“While others continue to look for answers, we’re out there delivering them”
The following are just a very few of the most recent personal updates and testimonials that are being regularly received by the NoHarm Foundation from families who have downloaded the Spectrum Balance™ Protocol Diet and are experiencing a diverse range of positive and growing results from home. Our intention here is not to exclusively show you examples of various measures of even-paced and sustained success, but to also share stories of challenges and even apparent set-backs in order to provide a realistic portrait of how this process works as our research continues and results improve. These personal stories will also demonstrate the value of regularly journaling observations for proper retrospective contrast and comparison.
As much as some of these comments of progress may seem a little “subtle” to those of you who are not dealing with these conditions in your own families, don’t try to tell the Moms and Dads who deal daily with these challenges that what they’re observing incrementally over no more than months, weeks, and even days, are not valid confirmations of building success!
We sincerely thank our committed group of many practicing Neurodevelopmentalists who have expanding hands-on experience in administering and coaching the SBP program and who have graciously supplied a number of these family progress stories. Such therapies are proving to greatly compliment and magnify the benefits to be achieved using the SBP Diet alone.
Please keep in mind that although this dietary program has already become a blessing and breakthrough for many families as told through these representative personal stories, we don’t want you to have the impression or expectation that any condition and symptoms of you or your child will disappear with food changes like simply flipping on a light switch. For example, if the learning, behavioral and speech skills of a child are ranked five or ten years behind his or her actual age, it would be unrealistic to expect that child to just wake up one morning and show no such deficits. This is why early detection of symptoms followed by rapid dietary and other intervention is so helpful in not allowing a child to deviate too far off an optimal learning curve before attempting to restore balance.
We must never forget that young developing brains are like sponges that absorb both nutrients and toxins at ten or more times the rate of our adult brains. As adults, we regularly exercise free choice about what we allow and take into our own bodies. Many times, we even know better, but still consciously make decisions that have the potential of impairing our health. But what you educate yourself about and subsequently choose to feed to your infants and children forms the pivotal foundation for their future growth and development. Choose wisely.
Therefore our deepest wish and growing experience is that by starting to correct nutritional imbalance through positive lifestyle changes such as more healthy diet, we will open a fresh pathway to comprehension and learning that with the help of parents, teachers, therapists, and a little patience, will allow a child to escape envelopment in a private world and start catching up with peers of the same age in accelerated and cumulative fashion.
Please be sure to send us your own stories of achievement toresults@noharmfoundation.org so we can add them for the inspiration and education for many others around the world
The names of all children have understandably been omitted to protect family privacy
11-05-10
We will be at 3 months on the diet on the 9th, so I thought I would post an update.
My son is completely Rx free now! He was on anti-seizure, mood stabilizer, anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, and sleep medications when we started this SBP protocol. We had a honeymoon period with the diet the first month and then had to start weaning off one of his meds because of his A1c level being elevated. This caused an imbalance with another med which we then had to drop. He had horrific drug withdrawals from that.
I was ready to quit and just do the diet with drugs, but I couldn’t because of the A1c level, so I took a huge plunge and started weaning all the meds one at a time while he was still going through the withdrawal from the worst one. Dr. Shauna had told me when the diet was first working for us that since it was working so well, she believed it would work completely. Weeks went by where I held on to her belief because all I had was despair, but my son has been drug free for 3 weeks now. This is the first time in 3 years that he has been off an anti-psychotic without seeing spiders or mice crawling on him. He is sleeping without sleep meds and not having nightmares.
Three days this week he has visited the tiny Christian school where my daughter teaches. She has a K / 1 split class with only 6 children and the principal has given permission for my son to join in for music, P.E., recess, and non-structured center time. He did have a big ugly 3 year old style temper tantrum when we had to leave the first day, but this has not happened since. The building where the music class is has several overhangs, high open spaces, and long hallways all of which are recipes for extreme panic and violent behavior no matter how much he wants to do something. He hid behind me a few times as we transitioned into these areas, then peeked around and came back up beside me and walked with me. It was as though he was anticipating horror, but it wasn’t there.
We are working on the behavior program our Neurodevelopmentalist gave us the very first time we had an evaluation. It is so effective now that the complete panic/ rage/ other irrational emotions are gone. He does still have quite the temper, but there is at least a reason when he gets angry (even though the reaction is usually way larger than the cause). I do believe he has the capacity to learn self control now, when before, I thought his future held some form of institutionalization.
I know my son’s issues are different than those of most other kids, but I hope his story is an encouragement to you all. Thank you for all your help and prayers.
01-06-11
Some of you may have been on the SBP diet for a while and may be approaching the 4 month mark. This testimony is for you… This is about a 4 year-old girl (my granddaughter) who has been on the diet for a little over 4 months now and we have seen incredible changes in her. Her sensory issues are almost completely gone and her behavior is much improved. The social issues seem to be the last hurdle but we have seen some improvements in this area as well.
