The Listening Program

We have started a new therapy and I have to say I love the music...but my son fights me the entire 15 minutes it takes to listen each day. I am underwhelmed however I am hopeful. I will stick with it and I am sure, as with all good things, this too will take time to see the benifits. These things usually get easier with time. Good Luck to me to get through this next 6 months. :) Follow up post to come.

11-7-10

Some time we get in a rut and things just happen without much thought. I have felt that way for awhile. My son is doing well in school and therapy and we are just surviving. We are starting a new type of therapy tomorrow called the listening program. I want to have a baseline to start from to hopefully show how much this helps.

Not potty trained. Still urinating without always being aware. Not able to sit for more than 5 minute at a project without adult supervision. Constant verbal cues when getting dressed. Mouthing toys, clothes, and hands 80% of day. Lots of energy. Lots of gibberish in speech, especially when excited or overwhelmed. Very distracted by auditory stimulus, ie bathrooms, airplanes, blenders, vacuums, fans, lots of people, etc.

I am very hopeful and excited that this will be helpful, especially for school.

10-11-10

Today was a great day. I was at therapy with my son today and we were sitting in the waiting room when a little 4 year old boy was trying to make his exit. I was taken back in time...it was so surreal. I was looking at my life 2 years ago. He was bouncing all over, hard to control, not listening, ramming into things, running away from the therapist and his mother, all with a glazed over look in his eyes. WOW. It made me so happy for how far we have come. Yes, we still have some of these challenges, but most days he could blend into a crowd of kids.

Over the past 3 weeks my son has taken public swimming lessons, with no accommodations. His teacher doesn't even know of his disabilities. This is what I have been waiting for. He loves swimming and is quite energetic but he is following the rules, listening to his teacher and loving every minute of it. What a difference from a year ago.

NAET

We have taken my son to this NAET doctor for about 2 months now. We have eliminated successfully; gluten, dairy, b vitamin, and other things. I have noticed an increase in his verbal communication, better sentence structure, less tantrums, and he is able to communicate with his peers better. Yesterday at the park he went up to a boy about his age, asked him his name and began playing with him. They played without fighting, or any parental interference for over a half an hour. He then came over to me and said, "Mom, I have a new friend. His name is Jack!"and went back to play with him.

On a down note...he buried his shoes in the sand and they are gone, gone. I guess it is nice that it's time to buy winter shoes. I am very much enjoying all the growth and change I see in my little guy!!

b-12 update

We ended up stopping the b-12 shots for now. He was having a little skin irritation and diarrhea. I wasn't noticing any improvement. We consulted with his doctor and we may try again later but we decided to get the gut back on track and then see.

Ups and Downs

One thing that I wish I would remember, is that as I work with my 4 year old Asperger's son, is that every one has ups and downs. We have had a couple of long months. We have been off gluten for almost a year now, but every now and then he will get away from me and help himself to something. Most of the time it is when I am baking for others and I just walk away for a minute. I need to learn. But I tend to forget and then end up being mad at myself for a couple of days. I notice the effects of gluten in his system for 4-5 days. It can be miserable.

We have been working with an Allergy Elimination Doctor (NAET) to see if we can help our son. I have been a little skeptical but I think I am noticing a difference. The other day my son asked me " Mom, what does danger mean?" and " What is fire?" This is such a big deal. I just had to smile. It is so fun to hear him talk as we drive and point out the things he sees. It is usually silent with these kids. I love all the progress we are making and the new and exciting things that await us.

I get really scared for school to start. We had a little party at our house with friends. The kids were all playing outside and they let my 4 year old out front and then shut the gate. Who knows how long he had been out there by himself. I am so glad nothing happened. A little while later all the kids were inside except for my son. So, I went out to find him. He was in the window well and the cover had been replaced. He was yelling, "help me out of here!" I was sick. I am not sure what I am to do. I know that these kids love my son and were just playing. He is even a willing participant most of the time. He just doesn't know better. I just wish I knew what I could do to ensure he is safe when he is out in the world. I guess that is every parents wish for every child. I know I can't protect him forever, I will just have to keep trying to teach him all I can. I am glad they grow a little at a time, even though it seems really fast.

