My name is Ryan Segovich, I’m a member of the publicity team at Sourcebooks, Inc., the largest independent publisher in Chicago.  We are promoting a heartwarming book, A Friend Like Henry by Nuala Gardner.  I’d like to share the news of this wonderful story.
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I am a mother of six children, four of them are adopted and of those four, two of them have autism.  I went from being a successful realtor to being a full time caregiver for these three kids who are still at home.  As they have gotten older it has been more and more expensive to take care of all their needs.  I have been doing all kinds of research on biomedical approaches to recovering these children.  In that research, I started looking for high antioxidant foods that could help to heal their brains.  I came upon a product that is made from an unprocessed raw chocolate, that was so healthy, you'd have to eat 7 lbs of spinach to equal the antioxidant levels that just three pieces will get you.  I have started my own home based business selling this product and helping others do the same.  My youngest child with autism has finally begun to be potty trained, because he gets the chocolate as a reward, and I can give it to him because it is gf/cf free.  He is making all kinds of progress, and I am having fun earning money to continue to look for anything that will help him

Donna 

I do not think Michael is ever going to get a diagnosis. Of anything... I guess I should be glad that it is looking like he on the tip of the ASD scale. But it is enough that I cannot find a suitable daycare that will take him. I wanted to get a job for when he is in school, but it would have to literally be Tues-Friday and never on snow days or holidays. I was hoping there would be a school job open but I have not found one yet.

I met a woman at the laundromat the other day who has a son who is 11 and severe Autism. You can never tell by looking at him. But he is mentally a 3-4 year old. She is from Texas, and said she got SSI for him long before a diagnosis just because he received speech therapy. Anybody else get SSI before a diagnosis?

I mean all these kids who have ADHD and take a pill and seem totally normal can get SSI, why is it so hard for me to figure this out?

Ma is talking about getting me a cheap car because with her new job it is very hard for me to keep up with Michael's appointments and such. And if he gets sick or anything she cannot really leave work at times to go get him. And me having no car makes it even harder. She seems to think that she is going to get a check with all her unused sick pay with her last check. I guess I never worked anywhere where I had sick pay so I do not know, but it all sounds too good to be true. Even if she can get me the little Saturn I am wishing for, I cannot even afford to put gas in the car. Which is why I need the SSI. I do not have enough nice cars to get a decent type job. I do not want to be stuck back in fast food, and I do not even know if my manager at Burger King will hire me back for 11-2 Tues-Thurs and never on snow days or holidays. Unless it is a job who gives uniforms I am screwed on clothes.  read more »

hi, we have just moved to burnet, tx. we have a 7 yo daughter with autism. we are looking for a good school for her. if anyone out there knows of one, please help. also, any suggestions for aggression would be appreciated. she has gotten to where she is constantly scratching anyone near her. thanks for any help.

It's Day 2 of my exile from the Blog...

If you are employed by one company or another, consider taking advantage of a Flexible Spending Account, if it is offered.  These special account plans are also sometimes called "Cafeteria Plans."  They allow you to put aside $5,000 in pre-tax income to pay for qualifying childcare or healthcare expenses.  This income cannot be taxed (section 125 of the IRS Code) and is not counted as income when applying for SSI (Social Security) benefits.

We use my husband's Flex account to pay for things like Music Therapy for our son, dental woes, and my prescription co-pays.  At the beginning of the calendar year, the company puts aside up to $5,000 (whatever amount we have chosen) in an account.  So theoretically, we could use the whole $5,000 right away.  Over the course of the entire year, the divided amount is deducted from my husband's paychecks.  So, if we have opted for the entire $5,000, my husband's paycheck would be about $200 less per pay period.  But we are still getting that $200, just in another account and tax free as well. 

Okay, problem solved!  My friend thanks you for all of the advice!  It worked.  Crisis averted!

Alex Hansen, 7, is moving on to second grade at Millbrook Elementary School in the fall. A few years ago he was diagnosed with autism but manages well in a regular classroom with the occasional help of a teaching assistant. Like most kids with autism, Alex has to deal with communication issues. Last summer he attended Camp Puzzle Palooza, a weeklong day camp at Cedar Creek Church intended especially for kids with autism, as well as siblings and other children.
"I'm a normal kid at that camp," Alex told his mom, Jamie.

I applied for the MR waiver here in Iowa, which is what Autism falls under. I know Michael is not the only Autistic child in this county needing this waiver, yet they are having such a hard time getting his psychological and IQ tests done. I am beginning to become  discouraged. I would be willing to take Michael to a bigger hosptal or wherever to get this done.

