Healing Thresholds Autism Therapy Topic Feed

Probiotics: Delineation of Prophylactic and Therapeutic Benefits

scottie — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:10:37 +0000

Title	Probiotics: Delineation of Prophylactic and Therapeutic Benefits
Publication Type	Journal Article
Authors	Kaur IP, Kuhad A, Garg A, Chopra K
Journal Title	Journal of Medicinal Food
Year of Publication	2009
Volume	12
Issue	2
Pages	219-235
URL for Abstract	http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19459724?ordinalpos=13&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Full Text	Probiotics may be helpful for digestive problems that can occur in some children with autism. Probiotic therapy involves taking supplements or foods that contain "good bacteria" that live and thrive in a healthy gut. The two most common good bacteria are Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium. This review article describes how some people do not have enough good bacteria in their guts and may be helped by probiotic therapy. People with autism who also have gut problems (gas, bloating, diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease) may find probiotic therapy very helpful. Probiotics may also be helpful for a broad range of health issues, such as diabetes, obesity, and allergies.

Casein free and gluten free diet

Sun, 17 May 2009 21:21:41 +0000

I have an autistic son age 5. He is very special in his own way and he is very special in my heart. For the last one year the doctor advised me to have a CFGF diets which is very hard for me to enforce. He is very intelligent that he will try to grab and find the bread, yogurt or other foods that he is prevented without my knowledge even I have tried so hard to hide it somewhere else. I have tried my best to stop all the casein and gluten products from him but not 100%. I just want to discuss, is the diet is very important for him?? What should I do to control the diet?

6 Back to School Lunch Ideas

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:12:48 +0000

6 Back to School Lunch Ideas
By Pamela J. Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N.
Author of The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook

Lunch #1: BBQ Chicken for Champions

One chicken breast, cut in half and pan fried in olive oil for 6 minutes a side.
Add salt and pepper. Cut into strips. Serve cold dipped in dipping sauce.
BBQ dipping sauce -- ¼ C (put in BPA-Free container)
Veggies: steam broccoli for 7 minutes, run cold water over it (or defrost frozen broccoli)
Place in BPA-Free container
Veggie dipping sauce in BPA-free container

Use: BBQ sauce or honey
Drink: water, GFCF* V8 juice, GFCF juice box, fortified organic rice milk box
Snack if needed: GFCF chips & fruity salsa (¼ C) in BPA-free container
Toy Surprise: Girls: yarn bracelet, Boys: Miniature toy character figure

BBQ Sipping Sauce -- ¼ C (put in BPA-Free container):

1 C organic ketchup
1 Tbs lemon
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce (GFCF)
1 Tbs honey
Dash of black pepper
Blend all of the above until smooth

Fruity Salsa:

1 C Salsa
¼ C grape, blueberry or raspberry fruit spread
Mash the fruit spread into the salsa

Lunch #2: DLT ("Deli" meat, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich)

Turkey or Chicken GFCF Preservative-free organic lunch meats (by Boar's Head, Applegate or Shelton)
Toast 2 pieces of GFCF bread.

Spread w/ 1 Tbs GFCF mayonnaise
Place 2 slices of GFCF lunch meat
Top with lettuce and tomato
Cut into 4 squares
Wrap in wax paper

GFCF Potato Salad ⅓ cup from recipe. Serve in BPA-Free container
Fruit (apple or grapes) -- in BPA-Free container
Drink: water, GFCF V8 juice, GFCF juice box, fortified organic rice milk box
Toy Surprise: Hair scrunchie for girl. Baseball card for a boy.
Snack if needed: Peanut butter on rice crackers

GFCF Potato Salad Ingredients:

3 pounds potatoes, cooked until just tender, cubed, cooled
Optional: 5 or 6 hard cooked eggs, cooled, coarsely chopped
¼ to ½ cup chopped red onion
¼ to ½ cup chopped celery, optional

Dressing:

¾ cup mayonnaise
1 to 2 tablespoons prepared GFCF mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Prepare the dressing combining the mayonnaise, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine.
Combine potatoes, egg, onions, and celery and stir in the dressing.
Serves 6 to 8.

