Friday’s Happenings November 15, 2008
Posted by Good Fountain in Diet, School.Tags: allergies, food intolerances, IEP, special education, special needs preschool
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Friday was an interesting day, and one full of decisions.
First thing in the morning I observed a Kindergarten class. Chee’s teacher thought it might be useful for me in helping to decide whether to send Chee on to Kindergarten. It was interesting, and confirmed in my mind that Chee is ready for Kindergarten. She will have no trouble with the academics presented. Her teachers and therapists at school agree wholeheartedly that she should go on as well.
After lunch, I went back to school for the annual IEP meeting. Her teacher, who I think is just awesome, said that Chee’s biggest issue in the classroom is the social/language arena. She does not engage, without support, beyond one or two times with a peer. She also lacks focus. She will not finish an activity (such as drawing a picture book of family members) without assistance.
Everyone on Team Chee (teachers, therapists and Captains Mom and Dad) feel that Chee will get there in those areas, but that an extra year of preschool would not be especially helpful.
I liked hearing other adults say they believe that Chee will get there. Overall, it was a mostly positive experience (as positive as an IEP meeting can be when you’ve got a list of all your child’s can’ts staring you in the face).
She will definitely need Special Education services next year, and as such will need an Educational Diagnosis. Probably Autism Spectrum Disorder or Asperger’s. I don’t know a whole lot about Asperger’s, especially what it looks like in girls. The evaluation process will start in February and in April we will formalize the plan for what services she will get in Kindergarten.
Thursday I met with the doctor who ordered the blood test on Chee to identify what allergies, both immediate (IgE) and delayed (IgG) she has.
Of the immediate variety, she’s allergic to cat.
Of the delayed variety, Chee is allergic to mucho. I believe the doctor’s exact words were, “She’s a mess.”
Oh. Thanks.
For background, in case anyone is interested, Dr. S explained to me that foods that one is allergic to can produce either an immediate (IgE) reaction or delayed (IgG). In both instances, histamines are being released which cause inflammation. With an IgE reaction, you notice it right away with itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, rashes, etc. With an IgG reaction, the effects are seen later, as in the next day. In adults it can cause chronic IBS, chronic sinus issues, fibromyalgia, migraines and GI problems. In children, behavior is affected.
Until today, I didn’t realize that Chee lacked focus. I mean, I knew it. But I didn’t really get it. (I can be dense sometimes.)
The consistent thing parents of her child patients report back to her is improved focus.
I won’t bore you with all the details of every single thing she’s allergic to, but let me just say, it’s a lot. And it’s some of her favorite foods (oranges!!).
A dietitian created a Wellness Rotation Diet specifically for Chee based on her lab results. For two solid weeks she is to follow this diet. While there are many things to choose from, it’s still going to be limiting. For example, she tested positive for rice and corn in addition to gluten and all gluten-containing foods like wheat, rye, barley, oat. So that’s a lot of grains gone from the diet.
After two weeks (if we can make it that long), I will start to rotate back in reactive foods and watch for reactions. Some she will be able to handle, and some not. She tested very low on rice and corn (unlike gluten, peanuts and cashews which were ridiculously high) so those will be among the first to be rotated back in.
Things that she tested higher for, like mustard, sesame and soy, may take longer for her body to be able to process. And it’s possible she’ll never tolerate them. It’s a bit of a guessing game. Hopefully she’ll be able to tell us, at some point, how certain foods make her feel.
This diet is going to be challenging, but I’ve been given a GREAT list of foods to choose from. It’s mainly going to require substantially more planning and effort from me in the kitchen if I want to make a variety of foods. Can’t just rely on our standard faves.
This morning I had a conversation with Chee about her allergies. I can’t just take away her beloved oranges and cashews and mustard without explaining why.
I’m thinking the implementation of this diet is going to require something else, something special, to make it successful.
I have wanted one of these for years but never got around to getting one. It’s time, don’t ya think?
Sounds like great progress made … but whatcha gonna do about the cat?
Sounds like a good choice re kindie.
re allergies – wow, I don’t envy you. My typical son is anaphalactic allergic to egg and cow’s milk. I can’t even imagine eliminating all grains, including rice (!).
I should probably get a workup for my atypical son, although the only symptom he’s ever presented with is one bout of exzema (sp?).
Ashli – the cat stays. With all the other food issues going on, getting rid of the cat isn’t going to solve anything.
Laura – other than her general “atypicality” (SPD, Hyperlexia, etc), the only other symptom she ever presented with is eczema – which resolved by the time she was 18 months old.
Information is power! Good luck with the diet, looking forward to hearing the results.
Just curious, what kind of doctor did the allergy testing?
Holy cow!
Please talk more about the allergies. Apple has been off of cow’s milk and corn for a long time (cow’s milk was taken out of MY diet at 2 months old), but she tested negative at 12 months for IgE reactions in the blood, which just annoyed the crap out of me since her reactions were so obvious. I didn’t not even know they could test for IgG reactions in blood. We just went to her 3-year checkup, and I got a referral to an allergist, so I’m hopeful that we’ll finally get some answers.
Yikes. That’s great about the diet geared justfor her. I really should get my son tested.
I’m so glad the IEP was pretty positive. Chee is doing great!
And definitely go for the food processor.
Vanessa, she’s an ENT/Allergist. She’s been doing food allergy/intolerance testing for years. It’s not something all Allergists do. I’m glad I found her!
Wow–Friday was a big day! Email me offline if you want to talk about GF/CF or ASD. It’s so great that you have such a supportive school system, and that the nutritionist created a list for you. There are so many options out there food-wise…
On a less serious note, I’m not sure if you “do” awards but I gave you one anyway!
Heaps of stuff happening there. I think you need the new kitchen accessory
Will be a big help.
The Autism / Aspergers in girls stuff – try reading Temple Grandin, especially the book about her childhood “Emergence, Labelled Autistic”. It gives a great insight into the mind of a girl child on the spectrum. Plus lots of hope because of the amazing things Temple Grandin has achieved as an adult.
Tony Attwood is my other fav. author for autism spectrum related stuff.
Both my girls are off for skin tests for allergies at the beginning of next month. We had Heidi tested for allergies via blood test when she was 12 months old and she came back with a long list of allergies, then 2 months later we got in for the skin test and the results were totally different. Apparently the skin tests are much more precise and you can also do things like add a drop of regular milk from the milk the kids drink at home to get an even more precise test. All very technical and confusing.
Just had an IEP meeting for my son. The social/language arena is their main concern for him as well. He’s younger than your little girl. Just starting preschool. But sounds like they struggle in some of the same areas.
sorry to hear about all the allergies. it’s got to be heartbreaking to have to take away some of her favorites.
That sounds so great. Definitely a lot of work, but getting answers, even if it means more work on your part, is still hope-inducing (is that a word?)
We are taking Danny to a doctor to be tested for food allergies and such in Feb. so it was interesting to hear a bit about it from you. How did your doc do the testing?
Wow, this is a huge undertaking and I’m looking forward to hearing more about how it is for both you and Chee. My fingers are crossed that it works really well for her. She is so lucky to have such a great mom!
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