Thursday, March 29, 2012

Pieces of Us: The "New" Statistics

Pieces of Us: The "New" Statistics: The CDC released the new (2 years old) statistics of the odds of someone being diagnosed with autism.  The odds of a boy being diagnosed wit...

The "New" Statistics

The CDC released the new (2 years old) statistics of the odds of someone being diagnosed with autism.  The odds of a boy being diagnosed with autism is 1 in 54.  The odds of a girl being diagnosed with autism is 1 in 88.  That is a 78% increase since 2007.  Here is the link to the article: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/CountingAutism/

These statistics make me sick to my stomach.  I know a lot of people are going with "they are better at diagnosing autism now a day theory."  Let's think about that for a minute.  When I was in school I don't remember there being a single autistic person. I don't recall my parents friends or anyone I knew having an autistic child.  I don't recall seeing kids flapping their arms, making no eye contact, and not wanting to play with others.  No....I don't think they are better at diagnosing autism!!

These statistics are also skewed due to people like myself not seeking formal diagnosis.  Here is an article about that: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/05/09/autism-rate-1-in-38/13061/  So why not seek a formal diagnosis.....for me I knew what the diagnosis was and I didn't want what modern medicine had to "treat" my son's autism aka...covering up symptoms by sedating my child.  It was and is a waste of time and money for us.

People often ask my why I feel the autism rates are rising like they are or why I feel Hayden is autistic.  Honestly it is genetics and what you are exposed to in the environment.  When I say environment I am including diet, medications, and stress.

The movie Food Inc. is an amazing move that I think everyone should watch it.  It is absolutely disgusting what is in our food and what has been done to our food.  It is now wonder we are so sick, the rates of autism and cancer are through the roof.  I cried while watching this movie.

We are killing ourselves with the food we consume.  I am heartbroken just thinking about these statistics and what is in store for the future.  I think 1 in 54 boys being diagnosed with autism is an epidemic and action needs to be taken.

I don't trust the government one bit....they have poor regulations on the foods we eat, they allow dental fillings that are composed of 50% mercury, and they allow vaccinations to contain poison.

So it is up to US to change these numbers!!!  It is up to us to take control of our health and it is up to us to change the future.

I am great full that God gave me Hayden and opened my eyes and changed my ways.  I hope to be a huge influence in the autism community and change peoples lives one by one.  I am not sure how I am going to do this but it is on the radar.  Right now though, Hayden is my focus.

He is well on his way to 100% recovery from autism!!


Thursday, March 22, 2012

Pieces of Us: Reflecting back and new happenings

Pieces of Us: Reflecting back and new happenings: I continue to be impressed and amazed with the progress that Hayden is making :)  I watched a video of what Hayden was like a year ago to wh...

Reflecting back and new happenings

I continue to be impressed and amazed with the progress that Hayden is making :)  I watched a video of what Hayden was like a year ago to what he is like today and it is pretty mind blowing.  The biggest change is how happy he is :)  He laughs and smiles non stop these days.  These are not the drunk / high I am in my own world laughs that he use to have.  I say drunk / high because that is what food does to him.  He gets an optiant release from foods that he is sensitive to. The laughs now are appropriate and genuine.

I love seeing Hayden so happy.  In the playroom the majority of the time is spent playing with him.  Instead of just joining him in what he wants to do / stim we are playing games, and signing songs TOGETHER :)

I think he finally has a grasp on emotions.  He can tell when someone is hurt, sad, mad, and happy.  Today at the playground a little boy fell and got hurt.  Hayden was very concerned looking the boy over.  He said, "ouch, it's okay," and then made a sad face!!!!  This is HUGE!!!  He is relating to people and trying to comfort them :) I had to truly fight back the tears of joy on this one.

There are some big events coming to Hayden's Son-Rise Program.  The first being that Gerd Winkler, a professional teacher for Son-Rise is coming to work with Hayden and his team April 9th and 10th. (to Hayden's team members I will get with you more in detail about this once I know the exact schedule)  Then on April 15th-20th I will be traveling back to The Autism Treatment Center of America for more training.

Hayden's current goals are:

1) To inspire Hayden to look at us while listening for appropriate amount of time based of the activity.
2) Motivate Hayden to speak using nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, articles, and conjunctions or more.
3) Invite Hayden to interact for 9 minutes or greater during an activity.

There have been a lot of ups and downs with Hayden for the past several months and I think it is largely to the yeast treatment protocol he is on and his diet.  We are in the final phase of the yeast treatment protocol and I am hopeful that by the start of May we will be 100% committed to Hayden's (ours) new diet.

We are going to the GAPS diet.  GAPS stands for The Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet. What I know is that we will be eating a lot of broths and fermented vegetables.  Who wants to come for dinner?? This diet has me intimidated but I know it is what needs done.  I am going to be 100% committed to this diet along with Hayden. Brandon and Ruby will cheat outside of the home away from Hayden.  I will be giving up chocolate, coffee, and pop.  I will for warn everyone so you can stay away from for a few weeks while I detox.  The great thing about this diet is that it is done in phases and generally takes 2-3 years.  When we are done with the diet Hayden should be able to eat normal foods again with out issues.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Pieces of Us: The Lorax

Pieces of Us: The Lorax: I had the pleasure of taking the kids to see The Lorax last night.  I couldn't have asked for better behavior from Ruby and Hayden.  I actua...

The Lorax

I had the pleasure of taking the kids to see The Lorax last night.  I couldn't have asked for better behavior from Ruby and Hayden.  I actually watched the whole movie :) Hayden laughed at appropriate parts and it seemed as he was truly understanding the movie and the emotions from the characters.

While watching The Lorax I couldn't help to think about how it relates to my life.  The plot is about what happens when we choose not to protect our environment and a 12 year old boy is determined to save the environment and win over the love of his crush.