Only a week ago her mother called me and was discouraged. They’d been on the diet for 4 months and she hadn’t noticed any significant changes or improvements over the last 4 weeks or so. She wondered if they need to continue with the diet or if they’ve seen all the improvement they were going to see. Since we had seen so much progress with her (life changing), I encouraged her mother to keep on keeping on for another month. I was convinced we had not seen the last of the positive changes.
Only five days later my daughter calls me (I can already hear the joy in her voice when she says “Hello”) so she can “brag” on how well her daughter is doing. The bad behavior was gone! In addition, she asked if she could call her grandmother on the phone (previously, she has had a fear of the phone). Also, her mother took her to the park on this day and she went up to a mother and her son who were playing make-believe, and she chimed right in and played with them. Her mother reported that she was so “loud” and confident.
The significance of this is that since starting the diet, she has started to come out of her selective mutism and shyly talking to a few people for the first time in her life, but she barely whispers and wrings her hands (a sign she is under stress). But on this day, she was totally different with the mother and the son at the park. She approached them without any prodding by her mother, she was talking “loudly” (in a normal voice but loud for her when talking to strangers) and she was so confident and was having fun!!! Amazing!
So, if you have been on the diet for 4 months and you have seen positive changes in your child, I highly encourage you to stick with the diet a couple of months longer. That’s what we are doing. Now our son has been on the diet since August 30th (primarily Best Choice foods) and we plan on keeping him on the diet for a couple of more months, at least. We really don’t have an “end date”. We’re just eating and praying…and praying and eating as we go along…and he just keeps improving!!!
10-13-10 This update demonstrates the importance of journaling progress
We have two Russian adopted sons for 8 years – “A” age 11, and “L” age 10. They are not biological, yet both were diagnosed with ADHD and Sensory Integration Dysfunction. We began a Neurodevelopment Program in April 2010. “L” took Metadate CD 40mg at 7:30 a.m., Methylphenidate 10mg at 2 p.m. and another 10mg at 4:30 p.m. and then Lamictal 100mg. at bedtime. “A” took Concerta 36mg at 7:30 a.m. and Methylphenidate 10mg at 4:30 p.m.
April 21, 2010 – Began Spectrum Balance Protocol
April 31, 2010 – Both the boys were “numb” to tactile stimulation during their neurodevelopmental program. Highly unusual since they usually are highly sensitive and had to be held firmly to do tactile glove and deep pressure. Amazing!
May 6, 2010 – “L’s” teacher informs me that he is so quiet in class and she hasn’t had to remind him to sit down an get busy on work!
May 8, 2010 – My husband and I realize both boys seem more calm and subdued.
May 12, 2010 – “A’s” teacher tells me that he’s much quieter.
May 20, 2010 - A friend tells us that “L’s” eyes look more alert, more refreshed. He just looks healthier. I notice his eyes don’t have grey circles under them. His eye color has been grey for years, however when we brought him home his eyes were the prettiest blue. Now they are more green. Much prettier than the grey.
May 25, 2010 – Discovered “L” has found the hidden Quaker Oats Chocolate Chip Granola Bars! (You warned us, I know) “L” became more easily frustrated.
June 1, 2010 - Not sure of exact date, but I spoke with Dr. Shauna and she recommended we stay on SBP Phase 1 for three months and then do Phase 2 for three months. After that, Phase 3 for three months.
June 4, 2010 - Reduced “A’s” medicine to 27mg Concerta in the morning and 5mg Methylphenidate in the afternoon.
June 6, 2010 – Reduced “L’s” medicine to 30mg Metadate in the morning, 10 mg Methylphenidate at 3:00 p.m., and another 5 mg at 4:30 p.m.
June 20, 2010 – Setback number 2. “L” got into the Payday candy bars (probably ate 4 or 5 small) that he and “A” insisted that we should get for Father’s Day. Again saw that “L” was more easily frustrated and irritable. Continuing with Phase 1.
July 5, 2010 - Implemented updated Spectrum Balance Protocol on Phase 1.
July 10, 2010 – “L’s” behavior has regressed and I wonder if the diet is helping. “A” is rarely needing the afternoon Methylphenidate.
July 15, 2010 – Setback number 3 with “L”- he got into my protein bars (I know, slow learner I am, I was not thinking, but he refused to eat these prior to the protocol). At least I have new hope for the Protocol again!
Aug. 3-10, 2010 - We ate more like Phase 2 just this week because I prepared food ahead of time and packed our coolers and went on vacation. Only ate at Ruby Tuesdays’ salad bar with a plain hamburger once.
Aug. 24, 2010 – Reduced “A’s” medicine to 18mg. of Concerta!! “L” now only needs 5 mg Methylphenidate at 2:30 p.m. and 5 mg Methylphenidate at 4:30.
Aug. 28, 2010 – Watched the first SBP Webinar. Very good. Will implement using only 2 moderation foods per day and continue on Phase 1 due to setbacks.
