Journey Through Autism, Continues

By the time Jade was five, we were knee deep in her daily therapy sessions, weekly dance and gymnastic classes. We had found the best selection of therapists that responded with her and she was making progress.

One of the struggles we faced was our fight against medicating her. Every doctor we had seen had tried to force to put her on the normal "autism medication cocktail" right after her official diagnosis. This was not an option to me, as at the age of two, I refused to try the medications first. Our next option was dietary.

Our next stop was to see an allergy/GI specialist because she still not growing or gaining weight. At the age of 5, she was still in 2t clothing. After allergy testing we discovered she had many food allergies. With this in mind we placed her on an elimination diet, carefully controlled her food, and made everything from scratch.

Once the "offending" foods for her body had been eliminated, and her system cleansed, her body slowly started growing and gaining weight.

Additionally, during this time, we began teaching her sign language. Implemented PEC's (or Picture Exchange Communication System) in the house, labeled EVERY with the word and picture of the sign, and learned a new way to communicate.

During this time she was in therapy, we rarely heard a word come from her mouth. Jade communicated best with noises, fits, screams, crying, and melt downs. Learning how to handle her melt downs and sensory issues was important for the family and her safety.

Two key comments I remember making to Jade that helped me realize her thinking pattern were "sit down and plant your feet" and "knock it off." When she was told to plant her feet, she did just that. After looking for her I found her out side looking lost and confused with her feet buried in the dirt. After being told to "knock it off" (some behavior) she went running to her room, grabbed all her blocks. Came running giggling with her shirt stuffed. Very carefully, Jade lined up all her wooden blocks on the back of the couch, then proceeded to hit them as hard as she could across the room.

Once I told her (without realizing what I was doing), to "knock it off", so she did just that. Lined her blocks up once again, and knocked her blocks off the back of couch. She did this over and over until I took her blocks, resulting in another fit. She was confused and lost. Why? She was doing exactly as I had just told her to do several times in a row.

Suddenly realizing what was going on I tried to get her playing with her blocks in a different fashion. This was not going to happen. She dead set on following my instructions. At this point, I simply bit my lips and let her "knock it off" until she was finished.

With this realization, I was finally able to reach out to her and peek inside her boxed up world. We were finally able to start experimenting as a family with new ways to try bond, stop her temper fits, increase communication skills, and learn new things about her.

During this time, I learned to accept the fact that a child with autism is just that. A child with autism and perfect as they are. I also became to see the world of autism like that of a remote controlled toy.

Some remote controlled toys are only programmed to move forwards and back, others can also move side to side. While others have no limitations in their movements. Why children with autism are not wired to think and behave like other child is something we may never know. However, I know my daughter has overcome so many obstacles in her life to become who she is.

I also know that because of who she is, and what she has become, she can and will become whatever she puts her mind to.