I'd like to start off this blog with an introduction. My husband and I are the parents to three amazing boys who are 26, 25, and 19. Two of these boys have autism. Most of their lives I've been "just mom". I didn't become an RD until 5 years ago. So it's probably fair to say that most of my opinions are probably more influenced by my parental experience than my professional experience. However, my professional training and experience definitely have had an influence.
The two boys who have autism are doing great today. The oldest is working his way through an animation degree at Dallas Art Institute. He's gone from being classified as fairly severely autistic to college. Wow, it's been quite a journey. The middle child takes care of so many people. One of his favorite things in laundry. He does our family laundry, his grandmother's laundry, he works for a bed and breakfast doing laundry, and he folds towels for the guy down the street who cuts hair. In addition, he does more house cleaning around here than anyone else. More about both of them later.
I went back t0 school to become a Dietitian when I put the boys back in public school after 4 years of homeschooling. I attended Texas Woman's University where I obtained a B.S of Dietetics and Institution and Administration then a M.S. in Nutrition. I also did my internship there. While I was still a student I had the wonderful opportunity to become the web coordinator for Dietetics in Developmental and Psychiatric Disorders (now Behavioral Health Nutrition), a dietary practice group of American Dietetic Association. Upon completion of my Master's I was hired at Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) of Tarrant and Parker County (now ECI of North Central Texas), where I still work today. I also have a private practice (Kids In need of Dietary Services, LLC affectionally referred to as KIDS).
All of this has meshed together to give me some very interesting and sometimes different perspectives. As a parent, I learned so much from the wonderful teachers and staff of Lake Worth School District, but it was far from smooth sailing. In fact, more than one person there has referred to me as the mother from Hell. I also became a PATH trained advocate. From PATH I learned a lot about the laws and the current best practices with autism.
Through the course of this blog I will endevour to share some of my unique perspective with all of you. It's my hope that I can give those who read this some insights into this disability and the challenges it brings. It's also my hope that I will be able pass along some nutritional information for those that are either considering using some of the diet interventions for autism or working with those who are using or considering dietary interventions.
