Well, folks. Many of you know that Greg and I are constantly searching for therapies, activities and treatments for Ethan that will help him live a happier, fuller life in spite of living with Asperger’s Syndrome. (I guess I should clarify that I do the constant searching and Greg encourages me and makes it possible to pay for the new therapies and activities!) But I digress…

In March we decided to meet with Dr. Jonathan Walker, a Board Certified Neurologist at the Neurotherapy Center of Dallas who is a pioneer in the field of Neurotherapy. He has been studying, researching, teaching and practicing in this field for over 35 years. Neurotherapy, also referred to as Biofeedback and/or Neurofeedback, utilizes ground-breaking technology to “re-train” certain portions of the brain which are not functioning as fast as they should be, in comparison to typical age peers with no brain injuries, brain damage or other neurological issues. Dr. Walker and his staff use a non-invasive QEEG-guided form of neurotherapy to help the brain learn to self-correct abnormal brain patterns.

In order to see if Ethan would be a good candidate, Dr. Walker took a thorough history and also physically examined Ethan. We had a lengthy dialog about what kinds of things we have done with and for Ethan, what kind of results we’ve seen and what we hope to accomplish via neurotherapy. What have we done, you ask? Lots! Ethan has been in Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Thinking Groups, Social Skills Groups, on special diets, takes a compilation of very helpful natural supplements, uses certain prescription medications to help manage yeast- and bacterial-overgrowths and we also have chelated Ethan’s body to purge heavy metals. We’ve also recently started Yoga with a teacher certified to teach individuals with special needs and we’ve also started seeing Dr. Amber Brooks, a DAN! doctor who will be doing Cranio Sacral therapy with Ethan.

What have our results been? Ethan’s speech (pragmatics) and disfluency (stuttering) continue to improve thanks to continuous therapy, through the school system as well as private therapy. Ethan’s Sensory Processing Disorder issues have diminished greatly and become much easier to control over the years thanks to our work alongside private OTs and now Ethan is receiving some help via a school OT, too. Through Social Thinking Groups and Social Skills Groups, Ethan has become more proficient at interacting appropriately with his peers and handling unexpected or difficult situations. Ethan’s gluten-free, yeast-free, sugar-free, almost completely soy-free and low oxalate diet help him to feel good and stay focused. We’ve also discovered recently that casein seems to be affecting Ethan negatively, so we’re in the process of removing all dairy products from his meals. The natural supplement regimen has been wonderful for Ethan! While the kid has to be a trooper and swallow anywhere from 15-25 pills every morning and evening, he knows it helps him function better and feel good. When he has had to go off of all supplements for laboratory tests, he was a different child, more akin to the Tasmanian Devil than the loving, sweet boy Greg and I adore so much. Without the help of prescription anti-fungals and anti-bacterials paired with high-quality probiotics, I don’t know if we would have ever gotten Ethan’s digestive tract in healthy shape! After receiving so many antibiotics for ear infections when he was younger, Ethan has struggled with yeast overgrowth for years. Antiobiotics essentially kill all bacteria–even the good flora our guts need to adequately digest food, mainain balance and help provide immunity to infection and disease. Finally through what is called chelation, we have been able to help Ethan’s system rid his body of some of the toxins his system doesn’t naturally detoxify well, like Mercury, Lead and Arsenic. With all of these therapies working in conjunction together, we k

Salba Whole Seed

If you’ve never heard of Salba, also known as Salvia hispanica L. seed, I’d like to introduce you to this healthy little whole food! I mentioned Salba in my post on March 30th about my modified buttermilk cornbread family recipe (to make it Gluten-Free & Casein-Free), but we also use it in our yogurt on a regular basis, so I thought I’d share a little more about this great find. (Thanks, Mom, for introducing me to it!)

Salba is a phenomenal source of omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and anti-oxidants. According to the Swanson Health Products website, “Salba is a natural whole food source of omega 3 fatty acids and fiber. Gram for gram, Salba provides eight times more omega 3s than salmon, four times more fiber than flax, six times more calcium than whole milk and 13 times more antioxidants than blueberries. Salba is all natural, has no trans-fats, very few carbohydrates, and is vegan, kosher and gluten free.”

