Tyler-an autism success story

Ty Continues to Amaze Us

In the last few months,  Ty has continued to amaze us.  I was concerned about his lack of interest in writing.   He didn't have much interest in coloring either.   All of a sudden he picked up a pencil and made a  T.  T  is for Tyler he told us.   Of course, he had been working with his OT therapist and they had been working with him at school but the difference was now he is willingly doing it on his own.

A week ago he walked into his room and read the letters on his wall.  T,Y,L,E,R is Tyler, he said.  Now if you ask him to spell his name he will with no hesitation.  He did well on the kindergarten assessment at preschool.  He has less of a passion for trains and an interest in bugs.  He can tell you about the funnel spider, black widow spider, water bugs...... All of the creepy crawling creatures fascinate him.

We continue NAET treatments once per month.   He enjoys going to see Dr. Yee(or as he calls her, Dr. E).   He went through a period of flapping again.  After an NAET treatment for amino acids it lessened again.  He will rock when he is tired and flap his hands when he is extremely excited.  He recently met someone who works with autistic kids.  She spent a while with him and until he flapped she did not realize he was on the spectrum.  She said she would not classify him as autistic.  He is due for his yearly review by the Special Education Committee in June.  I fully expect he will not be on the spectrum any longer although he does need OT for his grip and some hand weakness.   I attribute NAET along with traditional therapies for his progress.  I know without NAET he would not have progressed this far.

Most importantly, he is a loving little boy who loves to take my face in his hands and say, "I love you sooo much!"  I know the feeling.

 

Tyler's Original Diagnosis-report from his first evaluation

The best advice I received when Tyler was first evaluated was read the reports and put them away.  You will take them out a year from now and everything will be different.  So true in Tyler's case.  Some people find it hard to believe that Tyler was diagnosed as autistic.  In one sense it is a great testimony to the progress he has made.  In another sense, it implies that NAET therapy did not help him because he was never autistic in the first place.

Here is an excerpt from his evaluation on 12/03/09:  Tyler attained a score of 4 out of 10 on the communication scale ( cut off for Autism Spectrum - 2, cut-off for Autism - 4) which falls in the autism classification.  He obtained a 7 out of 14 in the reciprocal social interaction scale(cut-off Autism Spectrum-4, cut-off for Autism 7) which falls in the Autism classification.  His total ADOS score was 11 which put him on the Autistic Spectrum.  His CARS total was 30.5 Mildly to Moderately Autistic.

His more recent evaluation in July of 2010 was much improved.  The testing was different but there was a huge difference in language and motor skills.   Traditional therapies caught him up but NAET eliminated the root causes that did not allow him to process things correctly.

I have no doubt that Tyler will be fine.  During a recent thunderstorm, there was a huge clap of thunder.  Tyler said, "We need a another superhero to stop that rain."  I said, "Excuse me?"  He repeated himself.  I think we already have our superhero in Dr. Yee who is stopping the rain of autism for us.  His traditional therapists are also superheros. as well as his chiropractor Dr. Mike, and all of the people at the Little Gym Merrick, and our supportive family and friends.

RNA and Oranges

We saw our wonderful NAET practitioner, Dr. Yee on Tuesday.  Tyler calls her Dr. E.  She and her administrative assistant both noticed how much Tyler was speaking.  At this visit, we learned he cleared the RNA treatment.  I thought he had just by his language increase after the last visit. 

I asked her to check him for oranges since he had developed a rash after eating them for a week straight.  Sure enough he is allergic to citrus so he was treated for that at this visit.  We deviated from whatever the next treatment would be for allergy induced autism.  I felt we needed to resolve the orange allergy because I didn't know what kind of reaction he would get if he came into contact with that or citrus fruit again.

This week Tyler was given a standard test by his speech therapist.  He paid attention well even though he had woken up 15 minutes earlier.  He was able to choose articles of clothing that were mixed in with other pictures, explain why the little girl in the picture was crying (she fell off her bike), recognized boy children from girl children, etc.  He tested at the four year old level which I was happy to hear.

I was even more excited that he was able to talk a bit about the police officer and dog that visited his school.  He told me the dog's name was Ben.  When I looked in his backpack there was a picture of the police officer and his dog Benji. 

I am glad to see  Tyler is enjoying school.   He loves his teachers and his friends.  He is a happy little boy.  Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, comes to mind frequently.    From day one, I believed his diagnosis but I also believed he would overcome it.

If you would like to see Ty in action. Check out Ty and his Train Book on You Tube. Yes, it is sideways since I uploaded it from my android.  

 

 

What's new with Tyler?

