inside are wrapped in birthday, that's ok. With a birthday so close to Christmas he has gotten many a birthday gift wrapped in christmas paper over the years - it drives me nuts.

I'm looking forward to his birthday meal and seeing how excited he gets when he opens his gifts!

Update: Bossy Belle has conceded that Alex is able to open 1 gift before dinner. She picked the one that he REALLY has been asking for. Here we have Wii - UP game!

Happy Birthday Alex!!!

Who's Afraid of Santa?

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:17:00 +0000

We went to the Brick Challenger Christmas party tonight.
Guess who is afraid of Santa?

Not Alex!

...But, my typical daughter is. She wouldn't go near Santa even though she knew if she sat on his lap she would get a gift and that gift might even possibly be a Barbie... No, she would have no part of it. How ironic is it that one of the only "typical" kids in the room is the one that is afraid of Santa. Meanwhile all the autistic kids couldn't get into Santa's lap fast enough!! Go figure. Our kid is the coward. I felt so bad for her and tried to prod her to go to Santa's lap by offering to go sit on his lap with her but she was having no part of it. Oh well, maybe next year.

There was a time when this party was "too much" for Alex. But, today he did pretty darn good despite the loud music, etc. They have a DJ spinning Christmas music and the kids have to wait in line to go and sit on Santa's lap to get a gift. He did fine - nice waiting and then sat on Santa's lap, smiled, thanked Santa, gave Santa a hug. I brought his own snacks with us (gluten free cookies and pretzels) since the snacks they had there were off limits for the most part. He saw some friends there and even went over and tried to play with some of them right where the loud music was playing. He was fine, until we left - then he somehow managed to trip and fall over his own feet and hurt his knee/bruised his ego. So, it didn't end on the best note. But, overall the party was a win!

Thank You and Happy Holidays to Brick Challenger :)

Thanks to Udi's Bread My GFCF kid can finally eat Sandwiches again

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:03:00 +0000

About a month ago a friend of mine who also has a son on the GFCF diet told me that she had found a really good gluten free bread - the brand is Udi's.

I admit that I was extremely skeptical because sadly most GF loaf breads that I have purchased taste like styrofoam and my son won't touch it, not to mention the cost. Anyways, she told me that she was placing a big order for it and would share a loaf with me. I put it in my freezer and I forgot about it.

Earlier this week I was in my freezer and found it and decided to give it a whirl. First of all- I was surprised because it says you don't need to toast this bread! You can defrost it and keep it in the fridge! So, I did. And the next day I sent my son to school with a sandwich on it. I let him know that it was gluten free bread and that it was OK. He is so used to NOT eating bread that I didn't want to freak him out. That day - I got a note home from his para-professional asking me if he was "back on bread" again - meaning that he was off the diet. I wrote a big note back saying that it is gluten free bread and that he is absolutely still on the diet. We don't need THAT confusion going on given the other 'issues' we already have with food at school.

All week I have been making Alex "eggs in the basket", toast, sandwiches. This bread really tastes and responds just like regular bread. I love that you don't need to toast it to serve it - way more family friendly. So, now the week is done and the loaf is gone. Looks like I will be making a trip soon to Whole Foods to pick some up and/or placing my own order for Udi's Sandwich bread. My kid can finally eat Sandwiches again!

http://www.udisglutenfree.com/

Letters to Santa

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:34:00 +0000

The difference between my 2 children is clearly displayed in their Letters to Santa this year.

My daughter has taken 3 days to write Dear Santa and draw a garden with flowers and grass, she isn't done yet - nor has she asked for anything (Yet!)

My son took all of 30 seconds to write (in his favorite color green) a specific list of video games he wants. I was aware of all but one of them, so I am glad I had him take those 30 seconds out of his day to spell it out for Santa!

Dear Santa,
I would like Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs DS,Gardening Mama,Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop, and Rabbids Go Home DS.
Love, Alex

So, there we have it!

Ps. Santa, I'm asking for a new digital camera since mine stopped working a couple weeks ago and now I can only take pictures using my cellphone.

My Thanksgiving Miracle

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:40:00 +0000

Alex ate a turkey leg.
Its days after Thanksgiving 2009 and I am still on a high.

The last time that my son ate a turkey leg he was 11 months old. He ate all the food on his plate (adult food) and went grabbing for more. He was also quite chubby!

