On the 18th, after 30 days of uninterrupted gluten free, our gluten-free trial came to an abrupt and unintentional end as an unaware family member twarted my efforts by giving our son a brownie. I was tending to our daughter's needs and son asked if he could have a brownie, not realizing that not all brownies are gluten-free.
I was realistic in knowing that we likely wouldn't make it through the holiday unscathed, but I can't help but be a little disappointed that it came to an end so quickly. But at least we made it 30 days, which is a pretty solid testing period.
This unplanned ending opened the door to a perfect opportunity to try a different approach. In addition to no gluten, we are attempting dairy free. We sampled almond milk and he does not like it. I picked up the unsweetened vanilla flavor. Probably should have chosen one of the sweetened version or the chocolate version. I might pick up some of the chocolate this weekend and see how that goes. I submitted a refund request for the two half gallons I bought that he won't drink. Silk provides refunds if you don't "love it". Just waiting to hear back from them.
I have spoken to DS's teacher and told her we were going to be testing for a dairy allergy and she said she would help us as best she could. She asked me to provide drinks and snacks for him so that she can ensure she's giving him proper foods. So I did. I sent some cut fruit and 5 Juicy Juice Fruitfuls juice boxes with him to school yesterday for his snack. He told me last night that she forgot his juice boxes in the classroom and provided him milk to drink instead... seriously?? What happened to helping us? I've had it up to my neck with this teacher - between her disregard for our requests and disciplining him/changing his behavior color for some pretty stupid reasons, I'm about done with kindergarten. *sigh*
Anyhow, we're moving in a new direction. We're testing the dairy allergy now while maintaining the gluten-free diet to see how things go. I can't wait til he's out of kindergarten so snack time is no longer an issue. I feel so bad for him when his classmates are all eating a cupcake for someone's birthday and he is "stuck" eating cut fruit. :(
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
14 Day Update
November 1, yesterday, would have been Day 14. I think I'm seeing some changes, but I wonder if they're actual changes or if I'm just seeing coincidental differences that I wouldn't see if I wasn't looking for them.
One change I've noticed is that DS has more good days now. And by good days, I mean good days at home. Saturday (or maybe it was Sunday) morning, we were laying in bed because it was too early to get up. If he was disturbing my ability to snooze a bit longer, I would ask him to stop and he would. He wouldn't remained stopped for long, but he would stop. Before, it always seemed like he'd just flat out ignore my request and keep doing it.
When we get home from school, grandma's, etc, he takes his shoes off and has been putting them away.
When he turns the sleeves of his coat right side out on his own now instead of whining that he can't do it and asking me to do it.
He is putting on his socks himself instead of whining that he can't do it and driving me nuts to the point that I do it for him just to get it done.
The other night we went to the grocery store to pick up some Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies for his snack at school this week (there was a birthday, so we needed a gluten free snack). He behaved like a little man! I was so proud. He walked next to me, he stayed with me and didn't run all over the store. He carried the groceries like a gentleman, set them in the car nicely. He then walked back up to the store to use the trash can, waited for the cars to allow him to cross the road way and walked back to our car. Calm, well behaved. That NEVER used to happen! I would have to go with him, be constantly reminding him to watch for traffic, and asking him to slow down so he didn't get too far away from me. And he NEVER used to walk next to me in the store. He'd be up and down the aisles, running around like it was a playground!
His hyperactivity seems to have been dialed back a bit. He still gets excited and rambunctious, but he's less rambunctious now. He's calmer and more in control of his body, it seems.
And I can't remember when the last time was that we had a meltdown or he talked back or argued.
Like I said, maybe I'm seeing coincidental stuff, but I'm hopeful that it's not just a coincidence. I'm hopeful that this diet is shaping my son into a gentleman instead of a rowdy kid. Most of all, I'm hopeful that others are seeing the changes as well.
His behavior chart at school doesn't seem to be changing much, but I think over time it will. We're still having trouble with him making noises with his mouth during class, but I think with more time, that will change too.
One change I've noticed is that DS has more good days now. And by good days, I mean good days at home. Saturday (or maybe it was Sunday) morning, we were laying in bed because it was too early to get up. If he was disturbing my ability to snooze a bit longer, I would ask him to stop and he would. He wouldn't remained stopped for long, but he would stop. Before, it always seemed like he'd just flat out ignore my request and keep doing it.
When we get home from school, grandma's, etc, he takes his shoes off and has been putting them away.
When he turns the sleeves of his coat right side out on his own now instead of whining that he can't do it and asking me to do it.
