July 18, 2007
2nd Epsom Salt Bath Today
1 tsp Nordic Naturals Complete 369
400IU Mixed Tocopherols Vitamin E

GOOD DAY!

Calmer
Alot of eye contact both provoked and not
he did fantastic with Joanne (DI therapist) – 5 minute exchange session making faces and sounds
did not climb all over Mommy when Joanne/Kristen (sitter) were here
started to respond much better to his name

We recently had our appointment with a developmental pediatrician to find out what is going on with Nicholas. He confirmed our thoughts, that Nicholas has autism. This doctor was an absolute bastard to us and to Nicholas and this appointment, by far, was the worst experience of my life.

He was very quick to whip out his prescription pad to write our son a prescription for risperdal. Risperdal for a child who is 2.5 years old – and not approved by the FDA for use in children this young. He REFUSED to write a script for ABA therapy until we brought back our son medicated. He told us that our son would not learn anything without the risperdal. He told us that our son was easily agitated, only after he deliberately agitated him. After making us wait for over an hour in a waiting room with NO TOYS (they told us they had toys – I’ll never make that mistake again)

He told me that my son was not sensitive or allergic to milk and wrote me a script for bloodwork to prove me wrong. (HE WAS WRONG!) He told us that our son would test positive for Fragile X (HE WAS WRONG!)

Silly, naive me to think that a doctor would be interested in hearing that omega 369 fish oil was having an effect on our son’s language abilities – this was where it really got good…. he stood up and yelled at me for giving my son fish oil. He nastily lectured me about how harmful this could be. He went on and on about his degrees and his positions on several autism boards, ranting and raving the whole time.

When I asked what his thoughts were on heavy metal toxicity being tied to autism, he flew off the handle.

Here’s the best part…. he told us to consider putting Nicholas in an institution and trying for another child.

When we got out to the car, I collapsed in the parking lot. I couldn’t breathe. I felt like someone had just driven a truck over me.

I got home. I opened my computer and typed “risperdal’ into google and saw it associated with schizophrenic adults. I promised myself I was NEVER filling that script.

I sat down and thought about the appointment, not so much about what he said, but his actions. If there wasn’t some shred of truth in what I had said, then why would you act like that? Between this and watching our son start babbling again on the introduction of fish oil – I knew I was on the right path – and drugging my child wasn’t it.

That pitiful excuse for a doctor gave me something that day. I didn’t see it that day or even a week later – but he gave me the drive, the determination to change Nicholas’s fate, his life. I knew in that split second that something wasn’t right with this doctor, that what the parents were writing everywhere was right. Kids WERE getting better. And thanks to him, that arrogant asshole, I knew my son was going to stand amongst them and recover too.

Current things Nicholas does:
– Plays very well independently
– Likes to play with water
– Likes to play with trains
– Was able to piece together train track and make his own very early on
– Very good at sorting colors and shapes
– Very good at sorting shapes from smallest to largest
– sings along and responds to Blue’s Clues
– shrugs his shoulders
– just started shaking his head “no”
– helps get himself dressed
– puts mommy’s shoes on and grabs per purse to go outside
– loves playdough
– rides tricycle
– rides motorized car/plane
– likes to play daddy’s drums
– likes to push his toy lawn mower
– likes to build towers
– climber!
– very early at climbing up/down stairs on his own
– blows bubbles
– can tighten and loosen bolts
– can use screwdriver
– very mechanical like his dad
– recently spent half the day going down slides in a waterpark right into a pool and could not get enough
– plays alongside other children, not with
– can climb the big kid’s rock wall in a few seconds flat
– climbs on big kids playground like it’s nothing
– good sleeper
– spitting out food

Things he used to do:
– clenched jaw body shaking thing
– when he was a baby, he used to have to carry aroun 3 things. one in each hand and one in his mouth
– last summer, he was independent in swimming pool. He put a noodle under each arm and swam around pool by himself
– used to drink water/juice – just to spit it out and play with it
– used to stick his hand in his diaper and wipe poop all over the back of his bedroom door

Things he NEVER did
– walked on toes
– lined toys up
– took to a pacifier
– flapped like a bird
– spun tires

Difficult Behaviors
– Restaurants are torture
– taking him anywhere is torture, really
– he wants to do what he wants to do when he wants to do it and if you don’t follow, tantrums occur, screaming, limp body, whole routine
– does not want to sit still in shopping cart for more than 5-10 minutes, tops
– screaming
– responds to name only when he wants to
– we could not take him somewhere and not have to
a) hold him constantly
b) strap him into a harness in his stroller
c) fight with him the whole time to keep him from running off and getting into trouble

Additional info
– cannot give him milk (severe constipation and stomach aches)
– tried every milk alternative – he would not drink it
– still give him toddler formula at bedtime
– switched to soy at 2 weeks, 2 days old
– language started coming out 1 week after introduction of fish oil
– concerned about his speech development from his 15-18mo appointments
– currently experiencing separation anxiety
– gets upset when babysitter comes – he does not want to let mom go to her office to work
– last 2 sessions with therapist, he has done nothing but fight her the entire time, screaming, crying, tantrums
– seems to be dropping the first part of word with some words, like picking up K for notebook and “um” for come

