I Spy Blue! Using Food to Teach Your Child Colors

As a speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding, I can’t resist combining speech and language lessons with food activities.  Here’s my method of teaching colors while learning about new foods!

Blue with Blue!  Red with Red!

One of the first language concepts parents enjoy teaching their preschoolers is colors – but did you know that learning to identify “blue” begins with learning to match two blue objects? I teach children the primary colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple (add pink if your little princess identifies with that one early on!) in a hierarchical process, beginning with matching two colors.  Start with red and blue.  Keep in mind that the most common form of color blindness is difficulty distinguishing between red and green or between blue and yellow.  Save those pairings for later in this process.

While I often start with Legos™ or colored balls when learning to match colors, food works beautifully too!  If you have a child who is hesitant to try new vegetables, this is the perfect opportunity for him/her to learn to simply pick up a new food and drop it in a bowl without the pressure of having to bring it to the mouth.  Starting with two solid white or solid black bowls, place a piece of red pepper in one bowl and a blueberry in another.  Pick up another piece of pepper and hold it in front of the child, and say “Red with red,” encouraging the child to take the pepper and put it in the bowl with the other red pepper.  At first, additional cues may be needed to guide the child, such as lifting the red pepper bowl into the air just slightly, or pointing to the bowl.  Over time, fade those cues as your child learns to distinguish between the two colors.  Once two colors are mastered, add a third color and a third bowl.  Be sure to present the foods in random order so that your child has to pause, look and process which color goes in which bowl.   

Orange with Oragne & Red with Red!

Roll Blue Down a Celery Shoot!

Once six to seven colors have been mastered, move on to teaching your child to  imitate color names.  Say “blue” and pause before handing the blueberry over to the child, allowing up to 3 seconds for him/her to repeat “blue”.  Try rolling blueberries down a celery shoot after each time he/she imitates “blue”.   Finding fun and silly ways to reward your child is much more reinforcing that just saying “good job!” 

Next, children begin to label colors on their own.  The best way to teach labels is to “bombard” the child with one color all week and mix in the occasional “other” color.  “I see blue!” is a favorite game at this stage.

Finally, the child learns to discriminate and find colors:  Say “Find blue!” and the child picks up the blue object among a field of one other color, such as a piece of yellow pepper among a field of red peppers, spread out on the kitchen counter.   Simply add other colors as the child’s skill progresses.  Soon, the two of you will be playing “I spy yellow!” throughout the produce section of your local grocery store.

Colors Can Expand the Palate, Nutrient Intake, & Literacy

In the process of learning colors, children can learn to eat a rainbow!  Blue and purple foods include purple potatoes and plums; green foods include asparagus, edamame and peas; yellow foods include squash and pineapple; orange foods include orange peppers and dried mangos; and red foods include tomatoes and red beans.  Introduce other colors, such as brown or white, using the same process.  

Did you know that matching objects and colors is actually an early literacy skill?  It’s one of the first steps to learning symbols (letters) and understanding that two things go together  - they match!  And you thought you were just putting blueberries and red peppers in a bowl…

 We Did it!

About Melanie

Melanie is speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding.  Her work brings her into the homes and schools of her clients, kids, who for various reasons have difficulty with food or with eating. She works with kids and their parents to develop effective strategies that help children become “more adventurous eaters”.  At least 50% of her clients have food allergies or intolerances, and for them, “adventurous eating” takes on a special meaning.  Melanie is also the author of Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids” and the executive producer of “Dancing in the Kitchen.”

More Posts from Melanie

Why Children with Autism are Often Picky Eaters

Review:  The Magic of the BellyFull Kit (From the Hopeful Company)

The 12 Days of Christmas -- My Favorite Lunchtime Things (Part 1)

Tips to Help Your Food Allergic Child Belong During the Holidays

How to Talk Turkey (and Food Allergies) at Thanksgiving

How Can Parents Feel Less Stress with a Food Allergic Child in School?

A Mother's Story (3): My Son is Not a "Disorder"

This is the Third in a series of articles written by Kari, a mother of two boys, including a 10 year old son who was diagnosed with Autism (read Part 1 and Part 2).  When Kari approached me with her compelling story, I asked if she would be willing to disclose it so that other parents could potentially learn from the path that she has taken.  I thank Kari for her willingness to let us into her life, and take us through her journey from discovery to what has helped her son thrive.

~elisabeth veltman

AFTER DIAGNOSIS, A HELPLESS BLUR

The weeks and months following Caden’s autism diagnosis are a blur to me.  Any time I stop to think about that time in our lives, tears fill my eyes.  It still happens now, six years later.  Without a doubt, I am an emotional person, but I have encountered other obstacles in my life and have adjusted emotionally.  There’s just something about feeling helpless, unguided, and vulnerable as a mother that I cannot erase from my memory.  Even though Caden has pulled through most, if not all, of his symptoms, the memories are still so strong.  I still find it difficult to speak the words, “when my son was diagnosed with autism”.  

Although it was a trying time for us, it was during those first weeks and months that so many pieces fell into place.  When I think about everything that worked in our favor and all the decisions that were made, I can’t help but think we had a little luck on our side.  It is because of this that I want to share our story.  

TWO BOOKS QUENCHED MY THIRST FOR KNOWLEDGE

One of my first outings after returning home from Caden’s diagnostic appointment in Pittsburgh was to the bookstore.  I had questions and I was going to find some answers.  I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I made myself comfortable in the parenting section of the bookstore and looked through every book they had on the topic of autism.  I came home with two, "Facing Autism" by Lynn Hamilton and "Overcoming Autism" by Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik.

"Facing Autism" provided me with an introduction to the many treatment options that were available.  Hamilton’s story of her son’s treatment was clearly presented and included their experiences with nutritional and biomedical therapies as well as speech, occupational and behavioral therapies.  After reading her book, and discussing it with my husband, we decided to try everything that made sense for our son and his symptoms, as long as we saw no possibility of causing him harm.  This book introduced me to the gluten free/casein free diet, probiotics, and supplements that showed promise. With a degree in dietetics, I felt I had an advantage over most when it came to adjusting Caden’s diet.  Her book pointed me in the direction of Bernard Rimland, who founded the Autism Research Institute (ARI) in San Diego in 1967.  I quickly contacted ARI and requested information from them.  It was this information that set the stage for what would become the focus of my own research for a number of years.  

