I'll begin with an official announcement that yes,
I've put my child on an ADD/ ADHD elimination diet although she has never been
diagnosed or evaluated for it by a physician. My six year old daughter,
Lily began to exhibit behaviors that raised red flags for me around the age of
three. I would say that it was the intensity of her emotional explosions,
combined with her bursts of activity and lack of focus that drove me to search
for help in some direction or another in order to avoid a diagnosis and
subsequent prescription drugs.
On July fourth, we were celebrating a dear friend's
birthday and a friend of this friend overheard me discussing with Lily which
candies she could eat and which ones she couldn't, and she casually commented,
"Ah, so you're on the Feingold Diet."
Of course at that time we weren't and I'd never
even heard of the Feingold Diet. Our conversation unfolded and she told
me that the diet eliminated artificial colors (we avoid them whenever
possible), preservatives (we don't do those either), flavors (or those), and
salicylates. This is the tricky part because salicylates are in all those
healthy foods we feed our kids, like berries, apples, tomatoes, cucumbers and
grapes.
Basically, the five foods my child has eaten every
day of her entire life.
I knew what salicylates were and I had avoided
eliminating them three years prior when we were trying to help Lily with her
new asthma diagnosis, simply because she adores eating those fruits and
veggies. But early this summer there was a day when I was watching Lily
color a picture and constantly being drawn away and dropping interest.
She presented it to me as a gift and I asked her to finish it-- to color
in the letters, all the character's clothes and backgrounds. Something I
really don't ask her to do, and something she very rarely does. I watched
her struggle with this simple task for a child her age. She kept
exploding out of her seat to vigorously shake her hands in front of her body
while panting, and alternately hitting herself in the head while barking like a
dog. It was just too much for her. She couldn't do it. We
both ended that coloring session in tears.
Fast forward to July 4th and the words FEINGOLD
DIET are reverberating in my head at a backyard barbeque. I felt like I
was in the right place at the right time, talking to the right person (Thank
you, Merianne). We're ending our third week on the diet and I think I can
count our "bad" days on one hand. We are half way into the
"detox" period and if it keeps getting better and better, all I can
say is if she never eats another strawberry or tomato that is a price I am MORE
than willing to pay.
For a frame of reference, here is a list of symptoms
we've dealt with:
hyperactivity
inapppropriate wiggling of legs/ hands
poor self control
excessive talking
interrupts often (a constant problem)
repeating an activity (like galloping instead of
walking or sitting on her head instead of her bottom)
low frustration tolerance
overraction to pain, sound and lights
demands immediate attention
panics easily
nervousness
distractable
unable to complete projects (a major problem)
inability to listen to a whole story
inability to follow direction
eye muscle disorder (strabismus)
short term memory problems (a major problem)
erratic sleep
asthma
hives
Now, please don't sound the alarm since chances
are, your child exhibits many of these behaviors. Almost every child does
at some point. Chemically sensitive kids who benefit from the diet just
exhibit them more frequently and intensely. However, if you see your
child in my illustration of Lily's problems and reading this helps you, then
all the better for everyone.
At the end of next week I'll re-list the symptoms
since we have a second self check-up scheduled after week four. I'll also
try to post some recipes soon and open the discussion to home bread baking
which is constantly on my mind.
Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive on
Facebook and given me so much encouragement so far, and thanks for reading!
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