Sept. 15, 2010 – Teachers are pleased with the work habits of both boys! “L” sometimes only needs 5 mg Methylphenidate at 4:00 p.m. on weekends.
Thanks for your expertise and guidance!
12-31-10
My daughter, when she was about 6 years old, used to eat dairy almost exclusively. She was in speech therapy because she was so non-verbal. We took her off dairy as an experiment. Her speech therapist tracked her progress. Within 6 weeks she no longer qualified for therapy. And I have to tell you that I did this just prior to going to India. The person taking care of my child took her to therapy but did not do any of the follow up homework… and I came back from India sick, like hospital sick… so massive schedule interruptions were followed by two fairly traumatic weeks. When I finally was able to do a follow up with the therapist she could not get over how after week 3, it was like we had just turned on a verbal switch.
Getting her off dairy was just a matter of it no longer being an option. I can’t tell you how many times I said: “This is what you have to eat, if you’re not hungry for it, you must not be very hungry. When you are hungry enough to eat it. It is here for you.” She had some tantrums for about one day that settled down. We are missionaries and we choose to live a simple life (in other words we’re pretty poor) so if I say that this the only option, it is the only option. As I see it, it’s way more food than a child on the streets of Mumbai has… so she has nothing to complain about 
I will encourage you that my non-vegetable eating child has taken to this SBP diet like a duck takes to water. Two days ago she made herself a huge salad and ate it. With uncooked carrots in it… this is a child that has always hated the crunch from eating raw carrots, but now doing so happily – if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would never have believed it.
Hope this helps your research.
01-06-11
My 13 yr old son has been on a Neurodevelopmental program 18 mo. in December. The first change we noticed was right off with the Rhythmic Movements. These calmed him down from hyperactive yelling all the time to quiet and lying still. That’s all we wanted – a chance for him to be able to listen to someone and learn. Each 4 mo. period improved little by little and our ND said at 1 year on the program he became an “open book”. He seemed to stabilize in Oct. 2010, and then we found out about this SBP Diet.
He is not making whining and obnoxious noises all the time now.
He can answer a question yes or no most of the time.
Sometimes he even volunteers a phrase.
Otherwise he can pretty much take care of himself.
The length of time he can sit quietly has increased from about 5 min. to 45 min.
To us, this is all a big welcome change because 18 mo. ago, we were all a basket case from all the yelling and whining noises.
We have high hopes for further improvements with this diet. Thanks for the advice on the length of time it may take…but at least he’ll be more healthy eating vegetables more than ever.
Thanks!
12-31-10
Hello. We wanted to thank you for the diet that you have offered freely!! Some background on our family. My son was labeled with autism when he was 3, and he’s now 9 ½. My daughter is 12 and she has never been labeled, but she was given the diagnosis of Epilepsy.
I have had them on a lot of dietary supplements, diets, GF/CF for 1 ½ years. We eat mostly organic everything (meats, fish, fruit and veggies). So, this diet has been a piece of cake (forgive the pun).
We started my son on the diet on Oct 4th. He has hardly eaten anything that wasn’t on the best choices lists since then. Within a few days on the diet he was learning faster. Things that we had been working on for years, he now understood! He started reading a little book on his program the 2nd week. He started counting to 30, listening and comprehending directions went through the roof. He has started to talk a lot more too!
His tastes have totally changed – he has always liked carrots, but then he really started loving butternut squash, cauliflower, broccoli, and cantaloupe. Almost everything on the best choices he loves. Amazing!!
So I really want to make sure that I have the right foods. Before this diet I was so burned out on doing diets. Just too many years without any progress that stuck. I feel like I have had an education in healthy diets over the last 6 years and this diet fits all that I have thought was missing with other diets.
I will be sending you a check to support your work and I am letting others know what is going on.
Bless you!!
01-16-11
OK! I have seen little to very subtle changes in (my son), but it IS change so I will share. My son is 6 years old and has been on a Neurodevelopmental program for 2 years now.
He is now looking more people in the eye when he sees them and says a quiet hello.
He is using fuller sentences. He even told me he was cold once.
He’s also asked a few relevant questions to what’s going on around him.
He is sharing more of what he wants and doesn’t want, as opposed to just doing everything his sister asks of him or just ignoring her altogether.
He’s used phrases like “pretty cool” spontaneously like when he saw a fireman and a fire truck.
He also answered a question with “I don’t know” instead of just wandering away.
These are positive steps and I’m glad to focus on those as opposed to all the things that are “still there”. I know I need to count my blessings and not focus on any “weigh me downs”.
Thanks!
10-06-10
Although my son struggles with autism and apraxia, and only my husband and I understand his words, just today he said, “Train on paper”, and he had a picture of a train. Then he was playing with his trains and came to get me and took me back to his trains and told me, “(Brother) push train cars”, his brother was behind the train cars and he was making his brother push the train cars. Yesterday he came up to me and said, “Tie my shoe”. His shoe was untied.
