Guest guest Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Hello Everyone,I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been " shy " . It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't " get up " in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your " non-verbal " child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days.What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his " diagnosis " is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!!Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Hi Jean, In my experience, the best therapy that will help reveal what a non-verbal child or any other person is experiencing and feeling is Family Constellation. You can google it and may even see youtube videos on it. Although I don't think they will convey the actual feelings of experiencing one for yourself. FC is very popular in Europe. Not sure where you're located but there are practitioners here in the States as well. HTH, Carmen > > Hello Everyone, > > I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. > Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for > this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also > on the MMS Facebook group. > > My son, has always been " shy " . It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks > to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual > living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... > > But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, > and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but > can't " get up " in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very > sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. > > Have any of you found that your " non-verbal " child will speak a little bit > when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell > you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels > hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma > on the phone (video chat). > > speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it > is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after > 2-3 days. > > What are your thoughts? Experiences? > > BTW, his " diagnosis " is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating > him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are > taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe > eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is > the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the > butter after his treatments... > > Thank you!! > Jean > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned. Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012 To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone,I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been " shy " . It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't " get up " in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your " non-verbal " child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days.What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his " diagnosis " is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!!Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned. Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012 To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone,I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been " shy " . It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't " get up " in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your " non-verbal " child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days.What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his " diagnosis " is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!!Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned. Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012 To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone,I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been " shy " . It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't " get up " in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your " non-verbal " child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days.What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his " diagnosis " is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!!Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 great post tammy! my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned.Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been "shy". It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't "get up" in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your "non-verbal" child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his "diagnosis" is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channaThanksLet your email find you with BlackBerry® from VodafoneSender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT)To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex >ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child great post tammy! my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotekTo: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son.As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us!Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years.Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me:He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule".After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet.He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved).If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you.The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do.Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both.In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers.Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned.Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better!TammySent from my Kindle FireSent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone,I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group.My son, has always been "shy". It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so...But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't "get up" in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your "non-verbal" child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days.What are your thoughts? Experiences?BTW, his "diagnosis" is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments...Thank you!!Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 12:41 PMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channaThanks Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone Sender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT) To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex > ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child great post tammy! my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned.Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been "shy". It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't "get up" in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your "non-verbal" child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his "diagnosis" is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 6, 2012 Report Share Posted May 6, 2012 My Brand just says food grade.This one says,food / chemical grade.Do you think I should dich my brand or is this common?              Thanks for ideas,Tammy F.  http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html From: "cotter.mary1@..." To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 12:41 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child  Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channa Thanks Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone From: Channa Brennon Sender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT) To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex > ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child  great post tammy!  my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek From: Tammy To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child  My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder.  Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned. Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire From: Jean van Zyl Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012 To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child  Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been "shy". It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't "get up" in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your "non-verbal" child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his "diagnosis" is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 7, 2012 Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 As long as it says 'food grade', you should be good. Tammy To: mb12valtrex Sent: Monday, May 7, 2012 12:10 AM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My Brand just says food grade.This one says,food / chemical grade.Do you think I should dich my brand or is this common? Thanks for ideas,Tammy F. http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html From: "cotter.mary1@..." To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 12:41 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channa Thanks Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone From: Channa Brennon Sender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT) To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex > ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child great post tammy! my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek From: Tammy To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned. Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire From: Jean van Zyl Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012 To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been "shy". It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't "get up" in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your "non-verbal" child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his "diagnosis" is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Tammy, What you wrote hits really close to home for me and gives me confirmation of precisely what I have been thinking. What you explained is exactly what my gut has been screaming to me. My son is high functioning and 5 years old but has problems with processing what we ask him. We find ourselves conversing with him in a way that will accomodate him. He also has huge disruptions with neurotrasmitters. Figuring this out is driving me crazy! I feel like we are going in a million different directions with nowhere to go and no way to get there. Every doctor has a shot in the dark idea of "try this" and I am left with the same issues. Please...from Mom to Mom, any suggestions? Thanks, Kerri To: mb12valtrex Sent: Sunday, May 6, 2012 11:10 PMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My Brand just says food grade.This one says,food / chemical grade.Do you think I should dich my brand or is this common? Thanks for ideas,Tammy F. http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 12:41 PMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channaThanks Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone Sender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT) To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex > ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child great post tammy! my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned.Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been "shy". It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't "get up" in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your "non-verbal" child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his "diagnosis" is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 10, 2012 Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 Kerri, Tom had huge disruptions with neurotransmitters, too. Right before I found biomed, he was on adderall. Sometimes it worked great, sometimes it left him a mess. Which indicated to me that there was a definite incon sistency with his neurotransmitters firing off. So I completely stopped the adderall because emotionally he was in no condition for me to be experimenting with different dosages/meds. The very first biomedical intervention I used was epsom salt. Because I knew NOTHING....NADDA, this felt very safe to give while I began to learn. The very first oral intervention I used was vitamin c. I chose this first because(again), I felt very safe using it, and I had read about vitamin c being required for proper neurotransmitter firings. After some time, I added in l -theanine just to "get us through" the rest of the school year. We didnt have a dan or integrative doctor. My son's pediatrician had absolutely no interest in looking at his diagnosis as a medical condition so I was 100 % on my own with no testing and no rx'ing. There was no single trigger I could point out as the cause or contributing factor to Tom's dx, so I was flying blind. People are very quick to dismiss me when I tell them that with everything we have tried to date, vitamin c (high dose), vitamin d and epsom have made the biggest impact. The other major factor was removing stress (pulling him out of school). You should understand that we have no GI issues here so that was a huge hurdle we never had to contend with. If I could do it all again, I would remove as much stress as possible FIRST - clean up the diet (we were HORRID!!!!) then start high dose vitamin c (perhaps liposomal)and epsom. We did, for a short time (after I found an integrative doctor) treat him with Armour. But thyroid support has not been necessary since supplementing vitamin d. Vitamin b6 gave us a nice boost for a while and eventually I was able to move to a b complex because I prefer balance. Bringing him home for school has made all the difference.He was in a constant state of fight or flight which made it impossible for him to process anything. Once we removed the stress, he was in a much better state to concentrate. Now, we are at a point where I can add in small stressors to see how he functions. Slowly but surely, it's getting better. Everything we have done since the beginig include: probiotics and sach b. CLO, choline, carnitine, carnosine, theanine, GSE, high dose vitamkn A, b12 injections along with a mito cocktail (5mthfr, coq10) multivitamins, mineral supplementation. Zinc did good things for us for a while, magnesium is awesome. As I mentioned, we did thyroid support for a bit. Theres so much I'm forgetting. But the biggies were vitamin c, epsom as a sulfur donor and magnesium/b6. Acetyl lcarnosine gave us a nice push for a bit too, but it wasnt something we had to continue.Also, as his diet continues to improve and I learn to prepare more wholesome foods (which is still a far cry frlm where I 'd lkme it to be), I find he requires less supplementing. Because we homeschool, it can be hard for me to gauge exactly where he,'s at compared to other kids his age. But I can tell you it night and dag comlared to where we were two years ago. He can follow multi step directions, his motor planning has come a long long way, he's thinking "in layers", he's not so literal. I just have to be very careful not to accomodate him so much and let him test his wings. As his command of language improves, his processing improves. He literally had to learn the English language - the same way someone from another country would have to. I also do alot of visualizing and praying. This summer we'll do Brain Balance. I hope this helped. I really believe his body was overtaxed with toxins. It just makes the most sense when I see how well he has responded to vitamin c and magnesium and consider how clean his OATS was. If I think of anything else, I 'll drop you a line. Ta.my Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Thu May 10 11:25:19 EDT 2012 To: " mb12valtrex " <mb12valtrex > Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Tammy, What you wrote hits really close to home for me and gives me confirmation of precisely what I have been thinking. What you explained is exactly what my gut has been screaming to me. My son is high functioning and 5 years old but has problems with processing what we ask him. We find ourselves conversing with him in a way that will accomodate him. He also has huge disruptions with neurotrasmitters. Figuring this out is driving me crazy! I feel like we are going in a million different directions with nowhere to go and no way to get there. Every doctor has a shot in the dark idea of "try this" and I am left with the same issues. Please...from Mom to Mom, any suggestions? Thanks, Kerri To: mb12valtrex Sent: Sunday, May 6, 2012 11:10 PMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My Brand just says food grade.This one says,food / chemical grade.Do you think I should dich my brand or is this common? Thanks for ideas,Tammy F. http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 12:41 PMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channaThanks Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone Sender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT) To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex > ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child great post tammy! my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned.Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been "shy". It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't "get up" in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your "non-verbal" child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his "diagnosis" is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 Tammy,Both of the posts are great. Your first post was right close to my heart. My ~4 years old son is high functioning ASD, hyperlexic and has serious issues with language processing (specifically generation). As Jean describes, my son is pretty much like hers too i.e. talking to only close ones and almost nobody else. When you said, your son explained his situation. I swear to god if my son speaks that clearly anytime, I will dance till I drop but you are right. I push him a lot, hoping that it will stimulate his language generation and sometimes it helps too. At the same time, I feel like is it harming him anyways? I don't know what to infer out of it so I use various different tactics to stimulate speech, like me and DS started going for a walk every evening and out of his keen interest in the cars, I asked him, what car is it and now in a months time, he knows almost all brands of cars on the US streets and that started his interactive speech (with me). At this moment, it is not more than 2-4 sentences but it much better than zero. Over the period of time, I learned that he understands a lot (almost 80%) of what we interact and when he doesn't, he repeats what I say. Majority of the times, he can not answer that makes sense but if the command expects an action from him, majority of the times, it is a correct action. So I started a routine to use a command and then expected answer after repeating it once more. That gives him an idea what and how to respond. May be Jean could use similar tactics with her son too. He may not be shy, its just he doesn't know what or how to respond. The social worker that works with us thinks the same way. The tantrums and meltdowns are mostly out of frustration (at least for language impaired kids) In your second post and someone else in the thread mentioned about brain chemistry. Majority of the times, I am in read-only mode on this list but I just feel like expressing here. The use of high doses of minerals and vitamins makes me feel very uncomfortable. I totally agree that some parents have seen positive effects which is really good and I am happy for them. At the same time, this guinea pig thing doesn't impress me well. You could of course guess the symptoms and outcomes but there is no concrete proof. Even though I think on similar lines as majority of you with the causes like neurotransmitters and brain function, I enrolled my son in fMRI study where they looked at brain wiring. I will not be given personalized data but I am keen on the results. I mentioned about that network on the list but I was told that the lead scientist is a sham or something. Over the period of time, I interacted with the clinicians and therapist involved in the study and I have good confidence that they are doing good work. I did poke holes in their study but I got pretty satisfactory answers (although some of them did not impress me). Once DS turns 5, I am going to get his another MRI done where it checks the brain wiring but in a different way. This guy has already checked Temple Gradin's brain as a confirmatory proof and found that her brain stem is huge compared to a neurotypical person. All I am getting at from this stuff is, I want to see if there is a structural difference in case of DS's brain. If it is, no matter what medication I give him, its not going to change a thing but if it is not, I need to take another approach and figure out what the heck is going on. Sorry for going little off-topic but I guess this is essential when we try to address the issue raised by Jean and I am observing with my child i.e. what is going on with their language processing and why? Noel Kerri, Tom had huge disruptions with neurotransmitters, too. Right before I found biomed, he was on adderall. Sometimes it worked great, sometimes it left him a mess. Which indicated to me that there was a definite incon sistency with his neurotransmitters firing off. So I completely stopped the adderall because emotionally he was in no condition for me to be experimenting with different dosages/meds. The very first biomedical intervention I used was epsom salt. Because I knew NOTHING....NADDA, this felt very safe to give while I began to learn. The very first oral intervention I used was vitamin c. I chose this first because(again), I felt very safe using it, and I had read about vitamin c being required for proper neurotransmitter firings. After some time, I added in l -theanine just to " get us through " the rest of the school year. We didnt have a dan or integrative doctor. My son's pediatrician had absolutely no interest in looking at his diagnosis as a medical condition so I was 100 % on my own with no testing and no rx'ing. There was no single trigger I could point out as the cause or contributing factor to Tom's dx, so I was flying blind. People are very quick to dismiss me when I tell them that with everything we have tried to date, vitamin c (high dose), vitamin d and epsom have made the biggest impact. The other major factor was removing stress (pulling him out of school). You should understand that we have no GI issues here so that was a huge hurdle we never had to contend with. If I could do it all again, I would remove as much stress as possible FIRST - clean up the diet (we were HORRID!!!!) then start high dose vitamin c (perhaps liposomal)and epsom. We did, for a short time (after I found an integrative doctor) treat him with Armour. But thyroid support has not been necessary since supplementing vitamin d. Vitamin b6 gave us a nice boost for a while and eventually I was able to move to a b complex because I prefer balance. Bringing him home for school has made all the difference.He was in a constant state of fight or flight which made it impossible for him to process anything. Once we removed the stress, he was in a much better state to concentrate. Now, we are at a point where I can add in small stressors to see how he functions. Slowly but surely, it's getting better. Everything we have done since the beginig include: probiotics and sach b. CLO, choline, carnitine, carnosine, theanine, GSE, high dose vitamkn A, b12 injections along with a mito cocktail (5mthfr, coq10) multivitamins, mineral supplementation. Zinc did good things for us for a while, magnesium is awesome. As I mentioned, we did thyroid support for a bit. Theres so much I'm forgetting. But the biggies were vitamin c, epsom as a sulfur donor and magnesium/b6. Acetyl lcarnosine gave us a nice push for a bit too, but it wasnt something we had to continue.Also, as his diet continues to improve and I learn to prepare more wholesome foods (which is still a far cry frlm where I 'd lkme it to be), I find he requires less supplementing. Because we homeschool, it can be hard for me to gauge exactly where he,'s at compared to other kids his age. But I can tell you it night and dag comlared to where we were two years ago. He can follow multi step directions, his motor planning has come a long long way, he's thinking " in layers " , he's not so