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The contributions go to the SPD Foundation. That blog definitely says it better than I could.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Still struggling
This is a hard post for me to write. Both because I want to get the words right to describe how I feel and also because I don't want anyone to be offended or misunderstand my words either.
Why would anyone be offended? Because the words of my friends sometimes hurt. Because the well-meaning comments are sometimes painful. Because trying to wade through the world of sensory processing disorder and language/developmental delays is hard enough without feeling all alone in that battle/search. I do have a few other mothers I can talk to that are on this road with me(which is nice), it is still tough though. I have also been reading quite a few SPD mothers blogs, which again is helpful.
I have spent the past couple of days in frustration and some tears. I am still trying to wade through the world of SPD as it pertains to my son. I am still trying to figure out what it is that I need to do to help him through his fits and tough times. What over-stimulates and how to compensate. Do I then remove stimuli or give him stimuli where he likes it?
He is an oral sensory seeker so I am going to try to keep fruit leather and fruit snacks and even small pieces of gum so that he has something to chew on should things go awry. The thing with this though is that I do not feed the kids HFCS nor do I buy anything with food coloring. We are also gluten free; while I go back and forth with casein. So that means that the fruit snacks are expensive; thank goodness they do make natural fruit snacks though. I know it may make me sound like an asshole to imply that I won't get something for my son because it is expensive but with three kids, all of whom want to have snacks when he does, it really does get expensive. I may do some searching online to see if buying in bulk will help.
My other concern with giving him food type stimuli is that I don't want to always give him food to get him through a tough sensory moment. That seems to be a bad idea to me. No matter how healthy the treat may be to use food as a solution may set him up for food issues down the road. So I bought some small pieces of gum. Natural gum made with no artificial sweeteners colors or flavors. Still...it is gum and along with fruit snacks these are not great for the kids teeth either. Plus teaching him not to swallow it may prove to be a tough lesson.
I love my son, he is a sweet heart.
I want to do what is best for him.
I so badly want to figure out how to help him navigate SPD as easily as possible.
I get frustrated when I feel that people may judge that he is an out of control child when we are out and about. When he is melting down at the grocery store, because he is just over his limit. When he hits me or is screaming and yelling as we leave the store, because he is over his limit. I hate the stares and looks I get. I hate that anyone may think he is not a good kid, because he is. I hate that anyone may think he is a brat, because he is not. He is just trying to navigate in a very sensory world without the same abilities as most of us have to deal.
I also get frustrated when it is implied that it is all about his age. yes, at almost three tantrums and attitudes are not unusual. His are different though. Don't ask me to exactly explain how or why. They just are. I know my kid. I know that things are a little different with him. It is part of why we went gluten free, I wanted to see if it would help with some behavior issues, not to mention his developmental difficulties. It has worked to an extent. We were also casein free for a while too. I decided to try to put him back on dairy to see what would happen. In the next week or so we will go casein free again and I will once again watch to see if it makes a difference. The gluten did for sure. I took out casein at close to the same time though I am not as sure if the differences were there with that or not.
I don't know what I want to say exactly except that I am trying to figure this all out. I am trying to treat him as I would my other children while at the same time taking into consideration that he processes a little differently than they do. I have picked up the book The Out of Sync Child again and am going to try to read it all. I need to understand but sometimes the words get to be too much for me. Sometimes I get lost in all the technical speak.
We are working with an OT and she definitely sees what I see. She says he definitely has sensory problems. This is all awesome to me because I need to know that I am not crazy. I need to know that what I see in him that others so quickly dismiss really is there. She too is worried about how he will handle a preschool classroom, among other adjustments.
Things are coming along. It is a slow process, which is fine, I just have my good days and I have my bad days. So does Brady. Obviously those days tend to be one in the same...my good are his good and my bad are his as well. We will get this figured out....we will.
Why would anyone be offended? Because the words of my friends sometimes hurt. Because the well-meaning comments are sometimes painful. Because trying to wade through the world of sensory processing disorder and language/developmental delays is hard enough without feeling all alone in that battle/search. I do have a few other mothers I can talk to that are on this road with me(which is nice), it is still tough though. I have also been reading quite a few SPD mothers blogs, which again is helpful.
