We’ve developed a basic diet checklist for you to consult because making dietary changes is the first step to healing.
- Have you established which diet or diets would be well-suited for your child’s health condition?
- Have you done a food allergy and food sensitivity test to know what foods to eliminate?
- Have you eliminated potential trigger foods from your child’s diet such as:
- Have you removed all sources of gluten in grains and hidden sources of gluten in spices, food flavorings and sauces?
- Have you removed all sources of casein found in animal dairy products?
- Have you removed all sources of casein found in desserts, frozen food, food products, seasonings, and cold meats?
- Have you removed all processed foods from your child’s diet?
- Have you eliminated vegetable oils and trans fats from your child’s diet?
- Are you using the stove instead of the microwave?
- Is your child getting protein for breakfast before going to school?
- Is your child getting healthy snacks for school?
- Are you using salt with minerals such as Himalayan salts?
- Is your child drinking enough filtered water?
- Are you including enough good-quality fats in your child’s diet?
- Is your child getting fermented foods daily in their diet?
- Have you checked for cross-contamination in your child’s diet?
- Have you checked for any aluminum, lead or mercury in the food your child eats?
- Have you checked to make sure you are not cooking with aluminum pots, non-stick frying pans and any other chemically laden cooking utensils or pots?
- Are you checking with the Environmental Working Group for information on pesticides with fruits and vegetables?
- Are you finding creative ways to get your child to eat leafy greens and vegetables? Keep vegetable water and use it in your cooking!
About Teresa Badillo
In the 1980s she worked overseas in Rome, Italy at the Japanese Embassy in the office of the United Nations (FAO) as a speech writer. She also began her long journey in alternative healing while living in Rome.
After moving to New York and while raising her family of seven children, Teresa embarked on a mission to find alternative non-invasive biomedical, therapeutic, sensory and educational solutions for autism after the diagnosis of her son in the early 1990s.
She won a court case in 1995 against the Rockland County School District in New York to enable ARC Prime Time for Kids to be the first school using Applied Behavioral Analysis teaching method for autism that was paid for by the Rockland County School District. The following year she was instrumental in getting the New York Minister of Education to approve an extension of the ARC license from 5 to 21 years.
She has worked over the years in a number of alternative medical practices with doctors and practitioners organizing various biomedical intervention options for children with autism. Since the mid 1990s, Teresa has served on several boards:
- Foundation for Children with Developmental Disabilities
- The Autoimmunity Project
- Developmental Delayed Resources
- Epidemic Answers
She continues to consult and advise parents on all different areas of autism especially nutritional protocols. Since 2006 she has worked with NutraOrgana, LLC and BioCellular Analysis Testing. She currently researches, writes the newsletter and blogs Teresa’s Corner for The Autism Exchange (AEX). She also writes blog posts and pages for Documenting Hope.
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