My son has gone from one word, to three words and using them properly! I have NEVER heard him use the word “MY” and did not know he knew what it meant to tie a shoe!!!
I need to let you know that a while back I had reached the end and didn’t know what to do next. My husband and I took him for hands on healing, to be prayed over, I then put everything on a list and daily would pray over it. What to continue to do and not do.
We had quit your diet and had gone back to the GF/CF, but after praying, I learned that you now have a web site. After looking at it I learned we were doing many things wrong. We printed out the download and took it to church and prayed over it. I kept getting the YES feeling about trying your diet again.
I believe God has put you in our son’s recovery program. I can’t wait for the day when everyone will understand him, and I know in my heart that day is coming. I praise God for every little improvement we see.
Thank you for sharing your gift.
06-18-10
I wanted to give you some feedback about my experience with the SBP. I have an 8 yr old daughter who was diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum 4yrs ago. When I initially saw the diet, I thought, “How on earth am I going to get her to eat that?” There were only 1 or 2 things on the ‘eat most’ list that she actually ate. She has been on a very limited diet for over 5 yrs – she was very particular about what she would and wouldn’t eat. I had previously tried a GF/CF diet, with limited success. Although I was able to introduce some GF foods, mostly she refused to eat. She would gag and vomit and cry. Meal times were stressful, so I gave up on that diet.
Over the past 3 years she has had quite severe constipation and as a result has been on long term laxatives. Even while on a strict regime, her bowel habits were getting worse – she would only have a bowel motion once a week and that was becoming more difficult. I realized that this was not good for her overall health and so took her to see a homeopath a couple of months ago. This is when we started homeopathic treatment and began the SBP diet.
The first week on the diet was tough – tears, hunger strikes and even a threat of moving out of home! I am very grateful that you included advice in the notes about dealing with ‘picky eaters’ as this reassured me that we could succeed. Although she put up quite a fight, she did begin eating what we gave her. At first we just asked that she try a tiny piece, then gradually increased it.
We are now into our 10th week on the diet. She was quite sad for the first couple of weeks, about not being able to have her favorite foods. Now she is great. She is still quite regimented in her eating – she hates variety and is quite happy eating the same veggies each night. We’ve been able to introduce beef and salmon, which she never previously ate. She actually quite likes beef, sweet potato and cauliflower and spinach – again things she never ate before.
In terms of results, she is now completely off all laxatives. She has a bowel motion twice a week and I believe as her bowel improves this will increase to a more normal regularity. She has had quite severe language delays, and for her age, has speech and comprehension difficulties that have resulted in frustration and miscommunication. I have noticed that she is now using very expressive and descriptive language and has started comprehending some concepts that she was not able to before which is very exciting. She continues to be a ’picky eater’, although she no longer gags and vomits when trying new food, it is more that she is unhappy with receiving an unexpected food, rather than a sensory issue.
I wanted to express my sincerest gratitude for your work, for making your information freely available. I believe it is the simplest things that are most effective. I intend to make a contribution to the No Harm Foundation in the near future as I believe in the work you are doing!
10-12-10
We started the diet with our 3 year old daughter on 9/12/10. She has not been diagnosed with anything as of yet, they are still trying to find out the cause of her delays and her seizures since 4 months of age. So far we have noticed an increase in her attention span. Her ability to attend to tasks and focus has increased. She is trying to talk and is making more sounds, but the words are not there yet. Thank you for the updated food list. Thanks for all that you have done. I will keep you in the loop of progress.
11-03-10
I have more to share about (my son’s) VFD digit spans. In Neurodevelopmental therapy, the processing level of digit spans is tied to developmental and emotional age. When we began he was at a 3-4 which means he was developmentally a toddler. After 1 year of therapy he had moved up to a 4-5 (which means he could do 4 and then if I repeated those same 4 and added another number he could do that). He has been stuck there for quite a while. Occasionally he could even get 5. Well, a week ago he started doing – out of the blue – a 5-6. This is a huge jump. Typically you don’t see but a half to 1 digit improvement in four months. i.e., if he did a 4-5 in four months he might get to a 5 and then in another four months a 5-6. So for him to jump like that is incredible. Well, I’m not done.
Yesterday, he did a 6! I was astounded! It took three tries, but he did it. This is something he never could have done 2 months ago. You see, everyone 7 and older should be able to process at a 7. So, with the diet and therapy, he is getting caught up.
With this increase in processing, I’m seeing changes in him. Last night I sat and talked with him and I can’t tell you exactly in words what happened, but something clicked and the “thing” I’ve been looking for happened. Suddenly I knew in my heart, something I’ve looked for over the past 7 years; that he’s going to be OK.
Now, how does that translate into overall how he’s doing. Last night, I was sitting with him in his room and I found this paper he had drawn some pictures on and I asked him about it. He proceeded to have a conversation with me about how he created this game with the paper, his toys and a flashlight. Now, it wasn’t a 9-yr old conversation, but more like a 5-6 yr old conversation. I can’t tell you exactly what it was, but something about it just sent off these bells and whistles in my head, saying, “He’s going to be all right.” That is the first time I have felt that in 7 years. And I know the ND therapy has helped, but I know even more that without this diet, I don’t know if we would have ever gotten to this place. Thank you.
