My 10 Year Journey
When I began my practice in 2013 I had no intention of working with mommies and babies. I was single-handedly ready to take on recovering children from autism. I was insanely passionate about learning everything I could about it. As a new grad in my young twenties I spent my Friday nights up late reading books on this new disorder plaguing our next generation of littles. Crying mind you, I was literally brought to tears reading the numerous books on Austism recovery, my heart strings being pulled on as I realized wait... what, there is a way to help these children? There is much that could be done. I was shocked, in awe and stunned all at the same time. This is why I am going back to nutrition school, or so I thought. I began working with whoever would see me when I first opened my practice in the New Year of 2013. I was just so eager to get my feet wet and start helping people, surely I would end up making my way to autistic kids ... but if you think I look young now, imagine 6 years ago, I was barely 23 and moms were thinking 'you want to help me with my toddler with autism when I've seen the best neurologist and have a team of professionals seeing my child through therapy multiple times a week?' Well, uuuummm, YES I did! I didn't make it far only because it's HARD, it's really really hard to actually recover children from this awful disorder we call Autism. Not impossible, nothing is impossible but it's hard work. Older children in their later years that already have a strong diagnosis and very set ways, especially when it comes to food, making recovery very difficult, for everyone involved. My passion for autism wasn't meant to be the end of my practice, instead it was very clearly the means to the end. It led me, it drove me to where I am now, with the heart of everything I do being the prevention of autism. I can get lost sometimes in mommy baby care as if I started here and just love everything about pregnancy and infants, and I do, but when a mom reaches out to me to see her autistic kid who can't gain weight, or is paralyzed by anxiety, can't sleep, honestly just can't function well day to day I am all too reminded. He or she is why I do what I do. He or she is how I got here. I can't make anyone any promises about anything, but I can tell you what I've heard and seen. Solid nutritional and integrative baby care from the womb matters and it's all in our package. I left nothing out from my experience of working with 100's if not 1000's out mom's, so give it your all pregnant mommas ;) Dani