Pertussis

Just when you thought it was safe to go out and about, guess what seemingly eradicated childhood disease is making the rounds? You guessed it! Pertussis, otherwise known as Whooping Cough.

Why is it making the rounds? Or better yet, why is it making the rounds among children who have been immunized? Because people are refusing immunizations in droves. So, their children get these diseases. But, these folks don't keep their children away from other children so we all suffer from their decisions.

I can tell you that if my immunized kids get pertussis I am going to be seriously pissed.

Wait, if you are reading this and don't know me well, don't jump to conclusions about my motives. Don't tell me about poor kids with autism from shots (you definitely don't want to get me started about that one) and how they aren't necessary any more. I AM a mom of an autistic kid, one who likely developed symptoms as a direct result of the mercury based preservative in the doses that he received. I get it.

However, that doesn't mean that these parents and their ill functioning logic are off the hook. Oh NO!!! See, immunizations don't contain any of those preservatives anymore. Plus, as an informed parent (and not one jumping, uninformed, on a bandwagon) you can insist that your child receive a dose with no preservatives at all. This is what I do for my Aspie kid. He gets all of his shots and is kept healthy that way.

I understand trying to avoid autism. But, if my kid can be immunized in a way that does no further harm, then all kids should be protected. I immunize my kids in hopes of avoiding deadly disease. Perhaps I should immunize them against the by-products of uninformed, unintelligent parents.

I have a kid with autism. To have kid with autism who has whooping cough would push me right over the edge.

Sick kid

DS12 succumbed to the stress of the field trip (and falling face first into really cold ocean water) and has a massive cold. I kept him home today to force him into resting and irrigating his nose several times to try and force out the worst of it. I am not willing to sit back and passively watch him set up a sinus infection and go through months of trying to clear it up again. And, don't even mention surgery! Ugh!

So, we had a very low key day today with kiddo mad at me most of the time for making him rest and drink cinnamon tea (like that is really torture!) and irrigate his nose. Nice to know that I am creating the memories that will put him into a lifetime of therapy (if you believe him).

It's amazing how far he has come in so many ways, but the autism really shows it's face when he is sick. There is no filter when he is feeling unwell.

We'll see what tomorrow will bring.

Denis Leary

Well, about the time it appears that folks are able to go about their business with their collective heads extracted from their own buttocks, someone comes along and proves that it just isn't possible. Case in point, Denis Leary.

Mr. Leary apparently felt the need to write a book in which he lambasts the rising incidence of autism to cold and inattentive parents. Ironically, it may be justified in one sense that the parents created the autism, but only in the respect that they allowed sperm and egg to combine, effectively creating the child that would eventually be affected.

Of course we live in a world which doesn't want to deal with autism and the related spectrum disorders. It's messy and inconvenient to have to try and solve a complex puzzle, certainly one that is proving to be much more difficult to get a handle on than cancer or AIDS. So, it's easier not to try and understand, because then we don't have to collectively have to care or to seek treatments, cures, solutions.

The government (through the NIH and CDC) has the unmitigated gall to claim that giving doses of ethyl mercury, of all things,to infants through immunizations is an okay thing to do. Anyone with a science background knows that ethyl mercury is an insidious poison and that infants are among the weakest in our population. It is certainly reasonable to assume that some babies might not be able to process this poison (even in minute amounts) of of their systems through normal pathways, because the pathways may simply be underdeveloped at the time. But, we live in an unbelievably litigious society and avoiding lawsuits is the goal.

I personally, don't care who is to blame. I am not looking for a scapegoat or a lawsuit. But, the raw information could be very valuable in helping to determine treatment options for individual children. I don't believe that autism is a one size fits all condition and that treatment options will need to be as varied as the children who are affected. God forbid that directing research into new, promising areas would ever be considered goal-worthy.

Yet, Mr. Leary calls the parents of autistic children, "lazy" among other things. Well, at least I am not so lazy that I can't think for myself. As a matter of fact, Mr. Leary might learn a thing or two if he were to try it sometime.

My baby is growing up!

Last Thursday, on the 18th, my eldest was born--12 years ago! It is so hard to believe that this kid has been in our lives for so long. Of course, he loves to be told the story of his birth and adoption. I get really sentimental about it, also. Seems like just yesterday on one hand and so long ago on the other.

Even with the autism, the learning disability, the meltdowns, and the doctor's visits and therapies, I wouldn't have it any other way. I just don't know how to not love the kid. I can't even imagine life without him and I don't want to.

I guess it's a mom thing.

It's over--woo hoo!

Yep. It's official. The 2007-2008 school year is officially over (for the kids at least). I, for one, am thrilled!

