| Welcome! July 17, 2001 my younger daughter, Allie, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Allie also suffers from severe sensory integration dysfunction. Allie was essentially nonverbal, with only some babble. The Symptoms Allie was within normal ranges of reaching our and sitting up, but didn't walk until nearly 17 months old. Allie did babble at around six months. She said baba for breast and bottle, tata for a game of tickle bug, and mama for me. But, it seems Allie never liked to be up high, and freaked out every time I tried to place her in a diaper deck, even with hovering over her. Allie received a HepB booster two weeks after the onset of chicken pox, and regressed at this point, losing all language. Allie began refusing foods. Allie began showing more "autistic" behavior after she started walking. Allie would flap her hands as she walked, as if trying to fly. Allie also walked on her toes. She crawled up and down steps. Allie seemed to just not be going anywhere, while her peers at church kept shooting forward in development. Allie has finished her first year at a local preschool for disabled children. While inclusion is a hot topic, her school has been fantastic in providing services for her. Allie tested at the developmental age of 16 months a year ago and is now functioning within a 24-36 month age range. Allie is taking Kirkman Labs supplements. Allie also began the gluten-free, casein-free diet and the elimination of salicylates in November. Allie began to speak one week after the removal of dairy. Allie also had her first "normal" bowel movement when gluten was removed. Her feces went from being soft and very foul-smelling to perfectly formed and barely an odor. I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw and smelt "how good it is." Allie can now say anything and is speaking in short sentences, simple requests, and answers some simple questions. Allie was more sensitive to sound, especially the cat meowing and the family speaking loudly, but that seems to have subsided since we began the Paxil. Allie began to decline in her behavior almost to the point that she was before beginning the diet. Three months after beginning the diet, she became extremely obsessive in her routines and started hitting herself again, tantruming more, and seemed very anxious with even slight changes in her life. Because of this we decided to try a small amount of an SSRI, Paxil, and have had dramatically wonderful results. Within one month her sleep became more regular, her language picked up, and she's doing thinks like swinging in a regular swingset, that before would have sent her into a ten minute tantrum. She seems much happier and has stopped hitting herself. Today Allie is just beginning her second year at the preschool for disabled children. She is in her second year of a special class for autism. Her language is improving, and her receptive skills are SO much better! She will put on her shoes when she's told, is going potty some, and we are currently reintroducing gluten/casein/salicyates on a test run, with the addition of enzymes. Her food sensitivities got so bad we felt we had to give it a shot to prevent her from possibly stopping eating, which would mean a feeding tube. Allie can now ride a bicycle with training wheels, play games with her sisters, and most of all, give lots of hugs and kisses to us. It's now been nearly two years since Allie's diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and it's been the hardest and the best thing that's ever happened to me personally, all at the same time. For about a year after we knew something was wrong I was afraid to dream for my daughter. Now I am looking toward her horizon with hopes of college, career, and a family for her if she desires it. God has blessed our daughter, indeed! We have now done a total of six rounds of chelation using Andy Cutler's protocol with positive changes each time. We are awaiting some lab tests before beginning a few more rounds. Look for summer, 2004 for the release of my first book, Jessica's Little Sister: A Story About Autism. It's a children's book written and illustrated by me to help explain autism to young children. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My Favorite Links: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Knoxville Autism Providers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My Poetry about Autism | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| More on the autism diet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Autism General Info | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Daily Prayer For Autism | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Autism Funnies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| My Info: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Debi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Email: | [email protected] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| To Parents You may be a parent who is concerned with your child's development. If you are fearing autism, make no mistake, you are feeling the worst anguish anyone can imagine. But, please don't let fear keep you from getting your child help, and do it quickly! The faster you can begin speech and occupational therapy, and eliminate gluten and casein from your child's diet, the better you increase the chances of your child's development. The faster you get to a COMPETENT professional, the faster you can begin. Many pediatricians will tell you to wait or that autism cannot be diagnosed before the age of three yrs old. THIS IS NOT TRUE, DO NOT BELIEVE IT! Waiting will not help your child, only make it more difficult to stop the autistic behavior. The best advice if your pediatrician does not listen is to seek out a good child development center in your area. If you are near a University they often have hearing and speech centers that can give you good places to go. Please click on any of the links above or email me for more help! Special thanks to Beth Sanders for her help with this website! |
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