Meltdown Helps

Izaiah becoming more social!

Izaiah is feeling so much better with a healing GI system. His immunity has improved remarkably too.

Even so, we still have sensory needs and meltdowns.

Here's some super easy meltdown tips:

Dark room and pressure. We head up to Izaiah's room and I pull all the drapes so it is dark. I put one drop of lavender essential oil on each foot and then we crawl underneath his covers and snuggle. I might just hold him, lay a pillow on him, or use a weighted blanket. It takes about 10 minutes or less for him to be calm- no kidding! Doing it without lavender will work but takes about 30 to 40 minutes for the melties to subside. The lavender speeds it up 3 to 4 times! 

I'm battling environmental allergies with essential oils too. Diffused lemon, lavender, and peppermint have a dramatic impact. They clean the air during the day and aide sleeping at night. Reduced allergy problems make a big difference in the number of meltdowns we have.


We bought this sensory swing from IKEA. Izaiah will swing in it and soothe himself when he feels overcome by a meltdown. Once he settles down, I swing him face to face and this is the best time for eye contact! I also count as I swing him, sing songs, and read books. This great investment helps meltdowns, provides sensory integration, and if you have a kinesthetic learner (as it is becoming apparent that I do!) this is a big help for school.



Sometimes we just need a whole scenery change so we head outdoors and jump on the all important trampoline.

We also found this great trike. It's the closest we could come to a handicap trike without spending hundreds of dollars. It was about $70. We are able to steer and push from behind while Izaiah can practice pedaling and steering. This will last up to 60 lbs.

Fidgets. Izaiah loves fidgets. Thankfully he's not picky. Fabric is his favorite, especially Mommy's silkier type shirts...naturally. 

Izaiah really struggles with barometric pressure. The weather this Spring has been tumultuous including tornado conditions, hot weather, cold weather, drops in barometric pressure; they have all vexed him this season. It has caused pain, irritability and meltdowns; so, if you are wondering what in the world is going on at your house, this could be the culprit.

Two problems that seem to affect almost every autist is hunger and thirst. Always have snacks and drinks set out or packed if you're on the go. 

Izaiah will sometimes have transitional meltdowns, those seem to be the worst. And we seem to just have to ride those out. Often he will allow us to hold him or I put him in the tub with Epsom salts and a couple drops of lavender. to help.

Undergoing testing to uncover food allergies and intolerances and eliminating them has taken the punch out of meltdowns. It doesn't take away autism, but it sure does make it more tolerable.

Of course when it comes to meltdowns no two kids are alike. Even my own 2 autists are very different from each other in this department. These thoughts might resonate with you or get you thinking on your own ideas.

RECIPE:
Garbanzo Bean Brownies - this is for people with severe allergies and/or who are unable to have sugar.

Credit goes to Sheree Welshimer over at Cats in the Kitchen. The recipe is perfect the way she has it outlined and I've tweaked it a bit only for our tastes. If you have severe food allergies or battle yeast and must get sugar/carbs out of your diet then I urge you to follow her blog. Not only is it saving me in the kitchen and keeping my kids fed, it is also keeping me from ripping my hair out! Her recipes are accurate and work exactly as they are supposed to. 

Preheat oven to 480 degrees. It takes awhile, so go ahead and do this first!

2 cups garbanzo bean flour
3 T cocoa powder
1/2  tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 cup organic sugar OR 1/4 cup Truvia blend OR 1 to 2 drops Stevia liquid OR No sugar at all 

Mix the dry ingredients well with a fork.

Add 2 T Grape Seed Oil and mix with the fork - it will be very dry.
Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir again with the fork, it will be very wet. 
Stir in a couple of squirts of Agave syrup (optional)
Set batter for 5 minutes to thicken.

PREPARE PAN

Spray a glass baking dish,  9 X 13, with oil and add 1TBSP Grape Seed Oil to the bottom.
When the oven finally heats up to 480 degrees, put the dish inside to let it and the oil warm up for about 8 minutes. 

Remove and carefully pour in the batter.  The oil will be hot, but it helps to cook the brownies from below. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove. Let it cool for just several minutes and voila! brownies are ready. No waiting!

Allergies and the Journey of a Lifetime

The Scream by Edvard Munch 1893-1910

The last four years have felt hopeless and drained us of every human resource. It has been a "journey of a lifetime" as in I only want to endure it once, but it has truly been for my son who physically endured this his entire lifetime.