"Overcoming Autism" was co-written by a therapist along with a mother of a child with autism.  This book was an excellent tool for me because I learned a great deal from each author.  Claire LaZebnik, the mother, provided me with justification that my emotions were typical for someone in my situation.  Lynn Koegel, who oversees The Koegel Autism & Training Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, provided me with an excellent foundation for the type of therapy we came to rely upon.  The title itself led me to believe that overcoming autism was possible, and that quickly came to be what I expected.

FINDING THE RIGHT EDUCATIONAL FIT

It was the late spring of 2006 and Caden had been diagnosed with autism for just a few weeks as his preschool year came to an end and we had to start thinking about what the correct placement would be for the following year.  Caden’s special education case manager from the public school system suggested that we place Caden in their Preschool Initiative Program (PIP) at a local elementary school.  This program was targeted at getting a solid start for kids with special needs or English as the Second Language (ESL).  They told me that their speech and occupational therapies, with which I had been so disappointed during Caden’s first year of preschool, would be better in the elementary school setting because those therapists were school system employees as opposed to their contracted workers we had been dealing with previously.  

I went to meet the teacher of this PIP class and I wasn’t impressed.  I had only just begun to learn my way in this new world, but from my reading, one thing was clear.  According to the authors of Overcoming Autism, it was in our best interest to keep Caden surrounded by “typical peer models”, kids who weren’t struggling, who spoke English and could serve as language models and positive playmates.  When I toured the classroom, the students were gone for the day, but their pictures were on their cubbies.  I noticed that eleven of the eighteen students in that year’s class were Asian, which meant they probably didn’t speak English.  Because we live in a large university town, there is a lot of diversity.   I love this about my town, and would have loved to have Caden surrounded by children of different cultures, but not in our unique situation.  Differences in language could have been very confusing for Caden.  I proceeded to ask the teacher if there was a large ESL enrollment and she said that there was.  I had to wonder what good it would do to have Caden surrounded by a large majority of children who couldn’t speak his language, therefore couldn’t serve as good language models for him.  I wanted to do what was right, but I had our local school professionals telling me something completely different than what the leading experts in the field were saying.  I left feeling stuck.

Soon after, we attended Caden’s year-end performance at his current preschool.   As he stood on stage, I couldn’t help but notice the progress he was making there.  He was focused for the first time ever at one of these performances.   I couldn’t hold back the tears, right there in front of everyone.  I didn’t want him to leave.  I knew in my heart that the public school preschool wasn’t right for him at all.  He needed to stay where he was.  When the crowds cleared out, I still sat there crying.  My husband, who had been standing in the back of the church, along with the director of the preschool approached me.  I completely lost it when I made my first attempt at explaining what was wrong.  They quickly had a teacher take Caden and my other son, Nolan, to a classroom so we could talk.  That talk was another turning point for us.  

Sitting there that day, the three of us decided that Caden shouldn’t leave.  The director said that she would do whatever we needed her to do to make this right for our little boy. His current teacher had done a fabulous job with him and we decided to keep him in her class.  He would be repeating the three-year-old class, but that was fine.  He wouldn’t turn four until July, so he wouldn’t be much older than his new classmates.  The director assured us that it would be fine to let an outside aide or therapist come in to work with Caden, as long as that person went through all the background checks required by the other teachers at the school.  We didn’t know how we were going to afford this kind of set up, but it felt better than the alternative and you can’t put a price tag on peace of mind.  I admired her confidence.  I appreciated her willingness to take on the challenges that our son presented.  It would have been so easy for her to let us leave, but she didn’t.  What a big heart that woman has.  I was so thankful and I felt at peace with the decision.

CADEN’S ABILITIES

These decisions were being made as we approached Caden’s fourth birthday.  At this point, he had some language, but his development wasn’t following typical patterns.  He couldn’t answer a simple yes/no question.  If we asked him if he wanted a drink of water, he couldn’t respond with “yes” or “no”.  Instead, if he needed a drink, he would say “Do you want a drink of water?”  I knew him and I knew what he meant.  It worked for him, but it was far from being right.  If Caden wanted to play with a ball, he would look at the ball and simply say, “Ball”.  Once again, I knew what he meant, gave him the ball, and it worked for him.  He couldn’t ask the most basic questions.  “What’s that?” was the first question I taught him to say, following a technique presented in the Overcoming Autism book.  He was one month shy of turning four and I was so incredibly excited to hear it!  Caden had gotten good at labeling objects, but if I happened to tell him something incorrectly, it was very difficult for him to accept a correction.  One time, I remember looking out our family room window and pointing out a crane putting a roof on a new house.  From then on, every crane was a “crane roof”.   And I was “Mommy”.   He could label me, but he hadn’t yet figured out how to get my attention by saying, “MOMMY!”   Every night at bedtime as my husband was leaving the room, Caden would say “Gotta get a good night sleep, school tomorrow”.  As great as it sounded to hear a full sentence come out of him, we later learned that this was “echolalic speech”.  He was simply repeating something my husband said once.  
Caden’s sensory issues were still very difficult at this age also.  Crowds caused him great discomfort.  We couldn’t take him to football games, amusement parks, or even preschool performances without potential for an enormous meltdown.  We tried these things anyway and always respected his wishes to leave if he made them known.  

OUR BIOMEDICAL BEGINNINGS

Even before going to Pittsburgh for Caden’s diagnostic appointment, a seed was planted in my head.  A neighbor handed me a slip of paper that simply said “Gluten/Casein Free Diet”.  I knew that casein was a protein in dairy, but I wasn’t sure what gluten was at that point, even with a degree in dietetics!  The neighbor had an acquaintance whose autistic son had allegedly been helped by this diet.  So, after we heard the diagnosis, I somehow pulled my thoughts together enough to ask the doctor about her thoughts on this diet.  She explained that she couldn’t officially prescribe or even recommend it because there hadn’t been any scientific studies supporting it.  Off the record, however, she did say that there was a local, well-known therapy provider who had been reporting some tremendous success with the gluten/casein free diet (GF/CF).  We decided that it wouldn’t hurt to try!  