literal. I just have to be very careful not to accomodate him so much and let him test his wings. As his command of language improves, his processing improves. He literally had to learn the English language - the same way someone from another country would have to. I also do alot of visualizing and praying. This summer we'll do Brain Balance. I hope this helped. I really believe his body was overtaxed with toxins. It just makes the most sense when I see how well he has responded to vitamin c and magnesium and consider how clean his OATS was. If I think of anything else, I 'll drop you a line. Ta.my Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Thu May 10 11:25:19 EDT 2012 To: " mb12valtrex " <mb12valtrex > Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Tammy, What you wrote hits really close to home for me and gives me confirmation of precisely what I have been thinking. What you explained is exactly what my gut has been screaming to me. My son is high functioning and 5 years old but has problems with processing what we ask him. We find ourselves conversing with him in a way that will accomodate him. He also has huge disruptions with neurotrasmitters. Figuring this out is driving me crazy! I feel like we are going in a million different directions with nowhere to go and no way to get there. Every doctor has a shot in the dark idea of " try this " and I am left with the same issues. Please...from Mom to Mom, any suggestions? Thanks, Kerri To: mb12valtrex Sent: Sunday, May 6, 2012 11:10 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My Brand just says food grade.This one says,food / chemical grade.Do you think I should dich my brand or is this common? Thanks for ideas,Tammy F. http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 12:41 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channaThanks Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone Sender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT) To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex > ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child great post tammy! my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their " concerns " because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was " accomodating " my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the " mercy rule " . After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure " J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: " That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated. " You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned.Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been " shy " . It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't " get up " in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your " non-verbal " child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his " diagnosis " is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 11, 2012 Report Share Posted May 11, 2012 Great post. PLease dont ever apologize for going off topic - often that is the time we do our best learning! The reason why our children suffer from these language disorders is no different than any other condition/disease/disorder. It can only be attributed to one of three things: genetics, injury, or deficiency. With our kids ( as with other autoimmune conditions), often it's a combination. Do I sometimes feel that our kids are guinea pigs? Of course. But the more I learn, the less I feel that way. And if I stick to certain truths, I know we can safely stay on the right track. 1. Our bodies require food, water, air, sunshine, and sleep to survive and be healthy. 2) Our water, air, and soil are tainted. 3) We bave villianized the sun and depraived ourselves of vitamin d at a very dangerous time to be without it 4) Our soil has been depleted of necessary nutrients then poisoned to force already nutrient -depraived food to grow bigger and faster. This generation is living proof that we positively can not survive without the nutrients from food. With the exception of vitamin d which is manufactured in the skin after sun exposure, nutrients can not and will not just appear out of thin air...if we are not getting them from food, they MUST be supplemented. Many people can atest to regaining their health by changing their dietary habits and choosing wholesome foods. For others, it's not that easy. Our children contend with sensory issues, apraxia, motor issues so severe that some arent even able to chew or swallow. Other childrens' guts are so destroyed by vaccines, antibiotics and tylenol, that it's nearly impossible for their bodies to absorb nutrients even when they are consumed. We can not wait for Western medicine to "catch up" to such a simple concept -as there is no motive for the industry to do so. They are blinded by the JUNK science that allows them to make a whollllllllllllle lot of money. Never before in the history of human kind has man required a double blind peer reviewed published study to validate the fact that food really is the key to good health. Today, that would put alot of people out of work. I will give western medicine credit for early detection (SOMEtimes), emergency surgery, cosmetic surgery (highly profitable) and prosthetics. However, there are certain dismal facts we cant ignore...we are #35 in infant mortality rates in the world. Our life expectancy is #38, yet our medical industry's word is as good as God's???????? I will never understand how this makes sense to sheeple. So while part of me desperately wants our doctors to wake up and realize we are dealing with a medical condition here, the other part of me is terrified of what will happen once they figure out how to profit from this and get their filthy paws on the "healing" end. (As we all know they play a major role on the "causal" end.) We've allowed the govt, our school depts, big business and the medical industry to convince us that they are better able to care for our children than we are. Have you noticed the more they take over, the worse things get?????? With that said, there are things we've done outside of nutritional supplementation that have taken us a long way. ESL worksheets and lessons have helped tremendously. Earlier this year, I found a fantastic book "A Conversation Book l: English in Everday Life" (Third edition) by Tina Kasloff Carver and Fotinos. While the book is clearly intended for older students/adults in a classroom setting, the lessons can easily be modified for you and your child to use one on one. The book is pretty comprehensive. It covers the calendar (holidays, birthdays, days of the week, months, weather, understanding forecasts, weather appropriate clothing...)Food (ordering in restaurants, going to the market...) Home and community...different types of housing, talking to neighbors, going to the docotr/dentist/hospital, calling 911...filling out forms. Traffic signs, going to the bank and the post office. Work...how to find a job. What is said at an interview...sports, music, movies, tv, leisure....you get my drift. It does a great job showing our customs and what a typical conversation sounds like in different circumstances. I wish we would have found this alot sooner. Teaching my son the parts of speech has also helped alot. He really enjoys this (maybe he takes comfort in categorizing words? Idk). My son is older (almost 10). I dont know if this would be a good option for a younger child but I'm throwing it out there just in case. Someone else mentioned Super Duper Inc. I agree. They have awesome products at super affordable prices. One product that caught my interest that I wish I had stumbled upon sooner is their "Hear Builder" Product. You can see a small sampling of it on their website. I've never tried it bit it looks like something I would have loved to have in my arsenal. Digit Spans is also great for processing in general. You can find an inexpensive version of this on Brain Age for Nintendo DS. Then again, if you give it a google, theres a good chance an app is available for this now. Tom tinkers around on the piano here and there -maybe that's help some, idk. If you can believe it, he 's completely infatuated with foreign language and LOVES Google translator (he likes to make it say bad words lol). You would think this might confuse him but in some strange way, I think it's helped. Nothing is ever forced. I do correct his grammar an awful lot but I try to pick my battles (for instance, I wont do it when he's trying to organize his thoughts or when he's struggling to retrieve a word or phrase....tbough neither one is much of a problem anymore). We have a come a very long way. I am so proud of him and I make it a point to tell him that everyday. Well that's enough babbling for one day. I've gotta go get some laundry done now....yippee!! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 11 11:28:12 EDT 2012 To: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Tammy,Both of the posts are great. Your first post was right close to my heart. My ~4 years old son is high functioning ASD, hyperlexic and has serious issues with language processing (specifically generation). As Jean describes, my son is pretty much like hers too i.e. talking  to only close ones and almost nobody else. When you said, your son explained his situation. I swear to god if my son speaks that clearly anytime, I will dance till I drop but you are right. I push him a lot, hoping that it will stimulate his language generation and sometimes it helps too. At the same time, I feel like is it harming him anyways? I don't know what to infer out of it so I use various different tactics to stimulate speech, like me and DS started going for a walk every evening and out of his keen interest in the cars, I asked him, what car is it and now in a months time, he knows almost all brands of cars on the US streets and that started his interactive speech (with me). At this moment, it is not more than 2-4 sentences but it much better than zero. Over the period of time, I learned that he understands a lot (almost 80%) of what we interact and when he doesn't, he repeats what I say. Majority of the times, he can not answer that makes sense but if the command expects an action from him, majority of the times, it is a correct action. So I started a routine to use a command and then expected answer after repeating it once more. That gives him an idea what and how to respond. May be Jean could use similar tactics with her son too. He may not be shy, its just he doesn't know what or how to respond. The social worker that works with us thinks the same way. The tantrums and meltdowns are mostly out of frustration (at least for language impaired kids) In your second post and someone else in the thread mentioned about brain chemistry. Majority of the times, I am in read-only mode on this list but I just feel like expressing here. The use of high doses of minerals and vitamins makes me feel very uncomfortable. I totally agree that some parents have seen positive effects which is really good and I am happy for them. At the same time, this guinea pig thing doesn't impress me well. You could of course guess the symptoms and outcomes but there is no concrete proof. Even though I think on similar lines as majority of you with the causes like neurotransmitters and brain function, I enrolled my son in fMRI study where they looked at brain wiring. I will not be given personalized data but I am keen on the results. I mentioned about that network on the list but I was told that the lead scientist is a sham or something. Over the period of time, I interacted with the clinicians and therapist involved in the study and I have good confidence that they are doing good work. I did poke holes in their study but I got pretty satisfactory answers (although some of them did not impress me). Once DS turns 5, I am going to get his another MRI done where it checks the brain wiring but in a different way. This guy has already checked Temple Gradin's brain as a confirmatory proof and found that her brain stem is huge compared to a neurotypical person. All I am getting at from this stuff is, I want to see if there is a structural difference in case of DS's brain. If it is, no matter what medication I give him, its not going to change a thing but if it is not, I need to take another approach and figure out what the heck is going on. Sorry for going little off-topic but I guess this is essential when we try to address the issue raised by Jean and I am observing with my child i.e. what is going on with their language processing and why? Noel  Kerri, Tom had huge disruptions with neurotransmitters, too. Right before I found biomed, he was on adderall. Sometimes it worked great, sometimes it left him a mess. Which indicated to me that there was a definite incon sistency with his neurotransmitters firing off. So I completely stopped the adderall because emotionally he was in no condition for me to be experimenting with different dosages/meds. The very first biomedical intervention I used was epsom salt. Because I knew NOTHING....NADDA, this felt very safe to give while I began to learn. The very first oral intervention I used was vitamin c. I chose this first because(again), I felt very safe using it, and I had read about vitamin c being required for proper neurotransmitter firings. After some time, I added in l -theanine just to " get us through " the rest of the school year. We didnt have a dan or integrative doctor. My son's pediatrician had absolutely no interest in looking at his diagnosis as a medical condition so I was 100 % on my own with no testing and no rx'ing. There was no single trigger I could point out as the cause or contributing factor to Tom's dx, so I was flying blind. People are very quick to dismiss me when I tell them that with everything we have tried to date, vitamin c (high dose), vitamin d and epsom have made the biggest impact. The other major factor was removing stress (pulling him out of school). You should understand that we have no GI issues here so that was a huge hurdle we never had to contend with. If I could do it all again, I would remove as much stress as possible FIRST - clean up the diet (we were HORRID!!!!) then start high dose vitamin c (perhaps liposomal)and epsom. We did, for a short time (after I found an integrative doctor) treat him with Armour. But thyroid support has not been necessary since supplementing vitamin d. Vitamin b6 gave us a nice boost for a while and eventually I was able to move to a b complex because I prefer balance. Bringing him home for school has made all the difference.He was in a constant state of fight or flight which made it impossible for him to process anything. Once we removed the stress, he was in a much better state to concentrate. Now, we are at a point where I can add in small stressors to see how he functions. Slowly but surely, it's getting better. Everything we have done since the beginig include: probiotics and sach b. CLO, choline, carnitine, carnosine, theanine, GSE, high dose vitamkn A, b12 injections along with a mito cocktail (5mthfr, coq10) multivitamins, mineral supplementation. Zinc did good things for us for a while, magnesium is awesome. As I mentioned, we did thyroid support for a bit. Theres so much I'm forgetting. But the biggies were vitamin c, epsom as a sulfur donor and magnesium/b6. Acetyl lcarnosine gave us a nice push for a bit too, but it wasnt something we had to continue.Also, as his diet continues to improve and I learn to prepare more wholesome foods (which is still a far cry frlm where I 'd lkme it to be), I find he requires less supplementing. Because we homeschool, it can be hard for me to gauge exactly where he,'s at compared to other kids his age. But I can tell you it night and dag comlared to where we were two years ago. He can follow multi step directions, his motor planning has come a long long way, he's thinking " in layers " , he's not so literal. I just have to be very careful not to accomodate him so much and let him test his wings. As his command of language improves, his processing improves. He literally had to learn the English language - the same way someone from another country would have to. I also do alot of visualizing and praying. This summer we'll do Brain Balance. I hope this helped. I really believe his body was overtaxed with toxins. It just makes the most sense when I see how well he has responded to vitamin c and magnesium and consider how clean his OATS was. If I think of anything else,  I 'll drop you a line. Ta.my Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Thu May 10 11:25:19 EDT 2012 To: " mb12valtrex " <mb12valtrex > Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child  Tammy, What you wrote hits really close to home for me and gives me confirmation of precisely what I have been thinking. What you explained is exactly what my gut has been screaming to me. My son is high functioning and 5 years old but has problems with processing what we ask him. We find ourselves conversing with him in a way that will accomodate him. He also has huge disruptions with neurotrasmitters. Figuring this out is driving me crazy! I feel like we are going in a million different directions with nowhere to go and no way to get there. Every doctor has a shot in the dark idea of " try this " and I am left with the same issues. Please...from Mom to Mom, any suggestions? Thanks, Kerri To: mb12valtrex Sent: Sunday, May 6, 2012 11:10 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child  My Brand just says food grade.This one says,food / chemical grade.Do you think I should dich my brand or is this common?              