Three Parents' Stories from Our Archives

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Tracey and Drew

My son Drew is 6 and we started the diet approximately 2 weeks ago.

Prior to SCD he was gfcf, no dyes, low sugar for 2 years. Drew has

developmental delays, sensory problems ect... but was never diagnosed

pdd or autistic. He has been under the care of several doc's including

our local M.D. who practices alternative medicine, Dr. McCandless, and

Andy Cutler who has consulted with his naturopath for 2 years. I know

many don't approve of him but I love this man and he has helped my son

so much. When I contacted him regarding the SCD diet he agreed that it

was a healthy diet and he recommended it to many of his clients.

Anyways, I will start with what we have been feeding Drew. Meat,

butternut squash, eggs, welch's grape juice 1/2 water and 1/2 grape

juice, goats milk yogurt, Tropicana orange juice and some other veggies

hidden, of course, a little honey and hazelnut wheel cookies for snack

at school only. After we first started the diet we noticed big time

behavior changes including irritability, obsessive behavior from years

ago!! and constipation. We also noticed that he was more in tune and

his printing and coloring improved at school. He was finally able to

write his name correctly. The negative behaviors have all resolved now

and the only thing that remains is the constipation. Drew's teacher

told me on Friday that he is " talking more in the last couple weeks. "

Prior to this she would tell me that he doesn't talk much at school (he

did at home). She also said he is raising his hand and participating

more. I noticed yesterday that he was singing which is something he

never did. He is much more social, calmer and just happier. The biggest

improvement so far however is his school work. He is writing

beautifully, I can't believe this is the same kid writing these

letters. His coloring is always in the lines instead of scribbling out

of frustration. He is drawing beautiful pictures. I compared his

schoolwork now to that of a month ago and it doesn't look like the same

kid could have done these. We are pleased.

From Another Happy Mom:

Just wanted to give you an update on my almost 4 y.o. We were gfcf for

1 1/2 years with good results. Then I took away potatoes and corn about

a year ago with even better results. The only illegal was rice but now

I can see what that was doing to him.

Now, we are seeing great language improvements. Today he came up to me

with something broken and said, " I can't fix it. " The other night while

crying, when asked why he was crying he said, " Want to go down. Want to

see mommy. " He's also using words that are not as concrete like " I " ,

" it " and " something. " In the supermarket today, he looked at the number

of the aisle and said, " It's number 3 " instead of just " 3. " For him,

these slight differences make his speech sound so much better. His

therapist, who hasn't seen him since preSCD, said that his voice

sounded more natural and he was just " quicker " all around. The best

treat of all is that he's just coming up to me for no apparent reason

and is saying, " Mommy! " He says it in a way someone would say hi. It's

just so sweet.

3 weeks ago, he wouldn't touch any vegetables. Now he is eating squash

fries, broccoli fries, and beet chips (all homemade). I was so happy

when he ate his hamburger, broccoli fries, and pears for dinner.

About Hannah

My daughter Hannah, is 30 months, PDD-Vaccine injured. We did the

gfcfsf diet for a couple of months before starting the SCDiet. It has

been diffiult due to my daughter's VERY picky eating habits, BUT, it is

so worth it!

The last few days have been wonderful! While she is still not talking,

she is a regular " chatter box " lately! I mean she wakes up " talking " ,

singing, etc. She is becoming so playful and loving. She melted her

grandpa's heart the last couple of days by climbing into his lap and

just sitting there with him. Yesterday she said " daddy dee " when her

daddy walked up to her and greeted her. She gives kisses freely when

asked (still working on hugs).Last night she said " water " in the bath

tub! I don't know how many times I have dumped water from a cup and

said " waterrrrrr " . Well, I was sitting there and all of a sudden she

starts dumping water out and saying " wawer " !!! It was very exciting!

Obviously, we are not where we want to be, but we are still so new to

this diet. I can see the progress and I look forward to each new day.

Now, if I can get her to eat more things and broaden her palate a

little I will be even happier. Oh yes, her stools have greatly improved

as well! They were actually never too bad, but once I started gfcf diet

they got bad due to all the starches and yeast. I can say now that they

are no longer yellow, mushy and foul smelling. They are getting more

and more formed eveyrday. In the begining it simply looked as thought

the almond flour was going straight thru her, but no more!!!

I am so grateful to all of you for you help and I look forward to

continuing this wonderful " friendship'!!!

Carol F.

Toronto, celiac, SCD 6 years