The inclusion of information regarding the GF/CF diet was probably the reason I selected Facing Autism from the bookstore.  Lynn Hamilton provided more than enough information to get my research started.  I spent the next few months busily preparing myself for implementing this dietary therapy with Caden.  I found sources for food online and at our natural health food stores.  Six years ago, gluten free foods were hard to find and it took me about three months to feel confident enough to make the leap.  This diet, along with a multivitamin recommended by the Autism Research Institute, were my first steps on what would become a very long path to restoring my little boy’s health, which I hadn’t yet realized was compromised.

CREATIVE SOLUTIONS TO LACK OF COVERAGE

When it comes to coverage, creativity and persistence were the keys.  At Caden’s diagnostic appointment, when we met with the developmental psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, we briefly discussed a plan for moving forward with Caden’s therapies.  She suggested continuing with his speech and occupational therapies, but also wanted us to add behavioral therapy for Caden.  Once settled at home, I called our insurance company and inquired about how much of each specific therapy would be covered each week.  Maybe I was naïve, but I was shocked to hear that our insurance wouldn’t cover any of these therapies that had just been recommended by a doctor.  I was told that because Caden was “born with” this affliction, nothing would be covered.  What?!  I was disgusted.  If my son were addicted to heroin, rehab would have been covered, but therapies for autism were not.  I will never understand the logic behind that.  

In Pennsylvania, where Caden was diagnosed, children with an autism diagnosis qualified for Medicaid and received all of the necessary therapies, including behavioral therapy, but it wasn’t that simple in our state.  Children with an autism diagnosis did not automatically qualify for Medicaid.  They could apply for a number of waivers.  I don’t pretend to completely understand the system (which is different now than it was then), but I was told that Caden could apply for the Developmentally Disabled waiver.  The only problem was that there was a years-long waiting list for the waiver.  By the time his name got to the top of the list, the most crucial developmental years would have been gone.  The other possibility for some children on the spectrum was the waiver for the mentally retarded, but that wouldn’t apply to Caden.  We called the Medicaid office anyway.  And we waited a few days, maybe a week, for a return phone call.  We never received one.  Fed up with the inefficiency, my husband drove to the Medicaid office one morning and was determined to stay there until he had a solution.  The first woman he spoke to told him that he needed to speak to someone else.  That person was on her lunch break.  He waited.  He spoke with that woman who said she couldn’t help him, but another woman might be able to.  She was in a meeting.  He waited.  He finally met with a young, new employee. She put thought into our situation and came up with an idea.  It was possible that Caden could qualify for the Elderly/Disabled Consumer Directed waiver.   It wasn’t a sure thing, but it was the only chance we had.  About seven hours later, my husband came home with an appointment scheduled for a home visit and observation to determine eligibility.  

The Elderly/Disabled Consumer Directed waiver was designed to provide alternative care to people whose conditions are so severe that they should be placed in a nursing home.  Only the disabled person’s finances were considered and because Caden was a child and not gainfully employed, that wasn’t a factor. People receiving this waiver are able to hire their own home health aides to assist them with tasks of daily living; showering, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.  There were a few things that helped Caden qualify.  As strange as it sounds the fact that he still wet the bed helped.  Also, we had to say that if my husband and I were no longer able to care for Caden, there was a possibility that he would need to be placed in a nursing home.  Realistically, this likely wouldn’t have happened, but with my husband’s parents living out of the country and my parents caring for my paralyzed older brother, there was enough of a chance.  We were lucky enough to qualify.  

With the waiver approved, Caden received Medicaid as his secondary insurance carrier.  Therefore, speech and occupational therapies were now covered for multiple visits per week.  We quickly got started at a local clinic. I now had to drag two little kids to therapy visits, but that turned out to be the easy part!  Behavioral therapy, which was to be the foundation of our program, was not covered by Medicaid.  Not only that, I couldn’t find any qualified therapists in our area!  I was learning the basics from the Overcoming Autism book, and was incorporating what I could.  You can imagine how excited we were to learn that one of the therapists from The Koegel Autism & Training Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara was going to be offering an instructional clinic for professionals and caregivers at our local university…Like I mentioned earlier, luck was on our side!

“PIVOTAL RESPONSE TECHNIQUE” VS “APPLIED BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS”

The recommended behavioral therapy for Caden was Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).  When I think of ABA, I think of a rigid therapy program where the child is sitting at a table, working on skills for multiple hours each day with a trained therapist providing rewards for accomplishments.  This proved to be impossible for us to acquire.  But that didn’t matter to me, because I was already finding some success implementing a few of the techniques set forth in Overcoming Autism.  This type of behavioral therapy was called Pivotal Response Technique (PRT).  The main difference between ABA and PRT is that the latter focuses more on incorporating therapy into the child’s normal routine.  It can be done at the park, while baking cookies, and while playing with toys of the child’s choosing.  Most importantly, I could be the one doing the therapy and we didn’t have to rely on, or pay, someone else to come into our home and work with Caden.  It seemed like we were heading in the right direction, but we were still unsure on how to proceed.  

My parents were able to come and stay with Caden and Nolan while we attended the day-long PRT clinic on campus.  We absorbed so much of what the speaker presented.  It made sense and I understood the underlying ideas.  To put it in the most simple terms, you had to make your kid perform a desired task to get rewarded.  When playing catch, we would have to make Caden look us in the eye and ask us for the ball before we tossed it to him.  If he sat down to play with a puzzle, we were supposed to hoard the pieces and prompt him to ask for each individually.  If he wanted a push on the swing, he had to ask.  Asking didn’t have to be an elaborate, polite question.  We were starting with just a few words and we would build from there.  

What we learned from the speaker at the clinic was probably not the most important accomplishment of that day. While taking a break in the lobby, I ran into a friend who had been involved in a playgroup that Caden and I attended when he was an infant.  Dr. Chris had moved away after earning her PhD and I had forgotten that the focus of her graduate work was autism.  She was sad to hear the reason we were there, but without hesitation she offered to help.   She was then serving as the director of an autism center about 75 miles away and she assured me that this was the route we needed to take.  All the pieces were falling into place.  

