Diet Motivators for Older, Verbal Children

[Guest guest]

Diet Motivators for Older, Verbal Children

by Francie Poirier

Our 14yr old son (Regulatory Disorder: SI issues, explosive,

inflexible) has been 100% SCD for 7 months, and except for a few

" moments " of frustration, is really being a trooper about it, but we

put a lot of prep into it.

Here are some of the things we did in case some of the ideas may work

for your family:

1) Took him out of school one afternoon to introduce and teach him

about the diet (we NEVER take him out of school, so we really had his

attention!). I thought, at his age, the only way I'm going to get

" buy-in " is if he totally gets why he needs to be on this diet. I

hadn't gone through all this with him when he was just GFCF, and he

cheated quite a bit, because he never really understood why not

cheating makes such a big difference.

2) I had prepared a fun lesson plan for him that afternoon. I was

worried he would get distracted, so to keep his attention, I operated

the lesson like a game show: Throughout the teaching, I would stop

every so often to ask a pop question, to see if he was following. If

he could answer, he would get a token towards trading in for a larger

prize at the end of each of 3 parts to the lessons (so had 3 prizes

ready in gift bags). The prizes were things he was really into that

week, (e.g. bike magazine). I alternated giving tokens with giving

new SCD food incentives that he could eat right away (like a small

handful of deep-fried carrot chips), to really keep things hopping -

he never knew what was coming at him, but he had fun, and was able to

absorb a lot more of the information than I had expected.

3) The lesson had 3 parts to it:

PART A: What a healthy digestive system looks like, and how it

functions: Used the " Magic School Bus for Lunch " video to explain this.

Canadian Chapters Link to video: HYPERLINK

" http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?Item=8536512013 & Catalog=Video & N=37 & Lang=\

en & Section=video & zxac=1 "

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?Item=8536512013 & Catalog=Video & N=37 & Lang=e\

n & Section=video & zxac=1

American Amazon Link to video:

HYPERLINK

" http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-4605809-0387256 "

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-4605809-0387256

Had previewed the video, and knew where to do quick " stops " of the

video, to ask him a question about what was just explained, to check

for comprehension. Especially focused on the part about the small

intestine.

PART B: My son is mostly a tactile learner ( " hands-on " ), so I had him

do a hands-on activity to explain what was currently happening in HIS

small intestine:

--Gave him a " pink finger sponge " (the kind that you use to separate

your toes when you paint your nails, found in the Cosmetics

Department) to represent the villi ( " fingers " ) of the small intestine,

and reminded him about what he saw on the Magic School Bus video, that

describes how food molecules are absorbed through the little holes.

--I had placed sewing pins, with round, coloured heads, on the tips of

the sponge fingers to represent the enzymes that break apart the food

molecules. Then I gave him tiny Lego pieces (2, 3, & 4 " head "

pieces), attached together in " strands " . I told him the little pieces

represented the food molecules that needed to be broken apart by the

enzymes, to be absorbed through the holes in the villi. So I had him

touch the Lego strands to the enzymes (pin heads), and break the Lego

apart. Of course the little pieces were actually still too big to go

through the little holes in the sponge, but he got the idea.

--We then used a small white board with the outline of a body drawn on

it, to show how the tiny molecules, like protein, carbs, vitamins

would then travel along the bloodstream to be delivered to different

parts of the body, to where they were needed (just kept this part

quite general).

--Then I talked to him about the yeast, and how people with healthy

guts have a very small amount of yeast in the small intestine, but

that in his and mine, the yeast levels are too high (showed him our

Arabinose lab results from Great Plains Lab).

--I had bought a package of the tiniest, plastic hair clips I could

find (the kind with the spring, that you open and close to clamp into

hair). I told him that these represent the yeast, and had him clamp a

whole bunch of them all over the sponge fingers (I explained that the

colonized yeast actually look like a vine growing spread out on a

wall, but that I was using the hair clips, so that he could get the

idea of how they " hook " into the gut wall, and make bigger holes.