His problems began the day he was born. Within hours he had jaundice, eczema within days. Colic soon reared it's head and vexed us for 3 months followed by ear infections on its heels. He was doused with antibiotics which, unknown to us at the time, tore his baby gut to shreds, slayed his autoimmune system and rendered him unable to rebuild it; resulting in more illnesses and more antibiotics and so the cycle went for years.

What we were left with was a child trapped inside his misery. He constantly cried and howled in distress. He is also non-verbal and could never tell me information. He was always fatigued, irritable, moody, miserable and needed to be held...all of the time, for four years.





Our son is also autistic, but let me be clear here, NONE of the symptoms above are for autism and no child with autism can possibly gain ground with therapy while suffering in this way. These are symptoms of sickness and no amount of behavioral therapy is going to help until these are cured.

So, what was the diagnosis? In our case there were a couple, one of them is Leaky Gut Syndrome. 

As a baby, doctors put our son on so many antibiotics that the good bacteria in his gut was destroyed. This is where 80% of our immunity lies and when good bacteria is destroyed it renders our autoimmunity useless. It secondarily caused an overgrowth of yeast which has detrimental effects on other organs like the spleen, liver, and kidneys and can even cause horrendous behavior.

The antibiotics deteriorated the lining of his small intestine so much that nutrients would leak from the holes and into the bloodstream before they could be broken down. Nutrients in this form are foreign to the body causing the body to attack the 'intruders.' Over time this inflammation causes a multitude of  food allergies, eczema, vitamin deficiencies, organ problems (including the skin and brain), and even cancer.  Here is a link for a thorough understanding of LGS 

In my opinion, I believe Izaiah was born with auto-immune problems and the first indication was of course the jaundice (the liver), and the confirmation of it would have been the colic.  Here is an article I recently found which supports that theory. Another confirmation would have been the eczema. All of these things happened within the first couple of weeks of Izaiah's life, but conventional doctors were oblivious! It seems if it can't have a band-aid slapped on it or a prescription written for it then they are out of their league.

As Izaiah continued to get foods he was allergic to, the eczema progressed to severe eczema as the LGS forced his body to attack itself. It was an outward indication of what was happening on the inside.

Interestingly, because skin and brain cells originate from the same cells, when his eczema would flare so would his brain. Guess what? Allergens can cause this inflammation too and Izaiah has a multitude of food allergies today as a result of LGS. Now, I understand why my son used to bang his head; I understand why he had tics. His brain was inflamed as much as his gut and skin.

Well, our story finally took a good turn. Thankfully a super-smart friend suggested we travel a more holistic route and visit an immunologist who also happens to be a DAN! doctor.  

He didn't think we were crazy; he took us seriously. In fact he had seen it all before in his more than thirty years of experience. Praise God for my friend! Praise God for this doctor! Now, we have logical explanations and solutions. 

Best of all, we are gaining our son back. We are enjoying our sweet, affectionate, playful, little boy instead of always nurturing a 'medical problem' lost in his pain. His incessant wailing is over. We're even sleeping at night. All of his tics are gone, the head banging has stopped. He is even gaining some verbal sounds that resemble speech, and he keeps improving as the weeks pass. 

Our new doctor also tested Izaiah's internal body cycles, organic acids, toxic metals and the results are astounding. They revealed that so many chemicals and their reactions needed for normal body cycles to run are not present in Izaiah because his body lacks the ability to either produce the chemicals, break them down, or they are lacking from his meals (happens when you have oral sensory issues,autism, and food leaking from your gut.) He also has a mitochondrial dysfunction.

An allergen free diet and natural supplements are helping. The changes have been immediate and drastic.  They are also lasting. He no longer begins his days whining and hurting. He's become happy, interested in playing; he's busy doing 'his thing.'

Is he still autistic? Yes. But now that he is healing I can work with him and plan to develop his strengths as an autist just like we did with our older autist.

I plan to continue to write about my thoughts on diets, supplements, and our progress in further posts. 

A ribbon that wove its way around my heart and mind all through this hellish journey has been "the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth."

What we have endured has felt like hell on earth. My sons constant wailing, my own helpless weeping, and the gnashing teeth of arrogant, ignorant, doctors who weren't afraid to bill us excessively for their non help.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 13: 41-42 that "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of  his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  

Jesus then says in verse 43 "...Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

He repeats in Matthew13:49 that the "wicked will be severed from the just," and (50) "cast into the furnace of fire:  there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

If any have ears to hear, I can tell you from experience, we don't want to spend eternity listening to wailing and gnashing of teeth! We would much rather spend our time in heaven where God tells us in Izaiah 65:19 that there will be NO more weeping. 

