Re: Former ABA therapist (new to the group)

June 22, 2006

Linzee - Welcome to the group! It's great to have another therapist

join the group. It makes for a very well-rounded discussion group.

I hope you make some very needed connections here! Good therapists

are hard to find. Chris

P.S. Welcome home, too!

>

> Hi my name is Linzee King and I graduated from Ohio State in 2005

with

> a degree in Psychology. During my time down there one of my

roommates

> introduced me to ABA therapy and I became hooked. I was the team

> lead/sole therapist (after his other therapist graduated the

family did

> not hire anyone else) for a little boy for 2 and a half years and

loved

> almost every minute of it (the tantrums weren't " loved " but we

worked

> through it).

>

> Do to a great job opportunity I moved back to my hometown of

Canton a

> year ago. As much as a enjoy my office job I have realized how

much I

> loved working with that little boy. I am hoping to get connected

into

> autism advocacy as well as a home program in this area.

>

> I have been reading the discussions for the past few days and I

hope to

> learn more about autism from all of you who deal with the

> accomplishments and struggles day to day.

>

June 22, 2006

Hi Linzee,

Glad you joined our group. I am a member of 3 other Autism

discussion groups. The others involve various aspects of biomedical

intervention. All are extremely educational and I have shared

information with thousands of people around the world concerning the

DAN! Protocol, Diet, Vitamins, Minerals, Chelation, HBOT,

Environmental Toxins, etc. Each group has had a hand in helping my

dd and I do our best to recover my 5 yo grandson from regressive

autism. His dx is a result of vaccine damage.

This particular group, , is my favorite!!! It consists of

people who are all connected geographically, and the focus is on the

kids, not one particular therapy or intervention. A good number of

people on this list are involved biomedically, while many are

involved soley in ABA or other Theraputic interventions. Most rely

heavily on multiple interventions. ALL of us have the most

beautiful, wonderful, albiet puzzling children in the world. And,

Linzee... none of OUR children have those " temper tantrums " that you

mentioned, do they, moms?????

Ahem... Anyway, it is so nice to have a Professional among us who

will be learning right alongside us. The number of autistc children

has grown from when I entered the field of Spec Ed, from 1 in 10,000

to 1 in 166. So many Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Neurologists,

Peds and other Professionals who work with children, just don't get

it. They don't understand that kids with autism are not increasing

because of better diagnosis, but our kids are being exposed to a

world far more toxic than ever before. A small but growing subset of

children may be genetically predisposed to being more vulnerable to

environmental insults than others. But whatever the cause, they are

not doomed to be " hopelessly retarded and neurologically impaired

for life " as so many have written them off to be. Our kids are

intellegent human beings, who have been damaged in such a way that

they cannot easily connect with the world like their typical peers.

But they're IN there. They are taking in every word, every sound,

and every image. When these individuals finally find their words,

either by the development of language, via communication board or a

computer keyboard, they very often prove to all of us that they are

actually quite " normal " inside. Just because a person isn't looking

at you, it doesn't mean he or she doesn't see you! A self abusive

behavior, a stim, tics, OCD's, aggressions, meltdowns (not that OUR

kids have them)... these are often the result of something

physical...a deficiency, a reaction to a food...heavy metal

toxicity... My grandson used to poke or push at his eyes...we later

found out that he needed zinc. The zinc deficiency caused eye pain.

We began supplementing him, and the poking stopped. When he

regressed (most noticibly after a flu shot at 20 months) he lost

most of his language. We found out that by giving him ProEFA (omegas

3,6 & 9) we were able to jumpstart his speech. We have a good DAN! Dr.

(Dr. DeMio) and Noah has been making great strides. He is far

healthier than he ever was, and cognitively, he gets closer to age

everyday. He has received little to no outside speech, but school

and theraputic interventions within the limited means of the

school's capabilities, has proven to be an intrigal part of his

journey to recovery. He is not " there " yet, but he gets closer

everyday. If he never reaches what we consider to be " our " goals for

him, we are still greatful for his accomplishments so far!

Autism is now recognized as an autoimmune deficiency. It begins

in the gut and manifests itself in the brain. No matter what caused

our children to be autistic, most have one thing in common. They

have had a history of ear infections, upper respiratory infections,

fevers and have been on an array of antibiotics. Many have an

intolerance to gluten and casein. Lots of our kids have an imbalance

of good and bad bacteria in their digestive tract causing dysbiosis,

yeast overgrowth and viral issues in their guts.

I'm mentioning all of this here to you because you have a love

for children, and are particularly interested in working with

children on the Spectrum. I wish you the very best, Always educate

yourself and try to stay ahead of the game. Try to maintain an

understanding of the parents...even the ones who don't seem to have

a handle on their kids capabilities as well as their behaviors.

Parents of kids with Special Needs often are overwhelmed....some

feel guilt, some have resentment and anger and ALL know fatigue.

Outsiders often see this as being " bad parents " . Not true... these

parents love their kids more than life itself and they will stop at

nothing to help their kids to learn, to fit in, to be healthy. They

are often running on little sleep...they have other family members

who need them also. They often work outside the home. These kids are

far more costly than their NT peers... They try to involve their ASD

and their NT kids in activities to keep a healthy balance in their

family lives. And for those doing special diets, forget running out

to Mcs or Daiy Queen. Chances are, they don't feel like

dealing with a child who can only have a plain HB patty while the

others get McNuggets. A Slushy just isn't the same when your ASD

child sees his big sister licking a big chocolate cone! Life isn't

easy when you live with autism, it's often humbling. But it's also

uplifting. More parents than not, consider their children to be

Blessings from God. Only will parents of these kids share excitement

over little accomplishments that other parents take for granted. " My

child played with another child today! " Really, Linzee, this is big!

Our kids have to work harder, and our pride in their efforts is

heard far and wide!

Congratulations on your Graduation from OSU...GO BUCKS!!! Use

your degree well. Never loose your sensitivity as it's so important

in your field. And always know that the Autism Community welcomes

you with open arms...!!!!

-Trish

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