You Are What You Eat

One of Elliot's favorite pastimes these days is playing on the computer. Flatteringly, he loves this blog. He likes to click on the pictures to enlarge them and to watch the videos. He's also learning to type at fun school. His teacher told me this week that he was typing the words "Safeway", "Smart Park garage", "Papa's office", and "Chipotle", which seemed strange to her until I explained that those are places he goes on his weekend elevator adventures downtown with Papa. Elliot has also been showing Imogen the computer (start 'em young!). Here is Imogen sitting on Elliot's lap and looking at pictures on the monitor.



Elliot also likes to help Mama and Papa get ready in the morning and to copy us. Here he is "shaving" with Papa.



Today I wanted to update y'all on our progress with the gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet. Elliot has been on the diet for just over a month now. It can take up to six months for gluten to completely clear the system, but I do think we're seeing some changes. There is of course no way to tell for certain if what we're seeing is diet-related, a result of the B-12 and other supplements he is receiving, regular developmental progress, or some combination of all of these things. But a large percentage of kids on the autism spectrum benefit from a GFCF diet, so I have no doubt it's playing a big role.

The frequency of Elliot's meltdowns has decreased, and he is engaging in more pretend play. He is also offering comments about the world around him as well as giving me information when I ask questions, both of which are new aspects of his communication and language skills. He is starting to tell me what he did at school and asking questions about things he sees or what we're reading in books. He is also starting to try more foods and is overall eating much better (though he's still very picky!).

We've recently purchased The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook by Pamela Compart, which is full of GFCF recipes and was recommended by our naturopath. Everything in it looks delicious, and I can't wait to try it out.

Now I'm off to rest with Imogen (we both have rotten colds). Elliot is over his cold - he was hardly even phased. That boy has endless energy!