Lunch #3: Kids Favorite Chicken Salad & Deviled Eggs

Chicken Salad ⅓ to ½ C served in BPA-Free container
Deviled eggs (1-2) -- served in BPA-Free container
Carrot sticks (wrapped in waxed paper) dipped in applesauce (in BPA-Free Container)
Snack if needed: GFCF chips & hummus in BPA-free container

Drink: water, GFCF V8 juice, GFCF juice box, fortified organic rice milk box

Chicken Salad Ingredients:

3 cups cooked diced chicken
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
¾ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons finely minced green onions
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Combine first chicken, celery, and grapes in a large bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients; combine with chicken mixture, using as much or as little as necessary to moisten as desired. You may add a little more mayonnaise if you like a creamier salad. Chill and stir again before serving.
Serves 4 to 6.

Deviled Egg Recipe:

6 hard-cooked eggs -- cooled, shelled, cut in half, yolk removed
1 ½ tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared mustard (be sure and purchase GF mustard)
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish, or to taste
Paprika

Preparation:
Mash yolks and combine with mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and relish. Refill centers of the egg whites with the mixture. Garnish with ground paprika.
Serves 6 (2 halves per person)

Lunch #4: Meatball Spaghetti Sauce

Meatballs in Spaghetti Sauce (1 C) without the spaghetti -- served warm in thermos
Wonderful Waldorf Salad: ⅓ to ½ cup
Broccoli trees, cold asparagus or carrot strips dipped in Russian Dressing or honey ( ¼ C in BPA-Free Container)
Snack: Organic GFCF "O"s
Fruit smoothie ½ to ¾ C in cold thermos or GFCF V8 juice, GFCF juice box, fortified organic rice milk box
Snack if needed: GFCF chips & bean dip in BPA-free container
Toy: Stickers appropriate to the child

Spaghetti and Meatballs:

1 small yellow onion
1 slice GFCF rice bread
2 Tbs water
1 teas salt
½ teas oregano
1 pound ground beef
2 jars GFCF pasta sauce

Put onion in food processor and mince. Add bread, water, salt, and oregano and mix again. Pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Knead by hand together with ground beef until thoroughly mixed. Shape into desired meatball size. Put meatballs into a slow cooked with spaghetti sauce and cook for 4 hours. Refrigerate.
Serves: 4 to 6

Wonderful Waldorf Salad Recipe:

1 C pineapple chunks (fresh or unsweetened canned)
3 C apples, peeled and cute in ½ inch cubes
⅓ C raisins
1 C carrots, thinly sliced
⅓ - ½ c walnut pieces (optional)
1 C GFCF mayonnaise

Fruit Smoothie:

1 ¼ C rice milk
½ glass crushed ice
1 Tbs rice powder
1 Tbs coconut milk (optional)

Add one of the following and blend at high speed until smooth and thick.

1 sliced banana
1 cored and chopped pear
1 handful of berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or combination

Russian Dressing:

1 C GFCF mayonnaise
1 C GFCF ketchup

Servings: 8

Lunch #5: Chicken & Magical Muffins

Baked or grilled chicken (leftovers from dinner) ½ cold chicken breast
Apple salad served in cold thermos
Veggie-Muffins 1-2
Fruit smoothie ½ to ¾ C in cold thermos or GFCF V8 juice, GFCF juice box,
fortified organic rice milk box
Snack if needed: Carrots & bean dip in BPA-free container

Apple Salad:

2 large Red delicious apples, unpeeled, cored and but into 1 inch chunks
⅔ C crushed pineapple, drained or fresh pineapple minced - reserve juice
⅓ C celery, diced
2 Tbs raisins

Dressing:

3 Tbs soy yogurt
2 teaspoons GFCF mayonnaise
1 Tbs pineapple juice
¹⁄₈ Teaspoon cinnamon

In a medium bowl, combine the salad ingredients. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients, Pour the dressing over the fruit mixture and stir.

