A Wonderful Mother's Day

I had a great mother's day spending time with my husband and kids. Adam made a delicious breakfast this morning. Then we went to church and out to lunch. We went to Lee Roy Selmon's as they have a gluten free menu. We all had delicous meals. Charlie ate every bite of his chicken and tomatoes. . . not too much of the broccoli. :) This afternoon we all went swimming in the pool. Both Charlie and Addison really love the water. Charlie has taken to experimenting with how deep he can go. . . We have to keep a close eye because he will all of a sudden get to the point where he is no longer above water. Most of the time now he can kick himself back above the surface, but he still needs to be watched closely and needs a little nudge from time to time.

Last night we had dinner with friends. They have two daughters, 4 and 6 years old. Both girls just loved Addison and wanted to play with her and dress her up in princess dresses. Charlie and Addison had a great time playing with them and dancing to the music with the disco ball spinning. It was a very fun night.

This will be another busy week for us. Charlie has his ABA therapy evluation tomorrow and two days of OT this week. Speech therapy should start soon.

Charlie is still taking his vitamins. . .although I have to find a new way to administer them as right now, he is drinking way too much juice. We just started probiotics yesterday. This is much more potent than what you find in your every day yogurt. Probiotics are highly recommended for autistic children because the overwhelming majority have yeast overgrowth to some extent. The yeast can cause lots of GI problems, leading to improper indigestion, a leaky gut, and, in some instances, a general sense of fogginess. We are starting with ProBio Gold from Kirkman's and will likely rotate probiotics periodically as the body can build up an immune response to repeated use of the same strains of probiotics. I have been reading that some kids can get pretty crazy when they start probiotics as a result of yeast "die-off" and the toxins that are created through that process. Some kids start stimming even more, throwing temper tantrums, horrible diarrhea, while others can get almost catatonic and some even feel physically ill and present with flu-like symptoms. It all depends on how much yeast is in the GI tract and how each child experiences "die-off." Die-off can last for a couple of days or a couple of weeks, then most parents report improved behaviors and cognition (more words, more aware, better eye contact, etc.) We have been starting off very slowly. Yesterday afternoon I gave Charlie 1/4 of 1 capsule in some applesauce. This evening I gave him about 1/2 a capsule in some juice. I'm not sure if we are seeing die-off, but he did have an absolute horrible tantrum this evening when we tried to put him down for bed. I've not really seen one like this before where he was literally thrashing and rolling around in his bed. It's hard to say if this could be die-off or if he was just very tired as I have noticed, like with any child, his symptoms became much more exaggerated when he is tired. This is causing some issues now as he does not want to take naps anymore and is getting pretty run down by the end of the day, which makes him pretty cranky around dinner time. This is the only time I ever really see noises or other stimuli bother him. Hopefully we can figure something out with his sleep schedule. . . with all of his therapies starting soon, I have a feeling he may be falling into bed as soon as he gets home.

I wanted to close this post with the most beautiful story. It was posted by a parent on one of the autism web groups I have joined. I actually just bought a plaque for Addison's room with a quote by the same author, Erma Bombeck, which I love. The plaque reads: "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'" This post is about mothers of "disabled" children and absolutely brought more than one tear to my eye. Happy Mother's day to all.

Mothers of Disabled Children (May 11, 1980)
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit.
This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children.
Did you ever wonder how these mothers of handicapped children are chosen?
Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation.
As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth: son; patron saint, Matthew. Forest, Marjorie: daughter; patron saint, Cecelia."Rudledge, Carrie: twins; patron saint... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity.
"Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles. "Give her a blind child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," says God. "Could I give a child with a handicap to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness. "
The angel gasps. "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations."
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see -- ignorance, cruelty, prejudice -- and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised in mid-air.
God smiles.
"A mirror will suffice."
(transcribed from Forever, Erma by Erma Bombeck