MY SON CAN IMPROVE

Soon after the clinic, Dr. Chris came to our house for her first observation of our life with Caden.  My husband and I were quickly impressed with her ability to get Caden to do what she was asking of him.  She seemed in control of the situation and we liked that she had high expectations for our little boy’s progress.  This was the first time I heard a professional suggest that Caden could be “indistinguishable from his peers”.  To us, that sounded like an excellent goal and we were relieved to hear that someone had intentions of helping our son improve as opposed to the goal of accommodating his shortcomings that the school district had seemed to adopt.  

Armed with a plan, Dr. Chris returned to our home on Caden’s fourth birthday.  The focus of this visit was to offer further training in the methods of PRT, as well as introduce a behavior protocol.  In my previous articles, I described the tantrums that Caden often displayed.  These behaviors occurred multiple times each day and they made life incredibly difficult.  They needed to end!  I had tried everything I was supposed to.  Caden would not simply stay in time out as other preschoolers often do. With such restricted language skills, we could not reason with him at all.  We needed to up our game and Dr. Chris knew what needed to be done.  She taught me about using a “least to most” prompting protocol.  The first step was to give Caden an instruction with little else.  If he complied, we would reward or praise him.  If he didn’t comply, we would put a little more into it.  For example, if we had asked him to put a ball away and he didn’t follow the verbal prompt, we would walk him to the ball, take ahold of his hand, and use our hand over his to put the ball away.  Once successful, we were to follow up with a reward or praise.  If at any point, Caden became aggressive, he went to time out.  Because Caden wouldn’t stay in a time out chair or spot, and holding him down wasn’t an option because he would often turn his aggression toward me, this was not an ordinary time out.  The plan was to put Caden in his room for time out and only let him out once he calmed himself down.  In an effort to demonstrate the procedure, Dr. Chris asked Caden to do many things, hoping to provoke a behavior and she eventually did.  We put Caden in his room for time out and closed the door, which he promptly tried to open.  We held it shut, with him screaming and crying on the other side.  It was heart wrenching.  I cried, but Dr. Chris stood her ground and assured me that this was the right thing to do.  I trusted her.  It seemed like an eternity and as soon as he calmed himself, we allowed him to come out.  His room was a disaster.  My four year old had flipped the twin mattress off of his bed.  The closet had been trashed and one of the doors had been pulled off its track.  Caden was a sweaty mess.  I took him to the couch and he fell asleep within minutes.  We were all emotionally exhausted.  

My Son is More Than a "Disorder"

With Caden asleep, Dr. Chris gave me instructions and then left.  I was to record every instance when Caden didn’t comply with our instructions.  I had to make sure to record the Antecedent (what happened just prior to the tantrum), the Behavior (what the actual bad behavior was) and the Consequence (what I did about it).  We referred to these as the ABC’s and in order to understand more about Caden, we needed to be aware of any patterns that might develop.   We removed nearly everything from Caden’s room so he couldn’t hurt himself and reversed the lock so he couldn’t escape.  I also needed to take care of Nolan so I couldn’t stand there and hold the door during these awful tantrums.  For the next few weeks, I focused on implementing this new behavior protocol with consistency and started recorded pages of data.  

I knew that downtime was not beneficial for Caden.  Any time he spent in “his world” stimming was wasted time.  For Caden, “stimming”, short for “self-stimulatory behavior”, involved spinning wheels, rolling trucks in front of his eyes, and watching TV close up, out of the corner of his eye.  For others on the autism spectrum, stimming can be more obvious with rocking, arm flapping and repetitive vocalizations.  I made it my goal to keep Caden actively engaged as much as I could throughout the day.  This, combined with keeping up with a toddler, was exhausting.  I knew I needed some extra help, and this is where we got creative.  With Medicaid, Caden qualified for respite care.  Respite care generally involves having someone assist with daily self-care tasks like bathing, dressing, shopping, etc.  I didn’t need help with those tasks, but I sure did need help with everything else!  Someone suggested that I contact the psychology department of our local university to inquire about posting an ad in that building.  The secretary had a much better idea and e-mailed our ad to every student enrolled in the program.  We had more than 60 applicants to work with Caden.  Because they were college students, they were willing to work for the $8.18 per hour that Medicaid was paying.  They were so interested in having the learning experience that they probably would have worked for free!  It took some time to weed through the applicants, but we ended up with three students who were simply amazing.  

Our Team UNCOVERs BASIC DEFICITS BENEATH ADVANCED SKILLS

With the initial program started, it was time to figure out exactly what was going on with Caden.  Dr. Chris suggested that we do some more detailed testing of Caden’s skills so we knew what we needed to work on.  The test that was recommended was called The Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills (ABLLS).  It provided a comprehensive review of skills from 25 areas including language, social interaction, self-help, and academic and motor skills that most typically developing children acquire prior to entering kindergarten.  Because kids on the autism spectrum have a tendency to develop some advanced skills, unlearned basic skills can be difficult to detect.  Caden could do many advanced intellectual tasks, but couldn’t ask for a drink of water.  This testing helped identify his deficits.  

When the ABLLS results were complete, we set up a training session at our home.  Kate, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) from the autism clinic served as our program manager and provided this training to the college students and my husband and me.  This was our “team”.  And our team was amazing.  One of the students, Erin, was specifically hired to attend preschool with Caden daily and had a classroom-appropriate set of goals to work through with him.  Stephanie and Amanda each came to the house once each week for a few hours and worked with Caden on his home ABLLS goals or hosted playdates with him so we could focus on improving his peer interactions and social skills.  We were assigned about four goals at a time to work through from the ABLLS testing.  When those were met, Kate moved us on to the next goals.  We strived for consistency in following the behavior protocol.  It wasn’t easy for anyone.  There were tantrums (from Caden).  There were tears (definitely from me and Caden, possibly from Amanda).  We all had a slightly different style, but we all found a way to have some success with Caden.  We talked at our team meeting about what was working and what wasn’t and we all learned together.  

By the time school started that September, our plan was set.  We were on our way.  We just didn’t know exactly where we were going.  

The author, Kari, will be returning this summer with Part lV in this series.  She will begin to discuss the powerful change in diet and how it helped launch her son into a new phase of healing.

READ THE FULL STORY IN 3 PARTS

A Mother's Story (1): The Subtle Signs of Autism and the Long Road Ahead

A Mother's Story (2): So This is Autism.

A Mother's Story (3):  My Son is Not a "Disorder"

Harvest Time: From Farm to Table to Little Mouths!

