October 30, 2022 • 23 mins
Talking with a mother in regards to her experiences of joy and pain, in having a child with Autism, including how to get support and how to maintain inner strength.
Resources:
Autism Spectrum Disorder Resources
The Autism Community in Action
Autism Society
Autism Speaks
Treatment exploration:
Nutrition/Diet Plans
https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/autism-diet-and-nutrition/
gcmaf probiotic
Ionic foot bath detox machine
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384603210290
Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) Pulser Mat / Bemer Brand Mat
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275226309159
https://life.bemergroup.com/product/
Dr. Huda Clark Parasite Zapper / Rife Clark Generator
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354139497750
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384973519030
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265703005562
Tesla Technology Theraphi
This is a podcast for those who love to talk common sense about everyday issues. You will listen to a variety of guests that share common sense ideas through their life experiences by sharing what they learned. For any comments, questions or suggestions for future topics, please contact the show at: stand4commonsense@outlook.com
Song title: Upbeat Indie Folk Music
Music by Lesfm from Pixabay
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Host (00:22):
Hi everyone.
Welcome to Connecticut CommonSense where we'll be talking
about all things common sense,after all, with all that's going
on in the world today, who,wouldn't want a little common
sense, right?
So I'm your host Manju, and fortoday's episode we're talking to
a young mother Shannon, who'sraising a child with autism.
(00:47):
And she's got a lot of commonsense to share.
So let's dive in and hope youenjoy the show.
Shannon, tell us a little bitabout yourself and about your
journey.
Guest (01:00):
Okay, so I, um, have a daughter, um, with autism.
My husband and I waited quite awhile.
To have her, uh, just because weare really career oriented
people.
Um, and so we were excited tohave a child and we set up our
life so that we would be able toprovide for our daughter and be
(01:22):
good parents.
Um, and so I actually had noidea that, um, I would end up
being a, a special needs mom,but I feel like I'm thriving and
doing the best that I can, uh,taking care of our daughter..
Host (01:36):
Okay.
Well, when did you startbecoming aware that your child
needed to be screened forautism?
Guest (01:44):
At the one year mark after her booster, she started
rocking back and forth.
Uh, she really disengaged withme and she exhibited other
unusual behaviors.
Um, babies are supposed to starttalking at 12 to 18 months, and
Bianca could only see a fewbasic words.
It seemed She wanted to talkmore but couldn't get the words
(02:05):
out.
Uh, Then, um, after a coupledoctor's appointments, her
pediatrician referred us to anearly intervention program to
have her screen for autism.
Uh, and she tested positive andat 18 months she started the
program and we ended upobtaining additional services.
Host (02:26):
Oh wow.
Okay.
Did you also, um, get a referralfor some sort of a support group
or anything that was recommendedto.
Guest (02:35):
Uh, we got a really large packet that the early
intervention provided us, andfrom there they, uh, gave us a
lot of different links andgroups, um, and different
advocates to help us through thejourney.
Host (02:48):
Okay.
So how did you deal with this,um, along with your husband
emotionally with the diagnosisand then the entire journey?
Guest (03:02):
Uh, in the beginning it definitely was a struggle.
Um, and it was kind of unusualbecause, uh, you kind of point
to yourself, your family and youtry to think, are there genetics
involved in autism?
Um, are there autoimmune issuesthat were involved?
And it was kind of interestingbecause at that time I ended up.
(03:26):
Getting diagnosed with a thyroidcondition, and it's really
unusual, but a lot of moms thathave cesarean sections and have
a child with autism also end up,uh, having some kind of thyroid
disorder.
So it, I think it has to do withthe stress of taking everything
on.
And then, um, Was kind ofpressuring my husband to get
(03:50):
tested because I kind of had afeeling that, uh, he might be on
the spectrum because he wasalways told that he had an, uh,
a little professor syndromewhere he could memorize a lot of
stuff.
And he was very articulate forhis age, and he acted more like
an adult than a child.
So that's when we kind offigured that he might have
(04:14):
autism too.
But he seemed, um, to always,uh, you.
Kind of outsmart the test andall of his tests still came back
inconclusive.
And to this day, his testsalways show that it's
inconclusive.
