Tuesday, April 13, 2010

SCD - let another diet

Many changes again are underway chez SHAKER family. One of them is Little R's new diet. In fact, it's a new diet for all of us.

A year ago, Little R was diagnosed with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) which led us to try many interventions to "recover" our little guy. First, we were vegan (pre-diagnosis), then we changed only Little R's diet to gluten-free and casein-free. Well, that didn't seem to be enough so the doctor suggested a low phenol diet. After seeing no difference with this diet, we just continued with the gfcf (gluten-free casein-free) diet. We gave Little R an igG test that revealed MANY food sensitivities. So, we were then on a rotation diet. Luckily for us, we used BIE (bio intolerance elimination) to "clear" his sensitivities/allergies, so we abandoned the rotation diet.

So here we are today on the diet that the doctor didn't want to put him on a year ago for reasons that no longer matter. Little R's language and speech has seen little improvement yet his bodily health is superb. The doctor asked himself "what can we do to unlock the speech?" He was concerned that Little R was still just making a few sounds that were intelligible. He turned to us and said "SCD."

SCD stands for specific carbohydrates diet. The GAPS diet is closely related. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OHJt0_wrFs

So, what are we eating? Traditionally raised animals (like Mennonite meats), steamed vegetables, nuts and fruit. There are NO MORE GRAINS and potatoes in our diet. Of course we don't have to eat like him when we're out without him, but to support Little R in getting better, we are eating the same things at home. Once Little R can stray away from the SCD then we can start getting the meat out of our diet again. We are very grateful to those animals that are sacrificed for our nourishment.

Some children have seen remarkable improvements from this diet. The people at his school also mentioned that there was improvement in the last week. I commend DH on his new role of steamer and breakfast fruit salad maker. He's doing a great job!

Because of the limited foods Little R can have, visiting people and just not eating at home will be the most challenging it's been. Even eating at home can get a little boring with the same types of foods over and over again. We're trying to invest in a very heavy duty blender so that we can make raw cookies, raw nut butters, raw juices, etc. for Little R:


This year for Little R's birthday, would you consider making a contribution to his blender? Please understand that I am by no means asking for a contribution! It's just that in past years Little R has received many thoughtful gifts from many of you (birthday and Christmas), and many times we would be asked "what do you does Little R need." Your kind thoughts alone are enough, but if you really wanted to give him more, I just put the idea out there. Little R is also always in need of pants and new puzzles.

Again, no birthday gifts are necessary. Just thank you for remembering! :)

1 comment:

  1. Hi Kim,

    Good luck with the new diet... the vitamix is such a great blender we have been wanting one for many years now. One of the reasons we what it is to mill our own grains and also you can make fruit juices from whole fruit in it.

    Happy birthday to Little R from us.

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