 

By Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP, of MyMunchBug.com

The Joy of Gardening

When I walk about my neighborhood, I love to stroll past our community garden: plot after plot of vegetables lined up in perfect order, ready for inspection.  In the cool Colorado evenings, parents and kids gather to ooh and ahh at what new plant is peeking out of the earth.  Today I saw a three year old cutting lettuce with “safety scissors” that his mom had brought especially for his little fists.

Teaching kids to become more adventurous eaters begins in the garden.   When I decided to produce a children’s CD that celebrated the joy of food, I knew it had to include a garden song.  Joan Huntsberry Langford, the singer and songwriter, titled it “Harvest Time” and recreated the sensory experience of growing food in the garden, harvesting and ultimately, enjoying it together around the family table.

Healing Picky Eating Begins in the Dirt

Cucumbers curling around a trellise.Got a picky eater at home?  Learning about new foods doesn’t start with steamed broccoli sitting on their dinner plate.  It starts with a seed, or a tiny plant and most importantly, little hands in dirt.  Children love to take care of living things, and plants are no exception.  Daily watering and tending to a garden gently exposes a child to a new food until harvested, when it eventually finds its way to a lovely family dinner.  

When I work with children in the community and we are exploring a garden, I bring a clean bucket of cool water with us.  While most children love to play in dirt, some are tactilely defensive, especially picky eaters.  Having a bucket to swiftly drop a muddy carrot in or to wash tickly palms eases their uncertainty about touching something gritty.  Plus, we may get up the courage to wash that carrot right then and there and even see how loud we can crunch it!  Feeding therapists like kids to get dirty, the sensory experience is part of learning about new food.  But, if your child is particular about keeping his hands clean, child sized gardening gloves are an option.  Better yet, kid-sized tools make it twice as fun!  Ideally, larger family gardens have paths for little feet and rows of hardy crops (to ensure success) that are within easy reach for children to explore.  Smaller, raised bed gardens are perfect for any child to explore the perimeter or sit on the edge as they pick sugar snap peas or cucumbers. Have you tried growing your cucumbers up a trellis or chicken-wire fence?  Brilliant method and so easy!

My Dad & Family Gardening Love

My daughter & my Papa breaking garden ground, many moons ago.
When I was a child, my Dad kept a pocket knife in his “dungarees” when we gardened together.  My Dad is now almost 91 and this is the first year that he has not planted a garden.  One of my fondest memories of Dad was growing kohlrabi, a cabbage like veggie that has a tough, outer skin.  Dad would let the 5 year –old me tug away at the vegetable until it popped out of the dirt, almost toppling me backward.  Then he would slap it against his thigh to shatter the dirt clods, dunk it in a bucket of water (hmmm…that’s where I go that idea!) and use his pocket knife to carve away at the hard outer core.  What lie beneath was a cross between a mild radish and an apple. Similar to the texture of jicama, but not at all like jicama; well,  more like kohlrabi. 

Kohlrabi, cleaned and ready to eat.

It may be hard to describe the taste and texture of a kohlrabi, but what I remember vividly is that time with my Dad.  It was our time.  As I grew to have a family of my own, I asked my Dad to start a planting tradition with my girls.  Each summer, he would be bring over giant pumpkin seeds to plant in our horse pasture.   Daddy would dig a decent hole and hand the seeds to my daughters to drop in before he covered it, patted down a nice mound and finally handed the hose to the girls for the pumpkin seed’s first long drink. 

Gardening creates memories for your family.  Whether a pot of herbs on the kitchen window sill or an acre of corn, there is nothing quite like the experience of coming together as a family to plant and enjoy the harvest.  Best wishes to all of you during Harvest Time!

About Melanie

Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLPMelanie is speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding.  Her work brings her into the homes and schools of her clients, kids, who for various reasons have difficulty with food or with eating. She works with kids and their parents to develop effective strategies that help children become “more adventurous eaters”.  At least 50% of her clients have food allergies or intolerances, and for them, “adventurous eating” takes on a special meaning.  Melanie is also the author of Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids” and the executive producer of “Dancing in the Kitchen.”

More Posts From Melanie

Why Children with Autism are Often Picky Eaters

Review:  The Magic of the BellyFull Kit (From the Hopeful Company)

The 12 Days of Christmas -- My Favorite Lunchtime Things (Part 1)

Tips to Help Your Food Allergic Child Belong During the Holidays

How to Talk Turkey (and Food Allergies) at Thanksgiving

How Can Parents Feel Less Stress with a Food Allergic Child in School?

Follow Your Gut:  What's Eating My Daughter's Stomach? (Part I)

A MOTHER'S STORY (2): So This is Autism.

This is the second in a series of articles written by Kari, a mother of two boys, including a 10 year old son who was diagnosed with Autism (read part 1).  When Kari approached me with her compelling story, I asked if she would be willing to disclose it so that other parents could potentially learn from the path that she has taken.  I thank Kari for her willingness to let us into her life, and take us through her journey from discovery to what has helped her son thrive.

~elisabeth veltman

BACKSTORY

Over the past several years, I've had the opportunity to talk with many parents who are raising children on the autism spectrum.  We have all traveled different paths to the diagnosis, but each is a path that takes several months or even years.  I think we probably all look back on these months with a little regret that the process took so long.  Changes have been made to alleviate this problem and I was excited to have the opportunity to fill out a developmental checklist at my daughter's 18 month well-check recently.  If this had been available for Caden, I am certain we wouldn't have lost out on months of meaningful therapies.  I hope that pediatricians are becoming better at listening to parents and referring them to specialists instead of dismissing concerns.  This is the second part of the story of our journey from the first suspicion of problems until the day we received the diagnosis of autism, which took about 18 months.  

(Read Part 1:  A Mother's Story. The Subtle Signs of Autism and the Long Road Ahead)

SEEKING COMMUNITY BUT FINDING QUESTIONS

My husband and I moved from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to our current town in the fall of 2001. Our small town is also home to a large university, where my husband was hired as a research professor in the Industrial Engineering Department.  In 2004, when Caden was two, I still felt fairly new to the area, so I joined a group called Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) in an effort to meet other moms and get Caden a bit of time to play with other kids.  Quite honestly, MOPS wasn't anything that excited me.  I often found the guest speakers to be uninteresting and a bit too religious for my taste.  There was, however, one day that caused me to tune in.  The speakers were from the local branch of the Department of Health's Early Intervention program.  At the end of their presentation, I remember nervously raising my hand and asking if they thought it might be a problem that my son was over two and not yet able to answer yes/no questions.  I'm pretty sure they wanted to scream “YES!”, and I'm not exactly sure I ever heard what they actually did say because their facial expressions said everything I needed to know.  When I talked with my husband about it later, he talked me out of calling.  There will be more on my husband's feelings and evolution in upcoming articles.

