Back in 2006…
my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 3.5yrs – it was devastating at the time. Whizz forward 18mths and she was diagnosed with Coeliacs at 5yrs old – double whammy! I brought loads of books to ease my transition into the world of gluten free … guess what, I’ve sold them all since, you heard me, every single one of them! I use ‘normal’ recipes and adapt them. More recently my little boy has been diagnosed with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder and Anxiety. As you can see, we’re your average run of the mill family with a few dramas rolled into the mix.
The idea of a blog had been ping-ponging around my mind for some time. People kept telling me I should write a book or something similar, maybe something to illustrate the complexities of life with a Type 1 Coeliac child. I love to educate people about Beth’s medical conditions and I share these thoughts, wishes, trials and tribulations on this site with the very best of intentions. I take no pleasure in offending or upsetting anyone and trust me, no one is a bigger judge of me than ME. My ramblings are simply this; a reflective account of what’s been, what going on now and what the future might hold because after all, life is a drama!
So, I’m Rebecca and I gave up a 15 year career working with young adults when I narrowly avoided a nervous breakdown. The fact is, I was spinning too many plates at once and during my time off work ill, six months to be precise, I gradually came to realise that being a mum was my primary job, my children needed me to be 100% well in both mind and body and have the strength to guide them through each obstacle course.
Bethany (born 2004), has Type 1 Diabetes (diagnosed 10.04.08) Coeliac Disease (diagnosed 18.08.2009) and also struggles off and on with a condition called Pica.
Beth grew up with a ‘who cares’ attitude to her diagnosis’ but the teens have hit her like a truck and some days can be very difficult indeed. In 2019 she was finally diagnosed with Autism and as a away to elp Beth put her thoughts and concerns into words I gave her a corner of my blog to do just that. You can read about Autism in Beth’s words here in My personal experience with autism by Bethany. R. Smith.
Lewis (born 2006) is the ying to Bethany’s yang. He’s my sensitive little chap who absorbs people’s woes and anxieties and struggles as a result. Lewis was diagnosed before Beth with Autistic Spectrum Disorder in 2016. We’re learning about Lewis’ ASD every day and we have direct experience that no two people with autism are the same.
Thus both children have conditions that often leave me feeling an extreme lack of control, and control is something I feel I must have in order to cope!
This site and my blog began as part of my self therapy, I was exhausted spinning all those plates. With the strong urge to regain some control within this drama I decided that my fingers could help to alleviate some of that negative energy, even as I type now, beating down on the keyboard, I can feel an element of calm wash over me, and that can’t be a bad thing can it?
We’re called Glutarama because the gluten free baking is actually the happy ending to each drama, whilst some may be pulling their hair out over perfecting the worlds best gluten free Victoria Sponge, I simply love to bake, recipe develop and create something from scratch. My sister actually came up with the name, we were playing with ‘gluten free’ sounding words and I kept joking about how everything was a drama…and hey-presto Glutarama was born.
So, if you’re interested, come follow me and my family in the challenges and toils of Type 1 Diabetes, ASD and Coeliac Disease and take comfort in the that fact that we’re just your non-average family dealing with non-average challenges…because no one’s truly average right?
Recommended sites if you affected by any of these issues: Coeliac UK | JDRF | National Autistic Society