A recent series of conflicts left me seriously doubting humanity. With each twist and turn of kindness and flexibly I tried to show, I was slapped in the face with an attitude of entitlement and more demands made in an ugly and hurtful way.
Because I am still pretty irritated with the whole situation, it would give me great satisfaction to list my every right and her every wrong just to make you see how hard I tried to do the right thing. I would also love to share the list of funny (and not so funny) ways I have creatively crafted in my mind to get back at her. But at some point, I need to consciously stop thinking about it and choose to focus my energy on the good I can do in the world instead.
Sometimes I think autism helps me quickly get to bottom of a person’s true character. If someone is kind and welcoming to Lizzie, then I know they have a good heart and can likely be trusted. But if they show irritation or choose to talk down to her, then I know pretty quickly that I need to be on guard with them in other areas of life as well.

Many kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) function in their daily environments on a Gluten-Free Casein-Free (GFCF) diet…but they’re not the only ones. More and more adults and children without ASD are finding that they, too, feel better and function better with no gluten and no casein in their diets. As one of those adults, I am here to tell you that foods can greatly impact not only our stomachs, but so much more!
While I’ve been on a 100% GF diet for about 12 years, anytime I inadvertently get cross-contaminated foods (from restaurants or items sold at the store) I get Grumpy with a capital “G”! I notice that it really affects my state of mind; I am much less patient, feel significantly more negative about life in general and find that I’m more likely to lose my cool with both Ethan and my husband. I am opposed to yelling as a parent (or spouse), but sometimes when I’ve had gluten, I am so much easier to anger and yes...sometimes I yell. I literally feel less in-control of my actions – such a miserable feeling!

Raising a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder often means that every gain, small or large, is hard-fought. As parents, we invest our time, our money, our patience, our love - our everything - into helping our children feel well, be well and make progress wherever their deficits may lie.
Ethan has made tremendous gains in the past 3 years; tremendous. I am so pleased with how far he has come, how much healthier his body is and how much more in-sync with his peers and his family he has become. But, it wasn’t easy…and the past month has been a roller coaster of emotion, stress and frustration for me.
Just before I left town for the Autism One Conference in Chicago last month, I realized Ethan had a huge cavity. He’s never had one. So, when I left for the event, I knew that I’d be eagerly attending any and all sessions I could regarding dentistry for children with ASD, anesthesia, Nitrous Oxide, Methylation, basically anything that could potentially relate to our current situation.

Saturday marked Ethan’s first basketball game; in fact, it was his first game (ever) playing cooperatively with a team. Until this year, (Ethan turned 8 last fall), we didn’t feel Ethan had the self-control and intuition to handle a sport which would require cooperating with other kids while working to coordinate his own physical movements. He has participated in individual sports like swimming and Tae Kwon Do, both of which offer great exercise and fantastic opportunities to develop coordinated movements with both sides of his body, but didn’t force him to worry about anyone beyond himself very often.
When Ethan began requesting to play soccer a few months ago, I started looking for appropriate leagues which could effectively incorporate Ethan but at the same time challenge him. Many families living with ASD find success with leagues offering a buddy (like Miracle League or Buddy League) – Ethan just wouldn’t find that challenging at this age. He wants to be like his friends from school and I can’t say I blame him! Actually, I’m glad he wants to do some of the things his friends at school enjoy.

A guy getting hit in the crotch with a football is funny (unless that guy is you of course). Every time. I think it’s hard-wired in the brain, at least for males. Perhaps it’s a caveman mentality holdover – we have lots of these, by the way. A rival who receives reproductive trauma might not end up as a rival at all, at least in the genetic rat race. Those cavemen were pretty sophisticated.