He is different. He’s expressing himself better, chatting up a storm. His concentration is better. I know this sounds so silly, but I know some of you can relate. Last night I was showing him for the umpteenth time how to fold a shirt. When you process at a 4, that’s just too many steps. Well, he was able to do it and do it fairly neatly. It’s a small thing, but not so small.
This morning he came to me and he said, “What do you do if you can’t be friends with your enemies?” I queried him on it and he told me that he was thinking about an incident that happened about 2 years ago at a church we used to go to. Some boys threw rocks at him. We talked about it over the course of the day about forgiving them and turning any bad feelings to God. I asked him this evening before supper if he was ready to pray about it and he said, “Almost, but not yet.” Then just now before he went to bed, I asked again and he said he was ready. All I can say is, “Wow!”
He just seems to be now more like a 5-6 year old. He has been stuck at the 4-yr old level for so long – emotionally and socially. Praise God for answering my prayer 3 months ago.
01-06-11
So we’re on Week 6 of the Diet with my daughter. I allowed a few, and I mean few like one serving of moderate foods per day this week. Her behavior is still very good only one bad day since Christmas.
Normally she goes with us to the library gets out 3 books brings them home. She might look though the book for pictures, and might read some pages in and out of order. The books were more like prizes to be placed on a shelf till it was time to return them to the library. This
Tuesday we went and got books she got a Star Wars chapter book. Wednesday she spent every extra minute reading… and reading, and reading… till she was done. I was floored. This is the first book she has actually read for fun all the way though. Now she is reading the script making her sister be Princess Leia.
Tuesday we went and got books she got a Star Wars chapter book. Wednesday she spent every extra minute reading… and reading, and reading… till she was done. I was floored. This is the first book she has actually read for fun all the way though. Now she is reading the script making her sister be Princess Leia.
*Jumping up and down for joy!*
Also, she had a (dental) cleaning today and they said that this is the best her teeth have ever looked. And she wasn’t upset having all that equipment in her mouth. Nor did she get upset over the grit that is always left behind! Thank you.
11-03-10
Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that the NoHarm Foundation (SBP) Diet is working like a charm. After 2 weeks in, my son’s teacher said she hasn’t had to call him to attention and that we have really hit on something. I think we have been doing it for 7 weeks now and aren’t going to stop. I am telling everyone! It is restrictive, but even my son said it is worth it. We thank God every day! And thank You!
01-17-11
Hello, I wanted to update you about (my son’s) progress with the SBP Diet. We just had our Neurodevelopmentalist evaluate him, and in her words “He is truly amazing!” His auditory system is fixed! There is a list of things that are so much better than they were. We are so happy!
My next thing that I want to ask you is about flying my daughter down to have an appointment with you. I know that you are busy, so thank you for your time!
01-17-11 Evidence of added benefits from using the SBP Diet with the whole family
I wanted to share about a very unexpected good result from the SBP diet. My husband’s cholesterol and triglyceride levels were REALLY high before this diet and he’d been on Lipitor for over 3 years just to control it. His cholesterol was better but not great and his tri’s were still too high.
Well, he is the most wonderful man in the world and I will say he went along voluntarily with the diet just to make it easy on me. He’s NOT cheated once, even at work (he’s a teacher and most of his co-workers pack in the breakfast donuts, tacos and everyday sharing in the lounge of chocolates, cookies and what-not from their kitchens). I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know about his snacks until he came home almost every day to announce that “It was hard BUT I didn’t have X, Y or Z from the offering table at work today! The holidays were especially hard as far as temptations but he said he was good and according to his waist line I can tell he really has kept his word.
He’s lost over 15 pounds in 3 months!!! I believe he now weights 155 or 150. He also went to see his Dr. for his yearly check up and we were both quite curious to see the results on cholesterol/tri’ levels… the result? He’s BETTER than healthy. How better? Because in comparison to an ‘average’ person who eats the ‘average’ food, my husbands cholesterol and tri’ levels were BELOW the norm! The doctor was FLOORED with the results and asked him for more details about the diet! He and the nurse had never seen such good results in such a short amount of time without using drugs or extreme measures.
I DO remember starting to see the results on him within 1 month of having started the diet, at 2 months his ‘tight around the waist’ pants were fitting more comfortably and by 3 months he needed to use belts to keep them up!! Now he’s talking about making an extra hole in the belt so he cankeep them up!! He feels better, looks great and says he doesn’t miss the breads and cheese as much as he thought. He still would like to have a sandwich every now and again but he’s very pleased with our meals.
Our son continues to show significant behavioral results from the diet, and even our other 4 year old child has trimmed down some. I myself have never been thinner since right before I was married. I’ve lost most of it around my belly and thighs!