So, um, when you're on thespectrum, a lot of folks like
doctors and engineers andscientists end up having, uh,
(04:38):
Asperger's syndrome, which ishigh functioning autism.
They're smart enough to out testany kind of trait.
And then also they have learnedto make up for their
shortcomings by, um, almostbeing like really good actors to
disguise that they have any sortof disorder.
Host (04:59):
Oh, that's really interesting.
How did your relatives.
Deal with that with you, um, andyour husband, um, was it hard
for them also, or, um, did theymake your life a little easier
in the sense giving you thesupport that you needed?
Guest (05:19):
Yeah, unfortunately, um, my family wasn't near me, uh, to
help me, so I was kind of on myown with all of it.
Um, and I recommend that parentsactually find.
Like support groups to to assistthem and network with other
families.
(05:40):
A lot of families actually tryto do play dates and things like
that because their childrenusually don't like to interact
with other children and they'rekind of in their own little
bubbles.
So parents of children withautism.
Usually like to plan play datesjust to socialize their children
more.
And I would really suggest thatfamilies try to move near, um,
(06:05):
really good friends or, um,extended, uh, family members
that could help them because itis important to create, um, A
network of people to, to provideemotional assistance or even,
for instance, if you and yourhusband wanna go out for a date
for a respite, um, that you havethat opportunity.
(06:28):
And, um, respite actually means,uh, short term relief of primary
caregivers.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and there is a nationalrespite network and they have a
lot of resources that areavailable for families.
But for me personally, I don'tlike respite because I miss my
daughter too much.
(06:48):
Mm-hmm.
Right.
And it.
Benefits of respite, it mightoutweigh me having anxiety of,
Oh, is she okay?
What's going on?
Do they need help?
Um, and even for instance, whenmy mom and my husband used to
watch her when I needed to go,Take a class or attend school
for an entire day, my phoneusually would blow up with text
(07:11):
messages.
So it actually didn't provideany help to have respite.
And for me, um, for respite,it's almost more important to
maybe get a V R B O or Airbnb bythe beach or, um, some
beautiful, um, outdoor sceneryand just take your child with
you and just have fun becausethat's a, a de-stressor and
(07:34):
respite is really just meant toUm, so going on a nice vacation
as respite.
Host (07:40):
Oh, wow.
Well, that kind of leads me tomy next question.
Mm-hmm.
how does your child communicatewith you?
Guest (07:49):
So a lot of children, um, in the ASD population are
nonverbal and about 40% ofchildren aren't able to speak or
have really difficult, um,Problems with, uh, basic
communication.
So for those that can't speak,there's programs on iPads or
(08:11):
other tablets like Samsung orAndroid tablets where children
can type out basic phrases tocommunicate with their parents.
And then some families at anearly age, they learn sign
language.
And so some children are able tocommunicate through sign
language.
But for me personally, Feel likethose, um, apps are easier for
(08:34):
children to type out answers orto pull words, to make basic
phrases, to flash and show totheir parents.
And my daughter, um, has areally large vocabulary.
She just doesn't know how tostring along sentence, uh, Words
together to form a sentence.
So she usually just gives usthree word answers, and even
(08:56):
when we try to ask herquestions, a lot of times she'll
give us the wrong.
Yes or no answer.
And she'll get really frustratedand start whining or crying
because, um, like for instance,if we ask her if she wants a
donut, she'll say, No donut,even though she really wants a
donut, And then when we don'tgive her one, then all of a
(09:17):
sudden she starts crying.
Um, so.
A lot of times we justphysically show her to figure
out if that's what she wants ornot.
And then even sometimes if shesays she doesn't want a donut,
we'll just leave it on thecounter for her and buy it
anyway, because of course weknow that she'll want a donut.
Um, so it, it's really.
(09:39):
Kind of frustrating with thecommunication and it changes all
the time, whether she wants touse words or it needs to be kind
of physically played out, like alittle play, um, or even a
science experiment where youwanna see what happens next.
So it's a unusual situation, butyou just have to keep working
(10:01):
with your child to figure it.
Host (10:03):
Okay, well what do you look for, for example, in a
school or from your teachers,um, to help your child?
