Swimming Uphill

Still moving forward!

2010-10-12T09:43:00.003-04:00

I am really excited about this year. Reece has a new teacher who I love from what I have seen already. She wanted to make her own assessment of Reece and not just go by what his previous teacher noted. She also retested him on sections of the ABLLS that she felt he didn't do as well on as he could have. How wonderful to have a teacher that sees your potential! And it shows in Reece who is so proud of what he brings home from school. He shows us all his artwork and that it has his name on it. Seeing him so proud of himself is just wonderful!

We have been chelating every weekend since the Summer. I am seeing such a huge difference in Reece. He is talking so much. He even put together a SEVEN word sentence last weekend!!! He was wearing a pink bunny watch the girls had from Easter and I had to wait until he fell asleep to get it off. When he woke up in the morning and realized it wasn't on him, he yelled, "Mom--I want my pink bunny watch!!" YAY!!!! He also started a soccer clinic for kids with special needs and is doing so good. He is dribbling the ball and kicking at the goal. It doesn't hurt that there were two highschool girls assigned to be his "buddies". I think he loved their attention too!

I am noticing how much more he is following directions that are more complicated. I can give him something and tell him to put it upstairs on my bed, and that's where it goes. I can ask him to get me something out of the pantry and he will. He cleans up with his sisters and is behavign so much more typical. He is also playing even more with the girls. He sits and listens to music with them and joins in with them.

The changes in school are also evident at home. He is so into his books right now. Green Eggs and Ham is a big favorite. He asks to read it all the time and even goes to sleep surrounded by his books and magnetic letters from the fridge. I thought it was great the other night he had a letter "M" he traced in class and was turning it around so it would be a "M", "E" or a "W". He is so happy to show you what he knows.

I am so excited with all these positive changes and best of all to see how excited Reece is with everything now!

The Latest

2010-08-10T14:17:00.004-04:00

This Summer has been really good. I have been focusing on really getting the Cutler Chelation done and am seeing great gains. Erin's flapping is greatly reduced. I really don't notice it any more. I am so happy that we are getting such great results for her without the antibiotics. Especially since the flapping was really starting to bother her and she was realizing that other kids don't do this.

For Reece we are seeing more speech and interaction. He was playing with other kids in the pool and was so happy to be included. When my husband told the kids to take it easy on Reece because he couldn't talk to tell them if things were too much for him, he was set straight by one of the kids. The little boy told my husband, "We know he can't talk, but we know what he is saying. He's having fun and playing with us!" I loved it when my husband told me. The boys were going under and Reece was putting his face in the water trying to do it too. He had a blast!

I really want to focus on reading with Reece. The other day when our older son was a little to pushy trying to get Reece to drink some apple juice, I guess Reece thought he needed to make things clear. After telling P several times "no" that he didn't want it, he went to the dish washer where the magnetic letters are and spelled out "no". The he pointed to it and said it again! I thought this was so clever and P thought it was great!

I wasn't sure how summer school would go for Reece. I was driving him to savew him the one hour commute each way in an unairconditioned bus. The drive is only 15 minutes at the longest! Two summers ago was the last time I tried to drive Reece to school. He flipped out, tantrumed, the whole works and it was so bad I had never done it again! But after a tearful first day, he started smiling and would pull me to the door! He has really enjoyed school this summer.

The boardwalk is another big step this year. Last year was horrible when we tried to go to the Ocean City MD boardwalk. Reece tantrumed when we tried to get him to walk away from the ticket booth where the fans were inside. And tried to run into every store that had a fan along the boardwalk. This year we have been to Wildwood and he did great! He did still look for fans but wasn't too bad trying to get in the shops. And he went on rides---even by himself! He loved the ferris wheel--I guess it's like riding a giant fan! And he really loved the carousel too. We did have our moments but all in all things went really smooth. He even went in the ocean and enjoyed it. He was trying to pop the bubbles in the surf from the waves and even laughed when he got knocked down.

I was so afraid that Reece would still be in Pull-Ups for his 6th birthday. But he has been potty trained for a few months now and I got the best present of all on his birthday--He woke me up by saying "I love you!!!" How wonderful is that?

Update

2010-06-02T13:05:00.003-04:00

It has been a while since I updated so here it is. Reece is potty trained!!! Life is sooo much easier. I worried that he would never be fully potty trained. Pooping on the potty seemed just out of reach. But he did it! I am so proud of him!

He is doing great with speech. The best part is that as he is able to make more sounds, approximations and words, he is being so funny! He thinks it's funny to tell me "No bus!" because in the morning we wait for the bus to school. First he was saying "bus". Then it became "yellow bus" and now I get "No bus" and laughter. He also plays a game where we name different color buses. It just shows you how much is in there trying to get out.

He has also become a Mets fan like his older brother. They watch the game together with my husband and Reece will get his Mets hat and baseball. He actually waits up for the game and will go to bed if I tell him there is no baseball on that night.

His entire attitude has changed. He has matured so much in the last couple months. He also wants to do things like his sisters. This is a great motivater for him. He has been to the mall and out to eat without any problems. We have gone to the boardwalk and he has gone on rides with his sisters! I feel like nothing is holding us back any more.

Last weekend Reece and T started swim lessons. The instructor was wonderful and he loved every minute of it.

I had given Erin a break with the antibiotics for her stomach. Since she had such gut issues, I really worry about that coming back. But her tics seem to have gotten worse so I will start that up again this week. The worst part is she asked why she does that. How do you explain that one? But she has overcome so much herself. It's wonderful to ear her talking about things in such detail. Even things that happened when she seemed to be "out of it". She is so smart and so funny. We are so lucky!!!

PANDA--Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep

2010-01-24T18:30:00.003-05:00

The day after Thanksgiving we had Erin and Reece tested for PANDAS. The neuro ordered bloodwork that included ASO AB and DNASE-B AB. I was happy to have found a neuro that specialized in PANDAS, Autism and Tourettes. Erin had lost her PDD symptoms but now her occasional flapping seemed to be tics as in Tourettes. She had been pretty OCD at one point, but that seemed to resolve after giving her Olive Leaf Extract. I was hoping the tics would go away but after doing more research on PANDAS, realized that if this was the cause, then we needed a plan of action.

Of course while we were at the neuro's office, Erin was totally typical. No flapping or tics at all. Reece was doing his stimming that included verbal and movement tics. Since they had several strep infections while they were falling into autism, he felt PANDAS was a possibility.

After being unable to reach the neuro after the visit, I requested a copy of the lab work. It seems Erin does have PANDAS. Her AB should be less than 150. It was 472. Her DNASE-B AB should have been <60 but was 480. If I don't hear back this week, I will be contacting another PANDAS specialist. Hopefully with treatment Erin's tics will go away and she will have no residual signs of the PDD or PANDAS. Reece's numbers came back within normal limits. But another mom, who is more knowledgeable, told that he can still have the disorder even if his numbers are normal. So we will still be inquiring about this for him. It would be great if he could stop the movements and vocal tics.

I hope this is taking us one step further down the path to total recovery!

January Update

2010-01-08T09:55:00.002-05:00

Reece is now potty training! We started on Winter Break from school and he is now in underwear 24/7. It is a little unnerving for me but accidents are only about one a day, sometimes none. Last Sunday he did decide he wanted his Pull-Ups back. I would bring him in the bathroom and he would stand in front of the potty and just smile. Then he would have an accident within minutes of getting his clothes back on. Luckily he seemed to be back on track the next morning after realizing that no matter what, we were doing this.

He has been playing with all his Christmas toys and even is okay with sharing them with his sisters. He will take one plane and give my husband another so they can fly them together. He is being really silly and loves to make us laugh. We are getting more language--he really, really wants to say "helicopter". His newest word, courtesy of potty training is "no"! I think it's great that he can finally say this!

Last night we started a new supplement called Nutriivida. He will get two drinks a day, each with one scoop in it, along with his regular meals. I had heard about a girl who started this supplement (actually a weight maintenance supplement) and started to talk and have better motor skills. She has severe global apraxia as my son does. Nutriivida is GFCF and easy to digest. It has amino acids which we are seeing are so important for kids with autism. It is also Ayurvedic. One of the ingredients it contains is turmeric which we are already giving Reece through Enhansa with good results. He had one drink last night and another with his breakfast this morning. The strange thing is this supplement seems to help you lose weight if you need to, yet underweight people are gaining on it. You can check out this product at www.pursuitofresearch.com and get the nutritional and ayurvedic info.

Now I can't say that the drink had anything to do with Reece doing so well last night, but he did great! He actually went in to the bathroom on his own to go potty! TWICE!! The first time he went in, his sister was cleaning the bathroom and I thought he was just being nosy. I told him to come out. Then he went back in and went to the potty to go. Later, my son was watching him and his potty watch alarm went off as they were starting to have a snack. My older son told Reece that after they ate their cookies, he would go potty. After Reece finished his cookie, he grabbed his big brother by the hand and brought him to the bathroom! This is a huge step forward in potty training. Reece really likes his potty watch but would only carry it, never wear it. I had tried putting it on him and making a big deal about it but he hated it and pulled at it to get it off. Last night he was trying to put it on by himself so I helped him get it on. Then he wouldn't take it off! I had to wait until he was sleeping to get it off his wrist!

Hopefully, next week I will be able to get in to his classroom to show his teacher how I am working with Reece with the flashcards. His teacher is wonderful but there are some things I just disagree with her on. She has had animal sounds on his "goal list" forever. (Sounds for a cow, horse and sheep) He has been doing these sounds since last school year. But because he won't do them for her three sessions in a row, she won't move on! I already explained that he not only can do this, but does the sounds on his own in play. I thought that was the point of all this, to get him to use his skills on his own. So I need to try to explain to her that she really needs to move on or he is going to still have these sounds as goals at the end of the year--he is done with them. He knows he can do them and knows you know he can do them. He probably is tired of being asked to say the same sounds for the second year going!

We weren't able to do our round of chelation last weekend because Reece had been sick with strep and I wanted to give him time to recover. I plan on starting today for the next round when he gets home from school. I am so proud of him and all the progress he is making!

December Update

2009-12-21T12:59:00.002-05:00

Okay, we have done 13 rounds of Andy Cutler's Chelation, are applying Son-Rise principles and found an amazing new speech therapist who uses Beckman's Protocol. Reece is making huge gains in speech and socialization. He is now pointing things out and saying what they are and loves playing with us. A couple nights ago he saw headlights when my husband pulled in the driveway. He immediately grabbed my hand and ran me over to the front door and put my hand on the knob. I asked him who was here and he replied "Dad!". When my husband came in, he went to wash his hands. Reece was so excited to play with him, he tried to grab him to make him sit down on the floor. My husband said to wait a minute because his hands were wet and Reece ran over and grabbed a hand towel and gave it to him. He was really happy to play with his dad. His speech is really coming along. He wanted a cookie and actually said, "I want cookie" really clear. He loves pointing to everything in books and magazines so he can tell us what they are. When I ask him what he wants to watch on tv, he tells me!

I wanted to start working on some academic skills along with everything else. He loves learning and I want him to keep moving forward in all areas. I made some flashcards with the colors red, yellow, green, blue and orange on them. I flashed him the cards and he actually said "green" and "blue" before I did! Then I laid the cards down and gave him foam puzzle pieces that were those colors. I told him to put the piece on the card that said the color--he got them all right on the first shot and every time since! I am going to add some more colors and work on numbers and animals too. He is so happy to be able to show what he knows!

Read this post from Age of Autism--

2009-10-06T09:50:00.002-04:00

http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/10/why-is-dr-yvette-janvier-offended-by-sick-autistic-children.html#more

what's new

2009-10-05T12:11:00.002-04:00

Okay, we just finished Round 11 of Cutler's Protocol and while I am exhausted, Reece is doing great with it. We have been seeing more interaction between Reece and his sisters and lots of imitation too. At night, Reece runs around to find a stuffed animal to sleep with like his sisters do. He has been sleeping with a toy seal but last night grabbed a stuffed horse. He has also been showing lots of interest in books. He points to things he sees and tries to say them. I have also had him point to things that I didn't really know he knew--but he does! He tries to sing with Erin who is always singing and even applauds for her and yells "Yay!" when she finishes a song. He is also trying to sing on his own really often. His interacting with people has come so far.

When I went to the Son-Rise Start Up in February Reece had only a few words/approximations. Now, I have a list of about 50 words/approximations he has said in the last two months. I also have pages filled in a notebook with different things he has done that are new. These would be speech and interaction notes. We also are starting with a new speech therapist next week. They do Beckman Oral Motor but also address speech from other angles. It will be pretty intense. Reece's oral muscles are really weak so this should really help him. I can't wait to get started. I was really surprised when Reece let her get into his mouth to do some of the exercises at the evaluation. I think this is going to be so good for him. The more comfortable he is communicating or trying to communicate--the more he interacts with everyone.

The Latest Update

2009-09-21T11:29:00.003-04:00

Reece has been doing really well. In fact he has been absolutely silly lately. He has also been a lot more verbal. We are hearing lots of attempts at speech and some of his new sounds are solid now. He loves calling his brother's name to get him to get a snack for him that he can't reach. He has been trying to sing "Happy Birthday" all month and LOVES that I know what song he is singing and then join him. He has been playing with his toys correctly 90% of the time now and especially loves flying his planes around. He runs around the house with Daddy and they each fly a plane. There is so much interaction now---I can't believe it!

School started recently and Reece is going half days now. He loves getting on the bus and even got upset when one day another bus drove past us while we were waiting for his. Reece started pulling me after the bus saying "bye-bye!" He thought his bus had left without him!

When I come home I am now greeted with a sweet "Hi!" and a hug. Of course I still have to sneak out without him knowing when I leave or he gets really upset. But I love coming in to that greeting from him.

Reece is still obsessed with fans. Everything else basically stops when he sees a fan. I was flipping through a magazine and he suddenly tried to pull it out of my hands. I could not get him to stop so I gave the magazine to him to see what he wanted. He brought it over to the table and found the page he had wanted. When I asked, "What are you looking at?" not really expecting an answer, he pointed to the page and said "ban" (fan). Sure enough he had caught site of a little ceiling fan on a picture of the interior of a house! Now he goes through my magazines and his books looking for fans or anything that resembles one. He pointed to a picture of a boat that a character was driving. He said "ban" as he pointed to the steering wheel. I told him it was a steering wheel and not a fan so he promptly grabbed my hand and removed me from the table! Too funny!

Every day this little boy surprises me with something new he has learned or is attempting to do. His new speech confidence is just wonderful and he is trying so hard. This little boy who used to pretty much ignore everyone is now trying to make us laugh, and loves playing with everyone. He even jumps up on his brothers lap to watch sports with him! (Or if his brother is laying on the floor, he sits on his back!) Every day is a new surprise!

Back on Track!!!!

2009-08-16T19:46:00.002-04:00

Reece has regained his "ooo"!!!! I am so excited! And even more exciting is that we finished his fifth round of AC Chelation Tuesday night and on Wednesday he started clicking his tongue!!!! He has not been able to do this in over three years!!! It seems to be his "happy" sound now. I was afraid when he did it once that it was a fluke. But he is doing it at will now. He is getting those oral motor skills back that he will need to really talk. I am keeping a list of all the words he is saying and approximating to send back to school with him next month. I am already thrilled with how long the list is.

On Friday we went on a playdate with the girls. We were in the yard at the pool the entire time and I worried how he would be. He was great. He played in the water and let me take him for a ride on the raft. He watched his sister who was sitting on the hot tub side of the pool and kicking her feet. He then went over and sat across from her, laughed and kicked his feet too. He was imitating and playing with her on his own--no prompting!!! Hope is a wonderful thing to have again!!!

