Frustration Sets In

By now, Adam and I are at our wits end. Yes, Owen is getting special help in school and we have seen a slight improvement in his language and social skills, but it hasn't helped at all with his excessive tantrums and meltdowns and his explosive bowels.

We needed to take further action, it was time to see a specialist. At this point Adam and I had not admitted to ourselves the possibility that he might be autistic. Autism is such a broad spectrum and while Owen had some characteristics their were other signs that convinced us otherwise.

My dad gave us an advertisment about a conference being held in mid-January at the Macomb County Chapter of the Autism Society of America. There was a doctor listed as the guest speaker who specialized in Autism, specifically biomedical treatments.

We decided it couldn't hurt to go and gain some new insight on this puzzling disease.

The conference started with a mother sharing her personal story about her son's experience with autism. It made me cry, but even more it's as if a lightbulb went off for both Adam and myself. She talked about how he just didn't understand common sense things, how when you talked to him it just didn't quite register, how almost every picture of him was with his hands over his ears because he couldn't handle the noise, how he liked to spin himself and objects, how he looked at things peripherally (out of the corners of his eyes) and how his bowels were just explosive. I thought "Oh my god, it's Owen"

We learned so much at this conference. Most importantly, we learned that we were not alone. Adam and I made the decision on the drive home that it was time to take action. If one little boy could be helped with diet, supplements, special education and therapy than so could Owen.