I hope that with my families results I may have inspired some of you to either start or continue on the diet – your children WILL benefit and if you stick to it you will see results in MANY things… some in which you may have never expected.
03-10-11
I decided to post some changes we are seeing after being on this diet a short time. I was stressing about doing this diet because our daughter is in school so the school lunches had me challenged of sorts but it seems to be working out. We had set backs starting this diet because of my work, travel, school events and sickness (bad colds) but finally I began to implement the diet after a lot of planning to carry it out. Our daughter is on more of the ADHD spectrum.
She has issues with focus (self-governing herself with homework assignments), executing tasks, organization,…the list goes on (her classroom is very structured so this helps) . She is not on any meds and only takes natural supplements from a naturopath doctor we see. Okay, so here are some of the changes ….When she does math, she has had a hard time being neat and organized…no matter how hard she tries…she has had difficulty with consistently placing decimals points in the right place, writing numbers neatly, remembering units, etc.
Now two nights ago she sat down did all her math by herself (without me telling her to do it) and it was organized and neat as a pin. She still is doing this consistently. The other things I have noticed is that she is initiating the homework on her own and getting it all done without me constantly reminding her what to do….(this is huge!). She got on the computer last night and typed out a writing assignment (wow). Also she seems to be more cognitively with it… I’m pressing on with this diet. I thank the staff at No Harm Foundation and the Lord’s grace, wisdom and mercy!
Our blessings
03-28-11
We have big news from our house! My son has stopped rocking and spacing out during the day! He has also stopped sucking his thumb! Before ND (neurodevelopmental) therapy and the SBP diet, he would never breathe thru his nose, always used mouth breathing. Now he is breathing thru his nose occasionally. These are enormous improvements for him!!!
We started the diet 1/6/11. After 2 weeks, I wanted to stop because the work load was over whelming. I have 5 children and I home school 4 of them. Of those 4 kids, one of them is on the diet and a ND program. Having said that, I’m sure you understand why I say the work load is overwhelming. The diet was pushing me beyond my limits until about week 3. After that I did well with it until we hit week 9. At that point, I was ready to throw in the towel. I was not seeing any progress and wanted to give up! Praise the Lord, we did not stop! The improvements I’ve seen are amazing. I do attribute the changes to both the diet and the ND program, but who knows where we would be without this diet!
05-09-11
Just wanted to share with you what’s been going on. We are in the 3rd month of the diet now and all is moving along beautifully. My son is doing so well, we couldn’t be happier for him. He is taking risks on the play ground that he never has, is not afraid to fall and although not exactly playing with other children, sticking very close to them and not hanging by himself. His language is blooming and he is (with very little prompting) doing his homework on his own (with great pride I might add), and that’s just a few of the many wonderful things we are seeing and that he’s experiencing.
We had his IEP this past Friday and it went very well. He has a lovely special-ed teacher and she has read the whole document I gave her on the diet and watched the DVD so that she could better understand what it is we are doing. The whole team is so interested in what we’re doing that they are showing your DVD to their staff this Friday as part of their staff development day. I also talked about neurodevelopmental work and they were also quite interested in that as well.
With Gratitude and Warmest Regards
07-06-11
We started the SBP diet late February of this year. Here are some of the blessings we have received being on the diet. Our daughter, who is along the ADHD spectrum, had been in a Neurodevelopmental therapy program for 2 years. She was stagnant with auditory processing concept words at 5-6. While being on this diet her auditory concept words has jumped up to 7-8 (two full years of progress). She has improved in other Neurodevelopmental exercises. We had been doing the Feingold diet but the SBP kicks it up several notches from my experience. I cook mostly everything from scratch now. I have noticed increased energy and I have noticed that if I do eat wheat (since I don’t personally have to be on this diet) I feel lethargic and bloated. I don’t think we will ever eat the same again!
I hope this information helps your work.
(Her update of 07-23-11)
We just went to our evaluation with our Neurodevelopmentalist yesterday. She was very pleased with the improved progress our daughter was making since her last evaluation. The statement she made was “It’s like I’m looking at a very different child.” The improvements are because of the SBP diet our daughter is on. I have posted before but I will say it again… before SBP we had not seen much improvement in the past year. She was stuck with improving her auditory processing skills. Her auditory concept words were at 5. Now while on SBP she has gone up to a 7 and hitting up to an 8 at times.
Blessings.
(Another update of 08-16-11 – Less than 6 mo. into the program)
Our daughter is now like a different child, which I did notice starting yesterday. We were on vacation for about 1 week. When we got back, I noticed she was the most focused she has ever been in her life…I think the supplements are kicking in that Dr. Shauna suggested for her during our visit to your clinic.
She is now doing things on her own that she just did not have an interest in doing because of her inability to focus. She took out the garbage on her own, sat at the piano for over an hour trying to figure out how to progress at a song she is learning, she took an interest in helping me to cook and did her math without me reminding her more than 20 times. Do I dare say she is acting like a more normal kid?? I asked her if she feels better and she has told me that she has a lot more energy and feels more awake.
