spectrumom

Way back in the day, starting when Sam (now 15) was diagnosed, and continuing for about 7 years, we looked for a way to fix our boys. I know.  I've blogged this to death. But we tried DAN! - vitamins, supplements.  Avoided gluten and casein and foods with phenols.  I rubbed them with pink cream (B12).  I went to gazillions of meetings and spent thousands of dollars. We did ABA, VB, RDI.  Bought Floortime videos.  Bought books.  Lordy, I still buy books.  Too many for any one person to read.  Unless I dropped out of the rest of my life. "Hun, keep the kids alive for the next couple months while I read all these books, mkay?" Then I turned to conventional medicine.  We thought maybe Sam did his pacing and stimming because he was nervous, so we started Prozac.  Lordy, turns out that was a mistake.  Then stimulants.  Okay, that helped some.  Pacing and stimming go on, because they serve a purpose - they center h...

I was pondering tonight the tens of thousands of dollars we have spent in the last 13 years to try to help our children deal with autism. Direct and indirect expenses.  Conferences on therapies, since we have mostly had to run our own ABA.  Conferences on biomedical approaches (mostly fallen by the wayside.)  All of the travel expenses associated with them. The trips to therapies-occupational, speech and physical.  The therapy itself often paid for by insurance.  Therapy camp, which has cost us probably 15-20 grand over the years not counting the thousands of dollars for travel expenses which are most likely double that if not triple. Travel to consultants.  I always say we're an hour from everywhere.  But some of our consultants have been 3 or more hours away. Special diets, always out of pocket.  Therapy toys for the home, always out of pocket.  7 years of diapers x 2 boys (just glad it wasn't longer.)  Because we felt we were ...