I realized it has been some time since I posted.  Tyler is doing great.  His last NAET treatment was for RNA.  RNA is basically in every food so there was no diet for this treatment.  We did something referred to as spine swipes.  When a food cannot be avoided we run our fingers down his spine 13 times every two hours for the 25 hour avoidance period.  Of course, not while he is sleeping.  We will go back to the Dr. next week, but I think he passed this treatment.  He is now speaking 3 to 4 sentences at a time.  This is a huge change and many people that know him have commented on this.

via autismsuccessstory.typepad.com

What's new with Tyler?

I realized it has been some time since I posted.  Tyler is doing great.  His last NAET treatment was for RNA.  RNA is basically in every food so there was no diet for this treatment.  We did something referred to as spine swipes.  When a food cannot be avoided we run our fingers down his spine 13 times every two hours for the 25 hour avoidance period.  Of course, not while he is sleeping.  We will go back to the Dr. next week, but I think he passed this treatment.  He is now speaking 3 to 4 sentences at a time.  This is a huge change and many people that know him have commented on this.

He goes to preschool 2 times per week.  He now shows us his art, tells us what it is and will tell us who helped him.  His teacher has reported that he is now having conversations with his classmates.  He told me today in the car his book broke(it ripped) and he was sad.  For me, the lines are beginning to blur between autism and normal 3 year old behavior.  I think this is a good sign.  He just had a haircut and screamed like crazy, normal or autism?  It could be sensory, but his brother also hated haircuts at the age of 3.  

Our challenges now are the regular ones, potty training and getting rid of the binky.  We will watch to see how he develops as a 4 year old preschooler.  This will help us decided whether he starts kindergarten at 4 or 5.   My older son started at 5 1/2 due to a February birthday.  There is a world of difference between 4 and 5.   Autism diagnosis or not, I think either way I would be reluctant to send him at 4.    I would love to hear people's experiences on whether they chose to send their child to kindergarten at 4 or hold them back a year.   The school district wants him to be retested about the time he goes to kindergarten.  They strongly feel his diagnosis will be lifted.  NAET played a huge role in this.  Some people who know us have a hard time believing he was diagnosed on the spectrum, some think it was a mistake.  As his Mom, I can honestly say he was mildly autistic and not to accept that diagnosis would have been a mistake.  Today, I would define him in many ways but I actually find myself forgetting that he was autistic.

NAETwill be receiving more national attention.  A study is due to be published soon.  I am hopeful that more people will be receptive to trying this.    I will post again after Tyler's next NAET treatment.

I am thankful for Tyler's Austism

In this season for thankfulness and giving, I am grateful for my son's autism. Many might say, well you had a mild case and you don't really know what autistic parents go through.  I have met many autistic children. I see quite clearly where we are, where we were and where we could have been.

I think nothing is more appropriate than the puzzle piece I see on many cars for autism awareness. Autism takes many forms and it is really a puzzle. I think that autistic children, even the worst cases have some kind of genius locked inside of them.  They are truly a puzzle and not the same cure will unlock the puzzle but the potential is there.

The treatment that worked for our son is not going to work for everyone but is worth trying.  The greatest disservice we do to our children, however, is our unwillingness to admit there is a problem.  Whether you choose NAET or something else,  listen to the voice inside you that tells you there is an issue.  It is hard to accept but it is what it is. Not good or bad just something that needs to be delt with.

I am thankful for Tyler's autism because we have met amazing people because of Tyler.  People that truly want to help autistic children, people that do not judge, and people that have more love in their hearts that you can ever imagine.  I am truly a better person for having Tyler.  I feel that my job is to inform as many people of NAET as possible and also be supportive of all families that are dealing with autism.

Our triumphs in the last few weeks are, once again we have been told Tyler's diagnosis will be lifted.  Tyler met Santa at school and jumped up and yelled, " Where are your reindeers?"  Also, his ABA therapist has agreed, Tyler does not need ABA anymore. 

Also, the flapping we saw after Halloween has since resolved since he has been treated for chocolate. 

I will continue to post and whether people believe or not is up to them. I believe it is my job to let people know what worked for Tyler and at the end of the day I can rest assured that I have truly done everything I can for Tyler.  Not only that, but it worked. 

I think the best gift we can give our children is not to believe that they are perfect but know that they are not, love them with all our hearts, and whatever their imperfections are love them as best as we can.

I thank God every single day for giving me the gift of an autistic child.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

 

 

 

 

Finding a NAET practitioner

  As I have suggested in a previous blog, if you are considering NAET use a practitioner listed on www.naet.com.  I can only vouch for my own Dr. but I would not use anyone who practices NAET that is not on this website.  I would also ask if they have patient testimonials or if they would be willing to let you speak with other patients.

