This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 10:02 pm and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Understanding and Implementing Special Diets to Aid in the Treatment of Autism and Related Developmental Disorders, by Lisa Lewis, Ph.D.
(c) 1998; Future Horizons Inc.; Arlington, Texas.
[Order here.]
I can see why this is still touted as THE place to start researching the connection between autism and diet, even 10 years after it was published. This is a remarkably thorough book, well-researched and relatively easy to understand.
Dr. Lewis starts by telling the story of her son, Sam, from his birth, through his diagnosis of autism, through his thank God successful recovery largely due to the GF-CF diet in conjunction with other therapies. She explains the physiological basis of autism a whole lot better than I get it, tells you how to test your child for gluten-sensitivity (and other sensitivities - I’m learning with that autism you rarely get just one!), how to start the diet, how to explain the diet (to extended family, or caregivers), and provides countless recipes for, like, normal food that kids actually want to eat.
She ends with pages and pages of resources, but remember the book was published in 1998, so they’re not current. It’s so cute, she actually has a section at the end where she explains how to buy a modem so you can “surf the web.” She recommends getting Compuserve. Does anyone else remember Compuserve? Am I totally dating myself when I say I’ve even heard of Compuserve?
I guess that’s why people get Special Diets for Special Kids, Two, but my understanding is that most of the second edition is new recipes, and the explanatory part, which is what I really wanted, didn’t get repeated. I like this one. I once read (I can’t quote the source exactly) that when you’re looking for books you should try to find the one that saves you from reading ten others. When it comes to the connection between diet and PDD, Special Diets for Special Kids is that book.
And to quote a review from a fan who agrees, “Special Diets For Special Kids made me feel like I actually had someone there holding my hand the whole way.“
The only recipe we tried at the bakery was the yeast-free bread, but it didn’t work for us. (I think that was our YF#67, the “spongy-pudding.” I’m sure it’s our fault, we have no luck with yeast-free breads.) Anyway, now that I’ve brought the book home, I’m gonna try more, including the one for matza balls. Wish me luck!
May 1st, 2008 at 7:45 am
I bought this book when it first came out. Let’s just say the binding is breaking and the pages are well stained. Our favorite recipes were the cakes, (Chocolate and Pineapple Velvet) but now that The Sensitive Baker is in town, I don’t have to bake cakes ANYMORE!!!! Sandie - please experiment with the Honey Cake before Rosh Hashannah (Hint!).
If your are looking to ‘duplicate’ fast food, the chicken nuggets are very close to McNuggets. And the Sweet Corn Bread is similar to that served by Boston Market.
The main-dish dinners are very kid friendly. My kids loved the Mexican Casserole, Almond Chicken, Shepherd’s Pie and Tamale Pie.
The one recipe that didn’t work so well was the Pumpkin Bars - I think the recipe calls for too much oil (1.5 cups).
Gina
May 1st, 2008 at 8:39 am
Pineapple Velvet sounds yummy! But, she says pineapple is well-tolerated by most people, and she says you can barely tell that there’s pineapple in it, and that worries me.
I think the very first month we opened a mom took me to task for not telling her about the pineapple in the morning-glory muffins. One of her sons is highly allergic, and she says pineapple is a fairly COMMON allergy. (Luckily she caught it while she was picking out the walnut pieces, and they still come in for the one or two things they CAN eat. — Thanks, C!)
On the other hand, that same entry (Pineapple Velvet cake) has recipes for 2 different frostings for special occasion cakes, which I’m going to recommend to people who want to make their own birthday cakes.
May 1st, 2008 at 8:43 am
Oh, and thanks for the reminder about honeycake.
Our performance this past year, around all the Jewish holidays, has been dismal. (And the LA-gf-matza shortage was a DISASTER!) That’s something I really want to work on over the next year.
But first, we’re working on gf-pareve cheesecakes for Shavuot! (June 9th — pick them up Sunday June 8.)