Children on gluten-free and casein-free diets should be closely watched to make sure that they are eating enough good quality protein.
This study was designed to measure levels of amino acids in children with autism and compare those levels to levels found in children who do not have autism. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Previous studies have shown that children with autism have similar types of amino acids in their blood and hair as other children. In the current study, the authors found that children with autism are more likely to be missing certain amino acids when compared to other children. This problem was even bigger in children on gluten-free or casein-free diets.
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Blog from 35,000 feet
Aug 7, 2009 by AnonymousSo here we are, already above the clouds on our way to Orlando for our super-fabulous vacation! Finally, no more sleeps until we go! Jonathan and my mother-in-law are sleeping, I’m writing, Thomas is looking at the pictures that Jonathan drew for him and Hayley is probably annoying the hell out of the person in the seat in front of her. I have a hard time sleeping on airplanes because they make me nervous, so I thought I’d write.
The past few weeks with Thomas have been very difficult. He’s been hyperactive and difficult to deal with; the noises he’s been making have been driving us all nuts. He hums the theme music to “Indiana Jones” very loudly (we’re hoping to make it to the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular later today) and this kind of thing makes us quite crazy. Even Hayley has been bothered by it, which is a new thing.
Jonathan and I think that Thomas’ new erratic behavior has a lot to do with the trip which, until right now, has been coming up. He’s been trying so hard to understand and deal with this Disney World thing that he’s been acting out in other undesirable ways. Only this morning was he able to admit that he was excited about going to the airport. Hopefully, once we get on the Mickey Bus, he’ll be able to tentatively admit that he’s excited about Disney World. We got in line this morning, very early at the International Terminal because for SOME REASON, the boarding passes I printed out didn’t work for just me at the skycap. We were ushered into the elite line for security which went very smoothly, luckily. Getting everybody put back together and re-shod after that can be a pain and as a complete surprise to me, the metal E-Z Combs I had in my hair contained enough metal to set off the detector.
Jonathan went to park in long-term parking and re-joined us at the gate like clockwork and the kids got antsy waiting to board the plane, but they’ve been pretty good so far. I’ve just been told that we’re over Indianapolis and we’ll be over Valdosta, Georgia in about an hour. So we still have about two hours to go.
Jonathan and I have been saying “This is crazy, this is crazy, this is crazy!” like Chevy Chase in Vacation right before he goes skinny-dipping with Christie Brinkley. We still can’t believe we’re doing this! I’m up in the air right now and I can’t believe it. Now it’s in God’s hands, I guess.
Thomas has been showing more interest in some of the shows we’ll see in Disney World like the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, the Beauty and the Beast show and the Nemo show. Hopefully, his mood will only improve. Otherwise, we’re screwed. And I know that when I get home, I’ll need a vacation. This is Jonathan’s idea of a vacation: Go, go, go all day, fall into a deep and exhausted sleep at night, wake up the next day, repeat. I like beaches and Mai-Tais and a nice tawdry novel. Oh well. The kids had just better have fun, that’s all. They had better love this time and remember it for always. Now, and only recently, have I begun to understand the emotional and financial undertaking my parents went through when I was in eighth grade and they took my three sisters and me to Disney World. SIX ROUND-TRIP AIRFARES? Good God. Not to mention all of the six-day park hoppers. Hotel. Food. Yikes. So I understand now what that was all about.
I just hope that Thomas responds well to the whole thing. I hope Hayley stops whining. They fought at the airport just after we made it through security about who was going to hold my hand. I mean like, screechy, whiny fighting. Hooray. So what did I do? I bought them both a chocolate donut. And I had coffee with real cream and real sugar.
Hey, I’m on vacation!
Starry, starry night...
Apr 21, 2009 by AnonymousI can’t believe it, and I know I say this every year, but I can’t believe that the school year is almost over. Only a month and a half until summer vacation! And I’m not dreading it for many reasons this year. For one thing, the kids are okay if left up to their own devices for a little while in the morning if I want to laze around in bed for a bit. When they start whining about trivial things like being hungry and wanting to eat, I get my carcass out of bed. But still, there’s usually a good extra half hour that I can doze. So there’s that. Really, the underlying fact that makes everything easier is that the kids are simply growing up a bit. And Thomas continues to improve little by little.
