Why Am I Even Trying This?- Day 3

First of all, thank you to all of you who have left comments or sent personal message about this. I have gained some helpful suggestions and I am glad to know that someone is even reading this! Some of you may be asking, "Why are you trying this with your son?" or "How did you find out about this diet?" Those of you who have spent anytime around my 6 year old know the answer to the first question. He is a little ball of energy who would talk all day if you would let him, has major mood swings and just plain does everything fast. His first grade teacher (who is fantastic by the way) has sent emails about him with phrases like "I was tired at the end of the day," "He tries (to raise his hand before speaking) but just can't seem to help it," and "He is very body busy." Emails like these started in Kindergarten and I always took them seriously in that I addressed them with Elijah but always tried to blame it on something else...he is a young kindergartener and a boy, he could be gifted (every parent wants to think that, right!), God just made him that way, etc . I wouldn't entertain the idea that he could be showing signs of what the psychologist now call ADD/ ADHD. After all, if he wanted to, he could sit and do a lego set for an hour and didn't have problems academically. Then, of course, there is just downright pride. I am a teacher. There is now way my child could be hyperactive! We've addressed the problem from a number of angles. First and foremost was helping him to realize that the situation is not hopeless. God can help him to overcome it. This quote from the website, biblicalparenting.org, gave me a great perspective. "One of the greatest ways that you can help a child who has ADD or ADHD is to provide hope. God has a prescription for hope in Romans 5:4-5, “Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Notice that hope comes from character, which comes from perseverance, which comes from suffering. Children need a plan for dealing with the suffering they experience. In fact, suffering can be the key to hope, if the child responds well. Your job is to help your child develop a plan for his or her suffering. Once children begin to respond to suffering with perseverance, then they will see character developing. That character will be encouraging and hope is the natural by product." Reading that was like having a ton of bricks lifted from me! Other Christian parents deal with this, too! Now, he has not been officially diagnosed with ADD/ ADHD. I have just read several articles about it and he displays many of the characteristics associated with these "disorders." I know if he is in school long enough, a teacher will eventually, if they haven't already, insinuate that he might have this, so I want to address it head on. He has so many great qualities. He is smart, creative and loves to be around people. I don't want these qualities to be overlooked because he can't sit still in his seat or talks without raising his hand. Some teachers are good at ignoring this and others only focus on it. "Why not homeschool?" you might ask. For now, I don't think that would be the best situation for him but that is a different blog for a different day. So, here I am with a dilemma. Is this stircktly an issue with of outright disobedience that needs more consequences or is possible that something else could be playing a role,  too. I remembered a friend of mine from California talking about trying this diet with her son with spectrum disorder. So, I began researching. The statisitcs were impressive and the testimonials from both parents as well as adults who had themselves followed this plan were encouraging. While the impact of the diet varied in effectiveness, in one study, only 1% found no change at all! That is when I decided that I needed to try it just to see if chemical sensitivity was not an issue for my son. After all, he already has an egg, peanut, almond and pencillin allergy. It wouldn't suprise me if he had other sensitivities, if not outright allergies, to food additivies as well. I didn't want him to be 20 years old, try a diet like this and have success and say, "Mom, why didn't you try this 14 years earlier!" So, now, on day 3, I am literally dreaming about reading food labels.