The New Blank Free Diet

Well, I think there is going to be a change around here....a BIG change!  I think it's time to take a look at Kaden's diet, our whole diet really.  Of course I have heard about all the Miracle GF, CF, SF and all they other fill in the Blank Free Diets out there.  And I always thought well I guess that works for you, but obviously that's not going to be our Gig.  As a matter of fact I think I have read probably 20-30 blog posts and articles that all started just like this one right here that I'm writing now that you are reading.  And after the 1st paragraph or so they hit you with their Revelation of the Blank Free Diet that has now changed their life. 

Now look at me, I feel like a broke down mule.  Because guess what........I have a story to tell.....a darn Revelation.  :)  I have nothing else to try, I have flipped over a lot of stones.  Now I'm flipping the Diet Stone.  

 I always go against the rules, I have my whole life.  You say pink I say light fushia.  You say rewind before returning I grin as I slip it into the drop box knowing I stopped it at the beginning of the credits.  Okay, maybe I haven't done that since I was like 20, but still.  :p  Point is I fight the current and in my life that has always benefited me.  It's what kept me strong and alive, but when it comes to my kiddos sometimes you have to break down and try things you necessarily wouldn't normally try.  

I stand firm when my Mother's instinct rears it's head.  But, with Kaden and his journey with Autism I have floated by on a raft made of dried up leaves laced together with hopes and fears.  I don't always hear the instinct in my head, I second guess myself....way too much.  

We have seen an increase in his aggression and a decrease in language off and on during the day.  He will revert to only making sounds probably 1/3 of the time he is awake.  Our whole family is involved in his ABA and social skills class, so the next logical step to me is diet change.  The Big reason I decided to give this a chance was because we figured the only real difference in his diet lately has been Crystal Light the past few weeks.  We are a water and milk family, sometimes iced tea.  So, I'm thinking it might be the artificial sweetener & dye.  

I have to admit it's overwhelming looking around online!!!!  I flipped out just with the amount of products available and weeding out all the crazzzzzies.  Sorry, if you are one of the Crazzzzzies, I'm legally Crazy, but not Crazy into this Blank Free Diet Stuff......YET!

I'm calling Kaden's the Blank Free Diet.  I'm going to 100% cut out the Gluten & Dyes.  I'm also thinking of less Casein, so I have him on rice milk & cheese.  He hates the cheese, so since it's one of his favorite foods I may need to find a better alternative or just pray less Casein is better then no Casein.  :)  I figured we would slowly make the change, but really it has been pretty easy.  I say that right now of course after just a few meals.  I worry about variety & flavor!

So far we are on Day 2 of our Diet Adventure!!!  Fingers crossed we will start to see results in a few weeks or so.  If you have any favorite recipes or websites feel free to leave them in the comments.

Building a Bridge for Kaden

Have you ever had something happen to you and you just KNOW it is a Direct Gift from God?  I have been fortunate to have had this happen to me several times in my life. God has been a Huge part of my life and I can safely say that I would not be here today if he was not walking along side me every single day.... many days carrying me.  

You can go back and look at some of my past posts to see what I mean exactly.  

Today I have to share with you the little Miracle that God did for me and my Family just a few weeks ago.  My Sweet Kaden is on the Spectrum and with that comes his literal thinking.  If he can't physically see something or figure it out on paper with a pencil then obviously it's a sham.  Over the years we have tried to go to church, but we can't stay more then a few minutes and then out the door we go.  So, as a Family it's been a few years since we have walked through the church doors together as a Family.  

That said, we read the Bible and Devotions weekly and pray every night.  But, the hard part is no matter what we say or do Kaden Questions the fact that God exists or that there should even be Religion.  Kaden has always been fascinated with Religion, different cultures and the way they pray to their God.  He needs concrete evidence.  The Bible is a book of stories and God is a character in it to him.  For me, that crushes me, it separates me from my Child.  I can't find an avenue for us to at least meet in the middle.

And then there comes the Miracle.....and it came in the form of a Review.  A review on a Book from Apologia, How Do We Know God is Really There? by Melissa Cain Travis.  Are you kidding me?  I was so excited I was beaming from ear to ear, I knew in my heart that this little book was going to be that avenue to reach Kaden so that he could connect the dots.  A lot was riding on this book....a lot!

When we got it I wanted to read it ASAP.  But, he said we needed to wait for book time, which was right before bed.   HAHAHAHA

Then I figured that it was probably best, so I read through it.  And I loved the story, I will not go into detail because I don't want to ruin it for You or your Kiddo.  But, I will say it was simply Amazing. The Art work is Colorful and eye-catching, even my 13 year old enjoyed reading it. Even though it is geared for younger Kiddos, the story can be enjoyed by the whole Family. 

Kaden read the whole book, straight to the end and asked a lot of Questions and had a loooooooong Discussion......2 hours almost.  

But, I will say that the night we read How Do We Know God is Really There an Avenue was built for my Son and I.  And I am so Thankful for this Miracle. 

This is the first in an exciting new series of picture books designed to introduce kids to important questions of the Christian faith in terms even pre-readers can understand. Read this aloud with your family, and you’ll come away knowing that “the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1). 

 Apologia publishes homeschooling curriculum and resources, and hosts online classes to help families learn, live, and defend the Christian faith.

Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
 

Don't Judge Our Side of the Spectrum

This post is hard to write.  I love my Sweet Kaden, anyone who knows us or follows us on our journey knows how much he means to me.  But, sometimes the pressure of having a Child on the High Functioning end of the Spectrum can be so hard to deal with.  I feel so much pressure for him to get well or to snap out of it, yes I have heard those exact words spoken to me.  And I also feel guilt for my Son being HFA.  This side of the Spectrum can be so lonely.

 I know he taught himself to read at 2 and he can figure out simple equations in his head , but he is still developmentally behind by 2 years.  He has so many obstacles to climb over every single day.  And you know what, most of the time it takes the whole family to get him over them.  

 

His fears, obsessions, sensory processing dysfunctions, developmental delay and lack of social ability stops him in his tracks all day long.  And even though we are blessed at how verbal he is that doesn't make the meltdowns any better, because he is either shouting hurtful, negative things, screaming, making odd sounds and humming. 
 The other day at the park after his therapy he was playing having a good time.  What does he do that's fun?  Rolling around in the bark, and the slide.  Up and down, up and down, he loves the slide. :)  


  After almost an hour of dodging other kids, because remember he will not socialize and if he does it is usually awkward enough that the other kiddo has no interest.  Sometimes we have real good days where we find a child that he mixes well with.  I love that!!!  
So, it was time to go, I needed to get dinner started.  And then it began.  Now, please I don't need anyone to comment about discipline, because this is not a tantrum.  He was upset and repeated over and over that he was never coming back here.  He couldn't leave, because we were never coming back.  I tried to calm him down and reassure him that we would be....it's 1 block from our house. :)  Nothing was working, he was rocking back and forth, screaming, hitting and took his shoes off and managed to hit Skylar in the face with the shoes.  Honestly it sounded and probably looked like we were kidnapping him.  I was terrified, it is so scary whether it is your 1st or millionth meltdown to go through.  

He was throwing himself on the ground, hitting his head and trying to hide from us.  At this moment I know he is thinking of running, not safety.  A fairly busy street was about 15-20 yards away.  Only bushes between him and the street.  So, keeping him calm enough to not run that direction is the only thing on our minds at that moment.  This is why I never like to go alone with him anywhere.  Unfortunately, he was off and running in a minute and Mahala basically leaped off the top of the play structure and tackled him down by grabbing his legs.  Thank the Lord that she didn't break her legs.  I'm also thankful that both my older kids would not hesitate one minute when it comes to Kaden and his safety.  
 

 The two oldest carried him to the car, allowing everyone to see the show.  I shutter to think what was going through their minds as I pull up to the curb with my van and we stuffed him in as he's screaming he will never be back.  I was fighting the tears because I needed to remain in some kind of control.  

I had to go to the drug store to get something for Skylar's eye and Kaden reached for the door to jump out.  Screaming how he wanted to die then to be with us.  The hurtful things that stab you in the heart are the worst.  But, deep down I know he is the one in the most pain. 
When we finally made it home he was wild flinging his body, he refused to get out of the car, so we took turns staying with him.  Then all of a sudden like someone flipped a switch he started crying out in pain.  He had cuts all over his hands and legs.  I'm assuming from the bark, even his pants had holes from dragging his knees on the play structure.  He was Kaden again, not meltdown Kaden.  He apologized and didn't even remember why he was so upset and when we reminded him about how he was worried about never going to the park again.  He thought that was silly.  And he sat down and explained to me how his brain worked differently then ours.  It almost feels like we live in a Prison and when meltdowns occur, especially outside the home we are on High Alert, sirens, flashing Lights and all.  But afterwards it feels like we just return to normal, doing whatever we were doing or want to do.  The lights and sirens can all be turned off for now.
I will share his talk with me about how Autism lives inside his brain tomorrow, because his ABA session is ending now.  Pray for Our Sweet Kaden!!! :)

The Scrappy Side of Bento

Kaden's Pretty Breakfast

 I just thought it would be funny to show what happens to all the pieces from Kaden's Bento Boxes.  People always ask me what I do with all the left overs and don't I hate wasting food.

The Answer is obvious in the following Pictures.

At least Mine came with a Big Iced Coffee!!  Can't complain!

Kaden had Flower shaped sponge cake with chocolate and sprinkles with Strawberries!

Mom's.......Breakfast

Just Pedal that Peddle Cart!

Kaden was riding all over the neighborhood the other night in his Peddle Cart.  I find it sooths him being so close to the ground and he can actually handle it, unlike his bike.  He has a hard time still staying upright on his bike.  He has training wheels still and he rides the left one like mad.  Basically he rides on his front tire and left training wheel.  He reminds me of Forrest Gump.

Speaking of Forest Gump....I love that restaurant!!!  Anyone else been there before?  If you ever get a chance to go...RUN....RUN to it and order your self the Bucket of Trash.  It's so yummmmmy!

Anyway, back to the Peddle Cart.....

He was just about to turn off of the sidewalk to cross the street when all of a sudden the steering column broke.  He was so sad.  :(  Honestly I was afraid he was going to have a melt down.  But, he surprised me and just skipped along home while his older brother drug it back home.

Now we need to get the parts to fix it, would hate to go too many weekend without one of his favorite toys. :)