Boo-boo & Band-Aid Song

Matthew fell on the sidewalk and skinned his knee on Saturday. Since then we have been putting a band-aid on it every night after his bath. I tell him not to touch it and that the band-aid will make his boo-boo better. He's been singing the commercial jingle: "I am stuck on band-aid brand and band-aid's stuck on me". Here's a video of him singing part of it...he was sitting on my lap so I was holding the camera at a weird angle and then he jumped off/stopped singing, but at least you can hear some of it. I didn't realize until we started recording that he had just just taken the band-aid off...for the first time in 3 days!

My Obsession: Pear Juice

Matthew has yeast in his gut and I've learned from other ASD mommies that pear juice is the least of the "yeast feeders" (as far as juice goes). I send Matthew to preschool with juice for lunch and snacks, so I usually try to send him with 1-2 boxes (depending if it's a long or short day) and a sippy cup of 1/2 juice, 1/2 water for lunch. Let me tell you that pear juice is not easy to come by (unless you buy the Gerber kind in the baby aisle...but I prefer the organic).

We have 3 Whole Foods stores nearby that I frequent for his GFCF foods. Today I hit the jackpot in Fairfax...pear juice boxes! As you can see in the pic, I now have 48 of them...woo-hoo! The last time I went there they didn't have any, and now they don't b/c I cleaned them out! And none of the grocery stores carry pear juice in bottles anymore...what's up with that?! So if you ever see pear juice (any brand), let me know b/c I'm always on the hunt!

"Secret Ingredients" that = Gluten & Casein

A friend from the GFCFKids Yahoo Group emailed this list. It comes from The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook (which I have, but am still reading!). Matthew has been on the Gluten-free/Casein-free diet since December. It is an on-going learning process and now with this new info, I need to check the labels on all his food (once again) to make sure we are still "legal"!

Gluten: wheat berry, couscous, flour, graham, semolina, durum, bran, bulgur, cracked wheat, rusk, oat bran, oat germ, oatmeal, oat flour, rolled oats, malt, starch, barley pearl, rye starch, hybrid of wheat and rye, species of wheat, ancient wheatlike grain, mixture or oat, malted drinks, ovaltine, postum, beer, ale, some grain alcohols, some artificial colorings & flavorings, caramel coloring & flavoring, confectioners sugar, syrup (unless 100% maple syrup), soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup (unless organic), dextrin, monosodium glutamate (MSG), citric acid, hydrolyzed plant protein (if wheat), modified food starch, malt (barley), canned soups, bouillon, powdered broth, imitation seafood & bacon, processed cheese spreads, pudding, mashmallow cream, stuffing mixes, breading, bread crumbs, gum, glues, binders & fillers, play-doh, school glue.

Casein: Mammal milk, buttermilk, evaporated milk, yogurt, kefir, cream cheese, sour cream, cream dressings, ice cream, sherbert, cheese, curds, cottage cheese, whey, butter, canned tuna, nondairy creamers, whipped toppings, salad dressing, bakery glazes, breath mints, fortified cereals, high-protein beverage powders, infant formula, nutrition bars, processed meats, some nutritional supplements, milk solids, lactose, galactose, lactalbumin, lactoglobulin, caseinate, lactobacillus (if not dairy free), calcium caseinate, galactose, hydrolyzed milk protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactate, lactic acid, lactoglobulin, lactose, magnesium caseinate, potassium caseinate.

First OT Session

Matthew went to his first OT appointment yesterday. He will be going for 1 hour per week. The therapist is very nice and knowledgeable. She immediately noticed Matthew's toe walking and hypotonia. After playing with him and doing some tests she said he is "gravity challenged", has motor planning problems, and is tactile defensive. She will focus on gross motor activities and core/upper body strengthening during his sessions (and give me ideas for home).

Matthew's favorite part of the session was jumping on the mini-trampoline. His least favorite part was having her put a dollop of lotion in his hand and then rubbing it on his arms...he didn't like the feel of the lotion or her light touch, so to combat that we will do deep pressure. She said his fine motor skills are age appropriate and was impressed with his attention span. The session went well and it's at the same clinic Matthew used to visit for speech so he is familiar with it and was very excited to return.

