http://www.purezing.com/living/living_guidetotoxins.html
Full of information you need to know...
What are you eating every day? You might think you know but we are consuming a huge amount of toxins every day and have for years.
I have never watched what I eat, blessed with a high metabolism and have basically treated my body like a garbage disposal, or chemical dumping ground, for years. I really never thought I had to pay much attention to what I was eating since weight was never a problem. Until I learned being thin had nothing to do with being healthy. Yes, I should have known this but as a society we tend to just assume thin is healthy and carry on.
I began researching food when autism came along. There is so much information about diet and allergies linked to autism I was of course worried I was feeding my son something everyday that was acting as an opiate on his brain, or flat out causing toxic effects on his little body.
What have I learned? The average consumer probably has no idea what they are really eating. Most of our "healthy" foods are treated with so many chemicals we are barely getting what our bodies need from it once it hits the market.
We read about all those chemicals in our food and once we hit the part that says it may cause some life altering illness in large quantities we stop worrying. In the average persons mind, that translates into, if I sit down and eat it over and over in one day maybe it will effect me, but as consumers we need to consider the long term effects of what he eat and drink.
My eating habits have completely changed and I feed my son only what I would feel good about eating. He is gluten free now and I am doing it with him, I also give him a daily probiotic and the these two changes have shown positive effects. Is he still autistic of course he is, but you could say some of the autistic side effects of eased.
My basic rule of eating now is, if I read the ingredients and I don't know what it is....I don't eat it. You would be surprised how many things you remove from your daily eating habits if you consume this way, and how much better you will feel.
The biggest obstacle with changing my eating habits has been flavor and convenience. Some of the foods were bland to me, and it's not nearly as convenient as the unhealthy options. That's when I hauled out the blender I really never had a use for. I used to skip breakfast all together but this morning it was a acai berry pulp, blueberry, banana, probiotic juice, spinach smoothie and I like the taste along with the effects. In fact I actually feel run down and tired if I skip this smoothie in the morning.
With the health crisis and mental health crisis happening in our country and no one trying to fix it, we need to be active in fixing it in our own lives. It's my opinion we protect the health of our genetics and our future generations if we take action now. My only wish is that I would have taken this action years ago in my life. Could it have prevented autism? I don't know and maybe not, but my advice would be to assume yes because there is no risk is to thinking that way. On the other hand if we assume what we consume is totally safe....the risks are endless.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
History Tells Us A Cure For Autism, Might Create A Very Boring Future.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
I Ignored The Clues From The Start.....
http://www.autismunited.org/
This is a link to a short article about detecting autism as early as 6 months old. This is very interesting to me because even though I was in total denial my son had autism from the very begining. Once I accepted it, I can think back to clues.
Clues from very early on in his life. Little things that at the time I just thought he was a bit quirky. Now that I understand his autism some of those things were based on sensory issues.
Phillip would never allow anyone to hold him, even as a very tiny baby only his dad and I could hold him without him getting fussy. Loud noises were always a problem. I was at baseball game and parked at the far side of the field. Opened up the back of the car so he could crawl around and the sounds of people cheering wouldn't scare him. A woman came over to chat with us and let out a yell when the ball was hit. Phillip was instantly startled by it and she apologized to us. At the time I felt he was just sensitive but didn't know why.
He never slept in his crib, for one reason or another, I assume the bars were overwhelming for him. He never took a bottle. I tried and tried to give him every kind of nipple I could find and he refused them all. Why? because I was breast feeding him and he couldn't accept the change. I thought he was just stubborn. This made it impossible to leave him anywhere because even if I pumped milk, he wouldn't take it.
Constipation was always a problem. One day I put him in his crib and he was able to have a bowel movement. After that one time, every time I put him in the crib he had a bowel movement. He found something that worked and turned it into his own system. We thought it was because he hated his crib and could get out of it if he went to the bathroom, but that just wasn't the case. It became such a system I was worried about giving up the crib, even though all he used it for was that one purpose. It had become such a system for him I wasn't sure if he would be able to find a new one. I also had no idea at the time this was a part of autism. The repetitive behavior made it easier for him. I can say now with a daily dose of probiotics the constipation was solved completely.
With all the theories thrown at me I can say my son was born autistic, I just didn't know what it was. Would I have done anything differently? No, I think I did and am doing everything I can to make sure his difference is as easy as it can be. When I was in denial I felt it was just his personality and I can say now it is still just his personality. Only now, part of his personality can be explained by learning and accepting autism.
