Category: Autism

March Favorites

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It’s always been my intent to have every book I read on here on the blog. When I started this way back in 2008 it was for the fun of the bookish community, but mainly I wanted to use it as an online book journal. As I read more and more, I haven’t been able to keep up here or on Instagram and I’m going to try and make that happen while acknowledging that living life is more important 🙂

With that said I read 38 books this month (117 for the year) and have continued by book a day goal. Here are my 5 adult favorites…

Comfortable With Uncertainty by Pema Chodron.

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

The Match by Harlan Coben

with an honorable mention to the quirky novella Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson

My 5 favorite kids books…all non-fiction

She Persisted Around the World by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger

Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? by Tanya Lee Stone and Marjorie Priceman

Just Like Beverly by Vicki Conrad and David Hohn

Planting Stories by Anika Aldamuy Denise and Paola Escobar

Joan Procter, Dragon Doctor by Patricia Valdez and Felicita Sala

Jason and I have never told Gage he was diagnosed with PDD-nos when he was 2. We’ve discussed the different challenges he faces, but never the label as a whole. He’s 11 and it was time. Being me, I requested every book our library system had and Jason and I spent a few hours going through them, both of us shocked at how bad some of them were. I’m still a little miffed that some parent will read some of them to their typical kid and think that that’s what autism is. A post for another day. The ones pictured are the ones that pass the sniff test for Gage to read. We didn’t introduce all of these, but I have them on hand for when questions come. So far he’s only read one. He took the news better than we’d hoped and hasn’t seem to care too much. I hate labels because I find them a much too simple way to judge an individual and so far the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree 🙂

How was your reading month? Anything I need to read?

Healing the New Childhood Epidemics:Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies:The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders by Kenneth Bock, MD and Cameron Stauth

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Title: Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders, Author: Kenneth BockHealing the New Childhood Epidemics. Finished 3-23-17, rating 4.5/5, children’s health, 458 pages, pub. 2007

Doctors have generally overlooked the connections among the 4-A disorders, despite their concurrent rise and the presence of many medical clues. For years the medical establishment has considered autism medically untreatable and utterly incurable, and has limited ADHD treatment mainly to symptom suppression. Dr. Bock and his colleagues, however, have discovered a solution – one that goes to the root of the problem. They have found that deadly modern toxins, nutritional deficiencies, metabolic imbalances, genetic vulnerabilities and assaults on the immune and gastrointestinal systems trigger most of the symptoms of the 4-A disorders, resulting in frequent misdiagnosis and untold misery.  from Goodreads

Since this was first published in 2007 it’s probably not correct to call it groundbreaking, but for some parents whose children have just been diagnosed with one of these four conditions, it will be.  It’s a well laid out introduction to the biomedical approach of the 4-A’s (autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies).  To be fair, there is way more information on Autism and ADHD, but so many of the underlying health issues of all of these is similar.  Actually, of all the biomedical books I’ve read this one is most likely the best laid out, especially considering the four pronged approach Dr. Bock recommends.

As a mother with a few years of biomed under her belt I can say with certainty that this is a good starting place. I plan on starting one of his nutritional components tomorrow with a few new supplements to follow.  Also, it helped me put into focus the things that Gage’s integrative doctor has us working on right now and helped me clarify a few questions for when I talk to him next.

You can work through two of the four areas on your own, the nutritional and supplements, but your will need a doctor for detoxification and medication (if needed).

There are a few hot button issues that shouldn’t stop you from picking it up.  Like most integrative doctors I’ve met, listened to, and read, Dr. Bock believes that vaccines contribute to these conditions.  If I could only go into my own feelings on it, made even more clear by this book I would, but this post is not about that.  He believes that kids should be vaccinated and even provides a schedule that he considers safer, BUT #1 of his general safety guidelines is administer vaccinations only to abundantly healthy children.  This book will help you get your kid there if he or she isn’t already.

I took lots of notes, did a fair amount of highlighting and have a plan in place to move forward. I’d say the book served its purpose.

 

Sundays with Gage – Autism One

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A few weeks ago I had the good fortune to attend the Autism One conference in Chicago.  I was there for 3 1/2 days and came back with a renewed zest to heal Gage.  This conference is for people who reject the notion that autism is a strictly psychological condition and treat it as a medical one.  I’ve been on board with this approach for a year and a half and was ready for a crash course.  I can’t cover everything I learned or already knew (by the way, this is why there are so few autism posts on here – I start writing and the post becomes unmanageable) but using Oprah’s book as a guide, I’ll just tell you the things I know for sure.

1)Kids on the autism spectrum are being recovered.  I spent most of Wednesday listening to mothers who healed their kids and they are no longer on the spectrum.  Do you want to know what the secret is?  They all started by healing the gut.  The brain issues that get a kid diagnosed with autism start because the gut is compromised and toxins spread to the brain.  All of these mothers started with a casein/dairy free diet, no corn, soy or GMOS, and little sugar.  With this new diet they also added supplements to heal the stomach and for some this is all it takes to be on the road to recovery. The trick is to find the correct supplements and diet that works for your kid.  Because every kid is different and not every one is recovered.  A note about the diet – once the child’s gut is healed some of these foods may be added back in.

2)Traditional doctors are of very little help.  Most of the doctors who are DAN or MAPS doctors (docs with biomedical training for kids on the spectrum) now were traditional MDs who had a child with autism that set them off on this path of what kids with autism have in common medically.  It’s quite a bit actually.  Gage’s pediatrician has been of no help whatsoever, you will read more of her when I talk about vaccines.  If a parent wants a recovered kid most of the work is on them.

