We Had A Better Week...hooray!

Things seem to be going much more smoothly now! Hooray for now! We met with the autistic consultant from our county along with the principal, OT, special ed. teacher, and 1st grade teacher. The AI consultant had much advice to give, and once the teacher realized it wasn't a critique of her teaching, but more advice on how best to reach Caleb, things went very smoothly. It seems breakfast was a major source of tension for Caleb because he wanted what he couldn't have. Now, we have a sack lunch (from the lunchroom w/ things he can have) waiting for him in the Special Ed. room after he gets off the bus in the morning. He will get to have his breakfast & play computer games for 1/2 hour in the morning. That should give a good start to his day, and hopefully make it go smoother. The AI consultant also talked to the teacher about the necessity of a visual schedule and visual reminders. The teacher was mostly relying on her words being enough for Caleb to understand what's expected, but it was most likely getting him confused & frustrated. The reminders might not be needed later, but for now (since EVERYTHING has changed from last year), it will be added security for Caleb. I really like the AI lady because she reiterated that it isn't his fault for getting frustrated, that it's part of autism. The teacher had said, "But how will I implement these strategies in a room of 32 kids?", and the AI consultant said, "We aren't going to worry about that now. Let's zero in on Caleb & what's best for him, and worry about the rest later." I SO appreciated another professional being able to get through to the school. So, for now....I'm a bit more relaxed :) Better yet....so is Caleb!

I'll still go in on Tues. and Thurs. mornings to help out, and also I'll meet again with his school team to go over any other trouble spots in Caleb's day, but so far the fight has been successfull! Just think how easy the next ASD kids & families will have it :) Which reminds me....that for our district of 500 students, we have about 8-9 children that are possibly on the spectrum. That's much higher than the 1 in 150 statistic! We're much closer to the 1 in 50 or 60 that England is quoting. All who read this: keep praying for this country, these children, and their families!

Also, I hope to soon have some informational posts on dealing with IEPs, the law on education, and resources in your county. Keep watching!

Disillusionment sets in at School

Well, the excitement was short-lived as reality hit us like a brick. Caleb's educators are NOT trained in autism. I have had a phone call nearly every day this last week because he's not doing something right. This after they let him eat whatever he wants at lunch just to avoid a scene. Finally, we had a meeting with the principal & demanded an aide to be next to him. One that travels from year to year to give him security and boundaries. We also demanded TRAINING! It really isn't the teacher's fault as she is being forced to teach 32 children, 1 possible autistic child, and 1 definitely autistic child (Caleb). This, while 1/2 the class rotates to another teacher a few hours a day. It is controlled chaos! However, it isn't Caleb's fault, and he's TOTALLY capable of handling first grade. After all, the days I went and sat next to him, he did everything the other children did! This was surprising to the educators because they just don't understand his capabilities. We shall see what this week brings as a new aide should arise and training, hopefully, will be scheduled.

TO SCHOOL!

School started TODAY! Here's some great pictures of the kids. (Caleb's in yellow). I hope things go well. The older boys will make sure Caleb finds his class okay & doesn't head to last year's room. Otherwise, I'm praying all day for all 3 of them! Oh...I almost forgot! Caleb learned to RIDE A TWO WHEELER BIKE yesterday!! Hooray! We were at some friends playing volleyball, and all they had were regular kid bikes with no training wheels. Caleb found one his size, pushed off, and away he went! Just like he'd always been doing it! NO MORE TRAINING WHEELS! It was just last year that he learned to pedal, now he's riding a two-wheeler like any normal kid! Hopefully school goes just as well and easy as riding a bike :)

We're ready for SCHOOL!

Good times continue, and I'm just praying that they continue for the start of school next week. Caleb's already looking forward to school. He keeps carrying around his lunch box & says, "Bye! See ya later." We visited his first grade teacher & classroom, & probably will do so one more time before the big day. Hopefully he won't automatically head down to his former classroom. I'm really looking forward to sending the children to school! They're all so ready. Caleb has lately been wanting to go with anyone & everyone who comes to our home. All in hopes of better fun at their house :) He's ready for the challenge, and I'm ready to see what's in store for this year. 8 days to go until school!