Guest (10:12):
Yep.
So, um, for like any otherparent, you know, we're on
Zillow or we're on, uh, greatschools or, or, uh, niche.com to
look at the school ratings, um,or even best schools.
So you generally wanna look fora, a higher rating on a school
because that often tells youthat they spend more on the
(10:34):
education system, um, than othercommunities might, and they, um,
take pride in their schools.
Um, so first what you do is, um,you know, seek out the best
school or school district inyour area, um, and then you
wanna ensure that your child hasa one-on-one paraprofessional
(10:56):
who's a skills trainer to assistyour, uh, child throughout the
school.
And then you wanna make sureyour child also has access to
weekly speech and physicaltherapy sessions to work on
communication skills and tolearn things like putting on a
jacket and zipping it up.
(11:16):
Um, and then also the schoolpsychologist will work with your
child to kind of see what levelthey are mentally and to see,
uh, where they can push yourchild more to try new things.
Um, and to also gauge theirthreshold of irritation.
Um, so your, um, the best schooldistricts will provide those
(11:39):
services on.
A biweekly or bimonthly basis,but you wanna always, um, make
sure your child has a lot ofspeech therapy and physical
therapy, uh, so that they gainmore, uh, life skills while
they're at school.
Host (11:58):
Okay.
And when you decide with yourhusband to, let's say, go out
for date night mm-hmm.
or take a little bit of a break,um, what do you look for in a
care?
Guest (12:09):
For that too.
Oh.
So, yeah, so a lot of times youcan actually work with your
special needs department, um,or, um, even your one on one
paraprofessional.
And a lot of times they know,uh, coworkers that might work at
another school, um, in yourdistrict, um, to actually be
(12:31):
babysitters.
So that's how it ended upworking out for us, where there
was a woman who used to work atthe elementary school and worked
with special needs children andshe, uh, was a great babysitter.
And then even for instance,care.com has folks that are
already paraprofessionals andthey're already registered, uh,
(12:53):
that you can reach out and, um,they do it on the weekends, uh,
for extra income.
And then even Facebook groups,um, for your local town usually
have a babysitting club.
Um, and, uh, we actually found aperson that had a special needs
sibling.
So they, they, uh, were able towork with our daughter, but in
(13:16):
general, uh, with babysitters,um, a lot of the times with
special needs children becausethe parents are away, you just
wanna make sure your childdoesn't do attention seeking
behaviors where they getdestructive and they just have
free time and they play because,The babysitter irritates them in
(13:37):
any way.
They might do something crazy.
Like for instance, even when mymom and my husband were watching
my daughter, um, my daughter wassneaking and opening up the
refrigerator and taking eggs outof the carton and sticking them
in between, uh, the sofacushions.
Oh my God.
Yeah, just for extra attention.
(13:58):
Um, because basically you haveto keep an eye on them at all
times, but kind of let them befree range.
Um, and even, uh, one time itwas kind of interesting, uh, we
had a, uh, B C B A, which isbasically a skills trainer,
professional, um, that wasobserving our daughter and they
(14:20):
were actually getting ready toallow our daughter to cut her
hair with the scissors so that.
Person was really book smart,but just didn't seem to have any
common sense.
It was kind of shocking thatthat BC B A ended up having a
PhD but had no life skills,right?
So you kind of wanna have abalance and kind of monitor
(14:43):
these folks, like they need tohave basic common sense.
Um, but that, that was a really.
Situation because you would'veexpected someone at that level
to just intervene and take thescissors, like, okay, that's
enough.
We see that you're doingattention seeking behavior.
But that, that person, Iactually had to step in.
(15:04):
So it was kind of a, a reallybizarre situation where, Um, you
know, he had all the credentialsto be a B, C B A and had a lot
of education and went to reallygood schools, but it's like, on
the practical sense, he failed.
So it, it's a really, uh,interesting situation where you
have to work with a lot ofprofessionals in the field, um,
(15:27):
to make sure you're, yourchild's getting the proper care.
Host (15:30):
Right.
Right.
Of course.
Well, What has been yourgreatest reward in this and your
greatest challenge?
