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I am a mother to two amazing children, Kaden & Ayla.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Excitement, MB12, & Bumps in the road

Yes, all of this in the last week. We have been very busy...and I don't just mean because I started school this week! Yes, my 16 hours a week of school, along with Kaden's 14 hours a week of therapy is a little bit of an adjustment ~ but there is still time for all of the other "stuff."

It all goes together. If you would have asked me a couple days ago, I would have been in tears as we struggle to help Kaden through some new challenges. But today, I am estatic and more optimistic than ever.

We started giving Kaden mb12 injections this week. If you want to read about mb12, you can do so at http://www.tacanow.org/family-resources/methyl-b12-a-treatment-for-asd-with-methylation-issues/ but basically it is a form of vitamin b12 which is said to help many children on the spectrum in amazing ways. However, it is not easy to get a prescription for and even more difficult to get the prescription filled. I learned this after 6 weeks of fighting like hell with K's pediatrician. Several research documents later, and with lots of persistance with a smile, I convinced his pediatrician to prescribe him one cycle (which is 6 weeks worth). Well, little did I know this was only the beginning of my fight. You can't get these injections filled at just any pharmacy. You can't even get these filled at any regular "compund" pharmacy. They have to be made at a "speciality compound" pharmacy because mb12 is not produced commercially. Anyways, when all was said and done we ended up paying out of pocket for these injections. They are not cheap, but Kaden's Naturopath was confident we would see profound results. Indeed we have!

I have given Kaden 3 injections so far, he gets three a week. Today I was absolutely amazed as I jotted down every new word I heard come out of his mouth. I counted....a total of 14 different words he said today! No, they weren't all new words, but the fact that he actually said that many different words in one day is HUGE! Mind you, these aren't perfect words coming out of his mouth....but he is trying, and we can understand him. He is so much more present, connected, and acting like a "typical" kid! Again, we lift another layer of fog from Kaden's brain just as we did with the diet and supplements. I don't care how many medical professionals want to tell me that there isn't enough scientific research to back these alternative treatments...there is no research more powerful than what I see happening with my son. Do I think all alternative treatments work for every child? Absolutely not. But how will you ever know unless you try it? As long as Kaden is safe & healthy I will try anything and everything that has a chance at helping him.

Along with all of this development comes some more challenges for Kaden. He is going through his developmental milestones and currently in the phase of "mine, mine, mine." The problem is that he is almost three (a big three at that), and he is very strong. He has realized that he is strong, and he can use his strength to get what he needs. Cognitavely, he doesn't get that two children can share one toy. He does not have the ability to reason, and the concept of sharing is completely foreign to him. So we have been having some issues of him being agressive and it's never easy having the conversation that your kid may get kicked out of 2 hour child care because he is becoming too "dangerous." The good news is that he has one of the best behavioral therapists working with him, and she is helping him (and us) through this.

As always, the bumps in the road always seem a lot smoother when there is exciting progress. We are so proud of Kaden!

Have a great week :)

5 comments:

  1. Love to hear about the progress. Now it's time for Kaden to go thru the "terrible twos" and the "troublesome threes". All these are what we call "negative positives". Negative cause they suck to go thru but positives because they show his brain and personality are waking up. Yeah for him and for you both. Keep up the good work. Remember autism is a marathon, not a sprint. So glad that you are seeing such great leaps n bounds.

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  2. and I am so proud of you momma bear Kristie!

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  3. We are ALL so proud of you. Keep fighting the fighting knowing we're all out here cheering your sweet family on. Love to you all.
    KP

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  4. Please allow me to admit that I read these blogs when they come out to adjust my own outlook on life as they typically put into prospective all the things I believe to be so tough to get through. Thank you so much Kristie for having the courage so many of us lack to carry on. Every child deserves a mom like you.
    ~CJ

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  5. Opps...I meant perspective*

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