Veggie-Muffins:

1 store-bought GFCF cake mix prepared according to package directions- but not baked
Add 1 C pureed vegetables -- using one or more of the following: carrots, squash, peas, green beans
Add ½ C applesauce to batter
Option -- stir in 1 C GFCF chocolate chips

Mix purees in with the batter, stir in chocolate chips (optional). Transfer the mixture to a muffin pan, filling each cup about two-thirds of the way. Bake at 375º F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Do not overcook, as this will result in dry muffins. Once cooled, these muffins can be frozen to be eaten later.
Yields 12 muffins

Lunch # 6: Sensory Sensible (for those who avoid "lumps and bumps")

Pot Pie Muffins (2)
Hummus
Fruit smoothie
Snack: Bean dip

Pot Pie Muffins:

1 store-bought GFCF cake mix prepared according to package directions -- but not baked
Add 1 C pureed vegetables -- using one or more of the following: carrots, squash, peas, green beans
Add ½ C applesauce to batter
Add ½ C pureed chicken
Option -- stir in 1 C GFCF chocolate chips

*Gluten-Free Casein-Free

School Lunches for Kids with ASD

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 18:51:10 +0000

SCHOOL LUNCHES FOR KIDS WITH ASD: DELICIOUS, HEALTHY & POSSIBLE.

THE CHALLENGE:

With only twenty minutes to eat, kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should have "fast" foods that are healthy, tasty, loaded with nutrients and free of the culprits that are common problems: gluten, milk products, soy, and artificial additives and coloring. Add to the list sensory issues involving food texture, color and taste along with unusually picky appetites so common in ASD - and the task seems insurmountable. Beyond the challenges with foods are the safety issues of the food containers themselves, especially plastics containing phthalates and bisphenyl A (BPA). And of course there is the "cool" factor which affects pre-school through high school. Food that is different is totally uncool for kids who already face so many social and learning stigmas.

Knowing the challenges, we can now focus on the solutions.

THE SOLUTIONS:

Basics

As is the case with any meal, there are some basics to follow. Blood sugar control is critical. All people are affected by rapidly rising blood sugar which then cascades down too quickly and too low. The most noticeable effects are on brain function especially mood and attention. As the blood sugar drops too quickly, there can be irritability, hunger headaches, lack of focus, behavior problems, and cravings for a "quick sugar fix" which keeps the cycle going. This interferes with learning and can be disruptive to the class. Protein and fiber stabilize blood sugars. Below is a summary of the basic rules for any meal including school lunch.

Assumptions

All food suggestions are GFCF (gluten-free, casein-free). Glutens include wheat, oat, barley, rye, spelt and kamut. Milk products and milk casein include milk, yogurt, cheese, creams, ice cream, cream sauces, and butter.

Avoids

Glycemic foods which raise blood sugar (glucose) quickly include: sugars, sodas of any kind, candy, sweets, juices, and any refined grains (pretzels, bread, crackers, bagels, chips) on an empty stomach. Limit the sugars and keep the refined carbohydrates limited. If small amounts are consumed at the end of the meal, the negative effect is less.

A word on sodas - both regular and diet. They have no place in a healthy diet. They are high in phosphorus which depletes healthy nutrients. Consider them removers of electrolytes, not drink options. Water is best, but other good choices include: dilute juices, seltzer water with juice to flavor, vegetable juices (V8)

Promote Protein at every meal or snack

Choices include fish, poultry, meat, eggs, beans, nuts and seeds.

Avoids: milk products

The serving size for protein for each person is the size of the palm. A child's may be 1 to 2 ounces of meat/chicken/fish and a teen and adult may be 3 to 5 ounces. See the chart for guidelines

For beans, the serving size is two cupped palms full. See the chart for guidelines.

Fabulous Fiber at every meal

Choices include fruits, beans, nuts, seeds and grains.

Avoid: glutens

If your child eats very few vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds and beans, added fiber is important. Fiber as pure guar gum is easy to add to any recipe and also to drinks. It is GFCF and more fine than sugar, mixing completely in water or juice. See the table for fiber intake suggestions.

Favorite Foods at every meal or snack

Include at least one food that is a favorite in order to promote more interest in the meal.

Fun Meals - Part of the Cool Factor

Take a tip from the fast food marketers and include a surprise gift in the lunch. It might be a small collectible such as cars, baseball cards, characters, hair clips, stickers, or child's ring or bracelet. Home made "giftlets" (tiny gifts) are perfect.

