I am truly amazed at B's progress. Amazed.
B before biomedical treatment:
Tantrums nonstop. It was nothing for him to throw a tantrum for half an hour. His tantrums didn't revolve around him not getting his way. Ninety percent of them would occur because he lost something. He went through a period of having to carry certain objects around always. One time it was baby food spoons, three of them. He would always know if one was missing and we'd turn the house upside down looking for them. After that it was marker lids. 5 of them. One for each finger. He called them finger 'mops'. If he didn't have five he was a mess. The worst of the worst was rubber bouncy balls. Ugh. To this day bouncy balls are not allowed in our house. Then it was Hoo Hoo Ha Ha, Blue Doggy and Branson Bear. He carried them everywhere. He was very obsessive. One time we were in the van and he wanted me to hold him. Obviously I couldn't because I was driving. He said, "Mommy Ju Ju! (hold you)" 178 times. I counted to keep myself from going crazy.
B now:
He has the occasional 4 year old outburst, but calms down quicker. He no longer carries random objects. In fact, last night I said, "You haven't slept with Hoo Hoo Ha Ha for a while." His face scrunched up and his voice got sad and I thought, "Great. Here comes the fit." He said, "Have you seen him?" I said, "We'll look for him tomorrow." B said, "Okay." Okay?!??? No fit? No obsessing? No running around the house room to room shrieking? Okay???!? Okaaaaay :)
B then:
B had purple circles under his eyes. He would refuse to eat. He was in the 3rd percentile for weight.I would have to coax him to take every bite that went into his mouth. I remember in my gut knowing something was wrong. I even googled childhood cancer because his appearance worried me so much. Little man was so constipated, he would cry with every effort...and the end result looked painful enough to make me want to cry. This made potty training very difficult. These are days I wish I could take back. I thought he was holding it in on purpose because he did not want to use the potty, thus causing constipation. I even disciplined him every time I thought he was holding it in. Poor kid. I wish I had known what was really going on.
B now:
B's complexion is great! No more circles. He eats all the time...seriously, I feel like I'm cooking and baking 24/7. He's making up for lost time. At his last DAN appointment, he weighed in at the 50th percentile! He is using the restroom independently.....and brags about it. He's never grasped the concept of 'too much information.'
B then:
The sun was too bright. His bath was too hot. The vacuum was too loud. His swing was too high. His friend was too stinky (so that one cracked me up). Everything tasted too strong. He would only eat bland, bland, and more bland.
B now:
He doesn't complain as much about the sun. He prefers really hot bath water. He tolerates the vacuum as long as I warn him before I turn it on. He wants pepper in his baked beans. He is still more sensitive than other kids....never give him a peppermint, this I learned the hard way....but his improvement is huge.
B then:
Random frequent rashes, runny nose, sick all the time.
B now:
One rash since February caused by his sunblock. He was sick one time last month. His nose rarely runs.
B then:
He had a hard time initiating play with other children. He would get in their face, stand too close, and make a goofy noise. Most of the time kids his age would back away or ignore him. His fits didn't help much in the social arena either.
B now:
He is great at playing with others. Today at the library this really hit home. He was having conversation, asking questions, initiating play, laughing and pretending with other children. In fact, another child stood a little too close, made a goofy noise, and B slowly backed away. It has come full circle.
About our pediatric appointment. We gave our test results to our pediatrician. He was pretty skeptical. He said, "I don't know what these test results mean.....I'm a little ignorant about this......Do you mind if I keep these and ask my colleagues?" He proceeded to ask how we found this doctor, had we read any testimonials, how long had he been in business, etc...skeptical. It was great that he admitted he didn't know what the test results meant but I'd rather he call our DAN himself. I would love it if our DAN and pediatrician were on the same page. My glimmer of hope is this: He said, "well, I guess if it's working......."
Our DAN is a Ph. D and an MD with extra training in treating autism. His methods are working miracles for our son and so many like him. I wish the American Academy of Pediatrics would look into this treatment. Think of how many more children would be able to recover.
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