Thanks for ideas,Tammy F.  http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 12:41 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child  Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channaThanks Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone Sender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT) To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex > ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child  great post tammy!  my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child  My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their " concerns " because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was " accomodating " my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the " mercy rule " . After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure " J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: " That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated. "  You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder.  Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned.Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been " shy " . It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't " get up " in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your " non-verbal " child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his " diagnosis " is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 14, 2012 Report Share Posted May 14, 2012 Thanks! Tammy! Keep up the good work. You are pretty darn amazing in my book. "Keep moving forward" as Wilbur would say. I will do the same. Many prayers:)~Kerri~ To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 3:24 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Great post. PLease dont ever apologize for going off topic - often that is the time we do our best learning! The reason why our children suffer from these language disorders is no different than any other condition/disease/disorder. It can only be attributed to one of three things: genetics, injury, or deficiency. With our kids ( as with other autoimmune conditions), often it's a combination. Do I sometimes feel that our kids are guinea pigs? Of course. But the more I learn, the less I feel that way. And if I stick to certain truths, I know we can safely stay on the right track. 1. Our bodies require food, water, air, sunshine, and sleep to survive and be healthy. 2) Our water, air, and soil are tainted. 3) We bave villianized the sun and depraived ourselves of vitamin d at a very dangerous time to be without it 4) Our soil has been depleted of necessary nutrients then poisoned to force already nutrient -depraived food to grow bigger and faster. This generation is living proof that we positively can not survive without the nutrients from food. With the exception of vitamin d which is manufactured in the skin after sun exposure, nutrients can not and will not just appear out of thin air...if we are not getting them from food, they MUST be supplemented. Many people can atest to regaining their health by changing their dietary habits and choosing wholesome foods. For others, it's not that easy. Our children contend with sensory issues, apraxia, motor issues so severe that some arent even able to chew or swallow. Other childrens' guts are so destroyed by vaccines, antibiotics and tylenol, that it's nearly impossible for their bodies to absorb nutrients even when they are consumed. We can not wait for Western medicine to "catch up" to such a simple concept -as there is no motive for the industry to do so. They are blinded by the JUNK science that allows them to make a whollllllllllllle lot of money. Never before in the history of human kind has man required a double blind peer reviewed published study to validate the fact that food really is the key to good health. Today, that would put alot of people out of work. I will give western medicine credit for early detection (SOMEtimes), emergency surgery, cosmetic surgery (highly profitable) and prosthetics. However, there are certain dismal facts we cant ignore...we are #35 in infant mortality rates in the world. Our life expectancy is #38, yet our medical industry's word is as good as God's???????? I will never understand how this makes sense to sheeple. So while part of me desperately wants our doctors to wake up and realize we are dealing with a medical condition here, the other part of me is terrified of what will happen once they figure out how to profit from this and get their filthy paws on the "healing" end. (As we all know they play a major role on the "causal" end.) We've allowed the govt, our school depts, big business and the medical industry to convince us that they are better able to care for our children than we are. Have you noticed the more they take over, the worse things get?????? With that said, there are things we've done outside of nutritional supplementation that have taken us a long way. ESL worksheets and lessons have helped tremendously. Earlier this year, I found a fantastic book "A Conversation Book l: English in Everday Life" (Third edition) by Tina Kasloff Carver and Fotinos. While the book is clearly intended for older students/adults in a classroom setting, the lessons can easily be modified for you and your child to use one on one. The book is pretty comprehensive. It covers the calendar (holidays, birthdays, days of the week, months, weather, understanding forecasts, weather appropriate clothing...)Food (ordering in restaurants, going to the market...) Home and community...different types of housing, talking to neighbors, going to the docotr/dentist/hospital, calling 911...filling out forms. Traffic signs, going to the bank and the post office. Work...how to find a job. What is said at an interview...sports, music, movies, tv, leisure....you get my drift. It does a great job showing our customs and what a typical conversation sounds like in different circumstances. I wish we would have found this alot sooner. Teaching my son the parts of speech has also helped alot. He really enjoys this (maybe he takes comfort in categorizing words? Idk). My son is older (almost 10). I dont know if this would be a good option for a younger child but I'm throwing it out there just in case. Someone else mentioned Super Duper Inc. I agree. They have awesome products at super affordable prices. One product that caught my interest that I wish I had stumbled upon sooner is their "Hear Builder" Product. You can see a small sampling of it on their website. I've never tried it bit it looks like something I would have loved to have in my arsenal. Digit Spans is also great for processing in general. You can find an inexpensive version of this on Brain Age for Nintendo DS. Then again, if you give it a google, theres a good chance an app is available for this now. Tom tinkers around on the piano here and there -maybe that's help some, idk. If you can believe it, he 's completely infatuated with foreign language and LOVES Google translator (he likes to make it say bad words lol). You would think this might confuse him but in some strange way, I think it's helped. Nothing is ever forced. I do correct his grammar an awful lot but I try to pick my battles (for instance, I wont do it when he's trying to organize his thoughts or when he's struggling to retrieve a word or phrase....tbough neither one is much of a problem anymore). We have a come a very long way. I am so proud of him and I make it a point to tell him that everyday. Well that's enough babbling for one day. I've gotta go get some laundry done now....yippee!! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 11 11:28:12 EDT 2012 To: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Tammy,Both of the posts are great. Your first post was right close to my heart. My ~4 years old son is high functioning ASD, hyperlexic and has serious issues with language processing (specifically generation). As Jean describes, my son is pretty much like hers too i.e. talking to only close ones and almost nobody else. When you said, your son explained his situation. I swear to god if my son speaks that clearly anytime, I will dance till I drop but you are right. I push him a lot, hoping that it will stimulate his language generation and sometimes it helps too. At the same time, I feel like is it harming him anyways? I don't know what to infer out of it so I use various different tactics to stimulate speech, like me and DS started going for a walk every evening and out of his keen interest in the cars, I asked him, what car is it and now in a months time, he knows almost all brands of cars on the US streets and that started his interactive speech (with me). At this moment, it is not more than 2-4 sentences but it much better than zero. Over the period of time, I learned that he understands a lot (almost 80%) of what we interact and when he doesn't, he repeats what I say. Majority of the times, he can not answer that makes sense but if the command expects an action from him, majority of the times, it is a correct action. So I started a routine to use a command and then expected answer after repeating it once more. That gives him an idea what and how to respond. May be Jean could use similar tactics with her son too. He may not be shy, its just he doesn't know what or how to respond. The social worker that works with us thinks the same way. The tantrums and meltdowns are mostly out of frustration (at least for language impaired kids) In your second post and someone else in the thread mentioned about brain chemistry. Majority of the times, I am in read-only mode on this list but I just feel like expressing here. The use of high doses of minerals and vitamins makes me feel very uncomfortable. I totally agree that some parents have seen positive effects which is really good and I am happy for them. At the same time, this guinea pig thing doesn't impress me well. You could of course guess the symptoms and outcomes but there is no concrete proof. Even though I think on similar lines as majority of you with the causes like neurotransmitters and brain function, I enrolled my son in fMRI study where they looked at brain wiring. I will not be given personalized data but I am keen on the results. I mentioned about that network on the list but I was told that the lead scientist is a sham or something. Over the period of time, I interacted with the clinicians and therapist involved in the study and I have good confidence that they are doing good work. I did poke holes in their study but I got pretty satisfactory answers (although some of them did not impress me). Once DS turns 5, I am going to get his another MRI done where it checks the brain wiring but in a different way. This guy has already checked Temple Gradin's brain as a confirmatory proof and found that her brain stem is huge compared to a neurotypical person. All I am getting at from this stuff is, I want to see if there is a structural difference in case of DS's brain. If it is, no matter what medication I give him, its not going to change a thing but if it is not, I need to take another approach and figure out what the heck is going on. Sorry for going little off-topic but I guess this is essential when we try to address the issue raised by Jean and I am observing with my child i.e. what is going on with their language processing and why? Noel Kerri, Tom had huge disruptions with neurotransmitters, too. Right before I found biomed, he was on adderall. Sometimes it worked great, sometimes it left him a mess. Which indicated to me that there was a definite incon sistency with his neurotransmitters firing off. So I completely stopped the adderall because emotionally he was in no condition for me to be experimenting with different dosages/meds. The very first biomedical intervention I used was epsom salt. Because I knew NOTHING....NADDA, this felt very safe to give while I began to learn. The very first oral intervention I used was vitamin c. I chose this first because(again), I felt very safe using it, and I had read about vitamin c being required for proper neurotransmitter firings. After some time, I added in l -theanine just to "get us through" the rest of the school year. We didnt have a dan or integrative doctor. My son's pediatrician had absolutely no interest in looking at his diagnosis as a medical condition so I was 100 % on my own with no testing and no rx'ing. There was no single trigger I could point out as the cause or contributing factor to Tom's dx, so I was flying blind. People are very quick to dismiss me when I tell them that with everything we have tried to date, vitamin c (high dose), vitamin d and epsom have made the biggest impact. The other major factor was removing stress (pulling him out of school). You should understand that we have no GI issues here so that was a huge hurdle we never had to contend with. If I could do it all again, I would remove as much stress as possible FIRST - clean up the diet (we were HORRID!!!!) then start high dose vitamin c (perhaps liposomal)and epsom. We did, for a short time (after I found an integrative doctor) treat him with Armour. But thyroid support has not been necessary since supplementing vitamin d. Vitamin b6 gave us a nice boost for a while and eventually I was able to move to a b complex because I prefer balance. Bringing him home for school has made all the difference.He was in a constant state of fight or flight which made it impossible for him to process anything. Once we removed the stress, he was in a much better state to concentrate. Now, we are at a point where I can add in small stressors to see how he functions. Slowly but surely, it's getting better. Everything we have done since the beginig include: probiotics and sach b. CLO, choline, carnitine, carnosine, theanine, GSE, high dose vitamkn A, b12 injections along with a mito cocktail (5mthfr, coq10) multivitamins, mineral supplementation. Zinc did good things for us for a while, magnesium is awesome. As I mentioned, we did thyroid support for a bit. Theres so much I'm forgetting. But the biggies were vitamin c, epsom as a sulfur donor and magnesium/b6. Acetyl lcarnosine gave us a nice push for a bit too, but it wasnt something we had to continue.Also, as his diet continues to improve and I learn to prepare more wholesome foods (which is still a far cry frlm where I 'd lkme it to be), I find he requires less supplementing. Because we homeschool, it can be hard for me to gauge exactly where he,'s at compared to other kids his age. But I can tell you it night and dag comlared to where we were two years ago. He can follow multi step directions, his motor planning has come a long long way, he's thinking "in layers", he's not so literal. I just have to be very careful not to accomodate him so much and let him test his wings. As his command of language improves, his processing improves. He literally had to learn the English language - the same way someone from another country would have to. I also do alot of visualizing and praying. This summer we'll do Brain Balance. I hope this helped. I really believe his body was overtaxed with toxins. It just makes the most sense when I see how well he has responded to vitamin c and magnesium and consider how clean his OATS was. If I think of anything else, I 'll drop you a line. Ta.my Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Thu May 10 11:25:19 EDT 2012 To: "mb12valtrex " <mb12valtrex > Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Tammy, What you wrote hits really close to home for me and gives me confirmation of precisely what I have been thinking. What you explained is exactly what my gut has been screaming to me. My son is high functioning and 5 years old but has problems with processing what we ask him. We find ourselves conversing with him in a way that will accomodate him. He also has huge disruptions with neurotrasmitters. Figuring this out is driving me crazy! I feel like we are going in a million different directions with nowhere to go and no way to get there. Every doctor has a shot in the dark idea of "try this" and I am left with the same issues. Please...from Mom to Mom, any suggestions? Thanks, Kerri To: mb12valtrex Sent: Sunday, May 6, 2012 11:10 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My Brand just says food grade.This one says,food / chemical grade.Do you think I should dich my brand or is this common? Thanks for ideas,Tammy F. http://wolfcreekranch.net/diatomaceous_earth.html To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 12:41 PM Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child Sorry to but in on post just wondering where u get ur DE from channaThanks Let your email find you with BlackBerry® from Vodafone Sender: mb12valtrex Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 09:38:52 -0700 (PDT) To: mb12valtrex <mb12valtrex > ReplyTo: mb12valtrex Subject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child great post tammy! my favorites for calming was theanine and 5htp, copperand iodine,neuroprotek To: mb12valtrex Sent: Friday, May 4, 2012 11:47 AMSubject: Re: portrait of my 5 yo child My PDD son was very much like this when he was young...until he was nearly 5. He would speak to immediate family and a couple of very close friends, but that's it. In fact, when he first began early intervention in school (and even into kindergarten), it took me along time for me to understand their "concerns" because they reported we never saw at home. Since then, Ive heard other parents report the same. My husband works with someone who is going through the same exact thing with his young son. As my son grew older and more verbal, it became very apparent that he has a language processing issue. He simply could not grasp what people were saying to him and didnt have the ability to respond properly. I believe what happens is we create and live within certain dynamics of our relationships. With you and your son, it could be that he relates well to you and understands your expectations and how to respond to them. It could be as simple as him being better able to grasp your language or your approach. It took me a long long time to realize how much everyone in our house was "accomodating" my son's lack of language and other abilities without even realizing it. He has 2 sisters 12+ years older than him. You can imagine the way he was coddled by all of us! Upon starting Kindergarten, he began to open up to people and began to show a desire to verbally interact with them. He would raise his hand at circle time, and when called upon, absolute gibberish would come out. This was when we finally realized the extent of his issue. But it was a start and things steadily improved over the next two years. Then second grade came and we hit a MAJOR bump in the road. My sweet, passive little boy had turned into a raving maniac. The stress was too much. I will share with you what he recently explained to me: He had a baseball game two weeks ago. His team was down 11-0. Their pitcher was struggling. The poor kid couldnt catch a break no matter what he did. You could see in his eyes the moment he just gave up - as a parent, you could see how alone he felt out there. Of course, his team mates were frustrated, too. The score never changed and eventually the game was cut short due to the "mercy rule". After the game, I was explaining to my son why it's so important to stand behind his team mates and encourage them when he sees them having a hard time. I was commenting on the enormous amount of pressure "J " must have felt out there when, for the very first time EVER, my son spoke about his experience in second grade. He said: "That's how I used to feel all the time. Everyday. Everything made me confused. I felt under pressure ALL the time. I cried and yelled alot because I was so frustrated." You cant imagine the rush of emotion. Of course it was clear back then that he was confused and frustrated and under tremendous stress...but to hear him finally be able to put it into words was bittersweet. He is nearly 10 and in the 4th grade now. Second grade was his last year of public schooling. After that dismal year we decided to homeschool him. He has come a long, long way. We try to keep stress to a minimum because it still impacts his level of functioning (though even that has greatly improved). If I could do it all over again, I would take my son to a speech/language pathologjst and have him tested for language/auditory processing disorder. Even if he seems to understand YOU and speak to YOU just fine, please dont assume it's behavioral or psychological. From personal experience, it could very well be that he has the dynamics of your day/language/routine/expectations down enough to easily navigate his way around you. The other thing to consider is stress and what goes on on the biological level. Cortisol levels, adrenalin, histamines, neurotransmitters....etc.etc. You might find some serious clues there. I remember reading quite a while back an article about what goes on biologically when the human body is under stress and I remember thinking to myself that we ALL should have dropped down dead by now as we we are not physically designed to withstand as much as we do. Also, you might consider having his thyroid tested and jnvestigating his adrenals because he likely feels more stress in the morning (not wanting to get up til dad leaves), it could indicate either/or or both. In the mean time, you might consider a trial of dmg, b6, Natural Calm or lithium orotate to see if it alleviates his stress. That might buy you some time while you dig for answers. Anyway, sorry for the novel but you may find an answer with a combination of the ideas I mentioned.Good luck! With love, acceptance, patience and intervention, it DOES get better! Tammy Sent from my Kindle Fire Sent: Fri May 04 09:06:15 EDT 2012To: mb12valtrex Subject: portrait of my 5 yo child Hello Everyone, I wanted to share some behaviors of my child and get your perspective. Also, if you have another autism-related list that you would recommend for this, I would appreciate it. This is the only one I am on. Well, I am also on the MMS Facebook group. My son, has always been "shy". It's extreme. Sometimes he only speaks to me. Here is the thing... we homeschool, and we practice consensual living, so there is no force or coercion or punishments or so... But, is very anxious when it comes to his dad. They love each other, and is fine at the END of the day when his dad comes home, but can't "get up" in the morning if his dad is still here. My husband is very sweet and kind and plays with the kids and has lots of patience. Have any of you found that your "non-verbal" child will speak a little bit when anxiety is somewhat relieved? We have had moments of this, but I tell you, I even use hypnosis to help my children feel more relaxed. It feels hard for me sometimes that 2 of my 3 kids will not speak to their grandma on the phone (video chat). speaks to me, my other two kids (9 and 2) and to my husband when it is after work. When my mom visits for a week, he will speak to her after 2-3 days. What are your thoughts? Experiences? BTW, his "diagnosis" is PDD and Sensory Processing Disorder. I am treating him with homeopathy (pulsatilla) and acupuncture. Those treatments are taking care of nearly all of his physical symptoms: constipation, severe eczema, violent behavior. Also, gluten free, very low carbs, and butter is the only dairy (he doesn't have a leaky gut), and he seems to tolerate the butter after his treatments... Thank you!! Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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