It has taken me two days to recover from the end of "festivities." Elementary Honors Day was Tuesday, Middle and High School Honors Day was on Wednesday. DS10 received honors for being on the Straight A Honor Roll, highest GPA in both science and language arts (ahem, I wonder who he gets that from??? Could it be his Biology and English teaching Mom, perhaps???). DS11 received a medal and award from the DARE program. He wrote an award winning essay! He even read it aloud; I nearly fainted! He was excited that he was getting the honor, but said that he wouldn't read the essay, but that Officer Morris Pike of the Griffin, GA Police Department could read it for him. At the last minute, he decided to read it aloud (complete with microphone). When we asked him why he chose to do that he replied, "because my Daddy asked me to." Never underestimate the power of a comment to a child. Hubby mentioned in passing that he thought kiddo could do it. He never thought another word about it and was just trying to be positive. Boy howdy, did it work!

Nearly every teacher and staff member in attendance went nuts! They all know how hard it was for him to read that paper. You could hear the nervous warble in his otherwise (aspie) monotone voice. It took so much out of him. He was exhausted immediately afterward.

The best thing, you ask? Watching Officer Pike, who had worked on patrol from 7 pm the previous night to 7 am that morning and came to our ceremony was rubbing and patting his back, encouraging him every step of the way. You could see him whisper, "way to go, buddy. You're doing it" over and over again. That is a good man.

Not everyone is capable of being so kind and open to an autistic child. Frankly, they have moments when they are not really easy to deal with at all, much less to someone they don't know well. They don't like meeting strangers (at least mine isn't thrilled with it) and they don't open up and trust easily at all. Officer Pike worked pretty darn hard to reach my child, even though it ain't easy and there really wasn't anything in it for him.

Wow. I can see God working so clearly in this.

Graduation was stressful. In the absence of our headmaster, I was elected to play the role of emcee. Everything went fine. I didn't make any overly obvious mistakes. But, I was being so careful to make sure that I didn't mess things up, that I was an exhausted wreck for a couple of days. I am just now starting to feel relaxed again. But, all in all, it was a joyous celebration and a happy time.

Now, I am preparing to open my arms (and heart) to the class of 2009! They have been dubbed the "Macho class" by the previous seniors. I think I will take one of my student's advice and make them the "Macho Nachos" and decorate my classroom in sombreros, images of nachos. We will take a couple of field trips to the local Mexican restaurant for lunch. It's so much fun when we can find a theme to embrace. I can't wait!

Sinus Infections, Bronchitis, and Crud, oh my!

Well, happy 2008 to us! I went to the walk in hours at my doctor's office this morning (apparently, everyone else did as well) and after waiting for 2 hours total, I finally found out why I can't kick this cold and cough that I have been battling for over 2 weeks. I have a sinus infection that is working its way into my ears and "a touch" of bronchitis. Oh joy. At least I have some good antibiotics and massive narcotic cough syrup. When I took it last year, my students referred to it as "happy juice" because I was a little (ahem) loopy when I took it.

Since I had reported that my lungs were feeling really heavy when outside in the weather (it was a tropical 28 degrees at the time), the doctor feels that I may have developed a mild case of bronchitis induced asthma. Her orders were to go home, take medicine, go to bed, absolutely stay out of the cold air. Sounds simple, right?

Well, I was running an errand to Verizon while the pharmacy (who was slammed) filled my prescriptions when my Mom let me know that my oldest was running a fever. So much for doctor's orders. Off to the pediatrician we went. He has a sinus infection (the same one that he just finished antibiotics for last week) that didn't go away. So, he is on heavier duty antibiotics and a major decongestant.

At least we have a few more days out of school and we can rest up before we have to get back to the ol' routine. One bright spot in my week is that John's behavioral group will meet on Friday and since we won't be contagious anymore, I can go and see Kristin and her cutie pie daughter for coffee. When you're an Aspie Mom, this is as close to respite as it gets!

The No TV Blues

Well, my autistic son has begun having some troubles, so after a consultation with his psychiatrist (Dr. Eric Fier--absolutely AWESOME!) we have decided to remove all "screen" time (video games, tv, handheld games, etc.) from him to see how that affects him.

So far, the results have been outstanding. He is interacting more and much more observant of different social ques and ways of doing things. Over time, I think this could help his maturity a great deal.

But, he does sorely miss his games and tv. It's not been easy on him (although he is a great deal more pleasant overall). I hope that the pull that these activities have on him will diminish somewhat in time. It would be nice to use a very limited amount of tv or a game as a reward. Or, take the family to a movie together. But, for now, that is out of the question so that he can adjust and (literally) suffer withdrawal symptoms like with any other addiction.

