The PoWer of Son-Rise and a determined MoM :)

WoW!!  I mean WOW!!!

What a great day we have had today.  It started off with Hayden waking up at 8 am.  He is normally up and ready to rock at 5:30 am so this was a HUGE blessing :)

Hayden had a 3.5 hour therapy session with Carleen this morning and it went well as usual.  His legos frustrated him because they wouldn't do what he wanted but other than that it was a good session.

He transitioned to lunch well and did 1.5 hours of hbot with Daddy.  He got out we snuggled a bit and then he played monsters with Ruby.

In between this we snuck his vitamins in here and there.

Then Aunt Suzanne came to watch Ruby so I could work with Hayden.  We had an AMAZING Son-Rise therapy session tonight.  The 2 hour session flew by.

I was better prepared for the therapy session than normal with two specific games planed and I focused on  one goal tonight as opposed to focusing on all three of Hayden's goals.  The goal that I focused on was to look at me to start or maintain and interaction i.e better eye contact :)

For now on I am going to just focus on one goal per therapy session.  This worked a ton better for Hayden!!  He gave me eye contact every time I requested except for two times and by the end of the session I didn't even have to ask for it.  He just looked me in the eyes with his beautiful big brown puppy dog eyes and eyelashes that grown women envy.  When our eyes connect it melts my heart every time :)

Out of the entire two hours of the therapy session I only had to join Hayden in a stim for about 10 minutes total!!

The first activity that I set out was to massage Hayden with lotion.  I was truly shocked how much he enjoyed it.  We did this activity for a total of 40 minutes, yes you read right 40 minutes!!!  I had 40 minutes of pure connection with Hayden and I have to tell you it was AMAZING.  I massaged his legs, arms, hands, feet, and belly.  I used deep pressure (which is what he prefers), light pressure, tickling, and tapping.  I had him request and give me eye contact to continue messaging and what type, and where he wanted messaged.  I told him how much I love him, how proud I am of him, and how amazing he is while messaging him.  I got tearful while giving him his message and he sat up (he was sitting back on his bean bag so he was at ideal level to make eye contact with me).  Hayden sat up and wiped my tear away with his hand.  I still can't believe he did this!!!

While messaging Hayden I was having flashbacks of how much he use to despise being touched and not like being messy at all.  Here we sat with me messaging lotion all over him and Hayden was LOVING it. I must saying I was LOVING it too :)  I tried to get him to message my hands and he said no, massage me!!

Hayden was so calm, relaxed, and still while I massaged him.  All of these are things that Hayden is usually the direct opposite of!!  LOVE it :)

The next activity I planed was to play with the dry erase dice I recently got him (thanks to a fellow Son-Rise mom for the idea).  I wrote things such as tickle, jump high, spin jump, cow, and sheep on it.  We would throw the dice and act out what was wrote on it.  Hayden wasn't really into this.  I think it would work better with pictures on it for us.  So for our therapy session tomorrow I will have picture drawn on the dice ahead of time.  Here is a picture of the dice.  I ordered it off of amazon.

The last activity was rubber banding his cars to the rope connected to his pulley system.  Hayden was HUGELY into this activity.  I am proud of this activity because I just came up with it while in the room working with Hayden.  The best thing about this is Hayden had to have me put the rubber bands on the rope and attach the cars to the rope.  I requested that he tell me where on the rope, give me the rubber bands, and help hold the car while attaching it.  I got all sorts of eye contact and language out of this activity with out requesting it.  We did this activity for about 35 minutes.

We bought all supplies at a local hardware store.  We also have buckets that we attach to one end of the rope and ping pong balls that we put in the buckets.  Hayden likes to raise the buckets with the pulley and let go so the ping pong balls fly out.

This is what the rope looked like attached to his shelf with a magnet and pulley system

Close us of the cars attached with a rubber band

The pulley, rope, and magnet.  We put foam around the magnet so if it fell it cushioned the impact some.  We also have  a 25 lbs break aways safety feature.  We installed this after Hayden wrapped the rope around his neck and tried to jump off his slide.

Hayden's Aunt Sheila made him a GEO board for Christmas.  You can make all sorts of shapes and patterns with the rubber bands.  You can also strum the rubber bands to make music.  It is a peg board with bolts and nuts.