Guest (15:40):
Yeah, I mean, it, it's a lot more challenging than
rewarding, but I have to say thegreatest reward is to bring a
child into this world.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, so all children are God'sgifts to parents.
And then the biggest obstacle ismy daughter's ability to
comprehend what's going on ineveryday life.
(16:01):
Um, even in a story, she's agreat reader and has been
reading since she was four and ahalf, but you can't ask her
basic questions about thestoryline.
Um, and it's amazing becauseshe's not able to string
together a lot of sentences, butwhen you hear her read entire
pages and entire books byherself, it, it's like very awe
(16:24):
inspiring that.
She's able to say all of thewords.
She recognizes all the words,but she just can't spit it out.
Um, so again, all of thesechildren are God's gifts and
it's just building yourrelationship with God to figure
out how to survive and how tohelp heal them and take care of
(16:47):
them on a daily basis.
Host (16:48):
Right.
Well thank you so much forsharing your story with me.
Mm-hmm.
and with other listeners.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I think, you know, both ofyou, uh, your husband and you
are very courageous and, um, thefact.
Um, you know, you are able tolet us know all of the negatives
(17:13):
and the positives, you know, asany parent, but you just have a
little bit more of a challenge.
Um, this has been veryenlightening.
And, um, just to end off thisinterview, what advice do you
have for other families who havenow become a part of the ASD
family?
Guest (17:33):
So, autism has been more of a spiritual journey for me,
and the most important thing isto consistently communicate with
God and ask for guidance andstrength.
Uh, because without him andwithout you're a higher
connection to your creator,you're not able to get through
because it could be extremelyoverwhelming.
(17:53):
And then from there, when youhave that strength, um, you're
able to seek out treatment,supplements, and other support.
To help you and to help yourchild.
And it's also important toexplore the brain gut connection
to improve the health of yourchild.
So everything, um, Is connectedwithin your body, so the brain
(18:17):
is connected to the gut andeven, um, things like, um,
getting rid of heavy metals,getting rid of parasites in the
gut, um, actually will improvethe brain, the brain function.
Um, so you're able to do like aheavy metal detox, a parasite
cleanse, and then you can helpyour child's immune system.
(18:40):
Probiotics and prebiotics, andthen researching, um, different
diets like for instance, theketogenic diet.
If your child has, um, Like alot of hyperactivity to calm
them down by reducing theircarbs or, uh, for instance, um,
improving their immune systemby, uh, exploring the dairy and
(19:04):
gluten-free diet to see if thatmight help.
And then even going on a reallysimple diet and then bringing
foods back into your child'sdiet would help.
And all of this is, Really goodto do over the summertime when
your child's not in school fulltime, um, to see if you can make
health improvements that way.
Host (19:25):
Right.
And, um, of course you'll be,um, providing us any kind of
link to any of these sites sothat if there are people
listening, um, who are parentsor friends of a family member
um, whose child is having autismmm-hmm, I think that would.
(19:46):
Very helpful for them.
Since this podcast is about, um,speaking common sense, what is
the one piece of common sensethat you would like our
listeners to take away from?
Guest (20:00):
Oh, is to understand the root cause there is a cause of
this and it's up to us asparents to explore what the
causes might be, if it'senvironmental, if it's
hereditary, if it has to do withthe immune system.
And just continuing to be, um,an active researcher to figure
(20:24):
out what you can do, um, in yourchild's environment or with
their diet or with any kind of,um, behavioral.
Are are communicative support tohelp them.
Um, and so some good groups are,for instance, Autism Speaks, uh,
the Autism Society.
(20:46):
And even more important that,um, a group that does an
overwhelming amount of activismand research is called uh, Taca-
the Autism Community and ActionNetwork, and they provide really
thick booklets on how to getstarted, and they have local
chapters and local parents thatare very active who will support
(21:09):
you, and it's about taking yourchild's health in your own hands
and being an advocate for yourchild.
Right.
Host (21:18):
Well again, thank you so much for sharing your story and
hopefully there are parents outthere who know that they are not
alone and there is a supportsystem out there.
And I think, um, this was reallygreat, um, of you to spend some
time with us.
