Lazy Sunday

After the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we were all ready for a Lazy Sunday.
Patrick didn't have to work until the afternoon today, so we cuddled up in the Family Bed and watched Liam's very favorite cartoon, Thomas the Tank Engine.
As if that's surprising to any of you autism parents. ;)

Isn't it interesting how are kids are so obsessed with trains, trucks, buses, garbage trucks, cars and  planes!? When people were asking me what Liam would like for Christmas this year it was always one of two answers. Either the previously listed and categorized "Things that Go" or art supplies. If he isn't playing with his things that go, he is painting, drawing, sculpting, coloring and so on.
Here is one of his recent creations:

This is kind of funny,...
He's asking to paint right now. You may be thinking to yourself, 'how does he ask to do anything being nonverbal?' Well, if your child brought you his smock, all of his paintbrushes, paints and the magnet that holds up the paper on his easel, I think you'd get the hint too.

Communicating wants is no longer an issue for this kid. We are so proud of how far he has come.

And on that note, I am going to go get the rest of Liam's art supplies put together and paint with him before it's time for me to start dinner. I can't believe how fast this day is going by. I wish days filled with stressful things went this quick!!

Enjoy your Sunday.

With Love,
Susie

Christmas

My brother, JJ, came up Saturday to spend some time at our place before the holiday.
It was really nice to have him around. Between his full time job, living in another state and my schedule, our paths don't cross often anymore.
Liam loves his Uncle JJ. Truly. He will climb right on top of him like a big bean bag chair and snuggle in.
This kind of affection is very rare for Liam. But J,... he just brings it out in him. It brings happy tears to my eyes every time I see it.

J and I are a mere 15 months apart in age but have completely different lives.
He's single, lives with three other guys, doesn't plan for much and knows very little about autism.
It's nice to hear about his aspirations, his relationships and hobbies. It gets me out of the crazy autism world for a while.
I think of it as free therapy. :)

Love this guy!

On to the holiday...

After months of planning the easiest holiday celebration for Liam, the day arrived.
My parents house was decorated beautifully, as it always is, and everything was catered to my sweet boy.
Quiet, soft music. Nothing breakable out. All allergenic food was put up until the rest of the family were to arrive.
Everything was just as we'd planned.
Liam slept late, as he usually does. Finally 9:30 rolled around and he was ready to get up.
He hasn't been too interested in the tree or gifts under it so we didn't expect much when he came down the stairs.
To our surprise and delight, Liam ran to the tree! He oohed and ahhhed at his gifts. They were set out on one side of the tree unwrapped and ready to play with 

Grandma and Grandpa walked in around 10am and we all sat down to brunch. I had made Liam a separate meal and he sat in his own small space to eat.

The key to success with Liam in these over-stimulating environments is to very slowly and cautiously ease him in to each step. Getting up, coming down the stairs and seeing the tree and gifts is a lot in itself. So we slow it down and move to morning supplements, green smoothie and breakfast. It helps to keep him calm because these are predictable steps.

I could feel him tensing up a bit with the louder voice of my grandpa, but quickly acclimated and finished brunch.
Proud momma right here!

The rest of the day went well. Liam had a few anxious moments, but overall handled everything like a champ.

I'm thankful for the family we have. The extra steps they take to make the holidays doable for Liam.
I'm thankful that even tho they do not fully understand all that Liam goes through, they try to make him comfortable.

I hope you all had as wonderful a holiday as we did.

With love,
Susie

Holiday Gatherings, Shopping and all things crazy during this season.

As many of you know, holidays are quite difficult for Liam. Since he lost all language 3 1/2 years ago and developed complex sensory processing issues as well as anxiety, most events are too much for him.
To minimize his stress level we take him to events that are easy to leave, bring extra snacks, blankets, iPad, art supplies and lotion to give mini massages. As soon as either Patrick or I see that 'look' on Liam's face, we dash him out to the car where all of his comforts are waiting.
One of us stays with him, the other socializes and plays a bit of defense when well intended people want to come out and check on our overwhelmed kiddo.
We've got it down to a science at this point, which is great because we can get him slowly but surely acclimated to crowds again.

And you know what? It's working! Today, after months and months of easing Liam in to shopping trips with me, we had success!