I have spent the past couple of days in frustration and some tears. I am still trying to wade through the world of SPD as it pertains to my son. I am still trying to figure out what it is that I need to do to help him through his fits and tough times. What over-stimulates and how to compensate. Do I then remove stimuli or give him stimuli where he likes it?
He is an oral sensory seeker so I am going to try to keep fruit leather and fruit snacks and even small pieces of gum so that he has something to chew on should things go awry. The thing with this though is that I do not feed the kids HFCS nor do I buy anything with food coloring. We are also gluten free; while I go back and forth with casein. So that means that the fruit snacks are expensive; thank goodness they do make natural fruit snacks though. I know it may make me sound like an asshole to imply that I won't get something for my son because it is expensive but with three kids, all of whom want to have snacks when he does, it really does get expensive. I may do some searching online to see if buying in bulk will help.
My other concern with giving him food type stimuli is that I don't want to always give him food to get him through a tough sensory moment. That seems to be a bad idea to me. No matter how healthy the treat may be to use food as a solution may set him up for food issues down the road. So I bought some small pieces of gum. Natural gum made with no artificial sweeteners colors or flavors. Still...it is gum and along with fruit snacks these are not great for the kids teeth either. Plus teaching him not to swallow it may prove to be a tough lesson.
I love my son, he is a sweet heart.
I want to do what is best for him.
I so badly want to figure out how to help him navigate SPD as easily as possible.
I get frustrated when I feel that people may judge that he is an out of control child when we are out and about. When he is melting down at the grocery store, because he is just over his limit. When he hits me or is screaming and yelling as we leave the store, because he is over his limit. I hate the stares and looks I get. I hate that anyone may think he is not a good kid, because he is. I hate that anyone may think he is a brat, because he is not. He is just trying to navigate in a very sensory world without the same abilities as most of us have to deal.
I also get frustrated when it is implied that it is all about his age. yes, at almost three tantrums and attitudes are not unusual. His are different though. Don't ask me to exactly explain how or why. They just are. I know my kid. I know that things are a little different with him. It is part of why we went gluten free, I wanted to see if it would help with some behavior issues, not to mention his developmental difficulties. It has worked to an extent. We were also casein free for a while too. I decided to try to put him back on dairy to see what would happen. In the next week or so we will go casein free again and I will once again watch to see if it makes a difference. The gluten did for sure. I took out casein at close to the same time though I am not as sure if the differences were there with that or not.
I don't know what I want to say exactly except that I am trying to figure this all out. I am trying to treat him as I would my other children while at the same time taking into consideration that he processes a little differently than they do. I have picked up the book The Out of Sync Child again and am going to try to read it all. I need to understand but sometimes the words get to be too much for me. Sometimes I get lost in all the technical speak.
We are working with an OT and she definitely sees what I see. She says he definitely has sensory problems. This is all awesome to me because I need to know that I am not crazy. I need to know that what I see in him that others so quickly dismiss really is there. She too is worried about how he will handle a preschool classroom, among other adjustments.
Things are coming along. It is a slow process, which is fine, I just have my good days and I have my bad days. So does Brady. Obviously those days tend to be one in the same...my good are his good and my bad are his as well. We will get this figured out....we will.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Next Tuesday
I feel like much of the past few months has just been leading up to next Tuesday.
Brady has his evaluation with the Center for Disabilities and Development at the University of Iowa. I am scared and glad at the same time.
I am scared because I know that no matter how prepared I am for us to get a bearing on just what is going on with him it will still be hard to have ANYTHING in black and white stating what is going on with him. Does that even make sense? I think so. to me anyway.
I am a label person. I know this about myself. I like labels because then I know what I am dealing with. You can look back in my life and see that. In many milestones of difficulties there are areas where my need for labels is obvious.
I don't want to label him as a detriment to him.
I don't want to label him so I, or him, can get special attention.
I don't want to label him because of some love of drama.
I don't want to label him and create difficulties in his future.