Smoothies!!

I love smoothies and therefore give them to my kids. Today's was:
Carrots
Spinach
Pears
Strawberries
Blueberries
V8 Splash juice
Delicious. I love them mostly because I can sneak in all the things the won't eat, ie veggies. I also add a super EFA oil and all their other supplements. I love to experiment. My husband even said it tasted good. I rarely get his approval on my experiments, so it must be a good one!

B-12 Shots

We started giving my son B-12 shots three times a week. It has been easier than I thought giving them up to this point, but he has started to understand that I am giving him a shot and does not like it. It could be interesting from here on out. I haven't notice a huge difference as of yet.

NAET

I have heard of Allergy Elimination for a while now, from many different sources. I am very interested in this. My son is allergic or sensitive to so many things. To list a few: gluten, casein, soy, corn, nuts, and oh so many more. It seems there are more foods he can't have than he can. I am learning a variety of ways to substitute and mostly enjoying the process. We I have the time it is fun to make a new recipe and have it taste good. But I am potty training 2 and I have a infant, life is so busy it would be nice to not have to do so much in the food department. I decided to give this NAET a try with my son. First treatment went so well. He cooperated well with the doctor and he was able to test for 30 or so things. It never ceases to amaze me when he acts so normal...it used to be a guaranteed challenge for everything but it has become less and less with all the stuff we are doing. (mostly diet, therapy, and supplements) It has been a week since the evaluation and 1st treatment and there was no notable change in his behavior this week. (stay tuned for weekly updates on his treatment , I have seen huge improvements in my 6 month old sons reflux using NAET)

I Want to Scream!

The most frustrating thing for me is when I want to try a new treatment, something controversial, or even just not mainstream and I get ridiculed. By strangers and even by people I love. I just want what is best for my little guy and I don't care what is costs, or if it doesn't work....if it could help I want to try it. I will do anything and everything, for everyone of my children. Whatever it takes. Ahhhhhhh!!! So I say to you and myself hang in there. :0

Beans!!

Did you know that you can substitute oil/ butter in recipes with beans. You can use black beans, great northern white beans, garbanzo beans, any kind. They say to use a color you can hide or you food might be a funny color but you can tell no difference. I will tell you I was very skeptical but I have tried numerous recipes, they all work!! You use the exact amount as a substitute. If your recipe calls for 1 cup butter, you use 1 cup pureed beans. 1/2 cup veggie oil, 1/2 pureed beans. Add a little protein to your muffins/cookies, I say okay!

X-Agave Nectar

Xagave is the sweet, satisfying and sensible choice to replace sugar in your diet. It is a delicious, all-natural, healthy alternative to sugar because it is low on the Glycemic index. This stuff is amazing. I have just starting using it. It's exchange rate is about 1/2. This lets you use 1/2 the amount of sugar in your recipes. I have been trying to limit my son's sugar and this a very easy way for me to do that. I have only tried one recipe so far, ( I am a rookie.) but it turned out almost identical. I think I will even be able to reduce the sugar more and they will turn out better. I am in love with this product. (I bought it at Costo)

Good Source

I have recently purchased the Living Without Magazine... My doctor gave me my first edition. I love it. There is so much helpful information in here. It is all GFCF stuff and I am super excited to try some of the recipes. GFCF Creamy Cheesecake? Who would have thought and the picture looks so delicious! The other thing I found in there that I am really excited to get is a new cookbook 'Allergy Proof Recipes for Kids by Leslie Hammond and Lynne Marie Rominger. We shall see.