(21:39):
Thank you so much,
Guest (21:40):
Thank you so much you, and again, the most important
thing for you to get started isto check out TACA.
Uh, they are outstanding andthey'll give you strength
besides, um, having thatrelationship with God and, uh,
creating your own supportnetwork of family and friends.
(22:03):
So thank you so much forbuilding awareness, Oh, you're
welcome.
Host (22:07):
Thanks again.
All right, then.
This is the end of the,
Guest (22:11):
Okay.
Thank you.
Host (22:11):
Bye.
Hi everyone.
Welcome to Connecticut CommonSense where we'll be talking
about all things common sense,after all, with all that's going
on in the world today, who,wouldn't want a little common
sense, right?
So I'm your host Manju, and fortoday's episode we're talking to
a young mother Shannon, who'sraising a child with autism.
(00:47):
And she's got a lot of commonsense to share.
So let's dive in and hope youenjoy the show.
Shannon, tell us a little bitabout yourself and about your
journey.
Guest (01:00):
Okay, so I, um, have a daughter, um, with autism.
My husband and I waited quite awhile.
To have her, uh, just because weare really career oriented
people.
Um, and so we were excited tohave a child and we set up our
life so that we would be able toprovide for our daughter and be
(01:22):
good parents.
Um, and so I actually had noidea that, um, I would end up
being a, a special needs mom,but I feel like I'm thriving and
doing the best that I can, uh,taking care of our daughter..
Host (01:36):
Okay.
Well, when did you startbecoming aware that your child
needed to be screened forautism?
Guest (01:44):
At the one year mark after her booster, she started
rocking back and forth.
Uh, she really disengaged withme and she exhibited other
unusual behaviors.
Um, babies are supposed to starttalking at 12 to 18 months, and
Bianca could only see a fewbasic words.
It seemed She wanted to talkmore but couldn't get the words
(02:05):
out.
Uh, Then, um, after a coupledoctor's appointments, her
pediatrician referred us to anearly intervention program to
have her screen for autism.
Uh, and she tested positive andat 18 months she started the
program and we ended upobtaining additional services.
Host (02:26):
Oh wow.
Okay.
Did you also, um, get a referralfor some sort of a support group
or anything that was recommendedto.
Guest (02:35):
Uh, we got a really large packet that the early
intervention provided us, andfrom there they, uh, gave us a
lot of different links andgroups, um, and different
advocates to help us through thejourney.
Host (02:48):
Okay.
So how did you deal with this,um, along with your husband
emotionally with the diagnosisand then the entire journey?
Guest (03:02):
Uh, in the beginning it definitely was a struggle.
Um, and it was kind of unusualbecause, uh, you kind of point
to yourself, your family and youtry to think, are there genetics
involved in autism?
Um, are there autoimmune issuesthat were involved?
And it was kind of interestingbecause at that time I ended up.
(03:26):
Getting diagnosed with a thyroidcondition, and it's really
unusual, but a lot of moms thathave cesarean sections and have
a child with autism also end up,uh, having some kind of thyroid
disorder.
So it, I think it has to do withthe stress of taking everything
on.
And then, um, Was kind ofpressuring my husband to get
(03:50):
tested because I kind of had afeeling that, uh, he might be on
the spectrum because he wasalways told that he had an, uh,
a little professor syndromewhere he could memorize a lot of
stuff.
And he was very articulate forhis age, and he acted more like
an adult than a child.
So that's when we kind offigured that he might have
(04:14):
autism too.
But he seemed, um, to always,uh, you.
Kind of outsmart the test andall of his tests still came back
inconclusive.
And to this day, his testsalways show that it's
inconclusive.
So, um, when you're on thespectrum, a lot of folks like
doctors and engineers andscientists end up having, uh,
(04:38):
Asperger's syndrome, which ishigh functioning autism.
They're smart enough to out testany kind of trait.
And then also they have learnedto make up for their
shortcomings by, um, almostbeing like really good actors to
disguise that they have any sortof disorder.
Host (04:59):
Oh, that's really interesting.
How did your relatives.
Deal with that with you, um, andyour husband, um, was it hard
for them also, or, um, did theymake your life a little easier
in the sense giving you thesupport that you needed?