I felt so connected with Hayden tonight while working with him.   The best part is that we both had fun and enjoyed what we were doing together!!  I LOVE the Son-Rise program and highly recommend it!!

Hayden came in after therapy and shared with swing with his cousin Carly! 

They were both happy to be swinging together.

Hello 2012!!!

WoW!!  I can't believe that 2012 is here it seems that 2011 went by very quickly.

All in all 2011 was a great year for us.  Hayden has had many ups and downs but steady progress has shined through.

The poor guy was hospitalized twice for asthma, had staples in the back of his head, has warts burned off, and had to be on antibiotics once (only because his old doctor told me his ear drums would rupture if I didn't....I now know better).

His over all general health is the best it has ever been.  Hayden grew SIX inches this year and gained FIVE pounds!!!!  Woot...Woot....Woot!!!  For those that don't know Hayden didn't grow or gain weight from the age of 18 months to 2.5 years old.

Hayden's overall color is improving and the dark circles under his eyes are gone!!  His belly is not as bloated as it has been.  All of these things are good signs and tell me that his general health is improving.

Hayden went to two different schools and is now in NO school.  Brandon and I made the decision to run a full time therapy program out of our home for Hayden that focuses on social skills.  The Son-Rise program has been a HUGE blessing to our family and Hayden is making great strides because of it.

He have continued with Hayden's diet, done three rounds of chelation, implemented a new yeast treatment protocol, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.  We have worked very hard at removing television and electronics from Hayden's daily routine.  After all it is hard to compete with Hayden's i-pad for Hayden's attention.  The i-pad will always win.  Same thing for movies and television.....they are way more exciting than I could ever think of being.

We were fired from a pediatric practice because I REFUSE to have Hayden vaccinated (even though his specialist has signed paperwork saying his is medically exempt from vaccinations).  I have thought about getting a bumper sticker made that says, "We were fired from our children's pediatrician because we refuse to vaccinate our son who was injured from vaccinations and has a weak immune system."  Or better yet a tee shirt that says that.  It all worked out for the better, we now have a pediatrician that will not force vaccines on my children.

Here are some memorable movements from 2011:

Hayden accidentally breaking my nose while swinging.  Requiring me to have a 2.5 hour reconstructive surgery.  Although this worked out well and I got an insurance paid nose job.

Hayden pooping in the middle of the road in front of our mailbox

Ruby peeing in my purse because she was mad at me

Hayden peeing off the top of the play set at the park and landing on Ruby.  I told Ruby it was raining ;)

Hayden super gluing the roof of his mouth.....thank goodness he didn't glue his tongue too

Hayden and Ruby locked me out of the house requiring the neighbor to kick our door in

Hayden pooping in the bathroom sink.....took Brandon and awhile for we pin pointed where the smell was coming from.

Hayden clogging the toilet with diaper wipes requiring the plumber to fix it

Hayden drawing nice art work all over the kitchen walls with a RED sharpie

Hayden drinking from the toilet

I think I need to keep better track of these great "memories"  I know there are much more than I am listing.


I am excited to see what is in store for us in 2012!!

Three Months Into the Son-Rise Program!!

I can't believe that we are already three months into Hayden's Son-Rise Program!!  Hayden is averaging about 40 hours a week of therapy.  I would like to work up to 60+ hours a week.  We really need help in on the weekends all day, afternoons or evenings during the week if anyone would like to help out.  You could watch Ruby so Brandon or I could work with Hayden.  If you can commit to at least four hours a week we would love to train you to work with Hayden.

The last 10 days have been kind of rough because of Hayden going through yeast die off.  Through all his hyperness and stimming we are still seeing some great results!!  The biggest would be Hayden's overall happiness.  My little man smiles and laughs all the time now.  I love seeing all of his facial expressions after only seeing blank ones for so long.

Hayden's speech is also blossoming.  He is talking in two word phrases consistently.  We are pushing him hard to get three word phrases and I would say he uses them 80% of the time.  He tells me if he is happy, sad, and mad.  He tells me he loves me.  The best though is that he calls me Mom all the time!!!!  I love hearing "Mommy," truly music to my ears :)  He is also calling everyone else by name.

Hayden's eye contact has also greatly improved.  We are continuing to work on improving his eye contact.  I can actually request eye contact from him and he gives it to me.  I love when our eyes connect. Every time he looks me in the eyes it is a huge celebration!!!

