James - Why we started Banting & His Autistic diagnosis

Here's a little more detail into why we started on this journey...

We started trying to conceive in 2006 but after a while noticed that it wasn't going to be as clear cut as that. We both underwent tests - everything seemed fine, yet we still didn't conceive.

By 2010, we had all but given up when we found out I was pregnant. A few weeks later our hopes were dashed when I had a miscarriage on my husbands birthday. Devastated we picked up the pieces and life carried on.

In 2011, my husband got a new job which meant we had to relocate about 300km and during this time we found out I was pregnant again. After the first miscarriage, we were slightly paranoid - but besides from the 8 month all-day morning sickness and high blood pressure later on in the pregnancy - everything went well. James was born in 2012 - almost a week after he was due. I had a normal birth - he scored well with his initial testing scoring 9/10 and 10/10 - he was crawling by about 7 months and walking by 11 months. His speech however was an issue - on the developmental front.

He was also extremely active and at 3.5 yrs we decided to take him to a local GP who then referred us to the psychiatric department at the hospital for further diagnosis as she had suspected autism. Now - this idea was completely left field for us - James made great eye contact - he was a social butterfly (even if he couldnt talk) and loved physical contact! Fast forward a few months after various tests, we got his Autistic and ADHD diagnosis. During this time - we had undertook to change our eating habits - at that stage he was eating a variety of only 5 different foods - none of which included sugary things - but it did mostly include processed carbs like pastas. Within 10 months, he went from being non verbal - to singing the alphabet - and although its something many take for granted, but him saying "I love you" for the first left me crying like a baby!

Changing how we eat has changed his life. Joining the Banting 7 Day Meal Plans facebook group played an instrumental part in this. He is now 5, doing grade 1 maths - speaking in sentences - is a whizz on the tablet and is learning how to work the laptop! He says he wants to be a chef when hes older - and he has a few basic youtube videos showcasing his cooking abilities. Stay tuned for big things from this little dude!