The Cost of Vacation Was More Than Cash

2009-08-06T19:54:00.006-04:00

Things were going so well. Reece was doing awesome with his speech. We were hearing new sounds and spontaneous words. I was thrilled! Last week we went on vacation for a few days. I know I should be prepared for the tough moments, but really I rarely am. When things are going good I try not to think about the bad stuff. I just want our lives to be "normal".

Vacation went pretty well. We went to Chincoteague Island, Virginia to see the Pony Swim. My seven year old loves horses and this trip was for her. Unfortunately, Reece was terrified of the horses! Trying to keep a screaming, thrashing and strong five year old from throwing himself on the muddy, horse pooped-on ground to get away from the horses is no fun. My arms still ache. He did great when we weren't near the horses. He even did better than I would have ever expected most days. I am sure the other guests in the hotel cringed when they saw our van pull up to the hotel. Our arrival was always followed by Reece screaming "BYE-BYE!!" at the top of his lungs because he wanted to go somewhere else. I am sure we were quite the sight.

We spent our time on the Ocean City, MD boardwalk trying to keep my son from seeing the ceiling fans in the stores that he was looking for. (He did find two before we could block them. He has an internal radar and can find the fan hidden in any environment.) They did have a fan in one of the booths we passed while making our way to the carousel so I spent a lot of time standing there with him. I really don't mind that--it was the dragging him away kicking and screaming that was tough. Now I know Son-Rise says you should stay home if going somewhere is going to be too hard on your kid. And really I do agree. But when you have other children who are already sacrificing so much all the time, sometimes you just have to do it.

We did do a special stop for Reece. We drove to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. He loves bridges and tunnels and water so this was perfect for him. And he did love it! He also loved going to NASA and seeing the planes and rockets. It was so wonderful to see him really enjoying himself.

The down side was he missed Speech Therapy the night we left and I wasn't working with him on his "oh's" and "ooo's" while we were away. We went to speech this week and my fears were confirmed. He lost his newly acquired speech skill. I could have cried right there as she was asking him to make the sounds and he couldn't round his lips any more. His therapist was also upset. I am now working on this like crazy again. He tries so hard and wants to keep trying even when I tell him we can stop. This kid WANTS to talk!!! We can get it back. That's what I keep telling myself. But I am so mad at myself for his losing this. I feel like I let him down and it kills me to see him struggling for this again. To make so much progress and then have this taken away is just too unfair.

New Unprompted Speech Attempts and Interaction

2009-07-14T15:34:00.001-04:00

More good news!! Reece has been doing awesome the last couple of weeks. I am getting unprompted speech. When he came with me to drop T off at camp, he said "bye!" as we were walking away. He is also saying "bye" when we are leaving places. I am getting a big "hi!" with a hug and beautiful looks right in my eyes all day. His eye contact when he does this is unbelievable! He was also saying something while we were in the store the other day that I didn't understand at first. We were waiting for a self checkout line to open up and he was smiling and really trying to tell me something. When I asked him what he was saying he pointed and said "an". I looked and realized he was showing me the big fans they were selling on the top shelves. They were in boxes but he saw the picture on the front. I loved that he was showing me something he had seen and not something I had pointed out.

Last weekend we went to Allaire Park to take a ride on the train. We knew the kids would love it but I was worried about getting Reece on and off the train. It's an old steam train that just does two loops on the track. First we had to literally carry Reece out of the little building that you buy the tickets in because it had a ceiling fan! I figured that was a sign of things to come and we were in for a hard time. But he got on the train without any issue and sat for a while as they waited for more riders to come. He loved the ride and even got off without a fuss. As we walked around the park he wanted to run off and go into the buildings but was so much easier than usual. I was even able to let him walk without holding my hand. When I told him "no" if he was about to bolt, he stopped. He even took my hand on his own. This was a day trip that usually would have left me sweating and my body sore from trying to hold on to him while he tantrumed or tried to get away.

But my favorite moment of the last few weeks was over this weekend. We went to another park we like to walk at with the four youngest kids. T usually unbuckles Reece so he can get out of his car seat while I undo the two youngest girls who are close to the door. As Reece had to pass his sister who was still buckled in her seat, he stopped and tried to unbuckle her himself! It was so sweet. In the past he would just push on past her and not give her a second look. To see him try to help his sister out on his own was just the highlight of my day!

I have been so happily surprised lately as situations that would have been incredibly hard or impossible just a few months ago are going smoothly. After feeling "stuck" for so long it is great to know we are moving forward!

More Amazing Days!!!!

2009-06-29T10:58:00.003-04:00

Last weekend I did our fourth round of chelation for five and a half days. We started seeing some improvements in behavior right away and they keep coming! The other day my mother and I took the four little guys to a local playground. I saw that it was right next to a lake with a fountain spraying into the air and figured I would be spending the entire time trying to control my son who would be tantruming to get to the water. But he was fine! He made one attempt at running to the water. My mother grabbed him and he actually walked willingly back to the playground and continued to play! This is the complete opposite of what happened last weekend when we took a walk along a trail that passed a lake. I couldn't physically get Reece to walk away and my husband had to pick him up and carry him until we were away from it. He also played on the playground like the other kids. Usually he would find the little steering wheel that all these sets seem to have and would spend most of his time spinning the wheel until we told him to slide down the slide. sometimes we would physically have to remove him. It would kill me to see him "stuck" there spinning the wheel and yelling, oblivious to everything else. But this time I didn't even have to tell him to do anything else. He would pass the wheel, give it a spin or two and then move on all by himself to go down the slide! This was huge for him!

Reece has also become obsessed with Bob the Builder. It's tough to get his Bob pj's off him and I must admit he has spent all night and day in them more than once now! But it is wonderful to see him have a favorite character that he loves, just like his sisters love Dora or Lightning McQueen. The other night I told them it was time for Bob the Builder--meaning I was going to put him on tv so they could sit and relax before bed. (We had a party and the kids were really wound up!) While I was getting the tv on, I heard Reece upstairs. I thought he just took the opportunity to get into something upstairs while I was occupied with the tv. But when I went up to get him, he was in his room. He opened the top dresser drawer where his pj's are and was reaching in and pulling stuff up to find his Bob pj's! He wanted to wear them while he watched the show! I was shocked because he has never gone searching his dresser for something he wanted. I put his pj's on him and he ran downstairs to watch the show with his sisters. It was wonderful! I was looking at Bob the Builder things on Ebay and he sat on my lap pointing out what he liked and saying "My Bob" on his own! Only a couple months ago he wouldn't point at anything and here he is pointing at things he likes without prompting!

Yesterday we went to Poppop's house. They always have a bubble maker out that the kids love to play with. Reece has always just yelled and stimmed at it. But yesterday he was having fun popping the bubbles. He and Erin were racing after the bubbles to pop them before the other one did! It was so much fun to watch. He was playing with her and laughing. Then he was sitting on one swing while t was on the other and he was watching and imitating her. He tried to pump his legs to swing. Then when she leaned way back and laughed, he did the same thing!! This is a kid who last year was just learning to sit in a "big kid" swing and had no idea what to do. I am so amazed at how far he has come physically in the last year. Every day I look forward to what wonderful things Reece is going to show us he can do!

June Update

2009-06-15T15:17:00.002-04:00

We took this past weekend off from chelation. Reece has been stimmy and I really didn't have it in me to go without sleep again. If it were just taking care of Reece, it wouldn't be a problem. But with two other four year olds and a seven year old that take turns waking me up all night, I physically and emotionally couldn't handle it this weekend. I did get some better sleep so I will be ready to go this weekend!

Last week was kind of strange. Reece has been answering us "yeah" or "no" pretty consistantly when we ask questions. Eye contact has been amazing. He has been more stimmy. His teachers noticed that too. Also, when he went to speech last Thursday, he didn't want to work. Two days earlier when I said we were going to speech, he replied "YAY!". But when we went, he basically just stimmed and refused to work. Although he did say "bye-bye" to let us know he wanted to go home!

The next day was his Field Day in the morning and his two other four year old sisters in the afternoon. It rained before his so they had it inside in the gym. Between the acoustics and all the parents with cameras and video cameras going, he panicked. He was aftraid I was going to leave and didn't want to let go of me. So for the first race, he had me by one hand and his speech therapist by the other! But, he did do the next races without me. He was happy but didn't want me out of his sight.

Later, at the girls Field Day, his bus drivers brough thim over to me since I was driving him home. Their events were outside since the sun was out. I had gotten the times wrong in my head and thought I was getting him after the girls parties. But he actually gets out 10 minutes after theirs started. (Like I said earlier, I needed sleep!) I immediately started to panick. I figured he would be dragging me, kicking and screaming to the car. He did pull at first, but then he pretty much followed the kids. He sat behind them and when they got up, so did he. It wasn't all so cooperative but he did great! That is until we had to go inside for the parties! I had to give a friend of mine my purse and his backpack so I could physically pick him up and bring him to the party. He is so strong!

I brought him to t's party with me. My mom went to Erin's. The last time he was in one of the girls classes for a party it was chaos. He dumped toys and ran to the sink to play with the faucet. It was really stressful and crazy. This was much better. He walked over to toys but didn't dump anything. He went to the faucet but was fine when I told him he couldn't play with it after he turned it on and off once. He stimmed at a dollhouse and walked around. At one point I caught him running to the bathroom and I led him out saying he couldn't play with the water. Then he peed in his Pull-Up! He was actually going in to use the potty! Luckily his teacher was still in her room so I could change him. But this was drastically different behavior from what we saw the previous night at speech. All in all it was a good day!

Andrew Cutler Chelation---three weeks of gains

2009-06-08T09:35:00.002-04:00

Okay, last night we finished round three of Andrew Cutlers Chelation Protocol. We are using ALA only. We have been seeing gains from the first round. Potty training got easier-Reece now pees in the potty without a problem. (other than aim!) He started pointing at everything and is working so hard on speech. He now says things spontaneously that he didn't before. He still signs things along with his approximations so that we know what he wants. But he is also trying to verbalize when he wants something without any prompting. Reece is more social and has had one of his best days ever while we were on round one. He is playing with his sisters and playing correctly with his toys more than before. Yesterday he even went in the bathroom and went potty all by himself for the first time!!! He is also saying "hi" back when someone says hello to him. There are even more wonderful things we have seen that I am forgetting now. Eye contact is amazing. He is now looking into my eyes every opportunity. This isn't always good as he was holding my hand and running and trying to look into my eyes at the same time! We are not a coordinated bunch and I was afraid he would fall over his own feet. But how awesome that he is so into looking into my eyes for emotion and reaction now! He even asked for "bubbles" when he wanted to blow bubbles through a straw into water which is part of his speech therapy.

The only downside seemed to be that yeast was flaring up. We were getting lots of verbal and visual stimming. But I added two drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract to his juice once a day while he did the ALA and it was much better.

While this protocol is definitely doing good things, it is really helping the other therapies we do take hold. Eye contact is a major part of Son-Rise and something we work on. His new speech therapist is awesome and so are all his therapists at school. This is helping him work with them better. The gains we are seeing are a combination of everything we are doing coming together. We still have a long road ahead of us but we are making progress and having fun!

From the Blog-Adventures in Autism---please read!!!

2009-05-28T11:00:00.001-04:00

http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2009/05/contradictory-rulings-in-vaccine-court.html

[An alternate version of this piece was written in response to an article in Utah Stories.]Many have cited three cases in which The Health and Human Service's vaccine court ruled out vaccines as a cause of a child's autism, but don't mention the 10 cases (discovered by CBS News) that were won in that court by children with autism.Three of those 10 families have gone public, The Polings, The Banks and The Hiatts.The Poling case is the only one that received mainstream media coverage.Only ten days after we heard that the court said MMR doesn't cause autism, we heard that the same court said that MMR caused Baily Banks autism.
"In his conclusion, Special Master Abell wrote:The Court found that Bailey's ADEM was both caused-in-fact and proximately caused by his vaccination. It is well-understood that the vaccination at issue can cause ADEM, and the Court found, based upon a full reading and hearing of the pertinent facts in this case, that it did actually cause the ADEM. Furthermore, Bailey's ADEM was severe enough to cause lasting, residual damage, and retarded his developmental progress, which fits under the generalized heading of Pervasive Developmental Delay, or PDD. The Court found that Bailey would not have suffered this delay but for the administration of the MMR vaccine, and that this chain of causation was not too remote, but was rather a proximate sequence of cause and effect leading inexorably from vaccination to Pervasive Developmental Delay.And he added this:Petitioner's theory of PDD caused by vaccine-related ADEM causally connects the vaccination and the ultimate injury, and does so by explaining a logical sequence of cause and effect showing that the vaccination was the ultimate reason for the injury.Shouldn't we be shouting a collective, "WHAT?!" to The Department of Health and Human Services for their contradictory positions?Here is the thing, when the Department of Health and Human Services puts the Department of Health and Human Services on trial, and the Department of Health and Human Services wins, that is not news. When they put themselves on trial and loose, as in the Poling, Banks and Hiatt cases THAT IS NEWS!THOSE are the cases we should be demanding answers from the government on.The Poling family has requested that their daughters case files can be made public so everyone can know the reasoning behind HHS's decision, but HHS isn't sharing any of their insight into WHY Hanna deserves a million bucks for her vaccine injury.So let's not boil this debate down to scientist v. tv stars. There are MANY in the scientific and public health community who believe that vaccines are involved in the autism epidemic.And apparently HHS itself does too because it keeps paying claims for autistic kids.Please take a moment and check out the VICP's vaccine injury table for yourself. You will note that "encephalopathy" is listed as a compensated injury for DTaP and MMR.Then scroll down to the middle of the page and look at the symptoms of encephalopathy for 18 month olds:1. Loss of eye contact2. Unresponsive to stimuli except for loud shouts3. Seems disconnected from the world around himTHAT is a description of a child with "autism".THAT was a description of MY son after his DTaP shot for which he was diagnosed with "autism".The government has ruled that vaccines do and do not cause autism. Are You ok with that solid, definitive, case closed argument?I REALLY hope not.It is time for HHS to make the Poling documents public, and to answer to the public for their untenable, illogical position.
Posted by Ginger Taylor at Wednesday, May 27, 2009

A Perfect Day!!!!

2009-05-27T12:37:00.002-04:00

Okay last weekend was terrible. And when Reece has a bad day, I have several bad days! How he is doing really affects how I am doing.

But this weekend was wonderful! First off we are potty training and he is getting it!!!! I am so excited and so proud of him. We started out spending LOTS of time in the bathroom but now he pretty much goes as soon as you stand him in front of the potty. Yesterday was a big first---he stayed dry all day! I was so excited to see him come home from school in the same clothes I sent him to school in. But then he really showed us what he could do when he stayed dry until bedtime. He even went potty before school this morning!

This weekend we went to my dad's for a barbeque which was fun. Reece had a great time and did pretty well. We did have some issues with him trying to get into the house to go watch the ceiling fans in the bedrooms. I will never be able to have ceiling fans! Then on Monday we went to a local park for a walk. Reece was so good and the happiest I ever remember him being. He was holding my hand and my husbands and trying to get us to swing him. He was laughing and holding his feet up trying to be funny. Then he grabbed my husbands hand and pulled him to the side of the path. He wanted to walk in the grass. I think he heard us telling the girls not to walk on the grass so he was being funny again. He walked and hopped in the grass looking at us and laughing. One of the things my husband has always wanted to do was carry Reece on his shoulders. Reece would never go for this and it really bothered my husband. But this time he did and he LOVED it! He thought he was so cool sitting up there--and he was! I thought it couldn't get any better but it did. We came across a huge field of grass. All the kids, including Reece, started running and laughing through it. I was thrilled to just watch him having so much fun with the other kids and just being so happy. It was just a bunch of kids racing each other through a field. It was beautiful! There are so many hard days when your child has autism. It was wonderful to have an absolutely perfect day!

