Here we are a little over 3 years since my first post.  Boy have things changed.  Eddie is almost 7 years old (May 29th).  He is speaking, interacting and just finished First Grade. We decided to homeschool and this was our first year doing that.  He began public school at the age of 3 because of his Autism.  Homeschooling was the best fit for us.  No child should be expected to spend six hours a day in a school much less one with Autism.  We can complete his work within an hour or two since there isn't any gym, art, lunch, recess breaks in between the subject.  The actually time to do the academic work is just an hour or two and the rest of the hours at school are filled with "other stuff".  No anxiety here at home whereas there were lots at the school.  If his anxiety level is low then he can concentrate better.  Just a better choice for us to homeschool. He can add and subtract, read a little and write. He is in the stage of "Why?" for everything and asks several times on the same subject before he "gets it".  That is fine with me.  It just shows that he wants to learn and is learning. He has come a long way.  He isn't where he needs to be but is very far from where he was just a year ago.

We made the decision to use only homeopathic remedies and they work!  No side effects and he just seems to be responding better than the prescription stuff.  I am a researcher by nature and I never give him anything that I haven't spent months researching and not until I have tried it on myself first to see how it makes me feel.  Lets just say I have a son with Autism that use to not talk, interact or even be in our world that is now fully in our world, won't stop talking, funnier than anyone I have ever met before, has such a caring and living heart, and is incredibly smart.  He is amazing.

Let me begin by telling you a little history about Eddie.  He is the first child of my husband and mine together.  But the eight child of our blended family.  He is now three and half years old.  My oldest son is 24 years old and my middle son is 20 years old.  They both were married this year.  My husband has a son that is 29 years old and four daughters that are 27, 24, 16 and 15 years old.  He also has seven grandchildren with all but two older than Eddie.  It is a blended family to say the least. :)  All of my husband's children live on the west coast and we live on the east.  My 20 year old and his wife are in the Air Force so the only local family we have is my 24 year old son and his wife.  So basically Eddie is an only child in our home.  He was a surprise.  I was told I couldn't have children again and he came from a dead ovary that was damaged in surgery.  I guess the doctors don't know everything.  :)  I became pregnant the week I turned 40 years old.  So happy birthday to me. :)  I call Eddie my Angel.  That is what he is.  He was meant to be here.

We were told Eddie would have Down Syndrome and asked if we wanted to abort him.  We were shocked at such a suggestion but I guess that is what some do.  We did not. :)  Eddie was born healthy. But within the same day, he caught a head cold from his daddy and older brother.  It lasted a few days but no big issue.  He was a sweet, good baby.  Hardly ever cried.  That is until he was a few months old and then around 6:00 every evening he would have crying spells that would last about an hour.  It was like clock work.  Every night at the same time it would happen.  It did not occur to me that it may be a sign of what was to come.

Eddie was very alert when he was born.  Within the first month he would copy sounds and giggle when played with.  There was nothing wrong with him.  But I had a feeling.  Even before he was born I told my husband that I did not want Eddie to have the shot that "caused" Autism because I had a feeling he will get it.  Well Eddie did not get the MMR shot and he has Autism all the same.  After some research it is being said that it isn't just that shot that causes it.  The shot he received at the hospital the second day there is said also causing Autism.  Who really knows the truth but he has it and this is where we start.

I don't think I need to go back from the first day and list all that we have done so far.  But I will give you a little break down.  He lost eye contact.  He did not interact any longer. He was non-verbal. You could yell his name over and over with no response but Mickey Mouse would come on in the living room and he would go right to it.  We had his hearing and sight checked.  It was all normal.  I knew he was delayed.  I knew he had Autism.  But his doctor refused to accept it.  Why, I have no idea.  So I didn't listen to him.  I went over his head.  I contacted Duke University and had testing done.  I contacted a Pediatric Neurologist and had testing done.  They both agreed.  Autism.  So then my journey began.  I immediately had therapist in my home five days a week working with Eddie.  We had OT, PT, Speech, Play and ABA.  The ABA was the most important because we saw the most results.  I put Eddie on a Gluten Free Diet and within a week he gave us eye contact.  It was like he came out of a fog.  After some research I discovered that many children with Autism had allergies to wheat and dairy.  Once out of their systems they tend to "wake up".  Some don't.  With Eddie, he did.  We kept him on the Gluten free diet for six months and then introduced it back into his diet.  Eddie was on soy milk so we didn't have to worry about the dairy. We put him on soy milk at 12 months because he could not digest baby formula.  He could not have bowel movements on his own.  They were very painful for him.  We had to put his rear under warm running water and remove his stool ourselves.  At that time I did not know that children with Autism have gut issues. I know now. So he had a very limited dairy diet to begin with.  He would only eat a handful of foods.  He is still that way today.  Now it is Cheese Pizza, Chicken tenders, Strawberries, Bananas and Cherrios without milk.  The Cheese Pizza we have had to go to Gluten and Yeast Free because of the large amounts of wheat and yeast he was taking in.  It is an everyday food so his yeast was building up in his system. We reintroduced cow's milk into his diet for a short while.  But we noticed behavior problems so we took him back off of it and he is back to his sweet self.

