Autism diagnosis (carried over from prayer requests)

[lmw]

I just got home from our trip to get my son Gunnar screened for Autism. I posted a prayer request for a smooth trip because we had to travel and stay overnight and then drive home the next day. We are home now finally!

After about 10 months of researching autism and working with social workers, and a early development class, we got a diagnosis. On the spectrum, severe being on one end, moderate, mild, then asperger's syndrome on the opposite end of severe (there were a couple other things between asperger's and mild I believe) Gunnar falls somewhere between Moderate and Mildy autistic. There is a family history on both sides of the family. My deceased husband struggled for most his life with issues and was at one time unofficially diagnosed with autism, but the medical community seemed to label him with everything else and just went with bipolar. He died of a heroin overdose September 6th, 2011, he never got the proper care and just went with self medication... a long story in itself. My cousin Alexis is also autistic, though mildly.

So the next step is getting inhome care... the waiting list is very long and we could be waiting over a year.

I will type more. I could type a lot more, but I want to eat some good food after a long trip home !

 

[AirDancer]

Glad to learn you made it there & back safely, lmw, even with the thunderstorm you had to drive through on the way.

At least you now have a starting point from which to help your son. Am sorry, however, that the diagnosis says autism, moderate to mild.

You and your son continue to be on my prayer list.

God bless you!

 

[tim-from-pa]

Sometimes I wonder if this increase in autism isn't brought on by what they do to us? My wife's boss has an autistic child and the thought occurred to her boss that it was because of immunisations as a kid as receiving some of them while being ill can cause this according to one study. They blame everything from immunisations to chemicals in the food containers to even dental fillings.

Well, there's no time for conspiracy theories tonight, but lmw needs our prayers as her work is definitely cut out for her. Again, I would say look into nutritional therapy and even things like vitamins/supplements as well. And when I am talking about vitamins, I'm not talking run-of-the-mill Centrum A to Z either. Stuff like that is basically worthless that gives one a false sense of security that "they are getting all their vitamins". Yeah, right. A Naturopath may be able to discern one's needs better --- sometimes megadosing is necessary.

 

[Classik]

We will never end praying for you. GBWY

 

[lmw]

SORRY I havent been back. You know how busy it is to be a single mom and also have to work. Im actally at work now. Its slow right now. I like quiet days at work

If it wasnt for the family history of autism on both sides and also being with my husband and knowing him for as long as I did, Id suspect environment and vaccinations, etc... but I believe my son was born with it. The same stare off into the distance glance he had when he was a tiny baby even before he had vaccinations, never left. He still has that and that is one thing the screener asked about, asked if he does ever. I was always looking for that already because I would do that when I had partial seizures as I have a history of epilepsy. Im seizure free now but I do take medication for debilitating migraines.

We will look in to different therapies and diet will be one of them. He was born smack dab on his due date but he had to be induced because I was having complications and I feel the due date was wrong. He was tiny, skinny, and his stomach couldn't handle milk based formula nor breast milk, Before we discovered that he went from a birth weight 6lbs 3oz down to 5lbs 7oz two days later and ended up back in the hospital. He was in preemie clothes but he was long at 20 1/2 inches. Now at just over 3 and a half he is 35 inches tall at the last check up and 33lbs on the nose. He just keeps getting taller and is still a skinny lil bugger. He STILL has a weird digestive system so it will be something we will look into.

 

[AirDancer]

Thank you for the update, lmw .... I'm still praying for you & your son.

Friends of mine in Vancouver BC have a son who is high-functioning autistic. Their son is now a young adult and is now working the child care industry ... he's excellent with short people. It was discovered early on that his dad (my friend's husband) was borderline autistic, as is their nephew. So, it was determined to be hereditary in their case.

The young man also suffers from epilepsy, again, something that appears in his paternal side of the family.

They've had a challenging past... but also a beautiful past ... and they look forward to a wonderful future as a family who believe our Lord never gives anyone more than they can handle.

This was shared as a positive, to show that our Lord's grace is with you as you continue your walk with Him. He has you & your son in His embrace.

Blessings!