Started Cutler Chelation Protocol

2009-05-27T12:35:00.038-04:00

When there is a difference of 1/2 hour or hour at the last dose time, that is because that was when we gave the activated charcoal to "mop up" anything that was being dropped.
Round 1--May 23 afternoon through May 25th night.
Round 2--May 29 8:30am until May 31 8:00 night.
Round 3--June 5 2:15pm until June 7 8:00pm
Round 4--Friday June19 8:00 am until Wednesday 8:00 pm
Round 5--Friday July 10 12:30pm until Monday July 13 6:30pm
Round 6--Saturday August 8 9:45am until Tuesday August 11 4:00pm
Round7--Monday August 17 7:00am until Thursday August 20 7:00pm
Round 8--Wednesday September 2 10:45am until Saturday September 5 3:45pm
Round 9--Friday September 11 8:30am until Monday September 14 7:30 am
Round 10- Friday September 18 1:00pm until Monday September 21 7:00 am
Round 11- Friday October 2 11:30am until Monday October 5 7:30am
Round 12-- Done in October, forgot to write it in and can't remember what weekend it was--then we all got the flu in Novemeber. It took three weeks to get back to normal in the house.
Round 13--Thursday December 17 11:00am until Monday December 21 9:00am
Round 14--Friday January 8 2:00pm until Monday January 11 8:00 am
Round 15--Friday January 29 2:00 pm until Monday February 1 8:00 am
Round 16---done
Round 17--Friday May 28 2:00pm until Tuesday June 1 8:00am
Round 18-Friday June 11 5:00pm until Monday June 14 7:30am
Round 19--Thursday June 24 8:00am until Wednesday June 30 2:00 pm
Round 20--Friday July 9 11:00am until Monday July 12 7:30am
Round 21--Friday July 16 11:00am until Monday July 19 8:00am
Round 22--Friday July 23 8:00am until Monday July 26 2:00pm
Round 23--Friday August 6 8:00am until Monday August 9 10:00am
Round 24--Friday August 13 9:00am until Monday August 16 8:00am
Round 25--Friday August 20 9:00am until Monday August 23 2:00pm
Round 26--Friday August 27 9:00am until Monday August 30 2:00pm
Round 27--Friday Septmeber 3 9:00am until Monday September 6 6:00pm
Round 28--Friday September 10 4:00pm until Monday September 13 8:00am
Round 29--Friday September 17 4:00pm until Monday September 20 8:00am
Round 30--Friday September 24 4:00pm until Monday September 27 8:00am
Round 31--Friday October 1 4:00pm until Monday October 4 8:00am
Round 32--Friday October 8 4:00pm until Monday October 11 1:30pm
Round 33--Friday October 29 4:00pm until Mobday November 1 8:00am
Round 34--thursday November 4 9:00am until Sunday November 7 12:00pm
Round 35--Friday November 12 4:00pm until Monday November 15 8:00am
Round 36 done----DMSA only. Don't have date.
Round 37--Friday March 4 4:00pm until Monday March 7 8:00am

Erin
Round 1--Friday June 11 5:00pm until Monday June 14 3:30pm
Round 2--Thursday June 24 8:00am until Monday June 28 2:00pm
Round 3--Friday July 9 11:00am until Monday July 12 2:00pm
Round 4--Friday July 16 11:00am until Monday July 19 8:00am
Round 5--Friday July 23 8:00am until Monday July 26 2:00pm
Round 6--Friday August 6 8:00am until Monday August 9 10:00am
Round 7-- Friday August 13 9:00am until Monday August 16 8:00am
Round 8--Friday August 20 9:00am until Monday August 23 2:00pm
Round 9--Friday August 27 9:00am until Monday August 30 2:00pm
Round 10--Friday September 3 9:00am until Sunday September 5 12:00pm
round 11--Friday September 17 6:30pm until Monday September 20 11:30am
Round 12--Friday September 24 4:00pm until Monday September 27 11:30am
Round 13--thursday November 4 9:00am until Sunday November 7th 12:00pm

When (Autism) Reality Hits...

2009-05-16T10:46:00.003-04:00

Last night was the Carnival at my four youngest kids school. My second grader really, really wanted to go but I was dancing around the subject. I told her the ground was wet from all the rain and would be too muddy---she then told me part of it was indoors. I told her we would see and that seemed to pacify her for a while. Then when my husband came home, she brought it up again. She reminded us with tear filled eyes that we have never gone and that all her friends would be there and wanted her to go too. I told her it would be too hard with the little guys, meaning of course with Reece and not knowing how he would react. She started to cry and walked away. She has missed out on so much because of autism. My husband and I both felt terrible. So my husband says it isn't fair that she is missing out because her brother has autism. I agree, and even though I was really worried, we called her back in. We said to get ready because we were going to the Carnival! How bad could it be anyway, we would only be there for a little over the last hour.

So we get to the school and it is packed! We had to park a couple streets away. As soon as we got out of the car, Reece started to freak out because we weren't going in to the house we parked in front of. He figured we must be going to visit friends. So my husband walked ahead with the three girls and I struggled with Reece. I tried explaining we were going to have fun and we had to follow dad. This didn't really go over too well and finally I was able to pick him up. As we turned the corner I put him down and he seemed happy to walk.....until he realized we were at school! Then he started his ear-piercing, B-movie queen screams. This boy has some lungs! As he did this he was trying to fall to the ground to get our of my grasp. I am trying to look like I have some control and get him to stand up. I am sure we were making quite a scene. I told him it was okay and we were going home. I looked to my husband who had turned around when he heard all the commotion and just shook my head "no". Reece proceeded to pull me, full speed, back in the direction of the car.

I was in tears. I knew better than to attempt this. But part of me was hoping it would work and we could be a "normal" family going to the Carnival with the kids. So now my husband and the girls reached us and T was crying because she didn't actually get more than 40 feet onto the property, Erin was crying because she really wanted to get to the playground and t was crying because she wanted to go back and have fun. Great family night out!

We ended up going back to the car and putting on a movie for Reece. My husband said he would take him for a ride and I would take the girls back to the Carnival. But as I walked away from the car, I could hear Reece screaming because I was leaving. We quickly walked to the Carnival, went inside and I almost immediately told the girls we had to leave. We saw a few friends so Teagan was happy. I was shaking, my muscles hurt from my struggle with Reece. I kept thinking about Reece screaming and how this was just such a bad idea. I couldn't even think stright. We ended up going for italian ice and the girls were happy. I think I was the only one who was upset after we left.

I think we are at a point where we are seeing such good things start to happen with Reece that sometimes I get ahead of myself. It is so hard when you feel like your other kids are going without because one of their siblings has autism. At home we are "normal". Or at least normal for us. I guess I just hoped that we could get through this one outing together like our friends and their families. Occasionally now I get the little tease of life without autism. We are getting those days where we are not under the control of autism. I guess I have to be more patient and accept that we are where we are right now but we are moving ahead. Every day is different and every day has new challenges and blessings. I could just do with a little less of the challenges!

Getting Rid of Toys That Compete With You For Your Child's Attention....

2009-05-14T10:20:00.002-04:00

This is one of the things they taught us at the Son-Rise Start Up. You need to get rid of the toys that compete with you for your child's attention. This would be the toys they fixate and stim on. We were told to get rid of all electronic toys---how do you get your child to pay attention to you when they are playing with a toy that spins, flashes and makes noise? They also say to get rid of the tv.

I started right away. Everything electronic went in the trash unless it was something that could be played with if it didn't have batteries and would not be exclusive. Now I have also put all my pot tops in a bag and put them in the pantry. I am also slowly getting rid of toys that he likes to spin. I must be making some progress because Reece will go to the toy box and dig through it for a long time, trying to find a toy that will spin the way he wants. Right now this is a bit frustrating for him. But he is also a resilient kid who can spin just about anything. The problem seems to come from toys that have an added "optical" dimension when he spins them. The other night I had to get rid of this great little rainbow ball--it looked really cool when he spun it. So he didn't want to stop spinning it! I thought I was doing pretty good.

But last night I heard him making his verbal stims that he usually does when he is spinning something. I was pretty upset to see he was stimming on the pages of "Goodnight Moon". He had a few books spread out on the table and this was the one that "worked" for him. I went over and acted all excited and asked him if he wanted me to read him the book. He shook his head "no" and pushed me away. He then went back to stimming. At least with the spinning, he would let us spin things with him and that would lead to other play. This was just exclusive.

I don't know if part of the reason he wanted to be exclusive is that we are potty training again. Yesterday he went twice at school and once at home. He had never gone on the potty for me before so I was really happy! He did go a little on the floor, a little on me and a little in the potty--but that's okay he did while sitting on the potty! This is a major control issue for Reece so maybe that was why he wanted to stim last night. Seeing him so exclusive was tough for me. I finally got him to stop by telling him it was time to brush his teeth. One thing that always gets him to stop whatever he is doing, stimming included, is asking for a kiss! If he is upstairs and I ask for a kiss I will hear him saying "mmmmmm" while he comes down the stairs to find me.

Most therapies are based on an ABA approach which is to stop the stimming and redirect. Son-Rise says to join. I have found that different things work better in different situations. At home joining works great and we can easily build on it. For his new speech therapy she will see him spin something and say "No" and tell him what we do with that particular toy and model it. He will then go right along with her and play correctly. But I also think he is spinning those toys for fun. They are new and he loves to see how things will look when they spin. So I guess that isn't really stimming. I have seen him have total meltdowns when he was truly stimming on a toy that we tried to take away. So I guess we will have to assess each situation as it comes up and determine what the best approach will be. Right now I will take a little stimming if it gets him potty trained!

The Latest......

2009-05-12T14:27:00.002-04:00

Last weekend was busy. We had a prom Friday, a Communion Saturday and Mother's Day on Sunday. For my daughter's communion we had our immediate family back to the house afterwards for a small party. I remember when my kids were little, parties would mean they would go to sleep until just about everyone was gone. That was their way of hiding from all the noises, people and disruption to their routine. But this was fun. They handled church and the party like pros. When we went outside Reece kept grabbing different people to come cheer for him as he went down the slide. And he kept saying "cheese" when he saw my mother with the camera. He had so much fun! It's so nice not to fear parties---at our house at least. Parties at other peoples houses still cause me to panic.

Reece started with a new speech therapist. It's the first time we have done private speech therapy. With no insurance it was just never a possibility. Really now we can't even really afford to do this but we are getting some help and he is so ready for this! The first time in, he tantrumed out of fear. He thought we were at a doctors office. But after his evaluation he didn't even want to leave! When we went back, he cried because he had to wait before going in! And he did GREAT! And it's funny because he is really into trying to make the sounds now. Yesterday he even crashed a classmates speech session on his own! His therapist said she was really impressed with him and that was wonderful to hear after only the second session. I have a little whistle to work with him and some blowing games. I know this kid is going to talk!!

Still going good!

2009-05-04T13:37:00.002-04:00

Things are still progressing well for the kids. Reece is really enjoying doing the Kaufman Flashcards again. When I bought these cards at a Kaufman seminar about a year and a half ago, he had no real words. Now he loves trying to say the words for the pictures on the cards. These cards are really good because they are of things that kids like and would want to request. Good motivation for speech! On the back of the cards the words are broken down into different ways kids with speech issues may say them. When I ask if he is "all done" with the cards, he shakes his head no.

Erin is doing great. She is even a bit more flexible and now using her butterfly blanket at night. Since Christmas she has only allowed "Lighting McQueen" sheets and blankets on her bed. Her imagination continues to grow and watching her pretend play with her sisters is so much fun! She is doing great and really trying to play more with Reece. As he is doing more and more, his sisters are including him more. They love to make him laugh and one of their favorite things is to yell "YAY!" to him so he will yell it back. Yesterday she was trying to show him how to use binoculars. He didn't go for putting anything in front of his face but it was sweet that she was trying to show him what to do.

I am still letting them have a bit of gluten. Not a lot but just a little bit to add more options to their food --to be more specific--fattening options! Reece isn't a huge beneficiary of this because he is still pretty picky. But Erin is loving that she gets an occasional mac and cheese or Fruit Loops! They are not reacting at all physically or neurologically to the gluten or casein. But I still will not just add it all back without talking to our homeopath. I still have not called her because I don't have the funds right now to order the new supplements to replace what we left in Florida or any new ones. That may have to wait another month. I have been giving what is left of their original remedies. I just have my fingers crossed that we make until we see her again without any setbacks. But seeing that they are tolerating these foods now shows how far homeopathy has brought them!

I still don't have a Son-Rise Playroom for Reece. I have a temporary, sort of playroom but since there is no door---I just kind of work with him where ever he is. But that is a wonderful thing about the Son-Rise principles, they work in any situation!

A Great Vacation!!!

2009-04-14T12:26:00.004-04:00

We just got back from a week in Florida visiting family. I was apprehensive about going. I knew the kids would be okay for the car ride. but what would happen when we got there? My father-in-law has a pool, a cat and a dog. With Reece obsessed with water and Erin terrified of animals, I wasn't too sure this would be a relaxing Spring Break. At home you are used to dealing with autism even though you still are occasionally caught off guard. On vacation you have no idea how autism is going to impact your day. But happily, our trip was wonderful!! The only rough spot was the first half of our day at Disney.

We were last at my father-in-law's house two Summers ago. Erin and Reece received their diagnosis just a couple months earlier. I don't think we were doing any biomed other than fish oil and vitamins. Reece spent most of his time trying to get to the pool. There were no pets in the house yet. I just remember being really stressed the entire time even though I was having fun. There were, of course, tantrums and I was afraid to sleep because I thought Reece would get out to the pool without me knowing.

This time was actually relaxing! My father-in-law and his wife commented on how much Reece has changed and how well he was doing. He was interested in the pool but if he went to the door and we said "no", he stopped. He was happy and playful and listened to us. He wasn't always happy with what we said and he did yell a couple times, but no real tantrums. When my father-in-law took me and my husband out on the boat, Reece didn't even cry when we left. Usually I can't even get his sisters off the bus without screaming and banging at the door.

Erin wasn't thrilled with the pets and it was a little tough in the beginning, but still easier than expected. By the end of our trip she was playing with the cat and worked her way up to petting the dog. Animals absolutely terrified her so it was great to see her actually having fun with them. She even held a lizard we found outside! I hope this lasts outside of Florida!

The only hard part of the trip was the first part of our day at Disney. I expected it to be tough but was really caught off guard by Reece's reactions. First he screamed getting onto the monorail. I literally had to pry him out of the doorway that he was hanging on to in an attempt to keep from getting on. When the monorail started moving, he loved it. So then he screamed because we were getting off of it! Then he screamed while we were on line for tickets. And again when we entered the park. I kept thinking what a crock the "Happiest Place on Earth" title was and was wishing there were little kiosks that served drinks to adults. We got a stroller in hopes of blocking out some of the sensory input that was coming at Reece. Then he panicked because he couldn't see me and I had to walk next to the stroller holding his hand. I was tired, every muscle in my body hurt from trying to keep my son from kicking people around us in his tantrums and get him into the stroller. We went on the train and he loved it, but then he freaked when we tried going in to Mickey's house. But slowly he started to relax. I am sure it helped that around lunch time people started leaving and the crowds thinned out a bit. But by the time we left, Reece was holding my hand and walking happily next to me. He had a great time on the jungle ride and It's a Small World. He was laughing and having fun. He didn't even mind waiting on line. So all went well until it was time to leave....and he screamed because we were leaving!

