Things Fall Apart Sometimes

     My son is doing very well. He has been mainstreamed for a good part of the school year. I am convinced that when I take him in for a re-evaluation, he will fall in a "mild" range, whereas when he was first diagnosed, he was much more "moderate." This is all great stuff! The work of diet, supplements, and of course lots of dicipline, love, and patience all have done wonders.

     Last week, however, was a little bit of a cloudy week. He spent a couple of days in the autism special ed class for behavior reasons. He was being more diffucult at home, and getting very whiny. I felt like things were falling apart alittle bit, like when the laces on your shoes get loose and they need tightened and retied. It felt... uncomfortable, like something was wrong.

     Over the weekend I did some thinking about what was going on. I realized that besides the change in weather, (Yes, that does affect, too!) I had also changed a supplement. It was the melatonin he takes at night. I didn't even change the dose, just the brand! He had been taking the new one for 1 and 1/2 to 2 weeks and was getting more and more tired everyday and was getting headaches. I ran to Smith's to get the brand we used before, and now afew days later and with the help also of some sunny weather, he is himself again. I am so grateful that I finally figured out what to do. Sometimes it feels disheartening, though, how fragile it all really is.

Glutathione

I have a confession to make. When I go in with my son to his DAN! doctor, and the doctor starts talking about the methylation cycle, he gets a blank stare from me. That is not because I don't have a basic understanding of what the methylation cycle is. Basically, it is the body's system of detoxifying. (I know, grossly simplified.) The body uses chemicals to do this job, and when those chemicals are not available in normal levels, that helps cause many of the problems we see with autism. His doctor used to pull out a chart, thinking it would help me to understand how the lack of this chemical effected this or that part of the cycle... however, after dragging my then toddler with moderate autism to to office and waiting with him, I was exhausted, and my comprehension levels were not...so...high.

It is now high time for me to study on my own to learn more about the methylation cycle, especially now that we are using glutathione cream to help that cycle work.

The cream comes in two parts. One is the actual glutathione. The other cream is a "reactor." Dispense the dose of glutathione cream, add an equal part of the reactor cream, mix and apply. We have done this twice a day for afew months now.

I was at first concerned about the cost of adding yet another new thing to "The Supplements". After a trial, my husband and I consulted over what we thought about continuing the cream with the expense and all. He said, "He has actually been greeting me when I walk in from work." That image became our mental "marker" for the raised awareness we have seen in our child. The greetings, conversations, it is all more than worth it.

Photography

My little guy has always liked taking pictures, particularly lately. I have decided that he is old enough now to use the camera (besides the one on my phone) with supervision. (Warranty that covers him dropping it makes me feel better about that, too!)

Mostly he takes pictures of items he finds around, like his toys and video game cases. Sometimes he takes pictures of me and his brother. Here is a pic he took on a recent outing. I am so proud of him for this one! (No, I actually did NOT touch this one up... this is how I downloaded it. It really is that good.)