October 2015

I am so proud of Kaiden!  Over the summer we potty trained using the techniques laid out in the book "Oh Crap, Potty Training!".  I HIGHLY recommend this book!  Follow the steps, it really does work. I went into it with no expectations because I honestly didn't know if Kaiden knew he was peeing when he was peeing, and whether or not he could even feel it as he has some delayed sensations. He did great though, and by the end of summer he was well on his way.  He still needs physical assistance with his clothing and aim, thanks to motor apraxia, but he's even waking me at night when he needs to go.  There's still the few and far in between accidents, but 99% of the time, we are accident-free.

Kaiden started kindergarten this fall.  It's been a huge transition for him as it's full days, 5 days per week!  When I was in kindergarten, it was full days, every other day, while other schools did half days 5 days per week.  He was doing really well with being toilet trained, but of course a heavy schedule like that set him back a bit. 

He began refusing to use the toilet in the afternoons, leading to several wetting accidents within a 2 hour time frame.  We thought at first it might be defiance since we weren't having this issue at home.  His teacher and I came up with a plan:  I should come in just before 1pm (the accidents were starting about then) and take him to the bathroom myself.  What we found was that it wasn't defiance at all; he was getting so stressed out with the long days that by the time afternoons rolled around he couldn't control holding/releasing - like his torso was all tensed up.  The first day I came in, I gave him the option of going to the bathroom at school and then continuing on to his favorite class (gym), or coming home and then go to the bathroom.  He chose to go home - and went straight to the bathroom of his own accord, but could not "go" for another hour; he was just too stressed. So, I came in every day for the next week - and each day that week he went to the bathroom for me, and then happily went to gym class.  It was like seeing Mom for a couple minutes in the afternoon was enough of a break from school and he was able to function again. The next week he made it until Thursday on his own before getting too stressed, so Friday I came in to help him.  And . . . the principal had a problem with it. She called me at home and told me it was not necessary for me to come in since the teacher and paras were well trained in handling all sorts of potty issues.  I explained to her that Kaiden was getting too stressed out and having me there for a couple minutes helped and that I was going to do everything I could to set him up for success whether she liked it or not.  We had a short week this week, and he'll have a short week next week, so we're hoping that will get him over the stress-hump and go back to being accident free - because again, he has not been having accidents at home or when we're out in public.

With that and another phone call I was also told about this new data privacy policy; it was explained to me that the school does not want parents in the self-contained classrooms (like the Functional Skills room that Kaiden's in) because the parents might compare their kid's abilities to that of another disabled child - or something to that effect.  Many parents are being hit with this policy and so far we know by way of the lawyers already contacted - schools cannot legally deny parents access to their child in the classroom despite this new policy.  It sounds like the schools are misinterpreting the policy, but since I was never provided with a copy of it, I really don't know.  I do know they can't deny me access to Kaiden, so I'm not worried about it.  If they don't like me coming into the classroom when he needs my assistance, well, that's just too damn bad.

Ok, potty training, check. Onto the next subject. :) Kaiden's had a couple growth spurts this summer (I am VERY thankful for Kohl's return/exchange policy!) and is also sporting two brand new adult teeth!  He still hasn't lost the pertinent baby teeth but they're on their way out.  He's just so darn cute with his new teeth! 

And I learned something else over the last few days - either Kaiden can't tolerate hemp protein powder, or I forgot his taurine in last week's supplement batch.  Or both.  His behavior at school last week became horrible. The kind of behavior where I'm embarrassed as a parent . . . he was hitting the other kids - even took his snack plate and hit a couple kids in the head with it!  And singled out another girl, sneak-attacking her from the side.  Awful behavior. :(  He wasn't doing this at home, only at school.  We talked to him about it several times, but to no avail.  Then when making his new supplement pack (I make them in 8 day packs) I realized the taurine had gotten buried in the back of the cupboard . . . and I bet I forgot to add it last week.  So I made sure it was in there . . .and that day, both his teacher and his outside-the-school speech therapist reported he was like a different kid.  More focused, no hitting.  It could have been either the hemp or the missing taurine or both - I'd made a batch of his "cookies" (really banana pancakes but he calls them cookies!) last week with hemp protein powder for some added nutrition since the growing season is over - previously I'd been adding fresh leafy greens), so both things happened at the same time.  I suspect it was moreso the missing taurine, but I'm not willing to experiment and see which one it was.

And now onto the exciting news from the last post - we purchased an old, abandoned farmstead - 5+ acres with a nice woods, way out in the middle of nowhere. :)  Nick has been working very hard at clearing the property since most of it has been untouched for probably a decade. The house on it has to come down; it's unlivable. We plan to build a house within 2 years. Kaiden will have lots of room to run, I'll have mushrooms to pick and lots of room to garden, and Nick will be able to hunt right in our own backyard. :)

June 2015

A couple of months ago (April, I think) we added in Vitamin B12 to see if it would boost Kaiden's speech.  It was an oral supplement - wanted to try oral and see if there were any benefits before going back to the B12 shots - I mean, why stick the kid if I don't need to, right?  Well, sad to say not only did the oral B12 not boost speech, over time he has become less focused and had more acting-out behaviors like hitting people (for FUN, not out of frustration), he's more twitchy, screeches more, and generally being a crazy little wild man - and he's stopped making full sentences on his speech device, back to one word at a time.  So, knowing something had to be changed with his supplement routine, I removed the B12 to see if that was the problem.  And in the 4 days since, the hitting has been much less, the twitchiness has gone down a notch, and the screeching has been a wee tiny bit less.  I think it's too soon to nail it down as the B12, but right now I'm pretty sure it was the culprit.  I wish the answers were easy rather than all this trial and error stuff.