He is putting on his socks himself instead of whining that he can't do it and driving me nuts to the point that I do it for him just to get it done.
The other night we went to the grocery store to pick up some Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownies for his snack at school this week (there was a birthday, so we needed a gluten free snack). He behaved like a little man! I was so proud. He walked next to me, he stayed with me and didn't run all over the store. He carried the groceries like a gentleman, set them in the car nicely. He then walked back up to the store to use the trash can, waited for the cars to allow him to cross the road way and walked back to our car. Calm, well behaved. That NEVER used to happen! I would have to go with him, be constantly reminding him to watch for traffic, and asking him to slow down so he didn't get too far away from me. And he NEVER used to walk next to me in the store. He'd be up and down the aisles, running around like it was a playground!
His hyperactivity seems to have been dialed back a bit. He still gets excited and rambunctious, but he's less rambunctious now. He's calmer and more in control of his body, it seems.
And I can't remember when the last time was that we had a meltdown or he talked back or argued.
Like I said, maybe I'm seeing coincidental stuff, but I'm hopeful that it's not just a coincidence. I'm hopeful that this diet is shaping my son into a gentleman instead of a rowdy kid. Most of all, I'm hopeful that others are seeing the changes as well.
His behavior chart at school doesn't seem to be changing much, but I think over time it will. We're still having trouble with him making noises with his mouth during class, but I think with more time, that will change too.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Update
Just a quick update. I was too busy this weekend to post an update, so here you go.
Friday, DS got in trouble at the daycare. They sent a note home with him stating that he fought with a kid while they were playing a game, got placed in time out numerous times and asked multiple times to change his current action to something else (redirection, I suppose). I coded this as red on his behavior chart. The daycare rarely notifies me of his behavior, so to get a note is pretty significant, I think.
Saturday, DH and I went hunting, so DS was with his grandma. She said he was pretty good, but as soon as we showed up, he got hyper and crazy. Running through the house, purposely running into things, just generally wound up. Got him home without too many tears and we took naps. When he woke up, my mom was there to babysit because DH and I went hunting again. (DH got a deer, so that's a plus. Super Paleo food for the freezer!!)
Sunday, I took DS with me to go grocery shopping. We stopped by the hospital to get our blood drawn for some labs (me for cholesterol and thyroid screening and DS for a lead screening for kindergarten). Then we went to the grocery store. He was pretty good. He was bored, so of course he was doing things that were kind of annoying me, but in general, he was well behaved. He wasn't running through the store, he wasn't being loud. He was just being antsy and bored. We had trouble come naptime though. He didn't want to lay down and take his nap. I finally turned the channel on the tv from his cartoons (I was letting him nap on the couch as a treat for being so good during our shopping adventure) and he eventually fell asleep. I think he slept for about an hour and a half. Not entirely sure though b/c I slept too. ;)
That evening, we had some sibling fighting taking place, some general "I don't want to do this" attitude, and DD was whiney and driving me bonkers. We had dinner, we had baths. I sat down with DS to do his reading assignment for school and he was being a turd... that's all the better I can explain it. I know he knew the words but he was choosing not to read them. I finally took the book from him and said "Fine. If you're not going to do this right, you might as well just go to bed. I'm not fighting you anymore." I got up, put DD to bed (who fought me for the next half hour). DS finally decided that he would read the materials he was supposed to read, read them flawlessly, and went to bed. It was frustrating to say the least.
Monday started out HORRIBLY, though! DS didn't want to listen, the dogs took off and wouldn't come back and the cat snuck out the door when I opened it to call the dogs. I was a half hour late to work after finally finding the dogs and getting them locked in the house - with the help of my mother-in-law and neighbor. I could just tell it was going to be a splendid day for DS at school because he was upset about his dogs being gone. I called the daycare to let them know that the dogs were home so they could tell DS. He ended up getting blue for the day at school because he wouldn't listen. So, no cartoons, computer, Leapster games, etc for DS last night. He went to bed without a fuss.
This morning was a dream come true! I only had to ask him twice to put his underwear on. I only had to ask him twice to put his pants on. He didn't have a fit when I cracked the egg into the pan for his breakfast instead of him. He ate his breakfast without constant reminders to eat. He went to the car when told. He did whine that his bookbag was too heavy and that he wasn't able to get out of the car b/c it was too heavy and wanted me to carry it, etc. I told him he was fine, helped him out of the car and that was it. I am confident that he will end up with either yellow or green today. I asked him what color he was going to get and he said "Yellow. Y-E-L-L-O-W yellow". lol Goofy kid. I hope does.
