GFCF can be yummy

I'm not on a GFCF diet but I know many families out there in the autism community are. So I poked around the Borders Gluten Free section. I found recipes in the Enjoy Life cookbooks that are so delicious I wanted to go make some myself! (honestly, the company has no clue I exist but I feel like sharing their books with everyone!) One nice thing about the recipes in all of their books are about a page long including pictures, no huge complicated ones.

Here's a glipse at some of their books and recipes in them:

Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids by Leslie Hammond-Pancakes
-Several kinds of frosting
-Cakes, including "Cream"sicle Cake and carrot cake
-Homemade Marshmellows
-Many "meal" items besides desserts


Cookies for Everyone
-Gimme S'more Bites
-No Bake Cinnamon Rolls
-Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar
-Sensational Snickerdoodle Cookies
-and of course lots more cookies!

Cupcakes for Everyone
-Chocolate Chip Scones
-Chocolate-filled Vanilla Cupcake
-Blueberry Crunch Muffin
-more cupcakes and muffins

Book Review: Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet

I literally liked this book some much I read it all in one day.


"Born on a Blue Day" is a memoir by autistic savant Daniel Tammet; who also has synesthesia. (synesthesis is when your senses are a bit crossed; like associating colors with numbers or hearing tastes)

I could relate to some of the things in the book, like prefering nonfiction over fiction; the tendency to hoard 'odd' objects, and the struggle to become independent. In fact, I'd love to be as independent as his is; where he has gone to many countries and runs his own language teaching website. I actually laughed when he mentioned his hatred of brushing teeth but doing it anyways. People don't talk about that much, but I can relate! I do get confused when he starts talking about math equations. (I'm terrible at math) However, I love how he puts this to good use. Since he had seizures as a child; he helped fundraise money for the National Society for Epilepsy by reciting 22,514 digits of pi, which beat the record for England. He does various other things to increase awareness and help out others.

He astounds me by his ability to not only learn over 5 languages but use them to express how his mind works.

Overall, I'd say it's a great book if you are an adult on the Autism Spectrum, want a good read, interested in savant syndrome, or are interested in adults on the Autism Spectrum.

Book Review: "Reasonable People" by Ralph Savarese

I checked this book out from the local college library and boy am I glad I did!

The book is long (400+ pages) but fascinating. It's recommended by both Temple Grandin and Donna Williams.

It follows the life of Ralph Savarese and his adopted son, D.J. D.J. is a non-verbal autistic who learns to use facilitated communication. I have to admit, before I read this book I was very skeptical of facilitated communication. I figured it was a case of parents acting for the kids. Well, now I can see it isn't that in most cases. Facilitated communication isn't just somebody moving a kid's hand; it could be a simple finger on the shoulder. I really was rooting for D.J. as I read the book and was pleased that by the end he wrote a whole chapter of the book! D.J. was thought to be profoundly mentally retarded and by the end of the book he is making great grades in a regular school. I always wonder how many autistics who are labeled retarded are really just unable to communicate well enough to assess their I.Q. properly.

The other important part of the book is dealing with the abuse D.J. had from both his biological mom and while in foster care. It made me quite sad to read about this and also the attitude of the biological father. The biological father rejected D.J. because of his autism but took his "normal" sister. How sad!

I do need to warn potential readers there are parts that talk about D.J.'s abuse so if you are unable to handle stories of that it may disturb you.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this book. Perhaps it is in your local library!