Saturday, September 12, 2009

I Can Never Think of a Title for These Things

Back in Colorado; been here since Tuesday, so forgive the blog-io silence. UCI (big ole inspection) is underway and things are going better than I expected. Hubs is suffering accordingly at home alone with the kiddos and everyone's crazy schedules, so send him some lovin! I'll be home next Tuesday, and this is my last trip up to Colorado. I have filled out my paperwork to make it official, but I have joined another unit just 2 hrs from our home. This has been a long time coming, but I wanted to see the unit through our inspection and I'm glad I was able to that and see all of our hard work pay off.

In my spare time I have been doing more research on A's condition. Unfortunately, apraxia is kind of like autism. They are both neurological disorders (in fact many kids with autism also have apraxia) and very little is known about what causes them or how to cure them. Some parents of autistic and apraxic kids have had luck with a gluten-free, casein-free (dairy) diet (GFCF). It seems to improve their symptoms, particularly with language acquisition. So I've decided that it can't hurt us to try it. This will be quite an adjustment for the family (I think it will be easier to make the house GFCF rather than try to police just A's diet), so wish me luck in convincing the Hubs! I've also been in contact with some other moms in my area regarding an apraxia support group. I feel like I have to reach out as much as possible so I can start to understand this and help my son. So little information is known on this disorder, it just really makes you feel helpless.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your love and devotion as a mother never ceases to amaze me!!!

I hope you are able find a strong network of people who can help you navigate through all of this!!! It make such a world of difference to have that.

-Susanne

Laura said...

I hope the rest of your UCI goes well! Good luck with the diet change as well! Sometimes it's the simplest things like that that make the biggest difference so I'll keep my fingers crossed that that will be the case for you all.

Dad said...

I think with the diet change the hardest part is the beginning and then once one gets to a schedule and finds the things one likes it gets better.

As Suzanne said, you are an awesome Mom.

alexis said...

wow, that sucks :(

But it certainly sounds like anything is worth a try as long as you don't start a cult or requires sacrifices. You are the toughest lady I know sis! Hang in there:)

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the diet change will take a lot of effort, but it's probably nice for you if everyone in the family does it (No cooking two separate meals) and nice for A (No having to eat "special" food by yourself).

stef said...

Oh honey. So much love to you during this difficult time. For what it's worth, over the summer i met a mom with a 10 year old who has autism. She mentioned that she had recently made the dietary changes and had seen a huge improvement with her daughter. Certainly worth the effort it will take for you and your family to give it a try!