Changes Noticed, 1 Week Post Stem Cell Treatment.

Here are a few interactions that are improvements since our first stem cell treatment:

Brady came home from school and was hiding in his room, playing with his iPad under his covers and Daddy said: "Where's Brady" with no response...then Daddy said "Here I am"! and Brady pulled the covers back, grinned, and echoed "Here I am"! This is new because before cells, Brady might have only said "der-e-is" Before cells Brady often would approximate two or three words, but all run together to form one word. This time it was three distinct and CLEAR words! 😀

One day after school when Brady was coming into the house, daddy had Rocky (our dog) on the leash by the door since he had just been outside, and Brady came in and said "Rocky"! Brady usually does not acknowledge Rocky very often. He will play with him by throwing the ball for him. but I think sensory wise Rocky can be a little overwhelming for Brady. Rocky is a "Teddybear" (shih tzu bichon mix) and can get a little hyper sometimes. It was completely out of the norm for Brady to acknowledge him!

Another day after school when Brady was getting off the bus, daddy told him to say good bye to the bus driver. Normally this would mean Brady would keep walking forward towards the house and sort of do a half wave down low behind himself while still walking forward. This time Brady paused, turned, waved, and said "Bye"!

Thursday night we went into town (we live 8 miles from Rochester) to go grocery shopping. When we got home Piper and Hayden noticed a bunny in the back yard. Normally when we would call Brady over to show him the bunny...either he wouldn't be able to find where we were pointing, or he simply just didn't care. Tonight not only did he see the bunny and get excited...he said "Bunny" then he cupped his hands together and said "catch it"! and made a catching motion! It was super cute!
Also when we were out to eat we noticed him paying more attention to the people and the world around him. Being more "present" in our world rather then locked away in his own mind.

Friday morning while waiting for the bus, Brady said "count" then he said "10"...OK, that is different! Then he counted back from 10 to 1! That is totally new! I will have to ask his teacher if that is something they have been working on at school because we never knew he could do that!

Then last Friday afternoon (4/21) we got this e mail from his teacher:

Michelle and Steve,
I wanted to let you know that over the last couple of days, there is a noticeable difference in Brady. The most noticeable is his reactions. Things that have bothered him or agitated him in the past, he is more calmly responding to, if he responds at all. Transitions are smoother and his imaginative play is more shared with staff then to himself.
Just wanted to share some positive observations. There hasn't been a negative observation yet.
Thanks and have a great weekend!

Isn't that awesome!?!?
Is really nice that his teachers are noticing differences in him too! The validation from the school
means that the changes are REAL!! Not just our hopeful biased opinion that things are changing because we so badly want them to!!

Yay stem cells!!!!!!!!!

Here are some negative things we have noticed since our first stem cell treatment:
(Could be good depending on how you look at it)

Brady has been more tired in the morning (pretending to "snore" and says "tired" when we tell him it is time to get up) and seems to want to go to bed earlier then normal. Like actually verbalizing the word "sleep" and wanting to get into his jammies all on his own. That was new, usually he fights to NOT want to get jimmies on.

We were trying to get Brady ready for school the other morning and Brady wanted another piece of toast. Time was a factor and we weren't sure there would be enough time before the bus came to pick him up so daddy tried to move on and get Brady dressed, Brady fought getting dressed and actually tried to strip and get back into his jammies. Stripping is something he normally does not do. We are not sure if this is just because he is more tired or if he is starting to display some independent thought. Like he is expressing what HE wants and what HE wants to do.

To anyone considering stem cells...I know it can be a scary decision. There is a stem cell support group on Facebook and one autism mom was expressing worry, and fear about the decision to take their child for SCT...here is what I posted to her:

My husband and I were facing this exact same struggle only weeks ago before we went to Panama. I kept asking him if we were doing the right thing, right up to the day we left. I was apprehensive even during the week we were getting our infusions. I was so worried that we might be doing something that would make things worse. We already carry the guilt of injecting him with the recommended vaccinations that caused his initial injury. (That fact is not up for debate here, we know with certainty that the vaccines injured him after his first set of shots, our pediatrician even said we should hold off on the rest of his shots until he was older since he had such a severe reaction.)
Here is what my smart husband said; "We can do nothing, and nothing will change. If we do nothing the likelihood of Brady ending up in a group home someday when we are gone or too old to take care of him is 100%. "
"If we do this and he gets worse, the likelihood of him ending up in a group home someday when we are too old to take care of him or once we pass away is 100% "
"If we do this and he gets better, he has the chance of possibly being recovered, independent, and at the very least the quality of HIS life and the lives of all 5 of us (immediate family) will greatly improve. At that point the chance of him ending up in a group home someday?? unknown. "
That was enough for me! On April 10 we took him to Panama and he got 4 infusions for a total of 60 million cells. Since that time we have seen many things we have never seen before! Right now my two sons are downstairs playing together! It brings tears to my eyes! Before cells Brady would hide in his room and only be interested in his iPad, or his movies. We would make multiple attempts every day to try and coax him out of his room to come and be with us. Since we've been home he's voluntarily coming out of his room to play with us and with his siblings! Plus, his verbal attempts, babbling an actual clear words has improved! This is only the beginning! We've only been home since April 16th, we can't wait to see what the next six months will bring! I hope this helps ease your mind even just a little, you are not alone! BIG HUG!! 

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is NOT intended to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified licensed health care provider. Any recommendations are for educational purposes only and are believed to be effective. However, since USE of any information provided herein by others is beyond the control of Michelle Bacon, RN, no expressed or implied guarantee as to the effectiveness of this information can be given nor liability taken.

Five stages of death and dying, Remembering our diagnosis date.

Parts of this post has been copied from our "Care Page"

March 11th, 2010 is a date I will never forget. Much like the date someone is born, or the date you lose someone dear to you.

Here is the heading and one of my first thoughts from the care page we started way back then in an effort not to have to "talk" while crying about it to our family,  or to have to tell the story of our concerns about Brady that lead us to taking him in to be evaluated over and over. This heading pretty much sums up exactly how we were feeling, and to some extent still feel today. (April 21st, 2017)

Working my way through the grieving process. Denial, check. Anger, BIG check check. Feeling sad for my baby boy...I WISH I could bargain all of this away...and avoid acceptance all together.

On March 11th, 2010 after multiple appointment​s throughout February and March, we got the news that confirmed our fears. Brady was diagnosed with Autism. I started this page to let all my friends and family know of Brady's progress, and what we are learning to help him overcome this thing. If you visit, please leave us a little note from time to time as any and all words of encourageme​nt will help us all get through this difficult time. It is going to be a long road, and as the development​al disability case manager suggested, we need to "fasten our seat belts". Brady is very smart, we feel his case is not severe, and we are confident h​e will do really well, so hopefully it won't be too bumpy of a ride. Please visit us often, check on our progress, leave any words of encouragement...or just say hi to let us know you cared enough to visit. Thanks! Brady is a very special loving lil man, who's favorite spot in the world is on Mommy or Daddy's lap.

The day we got our diagnosis it did feel like someone died. I know that is a bit morbid...but it is true, It is real, and it is how we felt. For anyone who HAS lost a child and is reading this, I mean no dis-respect and PLEASE do not comment that we are not allowed to feel this way. If you do not have anything nice to share...please keep your comments to yourself. This blog is a place for us to organize how WE feel, and all the things we have overcome, not to challenge anyone else feelings. Thank you for respecting that.

Plus, maybe...just maybe our trials and tribulations, and the documentation of everything we have been through as a family will help another family.

Ok, now on to how we immediately felt in the days and weeks following that fateful day.
We were in shock, disbelief,  and a thousand thoughts were running through our minds. We were lost. We didn't know how to move forward with our new reality.

We didn't lose our son that day...but we did lose many of the hopes and dreams that we had for him.  Simple things, like daddy always wanted a boy to play football in school. Will he be able to do that? Not likely if he can not communicate enough to understand the game. Will he learn to read? Will he graduate from high school? Will he go to college? Will kids tease and bully him because he is different? Will he be able to hold down a job someday? Will he be independent when he grows up? Will he be able to take care of himself? Will he fall in love? Will he get married? Will he have kids of his own someday? AND if none of that will be possible...will he live with us for the rest of his life?.....scratch that, for the rest of ours?? OMG?!?! What will happen to him when we are gone?? Who will take care of him? Plus a MILLION more what if's??? So overwhelming and SCARY!!

Skip to today, and don't get me wrong...we have NEVER lost hope, and will never give up hope that he will grow, and that by putting all the puzzle pieces (multiple interventions) together that this monster called "autism" can, and WILL be defeated!

