Our Brain Story

I’m a mother of 3 amazing children. My 2 pregnancies weren’t great, so when my husband and I decided we wanted to add a third child to our family, adoption seemed like a logical choice. 

Our biological daughter had been premature, and there were some medical conditions that we had to deal with during her first year of life. They were all minor, but the fact that we were able to cope with them made us think that we would be good parents for a child with a medical condition, so we chose to take that route in our adoption. As often happens, life threw an unexpected turn our way. Our adopted son’s medical condition is very manageable, but what we hadn’t anticipated was having a son with developmental delays. As time went by, it became apparent just how severe these delays were.

The process of parenting my adopted son has been my greatest challenge. It is filled with more emotional turmoil than I would ever care for any parent to have to experience, but I have come to meet many parents who are dealing with similar experiences or who have multiple children with special needs. 

We searched for ways to help our son, and tried countless therapies.  They all ended in frustration. There are great therapies out there, but they don't address why your child is having symptoms and problems.  I had been asking "what are my son's areas of weakness, and how can I fix them?"  Once I started asking "why is my son having these problems?" our lives changed.

Researching "why" led me to understand how the health of his gut was affecting his brain.  The more I researched, the more I began to realize how the health of the gut didn't just affect the brain, but affected everything else in the body.  We started on a GAPS™ diet, and started to see noticeable changes within a week.  Sensory issues decreased, speech improved exponentially, behavioural issues and tantrums disappeared, and for the first time ever he was blossoming socially.  

I started to enjoy my son again.  Parenting him had been so hard.  As his sense of humour started to emerge we could laugh together, and as time went on and his frustrations disappeared we could finally start on the journey of learning that had eluded him for so long.

Changing my own son's diet was the first approach where we saw noticeable change.  Watching my son emerge as the beautiful child he is meant to be is amazing.  He is no longer limited by the frustrations of being in a body that doesn't function optimally. 

My son's journey has taught me so much, and now I am privileged to be able to use that knowledge to help others.