Since January Kaiden has gained another 3lbs, and it's just amazing to me when I pick him up, there is just so much more meat on his bones compared to a year ago. I can't believe how much he's grown in the last year!

What's been really fun to watch since December with beginning imaginative play - he's starting to want to interact with other children - and even children he doesn't know, rather than just sitting on the sidelines watching!  And interacting in a nice, playful way, not just going up to someone and flat out whacking them . . . which unfortunately, he has done several times.  He likes to see how people react to it . . . and so many people think it's "cute" because he has Down Syndrome, so they let him get away with it, which reinforces the bad behavior.  It's been a struggle.  It's not just Down Syndrome though . . . LOL, I certainly remember one family member when they were a small child and the terrible behavior they thankfully outgrew . . . the parents tried so hard to stop the bad behaviors but this kid just wasn't having it no matter what they did. 

That's it for now . . . we do have an exciting update coming but I want all the i's dotted and t's crossed before we announce that one. :)

Jan 2015

Posts are getting hard to title.  They're all updates.  Maybe it just makes sense to put the date.

News:  Kaiden can now use his speech device to say a few FULL sentences (regarding food!) by himself.  Mostly he needs to hold my hand in order to touch the buttons he needs - hey, whatever works. :)  And the speech device is now 100% paid for, so that's pretty awesome too!

After an IEP this week, where concern was expressed about Kaiden not being able to isolate letters and the words "low IQ" and "I know you think he can read, but . . ." came up . . . let's just say I wasn't a happy Mama. Remember with motor apraxia, if the thought originates in his head, he can point to what he wants.  In order for Kaiden to be able to point to what YOU want him to answer, he needs support under his wrist.  So yesterday and today, I set him up with flashcards and asked him to point to things.  He could do it, all of it, as long as he held my finger in a certain way. I don't mean he pointed with my finger, I mean he held my finger and extended his own finger to point - he just needed that little bit of physical support.  I took seven videos.  Kaiden knows his letters, numbers, shapes, colors, objects . . . no problem.  We even did a few apps, and no problem.  As long as he has that little bit of physical support!  I really don't give a crap if it's an autism thing or a motor apraxia thing . . . he needs that support, and that's just how it is for right now.

Kaiden's total height gain since we started the whole kelp/thyroid thing last Jan= 5 1/8"!  And he's up to just over 32lbs.  And all it turned out to be was managing his sleep cycle in combination with a new supplement (Cellular Energy) for mito function + a low dose of GABA. 

So on to my new thought . . . here we are and it's winter.  By now, Kaiden's lymphedema should be in full swing.  But it's not.  It flared up early - in October.  Treated it with cold laser therapy and it went down in a few weeks.  With the fluctuations in temps, some really frigid subzero temps, his fingers should be swollen and red right now.  But they're not.  So . . . I wonder why?  We recently did another CBC and it showed Kaiden needed methylfolate.  We added it, and noticed it his verbal speech increased a little bit (hey, any bit is good!) but it also brought back screeching.  Sigh.  But . . . . his lymphedema has not returned.  Are they related?  I don't know.  All I could find was this study that asks if methylfolate in combination with another medication causes lymphedema.  Well, being as Kaiden reacts opposite to so many things . . . is there a remote possibility that he needs methylfolate to keep his lymphedema at bay, or is this just a coincidence??  Who knows.  Something to keep on the back burner and watch this winter and in the coming years.

And the best news for last: on Dec 17th (if you remember, it was December 17th, 2009, that Kaiden said his first and last word, Mama, before the seizures robbed him of his speech), well this December 17th 2014 Kaiden began imaginative play!  He's been playing with trucks, trains, dolls, and even doing some imitation activity!  I can't wait to see what this year will bring!

November 2014 update

Lots of new things going on!  We've had the speech device for 3 weeks now - the afternoon it arrived, boy did I get a lot of hugs from Kaiden!! Yeah, I teared up a lot! Now, he runs to the device when he wants to talk.  Or he'll occasionally bring it to me to talk, which is the eventual goal. 

I didn't get much of a chance to play around with programming the two loaner units we used, since they were kept at the school.  The one we were able to purchase (thanks to all the generous people that donated to our fundraiser!) is the Accent 1000; I didn't know it came defaulted to the Unity program rather than the LAMP program we'd worked with previously until just a couple days ago.  We had a meeting with a manufacturer (PRC) rep on Thursday, and she was able to show us side by side differences between the two programs.  They are very, very similar with Unity being the original, and LAMP being the evolution of that program. She then set up our device with the LAMP program, and as we talked about Kaiden and how far he's come, she suggested we skip the first and second stages and go right to the full blown, 3000 word program - which means a bit of re-learning for him.  The (touch screen) buttons are all still in the same place but now he needs to touch the first screen, and depending on what he selects, that brings up a related secondary screen (which can then bring up more screens, etc.)  I know he "gets" the two-screen approach; when he picks out what music he wants to listen to (on my PC), he touches the artist first (I click on the artist, it brings up their albums), then touches which album he wants.  This device is just so cool!  We can customize lists for whatever we want to work on, like a vocabulary builder, or simple things like a customized snack list with his favorites. 

