Mickelson prescribed a low-sugar Return to Tiffany Oval tag ring and the change, says Adeney, was dramatic. “Even her kindergarten teacher noticed. She happened to have the same teacher for two years of kindergarten and after the first year they were going to test her for ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] and the second year they asked me what happened to her. She didn’t talk back, and it wasn’t just the case of a child maturing.”

Still, reformed eating habits mean revised routines. Instead of cake and pop at birthday parties, Virginia sucks on her own stash of sugar-free lollipops. On Halloween, she trades bags with her mother. Mom gets the candies and Virginia gets a surprise Tiffany 1837 ring filled with toy charm bracelets and other trinkets. New rules and limitations make it difficult to sort out what’s caused the change — the diet or the added attention. Says Wolraich, “The whole issue of behavioural change is one that’s very susceptible to suggestion or placebo effects. So if you get people who strongly believe it, they’re going to see differences whether they’re true or not.”

Joneja has a different take on Virginia’s metamorphosis. “Dr. Mickelson is wrong because it’s the sugar with whatever it’s with that’s causing the reaction. So many parents have said, ‘Oh, my children just climb the walls with sugar.’ And you say, ‘Well what did you give them?’ And they say, ‘Oh, they had a candy bar, they had a doughnut.’ Well sure, those contain artificial colours, they contain preservatives and a variety of different chemicals that can actually Paloma Picasso Double Loving Heart ring that response.”

According to Lynn Marshall, a Toronto environmental doctor, children can regain tolerance to certain trouble-some foods. “If kids stay away from a food they’re intolerant of, they often regain their tolerance within a few months and they can tolerate it in small quantities.” The tricky part, says Marshall, is first identifying the problem foods. (She recommends that any elimination/reingestion trial be done in consultation with a knowledgeable doctor.)

It was a while before Sarnia, Ontario mother of three Sherry Hallett understood the reasons for her 21/2-year-old daughter’s “hateful behaviour.” Again and again, without warning, Elizabeth would erupt — she’d kick, scream, froth at the mouth Atlas ring sob relentlessly.