At age three (May 2012) he began a summer school program of two days a week.  This is at the public elementary school.  We did the summer school to get him use to the place before full day school began in August 2012.  He now attends full day from 8 to 2 each day.  The school has an ABA based program for special needs children.  They have eleven kids.  They are one on one based.  My son has his own teacher.  At school he also receives PT and OT once a week and Speech twice a week.  We also have him approved for ABA at home for 30 hours a week.  We are trying to find a line therapist for the therapy.  When he turned three he lost his hours until his PDD waiver kicked in so there was a three month lapse in time.  Now that his waiver is in effect, our line therapist is now promoted to a Lead Therapist so she comes once a week and we are in search for a Line.  Now with this year of 2013 there is no lapse of time when your child ages out of one program and he/she rolls over to the PDD wavier so the therapy doesn't stop.

We have took our son for an evaluation at Brain Balance. http://www.brainbalancecenters.com  We get the results next week.  I have researched and read the book "Disconnected Kids".  After meeting with them and then searching for families that has gone through the program themselves, we have decided we aren't going to do it.  The parents said it was a waste of money ($6000) and not covered by insurance.  The parents I found on my own said that there weren't any big changes after the 12 week program and they were told by the Brain Balance that for $3000 more their child could continue the program and they should see some results then.  Not gonna happen.  You can read the book and find out how the program works in order to do it yourself.  That is what I did.  Granted we paid the $250 to have them do the evaluation before I heard back from the other parents but that is just to tell you if your child is weak on the right side or left side of their brain.  90% of the kids with Autism are right side weak.  So is our son. I did discover by giving him B12 spray orally every morning made a big difference in his mood.  I also ordered blue color lens glasses and he wears them as long as he wants each day.  They help with his communication.  And I believe it because he is talking more than he was before.  He gets liquid Iron every morning.  A child's Iron is suppose to be at a 50 or above.  Eddie was at a 7 when we began this.  So we started him on Iron.  Now a year and a half later he is at a level of 21. It takes a long time to get Iron levels where they should be. But Iron has EVERYTHING to do with speech.  It effects the part of the brain that controls speech.  That is according to our neurologist.  He is right.  Eddie speech improves as his Iron levels improve. He also takes Vitamin D because that is low also.  Which is another thing that children with Autism have in common.  The Vitamin D carries the Iron to the brain so this is also important for a child have.  I also have an air purifier and put drops of peppermint oil in the water.  It fills the air and Eddie breaths this.  Peppermint, Lemon or Lime awakens the brain.  Any music with F tones also do the same.  Most Spa or Yoga music have the low tones and that is what I play.  It calms him and he seems to focus more.  Each kid is different. What works for one may not work for another.  That is why puzzle pieces are the symbol for Autism.  It takes different things for each kid to make up the puzzle. It is a trial and error until you figure out what works for your child.  But early intervention is a BIG DEAL!  It makes all the difference on how well your child will weather this storm.  We learn faster before the age of 5 than we do any other time of our life.  So now is the important time for Eddie.  And his recovery is my mission.  I only focus on his recovery and him. So this blog is just a way to keep track of it all.  And hopefully help someone else out there that is searching like I am.  Maybe someone years from now may be beginning their journey with their child and is doing what I did....searching everywhere for any answers.  Well I will share everything that I find out.  The good, the bad and the ugly. :)