Adam and I both feel that the hyberbaric oxygen chamber was well worth it based on the improved verbal skills we witnessed with Owen.
This past summer Owen continued with his physical, occupational and speech therapies and also attended a 6 week summer school program at the Abilities Center.
On July 16th, 2008 we started Owen on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The SCD diet excludes and removes ALL starches and complex sugars. This removal helps kill major yeast and bacterial overgrowth. This helps to decrease malabsorption, which rebalances the gut flora and encourages healing. Eating SCD yogurt or probiotics helps to repopulate the gut with "good bugs" that keep yeast and bad bacteria in check. The ultimate goal is that digestion will normalize causing behavior, cognitive and language development to improve.
This diet is very challenging! In order to avoid the starches and sugars found in almost all foods, we essentially make everything ourselves now. We even make our own yogurt. It's time consuming and expensive but well worth it. Almond flour and honey are now staples in our house, since they are the key ingredients in what Owen will eat.
Owen started school in the ASD (autistic spectrum disorder) classroom this September. He goes to school 5 days a week in the afternoon. The school bus picks him up at our house, which Aubrey thinks is pretty cool. There are only 4 kids (all boys) in Owen's class, with a teacher and 3 para's, so the kids get alot of personalized attention. There is a regular preschool class with 17 kids across the hall from owen's class. Owen typicaly goes to the preschool class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The tracher said other than the noise level sometimes being overwhelming, he fits in great!
He definitely seems to be enjoying school this year. He even comes home and talks about his new friends.
At the end of October, Owen started a new treatment with Dr. Boggess in Ann Arbor. The treatment is called Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique or NAET. The NAET treatment is a non-invasive, drug-free, natural solution to eliminate allergies of all types. The treatment uses a blend of medical knowledge and practices from chiropractic, accupressure, kinesiology, allopathy and nutritional disciplines.
According to Dr. Devi Nambudripad, Autism is a nutritional deficiency disorder causing biological, neurological and developmental problems in children. The nutritional deficiency is caused by poor digestion, absorption, assimilation and utilization of essential nutrients due to allergies. Autistic children are not digesting what they consume and their bodies do not receive essential nutrients from food or supplements. Adequate amounts of nutrients are necessary for normal growth and development. Normal body functions cannot take place where there are insufficient nutrients available in the body. In a person with allergies, when the appropriate nutrients are not utilized adequately, the body will begin to substitute other available substances to run the regular functions. the substitutedsubstances will produce various health disorders and abnormal body functions as seen in Autistic children.
There are 15 basic essential nutrient treatments that each person must receive. We are currently on Owen's 4th treatment, so we still have a long road ahead of us. The ultimate goal is for us to be able to add food back into Owen's diet that has previously been eliminated and for him to be able to properly digest the essential nutrients his body needs.
NAET is definitely a difficult concept to understand since it does not involve traditional medical practices. I tried to provide a basic description of the treatment, without being too technical or giving information overload. If you are interested in learning more about this treatment, please refer to the website at www.naet.com
We want to thank everyone for their continued support as we continue on our journey to recovery.
Happy Holdays!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Seeing Results
Owen is definitely making progress!
Everyday we see changes in him and people that don't see him as often notice it even more.
He is a happier kid these days! He answers questions, follows directions and makes requests that he never did before. He has even started to use the potty. Hooray for progress!
We are still on the gluten free - casein free diet (GFCF), he takes 10+ supplements each day and gets a B-12 shot every other day.
His school is in the final stages of their testing for an official ASD (autism spectrum disorder) label. With this, he will go to a new school and be in a classroom specifically for kids with Autism.
We just started going to the Abilities Center in Walled Lake, where he receives Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapy once a week.
We have rented a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for our home for the next month. The chamber supplies enriched oxygen to Owen at elevated pressures. The theory is that a higher concentration of oxygen gets into the body's tissues which helps to improve language, socialization, behavior and gastrointestinal issues with autistic kids.
The recommendation is that Owen get two 1-hour sessions per day in the chamber. The catch is that either Adam or I have to be in the chamber with him.
The chamber looks like a big hotdog. As most of you know, I am very claustrophobic, so getting in the chamber is a true test for me. It's amazing what we can do out of love for our children.
After our month in the oxygen chamber wo move on to chelation to remove the heavy metals and toxins in Owen's body. Celation is done with suppositories, so we can hardly wait!
Everyday we see changes in him and people that don't see him as often notice it even more.
He is a happier kid these days! He answers questions, follows directions and makes requests that he never did before. He has even started to use the potty. Hooray for progress!
We are still on the gluten free - casein free diet (GFCF), he takes 10+ supplements each day and gets a B-12 shot every other day.
His school is in the final stages of their testing for an official ASD (autism spectrum disorder) label. With this, he will go to a new school and be in a classroom specifically for kids with Autism.
We just started going to the Abilities Center in Walled Lake, where he receives Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapy once a week.
We have rented a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for our home for the next month. The chamber supplies enriched oxygen to Owen at elevated pressures. The theory is that a higher concentration of oxygen gets into the body's tissues which helps to improve language, socialization, behavior and gastrointestinal issues with autistic kids.