Guidelines and Ideas

Go organic as much as possible. "USDA Organic" means the food is produced without the use of harmful pesticides, artificial fertilizers, antibiotics, growth hormones human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. Children with ASD are already coping with their own excess metabolites and really can not handle the burden of harmful chemicals in the environment and foods. The less the exposure the better. Anything you can do for your child is a benefit.

There are numerous resources for GFCF foods and recipes online and in many books. Utilize all of these to find the commercially available foods your child will eat as well as recipes that are not just GFCF, they are nutritious and delicious. Test them at home - not in the school lunch. There are GFCF juice boxes, pretzels, breads, wraps and snacks.

Establish three to five basic lunches that work. If your child is willing and interested, engage him or her in the process. Test new foods out at home until you have the food right and the combination of foods right.

Use freezer packs for keeping foods cold and thermos for hot foods. Include non-toxic hand sanitizers which are commercially available (avoid the commercial sanitizers). You can also send two paper towel pieces - one moistened with soap and one moistened with water..

Packaging - a good opportunity to Go Green!

Again - go with the marketers - jazz it up! Select a lunch container your child loves. Young children love to decorate a lunch box with stickers and paints. Make the lunch box the child's own work of art personalized with a name. Reusable containers and boxes are the green way to go. Older children will definitely want to select whatever is considered cool. The most cool may be a paper bag or small recycled bag carried in a back pack. Go with the trend and your child's own choice. There are companies who make safe, BPA-Free, safe lunch box sets with inserts for the different foods.

To avoid plastic wraps for sandwiches, use wax paper or parchment paper. Avoid containers with BPA by avoiding items with the recycle number 7. There are many BPA -Free containers which can be washed and reused. Your child will need to know to bring these back home rather than throw them away.

For napkins, use washable cloth napkins or dishcloths, or choose processed chlorine-free (PCF), post-consumer-waste (PCW) paper napkins available in stores and on line. If utensils are needed, use stainless steel appropriate to the child's skill level and age.

Nutritious Can Be Delicious - Even for the Picky Eater - The Trojan Horse Technique

Remember Odysseus from seventh grade mythology? Seeking to gain entrance into Troy, he cleverly ordered a hollow wooden horse so large that the Greek army could hide inside. What looked like a huge horse was really a disguise to conquer the city. We have used this concept for decades to hide nutritious food to nourish picky eaters.

Rather than introduce a new food in its natural form, begin by hiding a very small amount (about a tablespoon) of it as puree mixed or blended into a well-liked and well-tolerated food. This approach allows the body to accept the new food. As the child accepts the taste, include more. Children who have food texture issues are especially good candidates for blended foods because their sensory development may be younger than their chronological age. Adapt to the sensory level and return to purees until sensory issues improve. Rather than focusing on getting a child to tolerate foods that he perceives as "lumpy" or unpleasant to chew, the goal is getting a child to eat nutritious food, however you can.

Match the Color and Texture

Assume the new food is a vegetable, use organic baby food purees or make your own. Puree the new food into an established food that does not change the overall color, texture, smell, or taste. If a child eats nothing but white food, start with very light-colored vegetables including squash, cauliflower and corn. If the child likes ketchup or tomato sauce, then introduce deeper-colored vegetables such as beets, greens, peas and beans. Pureed vegetables can be beaten into batter for pancakes, muffins, brownies, and cookies or into tomato and other pasta and pizza sauces, and even into ketchup.

Mix Fruits and Vegetables

Vegetable juice makes a healthy addition to fruit juice. Try mixing carrot juice with orange juice, and then adding a teaspoon or so of another vegetable juice. Serve in a brightly colored sippy cup to camouflage any color changes. Blend pureed vegetables into cooked fruits such as applesauce or pearsauce, into meatballs, and even into nut butters. Expand ideas as tolerance improves. Be sure to carry out the Trojan Horse technique out of the sight of your child!

Muffin Casseroles

Many families have developed what we call muffin casseroles. One resourceful mother developed a GF/CF muffin for her child who ate only breads and muffins, and then gradually added fruit puree to the batter. As he tolerated fruits, she moved to vegetable purees, and finally added pureed meat. Until he was able to transition to eating foods in a traditional manner, he ate his muffin casseroles at every meal and snack-and loved them!

Increase Protein

The Trojan Horse technique is especially useful for kids who need more protein in their diets. Add eggs, especially the high-protein whites, and rice-protein powders to batters, breads, smoothies, meat sauces and meatballs. Do not add raw eggs to smoothies.