Like I said, I use Salba in our cornbread recipe, and we also mix it in with our yogurt on a regular basis, but I’m looking for new ways to utilize this healthy addition to our diets. I buy it whole and have a small, dedicated coffee grinder I use to prepare small batches to keep on-the-ready in the refrigerator. It can be added to many different recipes including soups, gravies and puddings (in place of of thickener) in addition to adding it to baked goods (like my GFCF Mock “Buttermilk” Cornbread.) I also understand that it can be used as an egg replacer; while I haven’t tried it, I plan to at some point. Occasionally I see it used in chips (think tortilla-style); I’ve tried one brand (though I don’t recall which), and found them to be very tasty.

So, if you haven’t tried Salba in your kitchen, I’d strongly recommend it. I purchase it from Swanson Health Products (here). If you do use Salba in your diet, I’d love to hear more about your experience and any recipes you have to share!

Photo of Red Velvet GF cupcake from Sprinkles

Check out my article for the spring issue of Thrive Magazine here. The article discusses why so many people are gluten-free these days and how the diet is helping a few subcategories of special needs kids. Let me know that you think!

While I haven’t made the progress I would’ve liked regarding utilizing new, healthy GFCF recipes, I have tried a few new things and wanted to share that I have modified my mom’s (and Grammy’s) Buttermilk Cornbread recipe with great success!

Gluten-free Casein-free (Mock Buttermilk) Cornbread

2 cups GF Cornmeal

2 cups Hempmilk w/ 1-2 tbs GF vinegar

1/2 cup ground Salba seeds

2 eggs

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Soda

(Note: Feel free to experiment with more or less Salba. Salba is a wonderful source of fiber and Omega-3s!)

Mix all ingredients together with a whisk. If mixture is dry, add additional Hempmilk until thick but very moist. Oil pan and bake 20-25 minutes. 425 degrees if in Pyrex, 450 degrees if in metal pan.

Greg and Ethan both raved about the results both times I’ve baked it this way. Greg complimented, “This is restaurant quality!”

Enjoy!

“]”]

Well, it was long overdue, but this week my home office got a make-over! I had been using mis-matched pieces of furniture from throughout my years in college and as a young adult. My workspace (which doubles as a guest bedroom) was a mess and had I outgrown everything except for the nice green walls (which I continue to adore!)

With the sleek, new desk, hutch & file I plan to reorganize myself and my writing. I’m also working on a new book project so I hope that having a more “official” feeling office will help me stay motivated and productive.

Many of you know that Ethan and I eat a strictly Gluten-Free diet. We were thrilled to hear about the expansion of the P. F. Chang’s China Bistro Gluten-Free Menu last week so we headed on out to give some of the new dishes a try. Please click on over to the Dallas Moms Blog to read about our experience.

Ethan with the grand horse at P. F. Chang's China Bistro

Check out my post today about “sensory-friendly” films on the Dallas Moms Blog. Some really great folks are making these screenings possible for special needs families in our area.

The Dallas Museum of Art is offering a special event for families living with Autism in honor of Autism Awareness Month (April.) Hearing about the event prompted me to write a bit about how difficult it can be to go into public places when your child is difficult to handle and how nice it is when places, like the DMA, recognize this on-going challenge many parents face. Whether you click and read to “hear” about our struggles or to learn more about the event, I hope you’ll enjoy. And, I hope you’ll leave a quick comment so we’ll know you stopped by.

Click here to read my post about DMA’s Autism Awareness Day Family Celebration on the Dallas Moms Blog.

Dallas Museum of Art

Somehow I didn’t manage to get this up earlier in the week when it went live on the Dallas Moms Blog…

The NAA-NT (National Autism Association of North Texas) and the ASCC (Autism Society of Collin County) are hosting a Summer Resource Fair for Special Needs families. Read about it here.

I’d love to see you there!