This is a link to a short article about detecting autism as early as 6 months old. This is very interesting to me because even though I was in total denial my son had autism from the very begining. Once I accepted it, I can think back to clues.
Clues from very early on in his life. Little things that at the time I just thought he was a bit quirky. Now that I understand his autism some of those things were based on sensory issues.
Phillip would never allow anyone to hold him, even as a very tiny baby only his dad and I could hold him without him getting fussy. Loud noises were always a problem. I was at baseball game and parked at the far side of the field. Opened up the back of the car so he could crawl around and the sounds of people cheering wouldn't scare him. A woman came over to chat with us and let out a yell when the ball was hit. Phillip was instantly startled by it and she apologized to us. At the time I felt he was just sensitive but didn't know why.
He never slept in his crib, for one reason or another, I assume the bars were overwhelming for him. He never took a bottle. I tried and tried to give him every kind of nipple I could find and he refused them all. Why? because I was breast feeding him and he couldn't accept the change. I thought he was just stubborn. This made it impossible to leave him anywhere because even if I pumped milk, he wouldn't take it.
Constipation was always a problem. One day I put him in his crib and he was able to have a bowel movement. After that one time, every time I put him in the crib he had a bowel movement. He found something that worked and turned it into his own system. We thought it was because he hated his crib and could get out of it if he went to the bathroom, but that just wasn't the case. It became such a system I was worried about giving up the crib, even though all he used it for was that one purpose. It had become such a system for him I wasn't sure if he would be able to find a new one. I also had no idea at the time this was a part of autism. The repetitive behavior made it easier for him. I can say now with a daily dose of probiotics the constipation was solved completely.
With all the theories thrown at me I can say my son was born autistic, I just didn't know what it was. Would I have done anything differently? No, I think I did and am doing everything I can to make sure his difference is as easy as it can be. When I was in denial I felt it was just his personality and I can say now it is still just his personality. Only now, part of his personality can be explained by learning and accepting autism.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Find Security In The People Around You...
Not writing about autism today or maybe I am in a round about way. Today is about who you surround yourself with in life and the security needed to be your best.
Before my son was diagnosed I felt very alone. Bombarded with people indirectly telling me what I was doing wrong. I guess the one thing the autism intervention services offered at first was the feeling of not being alone. Finally a group of people who understood why we had been living life on repeat and why I was parenting the way I was. Pretty soon they began to direct me on parenting as well, and it was back to alone all over again.
The people you are closest to have to be understanding, non judgmental, patient, and reliable. Not reliable in way they jump in and take over, but reliable in a way that just makes you feel secure having them in your life.
They have to be the kind of people that if my child has a meltdown, they don't look at me as though I can fix it. They have to know I am a good parent and I am doing everything I can every day. They have to understand if my son doesn't react to them or play like other kids would, he will with time. They have to be the kind of people that you know will always be there for you even if you never need them.
I met a woman yesterday who had concerns her toddler was autistic and shared with me some of the things she was going through in her personal life. A young women and from being around her son for a short time, she has good reason to be concerned. It was the things she told me about some of her circumstances that really caught my attention because it was full of untrustworthy people and not a lot for her to rely on.
Children crave security even though they don't know exactly what it is, they feel it and they want that feeling. As we become adults we tend to forget how important security really is, but we never stop craving it. Once we are grown up we don't have our moms and dads everyday to provide it like when we were kids, so we have to find people in the grown up world who provide it. Easier said then done sometimes, but not impossible.
I am very blessed, I have a family that has never wavered in providing me with security. Even when I made choices that were baffling, they have always provided me with a soft landing. There have been times in my life security was completely gone, inflicted upon myself but when I am with my family all of that just goes away. In such a powerful way just the first seconds of seeing there faces makes me feel a surge of safety. I do not see there faces enough and intend to change that.
This is the way everyone you surround yourself should make you feel and it's not always family that gives you this feeling. I feel the same way when I am able to get together with friends I have been blessed with in my life. A small group of unwavering women that make me feel strong, and thank God for them.
You see the less alone you feel the stronger the parent you will be. Even if it's just a small amount of people, they can provide a huge amount of security that one thousand people couldn't measure up to, and your children will benefit from how you feel in every way.
Before my son was diagnosed I felt very alone. Bombarded with people indirectly telling me what I was doing wrong. I guess the one thing the autism intervention services offered at first was the feeling of not being alone. Finally a group of people who understood why we had been living life on repeat and why I was parenting the way I was. Pretty soon they began to direct me on parenting as well, and it was back to alone all over again.
