Printer-friendly format Matthew's story The unexpected source of this child's severe reaction was in his school cafeteria.

Matthew was beginning first grade. A bright, happy 6-year-old with lots of friends, his experience in school promised to be a very positive one. Matthew's mother, Roberta, was at home with little sister, Alice. Roberta liked to cook and used few processed foods; she was glad that Matthew would be able to have a hot lunch at school, and it would be especially nice when winter came to their small New Hampshire town.

After school had been in session for about two weeks, Matthew's teacher called and wanted to speak with Roberta. The first teacher's conference concerning her son would be rewarding, Roberta felt sure, and she was eager to learn how well he was doing. What she heard was a shock. Matthew was not doing well at all. In fact, he was so distant in class, that his teacher brought up the possibility that he may have characteristics of autism. Stunned, Roberta looked at the sample of his work she was shown, but that couldn't have been Matthew's; his teacher must have the wrong papers. They didn't look at all like the writing he had done at home.

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After leaving the school that day, she thought about something Matthew had said. He had told her that the food in the school's cafeteria had been bothering him, saying "I start to feel real funny after I eat that food." Roberta was aware that she is sensitive to certain foods, and began to wonder if those lunches were connected to the puzzling symptoms her son was showing. She began to research autism since it was the label his teacher mentioned, and in one of the books she saw a reference to the Feingold Program.

Roberta read through the materials from the Feingold Association and decided to run a very pure test, so for two weeks she kept Matthew home from school and followed the instructions to the letter. When he returned to school, it was with lunch box in hand. His teacher was amazed at the difference in Matthew, and cancelled all of the testing she had scheduled. She was even more amazed when Roberta explained that the symptoms were the result of two weeks of school lunches.

Matthew "flew through first grade," Roberta recalls, and has excelled - both in school and out. He is eleven years old now, an honor student, with lots of friends, and at the age of 10 he earned his black belt in karate.

Roberta is grateful that everyone in the school has been so supportive with Matthew's diet, letting her know in advance if there will be any food or projects she should know about. Her pediatrician was skeptical when she first began the Program, but has since referred other parents to Roberta for information on the diet.

Alice, now seven-and-a-half, follows the Program too, and both children are experienced label readers. Like her big brother, Alice is an excellent student, and at school conferences Roberta hears praise from the teachers for both of her children, described as well behaved, considerate, and focused on their work. She spends some time volunteering in the classes and sees other children with problems she believes are related to their diet; despite the terrific cooperation she has received from the school personnel, nobody has considered that other children are being adversely affected by the food they eat at lunch.

How does Matthew feel when the food he eats is different from his friends? "I don't really mind" he responded, "it would be worse to have a reaction."

After five years on the Feingold Program, the family is very knowledgeable about food additives and the ones that create the worst problems. For Matthew, the most severe reactions have come from eating food with TBHQ. A few years ago Roberta described an incident one Friday night when the family went to Wendy's for dinner. Since the French fries were included in the Fast Food Guide at that time, they ordered some. Shortly after he had eaten, Matthew began to cry and laugh, all at the same time, and was unable to stop himself. The bizarre behavior continued for about 30 minutes. Roberta encouraged him to drink a lot of water and ran a warm bath for him as soon as they arrived home. Both of these interventions seemed to help, but Roberta was puzzled and wondered what had caused such a dramatic reaction. On Monday she received her issue of Pure Facts, which included a Product Alert: Wendy's had recently followed McDonalds and switched the oil they use for frying. The new oil was preserved with TBHQ.