I have a good friend, Lindsey, who jokingly calls me “famous” every time we see one another. While Lindsey’s attitude about my having published a children’s book is quite flattering, I am far from famous, but get a good chuckle out of her moiniker for me every time. However, every now and then, something happens with my young fans and I truly am made to feel famous…

Last night at the fantastic annual fundraiser for Ethan’s school, which boasts a phenomenal Silent Auction, a signed copy of my book All Better: A Touch and Heal Book, was auctioned. After the bidding had closed, my friend (Adrienne’s) daughter (one of Ethan’s classmates) realized that they were out bid by another family. Sweet little Charlie was, according to Adrienne, “heart-broken.” So Adrienne, who was dutifully manning a volunteer station, asked if she could buy a copy from me as soon as possible. Who wants to see a sweet six-year-old suffer? Of course I was happy to oblige and told her we’d coordinate over the weekend to make it happen.

All Better: A Touch-and-Heal Book

A few minutes later I ran into Charlie who was not far away enjoying the event with her dad. She looked at me with the sweetest, saddest puppy-dog eyes I’ve ever seen and said, “Mrs. Wilcox, we didn’t win your book.” I got down on eye level with her (she’s a petite little cutie,) and told her that Adrienne and I already made plans for me to bring her a book over the weekend. Not only did I get a hug, but I got a jump-into-my-arms-and-squeal-with-delight kind of hug! You just can’t beat that.

Sweet Charlie sure knows how to make me feel famous! I’ve been basking in the glow ever since.

Remember folks, if you’re local (in the DFW area,) I try to keep a small stock on hand to sell so please let me know if you need a copy for your kids, nieces, nephews, friends’ kids, etc. I even have lots of friends buy it to include with new baby or baby shower gifts!

My blog post for the Dallas Moms Blog this week is about Ethan’s first successful sleep-over. Many families living with Autism Spectrum Disorders have to deal with sleep issues and other things which make sleep-overs all but impossible at times. Click here to read more!

Ethan with Grandma and Grandpa.

A new post went live on the Dallas Moms Blog yesterday about a media panel I spoke on last week. Good recommendations from my editor, Nancy Churnin, about making sure our voices in the special needs community are heard, are shared within the post.

Leigh Attaway Wilcox (left) with Nancy Churnin (right) discussing the media and Autism Awareness.

          Well, inevitably we get one or two good snow storms here in North Texas every year or so. Yesterday’s snowfall was record breaking, though. Something like 9 inches in one day!

Our quiet street in North Texas!

          In our school district, kids attended regular classes yesterday because though the flakes were falling and temperatures were chilly, the snow was not causing hazardous road conditions. When Ethan got home from school he and Greg started creating some snow art for the front yard.

Ethan and Greg with a lovely mid-section for our snowman!

          Following a snowy drive home from a speaking engagement in Carrollton, I came home to help with final touches. What do you think of our snowcowboy?

Leigh & Ethan with the final Snowcowboy product

          After dark yesterday the snow kept falling and temperatures dropped making road conditions dangerous, so the kids have a Snow Day today! Needless to say we are taking it easy, had a late breakfast, hanging out in our PJs and making plans to go play in more of the flaky white stuff soon.

View of our house and snowcowboy from the street, Friday 2-12-09

Stop by the Dallas Moms Blog to read my new post about Ethan, Asperger’s Syndrome, Super Mario Bros., Friendship and Unexpected Valentines. Leave a comment to let me know what you think!

Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS

My most recent post for the Dallas Moms Blog went live yesterday afternoon. If you have kids, want to have kids or even simply just care about your own health–I encourage you to read this post. It will change the way you view many things we don’t give much thought to in our daily lives.

Ethan in Organic Cotton Jammies from Hannah Andersson (NO Flame Retardants!)

Ethan has been slowly progressing up through the levels of difficulty in Tae Kwon Do for a year and a half now. On Saturday, he tested for his purple belt and found success!

 In order to earn this belt, he not only had to display knowledge and proper use of kicks and punches (alone and in combinations), but he also had to master 3 separate “forms”, spar with a peer and break a wooden board with nothing other than a well-delivered side kick. Since his “breaking” kicks have not been extremely consistent, I have been a slight bit worried for a couple of weeks, but Ethan focused well and kicked right through the board!

Hooray for Ethan; another accomplishment forged through hard work!

Ethan testing for Purple Belt

Well–it is official!