I think we originally misunderstood how to teach him to use the device.  It starts with one-word access, and we did that to teach him the meaning of words, assuming he didn't know them (well, I thought he knew them but this was the recommended starting point), and also to get the motions associated with the word - both where the word is on the device and actions like "go", "in", "out" etc.  Here I and his SLP thought we'd just keep slowing adding more one-touch words - but with the rep telling us Kaiden is ready for full access based on the progress he's already made, we took the leap and went for it.  I'd also previously been told to not let him play with it; that too many words would overwhelm him.  The rep said, no, no, no! Let him play with it and get familiar with it!  He'll touch a bunch of stuff a bunch of times but he'll be learning as he does it.  It will still be months and months of training, and we have to learn how to use this program, too!

Next up - growth!  So far this year with the supplement changes (GABA + Cellular Energy, and managing his sleep cycle to calm his adrenals), Kaiden has grown a whopping 4.75"!  Considering he didn't grow much at all the last couple of years - this is great!!  As his doctor said, he might still be below the charts, but now he's following the growth lines which is fantastic!  As of last night he's up to 31.5lbs.  He is now tall enough he can put his snack plate in the sink when done and he feels confident getting in and out of the bathtub on his own.  He no longer uses a booster chair at the table, and can climb up into the chair by himself! With motor apraxia, climbing has been an issue (well, using his hands to assist climbing), and I'm looking forward to him being able to get into the carseat by himself. His head is still very small (hey, so is mine!) so we have begun cranial osteopathy to encourage head growth, reshape his flat spot (from how he slept as a baby) and to widen his palate.  The goal is to widen it enough so he won't need a palate expander!  Completely possible!!  I am really excited about this because palate expanders are expensive, and with Kaiden's oral sensitivities, he'd HATE having it in his mouth for months.  He already has one adult tooth in the spot where he was missing baby teeth, and this one adult tooth is pushing his baby teeth around.

Balance - one of the reasons I love being on the Review Team for New Age Mama blog is getting to try out products free in exchange for an honest review.  The latest item I was able to acquire for Kaiden is a Strider Balance Bike, the 12" Sport.  It's recommended for ages 18 months to age 5.  Kaiden is 5 1/2, but the size of a 3 year old so this works out nicely.  Balance has been a major issue for Kaiden all his life - made considerably better with one of our earlier Dr. Christopher tinctures (the Ear & Nerve Tonic), but not yet where it should be.  It took a few tries, but Kaiden has now mastered the first stage with the bike, Standing/Walking (and running!) - next up is Seated Walking - and I think he would have done that today, too, but we set the seat just a wee bit too high, so will be fixing that.

Eating - it's been a long three-year battle, but Kaiden is now 95% fully self feeding.  FINALLY.  He still does not hold the bowl to stabilize it with one hand while eating with the other. He does need help rounding up the last couple of bites (thanks to not holding the bowl!) but we'll get there.  Eating meals is SO much less stressful now.  I actually get to eat hot food. And use both my hands if I need to!  Or, if I'm not eating at the same time, I can get things done while he eats!

And, thanks to applying some of the principles from the SonRise program, I think Kaiden is mostly "recovered" from autism, with the exception of imaginative play.   I think he'd relate to other kids better if he could relate to how other kids play.

With all the changes this year, Kaiden has really blossomed.  I can't wait to see what next year brings!

We are SO close!!

Here it is, just after the beginning of the new school year.  I was hoping Kaiden would have his new speech device already - in fact, the original plan was to work with it over the summer so I could gauge whether or not he's ready for kindergarten.  We are very close to getting the speech device - it's been a long battle with insurance, too, as they gave us incorrect information for over 6 months - even with me explaining Kaiden's story every. single. time. I called to see where things were at.  Just earlier this month, BCBS (finally) let me know that the speech device manufacturer (PRC) is an out-of-network provider, meaning they weren't going to cover the amount above deductible . . . gee, it would have been nice to know that back in December of 2013 when I first called BCBS to see what we needed to do!  So after explaining Kaiden's story yet again and again (and again!!) BCBS pushed thru a waiver to pay PRC as if they were an in-network provider.  Okay. Then working with PRC, as they typically get paid up front - PRC was able to meet us in the middle - make a $5000.00 downpayment, and then get billed later for the remainder of our deductible after BCBS pays their portion.

So, fundraising needs met, transfer to bank complete, transaction pre-approved at the bank - all my ducks are finally in a nice neat row . . . I call to make the payment . . . and receive no call back.  Oh I get it, people are busy or take sick days or whatever - but it's just another little speed bump in this VERY long journey.  Head-desk.  Hoping today's the day!

So . . . where were we at - GABA.  The low-dose took about 2 months to finally push out all the histamine from Kaiden's system.  As of July, he has been completely diaper rash-free.  I bet he's as happy as I am about that!  I did try playing around with the GABA dosage again to see if it would help a few behaviors (Kaiden thrashes wildly when mad) and it looks like 1/16th of a capsule per day is his optimum dosage.  At least for now; things always change!