Gradually Move On

AS your child expands to eating vegetables, try vegetables dipped in honey or mayo/ketchup mix or hommus. It is a start . As a child accepts an increasing number of foods presented in a sneaky manner, eventually, he/she will accept the food alone - we promise! All it takes is patience, and a lesson from Greek mythology!

Choose one from each section. This list is GFCF. Also avoid any foods which provoke reactions or those forbidden at school (nuts for examples) or foods The "Other" section is optional.

Some Protein Choices: chicken strips, GFCF chicken nuggets w/ketchup to dip, meat slices rolled up, shrimp (send frozen, will thaw by lunch) w/seafood sauce to dip, organic "deli" chicken slices, hommus plain, on bread or crackers or as dip for veggies, muffin "pot pies", soy yogurt, egg salad, hard boiled eggs or deviled eggs, peanut butter on crackers or apples, nuts - all varieties - almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts. Hot food for thermos: chili or soups, turkey hot dogs cut up, GFCF pizza.

Some Vegetables & Fruit Choices: These can be eaten plain or dipped in GFCF sauces, ketchup or honey. Foods include: cup of vegetables, baby carrots or carrot strips, broccoli "trees", apples, bananas, berries, oranges, peaches, grapes, pineapple, melon, natural fruit cocktail in natural juice, raisins, apricots, applesauce in cups, any blended fruit sauce.

Drink Choices: water, fruit juice, V8, V8+fruit, seltzer w/juice, fruit smoothie, other milk (soy, rice, coconut, almond), and keep drinks partially frozen so they will remain cold.
Other: GFCF pretzels, rice crackers, baked tortilla chips, GFCF dry cereal, GFCF vegetable gummies, small GFCF cookie.

The above is an excerpt from the book The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet
by Pamela J. Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N.
Published by Fair Winds Press; November 2006;$24.95US/$32.50CAN; 978-1-59233-223-6
Copyright © 2008 Pamela J. Compart, M.D. and Dana Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N

Author Bio
Pamela J. Compart, M.D., is a developmental pediatrician in Columbia, Maryland. She combines traditional and complementary medicine approaches to the treatment of ADHD, autism, and other behavioral and developmental disorders. She is also the director of HeartLight Healing Arts, a multidisciplinary integrated holistic health care practice, providing services for children, adults, and families.

Dana Godbout Laake, R.D.H., M.S., L.D.N., is a licensed nutritionist in Kensington, Maryland. Within her practice, Dana Laake Nutrition, she provides preventive and therapeutic medical nutrition services. Her practice includes nutritional evaluation and treatment of the full spectrum of health issues affecting adults and children with special needs.

Lazy and busy

Thu, 24 May 2007 03:50:03 +0000

The evenings have been running so late for us recently that I just haven’t had a chance to write. We’ve been busy, too. I have this dry-erase calendar on the wall in my kitchen to help us stay organized. After my husband missed a doctor’s appointment a few months ago, I decided to put this calendar on the wall in a high-profile location so that we would miss nothing. At the beginning of every month, I wipe the old month away and fill in the three or four things I have planned for the new month. I breathe a sigh of relief and look at my mostly blank calendar. “We couldn’t be busier than we were last month!” I think. Little by little however, the new month fills up and before I know it, things are just as hectic as they’ve always been.

That’s a long way of saying that we’ve been alternately lazy and busy lately, so the family dinner that used to be at 6:00 p.m. gets pushed back to 6:30 or 7:00. Baths are late and there’s a mad rush to get the kids in bed by 9:00, by which time Jonathan and I are beat. Also, there have been a lot of can’t-miss season finales on television lately.

Anyway, Thomas is still on his “good” day streak that started two Fridays ago. Of course! Tomorrow’s the last day of school and he’s finally stopped shouting so much, learned how to behave in the classroom and resigned himself to the rules. We had Thomas’ IEP meeting yesterday at school. Jonathan took the day off work to come with and I was really glad he was with me because yesterday had to be on my top ten list of Weirdest Days Ever.