FIRST STEP TOWARD DIAGNOSIS

It was a few months later when the can throwing incident (see Part I) occurred in the check-out line at Wal-Mart.  I knew Caden needed help and I wasn't going to be talked out of it this time.  I called Early Intervention and scheduled them to come observe Caden.  Not surprisingly, he qualified.  I found it strange at the time that the only therapy he received from them was occupational therapy.  It didn't make sense to me that my kid who couldn't communicate wasn't receiving speech therapy, but they explained that children sometimes have sensory issues that interfere with their ability to gain language skills.  They were the professionals, so I went with it. Caden did have a lot of sensory issues.  Tags in his clothing bothered him and I had to cut out every one of them.  Loud sounds caused Caden to unravel.  Vacuuming had to be done when he was out of the house.  I couldn't use a food processor in his presence. Caden's grandfather is a football coach, and naturally everyone thought he would love football games, but he frantically pulled us out of every stadium we took him to. I'm not sure if the therapists ever came right out and said it, but they pointed me in the direction of Sensory Integration Dysfunction books and strategies.  

My husband and I utilized every tactic that was presented to us.  I read the few books that I could find on the topic.  We did dry brushing of his skin and joint compressions to help soothe him before sleep, bought him toys with many different textures, and had him sleep with a weighted blanket meant to calm him.  We saw some benefit to all of these things, but the language still didn't come.  We worked with Early Intervention for just three months because Caden aged out of the program. I wished we had started sooner, but I wasn't upset because we had a lot of hope that the next step in our journey would bring us more intense therapy that our little guy needed.

SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION

When Caden turned three, the next step was having him evaluated by the special education department of our local school system.  The school evaluation involved testing by four different professionals; a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, a school psychologist and a special education teacher.  It was during this testing process that I came to realize just how gifted some teachers and therapists were, while others left me wondering how they continued to be employed.

The speech therapist met with us at our local elementary school, during summer vacation.  She was very friendly and allowed Caden to play with all of the toys on the shelves as she completed her observations.  This certainly made it easy on everyone.  Caden was happy, therefore cooperative. We finished the testing with no drama at all.  

Later that week, we met with the school psychologist.  We met in the same small room where we had met with the speech therapist.  Caden walked in, spotted the toys on the shelf that he had enjoyed previously and when he attempted to get one, I was told that he wasn’t allowed.  I explained to her that he had been allowed to use them during our other testing, hinting that this inconsistency would cause him to unravel, but she remained rigid.  It should have come as no surprise that my child, who couldn’t understand much spoken language, flipped out.  Yet, the psychologist was incredibly flustered.  She continued trying to test him in that room for at least thirty minutes before finally moving to another room, at my request, where there were no toys. 

Testing went a little better once the distraction of the toys was removed, but it was still ridiculous.  The woman had no tolerance for my son’s inability to complete her test.  Shouldn’t a school psychologist, who routinely tests children for special education qualification, be used to working with children like Caden?  Why was she so harsh?  Why did it seem as though she was about to have a meltdown that could rival one of Caden’s?  I expected to walk into that testing session and meet a person who could make my child feel at ease.  I expected to meet a person who was a natural with kids.  Instead, we were required to endure hours with a woman who seemed to have no idea how to interact with my son.  I maintained my composure while we were there, but was furious on the inside.  To this day, I have no idea how or why she was working as a school psychologist.  She clearly had no understanding of how a little mind works.  She should have been one of the first people to step up and refer us to a specialist, but instead, she never even submitted a report.

Luckily, the next two tests were conducted in our home.  The occupational therapist was a woman we had met during Caden’s short time in the Early Intervention program.  He was familiar with her and she knew most of his abilities.  The special education teacher had the longest set of tests to conduct, and she happened to be a neighbor and good friend of mine.  She understood Caden, took her time with him, and came back numerous times to get the job done.  She made the testing fun for Caden, and he actually enjoyed part of her testing because she was looking at gross motor skills which involved a lot of playing outside.

SPECIAL ED TESTING RESULTS

At the end of all of this testing, my husband and I met with a special education supervisor from our school district, along with the speech and occupational therapists and the special education teacher who performed the testing.  I have no idea why the school psychologist wasn’t present, but I wasn’t interested in seeing her again anyway!

In order to be eligible for special education services, a student had to display a 25% delay in at least one area of development.  Caden’s results indicated at least a 25% delay in fine motor manipulation, receptive communication and expressive communication.  The communication tests revealed that his abilities, though he was three, were more like those of a child 18-24 months.  Caden qualified for services and I was excited that he would be receiving speech therapy in addition to the occupational therapy he had already been receiving.  Plus, all of these services would be delivered while Caden was in the preschool we had chosen for him to attend three days each week.  He was also assigned a special education case manager, who would visit him at his preschool a few times each week and set up the accommodations that were set forth in his plan.
 
It all sounded great, but, there wasn't much progress.  And, because the therapists were visiting during preschool hours, my husband and I had little interaction with them.  There was a communication log that we could look at when we picked Caden up each day.  We attempted to correspond with the therapists, especially the speech therapist, begging her for some ideas of strategies to incorporate with him at home.  Her advice was less than stellar, “Try to get him to say 'yes' and 'no'”.  No kidding.  We had been trying for years.  We needed specific ideas.  She had none.  She was useless.

MY REALIZATION - "THIS IS AUTISM"

About three months into the school year, my frustration levels were mounting.  Caden's temper and lack of communication skills were becoming more difficult.  I decided to do some searching for answers on my own since his therapists were making no progress with him.  I remember one night, when my husband was out of town, I found some time to investigate on the Internet.  I was specifically looking for tips about how to improve verbal skills for a child with Sensory Integration Dysfunction. 