It seems like – and I hate to say this “out loud” – but I think we’ve licked the whole problem with the kids staying in their beds all night. About twenty “sleeps” ago, I told the kids that if they both stayed in their beds for ten nights straight, we’d go to Chuck E. Cheese’s. They did it, so I took them and said that if they did it again for another ten nights, we’d go again. So far, so good and we’re supposed to go on Thursday. In my attempt to be more frugal, however, I think we’ll not eat there but just play games. I buy about ten dollars in tokens and the kids know that when the tokens are gone, it’s time to go. I don’t mention to them that I usually spend a few tokens playing Skee-Ball, but at their tender age, they don’t count out the tokens. So through Chuck E. Cheese’s bribery, I’ve been able to get better quality sleep lately which always helps.
Speaking of the bedtime routine, it looks like Thomas is back to where he was several years ago when he would go to bed awake, turn out the lights and fall asleep on his own, staying in his bed all night. Thomas was almost three when he started regressing, sort of. Up until then, he was doing great with bedtime when all of a sudden, he wanted us to leave the lights on. Then he wanted one of us in his bed with him while he fell asleep. Before the Clonidine, this could take more than an hour, too. It would take him forever to fall asleep. Anyway, this has gone on for the last three years but now he’s going to sleep with the lights off and he only occasionally asks for Jonathan or me to lay down with him. Hayley still insists on the lights being on but I suspect this is so she can maintain her “bug vigilance.” She can spot a teeny-tiny itsy-bitsy bug in the corner of her ceiling from ten feet away and will get so scared that she cries until someone comes to get rid of the insect. Oddly, she freaked out about a little fruit fly the other night, but there was a huge black spider on her wall tonight that she calmly pointed out to me. The thing left a mess on the wall, too. I think that flying bugs freak her out more than crawling ones. All of the bugs that have been hibernating in the house all winter are waking up and trying to get out.
We’ve been told by the weather people that it will be in the mid-eighties here on Friday and it seems almost too good to be true. We’re going to walk to school again, and we’ve been ditching the wagon lately because I figure this is good “training” for the kids to walk to and from school in preparation for Disney World. It’s also good for me to train myself walking with a kid riding piggy-back which I figure will happen many times in Florida. I should put forty pounds of sand in my back pack and walk on the treadmill like that. Does it seem strange that as a family, we have to physically train for a vacation? It’s a vacation…and supposed to be relaxing. I guess if we wanted relaxing, we’d go somewhere else. Jonathan is so very excited about this trip that whenever I’m not working on the weekends, we’re talking about Disney, mulling over our ideas and kicking around touring plans. He’s like a little kid. I’m trying to keep things in perspective and Jonathan’s jumping up and down, declaring that we’re ALL going to ride ALL the rides and try ALL the shows and do EVERYTHING and we’re going to have a MARVELOUS time. I’m sure we will, but I’m trying to keep an open mind. This will be the biggest trip we’ve ever taken with the kids and especially regarding Thomas, who knows what will happen? See, I’m worried about reverse psychology here. Thomas usually hates the idea of anything new. However, when he actually experiences it, it’s all good and he has a great time. You can see where I’m going with this, right? So he’s excited and eager about Disney World right now…will he hit a wall when we get there, hating everything and wanting to spend all of his time at the pool? Oh, most assuredly not, if you listen to Jonathan. He’s so optimistic about Thomas’ projected behavior at Disney World but so pessimistic about Thomas most of the rest of the time! More Mickey Magic.
Work is still okay. This job waiting tables is just what I need it to be. I go in, I do my work, I make a little money and I go home. It’s fun working with the “kids” who work there, listening to their trivial nonsense and the stupid crap that they’re worried about. That’s amusing. But my kids (and Jonathan) have adjusted well to my evenings at work. In fact, Jonathan did Hayley’s hair beautifully tonight after her bath. He’ll be a pro in no time.
Job well done
Dec 9, 2008 by dankohnI really wish I had more time to write. I’m sure everyone understands that this time of year, things are completely cuckoo-bananas.
Anyway, I left off right before Thomas’ conference, which went very well. We brought both of the kids along which seems to be the thing to do at Thomas’ school. Everyone brings their kids along for every little meeting and get-together. We felt like outcasts for not bringing at least Thomas to the first Open House.
In addition to our family of four and Thomas’ teacher, the resource teacher also attended Thomas’ conference. She made a point of explaining to us that Thomas’ progress is being charted along with his classmates, and for many of his goals she wrote that his class is still learning that particular concept, so he is neither behind nor excelling, but progressing as expected. Thomas’ teacher only had very good things to say about Thomas and I can tell that everyone really enjoys working with him, which is so wonderful. I know what I go through on a daily basis with Thomas and I always hope sincerely that he is not behaving the same at school. It appears as though he does work hard and try harder at school than he does at home.