There was one little boy that we met in the waiting room whose grandparents said that until he started NAET, traditional therapy wasn't having much of an impact on him.  Once they started NAET, they felt everything was falling into place.  They saw many positive changes in him.

Our initial visit cost $150.00.  It was then $60.00 for each additional visit.  Since, I started going as well, it is now $50 per visit even if I only go once a month.  Initially, we had Tyler going 1 to 2 times per week because we were anxious to see results.  Since I wasn't working, I had the time to take him to appointments.  Even if you can do only 1 to 2 visits a month, I believe it is worth it.  It will probably  take longer to see results.  We now only go once per month, sometimes every six weeks. 

The cost is the only issue I have with NAET.  It is not covered by insurance and not affordable to all.  Perhaps, as the word gets out and if more and more people are helped by this therapy, it will become more easily available and affordable.  

As for Tyler, he continues to surprise and amaze us.   He used to get easily frustrated and if he could not complete a new puzzle or task he would give up.  This week he was getting angry because he could not get the lid off an empty box of wipes.  I listened as he talked himself through it, "This is stuck, this is really stuck," he said to himself.   "Do you want help Tyler?", I asked.   NO, I no need help!    He continued his struggle until he finally got  it and proudly announced, "I did it!"   This was major for him because instead of tossing the wipes box to the ground, he kept on going.

  His ABA therapist said that between 3 and  4 is the time we will see the most changes in him.    Well here we are and we are looking forward to what this year will bring.

Diets and Autism

Someone posted a question regarding what I fed Tyler.  They are currently trying to reduce milk and remove gluten from their child's diet.  I would have gone the same route with Tyler if not for NAET.  Aside from the avoidance period during treatment,  all foods that he was allergic to may be eaten.  Also, allergic in this sense does not always mean a conventional symptom such as a rash.   Allergies also produce reactions such as brain fog, irritability, and hyperactivity.

You know how you feel when you have one too many cups of coffee or your child eats too much sugar?  In an autistic child, gluten, wheat, sugar, milk,  and casein have the same results.  In Tyler, too much milk equaled more rocking and he would look a little spacey.

If I did not find NAET, I would have done the diet. In fact, I started removing milk from his diet, reducing sugar, etc.  The challenges of a diet for autism are enormous because everything you try to avoid is present in some degree in everything.  It is extremely challenging.

A good example of a diet/ behavior connection is a recent experience we had with Tyler.  His birthday and Halloween fall days apart.  After Halloween, we noticed flapping had come back.  It was almost completely gone except when he was extremely excited.  We figured a birthday and Halloween just put him over the top but for two weeks the flapping was evident.  His babysitter noticed and his therapists mentioned it as well.  Prior to that we barely remembered he even flapped his hands when excited.

I mentioned it to his NAET therapist and she said it was something he ate that weekend.  The light bulb went on, milk chocolate.  Sure he had Oreos in the past, but that is not the same.  I specifically remember we never treated him for chocolate at two years because he never ate any.   We did the NAET treatment for chocolate and I am happy to say the flapping resolved. 

 As a side note, flapping is actually something that never bothered us.  However, we knew that what is cute at 2 or even 3 would not work in kindergarten.  Most kids that met Tyler and saw him flapping would start flapping too while they were playing with him.  They just accepted it.

Thanks for reading my blog.  Please post questions or comments.  If anyone else is doing a diet, please post your successes and challenges.  There are many people that are interested.

What is NAET?

NAET is something that my logical mind cannot grasp. When I first heard about friends that used it for migraines and dog allergies, I said, "That's crazy."  Then I got laid off from work and had the good fortune to be watching a news show where parents of a young autistic boy spoke about NAET and how their son had no trace of autism left after going through the treatments. 

I consider it divine intervention that I was laid off and got to spend time with my son and see first hand what the babysitter had been trying to tell me for a couple of months.  I consider it divine intervention that I had the television on when this show came on.  Tyler had not even been diagnosed with anything yet, but the little voice in my head said this can help my son.   When I looked up the practitioners that were recommended by the news show, the one closest to me was midway between my house and the babysitter. How convenient!