Hayden has also started drawing pictures of things besides shapes!!!  This is HUGE :)  He is drawing faces and animals.

I think the biggest change is that Hayden is so much more connected to us.  He is frequently in the same room with us (he use to always be off doing his own thing, in his own world).  He loves to snuggle, hug, and kiss.  He enjoys playing with his sister in a typical 4 year old way.  When one of us is away he asks for us.  This is my favorite part of the Son-Rise Program!!  When I am in the therapy room with Hayden I get to just enjoy him.  I don't worry about anything else.  I just get down on the floor and spend time with him.  I have always felt a strong connection to Hayden.  I knew in my heart that he was connected to me even though he couldn't express it.  Now I see it and feel the connection every single day :)

As Hayden grows and develops it blows my mind how much he reminds me of his Dad.  I use to always think that Hayden favored me.  We recently watched our wedding video which has pictures of us growing up in it.  Hayden looks just like his Daddy.  He may have my big, dark brown eyes but the rest is all Daddy.  Hayden also has Daddy's mannerisms as well.  I LOVE it!!  Brandon is a great man and I completely okay with Hayden taking after his dad with a little tweaking ;)


Hayden and Kit drawing faces :)

Hayden eating celery!!  HUGE for him :)  Don't mind naked Ruby she is toilet training.

The first smiley face that Hayden ever drew while working with Aunt Terri!!

Our Motto!!

 Below the Christmas tree in purple Hayden drew a penguin while working with Carleen!!

We played with the photo booth option on my computer tonight :)

 The kids as chipmunks!

 Bug eyes

Yeast, Yeast, Go AWAY and NEVER Come Back!!

As many of you know Hayden is a hot, yeasty mess on the inside.  He have been working hard to get rid of the yeast for the past two years.  It has gotten better.  It has gotten worse.  It has drove me crazy, Hayden crazy, and caused many hours of lack of sleep.  I am DONE with the yeast!!

I decided to go with a new treatment plan to rid Hayden's little body of yeast.  We are using the Candida Wellness Center out of Utah's treatment protocol.  We heard the founder speak at Autism One and have talked with several parents that have used this type of yeast treatment on their children.  There is a 95% success rate of curing yeast infections using this protocol.  Here is a link to the website http://www.thecandidayeastanswer.com.  We are using diet, bionic silver, and hard hitting probiotics to kill off Hayden's yeast.

I think it's working.  Hayden is some what of a hot mess.  He is stimming more, a little more withdrawn, not sleeping the best, and is getting agitated easier.  These are all signs of a yeast die off.  We are six days into the new yeast protocol.  We were told to expect 7-10 days of worsening symptoms.

Tonight Hayden pooped in the bathtub and put a whole roll of toilet paper in the bathtub.  He was also drinking the water.......YUCK!!!  I must say all my Son-Rise happiness went out the flipping window at this point.  Out of the tub and straight to the shower went my little Hayden.  YUCK....I mean YUCK!!  If any of you have cleaned toilet paper out of the bath tub you know this is not an easy process and then add poop on top of it.........AAAAAHHHHHHH!!  I could tell that Hayden has eaten raspberries by all the seeds left in the tub.  YUCK!!

I know this is only temporary and keep reminding myself that sometimes to move ahead you have to move backward first.  We got this!!  I will say that I am seeing an improvement in  Hayden's eye contact and speech.

At 3am last night Hayden came into our room and said, "Mommy my pants are wet."  I must say in all of my Son-Rise glory at 3am we celebrated :)  I celebrated that he told me he wet his pants and I am pretty sure that he was looking me in the eyes while saying it.  So I got up danced and cheered, helped him get cleaned up, got Hayden a snack, and we cuddled on the couch.

On a good note Hayden's speech therapist stop to see us today.  It was sure great to see her.  I wish Hayden would have shown off for her a little bit more, but that is what life with autism is like.  You want in one hand and shit in the other.

I must say that I love Hayden more than I ever thought I ever could love someone.  He is a pretty amazing little boy that I thank God for every day :)  

Amazing Day!!!

We had our outreach today from Son-Rise.  A Son-Rise certified facilitator came and worked with Hayden and answered our questions.  AMAZING!!!!