He is officially 4 days gluten free. He complained about his lunch being "boring". I asked him what he wants for lunch. He said "Pizza". I replied with "gluten". I told him what he gets is basically a lunchable, which he loved, but without crackers, and he never complained about his lunchables. I told him he gets juice and a go-gurt every day and that he loves his go-gurt and his juice. I told him he can have whatever meat and whatever cheese he wants, but at a minimum, he will have meat and cheese in his lunch for his protein and fat. If he wants anything in addition to that, he's welcome to it, as long as it fits in the parameters of the no gluten requirement. Of course, I used language a 5 year old would understand. He seemed content with that decision. He did, however, tell me he doesn't want cold lunch today, he wants hot... so I need to check the school lunch menu and make sure that whatever he's having today will be gluten free or we're starting over... again.
Today's lunch is a "mega burger with bun", broccoli and rice dish, carrot sticks and mandarin oranges. Aside from the bun, I'd be happy with that lunch. Tomorrow might be a bigger fight, though... they're having white cake with chocolate frosting... might have to whip up that batch of gluten free brownies that's sitting in the pantry and send one with him so he doesn't want the cake. :)
Anyhow, that's a quick synopsis of our weekend and the start of our week.
Friday, DS got in trouble at the daycare. They sent a note home with him stating that he fought with a kid while they were playing a game, got placed in time out numerous times and asked multiple times to change his current action to something else (redirection, I suppose). I coded this as red on his behavior chart. The daycare rarely notifies me of his behavior, so to get a note is pretty significant, I think.
Saturday, DH and I went hunting, so DS was with his grandma. She said he was pretty good, but as soon as we showed up, he got hyper and crazy. Running through the house, purposely running into things, just generally wound up. Got him home without too many tears and we took naps. When he woke up, my mom was there to babysit because DH and I went hunting again. (DH got a deer, so that's a plus. Super Paleo food for the freezer!!)
Sunday, I took DS with me to go grocery shopping. We stopped by the hospital to get our blood drawn for some labs (me for cholesterol and thyroid screening and DS for a lead screening for kindergarten). Then we went to the grocery store. He was pretty good. He was bored, so of course he was doing things that were kind of annoying me, but in general, he was well behaved. He wasn't running through the store, he wasn't being loud. He was just being antsy and bored. We had trouble come naptime though. He didn't want to lay down and take his nap. I finally turned the channel on the tv from his cartoons (I was letting him nap on the couch as a treat for being so good during our shopping adventure) and he eventually fell asleep. I think he slept for about an hour and a half. Not entirely sure though b/c I slept too. ;)
That evening, we had some sibling fighting taking place, some general "I don't want to do this" attitude, and DD was whiney and driving me bonkers. We had dinner, we had baths. I sat down with DS to do his reading assignment for school and he was being a turd... that's all the better I can explain it. I know he knew the words but he was choosing not to read them. I finally took the book from him and said "Fine. If you're not going to do this right, you might as well just go to bed. I'm not fighting you anymore." I got up, put DD to bed (who fought me for the next half hour). DS finally decided that he would read the materials he was supposed to read, read them flawlessly, and went to bed. It was frustrating to say the least.
Monday started out HORRIBLY, though! DS didn't want to listen, the dogs took off and wouldn't come back and the cat snuck out the door when I opened it to call the dogs. I was a half hour late to work after finally finding the dogs and getting them locked in the house - with the help of my mother-in-law and neighbor. I could just tell it was going to be a splendid day for DS at school because he was upset about his dogs being gone. I called the daycare to let them know that the dogs were home so they could tell DS. He ended up getting blue for the day at school because he wouldn't listen. So, no cartoons, computer, Leapster games, etc for DS last night. He went to bed without a fuss.
This morning was a dream come true! I only had to ask him twice to put his underwear on. I only had to ask him twice to put his pants on. He didn't have a fit when I cracked the egg into the pan for his breakfast instead of him. He ate his breakfast without constant reminders to eat. He went to the car when told. He did whine that his bookbag was too heavy and that he wasn't able to get out of the car b/c it was too heavy and wanted me to carry it, etc. I told him he was fine, helped him out of the car and that was it. I am confident that he will end up with either yellow or green today. I asked him what color he was going to get and he said "Yellow. Y-E-L-L-O-W yellow". lol Goofy kid. I hope does.