--Next I explained that this " hooking in " of the yeast was hurting the

tissues of his gut, and that his body responds by covering the tissues

with extra mucous to try to protect the gut. I then had him squeeze

green toothpaste all over the " fingers " to represent this. He thought

this was great.

--Then we talked about how this makes it difficult for the enzymes to

do their job, and how the molecules then don't break down very well,

but provide food for the yeast, which makes them colonize even more

(gave him more hair clips to clamp in). I explained that scientists

believe that some of the unbroken down milk and wheat protein strands

are leaking out through the larger holes in the gut, created by the

yeast, and are travelling along the blood stream, and then likely

crossing the blood-brain barrier, and interacting with receptors in

the brain, making it more difficult for him to use self-control to

focus, problem-solve, stay calm, etc. (notice how I didn't say

" impossible " !)

PART C: Presenting the SCD:

--Had made up mini posters to be able to explain mono, di and

polysaccharides (copied the simple drawings on the pecanbread

website). We used Lego pieces again to have something concrete to

explain the differences (again, because hands-on is the way my son

learns best, as opposed to auditory or visual prompts): a single piece

to represent single molecule sugars (monosaccharides), two pieces

stuck together to represent double molecule sugars (disaccharides),

etc. I thought I would really have to work hard at this stage to help

get this information across, in preparation for presenting the SCD.

However, surprisingly, by now he was fascinated, and was following

quite closely.

--I can't remember all the details of how I presented the SCD, but

basically, helped him to understand why the monosaccharides were

beneficial to his body, but the di and polysaccharides didn't get

broken down properly, and stayed to feed the yeast. At this stage,

you can set out real food, and together, group them into 2 groups

according to whether they are monosaccharides or not (i.e. SCD Legal

or not). I was surprised at how quickly my son was able to predict

which food would go into which category, once I told him the " sorting

rules " .

--We talked about how with no di and polysaccharides to feed them, the

yeast would slowly die off: I had him slowly remove a lot of the hair

clips. And that as the tissue healed, the extra mucous would fade

away: I had him wipe off the toothpaste.

--I really made sure I had his attention when I explained that even

one BITE or sip of something with di or polysaccharides dropping down

his esophagus into his gut would be like a huge air lift of " yeast

food " descending upon the yeast that were left - that they'd have a

huge block party in celebration and make lots of " baby " yeast,

starting problems all over again!

4) Once he started the diet, I also knew I needed to find a way to put

some fun into it, or I wasn't going to get anywhere with him. At the

time, he was really into reaching new levels on one of the few

computer games we had in our home, and loved getting extra points and

extra game " options " (like upgrading to a better race car). So I

decided to take the game " levels " concept, and use that with the

" levels " of the diet. I titled it THE GUT HEALER GAME. I had made

up a small game poster, listing the LEVELS of the diet as they are

outlined on the casein-free SCD diet page of the Pecanbread website (

HYPERLINK " http://www.pecanbread.com/foodprep.html#beyond "

http://www.pecanbread.com/foodprep.html#beyond - scroll down).

Intro Level: SCD Intro Diet (3-5 days)

1st level: Cooked Fruit & Veg Level 1

2cd level: Cooked Fruit & Veg. Level 2 with Nut Butters, etc

This also served to lay out the stages of the diet ahead of time for

our son, so that he would know what to expect along the way, and so he

would know that things would get better as we worked up to each new

level (e.g. that the variety of food options will improve!).

-As well, I had listed GOALS alongside some of the Levels so hed know

what we were working towards, body-wise. Example:

Intro Diet: Start the Yeast Die-Off;

Level 6: Add Probiotics - Bring in the GOOD BACTERIA to settle in the

Land of the Small Intestine).

-I also had a few other mini posters with slogans and tips

e.g. Better to go a bit hungry until you can get to a Helper Food,

than to eat a Yeast-feeding food, which can cause a long-lasting

set-back right away. (included a sequence drawing to show a small

yeast colony that just KA-BOOMED into a large colony again).

-To present the GUT HEALING GAME, I acknowledged to him, that at 13

years old, it's quite a pain to have to go on a special diet, and so

in an effort to put at least some fun into it, we could work the

levels of the diet like the levels of a computer game, and he could

earn point cards each day he was completely SCD legal. I explained

that as he went up levels of the diet, the daily point level would go

up.

