Sorry its been a while! We've had a lot going on around here the past week. I appreciate all of your emails regarding the blog.
I would like to start of by clarifying that there is nothing "wrong" with my child. He is perfect in every way; it is his way and this is his journey. To anyone who may have felt left out or upset that they were not told about Finnan's daily life, I would like to say, in the nicest most caring way, this is not about you. Again, there is nothing "wrong" with Finnan. There is/was no reason to make a grand announcement or a big deal.
I recently read a great book titled "Look Me In The Eye, my life with Aspergers" by John Elder Robison. In his Prologue he says "Asperger's is not a disease. It is a way of being. There is no cure. There is no need for one." He also goes on to say that as there is no need for a cure for Asperger's, there is a "need for knowledge and adaptation on the part of Aspergian kids and their familes."
Last night we went to Finnan's favorite new spot. I must admit, we all enjoy Mellow Mushroom. Finnan is on a Gluten Free Casein Free diet which I mentioned in a previous post was introduced to me by "Super Mom". Finnan is always armed with his backpack of Dinosaurs and when he sees new people, old or young, he likes to show them off. While waiting for a table, Finnan sees a little boy around the same age and assumes he too must love Dinosaurs. Finnan proceeds to put his new T-Rex against the little boy's nose and say "See, this is my T-Rex. He growed up in water. He growed up really big in water. Now he's smallest again. See. See. See." The little boy turned his head into his fathers side terrified. We had to explain to Finnan that not everyone loves Dinosaurs as much as he does. Finnan kept going back over to the little boy, putting the Dinosaur in his face. We kept calling him back. This went on for a good half hour while we waited for a table. At one point, I heard/saw the parents talking about Finnan. Making comments about our parenting skills and his lack of social skills. At this point, there have been many others, I felt like getting up and walking over and telling them "My son has Asperger's. Your social skills are also lacking. But you don't have an excuse. EDUCATE YOURSELVES!!" As I said I felt like saying this to them. My husband was with me and tends to keep me calm in situations like this by advising me to ignore their ignorance. He's right, it is just simply ignorance.
Our outings have gotten so much more manageable since we started the GFCF diet. I can't even explain how pleasant it is to go out with the entire family and there be no screaming, throwing, tantrums, hitting, head banging, etc. I've been asked or interrogated about the diet since Finnan's been on it, and all I can say is we both see a difference in his behavior. That is the only thing in his life that has changed and that we are in control of. So, I have to think that it is the diet.
At the Autism Support Groups I attend, the Mom's are always talking about therapies and treatments I am not yet familiar with. They've blazed a trail I am only so lucky to be following now. One approach often discussed is the biomedical approach. Most have had an appointment with a DAN Doctor (Defeat Autism Now) and they can be quite pricey, especially if you don't have insurance to cover some of the diagnostic costs. I learned about something called "Nutra Eval" done by Genova Diagnostics. It is amazing what they test for and what they find in some of these tests. They test for intestinal permeability, heavy metal toxicity, polypeptides,amino acids, organic acids, digestive function, genetic predisposition and nutrition to name a few. The test costs around $770.00 if you are uninsured, as Finnan is. Some insurance companies will cover all or part of the cost of these tests. We've started with the least expensive test first and that is by going straight to the source- Poo Poo. Ha! Yep, a lot of children with ASD's have too much yeast in their system which could be linked to changes in their mood or behavior. We collected a specimen last week and took it to FedEx that day. I had discussed with Finnan what was going to happen; we needed to "collect" his first movement of the day and then send it off to a lab to be tested. He was very inquisitive about the specimen and asked a lot of questions. We collected the specimen, followed the directions, put it in the FedEx bag and got in the car. On the way to FedEx, he asked again what was going to happen to it, where was it going exactly, who was going to pick it up, etc. When we walked in to FedEx there was a line. Finnan started yelling "Mommy, give the lady my Poo Poo's now! We're gonna be too late! The Poo Poo's gonna be bad Mommy, bad, bad! We must get the Poo Poo's there in time!" These were all little things I had told him in the days leading up to and the day of the collection. He decided to repeat them very loudly in FedEx. Of course, I was standing in line with a bright Orange biohazard bag that said "SPECIMEN". Yep, in line at FedEx with Poo. And everyone knew I was holding a bag of Poo. We left that FedEx location and proceeded to find another, less crowded location. We walked in, handed the lady our bag, she thanked us, and Finnan said "That's my Poo Poo's. They have to get to the lab fast. Quick send them now." As if he were her boss and he was giving her orders. He wasn't rude about it, just matter of fact. She looked at me, I smiled and rushed my kids out the door. As we were walking out Finnan said "I sure hope my Poo Poo's come back!".
The Poo Poo's have not come back. However, I do know they arrived safely thanks to FedEx tracking.We are awaiting the results and will share when possible.
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