Guest (05:19):
Yeah, unfortunately, um, my family wasn't near me, uh, to
help me, so I was kind of on myown with all of it.
Um, and I recommend that parentsactually find.
Like support groups to to assistthem and network with other
families.
(05:40):
A lot of families actually tryto do play dates and things like
that because their childrenusually don't like to interact
with other children and they'rekind of in their own little
bubbles.
So parents of children withautism.
Usually like to plan play datesjust to socialize their children
more.
And I would really suggest thatfamilies try to move near, um,
(06:05):
really good friends or, um,extended, uh, family members
that could help them because itis important to create, um, A
network of people to, to provideemotional assistance or even,
for instance, if you and yourhusband wanna go out for a date
for a respite, um, that you havethat opportunity.
(06:28):
And, um, respite actually means,uh, short term relief of primary
caregivers.
Mm-hmm.
Um, and there is a nationalrespite network and they have a
lot of resources that areavailable for families.
But for me personally, I don'tlike respite because I miss my
daughter too much.
(06:48):
Mm-hmm.
Right.
And it.
Benefits of respite, it mightoutweigh me having anxiety of,
Oh, is she okay?
What's going on?
Do they need help?
Um, and even for instance, whenmy mom and my husband used to
watch her when I needed to go,Take a class or attend school
for an entire day, my phoneusually would blow up with text
(07:11):
messages.
So it actually didn't provideany help to have respite.
And for me, um, for respite,it's almost more important to
maybe get a V R B O or Airbnb bythe beach or, um, some
beautiful, um, outdoor sceneryand just take your child with
you and just have fun becausethat's a, a de-stressor and
(07:34):
respite is really just meant toUm, so going on a nice vacation
as respite.
Host (07:40):
Oh, wow.
Well, that kind of leads me tomy next question.
Mm-hmm.
how does your child communicatewith you?
Guest (07:49):
So a lot of children, um, in the ASD population are
nonverbal and about 40% ofchildren aren't able to speak or
have really difficult, um,Problems with, uh, basic
communication.
So for those that can't speak,there's programs on iPads or
(08:11):
other tablets like Samsung orAndroid tablets where children
can type out basic phrases tocommunicate with their parents.
And then some families at anearly age, they learn sign
language.
And so some children are able tocommunicate through sign
language.
But for me personally, Feel likethose, um, apps are easier for
(08:34):
children to type out answers orto pull words, to make basic
phrases, to flash and show totheir parents.
And my daughter, um, has areally large vocabulary.
She just doesn't know how tostring along sentence, uh, Words
together to form a sentence.
So she usually just gives usthree word answers, and even
(08:56):
when we try to ask herquestions, a lot of times she'll
give us the wrong.
Yes or no answer.
And she'll get really frustratedand start whining or crying
because, um, like for instance,if we ask her if she wants a
donut, she'll say, No donut,even though she really wants a
donut, And then when we don'tgive her one, then all of a
(09:17):
sudden she starts crying.
Um, so.
A lot of times we justphysically show her to figure
out if that's what she wants ornot.
And then even sometimes if shesays she doesn't want a donut,
we'll just leave it on thecounter for her and buy it
anyway, because of course weknow that she'll want a donut.
Um, so it, it's really.
(09:39):
Kind of frustrating with thecommunication and it changes all
the time, whether she wants touse words or it needs to be kind
of physically played out, like alittle play, um, or even a
science experiment where youwanna see what happens next.
So it's a unusual situation, butyou just have to keep working
(10:01):
with your child to figure it.
Host (10:03):
Okay, well what do you look for, for example, in a
school or from your teachers,um, to help your child?
Guest (10:12):
Yep.
So, um, for like any otherparent, you know, we're on
Zillow or we're on, uh, greatschools or, or, uh, niche.com to
look at the school ratings, um,or even best schools.
So you generally wanna look fora, a higher rating on a school
because that often tells youthat they spend more on the
(10:34):
education system, um, than othercommunities might, and they, um,
take pride in their schools.