I do have to confess that we fell off the GFCF wagon on day two of our trip. We were at a buffet and Reece was very agitated because we were leaving the ceiling fans in the lobby to go in and sit down. And he didn't want to sit. He started to wind up for a meltdown as he pushed the GFCF food away and I panicked and gave him some popcorn shrimp off my plate. He ate it so I told my husband to get some more and forget about the diet for time being. Erin and Reece ate more than I have seen them eat in a while. They made the most of their gluten fix. They even got brownies and carrot cake. The amazing thing was they didn't seem to react to it. Previously if they had any kind of infraction they would be up at night crying because their stomach's hurt. But they were fine. I didn't notice any behavior change either. And this is with even having chicken nuggets, cookies and regular cereal during the rest of the trip. We are back to GFCF but I need to ask our homeopath if we can add some gluten back in occasionally now. She had said that when their bodies get back on track they will be able to go off the diet. I don't know what the time frame is for that but am excited to find out.

Now I can't wait to go back to Florida. The kids were wonderful and my husband and I had a relaxing and enjoyable time. I kept seeing during the trip how autism is losing it's control over our family and we are getting our children and our lives back.

Reece's new gains!

2009-03-25T10:11:00.003-04:00

Reece has been taking the bus to school since September of 2007. He has never really noticed that there was a driver and an aide on the bus. He would just get on and off. The other day he went over to the driver on the way home and touched her arm so she would look at him. Then he gave her a big smile before he got off the bus! He never did that before! Then he did it again yesterday getting off the bus. As we all told him how great it was that he did that, I told him to say "bye" and he did! Then this morning he was getting on the bus (different driver) and he touched her arm so she would look at him too. He smiled and then went to his seat! I am happy that he is showing more signs of being social outside of the house! And I LOVE the fact that he is doing it on his own without any prompting from me!

Just about two weeks ago we started a couple new supplement called Alpha GPC 300. This protects brain function. We also started Enhansa a bit before that but are at a VERY low dose once a day. This is a form of enhanced curcumin and it is kind of strong. The first time I gave it to him I gave him one little scoop (there are two scoops that come with it) and he had horrible diarrhea. So we are starting very, very low and working our way up. I also don't give it in the morning because I don't want him to have a belly issue at school. But he is tolerating it now.

Another big thing for Reece is he is now getting better oral motor control. He started blowing a horn for the first time this past Sunday. By that night he was actually playing the harmonica! He was making sounds blowing in and out so I was thrilled. We were kind of worried he would pass out from hyperventilation because he was so excited he wouldn't stop! At first he could barely make a sound but was smiling and hugging me when he heard something come out. When I had him do it for Daddy he really got the hang of it and within minutes was playing so we could sing for him! He was so proud and was yelling "Yay!!!". So we were yelling and clapping with him every time he made a sound. I am sure our neighbors were wondering what was going on! It's so nice to see him so proud of what he is doing.

Son-rise!!!!!!

2009-03-05T13:13:00.003-05:00

Last week I went to Sheffield, MA for the Son-Rise Start Up Program. All I can say is WOW! It was really amazing. The week before I left I started to panic. I had never left the kids before and was worried something would go wrong and I would be so far away. I also worried that Reece, maybe not understanding I was coming back, would be mad at me for leaving. I was in tears before I was five minutes from the house. Now I know that it was the best thing I have done for my son and am so happy I went.

Son-Rise is different from any other approach to helping kids with autism. They say you have to change yourself before you can help your child change. A lot of what we worked on was how we saw our child's behaviors and future. I didn't think I needed to work on that, but I actually did. They also are the only program that tells you to join in your child's stimming, which they call isms. This is unheard of anywhere else. All other programs tell you to stop the stimming. Son-rise explained how stimming has a function for the child and that trying to stop them will only push them farther away and cause frustration or anger. This is what we had been seeing when trying to stop Reece from his spinning objects. He would get mad and tantrum. Common sense, right?

This program is child centered and home based. You need to create a distraction free playroom in your house where you will work with your child. Right now, in our cramped house, this is tough. I have already gotten rid of all the electronic toys which I was happy to do. The ones he could actually play with, like the firetruck and train, I kept but will remove the batteries from. I am going to make our family room the playroom until we move over the Summer. We need a house we actually fit in! Son-Rise also suggests you get volunteers to help you work with your child. At first I thought , "No way!", but now I see how important this is. So once I get the room set up I will start my search for volunteers. This is the only program that actually promotes fun!

Next week I have all three little ones IEP meetings. This is where I will find out how supportive the school is going to be in this. I have no idea what to expect. I have a great Parent Advocate that has actually been through the Son-Rise program. So I am hopeful that things will go smoothly but I am realistic and know to be ready for anything.

In the meantime I am getting everything ready and using the techniques with Reece when he is home. And they work wonderfully! I think Son-Rise is going to really make a huge change in our lives. I can't wait to get rolling and am proud to now be a Son-Rise Mom!

I have to add too that Reece was thrilled when he saw me the night I came home! He heard me come in and all I heard were these happy little squeals behind me as he grabbed me and hugged me. He kept hugging me and touching my face so sweetly. I just melted. The girls were really excited too. Tierney woke up in the middle of the night when I was moving her so she didn't roll out of bed and gave me a huge hug and kiss. And Erin saw my van out her bedroom window and yelled "Mommy!!" before she even saw me. Then she came running into my room and jumped into bed with me. There is nothing better than being with your kids!

Quick Update

2009-02-13T10:49:00.002-05:00

The kids are still making gains. Erin has started reading. She is sounding out words with her sister--very cute. They had a stomach virus about two weeks ago and even though they are over it, Erin's stomach is still getting back on track. Hopefully she will be back to a normal gut again soon.

Reece is babbling and we are hearing a lot words in his babbles. He is also making lots of sounds and sound combinations. Two nights ago he used a cup for the very first time! I had been working on this for a while and he finally did it. He would still rather use a sippy but he can use a cup now too. At school they are going to start bringing him in Erin's class for playtime three days a week. I had requested he start be integrated into one of the other classes so he can be around more verbal kids. His class is getting a lot more verbal and there are two kids who do speak but I think he needs a more verbal environment. So we will start with this and see how he does. I am so excited but I know in the beginning it may be tough. He usually gets overstimulated when he is in a new environment. So hopefully going in three days a week will make more of a routine thing for him.

Added the Detox step in

2009-02-01T15:42:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we added the new detox step in. The remedies are really easy to give. Last night Reece played his keyboard for at least 10 minutes. I actually thought it was his sister playing because he was hitting different notes and not the same ones over and over. Then his sister and brother each held one of his hands and made a "train" going through the house. He thought this was fun. Later, he grabbed his sisters hand and started to pull her through the house! I was so excited because he was initiating a new game on his own. He was laughing and gave her a huge smile as he started to pull her. We were starting to eat dinner but I let him pull her around for a while because I didn't want to discourage him. He was so proud that she was following his lead!

Another pretend play he has started is using his play pliers he got for Christmas and pretending they are scissors and he is cutting his hair. This is a kid that hates to get his hair cut--his hair is about shoulder length at this point! (But he looks adorable!) I had seen him do this about twice before. But then he took the pliers and was pretending to cut his toenails with them too! (Another thing he hates-go figure!) I am so excited not only to see him using his imagination but being flexible with it as well. He plays with his figures in different settings and now using the same toy and pretending it was two different things. I also have noticed he is playing with figures he never showed any interest in before unless he was giving them a spin. His favorites right now are the wooden cat, the penguin finger puppet, a plastic bee that was supposed to be a sun catcher and a Little People cowboy. I love that they are all so different and he isn't just playing with different versions of the same toy.

Another thing he did was eat turkey cold cuts. He has not eaten cold cuts in two years! We rolled a couple pieces up and cut them up and he just happily started eating them! He also now takes his spray supplement which he used to take one look at and go running from. Now he thinks it's fun!

Update

2009-01-27T09:14:00.002-05:00

Okay, it's been a bit since I updated because my computer crashed and I am using my sons laptop but it is tiny and the screen hurts my eyes! But I wanted to get down what I could so I don't forget too much.

Reece is still making great gains. Lots of pretend play and interaction at home. He got his new "big boy" bed and is sleeping happily in it. The day after we put it up my mother came over and asked him if she could see his new bed. First he shook his head no and brought her to the pantry and asked for a cookie! Then he brought her up and sat on the bed smiling. He did the same thing when Mema asked to see his bed--first she had to give him a cookie. He is taking directions beyond what I am just asking. When I went into the kitchen and saw he had dropped all the number flashcards on the floor I called him to pick them up. He loves watching things fall to the floor. I figured he would just grab a few and put them on the lower part of the microwave cart they were in front of. Instead, he picked up a handful and climbed back on the chair he had used to get them from the top of the cart. He then continued to put them back exactly where he got them, and he picked them all up! He is also taking it upon himself to clean up other things. He has dropped his entire plate in the garbage after dinner--Right idea but needs to see the plate goes in the sink! But it was great that he was seeing how we were cleaning up and decided to clean up his own mess. He also cleaned up his sisters glass this way by tossing it into the sink--we lost a glass but I still was impressed! Yesterday he was looking at his sisters Miley Cyress (sp?) poster on her door and said something that sounded like "Disney". I asked him what he said and he repeated it again--a definite approximation for "Disney" as he was looking at the work on the poster. His sister asked me where Disney was and he pointed out the word on the poster. We are seeing more and more how he is really aware of everything going on and taking it all in. His problem is getting the info back out to us. Last night when Mema said she was leaving he said "bye grandma". I am forgetting lots of stuff since it took so long for me to get back on here to update. If I remember more, I'll add it in.

Erin is doing great! Her speech is wonderful and she is asking great questions. Her stomach issues are almost gone. This weekend she did end up eating pizza at a birthday party so I saw some stimming yesterday. But just a bit. Before, this would have caused major stomach problems and speech issues along with lots of stimming. I wasn't able to get her GFCF pizza before the party so I gave her enzymes and probiotics when we got home. I may have to say no to parties where there will be all forbidden foods for now. I want her to keep moving forward and don't want to risk snags in her recovery.

I have to check when we add in the next detox remedy. I think it is this Friday. I am really excited to get to that next step!

Second Homeopath Appointment

2009-01-06T10:31:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was our second appointment with the homeopath. Erin was really excited to go back. She was even using one of the toys Reece received for Christmas like the tool the homeopath used to evaluate her. What really surprised me was that she was telling our older son what was going to happen at the appointment. And she even remembered the practitioner's name. She has really come a long way!

Getting into NYC is always stressful. My mother drives us as I just don't think I could do it. Everything was great on the way up and we made it in record time. Reece was happy and relaxed the entire way up. But when we got to the parking garage and I opened the door to get him out, he freaked! I literally had to pry him out the car while he screamed. He then continued to scream for blocks while we walked to the office. It takes a lot to get the people in Manhattan to stare at you like you are crazy--but we pulled it off! I was relieved to get to the office but unfortunately, since we made such good time in to the city, we had to wait in the hall for 45 minutes until Mary arrived. Reece occupied himself by running up and down the hall trying to knock on doors and chased one guy down trying to grab the phone on his belt. Luckily, we had cookies, juice boxes and some toys. They helped a little anyway.

I explained what we had been seeing since our first visit where we were given remedies to open the pathways. It pretty much went just like she had told me it would. Then Erin came in for her evaluation. She happily sat and did everything she was asked. There was no getting near Reece at all. This is pretty typical for him. Anyone who sees his hair or fingernails or toenails can see the boy does not like people going near him with any kind of instrument!

So we will be receiving our next step products in a few days in the mail. I also was given this laser pen to use on Erin. It's like acupuncture with light. I am supposed to use it for two weeks, trying to build up from once a day to three times a day. I was emailed the places to use it based on her evaluation. It is supposed to add energy into her system and I must say it did. I made the mistake of doing it after dinner and she was up all night! At first she seemed upset but then she was laying their singing "I Saw the Witchdoctor" at 3am! And she isn't show any signs of being tired this morning--the same cannot be said of me! Maybe I should use it on myself!

The reactions to the next step we will be doing are pretty much the same as before. We may see an increase in behaviors, energy and moodiness. (Oh boy!) And she said we may see glimpses of what will be coming in the future. There will be increased receptive and expressive language and higher level thinking. She said their appetites will also increase which will be great. These kids could stand to put on a few pounds. And maybe if they are really hungry they will be willing to eat some new foods. So right now I am excited to get started soon with this next step. We saw so many changes already in just opening the pathways that I am really looking forward to seeing what is coming next for us.

And I have to add that after the appointment we went to the Upper East Side to have lunch with my aunt. Reece loved it up there! We went to lunch at a great place that had delicious food and ceiling fans! We were actually able to eat peacefully and finish our meal. Reece didn't want to leave the restaurant and I thought we were in for a scene but he went willingly (for the most part) out. It was the most relaxed he has ever been out to eat, granted we have only gone a few times. He smiled at the ceiling fan and the started to get upset when they turned it off. I was impressed though because he pointed to the fan to tell us what was the matter. After the waitress turned it on, he pointed to another fan that was off. This one was broken though and could not spin. I thought that would set off a tantrum but he was okay with it. He played in the booth with my aunt, hugging her and making happy sounds at her.

In the end he had a good day. When we got home he even played with these little wooden puzzle pieces the kids got from their grandpa and nana in Florida. He took a cardboard box that is supposed to be a barn for his sister's toy horses. He then played with his wooden cat in the barn. Mema was over and he brought her over to play with him. Pretty soon he had the cat and dog pieces and had me playing too. He even had the cat give me a kiss! It was great to see him dancing the animals in the barn instead of spinning them. Later on he brought them over to the Little People playhouse so they could play in there. He even puts them on the potty! It makes me so happy to see this kind of imaginative play with him using the same pieces in different ways. And it is fantastic that he wants us to play it with him! Homeopathy is working for us!

Christmas Update

2008-12-29T13:57:00.002-05:00

Okay, Christmas started out fantastic. The party we had the Saturday before Christmas was the best! But very quickly all the excitement, parties and change in schedule started to take it's toll on my kids. Monday was Reece's school party. Tuesday was Erin and t's school parties. I took Reece out of his class to come to Erin's party with me since he gets out a little earlier and I wouldn't be there to meet the bus. The next night, Christmas Eve was at my mom's and ran really late. We didn't get home until just after midnight.

This was all too much for Erin and Reece. That night Erin barely slept and when she did it was not restful. She yelled out and cried in her sleep all night long. It was really upsetting to watch because there is nothing you can really do for her. She just couldn't unwind and relax after getting so wound up. I would lay down next to her so I could hug her and talk to her when she was yelling and crying. That worked a little. But I just felt so bad for her.

Day by day Reece became more stimmy. He started to withdraw from us a bit and just want to watch things spin. The noise seemed to bother him too. By Christmas he was ignoring me most of the time when I called him. It was like he didn't really hear what was going on anymore. But the spinning was totally out of control! It was hard to watch this happen when we had such an amazing day the Saturday before. But on the bright side he was still interested in opening his gifts. At least we didn't lose that ability in all this.

Christmas was really low key. I had said I wasn't cooking since I wanted to spend my Christmas with the kids, not cooking and cleaning up after we eat. So we had a Christmas dinner a la "A Christmas Story". We ordered out for Malaysian food and it was great! We all enjoyed it and there was no cleanup needed. And the best part was we still had delicious leftovers! My husbands brothers and sister came after dinner, so the kids were not bombarded again with craziness. They were still excited and had fun but they could handle it. Reece was still spinning but I figured that would continue. Even without any real sleep, Erin was having fun and really happy. We never got a traditional Christmas tree this year. My husband had been working seven days a week and the couple free nights he had was spent shopping for gifts. So Christmas Eve while we were picking up dessert at the food store we picked up a small Norfolk Pine for $9.99. It already had bows and glitter so we were set! Santa brought it for the kids and they loved it. Of course they were still happy with their Christmas Wreath they decorated on the wall!