LDN (low dose naltrexone) and Caleb

Well I think I figured out a source of Caleb's irritibility! Just in time for school too....yay! I took him off the LDN (low dose naltrexone) cream that he's been on for over a year. I wanted to see if it really was still doing anything or not, and the best time to figure it out is the summer. LDN had really helped fight the immune responses Caleb had to food, and it boosted language a bit at the beginning. Anyhow....it's been much smoother since going off LDN. I use the cell salts like Kali Phos or one with all the salts to help with irritibility, but I've hardly needed anything. He's been great mood-wise for about a week now, which has taken a load off my heart for school coming up. We haven't had major yeast break-outs either, and that's been such a relief. Caleb's traditional response to supplements/medications he doesn't tolerate is to get VERY irritible and screamy. I'm just wondering if that's what started his irritible ball rolling....his not needing LDN anymore because it was no longer tolerated. Who knows, but I pray the good stays for a long while!

Cell Salts to the Rescue!

I've been reading more about cell salts or tissue salts developed by Schueller. Using these tissue salts is much like homeopathy, but focuses on 12 remedies that all cells need to maintain health. Kind of like look at the micro level instead of always the macro. Anyhow, the reason I've done so is because a friend suggested looking at using Kali sulph (potassium sulfate) for my son's mood issues. Immediatelly after trying it, I was sold on cell salts! We've seen nice gains along with a more even keeled mood. I'm going to order a few others to try as they all seem to work together nicely (according to the book), and I'd like to deal a bit more with some of my son's latest issues. For example, he is sensitive to any light touch on his upper body. People will come and touch him to get his attention, and they're taken aback by his reaction to hit them quite readily. It isn't his fault or their fault. He just is sensitive. Thus I'm anxious to try a few other remedies as it really seems to bring together homeopathy and modern scientific research.


I remember in biology/chemistry that we talked about the elements needed to fire a nerve or a muscle cell (sodium, potassium, etc.) and it makes sense that if the body doesn't have enough of one of these, it's going to throw the entire body off in some way. I'm just really excited to learn and try more! Here's a few links to consider:

http://www.doctoryourself.com/cell_salts.html
http://homeoinfo.com/08_non-classical_topics/minimal/schuesslers_cell_salts.php
http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/HealingTechniques/cell_salts.htm

Response to Michael Savage's Remarks

To view his horribly insensitive remarks about parents of autistic children, read here:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,387662,00.html

Here's my reaction:

What I don't understand, is how Savage explains the fact that my son doesn't talk. He began to talk, then lost it all, then kept learning the same words every day. How is it that my other 4 children miraculously talk? Could my parenting be the cause of this as well? So he's saying the boy in the back of the room spinning, not clued in to the party going on around him, yet who notices the noise of a jet outside & screams at it, is just doing so because I haven't spanked him enough or told him to cut it out? This all occurs because I don't know how to parent?.....me with my Registered nurse license and my elementary school teacher husband?

How about the whole noodles showing up in my son's stool, or the way he went bezerk after eating 3 grilled cheese sandwiches, or how he could never sit through me reading a book to him? Are these due to my parenting as well? Apparently, Mike Savage has no close ties to a family member with autism, or he would see the tears that come to a family's eyes as they watch their child learn to peddle a bike, even though he's several years beyond the normal age for training wheels. He would see our heart's breaking as we consider the future for a child that is lucky to be able to manage any type of schooling. My heart cries at the lack of compassion! I truly invite Mr. Savage into my home, to witness first hand what it is like with autism, to read my journal and watch our home videos; to pore over test results & see how my son has over 3 times the immunity from the MMR, how his yeast numbers are out of control, and how many metals we pull out of him. I invite him to ask my other children questions about autism, to witness how my son reacts in public, or to watch him at school. Please come tell me that I can parent in a different way, and all of this will be over! I would LOVE that to be true!