I was too cocky today. I came home after a long week of traveling for work and was so impressed with Robbie's speech ( after a week of pre-school) I did not follow my mothers instinct. Saturday night I was so happy to spend quality time with Robbie- I was not thinking about the snack he picked from the fridge. He had helped himself to some pre-cut cheddar cheese slices. I watched him bite into it and say "Hmmmmmm". He helped himself to 2 additional pieces. My hope was- he is not like all these 'CASES" I read about. Dairy will not negatively affect him. How much easier will my life be if I can incorporate dairy into his and my family's diet.
He seemed fine in the morning- fine enough that I let him pick out yogurt at the supermarket. ( How soon you forget to really look at labels of the foods you no longer purchase- red and blue food dye, high fructose corn syrup- artificial this and that. This food is off limit anyway) I remember reading in one of the many books I have absorbed over the past few months- " my son's behavior was erratic and off the wall and then I saw the note in his back pack- your son ate cheese today" I told my mother in law about how relieved I was that Robbie didn't seem have that problem and explained the passage in the book I read to Rob- (Dad). Robbie was a little wired this morning but nothing to cause concern. As I replay our day- I want to cry. I took Robbie to the grocery store in the morning. While his speech was good, behavior was a little off. We pulled into the check out- he sat in the main part of the shopping cart. The women loading bags was trying to get him to move his legs- to make room for the grocery's. He would not move. I explained- he is autistic- plant the items around him and I'll put any extra on the bottom of the cart. Now- I have gotten used to people saying" I never would heave guessed your son is Autistic." She looked at me- like she already knew. In retrospect- it could have been the chips he was holding in one hand - OR-the bag of rocks he had on the other side. ( Rocks from our driveway is a new obsession and I came home to multiple zip lock bags of rocks in the garage and house.)
At home Robbie was unquestionably more wired than usual. He must of jumped on our bed 500 times without getting tired- etc, etc. I decided to take him for a bike ride. He was so hyper and I did not want him to wake his sister from her nap. I also really wanted to spend some quality time with him. ( being gone all of last week and most of next week for work) Robbie got into the stroller attached to the back of the bike and sat very patiently as I rode around our neighborhood. I did notice him clenching his hands and closing his eyes- but I've seen this behavior a lot. He expressed his desire for "water" ( going to the lake) every few minutes. We did stop and had a great time at one of the beaches. When it was time to go Robbie did not want to get into the bike carrier. We battled and the decision was made to walk next to me as I walked the bike. A few feet into our journey- a man who had recently pasted us-was on his back in a ditch, convulsing- obvious seizure. A women who had spotted him first screamed for me to call 911. A few minutes later - you can imagine the chaos. Neighbors, police, family members, ambulance, cars asking what happened- (remember - we live in a very small town.) Robbie had what I will always refer to as a classic autistic moment. He held his ears and screamed, while clenching his fists. He would not get into the bike and I yelled at him for running into the street while the chaos and extra traffic flow was happening. He would not walk- had to be picked up and was very distressed. I had called in to 911 to explain where we were for the man convulsing on the side of the rode. The 911 operator was yelling me to stay on the phone and calm down after I had given her all the required information. " I have an autistic 3 year old who is running into the street holding his ears- SORRY" i yelled and hung up.
I called Rob to come get Robbie. Thankfully he appeared a few moments later.
How is this all interrelated? Dairy is a food Robbie can not have. It causes him to become over excited and not sleep- nap etc. When he is tired and off schedule- everything is more intense and harder. I will never forget this day and the look on my poor child's face. His "gut- or ability to digest foods" rules his rest. His rest rules his coping ability. As parents- we make the rules.
He seemed fine in the morning- fine enough that I let him pick out yogurt at the supermarket. ( How soon you forget to really look at labels of the foods you no longer purchase- red and blue food dye, high fructose corn syrup- artificial this and that. This food is off limit anyway) I remember reading in one of the many books I have absorbed over the past few months- " my son's behavior was erratic and off the wall and then I saw the note in his back pack- your son ate cheese today" I told my mother in law about how relieved I was that Robbie didn't seem have that problem and explained the passage in the book I read to Rob- (Dad). Robbie was a little wired this morning but nothing to cause concern. As I replay our day- I want to cry. I took Robbie to the grocery store in the morning. While his speech was good, behavior was a little off. We pulled into the check out- he sat in the main part of the shopping cart. The women loading bags was trying to get him to move his legs- to make room for the grocery's. He would not move. I explained- he is autistic- plant the items around him and I'll put any extra on the bottom of the cart. Now- I have gotten used to people saying" I never would heave guessed your son is Autistic." She looked at me- like she already knew. In retrospect- it could have been the chips he was holding in one hand - OR-
At home Robbie was unquestionably more wired than usual. He must of jumped on our bed 500 times without getting tired- etc, etc. I decided to take him for a bike ride. He was so hyper and I did not want him to wake his sister from her nap. I also really wanted to spend some quality time with him. ( being gone all of last week and most of next week for work) Robbie got into the stroller attached to the back of the bike and sat very patiently as I rode around our neighborhood. I did notice him clenching his hands and closing his eyes- but I've seen this behavior a lot. He expressed his desire for "water" ( going to the lake) every few minutes. We did stop and had a great time at one of the beaches. When it was time to go Robbie did not want to get into the bike carrier. We battled and the decision was made to walk next to me as I walked the bike. A few feet into our journey- a man who had recently pasted us-was on his back in a ditch, convulsing- obvious seizure. A women who had spotted him first screamed for me to call 911. A few minutes later - you can imagine the chaos. Neighbors, police, family members, ambulance, cars asking what happened- (remember - we live in a very small town.) Robbie had what I will always refer to as a classic autistic moment. He held his ears and screamed, while clenching his fists. He would not get into the bike and I yelled at him for running into the street while the chaos and extra traffic flow was happening. He would not walk- had to be picked up and was very distressed. I had called in to 911 to explain where we were for the man convulsing on the side of the rode. The 911 operator was yelling me to stay on the phone and calm down after I had given her all the required information. " I have an autistic 3 year old who is running into the street holding his ears- SORRY" i yelled and hung up.
I called Rob to come get Robbie. Thankfully he appeared a few moments later.
How is this all interrelated? Dairy is a food Robbie can not have. It causes him to become over excited and not sleep- nap etc. When he is tired and off schedule- everything is more intense and harder. I will never forget this day and the look on my poor child's face. His "gut- or ability to digest foods" rules his rest. His rest rules his coping ability. As parents- we make the rules.
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