When Joe was in preschool, he kept his head down for the first hour and really didn't respond well. If you read the previous blog, there is more detail there.
I was very much alone in trying to help him so I started reading and researching. I read a book that truly saved him. Jenny McCarthy's "Louder Than Words".
I decided to apply one thing in that book to Joe, just to see. I stopped all of his milk and dairy. I figured this was the easiest place to start since the gluten part was more than I could handle at the time.
I use the word 'easy' lightly because anyone who has an autistic child knows that there is nothing easy about changing things in an autistic child's world!! It was not easy. Joe loved his chocolate milk, and pudding and yogurt and ice cream and cheese. It is not easy to cut dairy out of any child's world but it was especially hard with Joe. At first he would open the fridge and scream. At the store, he would see the milk and point and throw a tantrum. It was awful.
The other kids were mad because I took away the ice cream and gogurts so Joe wouldn't see them. When he went to his dad's, I explained that I was trying this no dairy thing to help him. I got resistance there. "Kids need milk" etc. I didn't care. I wanted to help my son and it was worth a try I thought.
After a week without milk, I was carrying Joe into school and I remember looking up at the sky and saying, "God, they say you don't give people more than they can handle but I can't take anymore". I had tears in my eyes walking into that school. The teacher met me at the door and asked if I got her note. I didn't. She had put it in the little pocket in his backpack.
The note said,
"DEAR JOE'S FAMILY,
JOE WAS CAUGHT SMILING, SINGING, TALKING, AND PLAYING TODAY.
WOW!!!"
It was as if God heard me!! I hung that note up at work and it kept me going during one of the hardest times of my life.
In just one week, the effects of having no dairy in his diet was like lifting a veil. The teacher said he wasn't putting his head down for the first hour anymore. He was sitting up and holding his pencil! His was more alert! Truly, eliminating all dairy was the biggest help in Joe's life. I cannot stress it enough how important it is to try that with any autistic child. It may not work and it is hard (understatement) but it is worth it to see if it does make a difference. It did for Joe and many others I am sure.
More to come,
Joe's mom
No comments:
Post a Comment