Verbal speech - as with every other word he's been able to say, it's incredibly rare for him to say "Mama" or any version of it anymore. I am sad about that, but it is what it is.  He seems to keep a word for a month, maybe two before it slowly disappears.  But the good news is, his fine motor skills have FINALLY!!!!! improved enough he's begun signing back to me!  We've tried sign language since he was 6 months old, on and off.  Imitating purposeful movements has been a huge obstacle for him.  He's now up to 8 signs he can repeat.  A few of them are not entirely correct (and we're still working on correcting them) but at least I know what he's asking for now!  We have been using word/phrase cards - just the word/phrase on a piece of foam board - and if he can't sign it, he will bring me the word card.  He *can* put 3 signs together to make a short sentence by himself without prompting, but it usually takes prompting or he'll just do the main word.

Growth - thanks to the Cellular Energy + low-dose GABA, he's still growing!  From the beginning of this year - with the growth spurt from messing with his kelp & thyroid and now the Cellular Energy & GABA, he's grown 3 - 4" in height and 4 shoe sizes. It almost feels weird to buy him new clothes as he fit into the same clothes for so long.  It still feels weird to pick him up and FEEL muscle tone on his little body.

I've introduced a few simple things gleaned from Raun Kaufman's book, Autism Breakthroughs (about the SonRise program) and it's really helped - I mean REALLY helped!  Kaiden's eye contact and social interaction is so much improved.  He wants to play with me all the time!  He doesn't run off as soon as we're outside.  The only thing I can still see is that Kaiden does not do imaginative play.  He reads, he loves hanging out in the boat while we fish, playing with toys or any object that make lots of noise, and toys/things that have lights, but just does not do imaginative play.  He likes to watch videos about imaginative play, but doesn't, as far as I can tell, do it himself, so he coupled with being non-verbal, he has a hard time relating to kids his age. 

Kaiden's doing another year of preschool this year, and we're hoping he'll be ready for inclusive kindergarten next year.

Almost the end of the school year!

And I still haven't decided whether Kaiden will attend another year of preschool, or attend kindergarten.  Right now it's set at another year of preschool, but they all know I may change my mind. 

Kaiden is doing FANTASTIC with the LAMP (loaner) unit at school - last session he spontaneously used it to say what HE wanted to say.  It was . . . one of the best sessions ever!!!  Kaiden had already selected which activity he wanted to do (have a book read to him), and as the SLP and I were chatting, Kaiden kept looking at me and used the unit to repeatedly say "Mama, read" to get me to shut up with the chatting and get on with the reading. Later we changed activities to blowing bubbles (he has to say "bubbles" or "more bubbles" to get the SLP to blow bubbles), and HE said "Mama bubbles" and giggled when I blew bubbles instead of the SLP.  Then as he grabbed at the bubbles to purposely pop them, he kept saying "my" and "my turn" - the closest he could come to saying "hey, look at what *I* did" because we don't have a lot of the buttons activated.  Slow going to build up his vocabulary when you only get two speech therapy sessions per week and there's been a lot of missed sessions in there due to either sickness or scheduling issues - both on ours and the SLP's end.

We are currently at almost 74% of our fundraising goal - how awesome is that???  SO MANY caring people have generously donated to help Kaiden get his own device!!!  We are still waiting on the insurance company, after 4 rounds of submitting paperwork and having the case escalated . . . still no answer.

On to the cortisol testing - had to collect his drool/spit at 4 specific times over the course of 1 day.  The first one had to be within 1/2 hr of waking.  He's just not very drooly that early - so we tried to do the gauze in the mouth part . . . not fun.  The other collections were easy - he loves to chew on his hands while holding a MegaBlock upside down, which makes a fantastic drool collector!  Just pour into the test tube and there you go.  The results took awhile to come in, and it was really neat to see the graph that came with it showing his levels for the 24 hours.  Definitely correlated with his activity.  He's restless at night, not getting anywhere good enough sleep, and does NOT sleep during the day.  Our current thought (medical team included) is that he's basically stressed all the time, like PTSD, so that's why he eats like mad - since his body is stressed from not getting any good sleep, his metabolism is thru the roof - he just burns right through food, which doesn't leave much nutrition left for growing.  Having the adrenals off balance will affect the thyroid (see the whole kelp issue a couple posts back), so we are opting to see if we can adjust his sleeping pattern.  We adjusted his supplements a bit - found  his tolerance for the new Cellular Energy supplement - he slept even less with this supplement, so I thought, since the Cellular Energy introduces more amino acids, let's try removing the Theanine.  THAT worked.  He finally slept thru the night for a few nights in a row!  YAY!!!

Since we now had a system that worked, then I thought, okay, this is the PERFECT time to reintroduce the GABA.  We'd tried GABA a couple years earlier - it made him frustrated, angry, and sleepless, but for some reason it cured a food-related diaper rash we'd been fighting for months.  It stopped the diaper rash for a year and a half, and slowly crept back.  I had been wanting to reintroduce it to see if it would kill off the rash again.  (His team says the GABA can push out histamines, so it's possible Kaiden had a histamine buildup, and the GABA pushed it out, thereby killing off that rash.) I thought it might take 3 days or so, like last time, and I could deal with a frustrated angry child for a few days.  I tried it at a lower dosage though - about 1/4 capsule.  When we first tried it last time, we started at a full capsule and went lower and lower and lower to see if that would help with the anger, frustration, & sleeplessness, which at that time, it didn't.

