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Music has some amazing curative capabilities that happen to be backed by science. Given this, it isn’t surprising that using music as a treatment therapy would be beneficial to an individual on the Autism Spectrum. Music Therapy is a “well-established and risk-free technique” for using musical interaction to help individuals with Autism improve their ability to function.
The aloe vera plant holds some of nature’s richest healing secrets within it’s spiky leaves, but not all aloe vera products are created equal. Misleading labels often result in a product that is far from containing the actual aloe vera plant.
Many people with Autism have major problems with both speech and nonverbal communication. It simply eludes them. My son had obvious issues with speech and nonverbal communication right from the beginning. Being nonverbal until the age of almost 7 years I had to find ways to connect with him outside of speaking, as well as do whatever I could to harness speech within him. It was the most tiring and rewarding task I had with him growing up, I just wanted to hear him speak; wanted him to be social. Furthermore, Autistic individuals may also find it very hard to interact socially. Zain still has social deficits. For these reasons, speech therapy is a central part of treatment for Autism. It was central, and still is central, to my son’s development as he receives speech therapy twice a week.
As my Autistic son grew I yearned for him to make a connection with somebody, anybody. He was nonverbal until he was almost 7 years old and was diagnosed with Severe Autism. It affected him greatly. Not only did it impact his life socially in every way possible; Autism also impacted him cognitively and behaviorally, and still does.
As tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the United States I thought it would be a good time to stop and celebrate special needs mothers, all that we do and some special ways we can spend Mother’s Day! As the mother of 2 children with Autism some days are more bittersweet than others.
When you live with Autism it seems like you live with an endless supply of whatever food your child has chosen as their preferred “go to food.” Stereotypically, it is chicken nuggets and French fries. In my home we add burgers to that short list. No matter how severe your child’s eating issue is, many parents of children on the Autism Spectrum struggle with their child’s severe eating problems with little or no professional help. I
What if an easy and inexpensive test could predict the likelihood of your child developing Autism when performed at well-child appointments starting at the age of 3 months? What if this test performed with 100 percent accuracy? What if I tell you this may be a reality?
People who follow the vegan diet have to be more selective in their cooking and food choices than most people in the world, even more selective than those people who follow the vegetarian diet.
For Mother’s Day: Later motherhood trend continues among American mothers and a University of Houston author says more families starting later pregnancy has positive impacts.
If you have recently developed type 2 diabetes, you may need more medical care than you once did to stay healthy. The American Diabetes Association's new book - Managing Type 2 Diabetes For Dummies - explains why diabetes patients often need not just one physician, but an entire healthcare team to best manage their disease.
Some people say you can expect to gain back 1/2 to 2/3 of what you lose while dry fasting. It isn't a weight loss solution. But let's say what people, who do dry fasting regularly, say about dry fasting and weight loss.
A woman’s chance of developing breast cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 8. In men, the chance is 1 in 1,000. That’s a big difference, so big, in fact, that many people don’t even realize that men can have breast cancer and that they can die from it just like women can.
In the world of Autism, we often hear about the depressing and painful parts of raising our kids, rarely do we hear of the wonderful parts of it. Our children are amazing individuals that have countless advances to add to this world as they grow. However, while making a purchase at the store the other day a gentleman asked me what I did for a living - I told him I was a writer and a mother of 2 awesome boys with Autism. His response was that he was “sorry.” He honestly looked me in the eyes and told me that he felt sorrow for me because I have Autistic children. That reopened my eyes to the stigma surrounding Autism and parenting an Autistic child. We hear a lot about Autism throughout April, as it is Autism Awareness Month, now that April is over that doesn’t mean that we should stop spreading the awareness. Let’s start by spreading some awareness to the wonderful parts of our children and our adventures raising them!
When you think of Autism you often think of the obvious issues that families deal with; the meltdowns, the lack of eye contact and the lack of speech. Very rarely does the general public or the newly diagnosed parents think of the “small” issues that we deal with that often go unspoken of. One such issue is parental depression. Sometimes living the life that we must live leaves us depressed and stressed out. Whether it be from a lack of social communication with other adults or just the feeling of being overwhelmed. It certainly is not easy to be the parent of a child on the Autism spectrum. There are joyous moments, but there is no denying the challenges parents face, and the toll these take. Parents also have to worry about themselves getting sick, fighting for services, sacrificing careers, sinking into debt, and some simply rage at the injustice of it all. Parents grieve. We are allowed to do so. I find myself there right now. The monotony of each day, the meltdowns, the constant doctors’ appointments, the lack of sleep, the lack of understanding by both my family, friends and my son… it all gets to me from time to time and right now is one of those times.
The vegan diet is gaining popularity in leaps and bounds amongst celebrities and health professionals alike. Some examples of celebrities that endorse a vegan diet include Christie Brinkley and Carrie Underwood. Today we are going to be looking at how to properly supplement your vegan diet to avoid common nutritional deficiencies.