Starting on Wednesday, you’ll be able to regularly read my ramblings on the Dallas Moms Blog via the Dallas Morning News website. My posts will pertain to parenting a child with special needs; especially mothering a certain charming little boy with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Please tune in when you’re able and leave a comment when you feel so moved! Posts will go live every Wednesday at noon, but you can take a look and comment whenever you have a few moments throughout the week. You can even follow the Dallas Moms on Facebook and Twitter.

I had the pleasure of meeting many of the other Dallas Moms and the gracious and talented Editor of the Blog–Nancy Churnin, last night; what an amazing goup of women! I feel truly honored to be among such great company. I’m looking forward to learning a great deal and hope you’ll come along for the ride!

Cheers!

As with many people living with Asperger’s Syndrome, Ethan often takes phrases and comments from other very literally. Frequently it gives us a good laugh and always gives us an opportunity to help Ethan understand that we may not always mean what we say…

This weekend, my phone rang and a friend left a message while I was drying my hair. When I came into the kitchen, Greg said, “Your boyfriend called.” As I walked over to pick up my phone and check my voice mail, Ethan frankly stated, “Mommy, I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.”

So innocent. So honest. So sweet.

Needless to say, we had a discussion about Daddy being silly and how married people don’t have boyfriends and girlfriends anymore. So many lessons in life!

There have been numerous times over the past few years that Ethan has requested that Greg or I be silent in the car while he joyfully sings along to our music selection, whether it be Jack Johnson, The Eagles or James Taylor. Usually we allow him to assert some control, but help him ask in a mannerful way.  However there are other times we make Ethan endure our singing along with his and the musician’s to help teach him that he cannot control every situation and always manipulate circumstances to his personal preferences. Just a few days ago I was wondering to myself if Ethan would ever get to the point that he would WANT someone else to sing with him. Today he unexpectedly requested that I sing a duet with him in the car!

Ever seen the Disney movie Bolt? The two main characters are voiced by Miley Cyrus and John Travolta and the theme song, “I Thought I Lost You,”  is pretty catchy. There are only two songs with lyrics on the soundtrack; all the others are instrumentals which Ethan likes because he can visualize exactly with which part of the movie the music correlates. Ethan has been absolutely stuck on “I Thought I Lost You” for about 2 weeks now…singing or humming it constantly. The humming and singing is common for him, but he usually switches up the songs. This afternoon I was very surprised and encouraged when he asked me to sing Miley’s lines and he belted out John’s; especially since I was thinking to myself not that long ago that it was something “we” would have to work on. Smart little guy–he worked it out himself! 

It may not seem like much to anyone looking in from outside, but I consider this self-initiated growth and progress such a gift.

Hooray Ethan!

Dear Readers,

A piece I wrote about Ethan, Asperger’s Syndrome, Family and Finances just went live today on the “Dallas Moms Blog” at the Dallas Morning News website! Check it out here.

As always, thanks for reading.

It truly doesn’t seem possible that 2009 can already be a thing of the past and that 2010 is here, four days into it, nonetheless! Does it?

Over the years, I’ve made New Year resolutions; some I’ve kept and some I haven’t…this year I hope to really give each one the attention it deserves. I figure if I post my resolutions here, for all to see–all of my friends, family, colleagues and other readers can help hold me accountable! Are you in? (Feel free to post your resolutions in the comments if you are so inclined; I’ll help hold you accountable, too!)

Resolution #1: This resolution involves keeping a strict food journal for Ethan to try to detect food intolerances (via health and behavior trends) we may have missed over the past 3 years on our journey with Asperger’s Syndrome; Ethan had a tough fall at school (100% included in 1st grade) and I want to make sure we are doing everything we possibly can to help him on the home front! We’re also doing some blood testing through Dr. Rao to pinpoint any pesky food culprits (results due late this month), but keeping this journal is one sure-fire way I can feel in control and know that I really am doing all that I can to feed Ethan well according to what his body needs and does not. (For past blog posts regarding Ethan’s biomedical treatments, check my old posts!)