Milestones
– held head up from birth
– first smile at 7 weeks
– blowing bubbles at 10 weeks
– blowing raspberries at 11 weeks
– started babbling at 13 weeks
– started teething at 15 weeks
– rolled from back to front at 23 weeks
– stands with help at 22 weeks although we though he could have sooner
– drank from sippy cup at 25 weeks
– held sippy at 27 weeks
– pushing up at 28 weeks
– said “dada” at 29 weeks
– recognized name at 30 weeks
– sat alone – 30 weeks
– stands alone – 40 weeks
– first step by himself – 49 weeks
– walks 4 steps by himself – 51 weeks
– walking by himself – 1 year

Words he uses correctly
– Mom
– Dad
– No
– I dont know
– I did it
– ball
– door
– elephant
– pour
– pool
– in
– on
– open
– boat
– dog
– eat
– drink (sign only)
– up
– bubbles
– blow bubbles
– purple
– blue
– apple
– bananna

Words we’ve heard
– Grandma
– more
– Come
– Happy Birthday
– I’m just a baby

We had Nicholas evaluated by a private (and insanely expensive) speech therapist. I did not have a good feeling about her – so I called EI for an evaluation. I asked her flat out if she thought Nicholas had autism and she told me NO. Her written letter thanking the pediatrician for the referral clearly says he presents as a typical case of autism. Had I not requested my son’s records, I would have NEVER SEEN this. Do you think the pediatrician who kept telling me he did not have autism would have swallowed his pride to tell me this? NO.

At 2 1/2, Nicholas was evaulated by Early Intervention. The evaluators suggested a developmental pediatrician and told us that him getting services was a “no brainer” His scores are as follows:
Language Comprehension: 25-30 month range (displays some difficulties)
Language Expession: 19-24 month range (displays some difficulties)
Nonverbal thinking: 31 month range
Social/Personal Behaviors – 13/18 months with some scatters to 24 months
Motor Behaviors: S0lid at 25 months with scatters to 30 months

Nicholas’s 2nd birthday party was a disaster. Sensory overload for him. Too many people in the house, too much noise – he spent the day in his room, by himself. We tried to sing Happy Birthday, but that ended up with him tantruming all over the floor.

Between 2 and 2 1/2, this was the peak of the worst he had ever been – it was hard to see how bad it was until he was different, better. If you played on his terms, everything was cool. Change the plan and chaos ensued. He still had no interest in pointing, waving, other kids, answering to his name. He uttered a word here and there, but the only noises coming out of him were grunting, screaming and crying.

In hindsight, I started acting like a robot, so to speak, wherever we were, looking for things he would get interested in, couldn’t have – so I had to be pro-active and steer clear or set up and environment that would keep him happy. You don’t even realize it when you’re doing it. If we went into a restaurant and had a teenaged waiter, I knew instantaneously that this was going to be a waste of time – getting me food for a child as quick as possible meant nothing to a kid who had no experience with children – to know that me asking him to bring something out asap meant NOW and not in 15-20 minutes.

I felt like I had no reason to exist other than to say, “Nicholas no, Nicholas stop” to which he never listened anyway. So everything that started with that phrase ended up in me carrying him out to the car anyway I could keep hold of him while he was thrashing around. NO ONE ever told me that this was not normal.

When he was 2 years, 3 months, he took zithromax.

When he was 2 years, 6 months, he was given nystatin cream for a red anal ring (which the ped blew me off about) – and I DEMANDED a referal for a speech evaluation. He wrote it, but he told us we would be wasting money on speech therapy because Nicholas didn’t need it.

Nicholas was 2 years, 8 months when I started treating him biomedically with vitamins & supplements. He’s starting to come back. The differences in him are astounding. Now that we see who he ‘is’ – we are stunned at who he ‘was’ – now I see the issues, now I see the signs.

At 2 1/2, Nicholas was evaulated by Early Intervention. The evaluators suggested a developmental pediatrician and told us that him getting services was a “no brainer” His scores are as follows:
Language Comprehension: 25-30 month range (displays some difficulties)
Language Expession: 19-24 month range (displays some difficulties)
Nonverbal thinking: 31 month range
Social/Personal Behaviors – 13/18 months with some scatters to 24 months
Motor Behaviors: S0lid at 25 months with scatters to 30 months

He started with DI therapy and Speech. At first, he liked playing with the therapists, but when they kept coming back and expecting things from them, the tantrums followed. Screaming started. Meltdowns we had never seen before. We, along with the EI team, pushed through and got to the other side. We worked with the EI team and implemented their strategies throughout our daily routine. We weren’t just leaving it up to a few hours of therapy each week.

At the same time, I was ramping up Nicholas’s supplements. All of the ones I have tried have brought significant gains. Epsom salt baths and evening primrose oil have calmed him down dramatically. His focus is better, he is more attentive. His eye contact is fantastic compared to what it was. he responds much better to his name.

He knows his colors, animals, alphabet, numbers, shapes and more! To hear him say the words is amazing! His conversational speech nees work, but we know it is in there.

He aged out of Early Intervention at 3 and is entering a pre-school program. He is getting used to the classroom environment and their rules. He is not bothered about being dropped off, but being told what to do, where to sit, etc is a bit of a transition for him.