And . . . instead of having an angry frustrated sleepless child, Kaiden became even more connected!  He didn't sleep as well though, so I tried lowering the dosage to between 1/16th and 1/8th capsule.  THAT worked!  He's so connected it's like having a completely different child, than Kaiden when he was off the kelp.  Total 180.  It's as my best friend says about typical 5yr olds, it's like at age 5 they grow a brain and start to behave!  He is just . . .amazing.  At that low dose however, the diaper rash is less but not gone.  Hoping that continued use of GABA will eventually do the job.

Before starting the GABA, but after starting the Cellular Energy - Kaiden gave me the BEST Mother's Day present EVER!!  He started saying "Mama" with intention!!!  It sounds more like "ah-ma-ma", and he can't seem to do it loud, it's very soft, but he's saying it appropriately to get my attention!  The tradeoff though, seems to be that he's lost all other consonant sounds for the time being.  Now, the only thing he says is "Mama" (or some version thereof) and very few vowel sounds.  Nothing else.   But, hell, I'll take it. :)  I don't know how long he'll be able to keep saying it - he has spontaneously said a few words here and there, one for about a month, then gone, not repeated in years.  I keep encouraging him though, telling him how much I love to hear him say "Mama".  Going back to the last post with Raun Kaufman's book - the Son Rise program approach really DOES work!  Kaiden's eye contact and social interaction is sooooo much better!  I can't say it was only the approach, or only the supplement change, I think it's all of it combined.  Either way, this Mama's a pretty happy camper!!

Onto the next step

Finally got all of Kaiden's thyroid results back.  The TSH dropped, but is still a little high.  Everything else fell within "normal" ranges. His Free T3 is at the low end of normal, but the ratio between the Free T3 and Reverse T3 was great. We've now seen what happens when Kaiden is off kelp, and it's . . . not pretty. I had that gut feeling the kelp was doing something but I had absolutely NO idea it would be so dramatic!! Off kelp, his thyroid #'s began to normalize, and he had a huge growth spurt, but at the major cost of cognition.  Which is really the opposite of what should happen . . .but this kid . . . he's just so darn super sensitive to everything, and reacts opposite to so many things . . . wonder if I'll ever figure it all out!!  He actually showed more signs of being hypothryroidic when his #'s were mostly-normal than where he was before - because aside from being physically tiny, he previously didn't show ANY symptoms. 

I did want to note, since I've been watching it now for 3 weeks: off the kelp, Kaiden's lymphedema flared up with a vengeance 3 weeks ago; it got his left hand, pinky of his right hand, and now we're up to two toes on his right foot.  We've been treating it all winter with cold laser therapy, and that's been working really well . . . until being off the kelp.  It didn't recede right away as usual as has been the case with this winter's treatment.  It didn't recede much AT ALL!  3 week later, his right pinky is fine, but his left hand and right toes are still discolored and swollen. Apparently iodine plays an important role with lymphedema . . .  Kaiden's been back on the kelp for 2 weeks now.  He's certainly perkier, much better attention span, back to chattering, but we're still seeing some self-injury behavior, albeit less. I figure it took 4 weeks for him to go down, so maybe it will take 4 weeks to go back up.  It was nice to see that he could sit for 25 minutes working with the speech device in therapy yesterday instead of only being able to sit for a minute or two, preferring to run around the room throwing everything he could get his hands on when he was not himself off kelp.

So what's the next step?  Between myself and his medical team, we've decided the best course of action is to keep him on the kelp and leave his thyroid alone for the time being, although we'll keep an eye on it. Next up is cortisol testing for his adrenal system, and a new supplement to try.  His medical team has been thinking for awhile that Kaiden has a mitochondrial disorder, and the new supplement will help support that.  The cortisol testing will be interesting . . . it's normally a spit test.  Kaiden can't spit, but he sure can drool, so it will be up to me to collect that 4 specific times over the course of 1 day - unless we can do a swab test, which might be easier for collection.  Waiting for a call back from the test kit manufacturer to see what our best option is given our situation.

And I'm quite sure there are certain people out there who think this is the worst plan of action there is . . . but since they haven't spent the last 5 years researching things specifically for THIS child, realizing he just doesn't fit any sort of typical mold for anything, especially not Down Syndrome . . . let me just say that anyone who doesn't believe me, or believe in what we are doing for him, can come spend time with us (at their expense, of course) for a day, a week, a month, whatever.  Unless you're blind (and I don't mean physically), you'll change your mind after meeting and spending time with him ;-)

Which brings to mind another point: Here I've been thinking this blog would be helpful for other families with a child/children with Down Syndrome . . . but it seems the more I learn, the more I find that Kaiden just doesn't fit any mold - and especially not that of Down Syndrome.  It's not just about having an extra chromosome, but that chromosome mixed in with all the other genetic material and it makes for an endless combination of variations.  I'll still keep up with this blog; I like to document this journey with Kaiden because I find it fascinating.  Scary at times, yes, but fascinating!  And if together we can help just one other person, the documentation is more than worth it. 

