Existence does not require a website

   Leah is my youngest. She is a better reader and artist than anyone in her class. She can tell you about any animal you want to know. She has ADHD and Mood Disorder. I worry about her safety everyday. When you look at her you just see a normal girl. However, she struggles with being able control her impulsive moods and behavior. A lot of the time it looks like she is someone who gets everything that she wants. Unfortunately, a lot of the time she is anxious her behavior that she loses control over will cause her to lose her favorite things. Leah is not spoiled or over sugared. Leah has a medical diagnosed disorder.
   Leah has been to at least 5 evaluations for this particular problem. She has had countless tests. We have been in regular therapy for 3 years and now do behavior therapy. It took over a year to put Leah on medication. I wasn't going to do it. I decided that she was too young. She would be able to mature and be a little safer. I almost lost her making the wrong decision. I thought that medicine was more dangerous than her impulsive behavior. I learned from my mistake. I put her on medication. Her impulsive behavior was better. I did not have to worry on a daily basis whether or not she was going to run away and into the street.
  Leah also has trouble sleeping. I could count on my hands the nights my husband and I had the bed to ourselves. We put her in her own room and she will come in to ours between 12-3am. This was better than her being awake from then on so it works for us. She has nightmares and is very anxious about going to sleep. Generally my husband lies down with her until she falls asleep. After a fitful night of sleep if we are lucky Leah will sleep until around 5am. Now she has her own room where she can go and read.
   Leah is ready to go in the morning. She is hard to slow down. It might be difficult to get her to sit and eat breakfast. She starts to get upset about having to sit. She might be quite angry by the time she gets on the bus. This is after fighting to get clothes on, eat and brush hair. We take our medicine. If I can get through the morning without hitting we are successful. We are rarely successful. Leah will mostly hit herself, however will attempt to hit her sister. This is obviously stopped immediately.
  Most kids with ADHD benefit from a low sugar diet. However, with Leah she has hypoglycemia, or her liver doesn't process sugar as fast as she burns it. She also has sensory processing disorder. This affects what she will attempt to put in her mouth. She has a very limited amount of food that she will eat. Of course tried to get her to eat something undesirable. Leah does not give in and will not eat. When Leah does not eat she goes into what looks like a stomach flu. It is ketosis. Ketosis lands Leah in the hospital. We avoid the ketosis. We give as many healthy choices as possible in our limited selection. Leah has gone from a not thriving status to a very healthy weight.
   Although it is the recommendation to start Leah on a mood stabilizing medicine, I would rather work as hard as I can in behavior therapy before doing so. However, If at any time I thought her life was again in danger, she would be on medication. It is not until she is a teenager that she is at an extreme risk for things like suicide. You better believe that this mother is going to do everything I can to fight for her. I try things before medicine absolutely but if medicine is the answer I will use it. Mental illness is a serious issue. It is not something to just decide to quick lets check a website about it. Ok I got my answer. It is a struggle day in and day out.
   I implore that anybody that struggles with mental illness or has a child that does don't be afraid to do your all for them. Don't be afraid to get them the best help possible. Don't let anyone that has no clue about it dictate what you should do. I think you should do what is best. I think that if diet doesn't work that behavior therapy doesn't work the logical step is medicine. There is life saving medicine out there. It use to be that children like mine were put in an institution because we didn't have medical advancement. We do know. They can be productive adults. We have always dealt with children like mine. Even before we had processed foods and vaccines etc.
   There was a brief moment in history where we did not deal with illness and hardship. Adam ate of the apple. Even if we did all the things that were listed on a health website, we are fallen creatures. We are in need of a Savior not the latest supplement or a way to get rid of this or that naturally. We can't get rid of our sin. We can however, help those who need it while we are here. We can be kind to those who struggle with things like ADHD and other disorders that you can't see but  very much are there. We need to ask questions instead assuming that someone needs what you would think is much needed advice. ADHD and Autism is still being researched. We haven't even scratched the surface of something that had not been defined for centuries. I have read more books and articles than I can count and I know this to be true. This I do know is true: It exists and I live it. Telling me it doesn't is going to get you into heap of trouble every time. If a "Doctor" says it doesn't, I am sorry but that Doctor has immediately been discredited. 
   