Now that the excitement is over the kids are calming down and enjoying their gifts. Reece has dramatically decreased his spinning and Erin is running around dressed up as Snow White or Cinderella. Her imagination is just incredible now. I have noticed that her obsessive compulsion to clean is gone as I have peanut dust from boxes all over and she doesn't mind at all. I, on the other hand, have been trying for days to get rid of it and seem to have now broken my vacuum! My mother suggested a Shop Vac and that is going to be the next step. But I am really happy that she isn't going crazy trying to clean it up--although I wouldn't object to the help! So all in all this Christmas was wonderful and the kids progress was so apparent. I am already looking forward to the surprises they will have for us next year but still smiling about the wonderful unexpected joys of this one!

Biomed Gave Us Our Christmas Back!!!!

2008-12-21T17:46:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had a big family Christmas party at our house. I was not looking forward to it and have been really not in the Christmas spirit at all. The only Christmas decoration in our house was the wreath my mom made and brought over for the party. I wasn't sure why I was feeling like this at first. Then I realized it was because of autism and how much it hurt to go through the motions of the day last year. While my daughter is border line recovered and is so excited for Christmas, my son is not progressing as quickly and has always been more severe in his symptoms. Last year he wasn't even in the same room with us when we opened gifts Christmas morning. I brought him in and he turned and left to go play in his room. It broke my heart. So I was not looking forward to going through the pain all over again.

Well, yesterday was amazing! From the time the first guests arrived, my son was totally engaged! He sat on my 93 year old grandfather's lap, looked him in the eye and smiled at him so happily while they played. He chased my brother around trying to get him to pick him up and swing him. He gave my aunt the tour of the house over and over and over. He danced with my mother and laughed at our dancing Santa.

But the best part came when it was time to open gifts. I looked for my son and he was sitting in the middle of everyone having fun. I handed him his first gift and told him to open it. I was expecting to have to open it myself and then show him his gift while he turned to walk away. To my surprise he opened it himself! He unwrapped the present and then took it out of the box. He was EXCITED!!!! He has never ever opened any gift before-Christmas, birthday, anything. He then ran around to see what everyone else was opening and looked in the bags to see what gifts he missed. He was even trying to open his cousin's presents! As I watched him I felt my heart get lighter and just fill with happiness for now, and hope for the future. Thanks to biomed, we got our Christmas back and are on the way to getting back both of the children autism stole from us! Today may only be the 21st but it is already the best Christmas ever!

The Latest update

2008-12-15T11:51:00.002-05:00

Okay, Reece has never been much of a cleaner upper. But two nights ago, when the girls were cleaning up before bed, he started helping them on his own! Then last night I said it was bed time and he started putting the toys he was playing with in the toy box. Of course this didn't last long, but whenever I reminded him it was time to clean up, he started putting things away again. Usually when it is time to clean something up, he takes off for another part of the house and it's a struggle to get him to help. He even cleaned up my pots and pans he was playing with on the floor.

One of the last milk products to go for Reece was his Pediasure. He loved his "eggnog" as we were calling it and it was the easiest way to get his supplements in him. But after taking it away for a while he has now found that he really enjoys hazelnut milk. The girls love it too. So that has made things a bit easier. He still will not touch water--just like his dad!

Reece has also been really interactive with me. I have been able to enjoy lots of hugs without asking. He also has been really interested in people's shoes and when he likes your shoes he will go up to you and move his feel really fast so that you will do it too. He never seemed to notice what people wore before. He is even trying to put on shoes that he likes that aren't his. Now if I could just get him to keep his clothes on!

IDEA--I have an idea--how about a real discussion!

2008-12-11T08:05:00.008-05:00

Last night I attended an open public meeting for the discussion of special education programs and services in our district. The problem was it wasn't actually a discussion. While there were district administrators there along with the superintendent, they were not allowed to comment. This self-assessment was part of the states responsibility for the implementation of IDEA.

After a quick overview where we were told how our district fared as far as stats went, we were given five questions on which to comment. One of these questions did not even apply to our district. As far as the other four questions went, it was only parents allowed to comment and they had to stick to those questions that they were being asked. There was no discussion and the district was not allowed to comment or reply. To me, this was a waste of everyone's time. Comments could have been collected by email and they did not take advantage of the opportunity they had with parents, district administrators and teachers in attendance.

The basic theme of the meeting, per parent comments, seemed to be that the preschool and elementary school programs were pretty good. Even if you had to push for something, you generally were successful. This all stops at the junior high where there were no positive comments. Parents were very upset with their experiences with the junior high and high school. As a parent who has dealt with the special services programs in the preschool and the junior high I can say this is correct. At the preschool level you are part of the team and your opinion is valued. The junior high seemed aggravated that my opinion differed from theirs and that I was not in agreement. They used pressure and lies to get their way.

At the end of the meeting someone asked if parents could speak to things other than the questions that we were given and if maybe the school administrators could have a dialogue with us about our comments. We were told no. What kind of "discussion" has people talking from one side and doesn't allow any kind of response? Why not take advantage of the fact that all these people are together in the same room for the same purpose? It was not a large group and clearly everyone was there because we want our program to be the best it can be for our kids. The meeting then came to a close and we were told we could email or call with any questions we had. This meeting was a prime example of what is wrong with our system. Communication should be encouraged at all times. We will only be able to improve things when we can discuss what we feel are the programs shortcomings as well as what areas we feel are excellent. I think someone needs to inform the district and the IDEA people what the definition of a discussion is.

Where has common sense gone?

2008-12-10T10:03:00.008-05:00

Autism. It consumes my life. I don't think there is a moment that goes by that autism, how I can help my kids or how I could have prevented this, isn't in my mind. I wake up in the middle of the night in mid-thought about supplements, diet, therapy, etc. I am not sure I can even remember what life was like before. In the end I always get angry.

Back when I was growing up in the late 70's to late 80's I never heard of autism. The first time I ever heard the word was when the movie "Rainman" came out. I think it's safe to say that this was the same for almost everyone else too. But back then the vaccine schedule was different and if there were injuries from vaccines, the vaccine companies would have been held liable. There was no protection for them so safety had to at least be pretty close in priority to profit. But now they enjoy the benefits of federal protection from injuries caused by vaccines. This was even added into our Homeland Security Bill before it was passed. The influence Big Pharma has on our government is undeniable. We elect our officials to protect us and they end up just being pawns of the pharmaceutical industry. This must stop.

Where is the incentive for these companies to create safe and truly beneficial vaccines? It is gone. Now they are free to create vaccines with no real concern as to their safety. They have nothing to lose and only profits to gain. With the federal government in their pockets they have no fear and only profits to gain. Big Pharma propaganda is repeated over and over by our government leaders. It is painfully obvious that they aren't thinking for themselves as they regurgitate statements meant to scare the public into compliance. In their eyes there is no such thing as someone who is not against vaccines but is for vaccine safety. It is all or nothing for them and vaccine safety is never addressed as an issue. They just repeat over and over that vaccines are safe.

There are no double blind placebo tests for vaccines. One vaccine is tested against another. How is this safety testing? There has never been a study done to test the safety of multiple vaccines given at the same time. How safe can anything really be that contains mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde and other toxins? If vaccines are safe, why were the results of previous studies hidden and altered? Why are there so many vaccine injuries and why did their rise coincide with the increase in the vaccine schedule? Our kids are involuntary participants in a massive medical experiment.

In NJ four more vaccines were made mandatory for school children. It boggles my mind that in a state with one of the highest rates of autism, we are mandating more vaccines. We need people elected to represent us that are actually representing our interests and not those of Big Pharma. Our children are sick and injured yet our government continually ignores them or feigns empathy and concern while nothing changes. Oh wait, something did change, our kids now require more vaccinations.

It doesn't seem hard to connect the dots. The more vaccines our children receive, the more injuries they also receive. Yet parents have been ridiculed for claiming vaccines triggered their child's autism. We have had an admission that vaccines did cause autism in the case of Hannah Poling. This was quickly followed up with the statement that this was due to the fact that she had a "rare" mitochondrial dysfunction. But it turns out mito dysfunction is not as rare as previously thought. If there is at least an admitted connection between mito dysfunction and vaccines triggering autism, why aren't children screened for this before they are vaccinated now? Isn't that the next logical step?

Thousands of parents flocked to Washington, DC earlier this year demanding that the government "Green our Vaccines". Is anything actually being done to get rid of the toxins in our vaccines? Or was it just business as usual the next for our pharmaceutical companies? We have been told that the mercury is out of the vaccines--not true. There are vaccines that still contain the full dose of mercury, including many flu shots given to children. Vaccines that are labeled as "Thimerosal Free" are really not mercury free. These vaccines still use thimerosal in the process of creating the vaccine but the thimerosal is supposed to be processed out. These vaccines do admittedly contain "trace" amounts of thimerosal. Even a trace of poison is still too much. Who tests the batches to make sure there is only the allowed "trace" of thimerosal? The pharmaceutical companies themselves! Big Pharma is on the honor system for this task! Are our vaccines getting any greener? I haven't heard anything showing progress in this direction. It seems crazy that parents even have to ask for this.

If we know that the rate of autism has risen with the increase in the vaccine schedule, if we know vaccines contain neurotoxins whose toxicity symptoms mirror that of autism, if we know that there are a subset of children that are at increased risk for developing autism after vaccination--Why are we adding more and more vaccines and not seriously and urgently looking into vaccine safety? What will the autism rate have to be to have the attention of our government and have this be seen as the health crisis it is? A little common sense would go a long way in helping protect our children.

Government page connecting DTaP to autism now unavailable!!!!

2008-12-09T09:11:00.004-05:00

The web page that was linked to below in the article David Kirby wrote, where the government stated autism was a possible adverse effect of the DTaP, is now "under revision". I would bet anything that the information showing autism as a possible adverse reaction will not be there when the page is back up on the web. This is absolutely disgusting.

Parents have been fighting for years to have the link between vaccines and autism acknowledged. And here it has been sitting there in black and white on a government web page. But once it gets out to the public that it is there---it is suddenly no longer available. They cannot pretend this wasn't there. It is too late. We now know that they are aware of the connection and we demand answers and action!

click here to see the original page with autism still listed:
http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:AwylZVQHsd0J:www.vhcinfo.org/subpage.asp%3Fpage%3Dvaccines/vaccine_dtap+vaccine_dtap+site+vhcinfo.org&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us&client=safar

Snow Day!!!!! (Almost)

2008-12-08T10:23:00.002-05:00

Yesterday morning we woke up to a light dusting of snow that was quickly melting. We got the kids outside right away before it was completely gone. The kids had a blast! Reece refused to wear gloves but didn't seem to mind the cold. They ran from patch of snow to patch of snow and played. They managed to make a few snowballs and their sisters even attempted to make snow angels in the dusting on the deck. I can't wait to see how they react when we have some real snow on the ground!

Weekend Update

2008-12-08T09:49:00.004-05:00

I am still seeing improvements with Reece. He is just now going through the "stripping" stage most kids go through at around two years old. When his sisters went through this phase we had to duct tape their diapers or they would be off--a very dangerous situation! We even had to duct tape Reece's diapers because the girls would take his diaper off for him.

First Reece started taking off his shoes, then came the shirt, then the pants and now his diaper. He never had the coordination before to do this. The part that really impressed me happened last night. He was stripping and trying to get his diaper off. The clothes can come off but the diaper must stay on! So I told him "No." He looked at me and signed "dirty" to tell me why it had to come off. But the best part was that he was trying to pull a fast one on me. His diaper was clean and dry. When I told him this, he started to smile and laugh. He knew he got caught!

Saturday night we had a surprise birthday party for my dad at my brother's house. (The party was great!) Reece was so good. He didn't throw a single tantrum and was happy and played. He even pet the dog that he has ignored or failed to realize even existed up until now. At the end of the night when he was sitting in my lap and the dog came over, Reece smiled at her and laughed. Previously he would just bump into the dog or treat her like any other roadblock. I was afraid he would throw a fit when we were leaving but he was fine. (We had left my brother's one night and the screaming was so bad that the neighbors turned their outside lights on. I am sure they thought someone was being brutally attacked outside.) He even let me know when he was tired and ready to go by bringing me to the front door. He put my hand on the doorknob and just smiled. He wasn't insisting we leave right then and happily came back up to the party. I think he was just letting me know it was almost time to go and that he was fine with it.

Another first for Reece over the weekend was an attachment to a piece of clothing. He has never really cared what he had on. Only once did he refuse to put on a certain shirt one day. But this weekend he fell in love with his overalls! He had them on Saturday morning and was very upset when I went to change his diaper because he thought I was taking them off. When I finally did get them off, he clutched them ready to put them back on as soon as his new diaper was on. He even wore them on Sunday. Last night when I put his pajamas on he walked around holding his overalls. The good thing is, if he likes what he is wearing it will stay on him! So if we are going somewhere that he needs to keep his clothes on, he will have to wear the overalls!

Erin has been doing really well too. She has been so excited about our neighbors Christmas lights. Every night it is like she is seeing them for the first time. But at the party she was terrified of the dog. This is one of her big fears and every once in a while she is okay with an animal nearby. I think it was more upsetting because there were a lot of people there so she was just out of her element. It wasn't like a normal visit to her cousin's house. And shortly before we left she saw the dog was lying down and it was less crowded and she was perfectly fine walking around near the dog. She even told me the dog was tired and going to sleep. So I am thinking it was just the atmosphere that got her worked up and amplified her fear of the dog.

Government states autism may be an adverse reaction to DTaP Vaccine

2008-12-05T08:02:00.000-05:00

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/the-pentagon---a-voice-of_b_148490.html

The Pentagon -- A Voice of Reason on Vaccines and Autism?