A couple bright notes:

April 2nd is Autism Awareness day, and PRC is offering the LAMP system app for the iPad at 50% off for that day only.  While we don't yet have an iPad, we're planning to go ahead and purchase the app anyway. Worst case scenario - if we fail to raise the necessary amount for the speech device that would work best for Kaiden (we're almost at 60% of our goal!), the funding we already have would cover the cost of the app and the iPad.  Best case scenario, if something happened to his speech unit and needed fixing, we'd at least have a back-up plan in place.

Thanks to being a product reviewer for a large blog, I got my hands on a copy of Raun Kaufman's Autism Breakthrough book.  It's about the Son-Rise program, and let me tell you it is fascinating reading!  Take what you think you know about autism therapy and do . . . the opposite.  I'm only a few chapters into it, and tried "joining" today with Kaiden . . . I don't think I've ever seen so much eye contact from him, and the laughter . . . followed by better behavior and (non-verbal) communication for the next few hours!  Can't wait to read the whole book, then research their website for all the details of the program!

Kelp, what are you doing??

Right, so last update in mid-Feb Kaiden had been off kelp since the end of January to see what it effect it had on his thyroid. 

Off the kelp . . . for about 4 weeks Kaiden was fine.  Then he brought home a really super nasty cold virus (which he shared with me . . .) and for the 5th week, I couldn't tell if it was just him being sick, or if it was being off the kelp that wrought a change in him.  He was tired, puffy eyes, crabby, unhappy, no focus, "dull" look, eyes half open, an emotional mess and TERRIBLE self injury behavior (SIB).  And of course, this was right when we had our news feature . . . prompting lots of people to contact me with helpful info assuming this is what he's like all the time, which he's NOT!!!!! Seriously I cannot stress that enough, what he looked like in the news video is NOT what he's normally like.  It was great exposure that I couldn't turn down for the fundraiser, but terrible timing for the world to see what our little boy is capable of.

Onto week 6 . . . the virus was mostly over, but those symptoms didn't go away.  I even noticed what I thought was a tiny bit of swelling in his neck.  Since I was watching for thyroid issues, I had his thyroid retested sooner rather than later.  While we're still waiting for his Reverse T3 to come back, his TSH dropped a bit, and the rest was all normalized into acceptable ranges.  And he grew 2" in height, gained a pound, and 1/4" in head circumference.
 
Wait . . . what??  Take him off the kelp and he grows?? Like a major growth spurt for my tiny child?? Okay, so it was affecting him.  But it was also playing a significant role in his cognition.  After the retest, I reintroduced the kelp, at half the dosage I was giving him, to see if that would bring him back to his normal sassy sweet self.  And in about a day, he was happy, more focused . . . But that half dose didn't last him 8 days (previously getting 1 little scoop every 8 days).  By day 6, he was such an unfocused, unhappy, self-injuring emotional wreck (and I mean self injuring to the point he should have been wearing a helmet, he is so bruised up!!) that I gave him another half dose.  Seeing some good improvement, I gave him another half dose on day 7 (to put him back to the amount I had been giving him prior to January's test) and within a few hours?  Back to calm, happy, focused, self entertaining, reading books.   A HUGE, remarkable difference in 24 hours. 

During this time, I also tried removing his evening primrose oil to see if that had any effect on the SIB, and it hasn't, so I'll be reintroducing that.

Now . . . the evening of March 16th . . . with the full moon . . . and the fish oil protocol . . . and who knows what else . . . I swear I heard him talk in his sleep again.  I haven't heard him talk in his sleep since March of last year.  Three times last year I heard "too hot" as I heard him kick off his covers, "sister" (no idea on that one), and "too early" around 5am one morning.  This last time, I woke because he whimpered then started coughing.  And as I drifted in and out of sleep (his coughing will keep me awake), I heard "I want my Daddy" and then later "I love you Dad".  Now, I know my husband didn't get up and go in there . . . since being on the fish oil protocol, Kaiden's started making consonant sounds again and no longer bleating, so hopefully this is also part of the progress with fish oil.  And I really hope I didn't just dream it; it was too real, too lucid.

So my question is . . . What's in the kelp that is affecting him?  What is keeping his cognition up?  What's keeping him from growing?  If I could find something to keep him so focused that would also allow him to grow . . . that would be ideal.  But I've got to figure out what's doing what.  So far, my research has turned up nothing of real use; there's a lot of conflicting information out there regarding kelp and its nutritional content.  I suppose this is kind of like the sweet potato situation - I have absolutely NO idea what's in sweet potatoes that triggered his benign myoclonic seizures (infantile spasms) . . . there's just nothing out there in the internet world that I can find to make that connection, but it doesn't stop it being true for Kaiden.

We made it onto the ABC News! :)

Our fundraising efforts have made it to our local KAALtv ABC 6 News!

http://www.kaaltv.com/article/stories/S3353990.shtml?cat=10151

During the interview I did talk about the seizures/food connection, but they have limited time for their segments, so that part didn't make it into the final video.  Ah, well, someday!!

Non-verbal communication

We're waiting on another loaner unit speech device for speech therapy at school, hoping it's in by next week.  Having worked with one for 6 sessions, he expects it to be there, and was really disappointed when it wasn't at the last session - already packed back up and shipped back for the next person.  I can't wait for when Kaiden can express himself fully!! He gets so frustrated not being able to do that and turns to banging his head on hard objects to vent his frustration, which of course, causes some lovely bruising.  Kaiden's online fundraiser is off to a great start!  We're currently at about 30% of our goal thanks to a lot of very generous people!!  Someone has even offered to organize and run a benefit for him should we need it!