The people you are closest to have to be understanding, non judgmental, patient, and reliable. Not reliable in way they jump in and take over, but reliable in a way that just makes you feel secure having them in your life.
They have to be the kind of people that if my child has a meltdown, they don't look at me as though I can fix it. They have to know I am a good parent and I am doing everything I can every day. They have to understand if my son doesn't react to them or play like other kids would, he will with time. They have to be the kind of people that you know will always be there for you even if you never need them.
I met a woman yesterday who had concerns her toddler was autistic and shared with me some of the things she was going through in her personal life. A young women and from being around her son for a short time, she has good reason to be concerned. It was the things she told me about some of her circumstances that really caught my attention because it was full of untrustworthy people and not a lot for her to rely on.
Children crave security even though they don't know exactly what it is, they feel it and they want that feeling. As we become adults we tend to forget how important security really is, but we never stop craving it. Once we are grown up we don't have our moms and dads everyday to provide it like when we were kids, so we have to find people in the grown up world who provide it. Easier said then done sometimes, but not impossible.
I am very blessed, I have a family that has never wavered in providing me with security. Even when I made choices that were baffling, they have always provided me with a soft landing. There have been times in my life security was completely gone, inflicted upon myself but when I am with my family all of that just goes away. In such a powerful way just the first seconds of seeing there faces makes me feel a surge of safety. I do not see there faces enough and intend to change that.
This is the way everyone you surround yourself should make you feel and it's not always family that gives you this feeling. I feel the same way when I am able to get together with friends I have been blessed with in my life. A small group of unwavering women that make me feel strong, and thank God for them.
You see the less alone you feel the stronger the parent you will be. Even if it's just a small amount of people, they can provide a huge amount of security that one thousand people couldn't measure up to, and your children will benefit from how you feel in every way.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Apologizing For Autism? All The Time....
Chances are if you are raising an autistic child, you find yourself constantly apologizing to people when your out in public.If my son is unaware of his surroundings because he is focused on something, I apologize to who he might be standing in front of. Out to eat and he runs right up to someone's table interrupting there meal, I apologize to them and redirect him. Just a couple examples but sometimes I feel like I have spent the better part of my day apologizing to random people for not taking a parenting approach a typical child would react to.
Now that my brain is cram packed full of autism information I notice more and more families who have an autistic child. Chances are you are around many yourself and you might not see it.Last week I went shopping alone. A women was walking in ahead of me with a boy who was maybe seven years old. Mom was letting him set the pace and I could see they had a system. He walked into the store slowly checking out the floor and cautiously grabbed a cart, which he had to handle a certain way. Mom stood back and gave him space to do what he needed to. People were waiting for them since the process was slow and starting to stack up around them. The mom looked at me and apologized so I smiled and told her no reason to, and she apologized to two more people just trying to get through the second door. Both of which were not so considerate of her allowing her child to set the pace.
I knew what she was doing and she was doing it really well, but the lack of understanding in society puts some parents in apology mode.
There are days I can't even count how many times I have apologized to people and most of the time there really isn't a reason for it. What I am really doing is defending my child for what people don't understand and I don't have time to explain. Apologizing to society one person at a time for lack of understanding, when what I really want is to build a understanding so I don't feel like I have to apologize everywhere I go. Even If the only way to build that understanding is also, one person at a time.
Now that my brain is cram packed full of autism information I notice more and more families who have an autistic child. Chances are you are around many yourself and you might not see it.Last week I went shopping alone. A women was walking in ahead of me with a boy who was maybe seven years old. Mom was letting him set the pace and I could see they had a system. He walked into the store slowly checking out the floor and cautiously grabbed a cart, which he had to handle a certain way. Mom stood back and gave him space to do what he needed to. People were waiting for them since the process was slow and starting to stack up around them. The mom looked at me and apologized so I smiled and told her no reason to, and she apologized to two more people just trying to get through the second door. Both of which were not so considerate of her allowing her child to set the pace.
I knew what she was doing and she was doing it really well, but the lack of understanding in society puts some parents in apology mode.
There are days I can't even count how many times I have apologized to people and most of the time there really isn't a reason for it. What I am really doing is defending my child for what people don't understand and I don't have time to explain. Apologizing to society one person at a time for lack of understanding, when what I really want is to build a understanding so I don't feel like I have to apologize everywhere I go. Even If the only way to build that understanding is also, one person at a time.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Autism Awareness Is Action...They Go Hand In Hand.