When it comes to fighting autism, maybe we should send in the Army.
Autism and the military have a deep history together. Children of service members are reportedly almost twice as likely to have autism (1-in-88) than those in the general population (1-in-150). Meanwhile, the Department of Defense quietly spends millions in taxpayer dollars researching the possible causes of autism at far-from-the-spotlight centers around the country.
Recently, several documents have been brought to my attention which, when viewed together, suggest that the Department of Defense has legitimate concerns about vaccine injuries and their possible connection to autism, perhaps more so than other branches of the Federal Government.
These documents raise several questions that I am currently trying to get answered from DOD officials:
1) Autism may be an "adverse event" of Tripedia (DTaP) use
According to the website of the Vaccine Healthcare Centers Network, run by DOD and CDC, autism is listed as an "adverse event" associated with use of the Tripedia triple vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
My questions are: Why does autism appear here? Does VHC consider autism to be a possible adverse event of DTaP use, or has it simply been reported that way by parents?
2) Patients who have bad vaccine reactions should avoid multiple vaccines in the future
According to this VHC slide, any patient who has a "Systemic Event" following immunization - defined as "symptoms and signs of illness after vaccination" and "any reaction that does not involve the injection site" - should avoid multiple vaccines in the future, if possible.
My questions are: Is that standard DOD policy? Is there an alternative schedule for these patients? Does this advice apply to children of service members as well? Why is this information not shared with civilian doctors and pediatricians?
3) Patients who develop serious neurological diseases might need vaccine exemptions in the future
This VHC slide says that a patient who develops a severe neurologic disease following vaccination might need temporary or permanent exemption from future vaccines. Such diseases include peripheral neuropathy, encephalopathy (including autism, presumably) Guillain-Barré syndrome and progressive focal neurologic disease. Such patients should be given temporary exemptions from future vaccinations.
Meanwhile, risks for recurrent reactions should be assessed before additional doses are given, and "permanent vaccine exemption may be required."
Again, is this DOD policy? Are such exemptions given? Because autism is listed as a "severe neurological disease," would those patients (ie, children of service members) also be exempt from future vaccinations? And, on a related note, does VHC consider autism to be a "neurological disease," as opposed to a developmental/behavioral disorder?
4) Mercury, and possibly thimerosal may cause autism and dementia
According this slide (#22) on the vaccine preservative thimerosal, from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), "exposure to mercury in utero and children may cause mild to severe mental retardation and mild to severe motor coordination impairment." The slide also seems to indicate that autism and dementia might questionably be "health effects" of mercury or thimerosal exposure.
My question is: Why does autism appear on a list of health effects on a slide about thimerosal, even if it is followed by a question mark?5) Alternative biomedical treatments may be prescribed for thimerosal exposure
The same slide says that "treatments" for thimerosal exposure include: "Methyl-B12, ointment DMPS, & glutathione (GSH)." These are all alternative (some would say fringe, radical and dangerous) treatments being used today by thousands of autism parents and their children's physicians, with varying degrees of success (including reports of full recovery).
Methyl-B12 - has been shown to repair damage to the process of methylation, and to restore methionine and glutathione levels in patients with autism to within normal ranges.
DMPS - is a sulfur-based amino acid used in the process of chelation - in which sulfur molecules bind with heavy metals such as mercury, and eliminate them from the system.
Glutathione - is a sulfur-based protein that binds with heavy metals and eliminates them from the system. It is also a powerful anti-oxidant. Many children with autism show signs of glutathione depletion, heavy metal accumulation and oxidative stress.
My questions are: Was the speaker simply refering to treatments that some people have tried, or is the AFID endorsing these treatments for thimerosal toxicity and/or autism? On what evidence is this based? Are Methyl B-12 and GSH, like chelation, considered standard of care in the military for mercury toxicity? Can you explain why autism families in the military have these treatments covered, (at thousands of dollars a year), even if they also have an autism diagnosis? Is this why military insurance will pay for visits to doctors in the Defeat Autism Now network, which advocates the use of these non-traditional treatments?
I eagerly await the replies from VHC and AFID officials, and will update this blog as soon as I hear anything.
Meanwhile, regardless of the Pentagon's positions on the above questions, we know for certain that DOD is concerned about the risk of injury from multiple vaccines.
In fact, it may even need to reconsider the practice.
"We have preliminary findings from one of our many on-going research studies that suggest a relationship between adverse events and multiple vaccinations exist," US Army Colonel Renata J. M. Engler, MD, director of the VHC, (a "collaborative network" of the Defense Department and the CDC), wrote to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). "These findings will require validation, but heighten our concern for the current clinical practice of multiple vaccinations."
"The more drugs one is exposed to, the greater the likelihood of having an adverse event so as vaccine numbers increase, and (sic) we will see more people who have efficacy or safety issues," Col. Engler said. "The standard of care (ie, in the context of mixing vaccines) is to minimize drug exposures because of the recognition that the more drugs being used, the greater the chance of a reaction and potentially a serious adverse event."
I wonder when the CDC and America's pediatricians will issue an equally thoughtful and cautionary statement, instead of their usual reassurance that small children can easily get 100,000 shots at once, without a single "serious adverse event" among them.

History of Thimerosal--a link for some great info from the Adventures in Autism blog

2008-12-02T11:54:00.002-05:00

http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2005/08/beginning-at-beginning.html

My Letter to Dr. Tayloe-New President of the AAP

2008-12-02T09:22:00.002-05:00

November 16, 2008

American Academy of Pediatrics
Attn: Dr. David Tayloe
141 Northwest Point Boulevard
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007-1098

Dear Dr. Tayloe:

Congratulations on being officially inducted as president of the AAP. You have no small task before you, as the relationship between parents and the AAP has never been more precarious. Parents are worried about vaccine safety, and they aren’t finding comfort in the actions of the AAP. All we hear is how safe vaccines are. Yet almost every parent has a child or a friend with a child who has had a negative reaction to a vaccine. What we are seeing does not support what we are told. The AAP needs the trust of parents, and parents need to know the AAP is there to support them. Being president of the AAP is a very prestigious position. And how wonderful would it be if you were the man who brought everyone together? What if you were the man who made vaccines safe and repaired this broken relationship? What if you were the man who put an end to the autism epidemic? Dr. Tayloe, will you be that man?

My children were preemies who were born two months early. When I took them for their well visit at what would have been only two days past their due date, they were given their two-month shots. My daughter had recently come off oxygen and was still on meds to keep the fluid out of her lungs. Both my daughter and my son had had setbacks in the nicu and required transfusions. My son also had had a spinal tap to try to determine the cause of an infection. These children clearly had fragile immune systems, and we were told to keep germs away from them. Anyone even sniffling could not come near them. When we arrived in the pediatrician’s office, we were quickly brought to a room so that we didn’t have to wait with the sick kids. When the doctor came in, she gave them their two-month shots. I questioned why she wouldn’t wait until the babies’ adjusted age was two months, but I was told this was the way it was done.

How can it be safe to inject viruses and toxins into children with fragile immune systems? How can a shot be the same dose for a four-pound baby as it is for a ten-pound baby more than twice the size? This was something I looked into and learned that prematurity is not a reason to delay vaccination. I am wondering why this is. If babies can’t handle being in the same room as a sick person, how can they handle the vaccines being injected into their bloodstream? Please tell me the reason for this. Shouldn’t these routine vaccinations be dosed by weight, as were the RSV shots they received?

My next concern has to do with the responses of pediatricians when children exhibit autistic or other neurological symptoms. My kids had many red flags--delayed speech, loss of speech, sensory issues, etc. When all these are referred to as neurological issues, why would a doctor then continue to inject them with vaccines containing neuro-toxins? Obviously, if they have neurological issues, the doctor is going to make it worse. My pediatrician’s only answer was that the guidelines say autism is not an accepted reason to stop vaccinating. If she were to give my child a prescription, she would have to take their medical history, and even that of other family members, into account. Why is this not the same with vaccines? I don’t know anyone who was injured from a prescription, yet I know many families of kids who were vaccine-injured. I often wonder if my kids would be better off now if my pediatrician had stopped vaccinating at the first sign of trouble. Would my son be able to speak?

All of these shots, an alarming number by anyone’s count, are given at the time these babies’ immune and neurological systems are most vulnerable and still developing. Many of these shots don’t make sense to me: I don’t believe we are at risk for huge, uncontrollable outbreaks from most of these diseases. I did not receive most of these shots as a child and the generations before me didn’t either. If there were risk of an outbreak, we would be seeing it in the older population that didn’t receive these shots. Also, I don’t know anyone my age who was tested for immunity to the MMR and was immune. Why weren’t there outbreaks if we were “at risk”?

Then there are the ingredients. I cannot tell you how shocked I was to learn of the poisons that are used in vaccines. If parents injected this stuff into their children, they would be arrested on the spot. There has to be a way to get the thimerosal and aluminum out of these shots completely. Trace amounts are not acceptable. Is formaldehyde really okay to inject into babies? I am no scientist, but I can’t think of any argument a scientist could have to show that this is safe to do.

I implore you to examine the schedule and decide what vaccines are truly necessary and then clean them up so they are safe for our kids. There is a reason the incidence of autism was 1 in 10,000 when I was growing up and we only received a third of these shots. Many kids cannot handle the amount of vaccines they are currently given. Kids with neurological issues should be exempt from further vaccination. It is just common sense to stop injecting them with neurotoxins when they are already exhibiting neurological symptoms. And preemies should not receive vaccines while their immune systems are still struggling. I urge you to consider extending the current time frame for vaccines. All these shots in such a short time frame, many of them given together, is a recipe for disaster. Some kids seem to handle it, but the number of children who can’t is growing by the day. Is the AAP doing anything to put a system in place to identify these children before they are vaccinated?

If vaccines are safe the way they are, why do today’s kids comprise the sickest generation ever? I see so much time and energy wasted by the AAP and the CDC arguing that vaccines are safe when clearly there is something wrong. We are all supposed to be on the same side--the side of the children. We need to work together to find a better way to keep kids healthy and restore the health of the kids who are suffering.

Thank you very much for allowing me to bring these concerns to your attention.

Sincerely,

Kristin Bushey

An Autism Mom's Christmas Wish List

2008-12-01T13:02:00.005-05:00

It's funny how your entire outlook changes when your kids are sick. My entire focus on what we need is based on getting them healthy. My list is pretty much what I am guessing other moms with kids with autism want.

A dehydrator--to make cookies and other goodies from the Mother Necessity Cookbook. When I told my husband I wanted this, he said he had already figured that out.

A Vitamix--I have already blown up my blender, my little chopper and my Silver Bullet is on the fritz.

A Fry Daddy.

A water filtration system.

Mattress covers for our beds and pillows.

Visits to our homeopath, a chiropractor and Chinese herbalist.

Supplements that we need.

Organic foods to fill my kitchen. A chef to cook them for me! And for my kids to eat them without a problem.

Books for the kids to work on skills like cutting, tracing...

Therapy toys for the kids--things to slide on, jump on, push, pull and build with.

I want a play gym that kids with special needs can go to without parents worrying about meltdowns, sensory overload or any other issue. A place where parents can know everyone understands their situation and can find a supportive environment.

I want the strength to get through every day and whatever it holds for us.

And most of all I just want my kids to get better. I want Reece to talk and be able to play with other kids his age. I want Erin to lose that last little bit of flappiness that she has. I want all my kids to have the chance to lead the lives they were meant to live and be able to achieve all they want in life. I want autism to be a thing of the past for all families dealing with it. I just want us to have a normal life.

But through the autism, the struggles and the "doing without" for everyone becauste of the costs, in the end my kids are happy and that is the most important Christmas gift of all. They don't mind that most of their clothes are hand-me-downs, they don't complain that we don't get to go on family vacations or buy things that most people take for granted. My older kids don't complain that they have to share rooms with their younger sisters and brother. They didn't complain at all when we had to "downsize" our home even though they lost their privacy. In the end they know they are loved and they are just happy kids. And that is a wonderful gift we get to enjoy every day.

Healthy again!

2008-12-01T12:47:00.002-05:00

After dealing with strep throat and some nasty colds, everyone is better. I have to admit I was nervous sending Reece back to school today. I am hoping the strep is gone from his class and we won't have to deal with illness again soon.

Erin had the worst time of it even though she had a cold and not strep. She kept spiking high fevers and was having a terrible time sleeping. She started waking up yelling and angry even though she wasn't quite alert. It took me until last night to figure out what the problem was. She had been taking an antibiotic with dye in it and before that she was on Motrin but not the dye-free one I usually get. Obviously she reacts to these dyes in a pretty upsetting way. She was restless and crying in her sleep. Last night was the first night without the antibiotic and she slept through without an incident. She was even the last to wake up this morning. So next time--we get dye free meds if we need them.

Reece was happy to get back on the bus today. He is still doing really well. Yesterday was Pop-pops birthday and when I told him to say "Happy Birthday" he actually said "happy". It's great to see him making progress.

This week I am ordering the pots and pans from www.mercola.com . My pots are terrible and there is no point in making sure I am making healthy foods if the pots and pans are leeching poison. I am trying to get the aluminum out of Reece so it doesn't make sense that I am using pots that are probably leaking aluminum into his foods. If you haven't looked into how dangerous cookware--especially teflon--can be, check it out. You will get quite an education.

Today I took the Erin and her sister to Chuck E Cheese since they were the only ones home from school. They loved it but Erin was a little freaked out by the rides. She didn't want to go on anything that moved. when they went on the rides that you sit in and watch the screen like you are on a roller coaster, she looked pretty much terrified! But she did relax a bit and even smiled some. It had to be quite a sensory experience for her since the screen is right in their face and the seat moves and shakes along with it. But she did really good! And since we were the only ones there for most of the time, I could relax a bit about being near sick kids. After the last week and a half I am a bit paranoid! (Okay more than a bit!)

More Tolerant of Temperature

2008-11-24T14:35:00.003-05:00

Anyone with a child that has Sensory Integration Disorder knows how difficult mealtime can be. Food must be just right--not too crunchy for some, not too soft for others, not too hot, not too cold, not too gooey. And then of course your child may take one look at what you put on their plate, make a face and walk away no matter what. Reece always eats his food at room temperature. A little too hot or too cold and he wouldn't even try it. And if he thought it was too hot or too cold he may not even come back for a second attempt at eating it.

The other day I was getting chicken out for Reece that I had made the day before. I cut it up and was going to reheat it in the microwave. (And then let it cool down to where he would eat it.) Before I could get it to the microwave he grabbed a piece and ate it. He has never eaten anything cold. He won't even touch ice cream or ice pops. He then reached for another. I put the plate on the table and he ate it all--cold!

Now today I was heating up some of his SCD Egg Bread in the toaster oven. He must have been hungry because he was really happy when he saw it in the oven. After I cut it up he wanted to eat it right away. It was still warm so I tried to get him to wait. He was insistent so I put it down figuring he would touch it and then walk away for a while. But he popped a piece in his mouth and sat down. Usually just the smallest bit of warmth to the touch would have sent him away from the table. Then he did something else totally unexpected--he got himself a spoon to eat it with. This is a kid who never uses silverware. He just recently started humoring me by using it if I am with him. But usually he uses it for a bite or two and then puts it down when he sees I am not paying attention. He has always been allowed to eat the egg bread with his hands so it was funny that he would get a spoon for it. We'll see how it goes tonight at dinner!

Stimming--a new development

2008-11-23T17:27:00.003-05:00

Reece is a really stimmy kid. He loves, loves, loves to spin things. Anything he can get his hands on. He will take my pots , pans, strainers, ladles, anything in my kitchen drawers or cabinet and spin them. I was told when we started the homeopathy that some things can worsen before they get better. Erin has definitely been stimming more but Reece reacted a bit different. Yes, he has stepped it up in the stimming department but he is also stimming a little different. Now, he likes to build things with my kitchen supplies and then spin them. He will put my strainer on the bottom, add a pot or pan, even the little garbage can was in it a few times. He makes these towers out of what he finds and then tries to make it spin. It's actually pretty interesting to see the towers he has come up with. Sometimes he puts a pot top upside down on the bottom to give the effect of a top. The funny thing is he will even put the pots and other things away now too. that is another engineering feat to see how he gets it all back in the cabinet in random order and it all somehow stays and doesn't fall out.

Erin had pretty much stopped stimming so her reverting back to it is really noticeable. Plus now with her being sick, I think she is regressing a bit in some things. Today she had some echolalia and was stimming while moving her hand in circles to show me how something was moving. Her eye caught her hand and couldn't stop watching it go around. She was showing some OCD behavior this morning with freaking out because there wasn't syrup (agave) in every little hole on her waffle. This normally would not be a big deal--today she was in tears. This is kind of scary because she is doing so well. I may take her to the doctors tomorrow for a Quick Strep test and retest t. I don't want her to go into a full force regression. Strep scares me more than just about anything else they could get. It has been at the center of a lot of their issues--For Erin the virus and for Reece the yeast from the antibiotics.

A Bad Day

2008-11-22T10:46:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was a tough day. Erin went to my dad's house so that Reece and his one sister could go to the doctors. My mother came with us. I thought I was being prepared and packed a bag with diapers, Fritos, juice boxes and books. I thought we would be okay. We went to an urgent/primary care office that we use. When we walked in there was only one mom sitting there with her sick little girl who was probably a year younger than my little guys. I thought that was a good sign. But Reece walked in, saw the setup and knew we were in a doctors waiting room. He immediately headed for the door. When I told him we had to stay and tried to distract him with the goodies I brought, he went into full meltdown. He was lying on the floor screaming and banging on the door. Of course the mom was sitting at the seat directly in front of the door so Reece was literally at her feet. I thought it was pretty funny that she decided that this was a great time to make a call from her cellphone!