Back in January of 2017 I saw this post on Facebook and had to comment:

Why I gave up hope as an Autism Mom.
Here is my response.
Ok I get most of this, and I am not judging this mom for what she wrote...but for us...I will never give up HOPE. It is at the center of who I am. Autism has shaped all 5 of us. It has become a part of all of our identities. Autism is a struggle, but it comes with many hidden blessings. Piper is more tolerant and understanding of her peers with "quirks". She is kind and loving and loves her brother with all her heart. Hayden likes to help Brady by modeling the things we do and say to try and help his brother learn and grow. We all are healthier as a result of our dietary and other changes around the home to minimize Brady's exposure to the toxic chemicals in our environment. There are many things we never thought Brady would ever be able to do. Play with his brother, check. Feed himself, check. Brush his own teeth, check. Get himself dressed, check (most days). Be fully potty trained, HUGE check! (Summer of 2015, Age 8 while in Hawaii, Thank God!) sleep through the night, check (with a little help from melatonin). Speaking one word at a time, check. Smiling for pictures!! Check! These simple things are things most parents take for granted. All of these things we feared might never happen for him, but they have. All in HIS OWN time. Just because he is on his own milestone schedule, why on earth would we ever give up hoping that maybe just maybe someday he can speak in sentences, support himself and live on his own, fall in love, get married, and have babies of his own? We love him for who is is today, but we will never give up hope that he will be better tomorrow then he is today, and so on, and so on. We love you Brady and we will never give up HOPE.

This is Brady's school picture from fall of 2016:
We never thought we would get a good school picture with Brady looking at the camera, and smiling...but we have!  Everything in his OWN TIME!! NEVER give up hope!

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is NOT intended to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified licensed healthcare provider. Any recommendations are for educational purposes only and are believed to be effective. However, since USE of any information provided herein by others is beyond the control of Michelle Bacon, RN, no expressed or implied guarantee as to the effectiveness of this information can be given nor liability taken.

Update: April 2017, Home from our 1st Stem Cell Treatment, Panama!

It has been a really long time since I have posted on this blog. A friend , and fellow stem cell mom, advised me to write down all the "new" things we notice as far as new abilities and changes in Brady following his stem cell treatment. I was starting to post these updates on Facebook and then realized that it would be really hard to keep track of all of Brady's progress updates since they would get lost in either my own news feed or in a group news feed. So, I figured it was time to try and keep everything in one place...in fact I have a care page for Brady that I think I will go back and cut and paste those updates on here by the date they were originally posted in an effort to try and see all our progress updates in one place. Sometimes I forget just how far we have come since our diagnosis in March of 2010. It will help us as a family keep track of where we came from and how far we have come as a result of the many interventions we have tried. I also have a wellness blog that I have neglected, and I am not sure if I may duplicate some of my posts from here on there. I started that blog while I was in school to study aroma therapy, and complementary alternative medicine. That blog is not "autism" specific and can help many people who might not otherwise read a blog specifically about autism. We will have to see how much time I have to post in both places.

Here is what I posted on Facebook on April 12th after only TWO infusions!

We are in Panama for our first stem cell treatment. Here is what happened tonight after only two injections (2 more to go)!
Brady is 9 and before stem cells he was mostly non verbal. Before this week has mostly only been able to echo or say one word at a time.
Tonight we had something happen that has NEVER happened before...
Tonight when daddy was tucking Brady in bed he said "I want pizza". This was completely un prompted no coaching no queuing, nothing on our part. He said all three words all by himself! If we knew where we could get gluten free pizza here I would order him 10 of them! We are so thrilled!!!! He has been babbling a ton too! Not all of it is recognizable words but he seems to really be enjoying finding his voice!! Yay stem cells!! Oh and tonight he made really good eye contact with me, he held my gaze for so long I was the one who struggled not to look away!

Here is what I posted on Facebook on April 18th:

Ok, we just got back from Panama on Sunday. Cells are working! I was in Brady's room with him and just got attitude from him!! The doctors told us how important it is to really push him when it comes to getting him to talk, so I was exercising his speech abilities by having him repeat words after me. He was doing great, not all words were completely clear but he was really trying hard to say every word. Then I decided to change it up to see what else he could do, so I asked him what 2+2 is? His response was..."getout" all one word run together and pointed to his door!! 😂😂😂 I guess he was tired of being quizzed! 😂😂😂 I will take it!!! He is expressing himself, which is awesome! If one of my other two kids had said that... they would have gotten "the look", you know the one! 😂😂😂
We have been pleasantly surprised by these changes, as we did not expect to see any changes so soon. There have been other things we have notice too, but unless I write them down right away, I am realizing I am forgetting all the "little" things we are noticing. I need to take out my cell phone and send myself voice memos so I don't forget. There are lots of little things!

