my sensation kid

I have learned so much about my son as soon as I started working with an OT, who specializes in a sensory integration approach, 5 months ago. Based on my experience, i can not stress enough to families going down this road to seek out an OT who specializes because it has been instrumental for my family. Our old OT just did not comprehend the totality of my son's sensory needs. For example, our OT who specializes in a sensory integration approach, pointed out that my son missed a foundational skill having only crawled for a brief period and started walking at 8 1/2 months of age. She implemented a sensory diet beginning with my son crawling while playing with his cars, having a tunnel accessible for my son to crawl through and crawling when his motor is running too high. Our old OT had my son sitting at a table trying to manipulate peg boards and a wide variety of sensory objects, of which also neglected to take into account his sensitivities (hypersensitive to auditory and visual input and tactile defensiveness)

Understanding my son's specific needs has alleviated so much frustration and confusion in my day to day life and has given me more strength and empowerment than i have felt in the last 3 years.

My son has:

Sensory Discrimination Disorder (SDD)

Sensory-Based Motor Disorder (SBMD)

Sensory Modulation Disorder (SMD)

He is a sensory seeker,

over responsive to visual, auditory and lite touch

under responsive to vestibular, proprioceptive and deep touch

Do you have or know a Sensational Kid?

like switching off a light

here is my little guy finishing up a big bowl of salad. six months ago, i was so happy to come back and let everyone know that my son's "poor feeding" went away and it has. just as the doctor said it would between 2-3 years of age... just like switching off a light, it will go away.

but with my son eating and sleeping in a healthier way, there were still these behaviors that i could not make sense of nor put my finger on. at times, i could not read him nor understand what he needed. it is a very helpless and frustrating feeling. every day could be so different and i had no explanation why.

i sought out additional occupational therapy services, aside from Birth to Three. at the consultation, my son's needs were magnified and there was no question that there was something much bigger going on with my son. I believe that my son has had Sensory Processing Disorder from the beginning.

moving forward, I hope to share our triumphs and struggles of our family as we travel through our day a little differently than we had planned.

food allergy {dot} org

here is a great resource for HOW TO READ A LABEL
to avoid unsafe foods from foodallergy.org.
 

GF DF CF EF breakfasts

{updated}

my little one's breakfast completely changed last week with the elimination diet to help alleviate his symptoms from henoch-schonlein purpura. he is currently gluten-free, dairy-free, casein-free, egg-free, corn-free, and soy-free.

in addition, my little one NEEDS crunchy food to satisfy his sensory needs, so you could imagine toasted whole wheat breads and crunchy cereals were very much a part of our day. interestingly to note is that when i increased the amount of crunchy foods and cold beverages offered throughout the day and at every meal, i seen an increase in the amount of food he was consuming. pancakes topped with RAW nuts and seeds have worked well in the past, easily topped always with hemp seeds and other raw nuts or seeds that we have on hand. muffins with nuts or seeds initially work well, but i believe a recently purchased mini muffin pan will offer a firmer texture that my little one will accept better.

My little one has been DF CF EF for some time now and i have been able to make easy substitutions for dairy, casein and egg. The GF seems to be the hardest yet. I have a variety of items in my pantry but I am having a hard time finding GF DF CF EF CF SF recipes that do not include 4+ types of flours and starches, as well as a handful of more of other ingredients. I would like to find a simple, basic pancake recipe and muffin recipe. I also need to make up for a failed attempt at GF birthday cupcakes :( my little one turned 3 years old through all of this and my recipe fell flat.

in my cupboard, i have:

FLOURS: brown rice flour, coconut flour, buckwheat flour, tapioca flour

GRAINS: quinoa, amaranth, rice, buckwheat

RAW SEEDS/NUTS: chia seeds, hemp seeds, cashews, coconut, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, sesame seeds, almonds, pine nuts