I don't want to label him so that he gets treated differently.
I want a label so we know what we are dealing with. plain and simple.
I want a label so that I can help my son in whatever way is going to be best for him.
I want a label so that we can continue to figure out the best way to tackle teaching him.
Brady is coming along. Making small steps and some large leaps here and there. I am excited by his progress some days and disappointed, not in him, but by the roadblocks he encounters on other days.
All in all I love my little man with all my heart and I want nothing but the best for him.
I truly believe in my heart of hearts that taking him in and getting an evaluation is the best thing I can do for him.
Once we take this step we can continue to take others and do what is best for him.
Brady has his evaluation with the Center for Disabilities and Development at the University of Iowa. I am scared and glad at the same time.
I am scared because I know that no matter how prepared I am for us to get a bearing on just what is going on with him it will still be hard to have ANYTHING in black and white stating what is going on with him. Does that even make sense? I think so. to me anyway.
I am a label person. I know this about myself. I like labels because then I know what I am dealing with. You can look back in my life and see that. In many milestones of difficulties there are areas where my need for labels is obvious.
I don't want to label him as a detriment to him.
I don't want to label him so I, or him, can get special attention.
I don't want to label him because of some love of drama.
I don't want to label him and create difficulties in his future.
I don't want to label him so that he gets treated differently.
I want a label so we know what we are dealing with. plain and simple.
I want a label so that I can help my son in whatever way is going to be best for him.
I want a label so that we can continue to figure out the best way to tackle teaching him.
Brady is coming along. Making small steps and some large leaps here and there. I am excited by his progress some days and disappointed, not in him, but by the roadblocks he encounters on other days.
All in all I love my little man with all my heart and I want nothing but the best for him.
I truly believe in my heart of hearts that taking him in and getting an evaluation is the best thing I can do for him.
Once we take this step we can continue to take others and do what is best for him.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Chocolate Coconut Slices
So it has been a while since I blogged here....hopefully you will forgive me since I am including a super yummy GF/CF recipe on my first blog post back.
Here is a link to a gram to cup conversion: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cup-to-Gram-Conversions/Detail.aspx
Here is a link to the original recipe: http://learnwithp.blogspot.com/2010/05/chocolate-coconut-slice.html This blog is definitely worth watching, I love all the information Z posts here. Good food, green ideas and general greatness. I do love this blog.
Here is what I did with the recipe:
GF/CF Chocolate Coconut Slices
3/4 cup skimmed coconut milk(the thick high fat top off the coconut milk)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg(slightly beaten)
1 t GF vanilla
1/2 C brown rice flour
1/2 C millet flour
1 t GF baking powder
2 T cocoa powder
3/4 C coconut(I use an organic unsweetened thinly cut coconut)
Icing
1 C powdered sugar
2 T cocoa powder
1 T skimmed coconut milk again
1 1/2 T hot water
Beat coconut milk, sugar, egg and vanilla together. Add the flours, baking powder and cocoa. Stir in the coconut. Bake in a greased pan, I actually used a pie plate, for about 20-25 minutes. Spread icing while still hot. Sprinkle coconut over top of icing.
These are still hot and cooling on the counter right now so I have not yet tasted it. I will be back later with a taste test and a picture.
we tried it....holy crap it is awesome! Brad even loved it and he is always a little less than enthused with GF/CF recipes. and here it is is in all it's glory...after we ate half of it. I also took a picture from the side so you could see the yummy cake-y texture under all that frosting.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Squash Pudding Pie
This was really yummy. The kids ate it for breakfast and then we had plenty left over for a few snacks after dinner. I drizzled some raw honey on it for the "snack". It has an ok texture. Brady was not overly enthused with it. He liked the outer parts that were a little less creamy like the middle. I am making one later with half butternut squash and half sweet potato. mmmm
It is low in sugar and fat, and dairy and gluten free. The NE also mentioned that you could make a crust for it from almond flour or something else similar and gf/cf. It comes from The Garden of Eating cookbook.