Friday afternoon at Costco.
As we turned in I saw how insanely busy it was. Cars were backed up at least twenty deep. Even the fire lane was lined with parked cars. Yikes. This was it. Should I turn around and go home, like I had so many times before? Or should I try to brave the holiday shopping crowds and just watch my little guy closely?
I asked him what he thought. He responded with a cheesy grin. I took that as a 'let's go!' and we parked.

Liam handled the crowds, flickering lights, screaming kids and half hour wait in the checkout line like a pro. He could not have behaved better.

For all intents and purposes, Liam was a typical kid for that shopping trip. Looking forward to many more of these moments with my sweet boy.
Don't give up. Keep fighting for your kids. There is so much hope for their future.
Merry Christmas, Friends.

With Love,
Susie

On to the Questions...

Is he EVER going to talk??


I wish I had the answer for you on that one, friend. We hope that Liam eventually loses his non-verbal diagnosis. But for now, we focus on alternate means of communication such as, instead of asking for something, Liam will pull you where he wants you to go. I will be in the middle of cooking dinner, suddenly I feel a tug at my apron strings and it's the little man letting me know he needs something. He'll then pull me to whatever it is that he wants and stand in front if it until, through pointing (which took him months to perfect, but he's finally got it down) and twenty questions, I figure out what it is that he's trying to get. Not always the most efficient form of communication, and yes I have served some overcooked meals, but he's trying and that's awesome!!

Liam is starting to approximate words. He doesn't have spontaneous or conversational speech, but he can repeat quite a few words well enough that others are beginning to understand. Of course I can figure out more since we spend all day every day together. But others such as his grand and great grandparents, are understanding some of these prompted words now as well. Huge improvement from a year ago!

PECS: Picture Exchange System I have taken pictures, printed them out and laminated them. Things like smoothie, nuts, outside, playground, duplos/legos, trains, bathroom etc so Liam can just point to the picture to tell me what he needs or wants. This system has greatly reduced his level of frustration. Happy Liam, happy household.

So as you can see, vocalizing is not needed for Liam to communicate with us. Sure it makes things easier, but we are thankful for how far we've come in learning to adjust our expectations and how to engage in his world a bit more effectively.

If you would like any help in trying out new forms of communication with your kids, please feel free to message me. I'd love to help in any way I can.

As always, thank you for reading my little blog.

With love,
Susie

How is Liam's .....?

I've been asked the the same few questions a lot recently and have decided to answer them here.

Today I'll address the issue of timing. I'll get to the actual questions next post.

It's a tough spot to be in when we're out in public and people ask me things about Liam right in front of him, as if he weren't there. Now I know that the intentions of people are good. They just want to know what's going on. Unfortunately some of the more sensitive questions about Liam's autism, are just not appropriate for me to be talking about in front of him.

Non-verbal does not mean unable to comprehend. He has sensory processing disorder on top of regressive autism, so it takes him longer to respond, but he will respond. In fact his receptive language is so good that he can now follow 3 part tasks. Such as, take off your coat, put it away and come see me. He does it. He gets it. I really don't want him knowing all of the scary parts of his health and autism at 5 years old.

So, if you ask me a question about Liam in front of him and I seem to blow it off, please know that I am not trying to be rude. I am not ignoring you. I really do appreciate your concern and love. Maybe just send me an email, call or txt. I feel so fortunate to have people in our lives that care so much and I definitely want to keep the lines of communication open.
With love,
Susie

Cyber Monday Sales 2012

BioRay, maker of some of our favorite products, is having a great cyber sale today. 30% off! $5 flat rate (fast) shipping.
From them we buy:
Liver Life 4oz reg priced $58, now $40.60
Cyto Flora 4oz reg priced $87, now $60.90
Artemesia & Clove
Loving Energy
Red Rooster
Lady Passion
2oz each reg priced @ $36, now $25.20
k-min $11
Code: CYBER

RevitaPop is having a BOGO sale. $34.99 for two bags. Awesome alternative to Methyl B12 shots. Or you can do what we do and give the RevitaPop on the off days from the shots.

Vitacost is offering an additional 15% off your total order. And free shipping with minimum order purchase of $49.
I just ordered a bunch or groceries, supplements and personal care items for just over $100. Saved 50%  easily. :)
Code: SAVEBIG

Lots of great deals on awesome products!
Happy shopping!
Susie

Preparing for Thanksgiving

Liam's Thanksgiving dinner menu is complete! Organic prairie turkey (gfcfsf, hormone, antibiotic and nitrate free), a great stuffing from scratch that I just perfected, delicata squash, instead of yams or sweet potatoes, and pumpkin souffle for dessert.