Graced with a disability

 The worldly view on Autism is that it should be feared. We should do whatever we can to prevent it. Find and destroy the cause. The proper Christian view should be that Autism although a struggle was meant to be. God allowed it in individuals. Why? Well every time we ask that question it is the same answer. It is in His plan. It is meant for the Glory of God. How can such a thing be a good thing? We need a different prospective. It takes a lot to feel that a burden is actually a blessing. It takes some time to understand that God has a plan to make things better through struggles, tragedy and death. These things in of themselves are not good things. However, how God working through them can be good.
  I understand this is a tough pill to swallow. It was for me. Here I am with two special needs kids and every autoimmune disorder that I could get in my gene pool. I feel blessed in my struggles. I feel touched by God. I wake up knowing that I am closer to Him. I wake up in a lot of pain most days. Then I have to wake up my two kids that generally aren't easily woken up. However, I am happy. I have a purpose that was given to me. This happened the day my child was diagnosed with autism. I was just going along doing just enough. Then just enough wasn't good enough. I was forced into action because of this struggle place on my child and our family. Who I was is not who I am now.
   Every time we take a step toward God we become less of what we were and more of what we should be. When I complain about the struggles, worry and fear them I am stepping away from God. It becomes more of a burden. This is not useful. When I try and find something to blame other than sin itself that is not useful. Accepting the struggle for what it is and that in life you will have it. Than finding the good in it will always be a blessing. I can look at whatever my child age is now and still grieve a little at the things she can't do that a typical person her age can. However, I am overwhelmed by the climb that she has made in this life. My grief is short lived and turns into joy. We have as a family worked hard. We have gained so much for being a family that struggles. We don't even think about things that a typical family thinks about. It takes my husband and I quite a long time to come up with something we disagree with. We rarely fight each other. We communicate a hundred times better since we had special needs children. We have a need for each other that other married couples don't have as well. It makes us closer.
   It is almost the end of Autism awareness month and I can't help but be aware of the impact that it has on my life. My child certainly struggles with day to day things. I would bet that you wouldn't someone else that had as much joy. That got excited at life the way she does. The simple little things that she gets to do. She loves to cuddle, animals, sing and twirl. She is easily made happy and rarely upset. It is not something I fear because I live it. It is not something I want to get rid of because it is part of someone I hold dear. I don't need to find the cause because she is created in the image of God. If I am a Christian this is the only answer I need,
               John9:1-3 'As He passed by, He saw a blind man from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"
            Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, not his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him"'

Speaking loudly

This is a short video about Autism Speaks. Why some people have a problem with it. I think that without Autism Speaks we would probably be at least 10 years behind in progress. A little tid bit about Autism Speaks is that people think they are the ones to come up with the puzzle piece. It was actually thought up by a British mother in the late 60s representing her son's love for puzzles. She started a Society in Britain. Also after parting with Autism Speaks, Alison Singer, founded the Autism Science Foundation. They do research in Biomedical and genetics.

April: Our Month

I am practicing my speaking skills. I feel that I should make use of them in the future. 

Also, give some of you a break from my inept grammar.

The First to be Aware

      The first labeled case of Autism was Donald Triplett. He was born in 1933 to Mary and Beamon. His first two years were normal. He developed normally. He sat up, crawled, walked and spoke all in the right amount of time. It was around 2 that things started to shift for Donald. We in the Autism community call this a regressive form of autism. Mary, his mother constantly having to keep an eye on Donald, took him to the doctor. At this time the only thing that could be done for Donald was an institution. Mary and Beamon reluctantly agreed to put Donald in an institution. However, they kept on researching to find a way to help Donald.
      Just a year after Donald was put in an institution, he was removed. Mary and Beamon brought him to see one Dr. Kanner. Dr. Kanner is the doctor that gave Autism its definition. Beamon, a man that was rather particular himself, wrote Kanner a 33 page letter about Donald.  Kanner immediately wanted to see Donald. This gave the Tripletts' hope. However, Dr. Kanner not seeing any such cases like Donald took quite some time to diagnose. Kanner first met Donald in 1938 and wrote his mother in 1942 with 8 cases that were similar. Donald was labeled case number 1. Although, Kanner himself will tell you that Autism didn't start with Donald. As we know today there is written cases back to 1450A.D..
     Mary was a constant in Donald's life. Donald had to have things a certain way otherwise he would go into a rage. Mary was the maintainer of these things. When Mary knew that she would need help she was able to get respite. A couple that had a farm helped the Tripletts by keeping Donald. He would help on the farm. The Tripletts got a break. Donald really enjoyed the farm. Ernest and Josephine Lewis were childless. They enjoyed having Donald and he was helpful. It easy for Donald on the farm. A schedule needed to be followed and a rigid routine. They took into account some of Donald quirks and made it work on the farm. It was on the farm that Donald made most of his gains. He would be considered moderate after his time there. Donald developed Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. He spend quite a bit of time in the hospital. After that he went to his home to live full time. He would not return to the Lewis farm. They did remain good friends.
    Donald would go to High School after he spent so many years not going to school. He was relatively successful there. He had people that watched out for him. People that did not tolerate any teasing of Donald. People were amazed by Donald's math skills. He once counted the bricks in a brick wall in a matter of moments. The others took a lot longer to figure out that he was right. He could calculate large numbers in his head in seconds. He had every license plate in town memorized. If Donald liked you, you were given a number. He would walk right up and say "You are now 1094". He would call you by your number not your name. This was Donald's way of having a relationship with someone. There was speculation as to what your number represented. It was dependent on a memory he placed on you and a number was placed. People enjoyed getting numbered, it made them feel special. In a small community Donald, very odd, was loved.
   Donald was able to attend college. He was able to get better socially. He worked at a slower pace than his classmates. He graduated and went to a four year school. He was in a frat house. He was accepted there as well. The Tripletts owned the bank in town, which secured him a job. He always had a job in the bank. He was not a sufficient employee but an employee he remained. After his parents deaths he continued to work at the bank. Until he decided it was time to stop working, It was fortunate for Donald that his family was wealthy. He was considered due to his wealth, eccentric.
    Donald was a happy man. It was mostly due to the fact that he was loved. His parents taught the community that he was valuable, worthy of respect. The Tripletts did not accept any indignation of Donald. They expected that Donald would be treated just like any other member of their family. However, Donald was later in life a beloved member of the community. He was a member of the Triplett family. Ultimately, in Forest, MS he was part of the towns family. Donald was the first labeled autistic case. He was the first success story as well.

*For more information about Donald as well as other early Autistic cases I recommend "In A Different Key: The Story of Autism" By: John Donvan and Caren Zucker.