Everything started fine. Thomas got on the bus and Jonathan and I took Hayley to her last class at the park district. We were talking with the other class moms when I got a voicemail on my phone. I looked at the phone and saw that it was Thomas’ school. I thought, “Oh, great. They want to change the conference after Jonathan took the day off!” I listened to the message and it was the school nurse saying that Thomas wasn’t feeling well and could we come pick him up? I called back and said that we were coming in anyway and he’d just have to stay with us for the meeting. We went and got Hayley out of her class early. When we got to school, Thomas had fallen asleep on one of the teacher’s aides and he seemed just fine when he woke up. Thinking all was well, we sat down for the meeting and all of a sudden, Hayley spiked a raging fever. I was almost certain she was going to barf all over me and the school’s laptop and I’d have to discuss Thomas’ progress while wearing half-digested Cocoa Puffs.

Luckily, Hayley fell asleep. However, I was so preoccupied with her that I was not able to mentally digest very much. The upshot of the meeting was that Thomas made a lot of progress in speech this year; he can answer “wh” questions consistently most of the time. The speech therapist asked Thomas questions to test him, such as, “What do you wear on your head?” and, “Where do you sit?” He answered almost all of the questions she asked correctly but the funny one was, “What swims?” Thomas answered, “Me.” She placed him at two years, eight months for expressive speech and two years, ten months for receptive speech (understanding what is said to him). So he’s pretty much on-par with Hayley.

Thomas’ teacher gave him a good report, saying that he came a long way since the beginning of the year and she really enjoyed having him in class because of all the funny things he says! The speech and occupational therapists said that as well. Thinking about it, he does say an awful lot of comical things. It’s hard to see past the day-to-day struggles with Thomas to appreciate his inner personality, but speaking with his teachers reminded us that we need to stop and smell the flowers with Thomas, because he really is an intelligent and fun kid. When he’s not slamming doors or stuffing his sister into the empty cabinet in his room, that is.

The wacko day doesn’t stop there! After lunch, our neighbor called and asked me to pick his son up from day-care for him. The boy (who is Thomas’ age) had spiked a fever and Dad couldn’t get there right away. I went and got him, gave him some Tylenol and after a bit he was just fine and enjoying our toys. Hayley’s fever came down some so we served dinner, which she didn’t eat. She only drank some chocolate milk which was regurgitated moments later. I made three spectacular barf-saves with a dinner plate, though! Not a drop was spilt, and there was no scrubbing involved. (I know that if we still had carpet, it would have hit the floor and never come out again.) Hayley is so funny about vomiting. It doesn’t seem to faze her. She just does it and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and declares, “All done!” Then she barfs a little more and says, “Okay. NOW all done!” The two kids who were pulled out of school for illness turned out to be just fine, and Hayley, who seemed to be fine all along ended up being the greatest cause for concern.

So that was my goofy day. Thank goodness Jonathan was here with me! My mom called to ask how the conference went and she said so many wonderful things to me that I cried (thanks, Mom). She told me how proud she is of me and that we’re doing a great job with Thomas…she said more nice things as well, but I’m not going to go into it or I’ll cry again. Seriously, thanks, Mom.

Today, Thomas did something that he hasn’t ever done before…he ate pudding! He has been averse to all smooth-textured foods before now (except for when he was a baby) and wouldn’t eat yogurt, applesauce, pudding, mashed potatoes or anything mushy like that. I decided to make myself some sugar-free pudding for lunch because I had a sore throat (which has turned into a cold…hooray!) and thought it would make me feel better. Thomas saw the chocolate color of the pudding and asked if he could have some. I said, “Really? You want some pudding?” He replied that he did so I gave him some. He ate it all up and said that he really liked it! I’m going on my last major shopping-trip of the school year tomorrow since I can’t do that with both kids over the summer, so I’ll get more pudding and maybe some yogurt. Watch – he’ll never touch the stuff again. I just thought it was really neat that he tried something new – something he didn’t like before – and enjoyed it! Plus, it was a brave sensory experience for him since he’s never tolerated that texture. I was very impressed and if it sticks, it opens up a whole new menu section for us: The “mushy” food-group.

