This morning I decided to bake a batch of peanut butter truffle cookies for the kids. Of course, it is always a hit and miss with gluten-free/casein-free recipes--but I tackled it anyway. The recipe is super simple, and came from the book "The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook".
It is really yummy, and I suggest you try it even if you aren't living gluten or casein free! Since I didn't have GFCF chocolate chips on hand, I made half the batch plain peanut butter, and added regular chocolate chips for Makaylin to the other half. Seriously, try these!
Peanut Butter Truffle Cookies
1 c. creamy GFCF peanut butter (you can sub in regular here, too)
1 c. light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup GFCF semisweet chocolate chips (again, regular work fine for those of you who aren't gfcf)
Preheat oven to 350. Cream together all ingredients, except chocolate chips, with wooden spoon. Add chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake 9 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the sheet before removing to cool completely.
Mak and I had a little mommy/daughter time and we made Muddy Buddies (aka puppy chow)! She was a great helper--dumping in the chex and chocolate chips and stirring it all up! She was also a GREAT taste-tester!
An update on Ryker: For now, his thyroid is functioning normal--despite his abnormal test result. His additional tests and ultrasound came back normal, and he'll be re-tested in April at his 2 year well-check.
I'm not sure if I have mentioned it previously, but he has slowly been dropping foods (many of his favorites) from his diet. There are basically only 4 foods he will eat right now: GF animal crackers, GF pretzels, GF waffles, and applesauce. He gets extremely frustrated because he is hungry, but unable to handle the textures (I'm assuming) of every other food. Watching your child regress right before your eyes is heartbreaking. The simple act of eating is so difficult for him and it is something most people really don't think about. So, tomorrow we are meeting with a dietitian to discuss his diet and hopefully she can offer some suggestions for vitamins until we get him back to Fraser for his Feeding Evaluation.
We are still weighing our options for intervention/therapy. It looks like we will probably go the preschool route, with him starting in September. Although, we are concerned about what to do with him in the summer. We will also be adding speech therapy and occupational therapy from a private practice. It will be a busy year, but well worth it.
Adam and I are trying very hard to keep Makaylin's life as normal as possible. She will be starting ECFE classes again soon, and this summer we will put her in swimming lessons. She also loves to play with her cousin Dax, so we're hoping more play dates are in store for them once the weather is nicer.
Before we received Ryker's diagnosis, I was planning to start a Master's program at MSU. For now, I will have to put it on the back burner and concentrate on facilitating his therapies and appointments. I've also scaled down my photography business until we have a good grasp on what life will be like once we start his intensive therapy. Hopefully in a few years I can think about going back to school and/or get back into my photography business full-time.
Adam continues to work long hours, but he seems to enjoy his job. He's pretty great about helping with the kids, and I know he wishes he was around for Ryker's therapies and appointments. When he gets some free time he's always finding house projects to work on!
I know a lot of people cannot really grasp what life is like for a child with autism, or for that child's family. I could write about it all day long and still not be able to explain it as well as I would like. So, for those of you who are interested, I've posted a 7 minute version of the Autism Speaks video "Autism Every Day". There is a longer version on youtube if you're interested, but I think this really does a great job explaining the every day life of an autistic child and his/her family.
As always, we thank you all for your support and love! It means more than you know!
Ryker had a follow-up appointment with his regular pediatrician on Friday. We talked about referrals for more occupational therapy and speech therapy. We also talked about the GFCF diet and how much Ryker has improved in the last month. The doctor agreed that Ryker has improved A LOT since he last saw him in November, and wanted to do some testing after I told him about the diet working. So, off to the lab we went for a blood draw. He was tested for gluten sensitivity and other food allergies, as well as celiacs disease and thyroid problems.
I received a call from the doctor at 5 p.m. He informed me that Ryker's thyroid test came back abnormal and we needed to do another blood draw (Monday) to run more tests. He also said that Celiacs and thyroid function normally go hand in hand, so that may be why he has done so much better on the gluten-free diet (we didn't see much change after taking away dairy-- but it became apparent that taking away the gluten has worked wonders).
He also said that because his thyroid isn't functioning the way it should, it is very possible that it causing Ryker's developmental delays, and we MAY be able to drop his autism label after we get treatment in place. WOW! We are not getting our hopes up, but this is a little glimmer of hope that we might get our little man back. He also has other symptoms associated with celiacs/thyroid: dry skin, protruding abdomen, diarrhea. We are so thankful for a proactive and thorough pediatrician. He recognized Ryker's delays (the 1st ped we had in Minnesota did not) and now caught his thyroid issue.
We still have quite a road ahead, whether he really is being effected by the thyroid/celiacs or not. He will still have to continue with his therapy because he IS still behind. But, with low thyroid function, there is no way to focus or learn. I dealt with hypothyroidism after my pregnancy and I know first-hand that you can't function properly. I could hardly stay awake, had no appetite, and a whole list of other symptoms. I just. couldn't. function. I feel for our little guy and can't wait to get him the treatment he needs.
Lots of thoughts and prayers would be appreciated for the upcoming weeks of blood draws, ultrasounds, and endocrinologist appointments!
Ryker has been a complete ROCKSTAR! He is finally starting to recognize what is going on around him and isn't always in his own little world. He is beginning to play with toys the way they are intended to be played with, and his eye contact has gotten so much better. His focus has been outstanding and in general he has been calmer than we ever remember. The best thing is that his therapists have noticed the same changes, so he really IS improving! We really attribute this to his recent diet change, early intervention therapies, and sensory interventions. We have nothing but high hopes for our little man,
and we can't wait to see how he progresses in the next year!
Now that the holiday's have come to an end, I finally have time to update everyone about what we've been up to the last couple of weeks.
First and foremost, this past Wednesday was Ryker's evaluation at the Fraser Center in Minneapolis. If you missed my previous post about Ryker's challenges, click HERE. The team was amazing and so, so understanding of us and our little man! As we had suspected, he was diagnosed with Autism. Our lives have been turned inside out, but we are hopeful. No one wants their child to be autistic, but this will not define him-- nor will it define our family. He is still the same little man he was before his diagnosis and it can only get better from here. The diagnosis has opened doors for him that were impossible to open before. He can have access to more therapy, an autistic preschool, and many other services. So, although it saddens us that he has this challenge in his life, we are grateful to have caught as early as we have. I have known deep in my heart for a few months now that this day would come, so I have been through the "grieving" process already...which is why I am able to look at his diagnosis in a different light. It's a relief, really. Before, I was so frustrated that I couldn't get him what he needed-- now I can! He is an amazing child and has taught me more in his young life than I could have ever imagined!
We are getting used to the GFCF (gluten-free/casein-free) diet. It was overwhelming at first, but it has become easier. I've been able to make a lot of the normal foods with substitutes and tweaks. Sometimes it turns out good... other times not so much. :)
In other news... Makaylin has expanded her vocabulary like crazy in the last couple of weeks! She knows the names of most animals, can recognize letters, shapes, and colors. My favorite new word of hers is "robot". It really sounds more like "wobaaaa"--so cute! It is so crazy how much she has learned lately! She is signed up for ECFE classes again that start next month, so we are looking forward to going back to school!