OILS: cold pressed coconut, canola oil, extra virgin olive oil

MILKS: coconut, almond, hemp, rice

safe breakfasts include:
 - quinoa

- erewhon crispy brown rice cereal (the one and only safe boxed cereal i found at whole foods)

- nut & seed granola, recipe here (i substituted in brown rice flour and honey. i also added walnuts and whole flaxseeds. note for next batch to ground the flax seeds and to eliminate Trader Joe's raw pumpkin seeds)
- pancakes (not as simple as I was hoping for, but the best ones so far)

the elimination diet

3/25/2012

Notes: the following posts are to update family with the changes in my little one's diet and have the information accessible. To others, who have worked with their little one's or themselves in determining food allergies and intolerances, please feel free to share your story, tips, recipes and links to helpful sites.

we have eliminated the following from my little one's diet:

dairy (intolerance)

eggs (intolerance)

beef (intolerance)

goat's milk (intolerance)

oranges
strawberries

bananas

grapes

white potatoes

corn

peanuts
cashews

wheat

soy

sugar

chocolate

food dyes
preservatives

alternatives:

milk (rice, almond)

coconut milk (yogurt, ice cream)

sweet potatoes

rice, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat
beans, lentils

almond butter, sunflower seed butter

blessed with a ray of light

yesterday, at an event at my daughter school, I glanced over at her and thought she looked a little tired. by the time she came home from school, it was clear that she had come down with something. oh poor thing, to not be feeling well as she gets a break for the holiday. and my plans to start and finish up some gifts these last few days were not looking so good either, especially seeing that my other little one has been sick.

so today, we kept my daughter out of school so she could rest. my husband went out in the morning to stock up on his toys to put under the tree. the children and i stayed in and did some snuggling until my little ones went off to their room to play. i took that time to do some quick cleaning then i needed stop to help clean up and organize the children's bedroom. the result of a 2 1/2 year old getting into a 7 1/2 year old's things, a reminder that we need to simplify again. (although we managed to sift 3 barbie dolls out)

the morning went by rather quickly and all were ready for lunch. as we were eating, the sun peaked around the side of our house as it usually does this time of year, bringing direct sunlight into our kitchen. my daughter moved her seat over to bask in the sun and a ray of light caught her swarvoski crystal bracelet (part of her mermaid halloween outfit, a reminder that i have lots to share). With joy she exclaimed, "LOOK, MY BRACELET IS MAKING RAINBOWS" and oh how we all love these rainbows. 

i had already accepted and felt fine that my christmas projects were going to have to be pushed back for upcoming birthdays as i have two little ones that need me but i was a little unhappy thinking about the type and amount of daddy gifts that were going to stocked under our christmas tree. but after that moment of joy and glee brought about by dancing rainbows, i just decided to let the ill feelings of commercialized toys go and just know that when i sit back and be present in these small moments, i will be renewed with wonder and awe and my children will be blessed with the same.

A happy solstice indeed.

sorry no pics today. but i am reminded of how much i enjoy capturing the light here. happy solstice everyone

vegan pumpkin pie + preparing our advent sky

i hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving. we had a lovely day. much thanks and appreciation to my family, who made our dinner time later to allow my little guy a restful nap. while the little guy napped, we made some homemade cranberry sauce with clementines and cinnamon to bring with us. it was very tasty. we also brought, my vegan pumpkin pie, made with coconut milk, bananas and coconut oil. my pumpkin pie, came in second (depending on who you ask) just behind a dreamy turtle pie that was so amazing. my little guy gobbled up his piece of pumpkin pie and we had some left to bring home that he has been eating every day. i'll be baking another one this week :)

 

after the thanksgiving holiday, we also put our christmas tree up and hung our stockings. it feels like the right time for our family, allowing us more time to prepare for the festivals and the holiday season. everyone wanting to help this year. 

tonight, after the children were tucked into bed, i prepare for the first day of advent. i wish you and your family a beautiful advent. thank you to everyone who kept me in their thoughts and thank you again for all your kind words and encouragement.