About a month later he received a vaccination cocktail that his body couldn't handle and landed in the ER. Then he got sick, and sicker, and spent almost a year on one antibiotic after another. During that year he ended up getting diagnosed with Autism.

He never ate another Turkey leg again. In fact, he wouldn't touch most of the comfort foods of Thanksgiving - really he wouldn't eat any of them. We had to always make him separate foods. When we started him on the gluten and casein free diet, his eating improved but then still had to make him separate foods that he would like.

This year, he ate turkey. He started with the turkey leg at his request and moved on to white meat. He has been eating leftover turkey meat the entire weekend.

He's happy.
I'm happy.

And even happier is that when I shared this conquest with friends I learned that 2 friends who are also parents of boys like Alex - on the autism spectrum, super picky eaters... Their boys ate turkey too. Such a huge accomplishment to be thankful for, one worthy of celebration.

Happy Thanksgiving

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Thankful.

photo from my daughter's pre-school Thanksgiving feast. Oh, to be 4 again and wear a paper pilgrim bonnet and enjoy a Thanksgiving feast with paper plates and plastic utensils!

School Progress Report

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:15:00 +0000

My son has a locker! Where did time go?

So, today I had my son's Parent-Teacher conference. At the top of my list was a discussion about food at school and my "finding" that my son was getting glutened and caseined at school. She more or less confirmed that it had happened. I let her know that I wasn't happy about this. She agreed that she needed to be better with me about letting me know that they would be doing a cooking project. She heard my concern and I am going to give her the benefit of the doubt that this will be corrected going forward. If it isn't, it won't be pretty.

Academically, Alex is doing well. He is a math whiz and a good reader. He does need to slow his reading down and do more for comprehension. He needs to apply himself. These are all things that you'd hear during a conference with a "typical" child. It is actually kind of nice to go in and hear these types of comments and has such a feeling of "normalcy". She shared that if he could just stay on task more and get that "focus" down that he could be mainstreamed (I'm really not rushing that, but it was nice to hear). In the "specials" subjects - art, music, gym, library, recess - he is excelling. These have always been difficult areas for him because they are so unpredictable and they are also integrated with typical peers. Those issues are in the past and I view this as a huge success.

Last year we had a lot of issues with the loud speaker (daily announcements) setting him off. I'll never forget when his second grade teacher called me to say that Alex yelled out during the morning announcements that he "wanted the effing voice-over to stop NOW!" (he said the F bomb). This year the announcement issues are in the past. His teacher was by some miracle able to nip this behavior in the bud in the first week of school. Assemblies are still difficult with him. He gets real upset with the auditorium, big group, applause. She has to sit in the back with him and walk him out and give him breaks. One time he got so upset that he was physically sick (vomited). He cries and meltsdown. This was the first I heard of this occurance so I didn't really appreciate the lack of communication from her once again.

The really good news is that my son's class just added a new para-professional that is not "new" to my son at all. In fact, it is my son's favorite para of all times from back when he was in preschool. After 4 years of being in different classes - he recognized her and the pair had a happy reunion. This para is also "on my team" and will be helping to make sure that Alex doesn't get glutened in the future. Once again, my son seems to have wrapped all the para-professionals right around his finger and has built a good rapport with them. Now, if only we could get him to build that type of rapport with other kids in the class.

Goals:

Teacher goal - improve communication all around! No more food issues.

Goals for Alex:

Work on improving focus for attending to task on hand.
Increase social interactions, build social skills with classroom peers and typical peers.
Make it through an assembly without a meltdown.

We can do it. We can do it. We can do it!

Thoughts on buying a christmas gift for my child with autism?

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:49:00 +0000

What do you buy for a Christmas gift for a child with autism?

I would be rich if I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me this. Maybe it is a relative, or a friend's child.. maybe it is even a family member not sure what to buy for their own grandchild, niece or nephew. I wish I could tell you that perfect answer. But autism is a rainbow - a spectrum. The kids with autism that I know, while many are so very similar - all do have their own "thing" that they like. My son loves Disney Pixar, one of his best friends couldn't be bothered with Pixar - he prefers Nickelodeon's Spongebob. Its important to remember that you are buying a gift for a child, first and foremost. Yes, they have autism - but don't forget there is a kid in there too!

So, you aren't sure what to buy that special child with autism for a gift? The first thing that I always tell people is that they should just ask the parents outright for a gift suggestion or if there is a particular character or activity they enjoy. I also suggest asking if there are things specifically NOT to buy.

