introduction

Vaccinations. We are not up to date, however yes they had their infant shots. 'D' was caught up to 4 years old, receiving everything including MMR, except for his 18mths, he was quite sick at the time, and we were seeing serious issues with 'A' and decided we were better off putting this on hold until we learned more about the potential medical challenges that were possible for our boys. 'A' received his first vaccine. an MMR. over the following two days he had respiratory distress, hyperventilation, and spiralled downwards. He had had enough problems with suspected stenosis in his ears and nose. (a situation where the canals are too small to properly function). So immediately we stopped pursuing this form of preventative care.

Special Diets. Yes we do this. Not for some dream of therapeutic relief from autism, or a cure. 'D' had symptoms of lactose intolerance, colic, gas, acne, cravings, etc. We removed and reduced the dairy, he improved, we tried to re-introduce dairy some time later, less fat content, and the symptoms returned. He only ate a few things, enough to cover all food groups! Recently we've seen more solid evidence to the idea of going gluten free. He can more easily digest gluten free products (they do have a tendency to crumble and melt in your mouth, unlike wheat flours). Also, our experiments with cutbacks to wheat breads and a few sudden introductions of wheat also had the sudden effect of bloating and constipation. We avoid most cheap ingredients, dyes, sugars, artificial ingredients, and preservatives. The boys prefer fruit and protein anyway.

Sleep. This is something we are working on. There is so much involved in our children's sleep disturbances we tackle them individually. Bedtime routines have changed over the years, staying asleep is another matter entirely. 'A' still wakes a couple times per night, but goes back to sleep easily. We have tried melatonin, which works great to help him get to sleep, but gave him headaches if we used the recommended dose. We worked our way down to a few drops, and now we never use it. 

lifestyle: we wake up, we are thankful for each other's company, we eat together, play together, work on our own hobbies on our own, sometimes sharing space and sharing in excitements, we shop together, we travel together, we learn and grow together. 

Alternative treatments (as if they have to be referred to as alternatives huh!) to ABA: yes we like these. We love sensory integration, VB applied to routines and skill development, and a balance of floortime and son-rise approaches of learning and teaching. I find great sense in the principles behind floortime, and do my best to refer back to those attuned feelings about what we choose to do, how and when we do it. Currently we are exploring more animal and nature 'therapies'; I view them as justifiable activities for homeschooled autism families to get their hands dirty in. We are strongly focused on anxiety management, eradication (sometimes) and self-awareness. We are trying to move towards group-awareness without losing touch of self-awareness.