roman

I Would Like to Start the GF/CF Diet with My Child. Where Do I Begin?

Maureen Bennie

From the Autism Awareness Centre Inc. Blog:




As parents of children with autism, we try everything we can to help our kids. In my family, moving my oldest child Marc into a gluten free/dairy free diet helped enormously with his sleep, got rid of his gastrointestinal comfort and elimination issues, and improved his mood.

Although moving to a gluten-free/casein- (or dairy) free diet may not be the answer to all of your child’s challenges, it can help in a variety of ways in about 20% of children with ASD. The good news is you’ll know within about 6 weeks of starting the diet if it is having a positive effect on your child.
(more…)

Can't, Won't, Shouldn't

Jessica Pigeau

I am a pedestrian. I walk nearly everywhere – approximately 2-3 hours a day. Today, I walked 50 minutes to work, 20 minutes to the grocery store, and 40 minutes home. Then, when I arrived at my building, I still took the elevator up to my apartment on the third floor.

Close friends of mine know that I do this because asthma and an old leg injury mean that I struggle with stairs and steep inclines in a way that I don’t with flat, urban terrain. It’s not that I can’t climb the three flights of stairs leading to my apartment – I can get up there as well as any typical able-bodied person can. The problem is that when I reach the final landing I will likely be winded, light-headed, and shaky on my legs like a newborn lamb. I will be tired and exhausted in a way that will require me to rest for several minutes before I start breathing normally again. If I do it often enough, I risk hurting my joints or re-injuring my ankle.

For this reason, I am cautious about when and where I choose to take the stairs. I try to maintain physical fitness in other ways that don't impact me as negatively. I walk, I swim, I lift weights. I try to recognize and accommodate a permanent physical issue that impacts my day-to-day mobility, rather than pushing it and hurting myself. When it comes to climbing the stairs to my apartment, it’s not that I can’t, it’s not that I won’t – it’s that I probably shouldn’t.

(more…)

(more…)

DATE CHANGE
Autism Alberta’s
Annual General Meeting

Do you want changes to be made so you or your loved one with autism will have a better future? What’s important to you?

Do you have thoughts about what Autism Alberta should be doing?

We want to hear your ideas at the Autism Alberta AGM! All members are invited to attend and to share their thoughts. If you have ideas you want to share, but cannot attend the AGM, please email them to president@autismalberta.ca.

Join Us For

Child Care is available, but please let us know your needs by the RSVP deadline of 4:00 PM on September 13.
(more…)

Traveling with Eric
Kitty Parlby

This spring our family of four went for a long-overdue vacation. Eric had been asking for YEARS to go back to Orlando. We went when he was around twelve years old; now he is twenty-one and a solid 6 foot guy. I clearly remember the challenges of the flight and the trip back then, and was not sure what to expect now that he is much older.

To start with, we picked the first two weeks of May to travel, when our older son Adam finished his term at university. In this way we succeeded in avoiding the most crowded times at attractions in Orlando. I did a lot of travel prep with Eric, including watching YouTube videos of attractions and rides, looking at photos of where we’d be staying, checking the weather in Orlando, and including him in packing for the trip.

(more…)

My Autism, Buried and Unearthed: How I Forgot and Learned to Remember Myself
A.J. Wells

I was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 1995, at age eleven. At that time, I was going through a lot of difficulties: relentlessly bullied at school, and having no idea how to properly respond to what was happening to me. Prone to meltdowns and breakdowns, it should have been liberating to know more about myself, but the next twenty years were one long attempt to outrun my diagnosis, or forget about it entirely.

In my preteen years, my family discussed putting me on Prozac, but I went un-medicated through my teens and twenties. There was never any hard “no” to the use of medication; it just never happened, and I didn’t try to bring it up again. I did get aid from counsellors and support groups, but at the same time, I didn’t actually start to think differently about myself. There was never any conscious decision, but I gradually decided not to act as if I had Asperger’s. I decided that it would have no impact on my day-to-day life, or require other interventions.
(more…)

Our New Look

If you are a new Autism Alberta member and an Autism Around Alberta subscriber, welcome. If you are already a member and subscriber, you will notice we have a new look. It was inspired by an easier way to put each issue together. We hope you will like the new look and that it will be easier than ever to enjoy Autism Around Alberta.

If you’d like to tell us what you think about our new look, or if you have any other feedback about Autism Around Alberta, please send us an e-mail at AAA@autismalberta.ca, Tweet @AutismSocietyAB, or visit our Facebook page. (more…)