So now that the menu is complete I just have to get it cooked early Thursday morning, pack the whole family up for the weekend, pick my brother up at the train station and travel to our parents house.

My dad is with his parents in another state for the holiday. But my mom, brother, grandparents, cousins and their kids, friends, adopted grandparents and so on, will all ne gathering at my parents house.
It will be complete insanity the whole day...I can't wait!!

Happy holidays!

Susie

It's Craft Time!

One of the greatest aspects of home schooling is the ability to focus on the individual childs strengths. For Liam, his strengths are music and art. We spend 75% of our school day incorporating counting, matching and writing in to these two areas.

We paint, draw, sculpt with maxs mud (playdough) that is allergen free and made in the usa.

Today we are making 'sensory bowls'. 

One is cornstarch and water that makes this quicksand like effect.

Bubble bowls with a safe soap. We like tropical traditions coconut based products.

Bead bowls with all different shapes and sizes to sort and string. This craft has really improved Liam's fine motor skills. Just make sure if you do this at home that the beads are a safe size for your child.

Shape bowls with withall different colored shape cut outs fot Liam to match. 

And finally his very favorite,...painting!! 

That's it for today. Time to go start making dinner. Lamb burgers with roasted delicata squash, braised greens and a fresh salad from the garden with a blueberry vinaigrette. Happy Friday everyone!!

Organic Toothpaste: Made at home, easy peasy.

This is so easy to make and customize, you're going to wonder why you didn't start making your own toothpaste sooner.
 I mean really, who wants to put neurotoxic ingredients like fluoride in their babies bodies? Especially the little ones that swallow all of it!? Even ingredients like glycerine, synthetic foaming agents, dyes, fake sugars, preservatives etc are not things any of us should be ingesting.
Especially not children.

So here is my easy peasy toothpaste recipe. Try it. There will be an adjustment period but you won't be disappointed.

3 Tbls Organic coconut oil (Tropical Traditions Gold Label is my personal favorite.)

4 Tbls Aluminum free baking soda

That's the base. Told ya it was easy!

Optional ingredients are 20-25 drops essential oils such as peppermint, wintergreen, clove, oregano and so on. Just made sure these are Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (CPTG) oils such as those sold through doTERRA.

For strengthening teeth you can add ionic minerals and/or bentonite clay. Again, just make sure these are pure products. I call companies directly when in doubt.

If you need your toothpaste a bit sweeter you can add a few drops of organic green stevia liquid. A pure and natural sweetener from the stevia plant.

I like mine a little grittier so I add a Tbls of pink Himalayin sea salt.

Store in a lead free glass jar with tight fitting lid.

So that's it folks. Easy peasy homemade organic toothpaste.

Snack Recipes: Liam approved!

Nut butter/coconut balls

I either buy the artisana raw organic butters (macadamia is his favorite) or grind my own raw organic nuts at home.
 Mix in some good quality coconut oil.
 Roll in to balls 
Place on parchment paper
 Sprinkle with sea salt (pink Himalayan is my favorite)
 Freeze
 *You can also roll these in raw cacao, cinnamon etc. Or if you don't have yeast issues you can dip them in chocolate, drizzle with a safe caramel etc.

 Squash seeds

Preheat oven to 275°
 I buy whatever organic squash is on sale
 Cut down the middle 
Scoop out the seeds
 Place them in a strainer and rinse
 Pat dry
 Toss in coconut oil
 Spread out in an even layer on a parchment lined pan 
Bake for about 15 minutes

Curly Kale Chips

Preheat oven to 350°

Rinse curly kale in cold water
 Pat dry
 Remove from ribs 
Tear into desired pieces 
Toss in coconut oil
 Spread out on parchment paper lined pan in an even later
 Sprinkle with salt
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until edges are brown.

Jicama/Parsnip/Carrot chips

Preheat oven to 375°

Rinse veggies
 Pat dry
 Slice on mandolin, then cut in to desired pieces
 Toss in coconut oil
 Place on parchment lined baking sheet Sprinkle with salt
 Bake until crispy

 Roasted Carrots/Beets

Preheat oven to 350°

 Rinse veggies well
 Pat dry
 Cut in to desired sized pieces
 Toss in coconut oil
 Spread out on parchment paper lined pan in an even later
Sprinkle with salt
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges are brown.

Cooking times are dependent on your oven.