These are little things it seems, but to me they are huge because I can see the difference in her. She begins school next week so this will be the real test to see how well she focuses and juggles the different subjects. I am amazed at this reversed effect in her ADHD symptoms. We started the SBP diet at the end of February and after 4 months she got some improvement but I could still tell she was not as improved as Dr. Shauna was describing so this is why we came out for the visit. Dr. Shauna had told me previously that there was no need to see her until after 4 months for possible more work. I am totally amazed. Please pass this information along to Shauna…
Thanks Doug and Shauna…I am so grateful for all your work in uncovering and helping kids trapped with these heartbreaking symptoms.
09-05-11
We started last November and experimented with phase 3 in May and June but after “camp” food I had to pull back to phase 1 for about a month. I am seeing really bad results with her when she’s on any wheat products. We “were” one of those vegetarian/vegan families Doug apologizes to…
My Daughter is adopted, weighed only 16 pounds and was extremely sick when she came home to us at 23 months of age. My hubby has diabetes and prefers a Raw Foods diet… I home school, and well, I spend way to much time in the kitchen…but I digress. She is now 12.
She had slow nerve development and so many sensory issues for so long, She is developmentally delayed due to neglect? genetics? who knows. When she got stuck in 3rd grade for 3 years we sought help. We have now been working with a Neurodevelopmentalist
for 2 1/2 years.
for 2 1/2 years.
We already had her off dairy as it slurred her speech. She’s had eye, adenoids and tonsils surgery as well as tubes placed in her ears. At the moment she is on 3 medicines from the Dr. (down from 4) and were using a few supplements.
Last year when my Daughter had stopped moving forward on her Neurodevelopmental plan, and was becoming fixated on things. Our therapist suggested we try the SPB Diet. So I made plans for about 2 months before plunging in. She was never a big eater, but on this diet she discovered a hollow leg she needed to fill each meal. She also found her smile, became less defensive in her body language, sought touch, and she’s just an all around happier kid.
She just started figuring out 2-part problems (this is HUGE). She can now tie her shoes and open a can (even as a lefty with a righty can opener). Life is not perfect it is a 2 steps forward 1 step back world we live in. But pendulum/seesaw days are now far fewer in number.
08-22-11 The experience of another adult client
It all started oh so slowly, I was always tired, I was gaining weight, my clothes were getting tight, it was even getting hard to keep a train of thought, and the very last thing I wanted to do every morning was get out of bed and go to work. For about 3 years this continued until I had put on about 30 pounds and all I wanted to do every afternoon after work was go home and sit around. I didn’t want to plant a garden, I didn’t want to ride my horse, and I didn’t care about walking my dog. I tried a variety of home solutions, vitamins, sleep, talking with friends, and I finally just figured that this was old age (I am only 59) and I might as well accept it.
But there was something within me that was not willing to just “accept it”! I have always been a person that lives to experience life abundantly. I hike, bike, raft, ride my horses, camp, and my latest love, snorkeling. I have four grandchildren and my greatest desire is to include them in my adventures, I’ve ridden the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic twice, ridden in two Century rides (100 miles on a bicycle) rafted theRio GrandeRiverand hiked two “Fourteeners” in the same weekend, all in my 50’s. However my lack of energy had now sapped my ability to do any of these things. I cannot tell you how devastated I was to no longer be able to do the things that I so enjoyed doing. It was like a plug had been pulled and leaked out all my strength!
I finally decided, at the request of a friend of mine, to look on line at the Assertive Wellness Center, to see if there was a possibility they could help me, I read the testimonials and what I heard gave me hope. I called immediately and made an appointment for as soon as possible.
I can only say that the changes that took place in me are both drastic and close to miraculous. By the end of the first week I was already feeling more energetic, my brain was working better and I was even losing weight. I must say that I did choose to follow the SBP food protocol exactly as it was laid out to me, and I took the supplement protocol seriously as well. Now 2 ½ months later, my life has been turned around. I am back riding my horses, kayaking, hiking and camping. I took my two oldest grandchildren camping last month and one of the younger ones horseback riding, last week, even my attitude has changed. My zest for life has returned as well, I jump out of bed everyday happy for it to begin. I have realized that it isn’t my age that was the culprit.
I am looking forward to planting the garden again next year and we are planning another snorkeling trip toMexico. I am filled with energy again and even my outlook on life has changed for the better. I had always believed that there was no reason I couldn’t continue my active life style for my entire life. When my body and brain let me down I was dismayed and confused, however after talking with Shauna I knew that I had always been right – I just needed to make some adjustments to my diet and supplements to make it a reality.
09-16-11
My son has made great strides in improvement since using the SBP Protocol from theAssertiveWellnessCenter. He has been much calmer, and his addictive/abnormal behavior has decreased considerably. In four months, his short term memory has increased two years worth. His chronic skin rash is now controllable and often gone. His abdominal bloat is gone as well. Also he can express himself better. Other people have commented on the differences too.
