I do have to say that the ride home from Virginia on Monday was much smoother than the ride down. When we stopped for a break Ryan went to the bathroom without too much of an issue. And for the most part, we were able to continue Ryan's medication schedule and we kept him on the diet all weekend. It is definitely more difficult to travel with him on the diet since we have to make sure we have what we need and we are prepared everywhere we go. Phil's family made it much easier; they stocked up on things that Ryan could eat, made him several GFCF meals while we were there, and made sure the restaurant we went to could accomodate his needs. Here's a picture of Ryan and Julia at the hotel, or as Ryan called it the "show-n-tell". They love each other so much!
During the ride home Ryan saw a little $5 train set when we stopped for a bathroom break. He was a good boy using the bathroom and we bought it for him. He didn't want to open it. He told us he was going to wait until he got home. He held it for over three more hours until we got home. For the next several days he watched the train go round and round on its track.
For the most part he had a great Tuesday and Wednesday. He was not as hyper and didn't fight us getting ready for school in the morning. He even asked to try a piece of grilled zucchini that was on my plate (he didn't like it). However, he did have a huge tantrum on Wednesday when his O/T therapist showed up. He was playing a game on the computer and didn't want to stop. For over 5 minutes he scratched, hit, and kicked us both as we tried to calm him down with deep pressure. He stormed off to his room to calm down and once he did so he joined us for what turned out to be a good session. Later that evening I told Phil about the encounter and when he questioned Ryan about it he didn't deny it. He had a look on his face that he knew what he did was wrong, but he couldn't help it. Without any prompting from us, he came over to me, said "I'm sorry mama" and kissed the scratches on my arm. He had another meltdown (on a smaller scale this time) during Friday's O/T session. This one I was able to video tape for future reference. He just doesn't like to be told what to do and rather use the equipment "his way".
During the week I was able to read some sections from both editions of "Special Diets for Special Kids" written by Lisa Lewis, PhD. Considering they were published back in 1998 and 2001, I was surprised how on target they were with what we know now and how much they related specifically to what we are doing with Ryan. They are primarily recipe books for the GFCF diet, but the first edition aslo had a lot of information about supplements and biomedical treatments and testing done by DAN! doctors. Dr. Baker is mentioned several times in the sections I read. Also, many of the topics discussed are similar to topics found in Dr. Bock's book, but explained in a much simpler way in my opinion. And just like many of these types of books it included a section about the author's son and his story growing up with autism. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, (which also seem to be very simple and straight forward), but I browsed through them and felt there is a sufficient variety. The books were a gift to me from a friend of my mom's and I'm glad to have them. I had heard about them several times, but never got around to purchasing them. Now I just need to find some time to try out the recipes.
We like using our fryer. While we know giving our kids fried foods isn't always the best choice, it is a meal they enjoy, and GFCF friendly, and we make it once a week. Here's a picture of GFCF fries and chicken nuggets/tenders made from scratch:
Potatoes: $
GF bread crumbs: $$
Canola oil: $$$
Organic/free range chicken: $$$$
Knowing EXACTLY what you are feeding your children: priceless
At the end of the week Ryan began the Nystatin. Luckily it had a sweet taste to it; Ryan calls it candy medicine, and he takes it without a problem. It does have a bit of an after taste to it (I try all of his meds first before I give them to him) so we have him take a drink afterwards. He takes this medication three times a day. An hour after he takes the medication he is supposed to take a charcoal capsule, which is supposed to help absorb the toxins and the bacteria that the medication is attempting to detox from the body. When I say charcoal capsule, that is exactly what it is. It is a capsule of fine, black powder, very similar to the toner you see in a photocopy machine. It gets all over the place if you don't open the capsule carefully. Here's the dilemma...it is black and changes the color of whatever we mix it in. A positive characteristic- it doesn't seem to change the food's taste/flavor. First I attempted mustard. I mixed about a third of the capsule with a teaspoon of mustard and it turned dark green. I put it on his sandwich and hoped for the best. About half way through he realized the mustard was a different color. He inspected it for a minute, then must have realized that it still tasted the same, and he finished eating it. But I wasn't sure if he would always have this positive reaction, and it is not always appropriate to feed him a sandwich three times a day an hour after he takes his meds. So, next I tried his non-dairy "ice cream". I mixed one capsule of charcoal with about 2 teaspoons of ice cream. It turned it into what looked like a hot fudge mixture. I re-freezed it and then sat down to pretend to eat it myself. He immediately became interested in it and asked for his own. I let him watch me mix a capsule into his own little cup of ice cream and he ate it with no problem. I couldn't resist taking a picture of his charcoal covered mouth!
DC
You are awesome <3
ReplyDeleteI freakin' LOVE his moustache in the picture above after he took his medicine! He is getting so so big! <3 xo