Re: Self-Intro: Randi Claassen of Perham, MN

[Guest guest]

Dear Randi,From England to Perham - what a change! I know Perham, exceedingly well. Spent my summers growing up at our cabin on Little Pine Lake, fishing for Walleye every possible moment, and then when the water was too calm for that, waterskiing every possible moment, ending up, one sunny afternoon in the ER at the local hospital with my mother sobbing she regretted ever letting me slalom ski (boy, could I), and then listening to a doctor disgustedly telling her, " Lady. Calm down. It's a horsefly bite - she's having a terrible reaction to a horsefly bite - the foot isn't broken. " Hehe. Oh, boy, then learning to golf at the local golf course (sliced into the woods knocking a blue jay out of the tree - it's to this date, my only " birdie " ), being woken up by the potato crop dusters flying low over our lake to drop their poisonous load on the fields across the road from our cabin, and then living through lightning striking our cabin, blowing out every nail and corner molding, throwing plumbing out through the bathroom walls, shooting fuses like rifle shot out through the breaker box, filling the place up with a strange blue smoke, and then grounding itself a couple feet away from our above-ground propane tank, blowing a hole in the earth about a foot deep. Remember the old A & W? Is it still there? And Perham had one bar for every church - at that time, 7 if I remember right. Rainy days were spent driving up to Detroit Lakes, and maybe even Grand Forks, if we really needed Big City Life for a day. Those were the days.

I also have a son, 5 who is Autistic. IMO, you are right to avoid GFCF. If you son loves yogurt, you could go up a level to kefir. Are you familiar with it? Everything you'll ever need to know is located at Dom's Kefir Site, used by everyone who makes kefir: http://users.chariot.net.au/~dna/kefirpage.htmlWe kefir goat milk and make it into smoothies for our little guy, putting lots of good things in it like coconut cream, coconut oil, raw honey, etc., as well as organic fruits in season. It's healing for their guts. When many Autistic children already have difficult getting adequate nutrition into their systems due to gut issues, I find the whole GFCF to be difficult to swallow, so to speak, because too many of the foods are high in simple carbs, and can't possibly provide nutrients that can only come from real foods, most importantly, dairy. One thing to consider is the difference in milk between A1 and A2 casein. A2 is found only in Guernsey and goat milk - it's a protein that doesn't cause the allergies which A1 does. Australia has some great research on the subject and it's only now just being recognized here in the U.S. As far as grains, I " sprout " all mine (actually, germinate), then dehydrate and grind into flour. The only bread we eat is old-fashioned long and cold-rise sourdough after the style of the French. Bravo, by the way, for skipping the skim milk and going for whole. And you'll probably be able to find a local CSA - Consumer Supported Agriculture, a fairly new concept spreading across the country. We're members of the very first CSA that started the entire movement 20 years ago. They've been the model for all others and it's been a real honor seeing their commitment to good foods and nutrition for their members. Do a search at www.localharvest.org. Here's one I found: http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M6065 You've got some of the best blueberries in the world right there - used to love going blueberry picking, so mid-summer should be an amazing time for you. Your view of Autism as being auto-immune is quite progressive. Did you come to that understanding in Europe? It's still catching on here, but is the only one that makes sense to me. I've been working with others researching the auto-immune concept and have put a few articles in my family blog which serves more of an " archival " purpose for me than anything else. Look in the " Autism Viral " category. www.ericsons.netDigestive enzymes are vital to our children - either through good, organic, whole foods, fermented foods (ala old-fashioned sauerkraut, " pickled " non-vinegar beets " ) or through supplements like those offered through a Dr. Huston (the only ones that anyone recommends).

Are you familiar with Nourishing Traditions, written by Sally Fallon and Enig? It has made a huge difference for our son. If you're unfamiliar with NT, check out this website where Fallon has quite a few articles online to give you an idea of their concept which is a return to good old-fashioned traditional foods raised traditional ways, a veering away from the processed food and pharmaceutical industries. Well...better close...but good to have you on board. Wave to Little Pine, if you happen to drive by. Won't be long before all the fireflies are dancing around the water's edge.

