I wrote here about Ian a few weeks ago, how his intense behaviors had resurfaced and I was finally ready to question if it was more than just being "spirited". After talking to his preschool teacher and an OT, we identified a bunch of deep pressure sensory seeking behaviors and thought it might be the root of a lot of his behaviors. There were other things that made me suspect something else (digestive issues, illnesses, etc), so I finally buckled down and tried a gluten free diet.
It's only been a few weeks, but there is already a noticeable difference! AND, we had a slip-up once already (he had some wheat toast) and the next day there was a massive tantrum, but within a day of no gluten he was fine again.
This weekend I even tested him a little with some out-of-the-ordinary activities, some hard transitions, even some "disappointments" and he handled them great!! The one I was most proud of was when we stopped at Cinnabon at the mall, and he was allowed to have a Fruit Chillatta while his brother was allowed a cini-mini, and although he was sad, he didn't melt down!! (it helped that his brother is dairy-free so couldn't have the drink, so both boys weren't allowed to have something that the other boy had).
I picked him up from school today and his teacher said that he had to do some make-up work (he was out sick last week a few days) and he sat and did the work with no problems, and she didn't even put the pressure vest on him! The other kids were doing some other (more fun) activity, and he was occassionally distracted, but he did a really good job. A month ago he would have required one-on-one attention to get a fine motor activity done like that!!
I am just overall amazed!! I mean, who would think that gluten could cause (or exacerbate) all those issues???
We're going to keep him gluten free for a while, then switch him to no-wheat only and see how he reacts.
It's only been a few weeks, but there is already a noticeable difference! AND, we had a slip-up once already (he had some wheat toast) and the next day there was a massive tantrum, but within a day of no gluten he was fine again.
This weekend I even tested him a little with some out-of-the-ordinary activities, some hard transitions, even some "disappointments" and he handled them great!! The one I was most proud of was when we stopped at Cinnabon at the mall, and he was allowed to have a Fruit Chillatta while his brother was allowed a cini-mini, and although he was sad, he didn't melt down!! (it helped that his brother is dairy-free so couldn't have the drink, so both boys weren't allowed to have something that the other boy had).
I picked him up from school today and his teacher said that he had to do some make-up work (he was out sick last week a few days) and he sat and did the work with no problems, and she didn't even put the pressure vest on him! The other kids were doing some other (more fun) activity, and he was occassionally distracted, but he did a really good job. A month ago he would have required one-on-one attention to get a fine motor activity done like that!!
I am just overall amazed!! I mean, who would think that gluten could cause (or exacerbate) all those issues???
We're going to keep him gluten free for a while, then switch him to no-wheat only and see how he reacts.
!! seeing positive change feels so good. and it's pretty cute to see the kids know to ask - my dd (3) now asks about everything. "mama, is that orange gyooooten fwee?" glad to hear things are going well!