Some people on the stem cell group mention not seeing any changes in their kids, and questioning why the cell work for some kids and not others...here is my theory on why that might be happening...I suspect the reason we are seeing changes so soon is because Brady's body was "ready" to receive the cells. We have been gluten free since January 2011. Plus we eat very clean, and try to limit his sugar as much as we can. We also make all of our own cleaning products, and use essential oils instead of medicines when he has any illnesses. We try to give him magnesium baths with vitamin C and essential oils at least once a week. Brady also takes vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant supplements everyday. We do all these things in an effort to limit and or combat Brady's exposure to as many environmental toxin as we possibly can.

In the spring of 2016, as allergy season was kicking in, Brady started to be willing to take pills. I decided to try to get him to try to swallow a tiny Claritin pill since the pollens we bothering him pretty bad that spring. Normally I do not like giving him ANY medicines, but that spring was particularly bad for him. We were thrilled that he caught on and swallowed the pill because we had tried supplements that our DAN doctor had recommended in liquid form, but most of the time we had to fight to get Brady take any of the liquid supplements So now that Brady was willing to take pills, we have able to get the recommended supplements in him on a regular basis without a struggle!

Please note: In addition to being a registered nurse, I have also studied to become an aroma therapist, I did this because if used improperly essential oils can cause more harm then good since they are so potent. I wanted to make sure I knew how to use essential oils safely for Brady So, please if you want to use essential oils for your kiddo...make sure you seek the advise of someone who has studied how to use oils properly. There is a ton of bloggers out there who improperly advise people on the use of oils and our kids are WAY more sensitive to everything in their environment.

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is NOT intended to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified licensed healthcare provider. Any recommendations are for educational purposes only and are believed to be effective. However, since USE of any information provided herein by others is beyond the control of Michelle Bacon, RN, no expressed or implied guarantee as to the effectiveness of this information can be given nor liability taken.

Past Facebook Updates

On March 2nd we posted this video on Facebook:

I had a breakthrough, and I am kicking myself for not thinking of something so simple sooner. We have really been trying for a long time to get Brady to say more then one word at a time. Then I had the idea to count off the words i want him to say on my fingers so he will have a visual cue that I am expecting more words from him. It goes like this...

I point to each one of my finger as I repeat the words I want him to say. "More Pizza Please" I do this like 4-5 times and then it is his turn. I point to the first finger and wait...then to the second finger and wait...then to the third finger and wait. Some times he needs reminders what of what word is expected next, but eventually he gets it and can say all three words with only me pointing to each finger.

Before this...if we said "More Pizza Please" hoping he will say all three words, he usually only repeats any one of the words, but never all three. Now with the visual prompt, he knows we need more words! 😀

Hope this video helps other parents to coax more words out at once.

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is NOT intended to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified licensed healthcare provider. Any recommendations are for educational purposes only and are believed to be effective. However, since USE of any information provided herein by others is beyond the control of Michelle Bacon, RN, no expressed or implied guarantee as to the effectiveness of this information can be given nor liability taken.

SCHOOL for Mommy!!!!

I started school on Monday July 21, 2014!

Ya know how I have been focusing on all things natural..and diet changes for Brady and the whole family?? Well, I decided to go back to school and get a degree in complementary alternative medicine! With an aromatherapy specialty! 

My intro to the class included this little tid bit about me:

My journey into everything natural started in 2009 when my oldest son (then 2 and 1/2) was diagnosed with autism. Since then my research into why this happened and how I can help him overcome his disability has lead me back to grass roots basics at every turn. Our latest SUCCESSFUL natural endeavor has been in the use of essential oils in his therapy. Let me just say that EOs have been a God send! His behaviors and moods have changed FOR THE BETTER! He sleeps better at night and wakes up less crabby! Of course, who doesn't wake up a little crabby! Me included until I have my coffee. (**Sigh** it is the one vise I have a hard time giving up even though I know it is not good for me.) I wish that Aromatherapy was not called Aromatherapy. Because I am sure just like I did...so many people assume it is all just about smells...not science. Think about this...all medicine of today is based on the plant medicine of the past. EOs are the most purest and most potent form of those plants. You can use EOs for almost everything! From easing fevers, tummy aches, and earaches, changing your moods, helping you sleep, to skin care products and cleaning your house. All NATURAL! There is not a day that goes by now (actually several times a day) that I do not reach for one of the little brown bottles in my arsenal, or one of my own personal blends! LOVE EOs!! I can't wait to learn even more!! When I did a search for RAs in my area (a medical community of over 30,000 employees) I was shocked to find only ONE RA in Rochester. Well, I am excited to say that I am here to change that! :-)

P.S. RA = Registered Aromatherapists. RAs are someone who has passed an exam to be registered...much like my nursing board exam before I could practice nursing. 