Um, so first what you do is, um,you know, seek out the best
school or school district inyour area, um, and then you
wanna ensure that your child hasa one-on-one paraprofessional
(10:56):
who's a skills trainer to assistyour, uh, child throughout the
school.
And then you wanna make sureyour child also has access to
weekly speech and physicaltherapy sessions to work on
communication skills and tolearn things like putting on a
jacket and zipping it up.
(11:16):
Um, and then also the schoolpsychologist will work with your
child to kind of see what levelthey are mentally and to see,
uh, where they can push yourchild more to try new things.
Um, and to also gauge theirthreshold of irritation.
Um, so your, um, the best schooldistricts will provide those
(11:39):
services on.
A biweekly or bimonthly basis,but you wanna always, um, make
sure your child has a lot ofspeech therapy and physical
therapy, uh, so that they gainmore, uh, life skills while
they're at school.
Host (11:58):
Okay.
And when you decide with yourhusband to, let's say, go out
for date night mm-hmm.
or take a little bit of a break,um, what do you look for in a
care?
Guest (12:09):
For that too.
Oh.
So, yeah, so a lot of times youcan actually work with your
special needs department, um,or, um, even your one on one
paraprofessional.
And a lot of times they know,uh, coworkers that might work at
another school, um, in yourdistrict, um, to actually be
(12:31):
babysitters.
So that's how it ended upworking out for us, where there
was a woman who used to work atthe elementary school and worked
with special needs children andshe, uh, was a great babysitter.
And then even for instance,care.com has folks that are
already paraprofessionals andthey're already registered, uh,
(12:53):
that you can reach out and, um,they do it on the weekends, uh,
for extra income.
And then even Facebook groups,um, for your local town usually
have a babysitting club.
Um, and, uh, we actually found aperson that had a special needs
sibling.
So they, they, uh, were able towork with our daughter, but in
(13:16):
general, uh, with babysitters,um, a lot of the times with
special needs children becausethe parents are away, you just
wanna make sure your childdoesn't do attention seeking
behaviors where they getdestructive and they just have
free time and they play because,The babysitter irritates them in
(13:37):
any way.
They might do something crazy.
Like for instance, even when mymom and my husband were watching
my daughter, um, my daughter wassneaking and opening up the
refrigerator and taking eggs outof the carton and sticking them
in between, uh, the sofacushions.
Oh my God.
Yeah, just for extra attention.
(13:58):
Um, because basically you haveto keep an eye on them at all
times, but kind of let them befree range.
Um, and even, uh, one time itwas kind of interesting, uh, we
had a, uh, B C B A, which isbasically a skills trainer,
professional, um, that wasobserving our daughter and they
(14:20):
were actually getting ready toallow our daughter to cut her
hair with the scissors so that.
Person was really book smart,but just didn't seem to have any
common sense.
It was kind of shocking thatthat BC B A ended up having a
PhD but had no life skills,right?
So you kind of wanna have abalance and kind of monitor
(14:43):
these folks, like they need tohave basic common sense.
Um, but that, that was a really.
Situation because you would'veexpected someone at that level
to just intervene and take thescissors, like, okay, that's
enough.
We see that you're doingattention seeking behavior.
But that, that person, Iactually had to step in.
(15:04):
So it was kind of a, a reallybizarre situation where, Um, you
know, he had all the credentialsto be a B, C B A and had a lot
of education and went to reallygood schools, but it's like, on
the practical sense, he failed.
So it, it's a really, uh,interesting situation where you
have to work with a lot ofprofessionals in the field, um,
(15:27):
to make sure you're, yourchild's getting the proper care.
Host (15:30):
Right.
Right.
Of course.
Well, What has been yourgreatest reward in this and your
greatest challenge?
Guest (15:40):
Yeah, I mean, it, it's a lot more challenging than
rewarding, but I have to say thegreatest reward is to bring a
child into this world.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, so all children are God'sgifts to parents.
And then the biggest obstacle ismy daughter's ability to
comprehend what's going on ineveryday life.
(16:01):
Um, even in a story, she's agreat reader and has been
reading since she was four and ahalf, but you can't ask her
basic questions about thestoryline.
Um, and it's amazing becauseshe's not able to string
together a lot of sentences, butwhen you hear her read entire
pages and entire books byherself, it, it's like very awe
(16:24):
inspiring that.
