Our son William who will be 3 on July 31st was diagnosed with Autism on June 11th. So we are just beginning the long road to recovery. We fall in the category of before he had his immunizations he was eating regular food, he was talking, etc. Then he began to go backwards. He lost his speech, he will only eat 4 things (cereal bars, any type of cracker, banana, and white powdered donuts) and he drinks pediasure shakes to helps fill in what he misses in his diet. I know there is a lot of discussion on whether or not immunizations help trigger Autism, my family agrees that it does. When he due for his next round I do not know that we will get them.
He has 3 older sisters who are doing a wonderful job helping with him. They are very loving and understanding that he does not understand things like they do. We are fortunate that the local school district has an Autism program, but because he was diagnosed in the summer I cannot get him in until late August. I fell like we are wasting time, so we work on anything we can ourselves. We are getting ready to go gluten free and diary free and add some omega 5 to his diet. This could be a challenge, there are sooooo many things that have glutens in them.
The only advise I can give at this point would be to go to the TACA website ( www.tacanow.org ) It stands for taking about curing autism and I have found more information there then anywhere else including the doctors. They pretty much said here is your dianosis, here is a few pamphlets, have a nice day. To anyone who may have suggestions for us, please feel free to share.
My son is 8. He was diagnosed at 2. In our case, we noticed something wasn't right before his MMR vaccination so we never took that one. In fact, it was just this year that we decided to give him another vaccination (the tetnas shot). It was recommended to me that if you are going to go forward with more vaccinations to always split them up . . . not several combined in one visit.
Our son also limited his eating to only a few things - mashed potatoes, french fries, oatmeal, chips. We gave him mega amounts of vitamins and omega 3 oil during this time. He had major sensory issues, especially in his mouth, which is why he would only eat things with a certain texture or color. (He would vomit and choke if it had any lumps in it.) With occupational therapy and tons of prayer, we desynthesized his mouth. We introduced new foods, nothing flashy, just started out with Chef Boyardee (sp?) noodles. He initially balked because they were red. However, I felt if he just got a taste, no matter how small, it would be a victory. We put a few on his plate and said he had to eat a couple. There would be a reward if he did. We consistently did this. (SIDE NOTE: If we've learned anything during this journey, it's that you MUST, MUST, MUST be consistent. Oh, and another thing, never let him get away with anything you wouldn't allow your typical kids to get away with. Autism shouldn't be an excuse for bad behavior.) Anyway, he seemed to enjoy the new flavor . . .not overnight, but eventually. We tried the gluten free, dairy free diet. We saw no change, so we came off of it. What I've been told is that if after being on it for a while, you say, "WOW!!!" then it's for you. The change in your child should be pretty dramatic. If not, then it's probably not necessary. I've found that with children who have alot of stomach ailments, that diet usually helps the symptoms of autism is a huge way.
As you've already found out, not all pediatricians are well versed in this diagnosis. Our beloved pediatrician told us right up front that he knew little about it, but he would be willing to learn with us. We stuck with him because he has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help us get what our son needed in therapies (by writing prescriptions for them . . . which insurance companies require), lining us up with different specialists, trainings, etc.
We chose to give our son private speech and occupational therapy (paid for by insurance). We also went to a Judevine training which got us started training him at home. I've chosen to homeschool. We used the ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) curriculum with the Judevine method (which worked well with our son). Each child is so different. So some opt to just use the ABA method. (This may be sounding all Greek to you. It did to me at first.) Anyway, it all evolved into a regular school curriculum when he began Kindergarten at home.
Some things we discovered along the way. . . . 1. He understands alot more than he appears to understand. Although he wouldn't appear to be listening, he was. Be careful of what you say when he's around. 2. Set the bar high. Never assume because he has the diagnosis that he can't (you fill in the blank). Not to bring frustration on him by making him do something he's not ready for, but it really galls him when I read that the average age of potty training for these children is 8-9. I'm glad I didn't know that when I began successfully potty training him at 3-1/2. As I've already said, each child is very different. Don't assume that the experts know . . . you know your child better than they do. 3. As I mentioned earlier, consistency is supreme. If you're trying to curb a particular behavior, as you consistently do so, it might appear to be getting even worse. However, it usually gets worse BEFORE it gets better. Just keep plugging away. 4. Respond rather than react. Your child has just pulled a real number on you. Blowing a gasket doesn't work with autism. A firm response (consistently!) and consequence does. Even if you have to give it 2500 times. I hear this alot from parents . . . . he/she doesn't understand consequences. Believe me, after EACH episode, eventually it will sink in. 5. There's a wonderful website . . . I don't have the address in front of me . . . however, if you're interested, I can post it later. You could put in the search box "The Autism Home Page" and it will probably pop up. It's a msn group. I personally know the fellow in charge. He is the grandfather of two children with autism. He is a WEALTH of information. If you post a question on his board, he answers immediately and it's solid information. His name is Gary Hefner (just to make sure you're in the right site.) He also is a Judevine trainer at an autism center. 6. Most imporantly, bathe everything you do with your son in prayer. Unfortunately, there's alot of quackery out there . . . those who prey on desperate parents who'll try anything to help their children. Blessings. Christy
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