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Hello-

I'm Bette, mother of 5,ages 15 months to 12 years. We have found over

the past year that our 5 year old son, Ben, has ASD. That is the consensus

that his speech pathologist and I came up with, based on his behavior. I

haven't had any medical tests done- my doctor never told me of any, besides

having his hearing checked. I am hoping that we can discover more through

this diet. Our chiropractor put us on a cleansing diet, which took out all

wheat, gluten, sugar, etc. about three months ago. I feel fantastic, and

dropped about 20 pounds. The kids and DH have done well, too.

I have a few questions. First, what tests should I have done to test

Ben? Is there more than just a urine test? His ASD is mild, so I don't see

him having to take medication for it.

Second, is it common for kids with ASD to be delayed in potty training?

Ben will do #1 all on his own, but he has a terrible time with #2. He is

still in Pull Ups. The upside (if there is one) is that he changes himself.

We have tried all kinds of ways to remind him, and we're very frustrated. My

in-laws refuse to have him sleep over with the other grandkids because of

this. I think he gets so focused on whatever he's doing that he just

forgets. He has done it on his own a few times.

And lastly, are there any good ASD web sites where someone can get good,

solid information about this?

If anyone has any pearls of wisdom to share, I'd really appreciate it.

We are home educators, and don't get a lot of support from family in these

endeavors. Ben's speech pathologist thinks home schooling is the best thing

for him. We moved here last fall, and no one I know around here has been in

a similar situation. I want to be as knowledgeable as I can about this, so I

can give Ben every advantage.

Thanks for listening,

Bette Holleman

Modesto, CA

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[Guest guest]

> I have a few questions. First, what tests should I have done to

test

> Ben? Is there more than just a urine test? His ASD is mild, so I

don't see

> him having to take medication for it.

There is a good description of different biological tests on this

site.

http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/

I have heard mixed opinions on whether or not this is a good lab to

use tho, and I have never used this lab or had tests done for my own

children, so I cannot give you my personal opinion. But here is

another lab you can consider also, or you can probably use any lab

local to you that is large or affiliated with a university or

something like that.

http://www.gsdl.com/

> Second, is it common for kids with ASD to be delayed in potty

training?

> Ben will do #1 all on his own, but he has a terrible time with #2.

He is

> still in Pull Ups. The upside (if there is one) is that he changes

himself.

> We have tried all kinds of ways to remind him, and we're very

frustrated. My

> in-laws refuse to have him sleep over with the other grandkids

because of

> this. I think he gets so focused on whatever he's doing that he just

> forgets. He has done it on his own a few times.

This sounds exactly like my autistic son, he is also age 5.

> And lastly, are there any good ASD web sites where someone can

get good,

> solid information about this?

Here is my site url, I have a lot of information here, you can look at

my parent information page. Because you are posting here on a

gfcfkids site, you might want to consider beginning with my " diet and

supplement " section, which includes testing. I also have a section on

homeschooling, because I homeschool all 4 of my children. I am also

in California. My email is on my site too, if you would like to send

me email.

http://home.pacbell.net/cscomp/dmain.htm

[Guest guest]

Hi Betty

Wow - five kids- you are a bizzy lady. I have three under 5 and my

middle one is affected. I like web sites cause they fit my

schedule. I like the www.autism.com. That is a site set up by

Bernard Rimland, Ph.D it has a wealth of info fairly inexpensive books

and pamphets. There are some books and pamphlets that suggest

certain

lab testing.

Although we got our diagnosis over a year ago, we are starting bio

treatment approaches now. We have had some success with diet and we

have been on it for 3 months now. The other website GFCFdiet.com may

help also.

There is another website I visit but I can't remember the address I

think it is bbbautism.com. It is nice and I think they have a chat

room.

Most conventional folks push Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)as

the only verfied means of treatment. ABA is behhavioral approach to

help our kids learn things using reinforcer ( things that motivate

them and lots of repetition. Most experts advocate 40 hrs per week.

I

do believe in it. We did an abreviated program for about 8 months.

Very expensive and time consuming. Plus we saw more progress in our

daughter once we started the diet. Now I think we need to re-start

our program. Your son sounds very mild so hopeful he will respond

quickly.

Hope that helps and good luck

Jeneane, Houston

Nick NT(5)

PDD-Nos (3)

Beth NT (2)