Best regards,Sharon, now in New HampshireOn 3/19/06, Randi Claassen <woknwoll4ever@...

> wrote:

Greetings. My name is Randi Claassen, email woknwoll4ever@... I live in Ottertail county, MN. I found out about this group from searching info on another site through Onibasu and very excited I am!! I have just found a local source for raw milk (I am advised to be hush-hush) and had brought home my first few gallons a few days ago. I am quite keen to begin learning what I can do with it...cheese-making was going to be one of my first questions but a quick look on the list prior to writing my intro already provided much information....

...my son (5) who is autistic has

always loved yogurt...even when he is ill and fussy, he always wants his yogurt and jam. I don't know if anyone on this list has any knowledge of or experience with autism (with associated immune deficiency, possibly vaccine related) but common practice in treatment is to adopt a gluten-free/casein-free diet which I can't bring myself to do to him. My mother gave us raw milk when we were kids (I remember shaking the butter) but for some reason, she insisted on giving us skim milk...I normally give whole milk to my kids topped up with some half and half. I grew very fond of the English double cream and clotted cream while I lived there and would love to find something similar here...the taste was delightful-- sweet and fresh. Even the supermarket butter doesn't taste quite right to me and I don't know why this is.

I

[Guest guest]

Yippee skippy. Meant it to go private. Forgot to send the Weston A. Price link so here goes.....http://www.westonaprice.org/index.htmlSorry for the length of this one, mea culpa mea culpa mea culpa.....Sharon

Dear Randi,From England to Perham - what a change! I know Perham, exceedingly well. Spent my summers growing up at our cabin on Little Pine Lake, fishing for Walleye every possible moment, and then when the water was too calm for that, waterskiing every

[Guest guest]

LOL, hey Sharon, thanks for sending it to the list anyway, found

out recently my brother's son has been diagnosed with autism,

mother abandoned him and my brother is trying to care for him

alone. So I sent your post on to my mom, who is trying to learn

what can be done.

Starlene

----- Original Message -----

Yippee skippy. Meant it to go private. Forgot to send the

Weston A. Price

link so here goes.....http://www.westonaprice.org/index.html

Sorry for the length of this one, mea culpa mea culpa mea

culpa.....

Sharon

[Guest guest]

Starlene,They're in my prayers. Feel free to send her my private email. I have few answers, but can direct her to any number of places to learn and, you know me, I've developed some strong opinions after doing this 24-7 for the last 5 years. sharon@... Big thing to do - nothing. Don't leap into anything. Learn to watch out for the snake oil salesmen. That was the best advice I ever received when we began our own journey through Autism. Oh, and advocating - that's a word that will become all too familiar. When I first heard it I thought, " of course I'm going to advocate for my son - they speak about it as if it is something I'll learn to do, as if I don't already " . Hoooooboy.....you learn to become a mediator and negotiator with doctors, with schools, with specialists in ways you never dreamed you'd have to. It certainly strengthened my resolve that " professionals " , at least very few, know nothing. It's the other mothers I've learned from.

The biggest change I've made in the last 5 years? To see many of my son's behaviors as " rational " instead of frightening. He's responding rationally for the way in which his brain is wired. For me, that's been the toughest hurdle to get over is my fear in seeing a little boy responding so very differently than the " norm " . And prayers for the poor mother who ran. She did what many of us feared we might, in the very darkest of moments - some Moms panic when they don't feel the hard-wired connection that should be there and isn't. Autism used to be called the Refrigerator Mother disease, thinking that the mother's coolness and reserve had somehow caused the Autism. She wasn't to blame. Give them my best,

Sharon

LOL, hey Sharon, thanks for sending it to the list anyway, foundout recently my brother's son has been diagnosed with autism,mother abandoned him and my brother is trying to care for himalone. So I sent your post on to my mom, who is trying to learn

what can be done.Starlene