Seven out of nine of Hayden's team was here to observe and ask questions.  One of the nine was not here because she was watching Ruby :)  Truly blessed I must say!!

I learned a lot today and has hugely reassured that we are on the right track!!  Hayden did amazing with the facilitator.  When she went in the room with him he shut the door and was ready to get to work.  This truly blew my mind!!

Hayden did really good with her and had a great time working with her.  The facilitator worked with him for four hours total and answered our questions for two hours total.

I got some great feed back on using the developmental model and setting goals for Hayden.  Hayden is actually achieving goals that I didn't think that he was and has become flexible.  Someone smack me.......Hayden is flexible.  That is flexible in a behavior way and not in a physical way.  He has dropped his rigidity and need for the down to the second schedule.  AMAZING!! I use to never dare get off of his schedule or there would be HELL to pay.  I mean hours, upon hours, of tantrums.  Not anymore my son is flexible!!

He transitions from one task to another with ease, he only has a fit for a little bit when things don't go his way.  I am going to say it again....hell I might even rent out a billboard that screams, "My son is flexible." I am so proud....can't you tell :)

The funny thing is it took someone else saying it for me to realize it.  I had not clue that Hayden has lost his rigidity and need for things to be done the same way every time.  I tend to think that I am seeing things in Hayden that are not really happening because I want him to get better.  Yep, not the case!!!

Today when we were going over the developmental model I kept a little on the quiet side because I wanted to see what everyone else thought.  They said what I was thinking the majority of the time.  Hayden is well on his way to recovery!!!

I can honestly say that I feel so good about what we are doing.  I LOVE the Son-Rise program.  It has helped Brandon and I love, accept, and enjoy Hayden just the way he is.  I think I have more fun working with Hayden than what he does!!!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it :)

I am signed up and ready to go back to Son-Rise in April for more training and I am hoping to take the majority of Hayden's team with me :)  Be prepared team if you come with me I am making us all matching shirts!!!

Ups, downs, and back around!!

It always seems just as we get comfortable a curve ball is thrown at us.  That curve ball has a name......AUTISM.  Autism always keeps us guessing and pushing us to forage ahead.

This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving.  Our loving families decided to make all the food at Thanksgiving safe for Hayden to eat.  It was wonderful!!! In the past Brandon and I were so stressed at gatherings, watching Hayden like a hawk to make sure that he didn't eat something he was not suppose to.  Not this Thanksgiving.....he could eat everything that everyone else was eating.

Hayden has had a great couple of weeks.  It seems we are back on track after chelation (heavy metal detox), and adjusting to his new therapy program (Son-Rise).  It always seems just as we get comfortable with what we are doing Autism smacks me up side the head.

Friday was a great day.  We celebrated Thanksgiving with Brandon's family and had a great time.  We were both very proud of Hayden.  He played with his cousins and rarely snuck off and hid.  This is a HUGE change for him.  Normally he would want to be by himself in another room, stimming away.  He smiled, laughed, and seemed to be enjoying himself.  That is until we got home and bedtime rolled in.

Hayden was agitated and difficult to get to sleep.  I could just feel in my gut that we were in for a rough couple of days.  Hayden was up most of the night.  He was extremely agitated and stimming a lot.  I got a total of one and a half hours of sleep that night.  Then it was off to work for 12.5 hours for me.  I honestly think I got the good end of the deal.

Poor Brandon had to be home with him all weekend.  It kills me to be away from Hayden when he is like this.  When he has an "episode" there is lots of tantrums (that last for up to several hours), aggressive behavior, extremely agitated, and very poor sleeping.  Unfortunately I have to work. I have FMLA for these types of situations, but I can't use it or I will be removed from the weekend premium program I am a part of which is a lot of $$$$.  Yep, I could complain for a very long time about this......but I won't!!!

I get home from work and can tell that Brandon had a super rough day and that Hayden was a hot mess.  Bedtime was a nightmare again and was followed by poor sleeping.  We continue this pattern for the next two days.

Hayden seems to back to normal the past two days.  I would even dare to say that his language and eye contact are improved.  It always seems that we have to take a few steps back to move forward.

Every time Hayden regresses it is harder and harder on me.  I panic in my own way and go into an obsessive....."why is he acting like this mode."  I think about all the food he has ate in the last few days, think about what kind of stools he has had, and his daily routine.  I think this time it was a yeast die off or over stimulation from Thanksgiving.