Squash Pudding Pie
3 cups baked or simmered and mashed squash
3/4 cup blended unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 honey, agave nectar or maple syrup
3 whole eggs or 6 egg whites or 1/4 cup dried powdered egg whites blended with 3/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot starch powder(I used tapioca starch)
2 teaspoons apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice (I used cinnamon and fresh nutmeg)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla or maple extract
1/3 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon additional honey, agave nectar or maple syrup or 1/4 teaspoon white stevia extract powder
preheat oven to 350 degrees. In food processor, Vita-Mix(oh how I wish I had one!) or hand food mill(I used a blender), combine all ingredients except stevia until smooth. Mixture should be thick. If too stiff to blen then add 1/4 cup water. Taste. Add 1 more tablespoon honey or the stevia if a sweeter taste is desired. Pie will become sweeter and more concentrated as it bakes.
Pour into an oiled 10-inch deep dish pie plate. Smooth with a spatula. Bake in center of oven until firm, slightly golden and dry around the edges, about 60 minutes. Allow to cool, cover with foil and refrigerate. (Pie will firm up in refrigerator)
Cut into slices and serve. Use within 4 days or freeze.
This next one I make I think I am going to make in a larger 10x13 rectangle pan so that I can cut it into bars and and freeze individually.
I have a few other recipes I do want to share here. Typing them out proves to be time consuming for me for some reason. :) I guess when I am blogging my thoughts those just flow...recipes take more thought I guess. more later!
Millet....not just for the birds!
This is gonna be a quick one...
I never meant for this blog to be so much about food but I find that I want to share this somewhere. As we go GF/CF and continue to try new thing I want to share them so that anyone else walking that line may be able to get some help/ideas too.
We made millet this morning as a hot cereal for breakfast. It was pretty simple to make and cooked while I emptied the dishwasher. I got the kids a drink and some apple to start the morning because my children seem to wake up starving. I put 1.5 cups of almond milk and 1.5 cups of water in a pan with a pinch of salt and started it boiling. Then I added a cup of millet that I had rinsed with water. Let that cook for about 30-40 minutes.
I tasted it and honestly was not terribly excited by it. I did add 1/2 cup of coconut milk and about 1/8-1/4 cup brown sugar. On each serving I put a small drizzle of raw honey. The littles have eaten 3-4 bowls each. One of Brady's sensory issues I have noticed is that he cannot seem to stand mushy foods. I was wondering how this would go over because of that. There is enough "crunch" to the cereal that he is apparently ok with it. I am really glad. Josey ate 2 bowls as well. I believe that the kids like it. :)
Perhaps next time I will add a little less sugar and just do the coconut milk and drizzle of honey and see how that goes. I need to remember that the kids are not as used to the sweet as I am. ok...off to start the day. We have a friend coming over this morning and I need to get a few more things done.
I never meant for this blog to be so much about food but I find that I want to share this somewhere. As we go GF/CF and continue to try new thing I want to share them so that anyone else walking that line may be able to get some help/ideas too.
We made millet this morning as a hot cereal for breakfast. It was pretty simple to make and cooked while I emptied the dishwasher. I got the kids a drink and some apple to start the morning because my children seem to wake up starving. I put 1.5 cups of almond milk and 1.5 cups of water in a pan with a pinch of salt and started it boiling. Then I added a cup of millet that I had rinsed with water. Let that cook for about 30-40 minutes.
I tasted it and honestly was not terribly excited by it. I did add 1/2 cup of coconut milk and about 1/8-1/4 cup brown sugar. On each serving I put a small drizzle of raw honey. The littles have eaten 3-4 bowls each. One of Brady's sensory issues I have noticed is that he cannot seem to stand mushy foods. I was wondering how this would go over because of that. There is enough "crunch" to the cereal that he is apparently ok with it. I am really glad. Josey ate 2 bowls as well. I believe that the kids like it. :)
Perhaps next time I will add a little less sugar and just do the coconut milk and drizzle of honey and see how that goes. I need to remember that the kids are not as used to the sweet as I am. ok...off to start the day. We have a friend coming over this morning and I need to get a few more things done.
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