Camp!!

So over the last 3 years, we've raved about the YMCA day camp program here in Colorado Springs.  Got to admit, this year we haven't felt as warm and fuzzy that Dominic was getting good social interaction because at drop off and pickup, he has inevitably been hanging out by himself on the fringe of the group.

Then today.

Today the lead counselor decided to send me pictures because, in her words, Dominic is having an awesome day.  And it made her happy, so in turn it made me happy


This first one I took as I was leaving this morning's drop off - these mats are Dominic's favorite spot. 

The remaining are pictures that she sent of him interacting so well with the other kids.

This basket was apparently made reversed. 

Man is he ever focusing....

And comparing...

And really?  My low tone, struggling with writing, RARELY draws child did the black tractor with a critter following???  REALLY???

Funny from this morning

Ya'll remember we've had food struggles in the past and at present Dominic will eat pretty much whatever is put in front of him.  Because I won the food struggles.

This morning, i made our usual vegetable juice (carrot, celery, cucumber, beet, apple, zucchini), scrambled eggs with bacon and i sliced up a cantaloupe.

Dominic loves cantaloupe.

He ate the 2 pieces of cantaloupe, all his eggs and bacon and had 2 sips of juice before announcing he wanted more cantaloupe.  I told him he could have some more after he drank the rest of his juice.  He finished 3/4 of it and told me "Sink?"  I told him he had to drink all of it if he wanted the cantaloupe and he went and dumped it in the sink.  I said "what a bummer you don't get any more cantaloupe because you didn't drink all the juice".

He went to the sink, got the now empty glass and brought it to me and asked for more juice.

since that was the key to the cantaloupe.
 

The other drawing!!

This is the other drawing from Occupational Therapy last week.  My OT kept it on her wall because of how far Dominic has come, and sent me a picture.

The blue thing is an upside down house
The critter on the left is a dog
The critter on the right is a duck.

All of these things Dominic was asked to draw, and then did so entirely unassisted.

Hiking - again!

Friday as we were driving from Camp to Therapy, Dominic pointed at Palmer Park going by on our right and said "Mountains".  Mind you, just last week when my friend was here, we went hiking with Dominic and both dogs in Palmer park for the first time this year.


So I asked him, "Do you want to go hiking in those mountains"

And he said yes.

So this morning off we went - this time only taking Kama.  Who, with treats, is now getting in the car without a fight - tho not enthusiastically just yet.

When we got to this hole in the wall - Dominic stopped and yelled into it.  Not really sure who he was yelling at, but we all took the opportunity to take a water break.

What is particularly funny about this pose is that its the very same rock that we all planked on last week.  And he did this spontaneously, clearly waiting for me to take his picture.  So I did.

Total Ham. He walked down to this rock, turned around and posed. Such a turkey.

I am going to have to go find some better hiking shoes if this is going to become a trend.   I kind of like the trend - it makes me happy that 1. I can physically do this again (yay IonCleanse by AMD!!), 2. That Dominic enjoys it and 3.  That Kama enjoys it.

And the Plan Evolves!

This blog post is more for my own record keeping than anything else...

Today was our followup naturopathic appointment with Dr Kara.  I love that because of technology, we didn't have to get up early and drive 2 hours to do it in person, we did it over facetime, while sitting in bed with the dogs.  It was fantastic.

To recap, we started working with Pathways in March,  at which time we took a hard look at Dominic's genetics and mapped out a plan that would specifically encourage speech since that is the last hurdle in front of us.  That plan was to stabilize the basic genetic mutations by adding specific mineral supports, liver and GI support, a b-complex that doesn't have methylated b in it (on purpose because he cannot handle the mB12 until the pathways are more open), and magnesium.  In early May, we had an awesome team consult and added SAM-E.  We did the homeopathic remedy Dr Kara identified in June.  Then I added Restore in July.  I have been able to entirely remove all antifungals from our regime for the first time EVER.   This is so exciting!!  We also have been phasing off the dyspraxia protocol as I run out of stuff.  I'm just not buying more and if he crashes verbally we will restart it.

So today I had 3 specific things to discuss (and yes I made a list)
1.  Do we repeat the homeopathic remedy or is it still working
2.  Can we go ahead and start the PEAPure 
3.  Is it appropriate to run a food allergy test at this point.

 And... the answers were We don't think so, but Dr Kara will think on it for a few days,  yes, and yes. :)

We also are starting l-glutathione after we ramp up on peapure.

We discussed adrenal fatigue. None of the adrenal supps we've been on have managed it (it being the dilated pupils in the evenings indicating adrenal fatigue).  MitoSynergy's proper copper does help the dilated eyes but has additives Dominic goes bonkers on.  I have been in discussions with the CEO of MitoSynergy about options and we'll see what comes of it.   Dr Kara said we can wait and heal his body and the adrenals will improve or we can consider a castor oil pack on his liver (should put the body into rest and digest mode) 3 days on, 1 off for a while.  I suspect that the only way he would tolerate the castor oil pack is in how she described as the cheaters method - which is to rub it on his liver right before his bath.

