So...we finally made it in to the doctor on March 29th for David's blood draw and IV glutathione. It was interesting, but we got it done. David was very calm after the glutathione, which I hear is very common.
Then we wait for 1 week for the results.
During that time I went to David's school for a conference with his teacher and OT/Speech Therapists. They have discovered that David is a "sensory seeker". David has not been able to focus, especially during group time, he would tip back and fall over in his chair consistently which would distract the class. He is also not ready for pen/paper work or scissors, he's still too far behind on the much needed fine motor skills to operate these simple items. So, the teachers are working on getting him to focus and strengthening his fine motor skills though games to hold his interest.
The therapists tried a few things and found that if they have David sit on a vibrating chair pad AND wear headphones with an MP3 player playing classical music that David would focus better.
Interesting... one would think that might be more distracting.
Well, one week after the blood draw I went back to visit David's doctor for the results and talk about our battle plan as it continues.
We were focused on that aluminum in his system that was so high (10) before... it was down to 6! The arsenic in his system had stayed the same though and the fractionated urine test showed that it was a HIGH amount (out of range) of inorganic (toxic) arsenic. Where is this arsenic coming from? More than likely, fruit juice and organic apples...I'm sad to say. I'm going to have to start juicing from scratch with dark berries to provide the "base" we use for giving David all his supplements during the day...and no more juice box in his school lunch.
If it's not one thing...it's another, right?
Ok- so we put David on glutathione suppositories every night since we found out two months ago about that high amount of aluminum. We also sent in that urine test because we wanted to know more about the arsenic. We have had David on B12 shots every 3rd day for quite awhile...with small changes but nothing truly significant.
Well... the test that we took recently showed an elevated MCV, which the doctor says can show up when the body is lacking B12 and Methyl folate... so we needed to do more.
Kids with autism are kind of like onions... there are all these layers...and those layers are revealed by doing testing (blood draws, consults with PT/OT/Speech/Sensory etc) only then can we truly start to understand what is going on in our child's bodies... because autism is different in every child.
So- we will do B12 shots every other night for 2 weeks and then move to every night until further notice. We are also increasing the Methyl Folate (5-MTHF) from 1 mg to 2mg. I'm excited to see changes... we are moving in the right direction, I know we are.
I was so sad to hear that David is the kid who needs the most attention in his class from the teachers/para-educators... how hard is that to hear as a parent? But then...a glimmer of hope... because I strongly believe that God has a major hand in my child's life and with me and Troy being his parents.
I told David's doctor about the findings at David's school with his teachers and she immediately recommended the Tomatis method, low and behold one of 8 specialists happens to be right up the road from our doctors office.
I am still learning about this method, but I am also fascinated and can not wait to report on the changes we will see in David.
Basically, they're 2 hour "listening" sessions that retrain the brain to sift through unnecessary stimuli. Some of our kids are overwhelmed because of the barrage of stimuli...right? This helps them learn more effectively and sort thru items that would normally distract them so they can focus better. Listening effectively, whodathunk?
Check out: www.sacarin.com there is also a link at the bottom (for some light reading) on the research conducted with the Tomatis method in children with developmental delay and autism.
Stay tuned...
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