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elizabethvivian2 49F
416 posts
5/7/2016 1:05 am
Cure Autism Now!


Autism. A subject very difficult to talk about especially for parents like me. I admire Tinker when she boldly writes about her and her daily challenges with the disorder... and it’s high time I use my own writing skills to tell you a short story of my life and my own fears of Autism.

I was 32 when I gave birth to my second , baby Beaux. It was a pre-mature delivery with her being short of 27 weeks. As only God can make a tree, the doctor said the circumstances of my birth were entirely miraculous. She was born healthy and complete and I legally named her “Faith”.

...from then on, however, I knew I would be facing many challenges with her.

At the age of two and a half, baby Beaux was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I can still quite vividly remember the words of her Neuropsychologist: “Vivian, I‘m so sorry… I am raising the red flag on your for classic Autism. She has all three major signs, no eye contact, no verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.” I asked her, “Is there a cure for this?” She replied, “There is no cure for Autism.”

I was stunned. For a week there I could not speak, I could not eat, I could not sleep (not like I ever had real sleep for the past two years waiting on my who would only sleep for 2 hours everyday, usually from 7AM to 9AM).

One evening I sat there, just looking at my who was fast sleep. He is only 3 and half, I thought. He seems to worry more about me than I am able to worry about him… I’ve turned into a terrible mom. I told myself, either I could slip into this depression and be a lousy mother to both my , or wake up and accept my daughters condition and be the fighter God made me to be.

I got on my computer and started googling Autism. There are three things I learned: First I learned that I was not the only mother facing this crisis, that there are many other mothers out there now challenged with the issues of Autism and the numbers are growing. Second, I learned that the MMR vaccine was a suspected possible cause for the growing number of Autistics in the world (I have another story to prove that that might be right later). And Third -- the good news -- there is a possible cure for Autism on who are diagnosed at a young age.

Yes, there is a cure for Autism. I tried it and it worked for my . It’s called the casein-free gluten-free diet. Although I have to say, that when I consulted with the doctor initially, before I put my (and my entire family, for that matter) on this diet, she refused to recommend it as it had not been proven to work. My take on it is that, it will only work if the is put on it at reasonably young age, where the damage can still be reversed and is not permanent.

Putting my on the casein-free gluten-free diet was not easy. At that time, like all autistics, my refused to take anything except her milk. She even refused her medicines and vitamins. It was only by chance that I was able to get her off the milk. I made the mistake of mixing her medications with her milk, and from then on she rejected the milk as well. After two days of watching my starve herself and reject everything we were giving her, she finally got hungry and for the first time, took a real taste of solid food. Two weeks later, my started speaking. From that time and up to 3 years later, the entire household was on a casein-free gluten-free diet, including my three and a half year old boy.

Curing Autism is possible but there are many sacrifices you will have to take. It’s a family cooperation. It’s cruel to allow your to watch you and the rest of your family have the things he or she cannot have. Also, there is therapy. Therapy is a great help in speeding up the mental and psychological maturity of your … my was on it for two years. And finally, and most importantly, get an early diagnosis… skip the denial phase... if you’re cannot talk at age one and a half or two, it is not just a speech delay, he/she may already be a candidate for Autism.

My is now 10 years old and will be entering the 4th Grade this coming school year. She has been on a regular class since the time she started schooling and she is a consistent Honor student. She has also been the recipient of the Excellence in Behavior award for many years (this I am so proud of but never expected). She has reaped several awards for her artworks and has created animated videos posted elsewhere in the world wide web.

If there is something I can be proud of in my life, is that I have a who was once diagnosed Autistic, but is now cured. Everything's possible with Faith.

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam!

Cosmopolitan50 71M  
10 posts
5/7/2016 5:00 pm

Hi Viv,
You and Tinker deserve our admiration for your relentless fight for your childrens well being and against ignorance about autism among the general public.
Keep up the good work !
Happy Mothers Day !!!


elizabethvivian2 49F

5/9/2016 1:26 am

    Quoting  :

Thank you Tinker... I know we share a lot similar experiences. One thing that helped me cope years back were the stories of other mothers and the advises that they gave.
MMR vaccines weren't there yet when I was a child, and I had all three measles, mumps and rubella. I'm thinking I never died of any of it. Instead, after recovery, I believe I had a better immune system. It's all business for these drug companies.


elizabethvivian2 49F

5/9/2016 1:30 am

    Quoting  :

Thank you Casper for sharing your story. I have always been proud of my kid. Being special, her tiny steps all felt like milestones to me.


elizabethvivian2 49F

5/9/2016 1:50 am

    Quoting  :

The first concern I ever had with my daughter was for her safety. Since she could not communicate and I know had heaps of discomforts which I could not understand, she would throw fits which I feared would harm her. I discovered later how to calm her down.. I tied a ribbon to a stick and she would make waves of that ribbon in front of her eyes. We called it the "butterfly". Later on, I would discover that that was not exactly a good thing. My child was visual stimming to calm herself.. very usual amongst autistics. Visual stimming releases opiate-like substances in the brain, which can produce either a euphoric or anesthetic effect on the child. In other words, it is like putting your kid on drugs. I dont know how or when she let go of that, but what I can remember is when we moved to this neighborhood we are living in right now, there were other kids playing in the streets and they let her in on their games. After a while being around normal kids, she was no longer doing visual stimming.


elizabethvivian2 49F

5/9/2016 2:03 am

    Quoting Cosmopolitan50:
    Hi Viv,
    You and Tinker deserve our admiration for your relentless fight for your childrens well being and against ignorance about autism among the general public.
    Keep up the good work !
    Happy Mothers Day !!!
Thank you so much Cosmo. Thinker deserves the huge credit for that as she has been blogging about it for years. It is she who inspired me to come out with my own battle cry against autism. And I am glad.. I realize that there other people out there too who are needing the help I was given when it was I who was needing it. It's time to pay it forward.

Thank you once again and happy mother's day to all the mother's in your family.


elizabethvivian2 49F

5/9/2016 2:12 am

    Quoting  :

I pray your grandson be well. Stay positive, there are reasons why they are called "special", its because they are truly special and they change peoples lives.Battling autism with my kid has made me a better person. I could only be grateful.


theta2011 53F
1917 posts
5/10/2016 7:38 am

Viv,

As I've learned from our EB - you're a great mom. And very patient too. I have high regards for you and Tinks with similar experiences with your kids. Am so proud to have met you two in person.


elizabethvivian2 49F

5/11/2016 1:32 am

    Quoting theta2011:
    Viv,

    As I've learned from our EB - you're a great mom. And very patient too. I have high regards for you and Tinks with similar experiences with your kids. Am so proud to have met you two in person.
Thank you theta.. you are a good mom too. See you again soon! Mwahh!