Middle School Journey

The buildup to beginning Middle School for Colton was much worse than the actual journey itself so far. I spent months worrying about how he would handle the change from Elementary School to Middle School. No more teachers walking you through every step of your day, no more walking in lines or not talking on the deck (halls), and no more homeroom classes. For any child on the spectrum, a common personality trait is they are not too fond of change. Things that are constant for them are predictable therefore they feel safe and comfortable. For a child on the spectrum, changes in environment, rules, organization, etc. can cause overt levels of stress and anxiety. So knowing he was going to be changing classrooms, on his own, 7 times a day, had me concerned. And the idea of assemblies and pep rallies and unplanned events made me wonder if he would be sent over the edge. Secondly, I would be awoken at night sometimes with thoughts of how he may be treated by the others in Middle School. I was worried about the older kids, the 7th and 8th graders, who don't know him and don't know his quirks. I was concerned that they would tease him or bully him just for sport, which kids have done at school in the past. So with all these worries we spent the entire summer helping him prepare for the new venture. He did some social skills training and really enjoyed it, even made a few friends. We made sure he stayed in Karate and he got to take part in his first tournament and placed 2nd! But what we think has moved the needle the most in terms of curing some of his symptoms and preparing him for MS was Neurofeedback Therapy. We called in the Spring to see if we could get him in to do an evaluation and to see if we could even afford it. The waiting list was long but we got him in late June. After they did their analysis, the doctor, without even meeting Colton, was able to describe his personality just by looking at his brainwaves (SO AMAZING!). He then mapped out a strategy to give Cole some relief by calming some of the waves and training others to work correctly. Colton did 30 sessions of the mapping which cost us a fortune. We knew the cost was going to be steep & not covered by insurance and immediately canceled any plans to go on a big family vacation this year to help offset some of the cost. To help cover the rest I picked up another side job as an Ambassador for Plexus Health Supplements. I work full time along with running a Media Company on the side so I knew this was going to be rough. But luckily we have been blessed with the business doing very well from the get-go and we were able to cover the cost of all the therapies. We saw great improvement with the therapy and we still see positive things and growth weekly that catch us off guard. We've heard from some of his teachers too who had him last year, that they see a big difference. What has surprised us the most this school year so far is how easily he has adapted to all the change. The only thing that worries him is being late! Oh my word that boy stresses about being late to school, to class, to lunch, to gym, you name it! But other than that, he has been able to stay on top of his workload and even does projects and school work quickly, not liking to procrastinate. The kids are nice to him...for the most part. They don't outright bully him but there have been some issues and luckily the were taken care of quickly before it got worse. We are blessed to be able to go to a smaller school where all the teachers know all the kids and we pretty much know all the parents as well. But there will always times when he will get picked on b/c he's different. I even saw some girls in his grade teasing him the other day at PE and laughing with the other kids at him. They didn't know I was watching from my car in carpool. Sadly, Colton knows that's just how kids are and that some will treat him that way. His skin is getting thicker and he does not melt down when he gets hurt emotionally like he did when he was in elementary. When he was younger it would happen a lot and friends would say "Oh Colton is just sensitive, boys usually just let stuff roll of his back", but what they never understood was that the others were not simply teasing him like all boys do to mess with each other, they were making fun of his weakness, highlighted his weakness and then getting others to laugh at it...or would run and hide from him and make him look for them, the entire playdate/recess, knowing it upset him. He was always the one who got singled out. You moms of special needs kids know what i'm talking about. Most of these kids are bright and understand quite clearly what is happening, because it always happens to them, every day. When they are young they are not scared to voice how they feel and how unfair life is. Others judge and just call it sensitivity. But because typical kids don't ever let others know they are hurt, they get away with it. But our spectrum kids, as they get older, they learn from their peers that it's not "cool" to show that teasing hurts you, so they learn to take it and learn who they can and can not trust quickly. But all that being said, he's been VERY happy with the kids in Middle School and is getting along well! As for the diet, many folks have asked if we've stuck to it and the answer is YES YES and YES!!! This diet is what has kept Colton from ever having to take medications. Even though we were told by multiple teachers and doctors that medication would be the only way to help him, this diet keeps his head clear and allows him to focus and not live in a cloud. We are still very strict on the diet. No gluten, no chocolate, no refined sugars, no artificial sweeteners, colors or preservatives. The only hard part is that there is not much in the school lunch line that's gluten free, except for fruit and veggies (which a middle schooler could care less about). But we still make him his foods from scratch, pizza, tacos, chicken tenders (with tortilla crumbs instead of flour), sautéed fish, scrambled eggs and bacon, gf Scones from Whole Foods, potatoes, broccoli, corn, shrimp, crab and steak. That is his list of staples. Like any kids, he has his favs and will eat them every day if we let him. We eat out sometimes and some have been great and others, like Palios Pizza, he has had horrible negative effects from. I'm sure it's b/c of cross contamination. But here is a list of Gluten Free Restaurants where we have found the most success BJs Brewery I Hop Cracker Barrel Rockfish Texas Roadhouse Okada Japanesse Steakhouse & Hibachi (HIS FAVORITE). Now I've decided to start him on some new supplements from Plexus Slim. Other with kids with challenges have found relief so we are going to see how it can positively help him. We are going to give him a packet of Slim in water each day and Probio5 at night. Looking SO forward to see the results. He had his first Pink Drink today and really liked it. So i'm hopeful!

Looking toward Middle School

School is out, and has been for a few weeks for my kids. It didn't take long for them and us to fall into our lazy summer schedule. With my work hours being shortened in the summer and the kids with little to no schedule, it has allowed us all to exhale a bit and not carry the typical worries and stressors the school year brings of deadlines, grades, homework and early mornings. I'm going to revel in this current piece of mind because coming just a few short months away is what many of us with kids on the spectrum DREAD...that's right...MIDDLE SCHOOL! Gone are the days of cute holiday class parties, recess and homeroom moms, and on to organized chaos of preteen school days. To a child who thrives in structure and sameness, the idea of the freedom of Middle School scares the heck out of him. Along with that fear, the uncertainty of the way some of the older kids will react to and treat Colton already keeps me up at night. We are surrounded by amazing teachers, who are also my friends, who I know will look out for him, but it's at lunch and PE and those unobserved times that I worry. So we are working hard this summer to prepare him, from a social standpoint, how to handle any adverse situations and how to be bold enough to stand up for yourself. If I could homeschool him and keep him under my wing forever I would, but I know he NEEDS to be with others and experience life. As for his diet we have allowed him to relax a bit letting him actually eat off restaurants "Gluten Free" menus. Some are better than others meaning ACTUALLY gluten free. He's had some meals at some where within 5 minutes is starring into space and begins forgetting things. It happened last week even and it scared us. To come this far and to so quickly relapse was a huge lesson in how to manage what and when we allow him to eat at a restaurant. We even gave in and let him have a snowcone AND a real slice of pizza at the end of school. Surprisingly neither were as good as he remembered. I guess eating healthy and clean for a year and a half can remind you what "real food" tastes like. I did create a new Gluten Free Apple Crisp dessert that is now Cole's new favorite
Gluten Free Apple Crisp 2 Cups GF Flour 2 Cups GF Rolled Oats 2 Cups Coconut Palm Sugar 2 TBS Cinnamon 1 1/2 stick of butter, at room temperature One large can of canned apples Mix first 4 ingredients in a large ziplock. Then mix in butter. Close back and knead with your hands until mixture turns into consistent sized crumbles. Spread apples in the bottom of a 9x9 pan or a pie plate. To with crumble mixture. Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.