Today's Guest Blog entry comes from again from reader Amy. Amy wanted to share her story with you all in the hopes that it will help other moms who may be faced with "energetic" children. Two weeks ago Amy shared her path to choosing to try the Feingold Diet. Last week she shared her progress and this week she talks about the dreaded parent-teacher conference. 

The Horrible, No-Good Very Bad Parent-Teacher Conference

It’s official.  I’m the mother of “that” child.  You know, the one your kids come home and tell you about because the teacher corrects her ALL the time and she causes trouble ALL the time. 

You guessed it – I was at her parent teacher conference.

We are only 3 weeks into the diet, but for kids this age they say it takes three to six weeks to see a noticeable change.  I’m wishing for a fast forward to that point, both for my sake and the teacher’s sake.  I’m seeing improvement at home, but the teacher has not seen any, but I think she’s looking at the big picture and not noticing little things.  I mean seriously, how much subtle difference can she notice in a class of 35 kids!!  She just wants my dd to be like the rest of the class.  But the school has been very cooperative following my instructions regarding food, which I am grateful.

Short of bungie cords, I’m not sure what else will work to keep her in her seat.  She’s distracting to the other kids when she wanders around the room and she has just won’t do as she is told.  The teacher says when she’s on task that she participates, raises her hand to answer questions, and can reiterate the information taught to them.  She is very social and has lots of friends, is very creative and bright, but can’t seem to get on task or stay on task with the group.

The therapist described there are two types of attention deficit disorder and from our description of my dd, she seems to be inattentive attention deficit.  This means that she can focus on things that are pleasant to her and she enjoys, but has trouble moving to things that are less desirable for her mind (aren’t we all like that in our own way??).  She seems to get lost in her task and not able to move off it when directed to something else, or gets sidetracked from a task when something more appealing comes into play.

Since starting our diet, we’ve noticed some improvement at home.  She can go from one room to another to complete a task and not get lost (not always, but better than before – but I can’t go from one room to another without forgetting why I went there!).  We get less argument when trying to direct her onto the next task.  The morning routine takes a little less prodding and reminders.  Dinner has been pleasant.  And she eats like she never did before.

But we are also in the “detox” phase and she seems moody and depressed.  My friend is a week behind us and her daughter as been nasty all week.  But other parents say this will pass as their bodies will rid themselves of the chemicals built up in their systems.  I feel like I’m living with a teenager already!! 

So for now, we keep chugging away.  We are tackling issues one at a time.  This week’s goal for her is to sit at calendar time and I had her write a note to the teacher telling her it was her goal this week and I reinforce it every day.  Soon, we’ll focus on a new issue and hopefully eventually get to where the teacher needs (wants) her to be.

I’ll admit I’ve been lax (lazy) in sticking to the diet 100% - we’ve all had the “ick” this week and throwing peroghies in the pot was much easier than making something.  Apparently not an approved food – the next morning was miserable.  And I think I’ve been off track with our milk – the vitamin D3 they infuse into the milk has preservatives.  You need to verify with the dairy if there is preservative in the vitamin they use.  However, Deans, Giant Eagle, and Wal-Mart don’t cooperate with Feingold and won’t verify if the preservative is in their milk (or any other food they market).  That is a rant for another day.  Target’s Market Pantry milk is approved but I don’t usually shop there for food since we don’t have a Super Target here (let me tell you, I’d move back to Texas for the Super Target that was near our house.  Image shopping at Target and being able to peruse an entire isle dedicate to wine – heavenly!!)  But for the result I need, I’ll go there for our obligatory 4+ gallons of milk each week.  We should really buy our own cow.  We could sell the law mower then.

But during this time of giving thanks, I am thankful for the improvements we have seen and for the resources available to help me get there.  And for the happy child I have seen evolve from the crazy, uncontrollable child that would run in circles in my house.

Happy Feasting to all!!!  May you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving.