This article is about a “GFCF Kids Diet Survey” which is an internet based survey used to gather information about dietary intervention such as a GFCF diet, for patients on the autistic spectrum. This article explains that many researchers are working to find the possible link between “incomplete breakdown of proteins (identified by the abnormal presence of opiate peptides found in urine samples), and several kinds of health problems hitherto classified as "mental." Among these problems are Autism, Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD) and Asperger’s Syndrome.”

The survey was designed so that researchers would be able to collect as much information as possible on the diet, and then analyze the data in an effort to shed more light on the possible connections.  The survey consisted of two questionnaires, called the Main Survey form and the Infringements Experience form. The three basic questions asked in the survey are: “What percentage of respondents get better on the diet, how much improvement can there be, and how fast does this happen?”  In addition to those questions, the survey also asks questions such as, “Why do some patients get better results than others? What are the similarities and differences between those who do well on the diet, and those who don't?” The article also discuss the various aspects of the survey, such as the methods used, the surveys reliability, as well as the specific questions included in the main and infringement questionnaires. 

The conclusion of this survey suggests that although the results are from an informal survey, they indeed support the belief that dietary intervention “can be a valuable treatment option for some people with autism spectrum disorders, and in some cases, may lead to the complete reversal of autistic behaviors.”  The results also suggest that” time” is one of the most crucial factors in this diet, meaning that a patents success has a lot to do with the patients age at the time the diet was implemented.

If you are interested in learning more about this survey, follow this link:
http://www.gfcfdiet.com/dietsurveysept2.htm

When I started reading the first chapter of the collaborative writing article, I really was rather confused about what the authors were saying.  I didn’t really begin to understand where they were going with everything until I reached the second chapter, where they began explaining the hierarchy of writers.  To be honest, I actually thought it was all pretty interesting, especially because of how I’ve always viewed group work, which from my experiences, has been neither cooperative nor collaborative, to say the least.

When I finished reading the chapters, I truly thought I had a really good grasp on the difference between cooperative and collaborative writing.  So much so, that I had absolutely no issues when writing my summary.  In fact, it all made perfect sense as I was writing it, but as soon as I tried to actually verbalize the differences in my own words, I realized that I wasn’t quite as clear on it as I had thought. It seems easier to say what collaborative writing is not, rather than what it is.

Though I may not be perfectly clear on the differences between cooperative and collaborative writing, I can certainly say that I have had some of the worst experiences ever with “cooperative” writing.  About 90 percent of the time I am the one who gets stuck doing most of the work in group projects, even when we each member has a specific role in the group.  

Although I would like to sit here and blame everyone else for the many reasons I hate group work, I think it’s only fair that admit that I am a lot of the reason I hate it so much.  But then again, this is only because I’ve been permanently scarred from my past experiences.  What I mean when I say it is partially my fault, is that I’m a tiny bit of a control freak when it comes to my schoolwork, and I can’t stand to turn something in if I don’t feel that it is up to my standards. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve had to go back and redo someone’s work because they haven’t even done so much as to take a few minutes to reread their work and check for proofreading errors before giving it to me. 

Having said this, I would like to note that for the first time ever, I am not having any issues with my current partner.  Though I wouldn’t necessarily say that we’re working collaboratively, I would say that we are certainly working cooperatively together.  I’m not sure if we’re following the correct approach to this assignment, especially since it’s called collaborative research, but the way we see it,  it’s best to go our separate ways in our research (while communicating often) in order to cover more ground.  Hopefully one day I’ll fully understand how to work collaboratively because of course, two heads are better than one, but for now I think I’ll  have to settle for the cooperative approach, or at least until graduation.