This message is being shared by Carters' Mom Nealie Prewitt.
"Carter was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome before he was 1 year old. In October 2009, I really began searching for help because Carter was struggling so hard to have control or be successful with BM's on the toilet or in genera.l He was also getting bigger and harder to distract when he became irritable or aggressive or just "not himself". I was frustrated with the amount of unorganized information I was flooded with on the Internet, I went old school and checked out a couple of Books from the library- Jenny Macarthy's Curing and treating Autism (or something like that ) and the four epidemic A's of Adolescence (again, something like that) Both of these books talked a lot about GLUTEN and what we put into our children. Meanwhile my sister had just finished having her children tested for food allergies due to chronic sinus issues. My new knowledge on food and symptoms of food allergies prompted me to have my boys tested too. My Angel Cater tested allergic to Wheat, Dairy, Pork, Beef, Cherry, and Tree Nuts. My husband and I decided to go all gluten free because of what we read. I had them tested because at the time I felt like, how could I take away Mac n Cheese, (one of Carter's true joys) on top of all the other obstacles he faces daily? Within 1-2 weeks we saw such a huge difference in his demeanor that we knew we had to jump in full force- IT IS HARD- food plays a huge emotional role in both Brad and my families - that even now almost 2 years later we do not have every ones full support- we hear all the time "can't he have a little?" No!!! The benefits of him not having Dairy and Gluten far out way how things taste and feel in the moment!
Since we have gone GF and DF (Dairy Free) he sleeps soooooo much better, not perfect, but closer to normal than we ever had. He is reasonable to negotiate with, meaning I can say we can go outside after you get dressed and he doesn't instantly start banging his head or scream at me because he is now able to process things where before he just seemed to process- "I am not geting what I want". Carter did not think we understood what he was trying to communicate. Carter's BMs have begun to become predictable and a "normal" consistency. Some of his BM issues are habitual because things were so hard while toilet training that he would hold and avoid but has made huge strides with this in the past 6 months. He is always successful at having a BM on the potty now:) Carter also tries really hard to talk- and says yeah, Bye and has a lot of sounds that are building and growing everyday.
I really believe this started happening more when we removed the things that his body identified as toxins. He is able to think so much clearer and process things so much better now. We know it is food related because Carter is like every other child. He likes what he likes and occasionally will get into something that he shouldn't have, then instantly his sleep pattern is messed up for 4-7 days his skin reacts under his arms, behind his knees and in the diaper rash area, he becomes easily agitated and irritable and just seems crabby because he doesn't feel good.
Carter now understands if there is something he wants and he asks, I can say no, that will hurt your tummy or make you feel sick and he knows that it is not worth it and does not fight me at all. We strive hard to always have "good" things he loves available for him to eat.
I am a firm believer in what you put in your body effects what you get out."
Thank you for sharing Carters' story with us Nealie and we will continue to share the real benefits for our kids by using "Nutritional Therapies" in the upcoming blogs.
Lizzie