We also talked about whats called the warrior gene.  That's the genetic mutation of MAO.  Which he has.  He doesn't seem to be in the aggression phase of that genetic mutation, so we will just know that its there and could raise its head particularly at puberty. 
 
I asked when would be the appropriate time to switch him ot methlyated B vitamins, and what Dr Kara told me is that the rule of thumb is that we give 6 months to stabilizing the base things (minerals minerals minerals) then we add the methylated B's.  So we're looking at October ish.  This fascinates me because way back in our DAN days, mB12 shots were the first thing that the doctor did.  ANd they really did nothing for us.  I'm starting to really believe that the ORDER in which we are doing things is so much more important that I ever realized.  And i've been preaching order of execution for a lot of years.

We are continuing the IonCleanse by AMD footbaths 4x a week as well.  I believe they are the most critical component to our process - they are the basement and foundation - the detoxification pathway without which we would never have made this much progress because the bricks would've fallen down.

I'm going to be very interested to see what the food allergy test shows.  :)

Tractor !!!

One of the developmental stages we entirely missed is that one where kids draw.  You know - little popsicle trees and stick figures?  And outdoor scenes.  Dominic regressed right around the time he should have started drawing things and we never got him interested in it.

Today, he worked with his OT intern friend again.  And they were working on pincer grip (new goal, being able to trim is OWN fingernails - he's got the desire but not the strength).  Dominic stopped, and tried writing something with his finger on the table.  The OT got him a piece of paper and asked what he wanted.  Dominic said "Tractor"

I give you the tractor he then drew, with no assistance AT ALL.

I am so pleased.

apparently he also drew some ducks, but his regular OT liked them so much she hung them up in her room....

Hiking!!

I've blogged many times about the friends that I've made in the autism community and how amazing the support is.  This week my BFF has been in town - who is another autism mom that I met a few years ago and we've been having a fantastic time.

We went hiking yesterday with Dominic and the dogs at the park right up the street.

First stop - best view in the middle of the city:

Obligatory selfie:

Dominic planking on some rocks after both of us did.  Note the horsies he usually carries in his hands are in his mouth so he could accomplish this. Shanti is not entirely sure what to make of this spectacle.

This was the view for the majority of the hike.  Dominic led the way with the dog. I did keep swapping between Kama and Shanti because Shanti is kind of elderly to be running trails. Dominic probably did double the steps I did because he kept getting way far ahead and I kept calling him back.




Funniest moment of the hike - Dominic tripped and skinned his hand catching himself, very mildly.  My friend piped up with "Man up, Dominic" and clear as day, with a hilarious expression, Dominic announced "OKAY" and headed back up the trail.

Occupational therapy

Occupational therapy was the very first intervention (along with speech therapy) that the pediatrician ordered when Dominic regressed 7+ years ago.  We did it until he turned 7 and then had to stop until last fall because my health insurance stopped paying for any treatment related to a diagnosis of autism the day he turned 7.  Last fall we finally got on the medicaid waiver that has paid for OT and ST since.

Dominic's current OT goals are primarily around strengthening his hands and working on his fine motor skills so that he can write, tie his shoes, trim his fingernails, etc.   There is a hefty component of sensory activities.

Friday, Dominic worked with a newer therapist who is doing his internship under our primary OT.  He's young, fresh out of school and taking to OT like a duck in water.   As a rule, Dominic has always done really well with male therapists which is both awesome and hard because the field is primarily female.

So they did handwriting, using blue hair gel. Because what else would you use blue hair gel for?

This is the child who 6 months ago begged to wash his hands when we dipped one finger into the fingerpaint - he couldn't handle the sensory feeling of goopiness.  Thats huge progress right there.

And here's the video

After the therapy session, the intern OT came out to visit with me for a bit.  After my first statement to him, which was "Don't vaccinate your children", I explained in great detail how he is going to be front line.  Every pediatrician starts with OT before a diagnosis.  He will be in the role to let parents know how important getting toxins out of the diet are.  I told him how the first person who suggested GFCF to us was that very first OT 7 years ago and how it took me a solid year to do it because I was so intimidated at the thought of no bread/pasta/etc.  I explained how gluten and casien proteins break down into opioids in the system and how our children are basically stoned on their food. I made that point that they have much more of a chance to learn from therapy when they aren't stoned out of their minds.

I think I blew his mind.  I know I certainly made an impression. He repeatedly told me I was amazing.  But I'm really not - The alternative to being an involved advocate, working with Dominic at home, trying everything I can possibly find is doing nothing. And doing nothing is completely unacceptable.