My Morning

I rolled over this morning and it was 6:15...wow...it has been so long since I have slept that long. My 4 year old is ever waking in the night, sometimes multiple time a night. Today I was lucky. My favorite part of the day begins. My 4 year old runs into my bed and we get a little moment to talk. He seems really clear headed in the morning, I get to hear about the things that go on inside his head. Today he dreamed about colors, and he remember today was Tuesday all on is own. "Today is preschool day" he has really loved school and his teachers. Next we get up and change his diaper (not potty trained), another challenge. My other kids are not up yet so we sat on the couch to read. I love snuggle time with this little guy. Now things are picking up speed. 2 year old awake and very happy to see her brother they are so loud that now 3 month old is awake too. Yikes. Now it is 7:15 and we need to hurry. I get breakfast started. Big kids are eating. 4 year old take one bite, gets down and runs around, I help him back to his chair, bite, he gets down. This is how breakfast goes every morning. No matter what I try it takes forever to feed this kid. Next is time to get him dressed, it is like running a marathon. Ready, go. This chase begins. It takes 10 minutes to accomplish this and I didn't even ask him to help because we are running late. I get the other two kids dressed and I throw on a sweat shirt and out the door we go. It is amazing how tired I can be by 9:00 am. I love the many challenges of my day. As I think about the morning I reflect and realize that if I hadn't ran the marathon, I would probably be at a boring job and I get to do my favorite thing everyday. Be with my kids. I am truly blessed.

May 10, 2010

This weekend I attended a Healthy Child Intensive workshop. It was very interesting and gave me a lot to think about. Do we know how to be healthy? I have come to the conclusion that, NO, I don't. I also decided that I need to do better for me and for my kids. Starting today I am going to try to do something to better my health every day.

I love smoothies so today I had a smoothie. It had 100% apple cherry juice, 6 strawberries, 2 cups spinach, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1 1/2 cups blueberries, and a little lemonade concentrate to add a kick, and 2 Tbsp flax seed. It was very yummy and I got 3 veggie and 3 fruits in one shot. You can't beat that.

I am also trying to add 1/2 tsp EFA, 1000 mg Vitamin C, and a pro biotic daily. Cheers to being healthy. My kids are getting all this too. Hopefully it makes a difference.

We also are getting our son started in Occupational Therapy and had his eval today. I am very excited to get help in areas such as dressing, grooming, potty training, but I also believe that they are going to diagnose him with Sensory Processing Disorder. It is very common for kids on the spectrum to have sensory difficulties. I read a great book called Sensational Kids, by Lucy Jane Miller, OTR. It was a great read, and it is always nice to have something give you prospective.

Steps we have taken

1. Know that you are the most knowledgeable about your child. Don't take no for an answer.

2. READ, READ, READ.

3. Jenny McCarthy's book inspired me.

4. The Kid-Friendly ADHD & AUTISM Cookbook...by Pamela J. Compart, M.D, and Dana Laake, R.D.H.,M.S,. L.D.N. Made my life easier. (LOTS OF GREAT RECIPES)

5. GFCF diet. I started seeing improvements within weeks!!

6. Supplementation...stressful but good

7. Preschool...so amazing. We have had great teachers. My son has friends and I have found there mom's that understand what I going through.

8. Family...I am so grateful for the support my family gives me. Some are so skeptical of all the things I try but my family encourage all my efforts to make my family whole.

I know my son is different but everyone is different. I want him to be the best he can be, to learn, grow, and be happy. We are achieving great things!!

Our Story

We have been told by many doctors that our son is on the autism spectrum, as having Asperger Syndrome. What a crazy life this set of challenges brings into my home. There are so many wonderful, silly, and quite delightful moments and experiences that we share as a family. As I am sure you are aware (those with similar challenges). There are also moments of stress, tears, and pure frustration.

At this time in my life I am so grateful for my love of learning and my mind. I have been on a journey to help my family and as I begin this blog I will share my thoughts and feelings and the things that I find helpful to me and my family. Today's motto: Enjoy the little things and acknowledge the small success for they bring about such great gains.

I have been reflecting on our journey thus far. We found out about 2 years ago why our son struggled in public, noisey places. Why he liked to watch the same movie over and over. Why he could quote movies and sing the ABC's by the time he was 15 months old but had few other words.
So much has happened since then.