-I designed it so that he would get tons of points each day to keep

the excitement up! As well, he would earn extra points for " Bonus

Days " (like making it through holidays, birthdays, school pizza

parties with his own food, or other " extra " challenging situations in

the early days of the diet). Id have little Way to Go! 500 Bonus

Points! Notes, waiting for him at the breakfast table the next day.

The note also specifically acknowledged what new hurdle hed just

tackled (e.g. Great attitude about substituting your own treats for

Joes Birthday Party Grab Bag, last night!). When he had enough

points, he could then trade in his point cards for a purchase goal he

had at Wal-mart or Radio Shack (like a $12 model car, a $10 computer

game CD, etc., whose point cost I had already pre-determined).

Normally, I don't " buy " my kids off, but I thought in this situation,

it is really hard for a teenager to have to go through this - I have

to do something to lighten it up a little for him.

We're no longer doing the points. I did it for a few months just to

help ease him into it. It also helped him to reconcile the feelings

about his non-SCD brother, getting food treats he couldn't have - at

least he was getting rewards that no one else was getting. A few

months into the diet, he really noticed how much physically and

mentally better he feels on this diet, and I think that's helping to

motivate him. He will actually freak out if he thinks he's

accidentally been served something SCD illegal, as he's worried about

the yeast building back up.

5) I went on the diet for my own health, but also to give my son moral

support. I believe that it is extremely important that at least one

parent choose to do strict SCD with their child, so that they know

that they are not alone: you are right there alongside your child,

every step of the way. For me, this meant that it was vital that I

did not ever cheat, even if my child wasnt around. Otherwise, I would

lose my integrity with my son, and as well, not be able to truly know

and empathize with what it feels like to go through those early stages

and challenges of the diet. I started the diet a couple of months

before my son, so that we wouldnt both be going through the low-energy

grouchies of the intro stages at the same time. My husband and other

son didn't start the SCD with us. In hind-sight, I think this may

have actually been helpful to our son: because everyday in his own

home, he's had to get used people eating different things in front of

him, it doesn't seem to bother him as much, out in the " real world "

when others are eating differently than he. Now however, we are

reconsidering and may place our younger son on the SCD, so that he too

may reap the health benefits of completely eliminating processed foods.

6) When my son was in the early stages of the diet, especially during

the Intro Diet, I made it a point to make sure he never had a chance

to get hungry. I didnt stop to discuss with him whether or not he was

hungry: I planned it so that at several points throughout the day, I

just plunked food down in front of him, wherever he was sitting,

whether it was popsicles or gelatine or broiled hamburgers and honey.

It was exhausting to keep up with all the food prep those first

couple of weeks, and it reminded me of the constant demand of having

to keep up with the feeding needs of a newborn baby! But my

philosophy was that a sad, discouraged well-fed boy was easier to deal

with than a sad, discouraged, ravenous boy! It turned out that the

novelty of me waiting on him kind of had its appeal for him, too! He

started to see it as one of the few perks of being in the early stages

of the diet. Its good to clarify that, This VIP service wont be

continuing forever, just in the early stages of the diet, while your

body and gut are going through a lot of healing, in the same way that

I would bring food to you if you were laid up trying to heal a newly

broken leg.

6) As for participating in " Pizza Parties " with his peers etc., he

does still have trouble with this, and wants to avoid them. It is for

this reason we are having our case worker come in to our home to have

a " Peer Meeting " with his new group of friends. She has been

specially trained in guiding kids through this, and presents to the

diet and the reasons for it (but not all the gory details - just the

general info they need to know), and lets them know about ways they

can support him (like encouraging him to bring his own stuff to Pizza

Parties, and that they'll back him up). I was nervous about this at

first, but the case worker says that in every one she's conducted, the

kids end up really rallying around the kid on treatment and help him

to feel more comfortable.

7) And finally, there is no doubt in my mind that probably one of the

most crucial things that helped our son stick to this diet, was

putting him on our church's Prayer Chain for " Willpower to stick to

his treatment " .