BEWARE of anyone who practices aromatherapy, or gives advise WITHOUT being registered. Anyone can learn and then tell you about essential oils. Some certification programs last as little as one weekend. Shocking, I know!

But only TRUE RAs have passed the exam that includes EO safety. 

ALL RAs are listed with the Aromatherapy Registration Council.

To find a RA in your area, CLICK HERE

EOs are EXTREMELY potent. EO use without the advisement of a RA should be limited. 

NEVER apply an undiluted (directly out of the bottle) EO to your or anyone else's skin! 

I will try to post on "Hope 4 Brady" all the natural things I research for our families well being...so stay tuned!

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is NOT intended to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified licensed healthcare provider.
Any recommendations are for educational purposes only and are believed to be effective. However, since USE of any information provided herein by others is beyond the control of Michelle Bacon, RN, no expressed or implied guarantee as to the effectiveness of this information can be given nor liability taken.

Hope For Brady Intro

I have been blogging for quite some time, but on another subject.

Until today I have blogged only about digital scrapbooking. That has been my passion, and my business as a digital scrap designer. While I do not plan on quitting that completely...I have been side tracked by my research and implementing some alternative therapies in hopes of recovery for my son Brady...from...deep breath...autism.

In March of 2010 when Brady was 2 and 1/2 years old he was diagnosed with autism.

Brady was a normal "physically" developing child. However neurologically...he was developmentally behind. Let me go back to the beginning...when Brady was 6 weeks old we took him in for his 1 month shots. I remember this specifically because I was feeling like a bad mommy for getting him in 2 weeks late for his 1 month check up. At this appointment Brady got his shots...and way too many in my opinion!! Brady got 2 shots in each leg...poor baby!

After the check up we took our tiny baby home and from that point on he was...different.

We gave him Tylenol for the discomfort and potential fever from the shots like every pediatrician recommends after a baby gets shots. Hindsight is 20/20...if only I knew then what I know now!! ONE, he would not have gotten so many shots all at once...maybe not even at all until he was older...and TWO; I for sure would not have given him TYLENOL to further tax his liver at clearing the stupid toxins...WE just injected him with!!

Anyhoo...even me, an educated RN...took my baby in to get his shots as recommended by 90% of doctors in the US. I did not know there was the potential for this sort of harm...harm that he can potentially never recover from.

In the days and weeks that followed that fateful visit to our doctor...we THOUGHT our baby had developed "colic". Every time we tried to lay Brady down in his crib he would SCREAM the worst blood curdling screams of a baby in severe pain...we treated him with gas drops and you guessed it....more Tylenol. Hindsight again...when I look back now, I don't think he had colic at all...I think his brain was swollen...and when we laid him flat in his crib...the pain in his head was excruciating. 

Brady also had welts in this legs the size of shooter size marbles for almost a YEAR after his first shots. Because of the welts reaction to the shots...we went to our family doctor and asked if we should hold off on any other shots until Brady was older. (Little did we know that the damage was MUCH worse then a few welts)!! Since he was not in daycare...she agreed that holding off would be best. Hubby and I decided to hold off on all shots until Brady's 2nd Birthday. THANK GOD we did!

Around Brady's 2nd birthday we had been wrestling with the decision of whether or not to start up with his vaccines again. Hubby and I decided against starting them back up...due to the lack of language development in Brady. We did not want to add insult to injury!!

By the time Brady was 2 and 1/2 and still not talking...Hubby was really getting concerned.

Brady had met all of his "physical" milestones...rolling over...crawling...walking...etc.

But he was very much behind...in social development. He did not respond to his name, make eye contact...and words that he had picked up at around a year..."bye bye" "ma ma" 

"da da" had disappeared by age 2! Hubby insisted that something was wrong...I was in denial...I was convinced Brady was fine...he just wasn't talking because he was a boy...he was the second child...and we all know boys are a little slower when it comes to social development.

We were referred to the developmental pediatrics department at Mayo. After a battery of tests...the results confirmed our worst fears...Brady was autistic!! OMG!!

Shortly after that is when we put it all together...I don't think Brady ever had colic...we think he had a severe, and not JUST a local (the welts) reaction to the immunizations when he was 6 weeks old!!