From my experience the answer to that would be, no.
What needs to be understood is the sensory aspect of autism. The processing is what causes the behaviors that many people in society see as, a bad child or lazy parent. Both labels not even close to what is really going on.
I think many parents feel a bit like I do when it comes to awareness. People might know what autism is, but no matter what anyone thinks they know, every time a child is diagnosed there are new things to learn.
Autism is a widespread word that nearly everyone has heard at some point but for each family it carries an individual meaning. Sometimes we have a hard time even relating to each other and the challenges we face. The one thing that unites us all is the lack of understanding in society that rains down on us and our children. I for one, will never stop trying to make people aware of my sons autism because that is how I create action for his future. The more people are aware that are truly not aware, the more progress is made for all families.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Move Towards The Effect...Cause Will Hold You Hostage
http://www.autismunlocked.com/
The link above is a website I stumbled on this morning that will launch September 1st. From what I can tell it will be a more affordable option that may help, without running out and buying an Ipad. I am posting it because this is the kind of thing I love to see being developed for the autism community.
Another reason Autism Unlocked caught my eye on facebook when I was browsing this morning is the acceptance feeling I saw in the page. There are so many pages and websites out there that are in constant promotion of fixing autism. Constantly posting medical information that may or may not be correct. We don't know, no matter how many articles we read, how many opinions we hear, no matter who blames what...we still have autism and we still need options that take us on a positive journey and those options need to be obtainable to everyone in need.
Every time I see a new autism parent post in a group they have a child just diagnosed, my heart sinks. It is so easy to fall into the negatives that can be found out there, especially when you are in the desperate stage of finding answers. That horrible place you want to know why and what to do as a parent to make it better.
A parent with a child who has just been told autism is a reality is frantically looking for answers to the point of near insanity.
The best thing to do is accept and adjust. There are no answers to autism, we are not defective parents and we do not have defective children. We simply have kids with different needs.
The more programs that are developed to meet those needs the better! One day people who are facing autism will be able to have access to a variety of programs at low cost or even free. Programs they can access as soon as they get home, maybe even programs that can help create a map to the style of learning each child has. Something that helps parents move directly into a positive direction, without the desperate feeling of being totally lost.
So yes, I am promoting a site that is not yet up and running and I have no idea what kind of results will come from it. If autism is part of your life, add it to your favorites and give it a try when it begins. If you know someone who has autism in there lives share it with them. A parent who is bombarded with cause would love to see something with an effect from time to time.
Support for these programs opens the door to so much more for families in need.
Personally I am done with cause. For my son and my sanity, whats left of it, we are moving in a positive direction towards effect.
The link above is a website I stumbled on this morning that will launch September 1st. From what I can tell it will be a more affordable option that may help, without running out and buying an Ipad. I am posting it because this is the kind of thing I love to see being developed for the autism community.
Another reason Autism Unlocked caught my eye on facebook when I was browsing this morning is the acceptance feeling I saw in the page. There are so many pages and websites out there that are in constant promotion of fixing autism. Constantly posting medical information that may or may not be correct. We don't know, no matter how many articles we read, how many opinions we hear, no matter who blames what...we still have autism and we still need options that take us on a positive journey and those options need to be obtainable to everyone in need.
Every time I see a new autism parent post in a group they have a child just diagnosed, my heart sinks. It is so easy to fall into the negatives that can be found out there, especially when you are in the desperate stage of finding answers. That horrible place you want to know why and what to do as a parent to make it better.
A parent with a child who has just been told autism is a reality is frantically looking for answers to the point of near insanity.
The best thing to do is accept and adjust. There are no answers to autism, we are not defective parents and we do not have defective children. We simply have kids with different needs.
The more programs that are developed to meet those needs the better! One day people who are facing autism will be able to have access to a variety of programs at low cost or even free. Programs they can access as soon as they get home, maybe even programs that can help create a map to the style of learning each child has. Something that helps parents move directly into a positive direction, without the desperate feeling of being totally lost.
So yes, I am promoting a site that is not yet up and running and I have no idea what kind of results will come from it. If autism is part of your life, add it to your favorites and give it a try when it begins. If you know someone who has autism in there lives share it with them. A parent who is bombarded with cause would love to see something with an effect from time to time.
Support for these programs opens the door to so much more for families in need.
Personally I am done with cause. For my son and my sanity, whats left of it, we are moving in a positive direction towards effect.
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