Poor Kaiser!

Jonathan and Vanessa have decided that our dog, pit bull mix named Kaiser, is their new toy. They chase him around the house and then hug him until he gets tired and pulls away :) Poor Kaiser. After about 10 minutes of this, he just goes to his cage to relax.

Jonathan is more curious about playing with toys now. He is not playing with electronic toys anymore. We bought him a small video gameboy and he does not spend more than 1 hour playing with it. He is now starting to engage more on some pretend play (like pretending he is a doctor and taking Vanessa's temperature) or pretending he is cooking. This is an exciting moment. He is showing some skills that were never developed, so that brings more hope. Yesterday, his ABA therapist told me that she was shocked that he was defiant with her. It is good to see the attitude demonstrated appropriately. We just now have to watch it because he might try to use that too much.

New Hobby!

Jonathan is now interested in helping me mix his supplements. He helps me cut the tablets, crush them in the mortar, then mix them in his banana baby food. I normally cut all the pills for 1 week and organize them in a pill's container. I separate the morning and evening sets. I feel like I am a pharmacist when I prepare his supplements. But I can see the difference, so I am happy to do them.

Jonathan is very curious now. He comes home and immediately asks what I am going to do so he can help. Granted, he is still not as advanced with his play skills as I would like him to be, but just the fact that he wants to imitate is a great improvement. He is also interested in being in the kitchen when we cook. The other thing that surprised me yesterday was that I asked him the names of his teachers (per school) and he told me. First time ever I didn't have to ask him several times and prompt him. Also the names of his friends (he has 1 friend in each school - he is going to 3 schools) and he remembered them too. I am very proud of him. His memory is sticking more and more.

Yesterday we went to the movies to see Happy Feet and he loved it, laughed when appropriate, was upset (a bit only) when the penguin was sad, was scared at a couple of parts but coped well and even pointed out to me that a shark wanted to eat the penguin.

Great Past 2 Weeks!

Jonathan has been using more complex sentences this past week. It has been 4 weeks since we started giving him the herbs to kill the intestinal strep bacteria and I believe that this particular intervention has been excellent. Dr. Yasko believes that strep is the main cause of obssessive compulsive disorder (OCD). And he had a bad case of OCD. He has not been overly obsessive with anything in the past 2 weeks. No more sitting in front of the PC for hours watching Windows Media Player while listening to his favorite music CD. Or play with his Leapster for hours. In the past 2 weeks he has really opened his eyes to the world like never before, pointing things out that he never did and wanting to do things like help me with the laundry or cook with me. And he LOVES playing with his 2.6 year old sister.

This morning I told him that we had to take Vanessa to her daycare and he said "but not me Mommy, I come home with you". I was pretty shocked to hear that comment. It was well thought out.

Vanessa may join Jonathan...

Vanessa may start on the same daycare as Jonathan starting the first week of October. We are just waiting on the review of the medical forms for the final acceptance. As you may imagine, this is a very delicate subject for us :(

3 schools for Jonathan!

OK, it's official! Jonathan is going to 3 different schools this year. First, the Elementary School Monday to Friday in the afternoons. This is a special programs for kids with learning disabilities and he is doing great!

Tuesdays and Thursdays he goes to the new daycare with his "shadow" (ABA Therapist). She told us that she is very happy with the activities and attention they provide for Jonathan and that it will be very beneficial.

Finally on Wednesdays and Fridays he goes to the S.M.I.L.E. program at the GMS Institute in Manassas (http://www.gmskids.com/smi/morningprogram.html) which is great for physical and sensory activities. He loves it!

A new school year!

Yesterday, Jonathan started preschool at the Elementary School where he will go every weekday afternoon. Today, he also started a new daycare which will be twice a week with the help of a Shadow.
Tomorrow he will start the S.M.I.L.E. program at the GMS Institute (http://www.gmskids.com/smi/index.html) also twice a week.

Balu and King Louie

Captain Hook y Smee

Goofy

Minnie Mouse

Mickey Mouse

Vacations to Orlando

We left on Thursday, August 31st driving Orlando, with a stop on Savannah, GA. and got there on the 1st.

Progress Since We started Yasko

I decided to combine some of Yasko's supplements with what I have been doing from the DAN! protocol. I did not simply stop DAN! and started stage 1.

So far I am extremely pleased with the results. I will try to give a short summary of the improvements.

• First, I added a short version of Ammonia protocol (5 drops of CCK RNA and 5 drops of Ammonia RNA, and 1/4 capsule of Yucca in the morning and in the evening) - didn't see any positives or negative

• Second, I added Intrinsic B12 and Folapro (1/4 tablet at night) - didn't see any positives or negative.

• Third, I added NADH. Saw a lot of more energy in the morning. Teachers have always complaint that Jonathan is not a morning person. But this summer school I received great reports.

• Fourth, I added TMG (1/8 tsp) - I think his language got a bit better, but I don't know that it was just this supplement that helped with that.
  

• Fifth, I added BH4 and Stress and Behavior RNAs. He became all of a sudden more social. He started showing people his Leapster toy and tried to get them involved.

• Sixth, I added dyflucan - his stool test showed a lot of Yeast. He had die-off for 3 days. Lots of crying. But he recovered nicely and has pretty normal stools and moods.

• Seventh, I added Methyl B12 this passed Thursday. Ultimate test for me. He has done phenomenally on it. This passed weekend, he would not stop talking. I realize that his language is very rote still, but the fact that he said so many new words and really tried to communicate even using his "Tarzan" language, is a big deal. He interacted so much with my aunt and uncle yesterday that they could not stop pointing out all the words, sentences that he had said. He is totally engaged and wants to play with his sister all the time. Very incredible thing to witness. He is finally methylating!!!! in my opinion. So, if he does not regress by the end of this week, I would have to say that the Ammonia protocol is working for him.

To the dentist... for the first time!

Today, Jonathan has his first appointment with the Dentist! let see how it goes. This doctor specializes in kids with Autism and other developmental delays.

Starting the blog...

Today we start this new adventure of "blogging" our experiences with autism. We'll try to give you an overview of the past two years on how we have been recovering our son!