For example, one year a friend of mine (also an autism mom) gave my son a big art set with crayons, markers, paper. She knew from me sharing with her that he loves to draw logos and cartoon characters. This was such a basic gift and not real expensive either - it was also so thoughtful and he used that art set until all the crayons were worn down or broken and the markers were bone dry. My son loved that art set and would have slept with it if I let him. For my son, gifts like the Crayola Marker Caddy and the Crayola Crayon Tower are perfect and something that I ask for year after year. Never enough crayons and markers. But, for a child who isn't interested in art - or who may continue to put inappropriate items in their mouth - this may not be a good choice. As for what not to buy - I am sure to spell out - for my son who is gluten-free - I have banned Play-Doh from my home.

My son is loved and blessed with many gifts from his family and friends. The quantity of gifts is overwhelming. Christmas is overwhelming. Looking back, there have been Christmas mornings where my son has opened one gift and been interested only in that gift and not interested in opening anything else the rest of the day. One year he could care less about what was in the package but only wanted to rip the paper. This is behavior that you might expect from a toddler or preschooler, but sadly my son was definitely beyond that "age" so while I was so silently happy that he was actually ripping open the paper for the first time ever - some family members didn't appreciate it when he was busy opening all of their gifts up with seemingly disregard. Christmas is supposed to be a happy time but it can be extremely stressful for anyone who has a child with autism in their life. Another year, God bless him, he got a lot of clothes and so anytime he saw a square box he made socially inappropriate comments about "Kohls!". Thankfully, they were mostly positive comments and everyone, including the gift giver, got a chuckle out of it. He wasn't doing it to be funny but it definitely put smiles on all of our faces.

Buying clothes for a child with autism.
We will never ever forget the "Kohls year" (see above).

Kids grow like weeds and new clothes are always appreciated. For my son, I like to remind people that first and foremost he is a little boy. Unlike his sister he does not enjoy getting dressed up and he is definitely his father's son. Give him comfy jeans and a knit shirt any day over button-ups and other 'stuffy' clothes. He just wants to be comfortable and his sensory issues makes him very aware of fabrics that might be a little too stiff, waistbands that might be a little too restricting, and most of all - tags in uncomfortable places. Growing up my mother always used to give all the men/boys in the family socks and underwear and it has become a bit of a tradition for me to do the same for my son and his father. Alex hates socks and doesn't keep them on his feet but he had a pretty good trial run with some Seamless Socks and I also hope to pick him up a few pieces from Soft Clothing.

Shoes are also tough - which is why you'll find him wearing sneakers most of the time. He also loves slip-on shoes like crocs and his new favorite, Ugg KIDS Tasman which are easy (slip-on) and also very warm. Though he is almost nine years old, he still hasn't mastered some of the "simple" milestones that kids pass like learning to tie his shoes and riding his bike without training wheels.

My son has High Functioning Autism. He is 8 years old, going on 9 this year. His birthday and Christmas happen to be a week apart.

So, what kinds of gifts is my son asking for this year.

Well, for one thing I guess I could consider a blessing... He isn't asking for any of the "hottest toys" like Zhu Zhu Pets or the Bakugan Battle Arena . He did see the commercial for the fake hamster Zhu Zhu pets and thought they looked cool but I know that this WILL be a toy that gets played with a few times and then nothing. People are lining up and shelling out a ridiculous amount of money for pretend hamsters and plastic tubes that resemble pumped up habitrail sets. A month after the holidays I expect to see these faux rodents on clearance - no, no Zhu Zhu pets here. And so it is with many gifts he will receive. You can't just pull up a gift widget and put in age/gender and come up ahead when you are buying for a child with autism who most likely is completely unaware of the latest trends and fads.

What he does like..

My kids love books. To give you a glimpse into the books he likes (which isn't surprising for those who know and love him, and probably not for my faithful blog readers either). His sister took a Disney Up Storybook out of the library today that he got real excited about. Though he actually reads at a high level for a 3rd grader, he still loves books with lots of illustrations and for him you cannot go wrong with Disney/Pixar. I found that DK publishing has put together a Pixarpedia - an enclyopedia full of pictures and facts about Pixar. For the kid who used to like to read the Honda car repair manual in the backseat of his father's car - an encyclopedia about his obsession (Pixar) should be huge hit.

My computer geek (lovingly) husband who is a network guy was pretty crushed when Alex kept asking for a Macbook repeatedly. Thankfully, he seems to have accepted that is a lost cause and there will be no Macs in this PC household! He can go and play on Macs when he goes to his computer classes at the Small Factory.

