Rice?

A couple weeks ago, we decided to stop feeding Conlan rice.  It's so nutritionally poor and coverts to sugars too easily.  He started improving and had more focus.  A couple nights ago, I made pancakes with mainly rice flour as the base.  He loved them but couldn't control himself for the rest of the night.  His giggles really get in the way of him being able to focus.  So it just reaffirmed to us that maybe so much rice and potatoes, and other starches isn't such a good thing.  Hear, hear for a whole-food plant-based diet with lots of greens!

Movies and TV Shows

Since Conlan was diagnosed, we've read a lot, watched a lot, and learned a lot about autism. The other day as I was showering with him, I noticed that his posture was a lot like Jake's on the show Touch. He was standing there with his back to the water and arms at his side, slowly bringing his body into the stream of warm water. He held still and stood tall with his head pointing forward. Either he was impersonating Jake or the actor did an excellent job at portraying the posture of many autistic children.

Since it reminded me about Touch, I thought I'd write a post about various TV shows and movies that we have watched during the last three years that have really touched us or have been significant as we've learned more about autism.

To top any autism movie list, you have to begin with Temple Grandin. So here's the list, not in any particular order:

iPad, Pro Loquo

A few months ago, we were able to buy Conlan an iPad with the Proloquo application suite.  Normally we couldn't afford something like that, but the state granted us some money to help pay for therapy, technology, and even some utility bills.

It's an amazing application.  The school and his therapists use it a lot.  I worry about all the screen time he's getting, but it's worth it.  He is really getting a feel for how it works.  We use the iPad only for that one app and even screen-lock it so only that app can be accessed.