We have one doctor that when we asked him if he thinks the shots when Brady was 6 weeks old caused his autism, said this: "People may be genetically predisposed to be susceptible to becoming autistic. Consider genetics to be the metaphoric "gun" and the shots may have been the "trigger" that fired the gun".

WE pulled the trigger! We gave him the shots...part of me feels so guilty for that. But then the logical part of me tries to tell myself that he was predisposed...there may have been other triggers in life...and this may have happened any way. We live in a very TOXIC world...and our government does not educate us...warn us or PROTECT US!!

It is not until something like this happens that we go on our OWN search for answers. Everyone knows the symbol of autism is the puzzle piece. This diagnosis is very complex...and solving the puzzle is even more complex.

This blog will be my record of our journey into solving the riddle...and I pray to God...helping to recover our son from autism.

It will be my place to share with other struggling parents things we have tried...things we are looking into...and things we have tried but seemed to have no effect.

WELCOME

to the 

HOPE FOR BRADY BLOG!!

Back to School Soon!

This post has been copied from our "Care Page"
Posted Sep 1, 2013 9:30pm


I am sorry that I have been MIA lately…with summer coming to an end…and trying to spend time with the little ones before they head back to school, I have been very busy. Piper heads back to school on Tuesday, Hayden back to pre school on Thursday…and we made the very difficult decision to pull Brady OUT of public school and have him at the Autism center full time. In his progress meeting at the end of school last year the "officials" decided it was time for Brady to go on to kindergarden. Not because he was ready…but, age wise he could no longer stay in the pre school class with the teacher we LOVE, but rather HAD to move on to kindergarden. Mentally he is still like 3-4 years old regardless of his chronological age! So, Steve and I decided to have him full time 40 hours a week at the autism center where he gets intense one on one therapy 40 hours a week. We decided it would be better for him, and of course we still hold out hope that one day he will be "normal" and more importantly indistinguishable from his peers. We know that kids can be very cruel…and we did not want him labeled by his peers as the "retarded" kid. I HATE that word!! But, kids can be very mean and they don't forget. SO, our hope is…someday he will be normal enough (we all have our quirks…and that is OK) but we hope for potty trained, talking, not in need of a one on one PARA 24/7, and very few meltdowns…then at least he could pass for normal as far as his peers are concerned. If not…that is OK too…but we feel we needed to TRY to protect him from being teased. Then if someday he IS ready…he will just be the "new kid" and no one will be the wiser!
Another exciting development is, after 3 long years on the autism assist dog waiting list…Brady's name has finally come up!!! This will make life so much easier for our family! Right now we can not even go out our front door to visit with the neighbors, and their kids with out Brady trying to run off. It is very stressful! Once he has the dog, he will be tethered to the dog, and the dog will be trained to just lay down if Brady tries to run away. This comes at a very good time…since Brady is getting almost too big to ride in carts at the store anymore. With the dog…he won't be able to bolt in the store either!!
Diet update…Our family went gluten free as of January 1st, although it is hard to see changes since we are with Brady every day…here are some things I have noticed. Brady hardly EVER hits himself anymore. (that could also be a combo of the diet, and being able to communicate better) He has better eye contact. (not normal….but better) He makes more attempts at verbal communication, and says about 50 words VERY clearly. He still has word finding difficulty when trying to use spontaneous (not repeated) language. But like Steve says….who cares if it is one thing or a combination of many things that helps him get better…as long as he continues to make improvements…we will keep with the changes we have made. We also make every effort to buy organic when we can. We buy dairy products without hormones, and try to eliminate as many GMO's from our diet as humanly possible! We have not been brave enough to make the leap to dairy free yet!!
Potty training…Brady now stays "dry" most days. We set a timer for every one and 1/2 hours and we take him. There have even been a couple times he has pooped on the potty! Right now we are more trained then he is but we feel he "gets it"….cuz we put real underwear under his training pants, and he does NOT like it when he is wet…so he has only wet like once since we started doing that…except when he poops, then he wets too. But…it is coming along!! Slowly but surely! Funny how when you have "normal" kids how all those milestones just seem, well, "normal", and people who have "normal" kids can take it all for granted.

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is NOT intended to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified licensed healthcare provider. Any recommendations are for educational purposes only and are believed to be effective. However, since USE of any information provided herein by others is beyond the control of Michelle Bacon, RN, no expressed or implied guarantee as to the effectiveness of this information can be given nor liability taken.