Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The w/o April 13th : In which I realise once again that the R is the human Prozac

Monday

Uber stressful day at work

When I come home - I am forced to put the day away - as  R tugs at my hand insistently demanding - Wii Sports -

Somehow I am able to switch the day off and simply be in the moment with R.

I used to think compartmentalizing was impossible - but now I realise its the best way to function

We jump swing and have a great time

I am reading before bed "Raising a Sensory Smart child " which my online friend at therextras recommended

 Its very interesing -

"Sensory Modulation" problems describe R to perfectly and I believe is the cause of  of most of his Autsim I think

 All development ( NT AND Autie ) is the result the way in which the sensory system of the individual interacts with their environment . Think about the experiment in the way baby birds become blind if kept in the dark


In an article that therextras sends me and my fellow blogger Joy mama - the author  says

"We believe that the visual and auditory cortical thickness increases may be related to enhanced visual and auditory perception in autism" -

What if this was at the heart of the sleep problems that many Auties have -

Autie parents often say that their kids cannot sleep because "they cannot shut their brains down "

What if they cannot shut their brains down because they are hearing too much ?

DH and I often say that good sleep is the best biomedical intervention for R!

I recently read that the brain's neuroplasticity is affected by sleep

I am also reading Careless in red - by Elizabeth george ( psychological thriller  based in London)

I am such an anglophile - which is interesting  -considering I grew up in India where a lot of our school books dealt with how terrible the Colonial Era( British Rule in Indai )  was for Indians

Still a country like India is so old that the 200 years of British rule are a relatively small blip and even though there is much drama in the stories - there is also a general sense of shrugged shoulders from the people

The other book I am listening in the kitchen to "Poirot Investigates"Short stories by Agatha Christie

Does everyone read multiple books at the same time ?

I do and I end up finishing all of them - Just finished "Lost Symbol" ( Robert Langdon of the DaVinci Code Fame - not worth reading )

Tuesday

Another tiring day -

Nowadays I feel everyone I meet has a I-expect-something-that-you-did-not-give

I think the reason I am so tired at work is that I am not getting much sleep and I think that adds an edge to everything

I am listening( on my car's CD player)  to a story called "The Horse Boy" -

 its about a Dad who has a severely Autistic child  -

The child's name sounds exactly like R's( the two R's have a completely different sensory profile though )  and I startle every time I hear his name- really enjoying it -

Unusual and wonderful Dad and Mum with a good sense of humor

He senses a connection between his son and horses - his child is extremely hyper except when on a horse

Horses also obey this child

Its not the usual formula of Autistic Child + Dedicated Mother + 40 hours ABA = Recovered Child+ bestselling story

Anyway the Dad living  in Austin Texas - goes off to Mongolia - land of horses and Shamans - to seek Shamanic healing.

The Shamans tell the mom that black energy entered her womb when she was pregnant

Some of the ceremenies make me laugh out loud as the involve the mum and dad being whipped by the Shamans and they ask mum to go and wash out her C-section scar with milk

I will let you know how it ends -

I always find it very interesting to read these differnt perspectives on the road that parents take - there is so much to be learned from each story


a wide spectrum of mix of Autism stories from parents  is as follows

  1. Son Rise ( Raun Kauffman's story - how his parents invented the Son rise program and completely recovered their severely autistic son )
  2. Let me hear your voice ( Catherine Maurice and the way she recovers her kids through ABA )
  3. The Boy who loved Windows ( wonderful story about a mom who uses Floortime-  )
  4. Gift from my son : Autism Redefined  ( really nice book about a mom who comes up with a new theory of left-right brain dominance and also finds her son to have many gifts from his Autism )
  5. Child of Ethernity ( mother who finds her daughter to be a messiah - interesting read but a little hard to swallow )
  6. Unraveling the mystery of Autism and other Pervasive Development Disorders by Karyn Seroussi ( who uses DAN and the Gluten Free diet )
  7. Horse Boy - Shamanic Healing
  8. The Mind Tree - written by Tito Mukherjee  - his mum's very unique method called "Rapid Prompting"
The warrior mom archetype is talked about a lot in the autism world

But what I personally see is the pioneer archetype  - as the spectrum is sooo wide that each child is still unchartered territory - our kiddos all respond to things differently and we all need to find our own way


Once again - as soon as I get home R wants to play and once again the worries of the day are gone .

DH is off to play Golf and MIL has cleaned and cooked dinner so I do not have much work to do

E comes to do her therapy session .