The recommendation is that Owen get two 1-hour sessions per day in the chamber. The catch is that either Adam or I have to be in the chamber with him.
The chamber looks like a big hotdog. As most of you know, I am very claustrophobic, so getting in the chamber is a true test for me. It's amazing what we can do out of love for our children.
After our month in the oxygen chamber wo move on to chelation to remove the heavy metals and toxins in Owen's body. Celation is done with suppositories, so we can hardly wait!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Do you hear what I hear?
We learned very quickly that Owen loves music and likes to sing.
Part of the classroom activited is learning new songs to sing and act out. Mrs. Colucci told us that that music time is by far Owen's favorite activity.
He know all the words, sings the loudest and particpates in all the choreography of the song. We were definitely seeing a new side to Owen and it was alot of fun.
When I went to his class Christmas party, I got to witness it first hand.
His teacher then sent home a CD of all the songs they sang at school. Owen loved it and before too long we knew the words to all of the songs too!
Part of the classroom activited is learning new songs to sing and act out. Mrs. Colucci told us that that music time is by far Owen's favorite activity.
He know all the words, sings the loudest and particpates in all the choreography of the song. We were definitely seeing a new side to Owen and it was alot of fun.
When I went to his class Christmas party, I got to witness it first hand.
His teacher then sent home a CD of all the songs they sang at school. Owen loved it and before too long we knew the words to all of the songs too!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Time for School
It's September and time for Owen to start at his new school!
He would be attending Twin Beach Elementary in Mrs. Colucci's class. He would go in the mornings, five days a week. There are 7 kids in his class all with various speech and developmental delays.
I was so nervous, to be sending my 3 year old to school on a bus. But everyone assured me that he would be just fine and that most kids love to ride the school bus. Owen was not like most kids though.
He did great! Other than the noise from the air brakes being a little too loud. He got on the bus and away he went off to his first day of school.
The parents were invited to meet their kids at the school to greet them when they got off the bus and help them to get settled in their classroom. I was so proud of him! He did such a good job. I definitely think we made the right decision.
He would be attending Twin Beach Elementary in Mrs. Colucci's class. He would go in the mornings, five days a week. There are 7 kids in his class all with various speech and developmental delays.
I was so nervous, to be sending my 3 year old to school on a bus. But everyone assured me that he would be just fine and that most kids love to ride the school bus. Owen was not like most kids though.
He did great! Other than the noise from the air brakes being a little too loud. He got on the bus and away he went off to his first day of school.
The parents were invited to meet their kids at the school to greet them when they got off the bus and help them to get settled in their classroom. I was so proud of him! He did such a good job. I definitely think we made the right decision.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Summer Diagnostic
Upon calling the school, I was informed that my timing was perfect because they were just about to start a summer diagnostics program the 2nd week of June.
Essentially Owen would attend this diagnostic program for 4 weeks and then we would receive documentation from the school as to what special services Owen qualified for if any.
Owen and I both experienced seperation anxiety that first week, because he had never gone anywhere without me except for our relative's houses. Even though he cried when I left him, they assured me that as soon as I left he was happy to play with the toys and other activities.
When the session was complete we received an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for the Early Intervention Program through Walled Lake Schools which would start that fall.
Essentially Owen would attend this diagnostic program for 4 weeks and then we would receive documentation from the school as to what special services Owen qualified for if any.
Owen and I both experienced seperation anxiety that first week, because he had never gone anywhere without me except for our relative's houses. Even though he cried when I left him, they assured me that as soon as I left he was happy to play with the toys and other activities.
When the session was complete we received an IEP (Individual Education Plan) for the Early Intervention Program through Walled Lake Schools which would start that fall.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
A Second Opinion
We weren't even sure where to turn from here, but we knew we needed some answers.
I made an appointment with a Family Social Worker/Psychologist who specialized in treating kids with Autism/ADD/ADHD and other developmental disorders.
I completed a lengthy questionnaire on my pregnancy as well as Owen's health and development from birth until present and we were scheduled to see the Doctor in May, 2007.
During our visit, the doctor went over the paperwork I completed and tried to engage Owen with different toys to see how he responded. Based on his observations, he gave Owen a PDD (pervasive developmental disorder) diagnosis and suggested that I contact the school system for an early intervention.
We were determined to do whatever we could to help Owen and even though we didn't have a concrete diagnosis of Autism we would continue to push forward.
I made an appointment with a Family Social Worker/Psychologist who specialized in treating kids with Autism/ADD/ADHD and other developmental disorders.
I completed a lengthy questionnaire on my pregnancy as well as Owen's health and development from birth until present and we were scheduled to see the Doctor in May, 2007.
During our visit, the doctor went over the paperwork I completed and tried to engage Owen with different toys to see how he responded. Based on his observations, he gave Owen a PDD (pervasive developmental disorder) diagnosis and suggested that I contact the school system for an early intervention.
We were determined to do whatever we could to help Owen and even though we didn't have a concrete diagnosis of Autism we would continue to push forward.
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