Resolution #2: I’m also going to rework our family diet to include more healthful, healing foods. (This really goes hand-in-hand with the resolution above, but will benefit Greg and myself, as much as Ethan!) Ever heard of Cooking to Heal? I saw Julie Matthews (Certified Nutrition Consultant) and and Suesson Ross Vess (Chef & Food Coach) present at the DAN!Conference in Dallas in October 2009. They were extremely inspiring and motovational. My mom and dad ordered the Cooking to Heal DVD and workbook for me as one of my Christmas gifts! What a true gift it will be for all of us (when it arrives, hopefully this week!) I already own Julie Matthew’s Nourishing Hope for Autism and Suesson Vess’ Special Eats: Simple Delicious Solutions for Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Cookingand plan to put all of them (plus the aresenal of other great cookbooks and guides I have to GF and GF/CF cooking) to good use in 2010.  So Dear Readers, If you’re interested in hearing how our dietary adventures go (think “Julie and Julia” style) let me know!

Resolution #3: Put the oxygen mask on! Our wonderful Dr. Rao reminded me in December that if I don’t take care of myself, I won’t be able to take care of Ethan the way I wish to care for him…Dr. Rao said that when he first heard that air passengers seated next to small children should put their oxygen masks on first in the event of an emergency, he thought it was selfish. But after considering the consequences, he understood the need for adults to place masks on first so that they can stay conscious long enough

Today is the day…9-9-09.

“In order to hear their voices, we must first raise ours.”

The National Autism Association has started an amazing campaign to ask How Much Longer for Autism? NAA makes it easy to question President Obama, the NIH, the CDC, the AAP, the ACIP, the DoE and simply question America via email.

Take a moment to check it out! I spent a whopping 20 minutes and feel like I have accomplished a great deal today on behalf of my son and the other 1 in 100 kids and families affected by Autism; thank you NAA!

Ethan’s school nurse called last week to let me know that he had been in to see her when he started coughing in PE and kept coughing after. He loves our school nurse and has often had very engaging conversations about health topics with her in the past.

So, when he arrived, he told her–in between coughs–that he thought he was getting “Lord-of-a-Cairus!”

Knowing Ethan, and intuitively the kind of woman who is good with kids, she probably replied, “Really, why do you think so?”

He shared that he was coughing a lot and his voice was scratchy. I’m quite certain that without missing a beat, she told him that it very well could be Laryngitis, so he should probably drink extra water and take it easy. After a couple of cups of water and a hug, she sent him on his way. I appreciated her call later in the afternoon to update me about the situation.

Lord-of-a-Cairus=Laryngitis. Only a wonderfully intuitive school nurse who loves kids would’ve known that!

Since then, Ethan’s Lord-of-a-Cairus has turned into a full-fledged cold with a runny nose and icky cough. Poor guy.

A dear friend and colleague, Chuck Sambuchino, has a lot to celebrate lately with two books [he edited] now available through Writer’s Digest. I am the proud owner of one with the other on its way to me in the mail!

Check them out, my friends:

2010 Guide to Literary Agents  Like most Writer’s Digest Guides, this book is full of useful updated listings but more importantly–in my opinion–has tons of great articles. And, don’t miss Chuck’s Guide to Literary Agents Blog for excellent industry news and advice year-round.

Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript  I’m all about having this for the updated information and insider tips! Like I said, my copy is in the mail… 

Thanks, Chuck, for your dedication to details and your amazing advice for writers everywhere.

How can time pass so quickly? It seems like not so long ago it broke my heart and made it swell with pride at the same time that I was dropping Ethan off for Friday Mother’s Day Out at our church. Now, he has successfully launched himself into First Grade, with only a quick, but sweet, glance back.

When preparing all of his school supplies the night before the big first day, Ethan asked if I could put napkin notes in his lunch again this year. Needless to say, I was touched. Of course I will put napkin notes in his lunches again! Then, on the second day of school after walking to campus through our neighborhood, we approached the school’s entrance and Ethan said, “It’s okay, Mom, I can go in by myself.” GULP! With a smile, a kiss and a hug, I sent him on his merry way but stayed to watch him dance along into the school. My heart nearly exploded when he stopped after the first glass door and turned to look at me. What could be better than sending off a flying kiss and receiving one back from a bright-eyed and happy boy with a super-sweet-first-grade-smile? Not much of anything can even compare.

I’m proud of my little guy. I know that he’s ready and confident. He is in good, kind, capable hands with the school’s staff.  With all my heart, and only a few tears, I wish him only the best in his First Grade Endeavors!

Ethan on the 1st day of 1st grade!