I’ve turned over a few new…leafs or leaves? Anyway, I implemented some changes around our house as I’ve realized that I do way too much for the kids. I look around and realize that Thomas is nearly six years old now and there’s no way I should be putting his shoes on for him every morning, getting his coat on and zipped, and so on. I held a “Zipping Seminar” for the kids about a week ago. An hour or so before dinner, I helped the kids put their coats on and then taught them how to zip them up. It only took a couple of minutes for Hayley to master the concept and implement it, and it took Thomas only a little bit longer. I was very proud of both of them and they are now both zipping their jackets like pros. The problem I have with Thomas doing any self-help or personal hygiene chores by himself is that he takes FOREVER. Yesterday morning, I thought that I had been abducted by aliens because it seemed like we started getting ready to go to school around 8:05 a.m. but by the time I got the kids in the car it was 8:26 a.m. and the first bell had already rung. Yikes. There’s about twenty minutes of time in there that passed by so quickly I didn’t even realize it. I got Thomas in the building just in time, but because of this, I now see that getting on coats, shoes, hats, mittens and scarves, and sometimes boots is a half-hour procedure at least if I let the kids do it themselves, which I must do. Thomas has a difficult time staying on-task and needs many verbal cues to do what he is supposed to do. I know that he is just waiting for me to get frustrated and pressed for time so that I do it for him, but Jonathan and I have both explained to the kids that we wouldn’t be very good parents if we did everything for them all the time. We say that it is our job to teach them how to take care of themselves because one day, we won’t be around to do things for them. That statement opens up a whole other can of worms usually, but we’re very honest with them about life and death. They know that everybody dies sometime and usually, nobody knows when that will be. Luckily, the kids don’t lie awake nights wondering if their number’s going to be up soon. We told them not to worry about it and they seem not to. Especially with Thomas, however, we really need him to understand how important it is for him to learn to take care of himself. Hayley has a drive to do things for herself and usually will get dressed by unassisted if I ask her to.
In addition to getting dressed and getting ready for school, I’ve begun to insist on the kids washing themselves properly in the tub and brushing teeth (and in Hayley’s case, hair) by themselves. I sit in the bathroom with them and talk them through it, but I’ve really begun to see that I’m not doing Thomas any favors by treating him like a baby. Sigh. Those days are definitely over as he’s about to turn six. And Hayley’s four-going-on-fourteen. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m really trying to push independence.
Tomorrow is Thomas’ school Holiday Sing at the local high school. I’m very excited to see how he does. He participated in something similar when he was in preschool, but it was on a much smaller scale. I have no idea what they’re going to sing (non-denominational songs about snow and candy canes, most likely) but I’m eager to see how he does. I wonder if the much bigger high school stage (I assume it’s bigger; I’ve never seen it) will intimidate him, or if the bright lights will distract him. Mostly, I think that Hayley will be shouting to him from the audience. Which reminds me, I have to charge up the video camera tonight.
Thomas did much better in school when I was there last Tuesday. We had a long talk about how his teacher is there to help him, but I’m there to help the teacher. This apparently sunk in because he was not at all clingy last week, completed his work and only relied on the teacher and the aide for help. Today he was also purposefully ignorant of my presence, but it was a difficult day for all of the kids, for some reason. Thomas would NOT stop talking. Before the teacher read “The Gingerbread Man” to the kids, she put the weighted vest on Thomas and this really helped him settle down. She usually pairs the kids up and reads a few pages. Then she asks the kids to discuss the story so far with their partners. Thomas was Hayley’s partner today and he was so adorable. Every time the teacher stopped and asked a question, Thomas would turn to Hayley and repeat it. She would answer it pretty accurately, too. After the story, the weighted vest was removed and Thomas resumed his motor-mouth. He wasn’t bad, he was just talking when he should have been listening. Many of the kids were out of sorts today, so there must have been something in the air.
Thomas said something very sweet today. The social worker came in for Thomas and another little boy today, which she does every Tuesday. Thomas, who is not always eager to leave the classroom, got right up, took her hand and said, “Wow! You look so beautiful today!” Of course, the social worker blushed and thanked Thomas, saying that he had made her day. I think that she’s expecting, and at that difficult time when people don’t know if it’s extra weight or a baby bump, so his kind words worked wonders on her. He comes up with those zingers every now and then and melts the hearts of whomever he’s talking to.
Hayley, on the other hand, has zingers of her own. We got all of our Christmas shopping done this past weekend, thanks to my mother-in-law taking the kids from Friday after school to Sunday afternoon. We met at our regular rendezvous point on Friday and I put the kids and their bag into her car. We were standing outside Hayley’s open car door, just talking for a minute when Hayley said, “Look, Grandma! I’m wearing a freakin’ hat!” Grandma laughed herself sick while I stood there with a “this is clearly my fault” look on my face that also made her laugh. It was hard not to giggle at Hayley, who could tell that she had said something extremely entertaining and has been using the phrase “freakin’ hat” ever since. Job well done.
