Staph In The Family..."Dev"

What was thought a spider bite, may in fact be a staph infection. "Dev" had a bump on his leg just above his knee which started to get infected. The middle is bright red and probably about the size of a half-dollar. The center was hot with a white inter-circle. As time went by, a large circular area around the center circle was red from infection spreading out into his leg. After having it for a few days, I took him to the Dr. In the trauma room, where they get your vitals, they immediately knew that it was staph since the center was not decaying like it would have been if it was a spider bite. So here I am giving him more antibiotics, and bathing him in bleach. (1/4 cup per tub of water). Cleaning will cost more due to washing everything in bleach; even the laundry. Information on staph infections is found at Kids Health. Which is one of my favorite sites for kids conditions. Staph infections are really something to look out for and spreading it to other family members is very easy. Be cautious and watch those bumps that you or your family may have. Keep well, and we will try here as well.

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Government To Ban 6 Food Additives Linked To Child Hyperactivity

How many times have I heard from my boy's therapist at school that taking away the red and yellow artificial dyes away from their diet would help with hyperactivity, and now I can see why. Released on November 13, 2008 from Mail Online in United Kingdom is an article about the government banning these types of artificial colors or dyes in food. You can read the article here.

The suspected dyes that they are considering are as follows.
Tartrazine (E102); Quinoline yellow (E104); Sunset yellow (E110); Carmoisine (E122); Ponceau 4R (E124) and Allura red (E129).

Here in the United States, most are know as just red and yellow with a specific number following such as 5 or 6. That is why I try to eliminate anything with either food color no matter what number it has with it. I can immediately tell a difference in their hyperactivity within minutes of them having a food or drink with these colors.
I suggest trying this just to see if it would help with your child's ADHD hyperactivity. Hopefully this is one more way to solving the mysteries behind hyperactivity and the way chemicals can have an effect on us.

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GFCF As An Alternative Treatment

The GFCF diet is an alternative treatment for autistic children who apparently suffer from gastro-intestinal problems. This is a very difficult diet to follow and must be followed specifically, or all your hard work will not pay off. So where do you start? I suggest talking with a trusted Dr. or a dietitian. There are two blood test that can be done to check for problems. They are the IgG and IgE tests, that can be done by a pediatrician or an allergist, as noted here at TACA (Talk About Curing Autism).

Symptoms of gastro-intestinal problems (needing GFCF diet), are easily spotted. This reprint done by Jenny W. is my favorite place to view symptoms. Symptoms can be found all over the internet, but I will use these for today.
Does your child...
* Have a blotchy color to their skin over part or most of their bodies
*"Shakiness" before or immediately after eating
*Enjoys sweets before eating a meal
*Eating salty foods
*Drinks lots of fluids during the day
Other symptoms can include irregular stool patters, sinus and congestion, urinating more at night, history of psoriasis, eczema, and/or other rashes, ear infections and prolonged use of antibiotics. The list goes on and on so it's wise to read up on it. Especially when it comes on how to do the diet. It is recommended that you start out slowly to avoid withdraws from the foods that you are missing.
Friends have recommended to me to take out the casein before the glutein to allow time for their bodies to adjust. One friend removed the glutein after three months of being casein free. Noticing overall changes within six months of treatment.
Some of the best websites for the GFCF diet are as follows:
TACA Talking About Curing Autism
GFCF Diet.com
Nutrition and Autism

Groups also help when it comes to having questions and concerns. There are dozens of forums to choose from. I recommend the following:
GFCF Kids (Yahoo group)
GFCF Recipes (Yahoo group)
Autism Web.com Forum for autism

Choosing to go GFCF can be a difficult process, but with the help from your doctor, you can make the right decisions for you and your family. There are tests that can be done, but once you know the symptoms and how they affect your body, then you will know if it is right for you and if you need to have a word with your doctor. Thanks and have a great day. There is more to come later on about foods and what is ok and what is not.

Amanda

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11y/o high functioning autistic from Oregon...gone MISSING!!

