From special education to food dyes to food allergy testing...how my perspective completely changed!

While my childhood seizure history caused me to take an interest in medicine, I ultimately became a Special Education teacher. With that intuitive nudge toward health, I guess I was destined to come full circle as a Special Education teacher and Health Restoration Coach. I studied hard and devoted myself to fieldwork when I was in college to be the best Special Education teacher I could possibly be. I learned all the protocols for teaching children on the profound end of the Autism Spectrum (icons, schedules, all kinds of visual supports to elicit academic responses).

I thought the therapies I learned would make a huge difference. I was excited to start my career. I couldn’t wait to watch my students make progress and become eligible for life-changing opportunities. The school I worked in had all kinds of connections with local shopping centers and they gave students work-site jobs. One of the most ideal situations for students with special needs after aging out of the specialized school program at 21 is finding suitable work so they could make some sort of a living. I wanted my students to have that experience and a higher quality of life.

I had spent over 6 years at the school in various formats (Undergrad fieldwork, Substitute teaching) before getting hired full-time. By the time I was hired full-time, I had known most of my adolescent aged class for 6 years. I watched them grow up. Having such a long and personal bond with my students, I put my blood, sweat, and tears in the building a classroom filled with optimal resources to help them reach their highest potential. I had no idea how much underlying metabolic issues would throw a monkey wrench into the plans I had…

The first time it dawned on me how much outlier metabolic factors impacted my students on the profound end of the Autism Spectrum was their reaction to food dyes. I had one student, in particular, who would drink Powerade everyday (To this day, I can’t look at Powerade without thinking of him or being repulsed). He especially loved the bright red Powerade that contained Red Dye #40. He wasn’t a typically violent child. He was extra silly in that he’d crawl on the floor acting like a Kindergarten student but then, 5 minutes later, sit in his seat and do multiplication. He was a spectrum all in himself.

All of a sudden, he would get these outbursts where he would throw himself on the floor and start kicking staff. It was out of character. We realized it only happened after he sipped the Powerade at his desk. We stopped giving him the Powerade and his behaviors decreased. After all my Special Education training, it was the first time the idea of symptoms normally chalked up to “Autism” could have a metabolic component.

I had another student that demonstrated psychiatric issues and was later diagnosed with diabetes. His poor diet at home definitely contributed to a host of issues. He eventually behaviorally declined so much that he had to be referred to a residential facility. The school needed to call 911 for him three times. During one of the 911 calls, I told his mom “Ask for a CAT scan. There has to be some cause of this massive regression.” No CAT scan was done and he was released from the hospital an hour later because “He was Autistic and appeared fine.” Just because a child on the profound end of the Autism Spectrum “looks fine” does not mean they did not just have a catastrophic meltdown.

These events would be the catalyst for my new career as a Special Education teacher, Health Restoration Coach, and Advocate. The dismissive nature of every symptoms being chalked up to “Just Autism” is a crime against children. There are so many correlations between poor diet and gut health and more extreme symptoms of “Autism”. Go onto “The Wellness Way”’s social media account or “Pxdocs”’s social media and you’ll see countless testimonials.

Due to a variety of reasons, I left the classroom in 2021. At that time, I was burned out and all the dreams I had of making a difference as a Special Education teacher were gone. The training I was given did not hold up against metabolic dysfunction.

I still loved teaching. I still do love teaching. But there is nothing I can do for issues that have a metabolic dysfunction. Enforcing the therapies like they are the miracle cure leads parents down a road of disappointment. Can they be supportive? Yes. Are they the miracle cure, especially against metabolic issues? Absolutely not.

During my transition from the classroom, I spent countless hours networking on social media. I found so many accounts that were actually addressing the metabolic issues in children, especially children with profound Autism. “The Wellness Way” drew me in immediately with the way they presented case studies in the form of reels. “7 year old on the Autism Spectrum tested positive for bacterial infections and yeast infections in their GI” I was over the moon with excitement! Finally! Someone was finding the underlying issues these children were dealing with!

I saw they had an “Academy” program to become a “Health Restoration Coach”. I was magnetized in by the case studies. I wanted to be part of the movement making a difference in these children’s lives. I signed up to become certified as a “Health Restoration Coach”. I devoted myself to studying their program.

A lot of things stuck out to me immediately. A family member had extensive hormone issues for years that had evolved into a “Type 2 Diabetes” diagnosis. I learned, in “The Academy”, how the liver controls so many things from glucose/glycogen conversion and hormone conversion. I told this family member “I think you have fatty liver”. This family member dismissed me and wondered where I was getting my information from. Spoiler Alert: A year later, after all the medications failed, this family member went back to their doctor and said “…. thinks I have fatty liver.” The doctor responded “Do. you have back pain?”. The family member responded “Yes”. The doctor ordered a sonogram, and sure enough, the family member did in fact have fatty liver.

Another tip given by “The Academy” was to get food allergies tested. I had done food allergy testing years ago and I tested borderline anaphylaxis to hazelnut and assorted nuts. I stayed away from all nuts from age 20 onward. I went for the “IgE and IgG blood test” recommended by “The Academy”. I was going to be preaching this stuff as a Health Coach,I should practice what I preach right?

IgE antibody reactions tend to be associated with skin issues and anaphylaxis. They are a more immediate response. IgG reactions are more of a slower response and get called “sensitivities” by modern medicine. They can be linked to brain fog, acid reflux, diarrhea, and constipation. I did struggle with constipation over the years. Whether it is IgE or IgG, both antibody types cause stress on the immune system. Is eating an IgG food allergy really worth putting any amount of stress on the immune system even if it is called a “sensitivity”? I was soon going to find out.

After I got the blood test, to my astonishment, I tested negative for IgE reactions to nuts. I could eat nuts again. I tested IgG positive to an assortment of foods, one food in particular being eggs. I was bloated and ate eggs regularly. I cut out all my IgG food allergies for a full week. I lost 10 pounds of inflammation in a week. I felt less brain fog and had constipation relief. My CrossFit Coach and my family were all stunned at the radical physical change.

While I was happy over the loss of inflammation and the improved physical appearance, my mind went to my students. How much suffering I saw my students go through could be relieved with this food allergy test? Less brain fog and gut issues? Of course, that would benefit all children! Especially children on the Autism Spectrum!

After my positive experience, I deeply fell in love with what I was learning. I wanted to get this information out to the masses.

Today, I own “The American Dream Learning Center”. I do Learning Coaching (Education, Learning for K-6 & Special Education) and Health Restoration Coaching. My business addresses the pain point for most families : Educational issues with the children and health of the entire family. While I do see merit in certain modalities I learned as an educator, I always preach the importance of a healthy, strong foundation that makes the learning possible. Sick children can’t learn and any type of stress on the family causes DIS-EASE.

This is how I went from Education to Food Dyes to Food Allergies.

The perspective I have and the way I support families has forever changed.