When I was young, I realized that I loved food, but it was not only the eating that I liked, it was also the cooking, learning, experimenting, and even the talking about it. I even started to try to cook on my own. Even though I was no good at it, it never stopped me from trying. However, I started to develop many health-related issues around food. I developed lactose intolerance, chronic gastritis, and GERD. I was told to avoid spicy, fatty, and oily foods, and to opt for baked or broiled food choices. Not receiving any kind of education on how to cook these foods or the different food options I had, I often found myself trying to adhere to this diet, but often giving up at the end. Never being referred to a dietitian, I was left on my own to try to figure out what I should and should not eat. It was at that…show more content… For that assignment, I found a report entitled: Childhood Disintegrative Disorder as a Likely Manifestation of Vitamin B12 Deficiency, written by Savita Malhotra. This case study presented a patient with Childhood Degenerative Disorder who was re-evaluated. They concluded that the child's state of regression could be improved by treating a possible vitamin B12 deficiency. I was intrigued by this subject especially since I had prior experience working with children and in some instances children with special needs. Therefore, I decided to focus on pediatric nutrition specifically concerning children with special needs as a long-term goal. To achieve this, I have decided to focus my short-term goals of finishing the undergraduate DPD program and earn a bachelor's degree in dietetics, attaining a master's degree in the same field, and eventually become eligible to earn my credentials as a registered dietitian