As I was checking my emails, I had one from Google Alerts on high functioning autism. When I clicked on the message the first entry was on an 11 year old HFA (high functioning autism). My heart sank....Jonathan Rios was having an argument with his foster dad about a broken video game and when he left his 11 year old in the car to pick up another child from school, he was gone when they returned to the car. It is said that he does have a history of running away. This is from Oregon Live News.

My heart goes out to the family of this child and I hope that he returns to you safely.

Trouble with getting "lost" in public or running away is quite common among people with autism...especially children. When "Ed" was 4, he would unlock the front door and run out circling two or three blocks, and returning straight home after I chased him telling him to stop. I was terrified that he was doing this, and there was never a time when I actually caught him. He was too fast. I then had chains put on the front and back doors to prevent him from doing this. Just after that he didn't do it anymore. This is called "Environment and Surroundings: making them autistic friendly" from The National Autistic Society website....it is well worth taking the time to read it. Here is another one from the Autism Society of Canada. Safety is a major priority when it comes to autism. Different environments affect them in certain ways that they just want to be away from it or to be drawn to something that interested in. I have never left either one of my boys out of my sight...because they were so prone to "run off". Well, take care guys and I'll get going. Amanda

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Infants, Playtime, and Autism

U.S. researchers have discovered that strange play in infants such as spinning objects and looking from the corner of their eyes at certain objects. So now the American Academy of Pediatrics have recommended that all infants be screened for autism before the age of 2. I noticed a change in "Ed",my oldest, after the first week of birth with not being able to sleep without being held. He began to look at things from the corner of his eyes by the time he was probably one, and did for many years after. Don't remember him spinning things though. "Dev" was doing this when he was six months old. I have seen the changes in play in the way this article
does with my own children well before they were two. Maybe we need to educate to be parents on the signs of autism. I knew they had autism once I learned how to see the differences in their behavior and their view of life, and what autism was in the first place. Once "Dev" started spinning puzzle pieces with the wooden peg on top on the floor, I immediately knew. I was telling my family that he had autism as well for several months to a few years (maybe 2), and all I was told was that he was fine. I knew better. It's a mother's instinct to see something different about their child. He was diagnosed about 2 years ago. My heart pours out for my boys, and I wish that they didn't have to have autism, but they do. They are my pride and joy, so I am being strong for them and hope that I can provide them with everything they need. Thanks again and have a nice night. Amanda

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The GFCF Diet

Well, looks like I am on my way to the gfcf diet that a lot of autisic children are on. A gfcf diet is needed when a child has gastrointestinal problems, and 80% of children with autism has a GI problem. It will take me a while to learn how to get it together and go for it. I am going to have to learn everything there is to know. I have provided a list of links to the side of my blog for you to enjoy. I have a friend that is giving me a bag of chickpea flour. I'll see what I can do with that. I'm just hoping that I am able to do it with ease. Planning will be the name of the game. Guess I'll be needing gfcf cookbooks for Christmas this year, a bread machine, and a grinder. Guess I need to ask what utensils are used in making flours and other things. Anybody have a suggestion? Leave a comment and I'll get back with you. Signing off until we get moved.... we finally got a three bedroom for the boys. They are having problems sharing a bedroom. Then "Ed"s therapist called me yesterday and said that his ADHD medication was aggervating his autism symptoms. So I still don't know what we are going to do about that. Still haven't heard from the Dr. Goodbye for now.

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Detecting Autism Early....New procedure

Early detection for autism is very important, and today some are not diagnosed until they are at least three years of age or longer. There is now a new way to test for autism as early as 9 months, which is great. The researcher's at Canada's McMaster University has developed a computerized test to track the eye movements of an infant with sensors that aims to predict autism in children. It administers five eye-tracking tests over ten minutes. It measures the direction and fixation of a child's eyes to an image or human face. Yale's University's Toddler Developmental Disibilities Clinic uses similar techniques to study patterns in children ages three months to three years. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab has created a software and in-home recording devices that track the habits of a newborn, to find clues to detecting autism early on in life. I believe that this is great. Everything helps when it comes to diagnosing autism early, and I hope that they have great findings, and amaze the world. Here is the article from reporternews.com out of Abilene, Texas.