I know SSI can take months to go through, especially with most cases having to be appealed. I read that some states require that the first application be denied if the waiver had not been issued yet.

I really have no idea what I am doing. I know I can fill out an application on the website, but other than that, I know nothing about what I need to do. 

I have a six-year-old son with autism.  He was diagnosed at 3 1/2 and has always been very aggressive.  We hadn't wanted to experiment with any medications, but after he started kindergarten, we decided he needed some help with impulse and anger.  He is now in the first grade and doing well acacemincally, however, still problems with aggression.  I need any new ideas I have missed, words of wisdom from parents who's autistic kids are older and doing well/or not and encouragement that my son can grow up to be a good, productive human being.  I haven't met any other kid like my son yet

Diet is the whole key to recovery because they have to grow new brain cells (damaged to varying degrees by various things in vaccines, like toxins from bacteria causing necrosis of budding dendrites). Brain cells can keep growing in the Higher Brain (with protein, balanced, non-toxic diet), but NOT in the Old Brain. The Old Brain at the base,  location of all Behavioral Instincts, and Chemical Regulation for the body, including the Gastro-Intestinal Tract, releasing the chemicals needed for break-down and digestion. Thus, these kids problems are compounded by difficulty digesting (absorbing nutrients). Digestable high protein diets will give the building blocks in the form of Amino Acids to make new brain cells. The peculiarity of Autism is from Developmental Damage in the Old Brain - depending on the severity of brain cell damage, recovery occurs everywhere , but in this area (being the foundation). BUT recovery cannot be ruled out, and anything is possible. But therein, within the unknown region of the Old Brain, lies the dilemma. Higher brain recovery can become great enough to raise geniuses whom can learn to understand what they lack instinctually. Using their highly developed conscious minds (Higher Brains), they can teach themselves how to behave properly, becoming Consious of what is missing, thus learning to teach natural behaviors to themselves cognitively. (by the way, each vaccine dose is suspended in vials of heavy metals, so Thimerasol did not need to be replaced by anything). I give talks with drawings on chalkboards for visual comprehension; about germs, vaccine recipes, and infant physiology. I have a booklet about how vaccines cause Autism, and the site http://www.trackingvaccinations.com (Tracking Vaccinations).

This is my first blog, yes I am behind the times.  I am a newly stay-at-home mother of 3, my oldest son has autism.  My husband and I have been married 11 + years and according to statistics, I am one of the 14% who has support and help from her spouse.  We have been using the traditional school therapies and biomedical treatments to combat our son's autism. I am interested in others' opinions on the "diet", chelation, vaccination effects, and other therapies. 

My first question is should we be getting therapists for the summer beyond the extended school year?  What about on the weekends during school?  We have always followed what the school district told us and no one mentioned additional therapies beyond what the school provides.

Second, Is anyone successful in getting refunds or coverage for treatments from their insurance company?  My next battle is with the insurance company and getting tax breaks for medical expenses.

 Thanks!

Short Introduction

Hi Everyone!

I just want to introduce myself briefly so you know who I am and what my mission is. I was born in China, grew up in Vancouver, Canada, where I did my honors in Biochemistry and Medicine. After graduation, I practiced many years as a Family Doctor and as an Emergency Doctor. I really love practicing medicine; I used to say, “Wow, they pay me to do this?”

About 15 years ago, I moved to the United States from Vancouver when my husband’s infertility practice was relocated here. I had just finished settling down and re-started my work when my son, Marc, was diagnosed with Autism. I thought to myself, how many years did I spend in medical school and how many years did I spend with my beloved patients? The least I can do is to spend my time and energy in helping my son now.

So I stopped all activities and just concentrated on helping my son. Along the way, so many parents asked me for my help that I started my practice of treating Autistic kids exclusively. All my waking and sleeping hours were devoted to figuring out how best to treat these lovely, sweet kids.

Fortunately, the protocols have been improved more and more so that most of the kids that we treat with the DAN (Defeat Autism Now) protocol improve greatly. Some improve quickly, just with the gfcf (gluten free casein free diet) alone, some more slowly. Then there is the challenging 10-20% that won’t budge, no matter what we do. So I continue to be humble and open-minded—we want to be able to help ALL Autistic kids!

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Hello, This is my first blog entry and I am writing because I am interested in finding out if there is anyone with an autistic child who has tried to get them to write over and over an autosuggestion like "I will be good in school" over and over. Did it help? I would like to know if that would help in school instead of sending a child (my grandson is 12) home expelled for two days for calling a teacher an unacceptable name. Thanks for any help.