It seemed like every time I did a search, I found myself on a website that was associated with autism, or had an advertisement for an autism-related service.  This happened every time I tried.  And then it hit me.  This is autism.  I can almost feel the sinking feeling in my stomach as I sit here reliving that moment.  Ugh.  And, remember, my husband was out of town and was working late so I couldn’t seek comfort from the one person I wanted to talk to.  I knew my husband would calm me down, but when I couldn’t get in touch with him, I immediately picked up the phone to call my sister.  She was in college and working toward her degree in Child Development.  She would talk some sense into me, right?  Wrong.  Her response was more along the lines of “I've been waiting for this phone call for a long time”.   As it turned out, my sister and my parents had been suspecting autism for months, but hadn't told me because they were all busily educating themselves so they could provide us with support when the inevitable realization occurred.  I can't imagine how hard this must have been for them, but in retrospect, it was the best thing they could have done for us.
 
By the time I talked to my husband that night, I had already made up my mind to schedule an appointment with Caden's pediatrician immediately.  I felt awful sharing this suspicion with him when he was so far away.  I read through the list of symptoms and so many described our little boy.  Some of the symptoms that we couldn't deny included:

    1.    Caden still didn't point, nor could he follow or find objects when we pointed toward them.

    2.    He didn't play with other kids,

    3.    He couldn't ask for help or let us know when he had a basic need such as thirst or hunger.

    4.    He had unusual attachments to strange objects.  I specifically remember that he went through a phase at this time where he had to be holding a circle-shaped toy for comfort.  He didn’t attach to something soft like a blanket or a stuffed animal, but rather a stacking ring or round puzzle piece.
 
    5.    He had intense fears of strange things like riding in elevators.

    6.    When watching TV, he would stand very close, with his head turned to the side and be mesmerized at the objects moving in his peripheral vision.
 
    7.    And, while he had some speech, it wasn't functional speech.
 
Combining all of these symptoms with the sensory issues we already knew he had, it seemed like a sure thing.  Autism.

DIFFERENT EXPERT OPINIONS … AGAIN

Caden's pediatrician had a different opinion.  We presented her with our concerns, after which she asked Caden a few simple color and shape questions.  When he was able to answer correctly, she told us that we were just being “over-reactive, first-time parents”.  While I should have been insulted with her condescending tone, I was elated.  This doctor just told me that my kid wasn't autistic!  She said to be patient and stick with the therapies because she thought we were doing all the right things.
 
The months rolled by and I still found myself looking for support and advice.  This led me to the Parent Resource Center of our local school system.  This very small staff of two parent advocates offered advice and loaned out reading materials, both of which helped parents better navigate the crazy life of raising a special needs child.  I visited their office, met the director, and checked out a few materials.  I was invited to a "meet and greet" that  they were hosting at a local fast food restaurant.  This seemed like a good way for them to talk with me more, meet Caden, and introduce me to some other moms who might be having the same struggles.
 
Unfortunately, Caden wasn't playing along with the plans.  It's likely that he found the indoor playground, and the kids in it, to be overwhelming.  He took to such a tantrum that the volunteer from the Parent Resource Center had to help me get him to the car when it was time to leave.  Taking Caden out was becoming nearly impossible for me to manage on my own.  Add it to my list of things I was incapable of doing with my child.
 
My confidence was basically nonexistent by this point.

UNQUALIFIED OPINIONS & THE AUTISM UMBRELLA

A few days later, that parent volunteer called me at home and asked if there was anything she could do to help me.  I told her my concerns regarding the lack of progress Caden's therapists were making with him during preschool.  She asked if it would be okay for her to observe him in that setting and I agreed.  I wasn't sure what would come of that observation, but I really just wanted someone to validate my concerns.  I was getting to the point where I thought maybe I was just expecting too much.

Following her visit, the parent volunteer called me and asked if she could meet with my husband and me at our home the next day.  She came while he was home for lunch and spent just a few minutes with us.  During these few minutes, she showed us a diagram that had a drawing of an umbrella. 

The word “Autism” was at the top and at the bottom were all of the different labels that fall on the autism spectrum including:

    1.    Autistic Disorder

    2.    Asperger’s Disorder

    3.    Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

    4.    Rett’s Disorder

    5.    Pervasive Developmental Disorder/Not Otherwise Specified

She kept saying “I'm not sure where Caden belongs under this umbrella, but he's on here somewhere”.  My husband and I quickly got defensive.  Who was this woman?  What qualified her to make this diagnosis?  She couldn't be right because Caden's pediatrician said he was fine.  We were pissed!  And she left.  This was a very good decision on her part.  My husband and I barely had time to process and discuss what had just happened because he had to leave for a meeting at work.  I have no idea why she thought it was appropriate to show up at our house and drop that kind of bomb during my husband's lunch break.  Once again, I found myself alone, dealing with the emotions surrounding the possibility that my son had autism.

I was furious at the time because of the unsolicited opinion that the volunteer offered.  I had only asked her to provide an opinion regarding the quality of the therapy Caden was receiving.  Her blunt delivery and lack of professionalism were completely unsettling.  Regardless of the fact that I had thought the same thing, this woman was not qualified to make such a concrete statement regarding my son’s condition.  If she had come in and asked if we had considered that Caden might have autism, we would have told her that we had.  We then would have told her that our pediatrician said that he didn’t.  She could have then explained that pediatricians often don’t have the training to recognize the subtle signs of autism and that her brief interaction with him during an office visit would not have allowed for the time to gather all of the pertinent information.  She then could have followed with suggesting we seek the opinion of a specialist.  We would have agreed.  Doesn’t that sound much less dramatic?  