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Learn Occupational Therapy At Home

I came across this on occupational therapy videos and thought that I would like to learn how to do that. Occupational therapy helps people of all ages learn how to function and interact with others on a day to day basis, and is often used for children with autism. Here
are the benefits of occupational therapy for children with autism.

TRP Wellness launches new DVD series for children with special needs. These DVD's are reasonable if you are interested in taking a look at these occupational DVD's .

Hope you will enjoy them.

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Autism Support Network

The Autism Support Network has launched it's free online support community to help parents and others learn about the autism spectrum disorder. The Wall Street Journal wrote an article on it, explaining the opportunities that are available. To join in with the Autism Support Network, you can share your opinion and share your experiences with each other. Another one I recommend is AutismWeb. I currently have a poll up to see who all has had issues with Heb B shots, jaundice, and autism. Please sign up for this group and take my poll. There are lots of nice people there to talk to. I've noticed some parents are concerned with these three combined, and I'm hoping to find the end of the light for this. I appreciate any comments that you may have, and could use them on this subject.

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The Early Years With My 7y/o

I had the flu when I found out I was pregnant with "Ed" my 7y/o. I was given antibiotics to help with the kidney infection that I had as well. My pregnancy went great no morning sickness at all. Everything was going well, then later on in my pregnancy, I found out that he had choroid plexus cysts. I was almost terrified to learn they wanted to do a down's syndrome test on the amniotic fluid. I didn't however... who would? There has been questions raised on this type of cyst, and autism, but there isn't much relivant information on it. When he was born, he had jaundice pretty bad. This caused him to sleep most of the time during the first week. After he had gotten better, sleep would almost never happen. I could hold him and rock him to sleep, but once I put him down, he immediately woke up. We'd be up all night trying to get him to go to sleep...everything from 2:00 a.m. car rides to sleeping without putting him down. Here I was trying to sleep as well with a baby having to be held to sleep. He continued this until he was 18 months old and "Dev" was born. I was trying to get him to sleep the morning I went to have "Dev". Once "Ed" was 6 months old he was already becoming a vilolent child. Kicking me to change diapers, and standing up in his crib falling face forward into the crib mattress, just to name a few. By the time he was one, he began to throw huge toys at me just for fun. He was still not talking by this time. I would sit in front of his high chair and say "mom" over and over again, but wouldn't get a response. I started crying wondering why my child wouldn't talk. I had no idea what autism was, and never seen the movie, "The Rainman". I was stuck and didn't know a thing about what was going on. It wasn't until a nurse from the health department came to check on "Dev" was had just been born that I learned that "Ed" needed to be evaluated. This took a couple of months as well. He was evaluated by a rehab center and was in need of a specialist for his toe walking. The specialist basically told me that he should come out of it once he grows, then he gave me the options if he didn't. I didn't like those options, and glad that he did out grow it. He was put into therapy for his speach for about 2 years. It wasn't until time for preschool that I didn't get a diagnosis of autism for him. We had an appointment with the special education director of the local school system that he got to see a psychologist and had tested him for autism. From the school, I received a diagnosis for him. He went to preschool and started showing bad behavior. The schools over looked it leaving me to find other help for him. By the time he was in kindergarten, his behavior grew worse. His regular teacher had said that if he doesn't get his behavior under control, she would have to take him out of her room and keep him in special ed. all day. I felt bad for him, and still I had no where to turn. Then he went to 1st grade, and I found out that the local mental health agency had a therapist that went to schools was available to him. I signed him up, and now he is doing better. I did put him on medication, because if I didn't the behavior would not have ended. He is currently on Vyvanse and Clonidine which works well for him. He has previously been on Adderall-XR and Focalin. The Adderall-XR made him loose his appitite, and the Focalin made him unfocused and not understand what was going on around him. He is doing very well on the Vyvanse, and doing much better with his behavior. He is continuing his good grades in school making mostly A's. He has come a long way and I'm very proud of him.

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