3)Leaky gut is not something traditional doctors believe exist. And because they don’t believe it, they don’t see how things like toxins, medicines, vaccines can contribute to autism.  I did not say cause I said contribute.  Without the leaky gut these things could be eliminated from your body without a problem.  So, is the leaky gut to blame?  I won’t get into the complexities of the leaky guy here but I’d be happy to answer any questions if you have them.

4)Some of the talks were above my pay grade.  I went to one about Vitamin B numbers being off with kids on the spectrum and I was ten minutes late.  Those ten minutes must have been very important because I sat there for 5 minutes and had NO IDEA what he was talking about.

5)I’ve not talked about vaccines on this blog because it is a lightning rod for vile, disrespectful comments and if that happens I’ll turn the comments off.  Feel free to email me if you want to talk about it.  Okay, there were lots of doctors talking about vaccines at this conference and I listened to two panels.  They pretty much expanded on my own views after the past year and a half of research.  Let me tell you the one thing I learned.  Nine months after Gage ended up on a ventilator and a dairy allergy was put on his medical record our pediatrician gave him a vaccine with casein in it without consulting me.  This ushered in another round of severe head banging and it is also when he was diagnosed with PDD-Nos. Did his doctor know that the vaccine had dairy in it?  I don’t know.  As a parent it is your responsibility to do your own research. There are kids who should not receive vaccines at all and there are kids who shouldn’t receive certain vaccines.

6)Medical testing is vitally important and insurance rarely covers it.  On the same note, traditional therapies are not properly covered either.  Gage gets 20 ‘free’ OT and Speech sessions a  year.  These ‘free’ session cost me $60 co-pay every time.  Thanks insurance, you’re a real help.

7)There’s more that I’m forgetting right now, but I’ve bored myself already!  If you are interested in checking out any of the sessions (maybe I’ll recommend some next time), here’s a link to all of the videos .

I’ve been asked a few times over the years (even just yesterday) what a parent should do if their kid is diagnosed and I always say to start with a gluten free/casein free diet.  It is not easy and to do it correctly the gluten has to be out for at least nine months, but it is the best place to start.

Sundays with Gage – Puzzling

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Gage is high maintenance, always has been, starting with the colic that seemed to last forever (but in reality only six months until we got him on acid reflux medication).  When he was diagnosed on the spectrum there was almost a lessening of the burden of guilt for me and the fact that I found mothering so, so hard.  I had some answers as to why it was so difficult to engage him or why he didn’t really seem to care what I was doing.  He’s wired a little differently, that’s all.  With all of the differently therapies he’s been doing this past year, there has been a huge improvement.  He’s always liked to play by himself, but now he wants us to play with him, more than just be entertained by us.

The biggest improvement has come because we’ve changed our thought process.  Gage needs to be actively engaged all of the time so we adjust to what we can engage him in.  It’s tiring.  So, imagine my happy dance when Gage found a 500 piece puzzle buried under a pile of odds and ends on our dining room table.  I had started it one ambitious day probably a year and a half ago, but it’s sat untouched since then.  Gage found a few stray pieces and pulled out the chair and said “Mommy’s puzzle”.  He was ready to work!  I cleaned off the table and we’ve spent about 20 minutes every day this week working on mommy’s puzzle.  He likes to look at me and tell me, “I’m a good helper” with a satisfied smile.  He tries the pieces and if I help him pick the right one he can get it in!  For the first time Gage has independently joined me in an activity that I love, not the other way around and it has made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside 🙂  Now, If I could just get him to sit in my lap and listen to me read  Inferno.

puzzle1 IMG_5270

 

The Autism Mom’s Survival Guide by Susan Senator

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The Autism Mom's Survival Guide (for Dads, too!): Creating a Balanced and Happy Life While Raising a Child with AutismThe Autism Mom’s Survival Guide (for Dads, too!);Creating a Balanced and  Happy Life while Raising a Child with Autism. Finished 1-16-14, rating 4/5, autism, 196 pages, pub. 2010

Given the daily challenges of raising a child with autism, it’s easy for parents to lose themselves and for their overall quality of life to plummet. Susan Senator interweaves the voices of autism parents, researchers, and professionals to offer guidance and encouragement on how to find happiness and fulfillment in the midst of the struggles of raising an autistic child. Topics include: how to handle feelings of despair and hopelessness; finding fun, even during turbulent times; caring for your marriage; and finding a balance between accepting your child as he or she is and seeking new treatments. 

from Goodreads

When a child is diagnosed with autism, parents read as much as they can about the current treatments available to help their child.  And then start the different treatments, adding more as time and money allow.  In my own personal experience we were so busy with this that I didn’t really take the time to breathe and accept the future.  I was trying to save my son from the diagnosis.  Honestly, I still am, but around the year mark acceptance crept in to my daily thoughts too.  This book really did help with that.

The author has a grown son with autism and two younger sons at home and has had 20 years to make peace and come up with some advice that might help other parents.  This is not a book on therapies and it will not lead you to a quick fix, as a matter of fact she really is not a fan of alternative solutions, like biomedical.  What this book does so well is to offer comfort and advice on how your family can have a better home-life.  It’s full of resources (books, websites, blogs) and stories from other parents to help you feel understood and armed with more information.

At first, it was a struggle to get my mind out of the scary, unknown future.  But as therapies, research, and behaviors kept me busy, the future faded and only resurrected itself on the very bad days.  This book, detailing her experience with her son moving out of the house at 18, was something I needed to read.  While her life isn’t what she expected, it is good and fulfilled and happy.

If you have a friend that has a child with autism this would be a nice recommendation or gift (when she’s having one of those bad days). I checked this out of the library.