I've been doing a lot of "Show Mama" with him, and now have to remember to say "Tell Mama" instead of "Show Mama" as another way to encourage speech (with or without the speech device).  I've mentioned before, maybe not here, but other places - Kaiden invented his own non-verbal language:

The how:

• comes to someone, raises arms = pick me up; once picked up, will use carrier's arm as a joystick to indicate where he wants to go
• pushes down on a seated person's knees to tell them to get up
• gets behind standing person to push them in the direction he wants them to go/at certain objects
• takes person by the hand and pulls them in the direction he wants them to go/at certain objects
• takes person by the hand and pulls down to indicate either sit on the floor, or help with an object near the floor
• brings objects to person he needs help with
• brings books/flashcards to person he wants to read to him
• brings toys to person he wants to play with (including the dog)
• brings bib to indicate hunger/thirst
• runs into the bathroom and closes the door to indicate the need for a diaper change (this one is about 75% consistent)

More specific:

• snacks - brings bib to indicate hunger.  Pulls or pushes me into the kitchen.  Asks to be lifted up.  He can open the cupboard, take a plate out, close cupboard door, place plate on cutting board, open freezer (with a little help, it has a great seal!), take out his favorite bag of frozen fruit, place next to plate on cutting board, wait for me to prepare, helps carry full plate to table, brings me bib (if dropped on floor), tries (unsuccessfully) to climb into his chair, and can self feed his snack of frozen fruit.  Pushes me away to indicate he'd rather eat his snack alone!
• brings bib to indicate thirst.  Depending on the time of day I may offer him water instead of a meal or snack.  He can take the sippy cup out of the (opened) fridge, drink, place cup back in fridge, and close fridge door.
• meals - brings bib to indicate hunger.  He knows that a bowl = meal and plate = snack.  Depending on the time of day I may offer him a choice of meal or snack.  If I have a pre-made meal waiting in the fridge, I offer that to him.  He will push it away if it's not what he wants (doesn't mean that isn't what he gets!!).
• mealtime - taps empty spoon on table or person, or looks at person to ask for help loading spoon, will feed himself as long as he has help loading each spoonful
• pushes bowl away at mealtime to indicate dislike of a meal
• pushes bowl away at mealtime to indicate he's done eating
• indicates he wants a bath by pulling/pushing me to the stairs, I lift him over the gate, he goes up the stairs and into the bathroom to the tub.  Will throw his bath toys in the tub to indicate he wants to play in the bath for awhile.
• indicates he wants to play in his room by pulling/pushing me to the stairs, I lift him over the gate, he goes up the stairs and to his bedroom, I lift him over the gate and he happily plays.
• indicates he needs a diaper change while in his room by coming to the gate and throwing toys over the gate into the hallway
• indicates  he wishes me to play or read to him by pulling/pushing me into the living room, pulling me down to sit on the floor, then brings me toys or books
• indicates he wants to watch a video by pulling/pushing me to where the video he wants to watch is stored (videos stored on top of the piano or inside the TV cabinet).  If videos on top of piano, raises arms to say pick me up, then picks out which video he wants to watch.  If video in TV cabinet, pulls/pushes me to TV, pulls my hand down, and pulls my hand to the knobs on the TV cabinet, then picks out which DVD he wants to watch.  Once one is chosen, he can put the DVD into the DVD player (must be lifted, it's on top of the TV).
• indicates he wishes me to vacuum the floor by pulling/pushing me to the vacuum and touching the on/off switch
• indicates he wants to go somewhere (although I have no idea where!!) by pulling/pushing me over to his coat and shoes
• indicates he wants to go to bed by either raising his arms to be assisted climbing in my lap, or pulls/pushes one of us to the stairs, goes upstairs and into our bedroom, where he likes to be cuddled to sleep.
• gets out of bed at night to indicate thirst or a diaper change.
• shows affection by touching his forehead gently to a person's cheek.  He had been doing this for quite a while before I thought to ask how he says "I love you".  This is the motion he consistently made upon being asked.

Kaiden has an excellent spatial memory.  No matter where or when he left something in the house, he can find it, even if I can't.  Also for where activities have previously occurred outside the home.

Most things, as long as it's his idea, he can do it, same with the aim of touch.  But to tell him to do the same thing, he can't.  Part of the motor planning process that doesn't work right with motor apraxia.  It's not that he doesn't want to, he just can't get his body to do it unless it's his idea.  I like to say it's like me and choreographed dance - cheerleading, line dancing, the YMCA, etc.  I can watch it all day long, but I can't get my body to repeat the moves, especially not in the correct sequential order; it just ain't gonna happen.  Now if I wanted to dance on my own, sure, I can do that.  But to watch someone else and try to follow?  Nope.