The treatments consist of me holding Tyler on my lap with my hand on his stomach(touching his skin).  I then extend my right arm and the Dr. is silently asking my body and Tyler's permission to treat.  When she pushes down on my arm if my arm stays in place that shows no muscle weakness.  The treatment always begins this way and we have never had a time when she said our bodies have not given permission.  Stay with me here.  Tyler's first treatment was for eggs.  Prior to treating for eggs the Dr. tested him for many things and then we had a list of about 15 things that were standard for kids with autism.   Each treatment consists of me holding him on my lap with a vial of the allergen he is being treated for in my palm and against his stomach.  Again with my right arm extended the Dr. pushes down.  Resistance is good and would mean he does not have the allergy, if my arm cannot resist the pressure the muscle weakness indicates the presence of the allergy.   The vial is then placed in his sock and he lays face down on the table and she does acupressure on him.  He loves this part and always laughs.  We then have to sit in the waiting room for 20 minutes and the she rechecks the resistance. Never has there been a time where I could not resist the pressure  on my arm after treatment.   If it is a food allergen, such as the eggs, he will avoid it for 25 hours.  She tells us for how long to avoid it and normally it has not been less then the 25 hours.  Some things clear after the first treatment.  Some hold on a little longer and need to be done again. 

I know this is a lot to absorb, again the logical mind cannot comprehend this.   I base my beliefs on the fact many things I saw increase Tyler's self-stimming behaviors turned out to be things he was allergic to.  I saw changes in him right before my very eyes.  I saw kids in the waiting room week after week changing before my eyes, less hyperactive, more eye contact, more conversation.  People in the waiting room saw Tyler changing before their eyes. On our last visit, this little boy who did not speak said, "Not that magazine, I want the other one."   It is the best when we see someone we have not seen in a long time and they tell me the differences they see in him. 

 I have been treated for strawberries ( I can eat them with no problem now), tree pollen ( not a sneeze during tree pollen season), and a few other things.  NAET is a treatment for many different things not just autism.  It can be used for hyperactivity, ADHD, depression, thyroid issues.  The list is long. 

The best resource is Say Goodby to Illness by Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad.   Also, the list of NAET specialists who have completed the NAET Basic and Advanced training and who are qualified to treat with NAET is available from the website: http://www.naet.com.

I feel that guidance is sent to us all of the time, sometimes it is not the answer we think we should have and we miss it but I think God places all of the right people in our hands at the right time.  So I am hoping you stumbled across this blog and this is just the answer you or someone in your life needs.  Again, there are no guarantees, but it is an option. The bottom line is trust your own instincts not what anyone is telling you.

I trusted my instincts and had an unfailing belief that Tyler would overcome his diagnosis.  I even said that in my initial conversations with early intervention.  They said it happened once but you know what?  At our last meeting about Tyler, the woman heading the meeting said,"With these test scores, he cannot considered autistic.  I think he needs to be reevaluated in December(2010) and his diagnosis should be changed.   The words I had been waiting to hear and never thought I would hear them in less than 1 year.

 

 

where we are today-Tyler's story

         Today as I drove my son to daycare, I thought of how far we have come since his diagnosis last December.  As I drove, he was saying, "not working",  "not on", to tell me that the dvd player in the back was not showing a picture.     He was commenting on  the leaves as he looked out the window "Look at the red leaves, look at the yellow leaves."  One year ago Tyler, barely spoke.   Now he is positively chatty.

        We owe Tyler's success not only to traditional therapies but to an alternative therapy called Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques(NAET).  This therapy is designed to treat allergy induced autism.   I cannot say it will work for everyone, but as you read my posts you will know that this worked for my son and I will provide detailed information.    Tyler was treated for allergies to sugar, wheat, gluten, casein, berries, fruit mix, etc. 

Somewhere during wheat, gluten and sugar,  treatments my little boy said " Where you hiding Daddy?"    This was his first sentence and  came about 4 to 6 weeks after we started treatments. We started NAET therapy in November 2009 when we suspected that something was wrong and before his official diagnosis.  In December 2009 he was evalulated, diagnosed as on the spectrum and began ABA, speech and occupational therapy.  By February 2009, we did not have the speech therapist any longer.  We did reintroduce speech therapy in the last 3 months due to a weakness in the muscles of his mouth which was making it difficult to drink from sippy cup and straw.  He now can do both.

This blog  is just Tyler's story, written from the heart with the hope that all parents coping with an autistim diagnosis will know there are alternative treatments available and that traditional therapies along with early intervention can make a huge difference.

At the time of his diagnosis Tyler flapped, rocked, spun toys, had a fascination for fans, liked to spin, was sensitive to certain textures and liked to stare at lights.  He would make eye contact, he could be distracted out of any of the above behaviors and was always affectionate.  Today almost of the autism related behaviors have disappeared and I will detail this in future blogs.

As I continue this blog, I will go through the changes we have seen in Tyler and where he is today.    We are blessed to have Tyler and thankful for all of the beautiful people he has brought into our lives.