Do not be afraid to speak your truth and tell your story to therapists, especially ones straight out of school.  These front line therapists are the ones who will carry that truth to the new parents who walk into their office.  This is how we win the war - by teaching this new generation of therapists what to do with our kids.

People!!! A giant huge first!!!

So many years ago, my brother in law gave Dominic this book themed from the CARS movie where you have to find things in a picture.  Very much a pre-reader book.  Dominic loves the movie CARS, but would never pay attention to more than the first page where he could point out his favorites, the tractors that moo. (seriously, see the movie)

Last night this CARS book was the one that Dominic wanted me to read to him.  I didn't expect much.

He suprised me.

He attended to the ENTIRE book.  He found EVERY single thing (there's a page that has different kinds of tires in Luigi's shop, for example), and he stuck with it for the entire book.

HUGE GIANT FIRST!!!  He paid attention.  No distractions.  It was actually enjoyable to sit with him and actually read through the book instead of spending the time trying to get his attention.

I am entirely blown away.

And, yet another sign that he is *almost* reading.

Gemiini Update

So - if there was any doubt that Gemiini discrete video modeling has been helpful.. here's the letter our speech therapist wrote for me, noting how much Dominic's articulation has improved since we started it 6 weeks ago.

I can't wait to see how his teachers respond to his changes in the fall. :)

Continuing with the Reading theme...

The other night I recorded part of story time.  The way we've been doing it is that if he wants, I'll read a book to him at bedtime.  A short one.  I've officially changed that to, regardless of if he wants or not, i'll read a book to him at bedtime.  And so tonight I read him "If you feed a Pig a Pancake" because its adorable.   I went slow, and made sure he knew i was pointing at words as i read them.  When I finished the pig book, he asked for his Dora book.  I told him he'd have to read it to me (but that I'd help.)

Here's a tidbit.

I really am thinking we're so very close to conceptualizing a grouping of letters = a word.

Doggy first aid

Last night, while avoiding his bath, Dominic noticed that Shanti had a wart that he'd chewed raw.  He does that.  We just let them be.   Dominic was rightfully distressed and went to the bathroom for a kleenex, concerned about Shanti's owie.  About that time, I started recording.

oh, and after i turned it off, I convinced Dominic that no, Shanti really didn't need a bandaid.

There is focus, extreme concern, appropriate first aid (ish), and lots of love.  :)

Sight Word practice

So after all the excitement with Dominic randomly spelling Ratatouille the other day, we took the advice of my fellow TMR mama and got some sight word tools.   Here is Dominic with Daddy working on his sight words.   They just arrived a few days ago so this is our "before" for lack of a better word.  For a Before, I'm pretty pleased.

We are attempting to make the jump from spelling to realizing that all those letters together make up a word.  I think its a conceptual jump that we are ALMOST to.  (kind of like the concept of quantity that took so many years to master, we are now trying to master the concept that letters make up words).

And you'll notice how much better his articulation is getting. 

Pictures from the Renaissance faire

Sorry it took so long to post these... technical difficulties :)  

We had a fantastic day and Dominic loved every minute of it - even the sitting still for the shows we watched.

And here are the videos:

Independence Day

So - Today we went over to a barbeque at the house of some friends of ours who just had a baby.  8 days ago. (I am beyond impressed that they were entertaining already)

As you can tell from the below picture, in which I caught Dominic mid vocalization, he pretty much never goes sockless.  He did today.  For a sensory seeking, routine oriented child that is a WIN.

We made sure there were Dominic acceptable popsicles for the afternoon and he thoroughly enjoyed them.

However, the part that excited me the most was that he hung out with this other little boy, who is a few years younger, for HOURS and played video games appropriately with him.  The sheer normalcy astounded me.

Oh, and I got to snuggle a squishy newborn.  Who took a nap on my chest.   They promised I can snuggle her anytime I want. :)

What did you just spell???

Yesterday as I was picking Dominic up from day camp, he stopped and he spelled something. I almost didn't catch it because lately he's been spelling UP and DINOSAUR frequently (both favorite movies.  After doing a double take, his counselor and I looked at each other and realized he spelled ratatouille. Miss Jess (his counselor, also a teacher) said to me "I can't spell ratatouille".    We were BOTH completely blown away.  If he can spell like this, the next step is to make the jump to whole word recognition and then he will be reading.  Any suggestions for making this jump will be happily accepted!

What is particularly fascinating about this is that well yes he does love the movie Ratatouille, he has not been fixated on it for months or even watched it in recent memory. So that thing that the Gemini folks say where they say that our kids are absorbing information and learning it even though they can't regurgitate it – they're right.  It become a matter of clearing the toxins out of his cells ( IonCleanse by AMD) so they can communicate and appropriately supplementing the nutrition his body needs to encourage that communication (Pathways Natural Wellness and Dr Kara).

So... of course I had him do it again for the camera.