Raw foodism promotes a diet where raw foods are consumed for at least 75% of the time. Foods that have been cooked above 115 degrees Fahrenheit are avoided for the most part, simply because the cooking process destroys the enzymes and lot of vitamins and minerals that the body needs in order to function properly. On top of the food losing its nutrients, cooked foods also become toxic to the body. According to studies these toxins can cause many age related diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and more.

Raw Foodism can be divided into several different diets, all of which focus on eating raw foods. The most popular raw food diet is a raw vegan diet, which is said to be the healthiest diet. This diet restricts all animal products, and focuses on eating only foods that come from a plant source. This diet is able to provide you with all the nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids that your body needs in order to live a long and healthy life. The diet promotes a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, nuts and seeds as well as many superfoods such as sea vegetables, acai berries, goji berries, raw cacao and protein powders.

Organic foods are also highly promoted because they contain more nutrients than conventionally grown foods. In addition, organic foods do not contain any pesticides, herbicides or any other chemicals that are often found on conventional produce. Next is the raw vegetarian diet, which also focuses on eating the same foods as the raw vegan diet. But this diet allows you to have dairy, eggs and honey. However, there are some raw vegetarians who refuse to eat eggs, but will consume dairy, and others are the opposite and refuse to consume dairy, but will consume eggs. Another diet is the raw omnivore diet which actually promotes eating raw meats such as beef, chicken, fish as well as other sea animals. The diet allows you to eat basically anything that you want as long as it is raw at least 75% of the time. Thus you can eat all the raw vegan foods, the vegetarian foods as well as raw meats.

Students with special needs, including ADHD, learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, often need people to advocate for them in order to get appropriate supports from schools and practitioners. Most of that job goes to parents and grandparents during early and middle childhood. When these students hit the teen years, however, they need to begin learning how to advocate for themselves. With high school graduation just a few short years away, it’s time to start thinking about how they’ll fare in less protected environments.

What skills do these students need to learn before graduating in order to be able to handle these types of situations? Remember, teens with learning differences grow up to be adults with learning differences. Adults with learning differences have to live in the “real world” where people who don’t know them will not automatically accommodate them or tolerate their differences. Adults who are too reliant on having others speak for them are less likely to thrive and more likely to fail. The aim of self-advocacy skills training is to give students the tools they need to function independently once they leave high school. That means they will not need someone else to think for them or speak for them. This preparation can take several years, so it’s best to start, at the very least, when the child in middle school.

Self-advocacy refers to people with disabilities speaking up for themselves. Parents can help their teens to be effective self-advocates. Facilitate self-discovery and self-awareness. Gradually give your child more information on her learning disability while consistently highlighting strengths and talents. Foster self-acceptance. Don’t try to hide your teen’s disability from his as this only creates an atmosphere of shame. Be frank about the terms educators and clinicians use to describe the learning disability (e.g., ADHD, LD, etc.) all the while emphasizing that this difference isn’t necessarily a handicap. Teach self-advocacy skills. Help your teen to begin practicing speaking up for herself. In situations where you would normally do the talking, let your teen try it out. Make sure she knows what medications she takes and why or what accommodations she needs and why.