My son wants DVDs.

I already purchased and gave him the Up dvd because he was going to burst if he didn't get that on the day that it was released. He is asking for some popular new releases like G-Force, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Monsters vs. Aliens as well as a favored TV program Phineas and Ferb. Last year I was able to buy many of the DVDs off of the kids wishlist on Black Friday at Toys R Us, Target and Wal-mart for $10 and under. I know that one DVD he really wants isn't even going to be released in time for Christmas - its Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs which much to Alex's dismay is not coming out until January. January 5th, 2010 to be exact - yes he has that one memorized as well.

The other thing he really wants is video games.

Alex loves to play with the Wii

He is asking for some new Wii games including the newer Wii Sports Resort that uses Wii MotionPlus. It is not a surprise that my "Pixar" kid wants to get Toy Story Mania! and UP both for the Wii platform. He also wants to get the new Wii Fit Plus even though he already has Wii Fit but this has some new games on it. Some of Alex's favorite games for the Wii include: Wii Fit , JumpStart Escape From Adventure Island, and the Wall-E game. I have found that many children with autism absolutely love playing on the Wii. Read our story with the Wii here.

Alex also really loves his Nintendo DS Lite. Last year since many people were at a loss on what to get for him for his birthday/Christmas I suggested Toys R Us gift cards. This way he could go and pick out the games/movies that he would like. He specifically requested to get a Nintendo DS Lite and picked out a blue one that he paid for all with his own gift cards. It was a good learning activity for him to go and pick it out, and interact with the cashier (they keep them behind a locked counter). I showed him how much it cost and how much he had in gift cards and we did the math. He knew that he could get 1 thing - the DS or a lot of other things and he chose the DS. I think I ended up covering about $10 of the price (tax and warranty etc) but it was well worth it. The DS has proved to be a good thing for him to play with when we are in situations where we have to wait. Waiting is so very difficult for children but especially so for kids with autism. Since he had outgrown most of the games for the Leapster, the DS is a good choice with a lot of titles to choose from. Alex really wants the Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs game and the new Cooking Mama 3: Shop & Chop.

In summary:
I hope that this longer than normal blog post has provided insight into the gift selection process for a child with autism. Just like any kid, my son has his likes and dislikes. In some ways he is more discerning and picky than your average child, but in other ways he is totally chillax and nonchalant. We don't have a 'holy grail' item this year like we did last year with the Pixar Lamp. Which, while it caused a lot of pre-holiday stress last year it was something that I don't think I'll ever forget this letter to Santa.

Related posts:
Featured Gifts For Children With Autism
Best Gifts for my Child with Autism

Consider the Nintendo Wii for Kids with Autism

My GFCF adventure : Thanksgiving Feast for One

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:30:00 +0000

A memo came home from school that the kids were going to enjoy a Thanksgiving Feast. Since I knew that the foods that they would be eating would be loaded with gluten and dairy, I asked my son's teacher for a menu and stated I would be sending my son in with his own food. By some miracle, she gave me a list of the foods that they'd be eating and not surprising it was the usual thanksgiving fare of Turkey, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, etc. The festivities were slated for next week. I had begun to research and ask my gluten free peeps on twitter for help with recipes and ideas. It is tough because I want to make him food that is comparable to what the rest of the kids are eating but I also don't want to make things that will definitely go to waste as they are not in his repertoire or even close to it. I figured that I had the weekend to get it all put together and maybe even trial a dish or two.

Well, the kids took a shopping field trip today to Costco to pick up supplies for the meal. Surprise Surprise, a memo came home today and stated that the feast was moved up to tomorrow. This came home in my son's backpack and he gets off the bus at 4pm! The health food store closes at 7pm unless I want to trek up to Whole Foods which is 40 or so minutes away.
Lucky me, I got to load both kids into my mom van and head to Brick Health Foods in order to get everything that I needed and couldn't pick up at Stop n Shop - we went there too.

I have to presume that everything the class is eating is off limits not knowing how or who prepared it. They are having Chicken (instead of turkey), Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Dinner Rolls, Pumpkin Pie.

Under very last minute circumstances, I put together the following for Alex:

-Cornish Hen (1 pound size) with an orange glaze. I guess it looks kind of like a tiny turkey, right?

