Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/08/2008 - 09:20
My son was diagnosed with Autism two years ago while I was stationed in Germany. The treatment he received there exceeded anything I could have every hoped for. The daycare was great, his OT was awesome and I couldn't have asked for more. We arrived here in Maryland at the beginning of this year. I am so frustrated with the lack of services I am receiving here. It got to the point where I had to send my son to Texas to stay with my mother for three months because the child care provider who assured me she could work with him lied. Her idea of working with him was restraining him in a high chair (which was way too small for him). I was able to locate another provider, did extensive research on the facility and had a spot for him. I discussed all of my sons "issues" with the director and she assured me that they would be able to work with him. So I phoned my mother to say that I would be flying out to Texas to bring my son back. I went into the facility yesterday to turn in the paperwork and all of a sudden....she's not so sure that their facility would be good for him. I'm BLOWN away. Not even two weeks ago we had discussed him attending and she was fine with it. No
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 07/08/2008 - 08:50
Are any of you guys going methyl B12 shots? I have to say that this is the treatment that gets the most bang for the buck around here. Since we have been doing the shots, my daughter is LOTS more aware of everything and more interested in US.
It was worth it alone for the time we came home from being out of town at the Green Our Vaccines rally a few weeks ago. We were gone4 days and she was on cloud 9 to see us. Lots of kissing, laughing, huge smile. She pulled us all together and we had a group hug. She was saying "DADDDDDDDYYYYY".
Her sense of humor also seems to have improved and she sings a lot. She has actually done things to make us laugh and you can tell it was on purpose. She has lots of laughing now days. She started laughing at something yesterday and I swear she was doubled over and even slapped knee.
The MB12 is not a cure and it hasn't done a lot on speech for us, but still it's the treatment that I would say is the best value so far.
PS - Starting Specific Carbo Diet and I thought GFCF would be tough. Gulp.
Submitted by shootingstars on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 22:13
They say death comes in threes. Today three of Michael's five birthday tiger barb fish died today. I feel so terrible. I was so certain they were all alive earlier when I fed them. But then I realized I never really looked. I had to yell at him getting him out of my way so I could dish out the dead ones at the bottom of the tank. I wanted him to get upset and run to his room so I could get them out before they risked the remaining two's health any more than they already have.
I just sat there staring at the last two feeling like a failure. I do not know what killed the three. I wanted to start crying, but scared to let loose in front of Michael...
He looked in and knew there were fish missing. I ignored him because I have no clue what to tell him. I have a bad feeling the other two will die tonight.
I know fish die. They are just fish. But they were Michael's fish... Something he did so well at feeding, and loved to sit and watch. Since he was a baby he has always loved fish. These were all his. He did not have to say goodbye to them at a store.
Shootingstars mentioned weighted blankets/vests, and that reminded me of an idea I had the other day. They use those weighted vests/blankets for Wyatt at school and therapy sometimes, but I haven't gotten one because of the expense and I've heard you can only spot clean them. I walked into Wyatt's classroom a while back and was shocked to see him wearing what looked like a bulletproof vest! Turned out it was a weighted vest. The weighted blanket that they used at Wyatt's speech place was a cute animal scene and really thick and quilted full of little tiny pellet-like things.
What are you all doing to combat summer boredom for the kids?
Wyatt is currently being entertained by an Uncle Ben's Ready Rice pouch. (The one he likes isn't gluten free, in case you are wondering). I discovered those rice pouches recently because of a coupon. Unfortunately they are not dirt cheap or fat free, but they taste yummy. The best part is that they only take 90 seconds to nuke. I highly recommend them, especially for those in the fam that are not GFCF. It's amazing how much entertainment kids can get out of rice and various pasta. Food as entertainment. Works for me.
It's a bit too sunny to go swimming right now, maybe in a little while. I'm out of sunscreen. I dragged Wyatt's little patio kiddie pool inside to put in front of the sink. Lately he has been driving me insane with his constant desire to play in the sink. I wouldn't mind it so much if he wouldn't deliberately pour water all over the floor. Then I have to wash and dry out a ton of towels/mats in the dryer because the coastal fog in the mornings and evenings prevent them from air drying and they get all moldy smelling.
Submitted by Todd Fugere on Mon, 07/07/2008 - 12:17
I belong to a ton of niche sites such as this one. I'm always leary when people use their first post to sell something or to put a link to their site or blog. You know they're never coming back. They don't want to be a part of the community. They are just using the site as a marketing tool. I'm not pointing the finger at anyone here, I'm just ranting.
My goal for this site is to be a place where people can post freely, share things, open up, be a part of a community, and help others, without being spammed or sold items.
Some ideas for your first post:
Introduce yourself
Share your story
Tell about your family
Answer someone's question
Share a great autism resource (not your own site or blog)
Sure if you have something that will be helpful to the group, go ahead and share it, but if your one and only post is a link to your site or product, this seems more like a marketing tool than helping the group. If you do have a product that should be marketed to the group, create a post or two that is useful to the community. This will help your credibility and build trust.