Science experiment

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 04:22:34 +0000

What is a “Teachers Inservice Day?” There’s an episode of The Simpsons where the teachers have something like that, called a “caucus.” In one scene, Ms. Krabapple is leading a conga line of teachers with margaritas in their hands chanting, “Caucus, caucus, cau-CUS!” I’m sure that’s not what the teachers in our school district were doing today, but Thomas’ teachers certainly deserve a day of rest.

We had another difficult day on Wednesday. I didn’t get a note on Thursday and there was no school today, hence the “inservice” comment. I didn’t realize that there was no school today until Thomas’ bus driver told me to have a nice weekend on Thursday. It was a good thing she mentioned it, or we would have been standing at the end of the driveway in the blowing, drifting snow this morning at 8:50, wondering what the hold-up was.

It’s one thing for Thomas to be difficult at home. Sure, it makes us crazy and we feel like we’re going to lose our minds, but we could deal with it a little better if we knew that he was at least being good at school. Unfortunately, we have confirmation that he isn’t. Maybe I’m being a little neurotic about the whole thing. It could be that half of the kids in his class get “difficult” marks on a daily basis. It could be that it doesn’t faze his teachers at all when he hollers. Or it could be that Thomas has been the ringleader of the classroom circus and is partially responsible for the daily melee. This all adds up to a wealth of topics to discuss with his teacher during the next conference. I really should make a list.

I believe, but I’m not sure, that Thomas gets up in the morning and goes to the bathroom by himself before crawling back into bed with me and a loud toy. This is a major milestone for us. We’ve been trying to potty-train Hayley, but I think it’s not going to be easy. It seemed pretty easy for us with Thomas, but that could be because he was older. With Hayley, we tried the training pants but she continually soiled them. Then I took her to the store and let her pick out new underpants (she chose Disney Princesses [no-brainer] and Little Mermaid) which we brought home and put on her immediately. I took her to the bathroom frequently, but she never went! We would sit in there for twenty minutes and read a book or sing songs while I kept my ears peeled for piddle sounds, but there was nothing. I would finally give up and get her off the toilet, pull up her pants and give her the stern admonishment to keep her pants dry. Five minutes later, they were wet. She wouldn’t tell me they were wet, but she walked funny. I’m wondering if it’s a control issue, like showing us that we can’t tell her when to go potty. Hmpf.

Has anyone ever heard of the Weebalot Castle? It’s a Weeble play-house type of thing and it came with a little princess Weeble, a Weeble horse and a Weeble knight-in-shining-armor. It has this moat at the bottom that spins around while music plays. There are little fish on it and the set came with a boat that the Weebles can ride around the moat. I was cleaning Thomas’ room today and as I got closer to the Weebalot Castle, I noticed a rather offensive stench. Upon further investigation, I detected that the smell was coming from the castle. I inspected it and didn’t notice anything strange, yet the odor was definitely coming from the toy. I took it into the kitchen and unscrewed the bottom of the contraption. The lower section came away and what I saw, words cannot describe (but I’ll try). Pinkish, congealed…well, it looked like a cross between yogurt and cottage cheese, and a smell so hideous that it actually made me gag. As I liberally sprayed the parts with a mixture of bleach and water and scrubbed them with a sponge (that I immediately retired from use), glad for the chlorine smell, I began to piece together what must have happened to create the abomination. At some point in the recent (but not too recent, given the state of decay) past, Thomas must have taken his lunchtime chocolate milk into his bedroom and either spit or poured the fluids into the Weebalot moat. A few days ago, I noticed that the castle was sticky so I wiped it off but at that time, I did not notice a foul odor. That enterprising boy decided that the fake water with the pre-molded fish and alligators was insufficient for the Weebles recreational boating needs. Chocolate milk was apparently just the remedy. I debated throwing the contraption away, cutting our losses and getting that Petri dish of a toy out of the house once and for all. However, I recalled how much the thing cost and decided to scrub it up. I can’t wait to see what he puts in there next.

I vacuumed all of the dried bits of Play-Doh and Moon Sand off the floor and surfaces and then made lunch. His room looked great when I left, but when I returned not thirty minutes later, the kids had poured their morning snack of chocolate Teddy-Grahams on the floor and ground them up into fine bits. It looked great on the cream-colored carpet.

Jonathan and I discussed it. We decided that we could easily turn Thomas’ room into a science lab and rent it out by the hour to graduate students. The experiments are already there.