He is officially 4 days gluten free. He complained about his lunch being "boring". I asked him what he wants for lunch. He said "Pizza". I replied with "gluten". I told him what he gets is basically a lunchable, which he loved, but without crackers, and he never complained about his lunchables. I told him he gets juice and a go-gurt every day and that he loves his go-gurt and his juice. I told him he can have whatever meat and whatever cheese he wants, but at a minimum, he will have meat and cheese in his lunch for his protein and fat. If he wants anything in addition to that, he's welcome to it, as long as it fits in the parameters of the no gluten requirement. Of course, I used language a 5 year old would understand. He seemed content with that decision. He did, however, tell me he doesn't want cold lunch today, he wants hot... so I need to check the school lunch menu and make sure that whatever he's having today will be gluten free or we're starting over... again.
Today's lunch is a "mega burger with bun", broccoli and rice dish, carrot sticks and mandarin oranges. Aside from the bun, I'd be happy with that lunch. Tomorrow might be a bigger fight, though... they're having white cake with chocolate frosting... might have to whip up that batch of gluten free brownies that's sitting in the pantry and send one with him so he doesn't want the cake. :)
Anyhow, that's a quick synopsis of our weekend and the start of our week.
Starting over
We had to start over, as of Thursday. DS's teacher gave him a chocolate chip muffin at snack. DS said that they ran out of time so they couldn't go to the cafeteria for snack, so they had to eat what was in the classroom, which happened to be chocolate chip muffins brought in by another student.
I was livid!! I sent her an email asking her what he'd had for snack because I was keeping a detailed log to see if there's a pattern between his behavior and gluten consumption. She emailed me back and said that they ran out of time, and DS said he was hungry. She finished with "It was a very small muffin". How do you tell a teacher, without alienating her, that size doesn't matter with gluten? And why didn't she give him one of the packs of fruit snacks that she has in her classroom that I provided to her? I know they're there b/c she showed them to me at P/T conferences.
Oh well. Doesn't matter at this point. He ate the muffin. And his behavior was poor this weekend too. I'll be posting about that soon. It improved the further away from Thursday he got.
So, we're at Day 4 gluten free now... *sigh* Should be Day 9... Onward we go.
I was livid!! I sent her an email asking her what he'd had for snack because I was keeping a detailed log to see if there's a pattern between his behavior and gluten consumption. She emailed me back and said that they ran out of time, and DS said he was hungry. She finished with "It was a very small muffin". How do you tell a teacher, without alienating her, that size doesn't matter with gluten? And why didn't she give him one of the packs of fruit snacks that she has in her classroom that I provided to her? I know they're there b/c she showed them to me at P/T conferences.
Oh well. Doesn't matter at this point. He ate the muffin. And his behavior was poor this weekend too. I'll be posting about that soon. It improved the further away from Thursday he got.
So, we're at Day 4 gluten free now... *sigh* Should be Day 9... Onward we go.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Relatively Smooth Morning
After yesterday's rough morning and DS getting red at school for behavior, I thought for sure last night would also be a troubling night. In keeping with the "sure fire consequences" I read about at Empowering Parents, he lost cartoons, computer time, and certain toys, and was to be sent to bed by 8 pm. After I picked him up and we discussed why he got in trouble at school, he promised me that he would be good for me. And he was. There were instances where he was very obviously trying to annoy his sister (standing in front of her while she was watching cartoons, standing in her way so she couldn't walk by, etc), but for the most part, he was very well behaved. He ate a really good dinner, we read a book (kind of - the book was beyond his level of reading and was an ISpy book that was beyond his level of picture finding skill), and he pretty much just chilled. It was almost like the calm after the storm...
This morning was relatively smooth too. Dear husband (DH) was home and awake, so he "helped". I haven't communicated my fears of ODD to him yet because he's been working second shift and I want to talk to him in person about it, show him the literature I've looked at and what approach I want to take. He did what we always do and tried to gain control by being bigger and louder. Reminding DS to get dressed in a demanding fashion, which is exactly what I would have done a week ago. In some cases, I'll just dress DS myself because it's faster and easier. DH thinks that is silly because we can't dress him forever. I think getting dressed without numerous reminders will be one of the things I put on his behavior chart when we start that.
There was little yelling and reminding and correcting this morning in comparison to yesterday. Hopefully we don't have another day like yesterday... Additionally, I hope today is a yellow day. Even more hopeful that gluten is all we have to change dietarily to assist in the behavior fix. I REALLY hope milk isn't a trigger.
