Let me begin by saying that I talked to Zachary last week and asked him if it would be OK for me to share about him and some of his story thus far and he said, "Ya, no problem. I am fine with you writing about that." =)
When the Performance Nutrition Experience began, I made one of my goals to do a pull up. Coach Ray had taught me some drills to do to help me get the "kipping" movement learned and one day when I was practicing Alisha came by to help and encourage me. She told me to imagine someone was going to punch me in the gut. That would help me "respond" like I should. Funny but I immediately went to a day that I felt like someone literally "punched" me in my gut and how I responded.
September 1999, months of "Mommy-concerns" and testing brought us the news that no parent wants to hear, "Mr & Mrs Francine, we believe that Zachary is showing several characteristics that would place him on the Autistic Spectrum." PUNCH! It wasn't a total surprise actually, I had self-referred us to the Regional Center of OC after our pediatrician had dismissed my concerns and told me to put him in preschool and said that he was a boy and boys develop later socially. But, I knew in my gut that we had issues that needed to be addressed. This is when the learning began...and I will be honest and tell you that I continue to learn from Zachary today. =)
Zach was enrolled in an early intervention program called ICEC (Intervention Center for Early Childhood) that included speech & occupational therapy along with a focus on learning social skills in a preschool setting with "typical" kids as peer models. And I went into learning mode too...reading articles, books, calling on friends that had educational backgrounds that could provide direction. The learning gave me a sense of peace and also strength.
I could spend days telling you all the details but this is a Blog and it needs to be brief. The bottom line is that Zach immediately showed his strength and his ability to learn...he was pushed beyond his comfort zone and by doing so, he was growing.
I learned that even as an adult, I need to allow others to push me beyond my comfort zone and I will grow too. We looked at Zach's diet and removed all gluten and casein to see if there were notable differences in his behavior and ability to learn and adapt.
I learned that food affects the body and the brain. And I also learned that removing food can be difficult at first, it gets easier. AND I learned that a lot of people don't believe either of these things. Zach was learning about his body and becoming aware of his abilities. He was learning to re-train his brain to accept certain motions, touches, noises, etc.
I learned that "can't" and "never" are unacceptable words and that everybody is capable of learning at any stage of life.
Today is Zachary's 15th birthday and he is an INCREDIBLE young man. Since that day in 1999, many things have changed...medical professionals have said the Autistic Spectrum is more broad and includes Autism (the most severe) all the way to ADD/ADHD (the most mild) under the same umbrella. Zach is my ADD boy. He is smart (Honors student), funny, friendly, loving, talkative (LOUD, too!), sensitive, thoughtful, gives good hugs and cares deeply. Together we continue to learn what works and what doesn't...meds, sleep, diet, exercise. I am thankful that God trusted me with this young man...I have learned so much from him and I have been blessed in the process.
So actually, maybe this is my second Performance Nutrition Experience! =) Still working on getting a pull up but I WILL DO IT and I have Zachary to thank for it!