Luckily, my friends who work there saw us (after hearing all the commotion) and quickly brought us back to a room. They were great and tried to bring in stickers and books and golf balls to keep Reece occupied and happy. Unfortunately he was beyond calming down. He did briefly stop screaming a few times if I sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" or my mother sang "Jingle Bells". But he always went right back to screaming and trying to break away from me to get out. T sat there perfectly happy through it all.

The doctor came in and smiled although he had to be dreading the next few minutes in our room. He examined t first who was no trouble. Then came Reece's turn. I sat on the examination table and held him with his back to me. I had to put my legs over his to keep him from kicking the doctor and it took me and my mother to hold him still (and not that well) while the doctor examined him. He screamed and was absolutely terrified. He is so strong I could barely manage to hold onto him and was afraid he would launch us both off the table. Trying to hold a child down while they are screaming for their life and so scared is a horrible thing for any parent to have to do. You know you have to, but it kills you to do it. All I could think about was how I am supposed to protect him and here he thinks I am helping someone hurt him.

While we waited for the strep results I helped my mother get the kids into the car and she stayed with them while I waited in the office. I was out of breath and my back and wrist (already in a splint) were killing me. I joked with my friends about disrupting the office and told the doctor he should take a long lunch after going through all that. Finally, I got the results and headed to the car.

As my mom drove her car back to my house and I drove my van with the kids, I cried. I could not hold in the tears any more as I finally could stop "getting through the moment". It had been a streak of good things and moving forward, and this doctors visit reminded me how far we have to go. Horrific meltdowns were still part of our lives. He keeps getting bigger and stronger and although it had been a while since this had happened, we hadn't escaped these moments yet. Later, as I was waiting for the prescription in Costco I just wanted to curl up in the corner. It was the hardest day I have had in a long time.

There are days that are absolutely wonderful. Days that would be near perfect for anyone and make you feel like your life is almost normal. Then there are days like yesterday.

Reece is sick----

2008-11-20T11:22:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Reece fell asleep on the bus on the way home and his teacher sent a note stating he had been sticking his finger in his right ear. As soon as he walked in the house he started to cry and he didn't stop until he fell asleep over an hour later.

After he woke up I put on a movie in my room to try and get his attention off how he felt. It worked. I then gave him a sippy with some juice, grapefruit seed extract and elderberry in it. I put one drop of earache drops in his ear--that's all he would allow and only allowed that much because he didn't see it coming. (He also stayed away from me for a bit-probably afraid I still had the dropper.) He perked up almost immediately. He started playing and ate a plate of chicken. He was laughing and playful but you could tell still didn't feel good.

I figured I would take him today to his holistic doc who uses Chinese herbs. The last time he was sick the herbs worked faster than any antibiotic I have ever seen. Unfortunately his doctor is away until the 24Th! I found another Traditional Chinese Medicine practice close by but they don't open until 1:00. Hopefully they can take him. He is playing and acting normal today but still has a gross runny nose. Some herbs would definitely help him. I also have his one sister home today with a little runny nose. Of course this would happen when they have two birthday parties this weekend!

I am a true believer of Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbs now. When he was sick last month he would have been on an antibiotic for sure. He had the croup and probably bronchitis. Thankfully I had found our holistic doc and we avoided that whole mess.

Kids with autism are usually battling yeast overgrowth. Antibiotics would add to the yeast problem. When Reece was two and all the little guys had strep four times in seven months he ended up with a horrible yeast diaper rash. He was also having horrible diarrhea this entire time. It went for about a month-from when he was on or right after the last round of antibiotic. Everything I tried didn't help because I didn't know what the problem really was. When I called the pharmacy the pharmacist told me he thought it was yeast and I had to call the doctor. This was New Year's Day. It took two weeks and several visits to the doctor to clear it up. He was never given an internal yeast fighter, just a cream so I am sure he suffered longer than necessary. One doctor even insisting that I strap the poor kid in his car seat-he couldn't even sit down he was so sore-and bring him in, rather than call in the script that the doctor I spoke with the day before told me to ask for. He screamed as I buckled him down in his car seat. He had to endure that painful ride there and back so that they could get another visit out of him.

If they had just suggested that I give probiotics when they were taking antibiotics or had prescribed an oral yeast fighter like Nystatin or Diflucan when they saw they were on their second, third and fourth rounds of antibiotics, this may have been avoided. It would, at the very least, not have been as severe.

Erin is getting cranky!

2008-11-16T20:04:00.002-05:00

The homeopath told us with the liver detox could come some anger. We aren't seeing this with Reece since he has been on liver support for a while. Erin refused her drinks with the liver support so I her intake was very inconsistent. She has been pretty whiny and crabby lately. She is also pushing her sisters and brother and ripping toys out of their hands. She is happy as usual for the most part--as long as things go her way. If she can't get the toy she wants through force, she comes to me crying. I hope this phase is over soon for her! She did however really impress Daddy today by counting to over 100. I didn't even know she could do that!

Unprompted words from Reece!

2008-11-16T19:52:00.002-05:00

I was in the bathroom getting ready this morning and Reece came up to the door and said "Mommy". I have never gotten the full "mommy" before it is always "mama" and even that is when prompted. He would occasionally say "mama" but I usually didn't know if it was referring to me or just a verbal stim since he would say it over and over. Then today the girls took his pots he was spinning on the kitchen floor when my husband was watching the kids. He got upset and the girls took off with the pots. He chased them and approximated "come here". (meer) I have never heard him yell at them. He also said "Hi" to P without being told to. He saw P come up the stairs and just said "Hi". That is the first unsolicited "hi" he has ever given. I am so happy that he is finally using his words to get someones attention for something other than "eat, juice, up, cookie". I hope this is the start of some more gains.

started a detox tea today

2008-11-13T19:56:00.004-05:00

Since we have been doing the homeopathy for a week now with no problems I started them on Ojibwa Tea of Life. I read about this on a list and the kids seem to do well with this. It helps with detox and they even have autism starter kits. I got the one that has the premade tea already done. The kit also comes with a probiotic that sounds pretty good. I like that it is a powder so I don't need to open more capsules. It is a bit gritty though and after giving it to my seven year old she told me it was kind of gross at the bottom where it wasn't dissolved too well. The tea is supposed to have a mild taste. Erin drank it straight, Reece drank it mixed with some apple cider and so did their sister. I haven't tried it but I will give it a taste. The kit also came with two packets-one on autism and Lymes disease and the other with autism info and some reviews from parents that used the product with their children. I am hoping it just helps everything else we are doing.

Yesterday Reece went on the potty at school. I was so happy. Then I read an email from his teacher telling me that "The Oreos were the best!" Uh-oh! Oreos are not in his diet. So as I am typing back to her thinking either she used the wrong cookie name (he has GFCF cookies for rewards) or gave him someone elses cookie by mistake- I remembered that I had put together some Oreos for T's snack and then lost them. I looked but couldn't figure out where I put them and then forgot that I had even done it. Well, I guess they ended up in Reece's bag! And of course he loved them and was really motivated to work for them. Good thing he likes the cookies I sent in. I even toyed with the idea of letting him have a small piece if he went on the potty-yes I am that desperate to be done wiping butts! But just couldn't get myself to do it. I just can't believe I sent them in with him! I really need some sleep!

Last night we went out to dinner after P made his confirmation. I was really worried how it was going to go. Other than a night out for families of kids with autism we have not been out to dinner as a family since last Summer at my father-in-laws. So I packed juice boxes, snacks and some toys and off we went. I am sure it helped that it was early when we went. The kids were great. Erin had a side order of bacon-(It's what makes her happy!) and Reece had his Fritos that I brought along and wouldn't touch his burger with no bun. But it was nice- no problems at all. I ended up having to take Reece out to the car before everyone else was done only because he was tooting and I didn't want to ruin the dining experience of the people sitting behind us.

Erin

2008-11-10T13:52:00.003-05:00

Erin loves words. She can recognize some small words from books we read. Drawing was tough for her. She used to hold the pencil or crayon so hard she didn't have much control over what she was doing. It was like she was trying to rub through the paper-and sometimes she did.

Last night she brought over the doodlepro and said she drew a picture of me and my husband. It was the best picture I have seen her do-full smiling faces and even hair. We were really impressed and I was wishing she had done it on paper so I could save it. Then today she brought it over again and said she wrote her name. She did-perfectly! She had written what you could make out to be her name before but this was every letter spaced apart and written correctly. It wasn't like any of the other times she wrote her name. I am going to have her do it again later on paper. Now she is trying to write her classmates names from memory and is really close!

ATEC

2008-11-10T10:20:00.007-05:00

ATEC is a tool that basically helps determine how impaired the child is. I have done this three times and it shows how much my kids are improving. The lower the ATEC score the better. There is a link to this on left. You just need to scroll down to get to the form. When you fill it out, your results are immediately emailed to you.

Erin

Her first ATEC in February scored a 62. Then, after putting her on the GFCF diet in April I redid the ATEC in July. Her score was a 9! That was the only intervention I had done for her at that time. This is one reason it drives me nuts when people say the diet doesn't work. It was what basically recovered her. I just redid the test again today and her score has improved to a 3! Even typical kids can score in the lower numbers with "0" being the "most typical child". (whatever that is!)

Reece

Reece's first ATEC score was a 67. When I redid it in July he improved to a 53. When I redid the test today he scored a 36!

It's great to have a way to assess their improvements. It lets you know you are on track on making gains. Sometimes it feels like you are just stuck in one place and this shows you that you aren't.

Okay, I redid this test today (9/15/09)and Reece's score went up to a 50. The reason for this I believe is the age change. He is much more social, saying some words and playing correctly with toys. He is making great gains so I am not worried about the number going up. I will just see what happens when I redo this test again.

1/21/10 Redid Reece's ATEC and he is back to a 36. His increased speech and social behavior along with his now being potty trained to at least pee int he potty helped lower his score. He is doing great!

10/10/10 I just redid the ATEC and Reece is now a 30! We are getting there!!!

Another First!!!!

2008-11-09T18:51:00.002-05:00

We have been asking Reece his name and he will tap his chest and say "eece". He can't get the "R" in front of it yet. And I will ask him who I am and who My husband is. Sometimes we got the right answer but mostly we got "eece". So we weren't sure he really connected us with our "names". Tonight he brought my husband into the living room where he was going down the slide. My husband said "Okay, go down the slide." and started to walk away. Reece called "Daddy!" after him! He has never called him before by his name unless I prompted him in one of our "Who am I?" sessions. Reece likes us to watch him go down the slide to cheer for him.

Supplements

2008-11-09T12:40:00.015-05:00

This entry will keep being updated as things change.

Erin

May 27, 2009 update: We added in Kirkman Mito Cell Support and she gets Alpha GPC 300 from Jarrow. We also added Little Angels vitamins from Rainbow Light. She is doing awesome. Her gut issues seem to be pretty much gone. Erin really doesn't have any issues to work on now.

Homeopathic remedies that we just started.

She hasn't taken much since she refused to drink anything with, as she put it- "colors" in it. update: She now drinks anything I give her!

She loves Fish Oil and even asks for it.

Cod Liver Oil

FloraMore probiotics.

Kids Digest Enzymes.

Virastop.

Candex.

Vitamin D3

Grapefruit Seed Extract (now only using if sick)

Reduced Glutathione Cream --added 11/26 (stopped using--no changes seen)

Liquid Carnosine added 12/13 (no longer uses)

Behavior Balance-DMG added 12/13

She did some Olive Leaf Extract-this helped with lessening her OCD type behaviors and her fears seem to lessen too. This can kick up yeast so if you do OLE, you should be doing some yeast protocol as well.

Aloe Vera--I just started this after a friend said her doctor told her it helps with diarrhea.

We are going to try a new vitamin--I'll post that when we start.

She also did some of the Brainchild Yeast Protocol. I rotated the Pau D'Arco and Oregon Grape with her. The Garlic was so strong nobody would touch a drink with it in it. (no longer using. Her gut is now fine through homeopathy)

Erin used the LifeWave Glutathione patches for a short time. I saw improvements but I only wanted to do it on weekends as I didn't know if the school would understand this patch on her back. She wore it without any problem.

Reece

June 15, 2009-added in cal/mag butyrate. Smells like vomit! But it is supposed to help with brain neurotoxins, ammonia in the brain and promote good gut flora. I hope the results are worth the horrid smell! I took a capsule myself and can't lose "the taste". I can't believe Reece drank his juice, with coaxing, that had this in it!

May 27, 2009 update--We have been using Alpha GPC 300 from Jarrow. It's a form of Choline and I saw big jumps in alertness and socialization with this. Also, his teacher saw great cooperation and direction following at school once we added this in.

We also added Kirkman Mito Cell Support.

Homeopathic Remedies that we just started .

GI Prochild vitamins. He did great on these with no issues at all. I started with the scoop and then went to the capsules. (I didn't read the fine print that one serving was SIX capsules and thought it was a great cost effective way to keep them on vitamins!) But he actually only needed 2-3 capsules a day. More than that and his stimming increased. This vitamin is approved for the SCD diet. (No longer use this. We are using Little Angels vitamins from Rainbow Light.

Kids Digest Enzymes

FloraMore Probiotic--I had stopped this after reading that kids with constipation might not benefit as much from this and it may make it worse. I didn't do any follow up on it so I don't know how true that is. Now that his constipation is under control I will restart.
or
Perfect Colon Probiotic.

Fish Oil.

Cod Liver Oil

Vitamin D3

Carnitine - I keep forgetting to give this one so this is not a daily supplement. (No longer given alone)

Reduced Glutathione Cream added 11/26 (no longer use--no changes seen)

Liquid Carnosine added back in 12/13

Behavior Balance-DMG added in 12/13 (No longer using but may try again)

Apple Pectin. I just started this as it helps remove aluminum. But it seems to gunk up in the bottle of his sippy so I am going to have to see if I can dissolve it in one cup and then add it to his drink. -----Tried this and it doesn't work too well. this stuff is really hard to dissolve and ends up in one big gunky ball on the bottom of the cup. (not using right now---could not get it to dissolve)

I did the Brainchild Yeast Protocol with him-just the Pau D'Arco and the Oregon Grape. Garlic was way too strong tasting for anyone here. (no longer using)

Liquid Carnosine-We saw huge gains in awareness and expressive language after trying this the second time. The first time he wasn't on the diet and I think that held back any gains. I did run out and do need to get more of this.

I have rotated some natural antivirals with Reece but have stopped now that we are adding homeopathy. I will ask about restarting but wanted to be doing as little as possible when we introduced the remedies. I have used Olive Leaf Extract, Elderberry, Cat's Claw and SilverMax. I would have had my questions about the SilverMax-I think everyone saw the guy that turned blue from using silver-but our holistic doc gave this to him when he was sick. And after some research I found out the guy turned blue from using over 100x the usual dose for a life threatening condition.

I tried the Lifewave Glutathione patches with Reece but he would not let me put them on him. I did get him for a short time while he was sleeping but now I fall asleep before him so I haven't been able to keep it up. He seemed to do well on them though I would love to start these up again--if I can stay awake long enough!

We also did the Autistique 1.0 cream about the same time as the patches. I saw real improvements but stopped after hearing other people mention that the ALA in it was dangerous if the dose was too high and it wasn't given at the right intervals. It could pick up metals and just redistribute them. So I decided to stop that. I tried doing small doses of the cream at the intervals people would give ALA but I wasn't consistent enough for my own comfort.