-Green Bean casserole with Road's End Organics Gluten Free Shiitake Mushroom Gravy Mix. I couldn't think of anything comparable to the crunchy onion rings or chow-mein noodles that they put on top of this casserole so I'm skipping it. I don't think he'd eat eat that anyways. The green beans that I used were from the organic vegetable co-op that I belong to.

-Mashed Potatoes - I had a bag of potatoes already and I used the trusty stick blender and some vegan spread, rice milk, salt and pepper. They taste pretty good. In a pinch, try the Edward & Sons Home Style Mashed Potato Mix which is organic, gluten free and you make it with your own dairy subs.

-Rolls with butter - I let Alex pick at the store and he chose Gillian's Foods Gluten-Free Plain French Rolls (frozen) over the Ener-G Foods Tapioca Dinner Rolls. I am packing a small container with some dairy free "butter" in it.

-In lieu of cranberry sauce - I'm sending in some pink applesauce. This is applesauce that I made for the kids with apples, pears and plums cooked down on the stovetop. I'd already had this done and made from a couple of days ago so this was quick and easy.

- I decided to skip making stuffing since I just can't see my son eating it and it would be an awful lot of preparation and wasting expensive gluten free bread. I decided to send in an old standby which is gluten free Penne with Chreese sauce on it. Alex loves his GFCF Mac & Cheese! I made up a batch, served him some for dinner tonight and the rest I packaged for his "feast". I figure that if he doesn't eat anything else - he will eat this mac & cheese.

- Last but not least, the Gluten Free and Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie. Did you know that Libby's Pumpkin Pie Filling is gluten free? You can also get whole pumpkin pies that are gluten and dairy free from Natural Feast. Alex won't eat pumpkin pie, but my husband should be happy.

Ok. So - no joke, my son has 8 different plastic containers to bring in - not including a couple of zip locs and a drink (no mention of what drink she has and its probably something toxic). Looks like I'll be driving this in to school tomorrow.

And, after all that... Will he eat it?

So, my kid is getting glutened at school

hellokittiemama@gmail.com (hellokittiemama) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:06:00 +0000

A little birdie let me know that they had some problems with my son's teacher last year with regards to their GFCF child. I considered myself warned and approached it head on. My son has a whole section in his IEP regarding diet and instructions that he is not to eat any food that has not been provided from home. I am "that mom" that gets up and makes a hot lunch in the morning for my son every day. On a very rare occasion my son gets a rice cake sandwhich but that may be only about 2 days in the month or on days they are taking a class trip and won't have access to heat up his food.

I met with his teacher the first week of school and I sent in extra snacks for her to keep on hand for him. At Back to school night she mentioned that the kids would be doing some cooking projects. Alex loves to cook and help in the kitchen, so I told her I was fine with him helping (he isn't a snacker along the way) as long as his hands were washed good afterwards and he didn't eat the food that they made. I requested that she let me know the day or so before hand that they had a food project coming up and I would send in a finished product so that he could make with the rest of the kids but then enjoy his own 'safe' gluten and casein free version. She agreed to do this and I was feeling confident that things were heading in the right direction.

Over the month of October I noticed that my son was coming home from school and acting out. His behavior was not 'normal' for him and he was reminding me of the pre GFCF version of my child that was difficult to manage. On a few occasions he spent abnormal amounts of time in the bathroom and kept telling me that 'he felt sick'. I mentioned a few times to a couple of my friends that I was feeling like he was getting glutened. The thing is that I'd ask Alex what he ate at school and he wouldn't be able to answer me or give me any info to back up my theory.

Then, a note came home from school from the teacher asking parents to fund or supply a cooking project. The note boasted about how well the kids were doing in the cooking program and how much they loved the cooking projects that they completed together from start to finish. She shared how proud she was that all the kids tried the final product because she knows how picky some of our children are with food. She shared that so far the kids had made: English muffin pizzas, grilled cheese, and pancakes to name a few things.

As I read this letter my eyeballs about popped out of my head and I was ready to be sick. All of these foods are Gluten, Dairy, Gluten, Dairy, and some more gluten and dairy! She had not contacted me ahead of time to say she was making a project with the kids - because if she had these could VERY EASILY have been sent in by me for him to safely consume.

So I decided to ask my son about this, knowing that full well he might not tell me anything. I asked him if they made pizza at school. He says yes. I ask if he ate the pizza at school. Again, Yes.

Of course, I can't really back this up with proof but yeah.... I am quite certain that my kid has been getting glutened at school. And, I'm mad.