Speaking if yeast we are going to try a new approach to kill off Hayden's raging systemic yeast infection for good.  We have been battling if for two years now and I am DONE!!!  The medication (holistic) arrives in the mail tomorrow.  This is going to be rough on Hayden, but I know this is what needs to be done.

In order to kill and get rid of the yeast it has to be stirred up.  When we stir up the yeast in his body it will effect him even more.  So we are in for about 2-7 days of some nasty behavior from him.  Which means I should stock up on alcohol.

We also have a facilitator coming from the Son-Rise program Tuesday to work with us and Hayden.  I can't wait for that :).

Thankful for My family :)

This Thanksgiving I have a lot to be thankful for.  I have two children that are happy and thriving, a husband that I love and adore 90% of the time, and a large support system.

Notice I only said 90% of the time that I love and adore him.  The other 10% is generally when I have PMS and during that time I can not stand him.  Yes, I am a women and I am owning the fact that PMS makes me slightly (or a hole lot) crazy.  All jokes aside Brandon is my rock.  He is completely on board with helping Hayden.  Brandon centers me when I need centered, makes me laugh when I am ready to rip some one's face off, and loves me for who I am.  I miss him!!  It is hard working opposite shifts from one another.  It is what is best for our kids and I know that this is only temporary.  I am beyond grateful for the time we had together before we had children.  With out that time I know our marriage would fall apart with all the challenges we face.  Did you know that 90% of married couples with autistic children become divorced??  We are part of the 10% that will stay together :)  Yes, Brandon Hicks you are stuck with me for life!!

My sweet, easy going little girl has recently developed an attitude.  I SUCK at discipline!!  Yes, I Brandi Hicks SUCK at discipline.  I am beyond grateful that my little Ruby can tell me no and say, "Don't touch me," that I have a hard time correcting her.  I just want to celebrate that she can express herself.  I know this is wrong and I have been working on correcting her, re-directing her, and using time outs.  I will get better at discipline, I will get better at discipline, I will get better at discipline.

Ruby is my mini-me.  She acts like me, she talks like me, and looks like.  I love her more than I ever thought possible.  I have to say that I am having a lot of Mommy guilt lately towards her.  Hayden requires a lot of my time and I feel that Ruby gets the short end of the stick.  I know that Hayden needs me more, but I don't want Ruby to feel left out or that she is less important.  It is so hard on her to watch us in the play room with Hayden.  I am looking forward to this semester of teaching to come to an end.  I want to be able to take Ruby on a Mommy daughter date once a week.  I also want Brandon to take her on a date once a week too.

I tell Ruby that Hayden is sick and needs a lot of extra help right now.  I also tell her how blessed she is to be healthy and not need extra help.  I am hoping that going through all this Ruby will be a more compassionate, understanding person.  The other side of this is that she could become resentful and hateful towards Hayden and myself.

Hayden is truly thriving right now.  He is happier than he has ever been.  I love seeing him smile and laugh.  I can honestly say that I love working with him in the therapy room.  I love all the things that we do together.

Hayden's language, eye contact, and social skills are growing.  He is playing with friends, he is playing with Ruby, and he wants to know and be a part of what I am doing.  I have to make a confession.  I use to say that my children will NEVER sleep in our bed.  Hayden has been sleeping with us for the last month or so.  At bedtime I don't even try to get him to go to sleep in his room.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that he wants to cuddle in bed with me, he holds my hand, and I sing to him until he falls asleep.  Tonight Hayden looked into my eyes and said, "Night Mommy." He then gave me a kiss and drifted off to sleep.  Melts my heart :)

Hayden has recently took an interest in swimming in the toilets again.  I thought we were over this phase!!      I wish I could figure out why he wants to swim in the toilet.  I was on the phone with a friend this week and I said, "I need to go...Hayden is swimming in the toilet again."  I never thought in a million years that I would say a sentence like that.  The sad thing is that this has become our "normal".  The sticker shock has worn off and my friends and family never seem phased by what they hear or see out of us.

I seriously think my life should be a sitcom.  I think we are a pretty funny group.  I honestly wouldn't trade my life for anything.  I have developed a love for autism.  I can't imagine how boring our lives would be with out it.