The Cure for Autism: Ketchup?!?!?

Oh Lord, please tell me she is NOT serious!

Allow me to preface this story by stating that I am certain years ago I thought there would come a time in my life when I would no longer be utterly amazed at the level of ignorance so many people in this world possess. Unfortunately, as I move closer to the big 4-0, there are still people out there who shock me with their ignorance on a daily basis.

A little background: My husband and I have been getting lunch every Saturday from the same hole-in-the-wall Asian place for around nine or ten years now. We love it. The owners are friendly, the food is good, it's cheap, and it has become our little weekly tradition.

Today I walked in the place to get our "usual" and the man who works there said he never sees my mother (he was actually talking about my mother-in-law who used to go there with us quite often) in there anymore. I said that I thought maybe she was just doing other things on Saturdays now. Then he started telling me in a sad tone how they never see all of our family in there together anymore. It makes me sad too and I explained that with Reiss having autism and being so hyper and wanting to move all over the place all the time, it's just too stressful for me.

Standing beside me, rather than behind me to wait in line, and hearing all of this, some woman pipes up, "Have you tried removing ketchup from his diet?"

(PAUSE)

(PAUSE)

(PAUSE)

Okay, I'm sure it wasn't really that long before I shooshed the voices in my head telling me to knock her up the side of her head and I regained sensibility to reply to her that yes, my son is on a very specialized diet that includes the removal of gluten, casein, preservatives, dyes........blah, blah, blah....

Seriously, I was so dumbfounded by the ignorance of her question that I'm not really sure where the conversation went after I told her that my son is on a special diet. It couldn't have been long after her question that I ended the conversation and made my exit because I couldn't wait to get home to tell my husband, "Good news! The cure for autism is simply removing ketchup from Reiss's diet!"

I did not elaborate on many of the details of the diet to this woman or the fact that is does NOT include the removal of ketchup but just in case anyone reading this is wondering, "Well, have you tried removing ketchup?" the answer is no, Reiss does still eat ketchup. We only buy organic ketchup and it has no preservatives, dyes, or flavorings in it. Although I am pretty sure this woman didn't have a clue why removing ketchup might help, even if her argument was based in the ketchup containing phenols from the red color of the tomatoes, and removing the phenols may help, it doesn't stand to reason that it would work for Reiss. He only eats ketchup very occasionally and certainly not enough to notice behavioral differences by the removal of it.

And people wonder why one of my ideas for "paying it forward" is mandating sterilization of people who exhibit levels of such ignorance in order to prevent further generations of people of their kind. Okay, not really but come on! Don't parents like myself have enough to deal with without having to hear such asinine comments and questions from people who haven't the slightest idea of what living with autism is like????

Seriously, I'm beginning to wonder why I even leave the house some days.

Craisins are out!!!

So after repeatedly reading in different sources about the risk of phenols, especially in "red" foods, you would think Craisins would be the last thing I would ever want to feed a child with autism-related behavioral issues, right? Wrong! No....no, not me! I had to go and buy the three pound bag of them because they're an easy finger food and fabulously portable and - for those who know me - because they were a bargain! Well, no more! Craisins are banned from this household, much to my dismay because I really began to love them.

After a bit of casual and unscientific experimentation, I have found that when Reiss is not given Craisins we see fewer appearances of disaster child. When he is given Craisins, he thinks he has to wolf down several ounces of them like he's not eaten in three days and then not long after doing so, "Disaster Child" invariably emerges - and with a vengeance. We can go from having a pretty decent afternoon to Mommy wanting to drive the SUV into a retaining pond quicker than I can zip the tab closed on the reclosable bag of Craisins. In case you can't tell by the level of insanity I am caused by Disaster Child, suffice it to say that simply the notion of Disaster Child making an appearance sends fear through my whole body and rattles me at my core.

So much for bargains......I may have to find a more expensive portable toddler snack or whatever - anything to avoid a Disaster Child sighting. It ain't a bargain if you have to get (Fill in the blank: alcohol, massage, manicure, MNO, etc.) therapy just to recover from an afternoon of dealing with Disaster Child and keeping a restraint on yourself so as not to clobber the little guy.

I love you, Craisins, but now we must part ways and move on. It's for the best, or at least, for the sake of my sanity.