Know Christ as your Savior. When we come to him and confess our iniquities, lay them all down at the cross; when we accept HIM as our LORD and give Him dominion over everything in our lives; He will save us, yea, spare us! As we depend upon Him, His grace will naturally show up in our lives through our trials. He will do it on his own timing though. He will use the time to stretch us, grow us, help us learn endurance and develop our character to  become more like his Son, Jesus, who is Holy and righteous. 

He only grows those with whom He is in relationship with. And if we're not in relationship with him, we are in relation with Satan. There's no fence sitting. The ramifications are eternal.

I pray you would know Christ today and I also pray our journey would help just one person desperately seeking help for their own child like we were. 

Food Allergies. Our experience and some tips.

Nailing down the cause of an eczema flare has been as annoying as a Three Stooges episode. Even though Izaiah was diagnosed with eczema by 2 weeks of age, I had never heard of or seen a flare so when it first crept on, I mistook it for yeast. I tried some grapefruit seed extract, but the rash got worse. I wondered if it was a yeast die-off. Even the Naturopath wouldn't commit to that. I was way off track.

An MD, then, misdiagnosed scabies causing unnecessary expense, incorrect medication, and a whole lot of wasted energy on laundry...just what every Mom doesn't need!



Later, I drove myself insane trying to flesh out food allergies.

An IgG/IgA test revealed allergies to everything on the planet except for fish, pork, lamb, beets, blueberries, and water. We adhered to a strict diet free of dairy, sugar, soy, beef, corn, vegetables, fruits, wheat, gluten, and some 90 other food items and their food families. It was frustrating eliminating the presumably guilty foods only to later add many of them back in as they were proved innocent. GMO corn, artificial colors and flavors, egg, soy, and tomato remain on the watch list; but the rest of them, including dairy, do not.

When we finally made it to the dermatologist, she informed me that the time to test for food allergies is NOT during an eczema flare. The results will show false positives to nearly everything. *Take note.

Gluten, is also something I have continued to keep on the 'no-no' list because I have witnessed monumental changes: 

• 1.)  an increased interest in playing with toys...at home.
• 2.)  a desire to make eye contact with our family more often. Strangers...no.
• 3.)  engages with our family. He grabs our hands to play and is a wee-bit more social...at home.
• 4.)  purposefully making vocal sounds.  Still non-verbal, but he's exploring!
• 5.)  he's happy.  He laughs and smiles more.  He tries to be silly.
• 6.)  bowel movements are much better, read: potty training!!!!

We also began a large dose of vitamin D which had a major impact on Izaiah's mood. The first night he had vitamin D, I had a fun little boy for the first time. I never wanted it to end!  He takes 2500 IU daily.

Is he cured of autism? No. But it has helped bring out his personality around people he knows. It hasn't changed who he is, but he is irrefutably happier and fabulously less irritable; enough to keep him gluten free forever! He still needs to be touched, pressed, squished, held, nursed; he's still anti-social around strangers and peers; he still melts down and has his own agenda. He still likes to line things up, spin wheels, and jump. He just does it with a big, happy, smile now! Being sugar free, gmo free, dye free, artificial flavor free has also made him calmer. Time, age, maturity has been the best 'cure' at our house for autism and sensory issues.

Before and after shot of eczema flare

Is he cured of eczema? No. But knowing his real food sensitivities will help avoid unnecessary reactions. Understanding how heat, humidity, weather/season changes, and stress affect eczema has been just as helpful. Learning how to maintain the skin has been golden. I feel like I finally know how to handle to eczema from the inside and the outside, which is where I started my journey.



If I could do this whole food allergy event over, I would have:

1.) Sought out a dermatologist to get educated about baths, ointments, creams, wet wraps, etc. years ago when Izaiah was first diagnosed with it.

2,) Sought out a holistic doctor instead of a naturopath for allergies. Holistic doctors are often covered by insurance, can order tests, and are accepted in the medical community. A naturopath is a good route, just know they will not be covered by insurance and if you show the tests to your regular doctor or pediatrician, they will just make you redo them and repay.

3.) Known this was not a DIY project. Food allergies, vitamins, supplements, enzymes, probiotics, elimination diets, etc. are just as serious and individual as pharmaceuticals.What works for one family could be detrimental to yours. There are tons of very poor quality products (and advice) out there. Get with a holistic doctor or a naturopath if your regular doctor won't help and get a plan of action specific to your needs.

TIP:  During an elimination diet, just remove suspected allergens, don't replace. For example, don't remove cow's milk and replace it with almond, soy, or coconut milk. All of those are top allergens as well, so it could make things worse.

Click here for some Biblical and fascinating myths about our diets.