I shouldn't say--reverse autism.  What I mean to say is make his situation in life the best I can & hope to find ways that will help him grow & learn. If his autism ended up reversed-great & wonderful! But I don't want Eli to grow up--thinking I'm not good enough & mom just wants to change who I am. How do I go about this? Good question. I think by showing my love for him & being careful what I say around him.  If you have any suggestions--please share?
This new diet has been a challenge--but I feel like its been a good change. We are not eating processed foods & more fruit & vegetables. We are slowly getting a hang of it & I still need to act on getting the school snacks to be gluten & dairy free as well. And I will admit the first week I think we were all starving:) but Eli is actually trying his dinner & most of the time eating it all. Without the many snacks around the house--when it comes to meal time he eats!
I told chad we are going to be on this diet for a long time. I then asked Chad, "how long do you think a long time is?"  He says, "a month."  I just laughed & said, "Nope. A year."  So I will also be sharing recipe favorites as we find them & hopefully inspire other parents to give this diet a try for their child if they feel it just might help.
If any one is thinking about this diet for their child-The Autism Research Institute has some great tips to get started.

http://www.autism.com/index.php/treating_diets

One thing about Eli that I hope will change for the better with this diet is being more alert & aware of his surroundings. For example, our family went to my dads on Saturday night & they had pizza for everyone. Chad & I knew we could get away with eating pizza with Charlie. We brought chicken for him & he ate veggies but I know an average 4 year old would say--"hey that's not fair, I'm eating pizza if you guys are!"  But we didn't get any protest, everyone around him ate pizza. And he LOVES pizza. That might seem funny to some that I want him to protest & it's not like he never does protest BUT I wish he stood up for himself more often--especially by using full sentences. Someday. I know it. 

I have created this blog for the sole purpose of finding out what theories out there work--to help my little boy reach his potential.  Some say you can reverse autism.  And it's worth a shot, so I am using this blog as a documentary to show what works for me.  So I can stick with the good and not worry about the rest.
Eli is 4 years old & his speech development is delayed.  Last year he got diagnosed with PDD-NOS.  But unfortunately, I blew it off.  I felt for sure that Eli was an "average Joe"--who would be spitting out sentences any day.  But after some little events & then having Parent Teacher Conference with his current preschool teacher--she let me know that Eli is autistic.  Not that you should always trust a teacher--but I already had the diagnose from a psychiatrist & this teacher has worked with kids like Eli that her words sunk in deep & they felt right.  (We will still get another diagnose for Eli soon to get more official second opinions/advice, etc.)
Luckily, I already had him in Early Intervention for his speech development since he was 2 1/2 years old.  And all the help from that program has been amazing!  He enjoys going to preschool 4 days a week & meets with a speech therapist once a week at the school.  Right now his speech capability is limited to easy words.  Words that have 2 syllables are harder to say.  Most of his vocabulary includes the things he loves & needs.  Such as cars, books, watch, milk, water, apple, & carrots.  He hardly ever speaks in sentences and definitely never paragraphs.  None of his speech is creative or pretend.  He still does "jar-jar" talk--when he wants to tell you something besides the regular needs/wants.

Right now I am in the transition of a gluten-free & dairy-free diet.  Occupational Therapy to start in January.  Thanks to those who have given me names & advice to help me on this journey.  I love my little boy--and love his sweet spirit.  If anyone has recommendations or knowledge in this area-please drop a comment.

I have more thoughts--But I have been enjoying going to bed early & rising early.  So night world!