Our Autism Trek

OUR ACCOUNT WITH AUTISM AND THE SCD DIET

Nowadays, almost everyone can say that they know or are close to someone who has Autism.  It is gaining significant recognition due to its rapidly escalating numbers.  There is still no concencus as to the cause nor cure for Autism though you will often hear suggestions of either from one person or another.  I have read books or articles as to how on parent or therapists swears by a particular treatment, while another may have found their answer or "cure" by an alternate means.  And with each method or suggestion I have read, I have put nearly all of them into practice.  And while all may have their place and significance in helping a person on the Autism spectrum advance to a better cognitive state, I have found that our greatest miracles arrived due to our sons adhearance to the SCD iet.  And I will further take the liberty to write about it due to the overwhelming number of peopels that may find this information useful, as well as its direct correlation to what I so ardinently believe in, proper nutrition.  Though our son is the only one on the SCD diet the rest of our family makes it a priority to eat whole and nutritionally dense foods 90% of the time, and we have experienced the results in a very significant way.

To say that the SCD (Simple Carbohydrate Diet) changed our sons life would be an under-statement.  I first want to take a step back into history and make an account of what he was experiencing prior to fully investing ourselves to this new diet.

I was a desperate mother who was frantic to know what was happening with my son.  Like most children with similar behavioral disorders such as Autism, Aspergers, or ADHD our son had digestive system issues.  We had previously had him on the popular GFCF (Gluten-free/Casien-free) diet which is often prescribed to children on the spectrum.  But to no avail it did not correct his issues.  However, even more frightening than the digestive issues were the symptoms that came about just prior to him turning four.  His fingernails were begining to peel from the top down in layers, his skin was gray, and he had constant black circles under his eyes.  This was not the face of a healthy child.  Granted, he ate moderately well prior to this time, sugar and candy was not an option, he ate a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and some lean meats, but this was simply not enough.  His body was not doing something properly and no one seemed to be able to tell me what.  Sure, doctors gave me their half-hearted philosophy on what might be going on and concluded our visit with the "Just watch it", which would make me regret the hour we just spend waiting for some nitwit who could provide us with nothing, what's more treat me like I'm an idiot for suggesting my thoughts.

We had previously done a lot of biomedical treatments for him utilizing a massive amount of natural supplements and regular testing, and while this helped him move forward in certain things, it was something I was not anxious to delve into again because it was so much!  At one point I was crushing up over 70 different supplements into a palatable concoction, a true witches brew.  Not to mention that it was costing us a massive fortune to keep up.  But in my searching I stumbled across this diet, and I experienced one of those moments when something just feels unimaginably right.  I knew in that instant that I had to start our son on this diet immediately, and equally knew that this was the answer I was searching for.  The next day we made our trip to the supermarket and stocked up on everything we would need to enter into the first phase of the diet.  We continued on and followed everything to a T and within two weeks our son was talking, really talking.  Previous to this our method of communication was primarily signing, pointing, and a variety of grunts from our son which we had come to pair his meaning to.  And after two weeks he was pairing two and three word sentences, it was incredible!  Additionally the digestive issues practically went away only to return briefly as we gradually added new foods into his diet.  Further, his skin color became bright and radiant once again, the dark circles disappeared, and his nails became strong once again, and all within weeks of begining the diet.