So how does this relate to my life?  I look at my sweet child and see all the harm that has been caused to him from the toxic environment that we live in.  I failed to protect him as an infant and did not make good choices for him.  I exposed him to so many environmental toxins that I could have prevented and limited his exposure to.  Now this may sound like I am beating myself up, but honest to goodness I am not.  I have accepted that I made poor decisions not because I wanted to harm my child, but because I was ignorant and trusting.  You may read this and think "I did the same kinds of things with my child and he is healthy."  Unfortunately Hayden has some pretty crapy genetics that put him at a much higher risk.

I fear for the future!  I fear that the diets we consume are killing us and our children.  I fear that we are poisoning our children one by one with the crap that is loaded in vaccinations.  Take the time to read what  is in the food you are putting in your mouth.  Take the time to read what exactly is in the vaccination you are going to give your child.  Take the time to treat the true medical problem instead of covering up the symptoms with a pill.

I feel like I am the 12 year old boy in the movie.  I am determined to not only help heal my son but help others heal their children as well.  I also try to spread awareness on how you can prevent your child from developing autism.  I know I sound crazy to most.  I look at my sweet 4.5 year old son and all that he has been through in such a short amount of time and pray that no one else has to experience or suffer the way he has.

I have a feeling that once Hayden is recovered from autism there is going to be a career change in my future.  I don't know what yet but I am going to continue my journey with autism.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Pieces of Us: What's new with Hayden and his Son-Rise program?

Pieces of Us: What's new with Hayden and his Son-Rise program?: The month of February I had a Pampered Chef Fundraiser for Hayden's Son-Rise.  Drum Roll please.........we raised a grand total of $4,900.00...

What's new with Hayden and his Son-Rise program?

The month of February I had a Pampered Chef Fundraiser for Hayden's Son-Rise.  Drum Roll please.........we raised a grand total of $4,900.00!!!  Thank you to all for the support even if you were not able to purchase your words of encouragement and prayers are a blessing as well.  We are going to use that money towards the Intensive Program at The Autism Treatment Center of America.  Here is the link if you would like to learn more about Son-Rise: http://www.autismtreatmentcenter.org/index.phpg/  We only need $7,500.00 more which is a far cry from the $18,500 that we originally needed!!!

We are also working on getting a certified Son-Rise teacher to come and work with us and Hayden's Son-Rise Team.

I am also going back to the Autism Treatment Center of American in April for the Maximum Impact Program.  I am excited and nervous.  I know that Brandon will do great with the kids while I am gone.  They are just a lot to take care of make sure that Hayden gets all that he needs.

Hayden continues to change every day.  He is so much more "present" in the world and actually enjoys interacting with others.  Hayden has an incredible bond with his sister Ruby.  They actually play together and share things. When she is upset Hayden tries to comfort her.  He use to want nothing to do with her.  We were at the mall yesterday evening and he asked her to hold his hand :)  It was so sweet....I cried!!  It reminds of the time I was told that the odds of him speaking and relating to others were slim.  I guess Hayden showed them :)  One day when he is 100% recovered I am going to make a video of Hayden and mail it to several people that doubted him.  Then I am going to educate them in hopes that they can help other families faced with autism.

That same evening we were sitting at the food court eating Chick Fil-a at the mall.  Hayden had just gotten a new car and was playing with it while eating.  A little girl sat beside him at the apple table and was looking at his car.  Normally this would start an instant freak out by Hayden.  His cars are his prized possessions and he does not want any one near them.  That's when the magic happened.......he said to the little girl while looking at her face, "Hi friend."  He then preceded to show the little girl his car and what it does.  He even blew the little girl a kiss :)  I shared with the girls Mom a little bit about Hayden and we were both in tears.

MIRACLES are HAPPENING at my HOUSE!!!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Pieces of Us: Joining Hayden

Pieces of Us: Joining Hayden: Wow, I kind of feel like we are getting back to some normalcy. The month of February was rough on us. Early in the month we had nasty cold...

Friday, March 2, 2012

Joining Hayden

Wow, I kind of feel like we are getting back to some normalcy.  The month of February was rough on us.  Early in the month we had nasty colds.  Later in the month we had the stomach flu. Then my Dad had emergent open heart surgery last week.  I am happy to report that everyone is doing well and my Dad is recovering well.

One of the main principles of The Son-Rise Program is joining Hayden in what he enjoys as a way to connect with him.  The majority of people with autism have something called a "stim" or "isim".  The stim or isim is the repetitive motion that they do over and over again.  Hayden's isims have changed with time.  When Hayden has 2 he lined his cars up in a perfectly straight alined line and spined the wheels on the cars.  When Hayden is isiming he is in his own world and he is getting pleasure from the motion / action.  So this is where the joining comes in.

Tonight at the pool Hayden was spinning in circles in the water.  He was having so much fun, but very much in his own world having no clue what is going on around him.  A boy that was about 9 years old asked me what he was doing.  I simply said, "spinning in the water."  I told him it was fun and that he should try it.  So the little boy did.  Hayden noticed him right away and smiled very big at the little boy.  The little boy smiled back at Hayden and said, "Yep, that is fun."

Little did that boy know that he was joining Hayden.  When we join Hayden with his isims is truly is fun. I have learned to let go and be in the moment.  It is one amazing way to connect with my son.  Oddly enough the more we join Hayden the less he isims.

There are many people out there that think you should stop the isim.  I can't even imagine doing that to Hayden.  He is doing that motion for a purpose.  Who am I to say that he shouldn't spin or flap his hands. It feels good to him, it clams him.  If someone took my coffee away from and I said I couldn't have it anymore I can't even imagine my reaction.  I don't think I would want to be friends with that person.