I think she is sad these days -

R holds her face in his hands and kisses her cheeks gently.

I sense some of her stress slipping away - ( like mine did earlier this evening )

Really there is something  so comforting in the gentle ways of this child -

How this puny little child centers me I cannot explain - but he does

 I thank God for him everyday
We watch How I met your mother and Big Bang Theory ( both losing their edge but still funny ) and now I am off to sleep

Tomorrow I get no time at home as we are to do a team building exercise at work  rambling around the country side in the hot sun  looking for clues

10 comments:

Lyndsey said...

Hi darlin'. I hope everything is going well with you, the family, and the extended family visiting. If you need a break and want to get out and vent, you're always welcome to come over or meet me at the park. (((hugs))) Also, wanted to tell you about a new therapy that I'm going to try with the girls.

Brenda Rothman (Mama Be Good) said...

Exhausting days. I love British books, too. No time these days, but glad I had lots of time pre-child to read them.

Lisa said...

Awww I think I just melted when You said about him holding her face in his hands and kissing her cheeks....so very, very sweet!

Trish said...

Wow, so much here to comment on!

I read many, many books, and often have more than one going. I have that sensory book and need to get it out because I think that's going to be part of helping Michael get past this aggressive behavior we're seeing right now.

Before we started using melatonin, Michael took up to 90 minutes to fall asleep and almost seemed to be reviewing his entire day in detail, and sometimes getting stuck on parts that bothered him.

I was not a fan of Horse Boy, although I did read the whole thing.

I love the pioneer image, especially since each child is unique and we have to find our own way through.

Þorgerður said...

I just saw a film about a rpm and Soma an Icelandic one. Very touching.
I really want to check out some of those books you mentioned

Anonymous said...

The 'sensory lens' is powerful and I have been sometimes suspicious of some of its proponents. But the idea of (self) modulation via a sensory diet makes sense to me on both physiological and philosophical levels. There is a physiological reason for behavior, not all reasons are yet known. Looking for your final words on Raising a Sensory Smart Child.

Also appreciate your remarks on Horse Boy and the other books. I don't read as much as I would like.

I thought of you when I saw a movie dramatization of events during British colonization in India. I covered my eyes during the most brutal parts. I like the star - Sean Bean. I would call myself an anglophile, too, but always worry some will misunderstand. ;)

"I used to think compartmentalizing was impossible - but now I realise its the best way to function". Brilliant!

See if you like my take on A Pioneering Life -
http://www.therextras.com/therextras/2009/08/a-pioneering-life.html

(Long posts sometimes result in long comments.) ;) Barbara

robin said...

I've never been able to read more than one book at a time...I usually start one and read it until it's finished (I read it quickly usually but then don't start another one for a long time.) I think I watch tv at home instead but find that when I'm away from home, in my down time, I love to read.

I learned to compartmentalize very well in my previous job as I had to in order to be healthy and not bring that 'work' and negative energy home with me. There are times though that I needed about 20 minutes to transition when my days really were bad (and would escape to my bedroom when I first came home from work) when my big kids were older and then emerge bright and cheery. I'm sure that it that were to happen now, I'd have to put all that on high-speed as young kiddos can't wait.

I love that R tries to soothe his therapist and make her feel better. He's such a gentle young guy!

Rachel said...

Girlie - I love that you are able to read so much! I miss that too, though I suppose I could trade blogging for some reading time... nah :)

I love the title of this post. And I love that kids wake up each morning with no urge except to do something enjoyable. I love that R seeks those things in his FAMILY... there really is no higher compliment.

(And I meant to mention earlier that I thought I saw his name typed here - but didn't have your email to ask if you meant to? I have goofed so many times in trying to fix that on our blog! :)

danette said...

How sweet, I feel the same way about my boys when I come home from a stressful day :). I love that R has that effect on others too, what a blessing it must be to know him.

I do think sensory issues can play a role in sleep issues... we've been struggling with that with our 8-yr-olds. We've tried melatonin a few times but are trying not to do that all the time. They really have a hard time settling down to sleep, and based on what they've been telling us lately they apparently have a hard time staying asleep too. It's something I need to do some more time researching to see if we can come up with some new ideas to try. I'm open to suggestions if you have any :).

Anonymous said...

Daniel centers me as well... I'm glad you were able to enjoy time with R after your stressful days! (And I can't remember if I ever thanked you for sending me the link to watch Parenthood. If not, thank you!! It was nice of you to go out of your way to do that for me.)

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