My son was born with some birth defects. After pursuing all the possible avenues, he was never diagnosed with a specific syndrome, since there was no match to be found. At 20 years of age, he has made much progress with our Neurodevelopmentalist with Hope and a Future,Utah, but they acknowledged the need to find the hold up for his learning, and they recommended Assertive Wellness.
Dr. Shauna was able to get to the root of my son’s problems using only tests that didn’t involve pain or medicine. She suspected that his kidney function may be too low, and that his iron may be low. These were the same indicators found in a blood test my son had many years prior. So she recommended a few supplements to use in association with the diet, which are all natural, so he sees no side effects as with medicines. Only one trip toDurango,COhas been made, and now Assertive Wellness follows up monthly with phone consultations.
The help from Assertive Wellness has been an answer to my prayers.
09-16-11 Another example of associated benefits for adults
I just had to share this. We started the diet nearly 3 weeks ago. Still not fully 100%… tea and white rice are hard to give up…
Anyway, I’ve always had horrible menstrual cramps. I mean, double over, stuck in bed for 2 days, throwing up, had to take meds as a teen, AWFUL menstrual cramps.
This is the first time in my entire life that I did not have cramps. Usually, I down 8-10 Aleve a day during my period. This time?… Nothing.
I am absolutely floored. Did anyone else have this happen to them? This alone makes me never want to have another pizza again (and, honestly, I would have done some pretty obscene things last week for just a slice of pizza and some cheese fries).
I can only imagine how this diet is going to help my son.
Just had to share. =)
10-25-11 – Early status report
Hello!
I am a mother of 3. My son was diagnosed with Autism right before his 4th birthday. Then both he and his older sister were diagnosed with Juvenile diabetes at age 9 years and 3 months and now his younger sister has dairy and wheat allergies. We heard about the Spectrum Balance Dietary Protocol and started it 9 days ago. I have been amazed to see that my children with diabetes have kept their blood sugars within a healthy normal range. I was fearful that they would spike because of the amount of fruit they are eating, but without carbohydrates coming through another source their bodies along with insulin therapy have managed very well. We have even seen a decrease of insulin needed! (I am totally expecting their A1C’s to be with in a healthy range when we see their Endocrinologist in January!)
I am a mother of 3. My son was diagnosed with Autism right before his 4th birthday. Then both he and his older sister were diagnosed with Juvenile diabetes at age 9 years and 3 months and now his younger sister has dairy and wheat allergies. We heard about the Spectrum Balance Dietary Protocol and started it 9 days ago. I have been amazed to see that my children with diabetes have kept their blood sugars within a healthy normal range. I was fearful that they would spike because of the amount of fruit they are eating, but without carbohydrates coming through another source their bodies along with insulin therapy have managed very well. We have even seen a decrease of insulin needed! (I am totally expecting their A1C’s to be with in a healthy range when we see their Endocrinologist in January!)
Thank you for sharing your research with families like mine. This has been a challenging journey, but well worth our time!!!
10-26-11
To anyone struggling to decide if it’s worth giving this diet a REAL try, or even just a little try (Just to note, we had previously been gluten free/casein free, with very little success).
My son is 6 with autism, we have restarted this diet several times, meaning we stick to the basics of the best choices but too often end up with him getting foods that he shouldn’t have….BUT we stillhave seen positive changes.
He had chronic diarrhea, meaning we never left the house without a COUPLE changes of clothes (even with a diaper on) and often ended up cleaning floors and/or furniture when we were visiting people. Within two weeks of changing his diet to SBP, his diarrhea was GONE. DONE!
Again we keep getting off track, going to relatives that have “candy-draws” etc… and if my husband or I don’t stay with him 100% of the time he finds a way to get things that he shouldn’t. But since school has started and we have been home more often and we have been able to get a better grasp of what he gets…
My son is considered non-verbal at this time because his speech is not understood by outside people. We have been working with a speech therapist, sign language, and an I-Pad.
The other night my husband was out of town for work and it was time for bed and I hear from the hallway “where is dad”, I look and my son had typed in the sentence into his I-Pad, then hit the speak button – asking why his dad wasn’t home and it was time for bed!!!! We never really even knew if he realized my husband was gone when he would travel!, and he had even spelled everything correctly!!!!
Since then his verbal approximations seem to be getting more clear, he is attempting to correct some of his sounds AND has said 5 word sentences. His latest was “make me a blender drink!!” that would be a SBP blender drink 
He’s also attending better at preschool, better eye contact, more spontaneous interaction with his peers!!
He’s also attending better at preschool, better eye contact, more spontaneous interaction with his peers!!
Sorry to ramble on, but I just wanted to share a little of his improvements so anyone debating if it’s worth the try….I believe it is! Even if it’s not 100%, yet!
Everyday I am giving thanks to God for another “little” something that my son did that day that he hadn’t done the day before.
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