The first vitamin I tried with him was Super Nu Thera. He did terrible on it and turned into a stimmy, hyper Tasmanian devil! Apparently some kids react to this stuff and other do fantastic on it. I also tried something called Spectrum that was a powder and it tasted so bad I couldn't get him to take more than a sip. Then we did Behavior Balance from the Autism Coach site. This was great for him but I wanted a more rounded vitamin. BB is essentially a B vitamin supplement. It has the methyl form of B12 and I think that made the big difference. I now look for vitamins that only have this form of B12. We also did the Brainchild vitamins and minerals. They were great but honestly I wanted something that didn't have to be refrigerated. He reacted to the SSII but did great on the Sensitive formula.

Reece update

2008-11-08T12:22:00.003-05:00

A couple things I wanted to note that Reece has done that are new for him:

The other day Mema was putting his pajamas on him after I had changed him about a half an hour earlier. When she was done he grabbed her hand and put it on the wipes. She gave him a wipe and he started wiping his bottom over his clothes. He was telling her she forgot to change him! He was laying where we usually change him downstairs so he figured we had forgotten.

This morning when he woke up I said "Good morning!" and he tried to say it back to me. It was really close too-anyone could tell what it was he was trying to say. He is getting so much better with his approximations but he still has a lot of sounds and sound combinations he can't make.

Yesterday I was reading books to the little guys and he sat and listened. Usually he doesn't have the patience for this although he loves flashcards because they move quickly. I was reading an older Golden Books of "The Three Little Pigs" and he sat and really paid attention. He even held onto the book when I was done. And this was after we read some Dr Seuss books so he was really attentive for a while.

One more thing is he comes when I call him. There was a time when I could stand next to him and call his name and he would act as though he couldn't hear me. We did the standard hearing test when he was two but he hears just fine. All the red flags and it took a visit to the ENT for his tonsills to get someone to acknowlege that something was really wrong. But now he comes when I call him even if he is upstairs and I am downstairs. He can be in another room and I call him and he comes. I smile to myself every time he does this because it was heart breaking to call your child from a foot away and have them not be able to respond.

Homeopathy Day Three

2008-11-08T12:12:00.004-05:00

Okay, we are on day three and no regressions so far. Erin was a little "flappy" when she was asking for waffles but nothing crazy. Reece even has lessened his physical stims-the ski jump move. I only recall him doing it last night right before bed when he was exhausted. But I was out all morning at the doctors so I can't account for what he did during that time. I wonder if this is the Relax Tone remedy since he seems to be on a much more even keel. He was still up late last night but hopefully this will help him sleep. The first night we gave it to him he fell asleep really quick and wasn't running around all hyped up. I am so excited about starting a homeopathic approach to this. I am really optimistic about this because it just makes sense. One thing I have noticed with both kids is they are both kind of gassy. Reece is no longer constipated and tooting a lot and Erin is going a lot too. I know this sounds like too much info but moms with kids on the spectrum know how important the poop is!

Homeopathy

2008-11-06T20:17:00.002-05:00

Today I received our remedies in the mail. Tonight they got their first doses. I really believe this is going to work for them. It just makes sense to me. At least they drank everything without flinching. I am so excited about starting this!

Diet

2008-11-06T13:31:00.002-05:00

Diet has been the focus of every day for a while now. About a year and a half ago we put my son on a GFCF diet. My daughter was only on it for dinner and snacks. Looking back it sounds crazy that we didn't do both but it seemed so overwhelming that I only went full force with my son. He was much worse and my daughter was making gains. I didn't know at the time that it is really an "all or nothing" diet. So by allowing my daughter to cheat-I wasn't really helping her at all. We did this for five months. My son was still nonverbal but doing well. So I decided maybe he didn't need the diet and went off it for an entire weekend. I gave him everything he wanted-crackers, cookies, bread, cheese, the works! On Monday when he went to school I still didn't see any changes. I was so excited!!! But then came Tuesday...He wasn't real happy in the morning but I thought he was just tired. Then before lunch I got a call from the school to come get him. In their words he was "miserable". The poor kid was truly miserable he was crying and probably in pain. It took weeks back on the diet to get him back to where he was and I felt terrible for giving him back the foods he had done so well without. But now at least I knew the diet was working.

Instead of going back to the GFCF diet I put him on the SCD diet. This was a tough one to wrap my head around. Now most of the foods he liked on GFCF were illegal. But to my amazement, after a day or two of eating next to nothing and feeling pretty bad he started to eat. And he liked it! I made Egg Bread with every veggie I thought would work-and he ate it. I made homemade apple and pear sauce. I steamed or boiled his meats and then started mixing the meats with veggies. And he was happy! The best part was he started to babble. Then he started making one word requests-eat,up. For the first time my son could tell me what he wanted with his voice! The only issue we had was sending snacks for reinforcers to the school. When other kids have cookies-egg bread doesn't cut it. I finally caved on giving him GFCF snacks when I got a note home that he went after a kid for his GF pretzels! I'll do another post tracking his speech but he is still making great gains. I am so proud of him!

Diet for my daughter was in a word-HUGE! I put her on the GFCF diet completely around mid April. At that point she could not tell you where she had gone during the day,even if she just got home. She had a lot of echolalia. And if she wanted juice she wouldn't ask for it. She would basically just yell "Juice!" to me. She was making gains but was still struggling with a lot of her issues. So on the diet she went. About a month and a half later the kids were off for Spring Break. My mother and I took the kids to the park. Her language was really good and we pointed out the animals and she loved the kites some kids were flying. It was a great day and I was so happy with her speech. Then we decided to go again two days later. In the car she asked if we were going to see the baby sheep again. And she talked about the kites. Wow! She had never talked like that before. My mother and I were looking at each other acknowledging this new skill. The echolalia seemed to gone as well. She was typical that day like every other kid there. From that point on she just got better and better. She potty trained without an issue after I had been trying for so long to train her. Before she never cared if she was wet or dirty. Now she announced she had to go and she was potty trained! The only signs that she still isn't 100% recovered are that she will sometimes flap if she is overtired or overexcited sometimes. And she still has some GI issues. She unfortunately has the autistic gut-diarrhea that was almost impossible to get under control. This was something that got worse as time went on. But as long as she is on the diet, she is okay. I hate to think where my kids would be if we hadn't started the diet.

Vaccines

2008-11-06T10:28:00.005-05:00

The first thing I hear from people when they learn I have children with autism is, "Do you think it was the vaccines?" My immediate response is "Yes." But it is not just the vaccines that I blame but also the way they were administered to my children along with their contents. My triplets were obviously preemies. They fought hard in the nicu and had to overcome many obstacles. After my daughter, the last to come home, was released from the hospital after two months there, we brought all three in to the pediatricians office for their first visit. This was what would have been two days after their due date. When the doctor mentioned immunizing them I was worried and asked if they should wait for their two month shots until they were two months old by their adjusted age instead of their chronological age. They were still so fragile and we had to keep germs away from them-how could we inject viruses directly into them? It didn't make sense. I was also worried because my daughter was still on meds to keep the fluid out of her lungs and had just come off oxygen. I was told it was fine and I trusted my doctor.

Later shots were all on time until they were three and I received the autism diagnosis. At this time I still believed there was no connection between vaccines and autism because I was told that was what the studies showed. And the CDC wouldn't lie to us. They are there for our protection, right? My son was even vaccinated while he had a cold. I had heard this was not good to do so I questioned the doctor once again. This time I was told it was fine because he didn't have an ear infection or a fever. Yet again I trusted that my doctor was making the right decisions for my children's health. Through all these visits two of my triplets were showing increasing sensory issues, stimming started, we had feeding issues, delayed speech. I was told everything was fine. The doctors knew we were receiving Early Intervention services so maybe they felt it was being handled. I was very surprised at how little the doctors knew about the issues my kids had. After one visit with my son one of the doctors wrote down the information I gave her on fish oil and how it had helped my sons sensory issues. She had a young relative with horrible sensory issues and wanted to pass the info on to his mom. This should have been yet another clue that most-especially our-pediatricians don't know about these issues. But instead of alarm, I was happy and impressed that she was willing to listen and took it seriously.

After I received the dreaded yet not totally unsurprising diagnosis I got to googling. I was already sort of on the biomed bandwagon since I had been giving my kids fish oil. I had originally tried it with my son after reading that people were having great results with this for speech issues. While my son didn't make any speech gains, his sensory issues greatly diminished. Within two days of fish oil he was feeding himself crackers! Then he progressed to feeding himself other foods. He still had sensory issues but this was huge! Now I started googling autism and my mind was spinning. I went from upset to angry as I read the ingredients in vaccines and heard the stories of other parents whose kids regressed after vaccination. How can they inject these neurotoxins into babies with developing brains and fragile immune systems and not expect them to crash?! I was horrified. And worst of all I held my kids down while they screamed as they were injected with these poisons. Then as I read on I learned that Thimerisol is used because it is cost effective. Not using it would raise the cost of the vaccines and for some reason that is less acceptable than disabling a generation of children. Aluminum is another neurotoxin they use in vaccines. From what I understand, there are no studies done on the effects of aluminum on children. No studies done on the massive amounts they get through vaccines. Funny how they can link it to neurological damage in adults with Alzheimer's but think (or at least say) it is safe for our kids brains. Beware of those claiming to protect you--they are only protecting their wallets.

Am I anti-vaccine? I don't know. I don't believe in the safety of what is out there now. I also don't believe kids need all the shots they are given. Nobody can deny-although they try to-that when the immunization schedule increased, so did autism. And earlier this year Julie Gerberding, head of the CDC admitted that the studies stating there was no link between autism and vaccines was "seriously flawed" and could not be used to draw any conclusions. These were the studies that made me think it was safe to vaccinate my kids. Now I find out it was fiction-true science fiction. I think the vaccine industry needs to be overhauled. We need safe vaccines without neurotoxins and formaldehyde and all the other crap. We need people making decisions that don't have a financial interest in vaccines like Paul Offit. But he his one of many. The more you look into this industry, the more you see how corrupt it is. I wonder how these people sleep at night.

I do know my view of vaccination and the care my children received by their pediatricians changed the day I requested a medical exemption from vaccines. With two children with autism we must be exempt-or so I thought. When I called our pedi's office they behaved as though I was the first person to ever request this. Maybe I was. After being told by the receptionist that they "don't do that because they don't believe in that" I explained that I had two children with autism and was no longer vaccinating. The receptionist was understanding and asked which kids had autism. She then told me a doctor would get back to me. Instead of a doctor calling, the receptionist called back and explained that their last shots did not contain Thimerisol. Hmmm...What does that have to do with it? So I told her maybe they didn't but others they received did. I also told her (Probably shouldn't have but I was so angry and she sounded like she was actually listening to me.) that my kids were vaccinated at two days past their due date and that my son was vaccinated while sick. I told her that my kids had fought so hard to get to where they are now-that my daughter was having conversations and my son was smiling in pictures-even acting cheesy!-for the first time since they were one. I was not risking losing this by continuing to vaccinate them. So she said a doctor would call me back. After another call from the receptionist I finally spoke to one of the doctors. She told me that autism was no reason to stop vaccinating. I asked her how she could justify injecting neurotoxins into kids with neuro issues? She said the guidelines state they should still be vaccinated and she would lose her license for "fraud" if she gave me a medical exemption. She then tried to tell me that there was no link between vaccines and autism. I reminded her, or maybe informed her for the first time, that Julie Gerberding concurred with accusations that their studies were "seriously flawed". So she had nothing to back up that statement. she then said that none of "their" vaccines were connected to autism. I would have laughed if it wasn't such an ignorant comment. I asked her why to give my kids a prescription medication they need to take their medical history and even family history into account but not for immunizations containing poisons and known neurotoxins. She ended up sending me a letter stating that my children had "developmental delays" and by law had until age six to get their boosters. She wouldn't even write the word "autism". They knew they had been diagnosed and still ignored it. Pediatricians go by what they are told by the AAP not what the individual needs and issues your child has. All the questions I asked that I thought I was getting answers to based on my kids was actually based on what they were told to do to every child no matter what. I felt betrayed, angry, and so many other emotions that I don't even think have a name. Instead of helping my kids, they helped damage them.

Also, after attending a lecture on vaccines I was shocked and horrified to hear about the lack of safety studies and trials. Most of the vaccines our children are given today were added to the vaccination schedule after the law passed giving Big Pharma no liability for adverse reactions to vaccines. It is no surprise then that they came up with a bunch of new ones to mandate for our kids-they had nothing to lose. The schedule now contains triple the shots for my kids that I was given as a child. That alone should be cause for concern. In NJ our children are the most vaccinated and they are also the sickest. Why does the government refuse to connect the dots? The reason of course is dollars. This system needs to be changed and fast. We have an entire generation of kids that is being harmed for profit. Vaccines should protect health and not take it away. I am truly amazed any kid makes it through all this unharmed.

Our story.....

2008-11-05T15:56:00.002-05:00

I am starting this blog to document our journey in recovering two of our children who have autism. This is as much for my own benefit in keeping track of things as it is for others who are interested in seeing what we are doing.

My husband and I live in NJ with our six kids. They range in age from four year old triplets to 17 years old. Two of our triplets, a boy and girl, are on the spectrum.

After developing normally they started to lose skills. While they both babbled and had a couple words, by the time they were a year and a half or a bit older, they didn't seem to understand anything anymore. Right around their second birthday my daughter got her first word-"more". We were signing thanks to Signing Times dvd's but this was the only sign she was doing at this time. Pretty soon she added more words and signs. Flashcards also really helped and my kids loved them. My daughter had sensory issues from the time we brought her home from the hospital. They were preemies and she was in the nicu for two months. It was horrible to try to hold her only to have her cry to be put down. Eventually she stopped this and began loving to be held and hugged. Then, later on she would hold her feet in the air laying in her crib. She would be grunting as she tried to hold them up while she fell asleep. Later I heard that children with stomach pains do this. Our doc said it was "normal". She didn't attempt solid food until she was 8 months old and even then preferred formula. When she started baby foods she would only eat the fruits and veggies-meat was hard to get into her. She was always really coordinated but rough. She would accidentally pull her sisters hair because she had to hold it in her hands to feel it. Her hugs quickly turned into tackles. As she gained words, her speech didn't really expand. She repeated the same questions over and over--car rides were tough! If she wanted a drink she would just yell "drink!". She couldn't answer a simple question about where she went. Our daughter also started flapping. When she was excited she would flap while her mouth was open.

Our son was the opposite. He had no muscle tone after being the first one to hold his head up earlier. He was very lethargic and clumsy. After trying to sing when he was only three months old and saying "mama" he now had no words and barely made sounds. He gagged at the sight of certain things like playdough and smells from his babyfood. (Granted most people gag from those smells!) His loss of muscle tone included his oral muscles and he could no longer stick out his tongue. He had trouble chewing and swallowing. His sensory issues were so bad he could not touch any food-even chips or crackers. He became obsessed with the letter "O" and anything round. He would spin anything he could get his hands on--actually we were impressed at some of the things he managed to get spinning! He would pop the nipple down in his bottle and unscrew the cap so he could spin it. I remember the day he started his physical stimming-rocking his hands back and forth like a ski jumper and yelling. This happened more and more often.

During this time when my kids were going downhill they had four strep infections in about seven months. The last one gave my son a horrible yeast diaper rash. My daughter developed OCD symptoms. Both of them had their tonsills and adenoids removed because of sleep apnea. They haven't had a strep infection since so I wonder if the virus was just sitting in their tonsills and not being killed by all the antibiotics they were given. While all these red flags were waving-the doctors never mentioned autism. And they kept vaccinating them--even when my son had a cold.

Right before they turned three, they were diagnosed before they started the district preschool. My son was diagnosed with ASD and my daughter with PDD-NOS. I was angry and upset but all the sings were there. I was given the broken down symptoms by everyone else-Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Apraxia, low tone, delayed speech etc. But nobody had ever said "Autism" to me before. I wish someone had--we could be farther ahead in this journey than we are now.