Many parents ask if their children are the only Autistic children that seem to have a higher or lower pain thresholds than the “normal” person. The answer is no they are not. Many children with Autism experience reduced or heightened pain sensitivity. It is actually widely reported to be a common feature of children with Autism. Sensory abnormalities in Autism are well known; they are even part of the diagnostic criteria for the condition. But few investigators have looked into how people with Autism experience pain. The ones who have base their conclusions of reduced and heightened pain in children with Autism on anecdotal observations and questionable measures of pain reported by parents. My son is among the Autistic children that are affected by this.
Potty training is never easy, whether it be an Autistic child or a neurotypical child. A lot of parents find themselves at a complete loss. When it comes to Autistic children it is a whole new ballgame.
If you have been raising an Autistic individual for a while you may already know that schedules and routines are pretty much key to their development. Truthfully, routines play an important role in the lives of people with Autism. In fact, one of the earliest signs of Autism can be a love of ritual, consistency, predictability and routine. It boils down to simple things that “normal” people do every day being intensified to the max for a person with Autism. The everyday events that most people view as “normal” can be an overwhelming combination of frightening crowds, intimidating sounds and overbearing lights for people with Autism. Routines and schedules help to create stability and order.
When our children are diagnosed we tend to go along with what the doctors and therapists say to do, as we should. We typically start a medication if they say to start it or end a medication if they say to end it. We do the same with various types of therapies. Over the years I have tried an enormous amount of medications and therapies for Autism with my son to try to better his quality of life. Much of them with great success rate, some of them with horrible outcomes. The biggest regret I have in all these years is not researching the medications that I was using extensively before starting them.
How all of you control your sexual temptations related to hypersexuality? People do not realize how strong of a force it can be against a human being, but Christianity has a proven answer that works.
If you are new to the special needs world you may not know what an IEP is or have had to deal with having one yet. IEPs, or Individualized Education Plans, are the holy grail of special needs services in school aged children. An IEP is a “written document that’s developed for each public-school child who is eligible for special education.
Nothing causes more distress than when one of our furry friends gets sick. Dog owners as well as cat owners want the best health for their beloved family members. Heartworm is a serious condition that can take you by surprise so you’ll want to be familiar with heartworm treatment and prevention as well as some dangerous myths that abound about hearworms.
By this time of year most households have or are about to start preparations for state standardized testing. I get a lot of questions about the tests that states administer and if Autistic students have to take them. The answer isn’t a clear cut yes or no. It really depends on your child’s deficits and their IEP guidelines. What I can do is tell you about the tests and what you can do to help prepare your child for them.
It is Porphyria Awareness Week (April 21-28th). Acute hepatic porphyrias (AHPs) is a family of rare genetic diseases characterized by potentially life-threatening attacks and debilitating symptoms. AHPs mostly affects women between the ages of 20-30. AHPs patients worldwide unite this week, raising powerful voices in an effort to turn the tide of this devastating disease.
A recent survey conducted by the consumer group Choice revealed that over 75% of the Australian population is struggling to afford private health insurance coverage. Steep premiums rank second only to electricity amongst Australians’ cost of living concerns. However, the good news is that iSelect can save Australians money by helping them to choose the most affordable private health insurance policy.
Every couple of years the prevalence rates for Autism are released and we parents cringe. As we last heard in 2016, the CDC had reported the prevalence rates at 1 in 68. As these reports are released on a biannual basis, today, April 26, 2018, we got news that the rate has once again rose. We now have a prevalence rate of 1 in 59 school aged children diagnosed with Autism. This data is based on monitoring that the Centers for Disease Control does in 11 communities. This new report reiterates a long-standing pattern- The rate of Autism diagnoses is continuing to increase.
When it comes to Autism and the divorce rate, many studies say the rate is up near 80%, while others rate the divorce rate somewhere near 20%. Either way, it is way higher than the rate for parents of non-special needs children. One of the reasons for this is stress and not sharing the responsibilities of raising the Autistic child. This isn’t an easy job to do and if you are doing it without help it is obviously even more daunting. Or maybe there are the moments when they do “help” and it makes things worse because your partner just hasn’t taken the time to get to know Autism like you have. No matter what the reason, a relationship coming apart at the seams is a devastating notion for any family, let alone one that has a child that is abhorrent to change.
Most of us parents of Autistic children and teens have an issue at some point in time with the school system that your child goes to. Whether it be a problem with bullying, and IEP issue, or just plain administrative/teacher issues, most of us have been there. We are our children’s voices and their advocates.
As of late I have heard a lot of questions about the difference between Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders (or ASD’s) in the DSM-IV versus the DSM-V. We all know that the terms Autism and ASD are often used interchangeably. ASD is an umbrella diagnosis, with many separate disorders encompassing it. Since the DSM-V came out there have been some changes. So, what is the difference in the two? Here's a real quick break-down of the changes.
When asked what the hardest thing to cope with when dealing with Autism is a lot of parents will name things such as lack of sleep or meltdowns as their top rating stressors. Truth be it, a lot of the time the number one stressor in our lives isn’t our Autistic child at all; it’s our extended family members. The ones that say they’ll be there, but obviously do nothing but judge. You know the ones I’m talking about; the Aunt, Uncle, or Grandparent that just simply doesn’t get it. With that ignorance a lot of the times come hurt feelings and harsh words.