Updates: Summer School, Lab Results, EEG, OT

Matthew started summer school this week (they call it Extended School Year). He'll be going to his usual preschool autism class for 20 hours/week for five weeks. In addition, he is a student in the PAC Beginning Hands-on Training and for that he stays an additional 2.5 hours per day (for 5 days)...we volunteered to do this as it helps train teachers.

We received the results of his Urine Toxic Metals test (we sent a sample to Doctor's Data). The heavy metals Matthew scored higher in are Nickle, Lead, and [the dreaded] Mercury. (A hair test a few months ago showed that he also has high Arsenic, Antimony, & Tin.) We go to see his DAN doctor in August...I think it might be time to start detox/chelation.

I am in the process of getting Matthew signed up for a 24 hour video EEG at Children's in DC. We need to do this to hopefully rule out seizures. He has staring spells which are common in kids with autism, but sometimes absence seizures/petit mals grow up to be grand mals and we need to know in order to control that. The worst part will be attaching the many leads to his scalp...from what I hear they attach them with a stinky cement and they're hard to remove. Matthew has sensitivity issues so I dread having to hold him down for 10 minutes while they put them on. He hates people touching his head so this will not be a fun experience for him.

Lastly, we got word from the Chesapeake Center that they hired a new occupational therapist and b/c we were at the top of the waiting list (we've been on it since last August) Matthew will start OT next week, for 1 hour per week. We will finally get that sensory diet we were promised by Early Intervention 11 months ago! :)

New Train Table!

I did it...finally bought Matthew a train table. Matthew received a GeoTrax train set for his birthday last March, and since then it has been sitting on the living room floor. Ever since the first time Matthew went to Peter's house, he has been talking about his train table...sooo, we are keeping up with the Mankins :) and now have a train table! John put it together like a champ and Matthew is using it. We can't wait to have Peter come check it out!

Fernandez Family Visit

Long-time Navy buddy Ed Fernandez came to visit with his wife Karen and kids on Saturday. Matthew had fun playing with 4 year old Daisy and her 2 year old brother Alex. Daisy was quite a little charmer and complimented me on several things (such as the "lovely foot stool" in the bathroom)...did I mention she is only 4?! The kids had fun running around the backyard, playing on the swings, and watching a Care Bears movie. I never knew boys would be into Care Bears but Matthew LOVES them...especially Wish Bear. It was great seeing everyone.

Fun With Peter & Emma

Today we had a play date with Peter and his sister Emma. Most of it was spent outside in the backyard playing on the swings and with bubbles (thanks Kathy!). We did go inside towards the end to have a quick snack and play with trains (you just can't have Peter and Matthew together without trains being involved!). I think I might have to break down this weekend and buy Matthew a train table...I saw one on sale at Toys R Us for $79.

Won A Contest!

I am the proud winner of the GFCF Poop Blog contest. As a result, Matthew will be receiving a month's worth of free diapers/pull-ups and we are very grateful for these! Check out the website (warning: pictures of kiddie poop) and/or Tori's other blogs:

http://gfcfpoop.blogspot.com/

http://gfcfblog.blogspot.com/

http://lend4health.blogspot.com/

Matthew's Friend Camryn

Matthew has a friend named Camryn (she has known Matthew since he was born!). We saw her last week during our very brief visit to Chesapeake. Camryn is 4 and as you can see in the pics, she is gorgeous! Matthew had fun playing "elevator" with her (one of his obsessions), playing with toys in her room, and watching Bambi (he loves this movie). Camryn was a great hostess...I wish our families lived closer so we could spend more time with them!

Matthew's Friend Peter

Matthew has a few friends but the one he talks most about is Peter (he says "go to Peter's house"...see video below). Peter is in Matthew's class but will be heading off to kindergarten soon. He is 5 years old and has a super cool train table with LOTS of trains that Matthew loves to play with. We are looking forward to the next play date!