Sammy's Gold Stars is a children's book about one boy who found a special diet helped him feel and behave better.

 

Many children with food sensitivities, Autism, Celiac Disease, ADHD, Lyme Disease, and other conditions can feel and think better on a special diet.

I am the lucky mom of a wonderful son who has Pervasive Developmental Disorder, a form of Autism. Looking for anything helpful, we tried a gluten, casein, soy and corn free diet a few years ago. A special diet doesn’t work for all autistic children, but for some it helps a little, and some it makes a huge difference.  Along with other treatments, my son blossomed on the diet. It was like he was the same boy but now he was in color, not black and white. His behavior improved dramatically. Before the diet, he was unable to focus long enough to complete basic tasks, like cleaning up five toys. He had trouble paying attention in school and could not retain the information he did learn.

After instituting the diet, he started cleaning up his whole room, including piles of books, toys and clothes… sometimes without even being asked! His speech improved dramatically. He was able to articulate better and his vocabulary exploded.  He became less impulsive, more able to think before he acted, and he was more available for learning in school.

After 6 months of diet and other treatments, he went from very behind in school to actually reading at grade level. Daily calls from the teacher about poor behavior stopped and he even awarded student of the month.

Along the way, I also implemented various behavioral tools to help him navigate his challenges and channel his new abilities. The diet and treatments help, but so do these behavioral tools: traditional speech, physical and occupational therapy, and lots of patient love. Helping kids to organize their thoughts by using labeled cubbies, making to do lists and using a timer to stay on task help kids overcome challenges cognitively, while treatments assist them physically.

After a time, because I became tired of the effort and money spent on the diet, I took him off of it for one week. My mistake was quickly evident. He lost most of the 100 sight words he had gained; his speech therapist tested him and his speech had regressed more than a year. His behavior quickly deteriorated, and the daily behavior charts coming home from school showed more bad days than good. I quickly put him back on the diet, but it took more than 6 months to regain all that he lost from one week off the diet, though he’s catching up. I have learned my lesson.

Although published scientific evidence supporting the effects of the diet is still emerging, many autistic children improve greatly with a special diet that removes subclinical food intolerances. Such special diets for Autism, food sensitivities, ADHD, Celiac, Lyme disease, and others, can be hard to maintain. I wrote this book for my son, to help him understand the diet in a positive way and to empower him to want to do the diet. I wanted him to connect the diet with things being easier in his life… learning, caring for his things, and behaving well.  I hope that this book can help other families who are struggling to incorporate a diet for cognitive and behavioral improvement, into their lives in a positive way.

Katie Murphy