autism, asd, recovery, hope,

This past week has been difficult. Accidents, emotional outbursts and a lot of stimming behavior. My wife suggested we slow down with his supplements, I suggested we continue on. Sometimes recovery looks like regression until a breakthrough. My experience in working with my son is that from day to day it is hard to know what to expect. Keep good notes and maybe a pattern will emerge, but maybe not. He finally broke through a few days ago. His improvements cross many areas. He is speaking much more fluidly, he can find the words without spacing out as much, his movements are smoother, and more spontanious, he hopped for the fun of hopping, not as an excercise we encouraged. The potty training is back under control. We even sang a song together from Signing Time Songs. Sometimes I see you stuck For such a long time A daily nothing new Pretend I don’t mind With lists of things you’ll never do Until somehow you do And you do — you do — you shine The days and months and years, they run together Is it just one day? Or is this forever? You’ve taught me in your lifetime More than I’d learned in mine And you do, you do, you shine

Autism What is it? A parent's answer.

Autism is one of the scariest words a parent can hear when it is about their child. All of the parents with ASD kids I've talked to spent time denying Autism, many still do. I know my wife and I spent over 1 year chasing other names for what we saw in our son, sensory integration disorder, low tone, hyper sensitivity, PDD-NOS. Ultimately to treat him we had to accept the label of Autism or ASD-Autistic Spectrum Disorder. By accepting the label we found doctors and researchers who are helping kids like ours. Autism is a spectrum disorder, effecting children in different ways. Autism is polarizing, people argue about causes and cures, epidemic vs. better diagnostics, genetics vs. environment, acceptance vs. treatments, behavior modification vs. biomedical, vaccination vs. no vaccination... Autism is frustrating, your pediatrician patronizes you, your insurance company denies you, your family and neighbors tell you you're overreacting, your school system placates you, your child is suffering, you know it, and you don't have answers. Autism is hope. My son's autism has opened my eyes to a new world. A different world. A world where the smallest accomplishments are celebrated. Progress is measured and all things are possible. This blog is going to help me make sense of this world I hope it is useful for others as well.