I guess we'll wait and see what color he brings home today. One day at a time.
This morning was relatively smooth too. Dear husband (DH) was home and awake, so he "helped". I haven't communicated my fears of ODD to him yet because he's been working second shift and I want to talk to him in person about it, show him the literature I've looked at and what approach I want to take. He did what we always do and tried to gain control by being bigger and louder. Reminding DS to get dressed in a demanding fashion, which is exactly what I would have done a week ago. In some cases, I'll just dress DS myself because it's faster and easier. DH thinks that is silly because we can't dress him forever. I think getting dressed without numerous reminders will be one of the things I put on his behavior chart when we start that.
There was little yelling and reminding and correcting this morning in comparison to yesterday. Hopefully we don't have another day like yesterday... Additionally, I hope today is a yellow day. Even more hopeful that gluten is all we have to change dietarily to assist in the behavior fix. I REALLY hope milk isn't a trigger.
I guess we'll wait and see what color he brings home today. One day at a time.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Parent Teacher Conferences
1st quarter parent teacher conferences didn't go as well as we would have liked.
We met with DS's kindergarten teacher on October 10 and this is what she had to say. I'm going to rewrite his Kindergarten Progress report, which illustrates how well he does at each assessed skill. The teacher used symbols like x, / and *. I gave them numerical values to be easier to understand. Anything is quotes is the teacher's note behind the assessed skill.
Kindergarten Progress Report
Score:
3 - student demonstrates development of goal consistently
2 - student is currently working on developmental goal
1 - student needs improvement of developmental skill
Social skills
2 - listens carefully "talks"
3 - raises hand
3 - is secure in speaking
3 - offers information during discussions
3 - is responsible
1 - works in groups (shares, takes turns, is kind)
2 - follows routines "needs reminders"
Academic Skills
3 - knows 10 colors
3 - recognizes 10 basic shapes
3 - can count 10 objects
3 - can recognized numbers 0-10
3 - can write first name "be sure to use lowercase"
1 - works well (stays on task, quietly, independently, puts forth effort, finishes on time)
Comments: DS is doing well in academics, likes books and contributes to discussions! DS needs to work on his talking in class while working. Has a hard time working in groups without supervision.
Hopefully our next parent teacher conference shows some improvement in his social skills.
She asked about our gluten free diet and when we told her that we had let it lax into non-existence, she suggested we re-implement it to see if it helps his behavior. We felt really beaten down by the feedback she gave us, like we were failing as his parents and failing to teach him right from wrong.
I asked her if it was possible that he could be bored and that was contributing to his behavior issues in class and she assured me that the day is busy enough that he can't be bored... ok, bored was apparently the wrong word to use... I guess challenged would have been a better word. She told us that she teaches to many levels in class to keep those who are more advanced engaged and learning - who am I to doubt her? I just think it's wrong that she says my son fails to apply himself simply because he wishes to no longer color a picture she assigned him. He applied the correct color to all the areas of the picture, but because he didn't fully fill it in with color, he was not applying himself. Maybe she's right, maybe she's wrong. She has been teaching for 30 years and I've only been a mom or 5. I guess we'll wait and see what the next assessment indicates. Hopefully the gluten-free diet helps us to mold him into a well behaved student.
We met with DS's kindergarten teacher on October 10 and this is what she had to say. I'm going to rewrite his Kindergarten Progress report, which illustrates how well he does at each assessed skill. The teacher used symbols like x, / and *. I gave them numerical values to be easier to understand. Anything is quotes is the teacher's note behind the assessed skill.
Kindergarten Progress Report
Score:
3 - student demonstrates development of goal consistently
2 - student is currently working on developmental goal
1 - student needs improvement of developmental skill
Social skills
2 - listens carefully "talks"
3 - raises hand
3 - is secure in speaking
3 - offers information during discussions
3 - is responsible
1 - works in groups (shares, takes turns, is kind)
2 - follows routines "needs reminders"
Academic Skills
3 - knows 10 colors
3 - recognizes 10 basic shapes
3 - can count 10 objects
3 - can recognized numbers 0-10
3 - can write first name "be sure to use lowercase"
1 - works well (stays on task, quietly, independently, puts forth effort, finishes on time)
Comments: DS is doing well in academics, likes books and contributes to discussions! DS needs to work on his talking in class while working. Has a hard time working in groups without supervision.
Hopefully our next parent teacher conference shows some improvement in his social skills.