Party-time, excellent!
Sep 29, 2008 by AnonymousI think we’ve finally settled on the half Clonidine in the morning as a means to help Thomas settle and focus at school every day. The sleepiness and fatigue have worn off and his teacher reports that he’s doing fine. I forgot to give him his medication on Friday morning, but luckily it was Pajama Party Day, so all the kids were running amok. The teacher said that he was excited, but she chalked that up to the “party atmosphere” – a term that reminds me of my dorm days at college – so she wasn’t concerned about his behavior that day. He was not excited about wearing pajamas to school, but he did it. He was also concerned about the whole party thing, saying that he didn’t want to have a pajama party and that it would be “horrible.” What he’s really saying is that he doesn’t understand what a pajama party entails and that he is, if not afraid of the unknown, ambivalent about it.
When I picked him up after class on Friday, he reported that he had a great time and that the pajama party was “wonderful.” That’s really the word he used to describe it! My children have fabulous vocabularies, a trait that I’m proud they inherited from their mother. As a reward for not pitching a tantrum about the party and both of the kids staying in their own beds on Thursday night, we went to Chuck E. Cheese’s for lunch. It’s so great going on a school day when it’s nice outside because the place was a ghost town. They had fun and when the tokens were gone, they agreed that we should go home.
Jonathan and I had parties all weekend, or at least I did. My sister’s bachelorette party was Saturday night and I stayed over at the maid of honor’s condo. We had a great time, but the kids didn’t want me to go. Jonathan is out of the house all day last Sunday at the Bears game and they didn’t bat an eye about it, but if I take my hair dryer out from under the sink and start blow-drying, they know Mommy’s planning to leave the house and they start putting up a fuss. Jonathan does too, he’s just not as direct about it. Thomas gets upset when I walk the dog for forty minutes every evening, saying, “Don’t go Mommy! I’ll miss you!” Very cute, I guess.
I’m getting so old. At ten-thirty on Saturday night, I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. The other ladies at the party were sort of the same. We kept looking at our watches and exclaiming, “It’s only eleven? Gee, it feels like 2:30 a.m! Do you have any coffee?” The maid of honor, in her infinite coolness and wisdom, went to the Cheesecake Factory and bought eight different slices of cheesecake which we all passed around and shared. We all sat there, our mouths full of whipped cream and cake, saying, “God, this is way better than any stupid stripper!” We all had fun, especially the bride. The next morning, I got up and went for a jog around my hometown, which was so much fun (except the jogging part). I ran by the houses we grew up in and our friend’s old houses. I was running by the junior high and remembered that the last time I ran down that block, I was probably being timed for a mile. I’m glad I wasn’t being timed this time.
Yesterday afternoon, my cousin Susie came to watch Thomas and Hayley while Jonathan and I attended a retirement party. The kids are so good for babysitters, and especially our family members. The kids know Susie from vacations, and it appears as though Hayley has the same stellar memory that Thomas does. We were telling the kids on Friday that Little Susie (so called because her mom, my aunt’s name is also Susie) would be coming to watch them and Hayley said, “Yeah, remember at the vacation house when she helped us bring food in?” Jonathan and I stared at each other for a moment and then remembered that Little Susie had helped us bring in groceries shortly after we got there. We never would have remembered that. The kids get confused and call her Aunt Susie sometimes, which is total payback because I used to babysit her and her older sister when they were young, and they called me “Aunt Jenny” or sometimes, my favorite: “Cousin-Aunt-Jenny.” Little Susie was also the one who, when she was three, told me that I had a lot of nose-hair. I’m still waiting for Thomas or Hayley to get her back for that one. It’ll happen – I just have to be patient.
So I wasn’t home for most of the weekend. We’re keeping next weekend open just for incidentals and anything I have left to get, buy or help with for Tina’s wedding in less than two weeks. I can’t believe it’s upon us! Rehearsal Dinner Friday, Jonathan is taking the day off work and my mother-in-law is taking the kids all weekend, probably through to Monday since that’s Columbus Day and there’s no school. I talked to my sister Tiffany last night, who will be flying in with her fiancé the Wednesday before the wedding and she has promised to bring candy and gifts for my children. I say load ‘em up on Friday…they’re going with Grandma!
We have a hectic and exciting two weeks to look forward to while also trying to keep things sane and on as much of a schedule as we can. I can’t even think about Halloween costumes or anything like that at least until after the wedding. My brain is aging. I can only take so many marbles rolling around up there at a time.