Beautiful Son

A few weeks ago, during one of my Autism Google-a-thons, I came across a trailer for the documentary, Beautiful Son.  As soon as I watched the preview, I was dying to see the documentary in its entirety. I searched Netflix to see if I could rent it. Nope. Searched the public library’s catalog to see if I could check it out. Nope. So I bit the bullet and bought a copy online from the film’s website. It was well worth it!

Don and Julianna King did a wonderful job telling the story of their beautiful son, Beau along with what so many of us in the Autism community have experienced and seen in our own children first hand. Watching home video from the first years of their son Beau’s life was like reliving Aidan’s first two years. I could relate to their experience 100% and it made me want to take everyone in Aidan’s life and say, “I need you to watch this documentary. This is what happened to us, and this is what we are up against.”

Beautiful Son helped me heal a piece of my heart that was broken the day we received Aidan’s diagnosis. I can’t put it into words, but something about the way the King’s delivered their own story alongside so many others made me feel at peace. It was the first time that I could breathe without feeling like I might drown. It was the first time I was able to look at our situation and honestly say that even if Aidan never loses his Autism diagnosis, it’s ok. I know that our family is giving the fight of our lives like so many others, and Aidan will have the best possible life he can have.  I wish more people knew about this movie! I plan to share it with all of my warrior friends!

http://beautifulson.com/

Got a fever? Don’t use Tylenol.

The other day I received a call from Aidan’s day camp to inform me that he had a fever and fell asleep in the middle of circle time. When I arrived, I heard him whimper, “Mommy is here.”  It was so pitiful. He could barely sit up and was on fire when I touched his forehead. When we got home, I checked his temperature and it had reached 102 degrees. So, I drew a cool bath, put him in, and took his temperature again 15 minutes later. It had gone down to 101.4.  Then, I wet a pair of cotton socks, and put them on his feet for 5 minutes (this was all he would tolerate). That brought his temperature down to 100.7.

So why didn’t I just give him Tylenol? Well, I found out for the first time about a year ago that Tylenol depletes glutathione. Glutathione is a crucial antioxidant that defends the body from toxins (mercury, lead!), disease, viruses, pollutants, radiation and oxidative stress. A deficiency in glutathione can cause a lack of coordination, mental disorders, tremors, difficulty maintaining balance, and has been linked to several degenerative disorders (Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s).

Giving Tylenol after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination has also been associated with a much greater risk of autism. Click (HERE) for a link of the study and (HERE) for an interesting article about the findings.

When I gained this valuable piece of new information, I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I (along with tons of other mothers) was a total Tylenol abuser, from Aidan’s infancy through the age of 3. Our pediatrician would recommend we give it to him with EVERY round of vaccines, and every time he got even a mild fever due to teething, I would give Tylenol. I thought that I was being a good Mommy when in reality I was killing Aidan’s chance at building a stronger immune system. I made his immune system vulnerable to any viruses, infections, and heavy metals he would need to fight off in the future. I feel this played a huge role in Aidan ultimately being diagnosed with Autism. 

I need to start a list on this blog called, “The things I would NEVER do the second time around!”

Here is a great presentation from the AutismOne conference on the role of glutathione in Autism and brain injuries

Video streaming by Ustream

Here is a short video by Holly Riley (Chapter Co-coordinator of TACA) talking about vaccines and the use of Tylenol. When I watched this video, I nodded my head in agreement the ENTIRE time so I had to share…

Hidden Toxins

One of the first things that the Nurse Practitioner at the Thoughtful House mentioned to us was the importance of “cleaning up” Aidan’s environment. This was honestly something that I had not even considered. I hadn’t taken in to account that the non-stick pans we used were releasing toxins into his food, or that our drinking water contained trace amounts of lead and chlorine. After our first appointment at the Thoughtful House we took a hard look at what toxic exposures we could limit for Aidan. 

Cleaning Supplies

The first step we took to remove toxins from the house was easy and affordable. We removed all standard house cleaners and replaced them with natural alternatives. Here is a great site that outlines the effects that certain cleaning supplies can have on our health: http://www.mamashealth.com/doc/cleanprod.asp
A great book for cleanser recipes: Make your Place: Affordable, sustainable, nesting skills by Raleigh Briggs.

Kitchen

We tossed all of our non-stick pots and pans, and now use only stainless steel or cast iron. This was a great excuse for me to round out my collection of LeCrueset cookware : ) Natural News ran a good article outlining some of the concerns about us teflon pots/pans http://www.naturalnews.com/026678_Teflon_iron_cookware.html

Food

Luckily my husband and I had just watched Food Inc. right before we changed Aidan’s diet, so we already understood the importance of buying everything organic. I use gluten free flours here and there that are not organic, but other then that everything else we eat is organic. 

Water

Have your water tested for chlorine, lead, bacteria, etc. May companies will come out to your house and do this for a small fee. There are also test kits that you can purchase on Amazon. We have awful water where we live, so we went ahead and bought a whole house filtration system. Many parents I have chatted with online came to find that their water had higher than safe levels of lead. Lead poisoning can cause major behavioral issues and learning difficulties. This is outlined beautifully in the book Turning Lead into Gold by a Nurse and mother who found out that her twin boys had lead poisoning. 

Bedroom

This weekend we finally got around to putting Aidan into a HEALTHY organic bed. I had no idea about the awful flame retardant chemicals that are used in our mattresses. If you have a typical mattresses, you are literally sleeping on a chemical plant. Organic (and even natural) mattresses are really the best option.

No more vaccines!

I know that this is a HUGE topic of debate for many people. While I am not anti-vaccine, I AM for cleaning up all the crap that goes into the vaccines. Here are links to both the FDA and CDC reviewing what is found in vaccines (just so that you don’t think I am a crazed Autism Mamma making it up!)

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/additives.htm

http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/ucm187810.htm

There is absolutely no reason to inject a child with a vaccine containing thimersol, aluminum, formaldehyde, etc. The CDC says, “Some parents are concerned that aluminum in vaccines might be harmful to babies. However, healthy babies quickly eliminate aluminum from their bodies without harmful effects." Hmmmm…really? Well, what if your baby is not healthy? I know that we gave Aidan vaccinations during an appointment where I brought him in for a cold. We were reassured this was ok because "you want him to avoid getting anything else, right?!" Unfortunately, he received several vaccines that day. So, in theory maybe (and this is a BIG maybe) most children can naturally eliminate these toxins when given in small amounts, but many of these kids are given vaccines when their immune system is already down (compromising their ability to detox) and then they are not given just one vaccine, they are given anywhere from 3-6 vaccines in one visit.

And Thimerisol…don’t even get me started. No amount of mercury is safe! Dentists follow extremely stringent guidelines when disposing of amalgam fillings. Flu shots containing thimersol CANNOT be disposed of in a landfill, they have to be disposed of as hazardous waste because their mercury content exceeds the EPA safety standards by 250 times. Yes. You read that right. So how on earth is it safe enough to shoot into my child? Watch the video below to see what mercury does to the brain.

Formaldehyde is known to cause cancer, and according to Sanofi Pasteur may cause Autism. I came across an insert for Sanofi Pasteur's DTaP vaccine, Tripedia (which contains formaldehyde) and it has Autism listed under possible adverse effects. Click (here) to see. Gee, too bad more doctors won’t tell you that before you vaccinate your kiddo.

Still makes me sick to my stomach all of the research that my husband and I thought we did before vaccinating Aidan. At least now our next child will benefit from all that we’ve learned.