She's able to say all of thewords.
She recognizes all the words,but she just can't spit it out.
Um, so again, all of thesechildren are God's gifts and
it's just building yourrelationship with God to figure
out how to survive and how tohelp heal them and take care of
(16:47):
them on a daily basis.
Host (16:48):
Right.
Well thank you so much forsharing your story with me.
Mm-hmm.
and with other listeners.
Mm-hmm.
Um, I think, you know, both ofyou, uh, your husband and you
are very courageous and, um, thefact.
Um, you know, you are able tolet us know all of the negatives
(17:13):
and the positives, you know, asany parent, but you just have a
little bit more of a challenge.
Um, this has been veryenlightening.
And, um, just to end off thisinterview, what advice do you
have for other families who havenow become a part of the ASD
family?
Guest (17:33):
So, autism has been more of a spiritual journey for me,
and the most important thing isto consistently communicate with
God and ask for guidance andstrength.
Uh, because without him andwithout you're a higher
connection to your creator,you're not able to get through
because it could be extremelyoverwhelming.
(17:53):
And then from there, when youhave that strength, um, you're
able to seek out treatment,supplements, and other support.
To help you and to help yourchild.
And it's also important toexplore the brain gut connection
to improve the health of yourchild.
So everything, um, Is connectedwithin your body, so the brain
(18:17):
is connected to the gut andeven, um, things like, um,
getting rid of heavy metals,getting rid of parasites in the
gut, um, actually will improvethe brain, the brain function.
Um, so you're able to do like aheavy metal detox, a parasite
cleanse, and then you can helpyour child's immune system.
(18:40):
Probiotics and prebiotics, andthen researching, um, different
diets like for instance, theketogenic diet.
If your child has, um, Like alot of hyperactivity to calm
them down by reducing theircarbs or, uh, for instance, um,
improving their immune systemby, uh, exploring the dairy and
(19:04):
gluten-free diet to see if thatmight help.
And then even going on a reallysimple diet and then bringing
foods back into your child'sdiet would help.
And all of this is, Really goodto do over the summertime when
your child's not in school fulltime, um, to see if you can make
health improvements that way.
Host (19:25):
Right.
And, um, of course you'll be,um, providing us any kind of
link to any of these sites sothat if there are people
listening, um, who are parentsor friends of a family member
um, whose child is having autismmm-hmm, I think that would.
(19:46):
Very helpful for them.
Since this podcast is about, um,speaking common sense, what is
the one piece of common sensethat you would like our
listeners to take away from?
Guest (20:00):
Oh, is to understand the root cause there is a cause of
this and it's up to us asparents to explore what the
causes might be, if it'senvironmental, if it's
hereditary, if it has to do withthe immune system.
And just continuing to be, um,an active researcher to figure
(20:24):
out what you can do, um, in yourchild's environment or with
their diet or with any kind of,um, behavioral.
Are are communicative support tohelp them.
Um, and so some good groups are,for instance, Autism Speaks, uh,
the Autism Society.
(20:46):
And even more important that,um, a group that does an
overwhelming amount of activismand research is called uh, Taca-
the Autism Community and ActionNetwork, and they provide really
thick booklets on how to getstarted, and they have local
chapters and local parents thatare very active who will support
(21:09):
you, and it's about taking yourchild's health in your own hands
and being an advocate for yourchild.
Right.
Host (21:18):
Well again, thank you so much for sharing your story and
hopefully there are parents outthere who know that they are not
alone and there is a supportsystem out there.
And I think, um, this was reallygreat, um, of you to spend some
time with us.
(21:39):
Thank you so much,
Guest (21:40):
Thank you so much you, and again, the most important
thing for you to get started isto check out TACA.
Uh, they are outstanding andthey'll give you strength
besides, um, having thatrelationship with God and, uh,
creating your own supportnetwork of family and friends.
(22:03):
So thank you so much forbuilding awareness, Oh, you're
welcome.
Host (22:07):
Thanks again.
All right, then.
This is the end of the,
Guest (22:11):
Okay.
Thank you.
Host (22:11):
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.