A word on Hope and recovery.

[Guest guest]

Dear Other Parents out there who walk in my shoes...

I wanted to let you know that my daughter, who was diagnosed as PDD-NOS, has

been helped tremendously by the different methods I tried, and some I learned on

this group site. I remember one letter here early on in my struggle that gave

me hope about a boy whose mother wrote to say that today, her son is almost free

of his afflictions. It gave me the sort of inspiration that kept me fighting.

Today, even though I notice the signs, no one else, including her school,

believe she could have ever been autistic. I am a single mother without outside

support, and yet I was able to change my daughter's life, and so I believe that

you can too. Like other parents, it was a matter of finding things that worked

for her, and that took searching and pursuing, and continued effort, and tears,

and time and resources I didn't have, but it was worth the struggle.

Being in the land area, we used the DIR facility in Bethesda run by Jake

Greenspan, the son of Stanley, at jake@..., . They were

wonderful for her, but they were not a resource for finding other methods that

might help. Trial and error, and luck, as I had no friends for word of mouth,

placed us with these other wonderful people.

The other two most useful therapies for us were found with M. for Brain Gym

at wrenxx@..., , and nutricianist Dorfmann at

kellydorfman.com, . If I mention someone here it is because they

were kind and helpful, unlike many people I met who did not have a clue.

My daughter was diagnosed, tested, and helped by Dr. Taruna Ahluvalia at

ta@..., . We tested for allergies and asthma with Dr.

Vaghi at , who had the sweetest bedside manner. She went for

therapy at Kentland Kids with loving Dr. New at

michellenew@..., , and she had vision therapy with Dr.

Sandy Cohen at reidcohen@..., .

There are other therapies and things that really help and make a difference.

These were the ones that worked for us. I am hoping my post will help those

parents who are suffering, by giving them hope, by offering additional ideas to

those who feel they have run out of things to try. and were both

wonderful resources for new and additional treatments.

Like many parents, we had some horrible experiences out there, but the good

folks are worth the headaches. Good luck, and some day I hope you are writing a

post here about how your son or daughter now has friends and a relatively normal

life...

All my hope and love, another mother.