THE CHILD DEVELOPMENT UNIT / CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PITTSBURGH

My husband and I chose to remain focused on what our pediatrician had said, but now felt that we needed the opinion of a qualified specialist to back us in case any other unqualified representatives of the school system chose to share their opinions with us.  We talked with Caden's special education case manager about what had happened and she agreed that a visit to a specialist would be helpful, but warned us that the local Developmental Pediatrician was “label happy”.  We weren't interested in having our son labeled unnecessarily.  There weren't many choices where we live, and we didn't know where else to turn, so we made an appointment at The Child Development Unit at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
 
When completing the pages and pages of intake questionnaires in preparation for our appointment, I made it a point to not mention our specific concerns regarding autism.  I answered all of the questions thoroughly, but didn't want to put any ideas into the head of the doctor.  Amazingly, this part of the story involves very little drama.  We met with the doctor for about four hours.  We answered all of the questions she had.  She interacted with Caden for a long time and then spent a significant amount of time providing us with a thorough explanation of how she arrived at the diagnosis of autism.  We weren't defensive.  We were accepting.  Her explanation made sense and her prognosis was encouraging.  A strange sense of relief came over me.  Although we lived six hours away, this compassionate and competent professional was committed to helping us find better therapies for Caden.  Despite all of the drama leading up to this moment, the diagnostic process seemed so simple.  No question about it.  Our son had autism.
   
That sense of relief was short-lived.  Within a few days, we started the long journey home and the even longer continued journey down the path to recovering our little boy from autism. 

 
Stay tuned for PART # of "A Mother's Story" next month.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

This is the second in a series of articles written by Kari, a mother of two boys, including a 10 year old son who was diagnosed with Autism.  Kari has chosen to keep her identify anonymous to protect her son until he is ready to tell his own story. 

OTHER PARTS TO THIS SERIES

A MOTHER'S STORY (PART I):  The Subtle Signs of Autism and the Long Road Ahead

A MOTHER'S STORY (PART III): My Son is Not a "Disorder"

Follow Your Gut (Part 2): Going Through a Celiac Biopsy

Knowing For Certain

In Part 1 of this 2 part article, my friend Emily wrestled with the decision to have her young daughter undergo an upper GI endoscopy and biopsy to determine if she had celiac disease.  The risks of anesthesia were daunting, but the need for reassurance of  “knowing for sure if we needed to avoid cross contamination or food temptations” prompted Emily and her husband to schedule the procedure.  First,  their little girl, Nicky, had to endure a “gluten challenge” or 8 weeks of eating gluten on a daily basis to ensure that the biopsy results would be accurate.  

Endure?  Endure doughnuts and cookies and pasta? Yes, because Nicky’s primary symptoms of gluten intolerance were painful stomach aches and ADD-like symptoms, and thus, the daily barrage of gluten on her tender tummy soon proved to be almost too much for the little girl to bear.

Gluten Changed Her Daughter's Behavior - A Lot

Prior to the gluten challenge, Nicky’s diet was filled with “lots of fruits and veggies and only minimally processed foods” and almost no gluten in order to keep her difficulties with attention, impulsivity and other symptoms of gluten sensitivity in check. She had always been an excellent student and a well-behaved child, as long as she stayed away from the gluten-monster. Alarm bells began to go off shortly after ingesting gluten on a regular basis.  During the first month of the challenge, Nicky’s teacher expressed her concern.   Nicky’s  behavior had become disruptive in the classroom and she had periods of “explosive rage.” Her mother expounded, “Nicky was not coping…not managing…and having a really hard time letting things go.  She was no longer in control of herself.” 

While the endoscopy and anesthesia loomed in the near future, Emily found it almost unbearable to watch her sweet daughter’s personality change as the flood of gluten invaded her body.  “She would space-out…something like getting dressed in the morning was exceptionally challenging.”   Emily explained how Nicky couldn’t sequence the steps and how she ‘got lost” in the process.  “Twenty minutes later, I’d find her half-dressed and completely off-task and have to redirect her to finish getting on her outfit for school.”

The Day of the Endoscopy

Finally, the day of the endoscopy arrived.  The ease of the entire process was a complete surprise to Emily and so much more informal than she had anticipated.  Because she had chosen pediatric specialists, the complete procedure was family and child-centered.  The pediatric anesthesiologist called Emily the night before (a Sunday!) to introduce himself and see if she or her husband had any questions. The next morning,  Nicky had the procedure done in her “street clothes” and her parents were encouraged to go back to the procedure room with her.  They stayed there till she fell asleep, gave her a kiss and 15 minutes later met her in the recovery area, where she had a Popsicle™.  “I had pictured it in my own mind so differently!  If I had known it was that easy , I would have been less worried. Knowledge is key. ”

The Results Are In

Two weeks later, the biopsy results were revealed with two precious words: no celiac. According to the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research, 4 out of 5 distinct markers would necessitate a positive diagnosis (see a list of these markers here).  However, this little one had 3 out of 5.  This was good news.

When I asked Emily what her first thoughts were after hearing those precious two words, she expressed a sigh of relief.  “NOW we know.  Now we know that a little gluten here and there won't have serious, unseen side effects.  We will continue to respect her gluten sensitivity, but, thankfully, being a sensitivity, it allows us a little freedom.  She has chosen in the past to be gluten-free because of her stomach aches, and now we can continue to allow her a little independence in that choice.  But, I continue to be frustrated at some medical professional's dismissal of how significant gluten sensitivity can be for some people.  From what I’ve read online, there seems to be a definite identification of gluten sensitivity.  I guess it just needs more research to be more widely accepted.  I feel like so many people just think I'm crazy when I say how gluten affects her behavior. “ 

I admire my friend Emily.  She listened to her most powerful resource, her mother’s intuition.   She followed her gut and learned what was eating at her sweet daughter’s stomach.  “What’s the best part of once again going gluten-free?” I asked Emily.  “I’m excited for her attention and mood to improve.  I’m excited to watch her heal.”    I smiled: “Be gone gluten-monster!  Be gone!”

About Melanie

Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLPMelanie is speech language pathologist who specializes in feeding.  Her work brings her into the homes and schools of her clients, kids, who for various reasons have difficulty with food or with eating. She works with kids and their parents to develop effective strategies that help children become “more adventurous eaters”.  At least 50% of her clients have food allergies or intolerances, and for them, “adventurous eating” takes on a special meaning.  Melanie is also the author of Happy Mealtimes with Happy Kids” and the executive producer of “Dancing in the Kitchen.”

More Posts from Melanie

Why Children with Autism are Often Picky Eaters

Review:  The Magic of the BellyFull Kit (From the Hopeful Company)

The 12 Days of Christmas -- My Favorite Lunchtime Things (Part 1)

Tips to Help Your Food Allergic Child Belong During the Holidays

How to Talk Turkey (and Food Allergies) at Thanksgiving

How Can Parents Feel Less Stress with a Food Allergic Child in School?