She asked about our gluten free diet and when we told her that we had let it lax into non-existence, she suggested we re-implement it to see if it helps his behavior. We felt really beaten down by the feedback she gave us, like we were failing as his parents and failing to teach him right from wrong.
I asked her if it was possible that he could be bored and that was contributing to his behavior issues in class and she assured me that the day is busy enough that he can't be bored... ok, bored was apparently the wrong word to use... I guess challenged would have been a better word. She told us that she teaches to many levels in class to keep those who are more advanced engaged and learning - who am I to doubt her? I just think it's wrong that she says my son fails to apply himself simply because he wishes to no longer color a picture she assigned him. He applied the correct color to all the areas of the picture, but because he didn't fully fill it in with color, he was not applying himself. Maybe she's right, maybe she's wrong. She has been teaching for 30 years and I've only been a mom or 5. I guess we'll wait and see what the next assessment indicates. Hopefully the gluten-free diet helps us to mold him into a well behaved student.
Introducing our son
My son is 5 years old. For the last couple of years, we have been battling some concerning behavior issues. He is disruptive in school, defies rules, exhibits aggressive behaviors, is loud, easily excited, emotionally charged, and difficult to control. His preschool teacher commented on his behavior last year and was very helpful in discussing discipline options with us. She used a color system to indicate his behavior while at school and we would discipline as we felt was appropriate when he got home in the evenings. This only worked for a short period of time.
Next we tried separating him from the class thinking that maybe he wasn't being challenged enough with the daily lessons. He was sent with the Teacher's Aide to start working on sight words. This worked very well for a longer period of time than the first approach, but was short-lived because the school year came to a close.
He then started attending a summer program that is affiliated with the school. There were a few instances of unacceptable behavior that was documented (hitting friends, talking back to teachers, etc), but I think a lot of his misbehavior was ignored or dealt with using time-outs and not communicated with us.
Before kindergarten started, I attempted to transition our son to a gluten-free diet becasue during my own studies on Primal and Paleo, I learned that gluten can have behavioral rammifications in children. This seemed to work but it could also have been the start of school that changed his behavior - new surroundings to explore and learn about that engaged his attention. Now, however, things are getting out of control again - as is his diet.
We had parent teacher conferences last week and the teacher was essentially telling us how terrible our child is. She said he's very smart but he fails to obey the rules, fails to follow direction, fails to remain on task, fails to apply himself and prefers to do his own thing regardless of the instructions given to him. She then asked about his gluten-free diet. We had to confess that we'd gotten away from it for various reasons (excuses, really) and would reimplement immediately.
The school has agreed to let us bring fresh fruit, cheeses, fresh baked homemade goodies, etc, to the school for his snacks. The after-school program has agreed to feed him snacks from home as well. There will be instances where my son will have gluten-containing foods - like on chicken nugget day at school. Our son is a pickier eater, but is coming around. We have recently discovered he loves mashed potatoes and just about any meat with gravy on it.
So this is us, reimplementing.
Next we tried separating him from the class thinking that maybe he wasn't being challenged enough with the daily lessons. He was sent with the Teacher's Aide to start working on sight words. This worked very well for a longer period of time than the first approach, but was short-lived because the school year came to a close.
He then started attending a summer program that is affiliated with the school. There were a few instances of unacceptable behavior that was documented (hitting friends, talking back to teachers, etc), but I think a lot of his misbehavior was ignored or dealt with using time-outs and not communicated with us.
Before kindergarten started, I attempted to transition our son to a gluten-free diet becasue during my own studies on Primal and Paleo, I learned that gluten can have behavioral rammifications in children. This seemed to work but it could also have been the start of school that changed his behavior - new surroundings to explore and learn about that engaged his attention. Now, however, things are getting out of control again - as is his diet.
We had parent teacher conferences last week and the teacher was essentially telling us how terrible our child is. She said he's very smart but he fails to obey the rules, fails to follow direction, fails to remain on task, fails to apply himself and prefers to do his own thing regardless of the instructions given to him. She then asked about his gluten-free diet. We had to confess that we'd gotten away from it for various reasons (excuses, really) and would reimplement immediately.
The school has agreed to let us bring fresh fruit, cheeses, fresh baked homemade goodies, etc, to the school for his snacks. The after-school program has agreed to feed him snacks from home as well. There will be instances where my son will have gluten-containing foods - like on chicken nugget day at school. Our son is a pickier eater, but is coming around. We have recently discovered he loves mashed potatoes and just about any meat with gravy on it.
So this is us, reimplementing.
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