It's so easy for all kids to get way too wrapped up in the "boob tube" and video games. I just wasn't aware of exactly how wrapped up my son got until I took it away and saw for myself the importance that he placed on it.

Autism in the News

Lately, it seems that Autism is a hot topic in the news. I saw a report on Fox News tonight about the lawsuit that is being heard about the possibility of a link between a vaccine preservative used pre-1999 called thimerosol. Thimerosol contains a significant amount of ethyl mercury.

My oldest received these vaccines. I don't know that the mercury involved caused my son's autism, but I do believe that it could have aggravated certain genetic factors that he carries. I do know from testing that we have had done, that his body holds on to various metals and does not remove them from his system as normally occurs. It has taken a serious amount of detoxification to remove elevated levels of several metals from his body.

Unfortunately, I do not know that we will ever get a straight answer from governmental agencies regarding this issue. Perhaps because they will not want to accept responsibility/liability for their actions. We live in a terribly litigious society. Even if they knew that a small percentage of children would be affected, they would be bankrupted from the resultant lawsuits. In this world, it is unheard of for the public to understand that mistakes happen and that there is often no one to blame. Yet, we work incessantly to place blame instead of working wholeheartedly to solve the problem and identify the underlying issues.

I hereby officially blame this whole Autism mess on the purple speckled, green drooling monster that lives under my bed. And knowing that we have placed blame, we can get on to the real issues.

Enough crap. Figure out the underlying causes so we can get to fixing this mess. Help my son. Give him his whole life back instead of forcing him to rely on a faulty neurology and learning all things by rote. Is it so much to ask that he can walk across an uneven surface without feeling panicky that he could fall? Is it too much to ask that he be able to ride a two-wheeled bike like the other kids? That he could go to camp--not a special camp for Autistic kids, but a real, in the woods, arts and crafts, swimming, fishing, pranking the other cabins type of camp?

Autism sucks. Letting political garbage affect the lives of children sucks more.

Stop it.

Cross-Training and Camp!

To be a little different, I decided to start doing some tapes at home to stay out of the heat and to do some serious ab work (the abs are the worst of my trouble spots right now). The waist is the only thing that is keeping me in Women's sizes right now. Firmer abs means smaller clothes!

On another note, my youngest son was invited to attend a local church camp with his best friend. Unfortunately, we only had 2 days notice about this. So, we have been running around like lunatics getting everything set up and packed. This is his first time to do anthing like this, so I am the worried Mama, but I do want him to have a good time.

One of the drawbacks of having a child with autism (particularly an oldest child) is that it is really easy to forget that the younger child is capable of vastly different things than the older child. I am afraid that I have really (unintentionally) held him back from trying things. For example, my parents taught him how to ride a bike this week. All of his friends from school have been riding bikes for years now. Oops. We also need to work on some other sports related skills. But, now my older child is feeling left out because he struggles so much with these skills. We have offerred to purchase a 3 wheeler type bike and he told us that he wants to ride a bike just like everyone else rides. We will begin trying to help him learn to balance on a bike and maybe (with lots of prayer) he can learn to ride.

Tomorrow, I am walking with Dad. Bright and early. I'd really like to do another 6 mile route, but we will see how time goes with this. I have to be sure that younger son is ready for camp on time. So, I will play it by ear. And try not to cry!

Oprah's Autism Show

I don't know if very many people saw it, but Oprah did a show on Autism today. From my perspective, it was purely depressing. The information was certainly accurate and in line with what I have learned as the parent of a child with Asperger Syndrome. But, the show, in an effort to encourage compassion toward families who struggle with Autism daily, seemed to focus on the frustrations and obstacles that these families face. Trust me, I already know many of them, albeit in a less severe form.

I guess it was just a not-so-subtle reminder that the challenges that my family faces are not likely to go away. Ever. This attitude is likely born of selfishness on my part, because I have learned to wear blinders in my daily life so that I don't see the discrimination that can often take place. When someone says or does something cruel to your child, it hurts the parents in a very real way. When that child struggles with a disability and is truly doing the very best that they can, this cruelty is unbearable. When one mother on the show suggested that strangers should offer help to families who are experiencing a meltdown in public, I nearly screamed at the t.v. set! That is not the time! Leave them alone and let them handle life, which is difficult enough to handle without feeling like the entire world is watching and judging them. Okay, when I read that last part, I realize that I am dealing with a little bitterness on the subject :-) I guess one too many well-intentioned folks at Wal-Mart have offerred me "timely" advice on my child rearing abilities. I have long since learned to appear rather unapproachable on the subject.

I truly admire that Oprah is educating the public about this health crisis. The more people know, the better. It's just hard for me to be part of that audience.