Now, there are things he can do upon being told.  Things like: come here, sit down, stand up, give it to me, go get your bib, put your bib/napkins on the table, go get the toy for Lola, pick up the toy(s) you threw, put it back, put it in, take it out, help me dress you, hand me the diaper pins, hand me your pants, socks, shirt, shoes, coat, mittens - same goes for removing coat, mittens, shoes.  He can help me remove his shirt, but not pants or socks.  If he's standing for dressing/undressing, he knows to use my shoulder for balance and lift each leg when prompted by a touch to the calf or back of knee. Sometimes he'll throw a 10 minute tantrum first, but he'll do these things.  My favorite new thing he'll do upon being told: give me a hug!  This one is huge for him; previous to this he would ask for affection by asking to be picked up, then cuddling, but would not return a hug nor spontaneously give one.  There's more, I'm sure I'm forgetting some of his non-verbal communication.

I have no worries about his receptive communication; he's a smart kid.  But it's frustrating for all of us, especially him, that he can only indicate his wants/needs.  He can't tell me if he doesn't feel well, or if something hurts, he's too hot/cold, or if he's sad/scared/confused/angry/happy/etc. (although some of that I can read his body language).  He can't point, wave, or sign, but he can touch.  His expressive communication is what we're trying to coax out.  And for that, until he's verbal (if he ever is), he needs the speech device. 

Fundraiser Feature!

We've been featured again in the Albert Lea Tribune!  This time about the fundraiser for getting Kaiden his own speech device. :)  Thanks to some very generous people, we've raised just over $2K so far, but we still have a long way to go with a goal of $8K.  Every little bit helps!!

Link to article: http://www.albertleatribune.com/2014/03/technology-aids-in-teaching-disabled-boy-to-learn-words/

Link to fundraiser: http://www.gofundme.com/6t86kw

Mother's intuition kicks in again . . .

I wanted to get Kaiden's thyroid levels checked again.  He does not show one single symptom of hypothyroid except that he is still very, very tiny and I just want to look under every stone.  At age 5, he is now finally just over 36" tall and a whopping 28.5 lbs dripping wet.  His head circumference is still very tiny, too, at about 18.5".  He is finally gaining weight though, with the right digestive enzymes, at a rate of about 1lb per month.  We had a couple of setbacks with gastrointestinal illnesses last fall but he's gained that weight back and continues to gain.

He hasn't had his thyroid levels tested for a couple of years because the last few times, his levels looked great.  This time . . . he has a high TSH and a very slightly low RT3, meaning he is slightly hypothyroidic (although, again, there are NO symptoms).   Kaiden's doctor recommended levothyroxine at first, but it contains an artificial dye, so that's off the table.  If we have to do thyroid meds, I'd prefer to use something along the lines of Nature-Throid.  He was on synthroid for a few months as an infant, but the endocrinologist felt Kaiden was tested at the wrong time after birth (something about how the levels fluctuate after birth) and that he never needed to be on it in the first place, and being on it sent his levels too far in the opposite direction.

As I was contemplating what to do . . . this nagging thought kept coming back.  I've learned, I better listen to that voice!  I've given Kaiden kelp for the last 4.5 years, ever since he was anemic at 6 months old.  I give him a tiny little scoop once every 8 days.  Although I know kelp should only be used for the short term as it can affect the thyroid, I was thinking once every 8 days should be a small enough amount that it wouldn't affect it, just be some occasional additional nutrition.  Except as he grew bigger, I increased the scoop from a slight amount to a half scoop, then to a full scoop, which is in the neighborhood of approximately 1/64th of a teaspoon.  And in the last few months, I've been ignoring that little voice that said, hey, does he really still need this?  Am I giving him too much?

I argued with the doctor - a lot -  over the suggestion of levothyroxine; I really, really, did not want to put him on a synthetic med.  Everything in me was screaming it was the WRONG answer.  I gave it a lot of thought; then finally listened to that little voice nagging me about the kelp and talked to the doctor again.  I love that he told me I am stubborn, and that it's a good thing!  I reminded him that Kaiden's been on synthroid before, and what the effects were.  And that Kaiden is SO incredibly sensitive to so many things - OTC calcium supplments (not plant based), OTC bromelain, the dosages of his amino acids, etc. At one point last year the doctor had suggested we double the kelp - although I cannot remember why at the moment - and doing that, Kaiden DID show symptoms of hypothyroidism. I suggested before we go with any thyroid meds, I need to listen to this voice and remove the kelp from his supplement routine.  Then retest in 3 months, and see what happens.

On to . . . diaper rash!  If you remember (or at least go way back in the blog) Kaiden used to have this nasty diaper rash caused by something in certain fruits.  We had a whole long list of fruits to avoid.  Lately, this rash has crept back.  It's nowhere near as bad as it was then; this is just one small spot, but it is a very stubborn spot.  It'll go away with my Healing Salve, but stop using it and it comes right back.  Back then, we tried giving Kaiden GABA for cognitive supplementation.  While it didn't work for cognitive issues - instead it made him frustrated, angry, and sleepless - it DID somehow cure that diaper rash within 3 days.  I have absolutely no idea why GABA took care of the diaper rash, none, not even the remotest, faintest idea beyond my thoughts from back then.  But seeing this rash come back . . . I'm considering putting him back on it for 3 - 5 days or so, at a very tiny dose, to see if it takes care of the rash again. I'll put up with an angry Kaiden for a few days if it means the rash will disappear for another year and a half!! Although, I sincerely hope Kaiden's not still in diapers that long . . . but until he can tell me that he needs to go instead of telling me that he's already gone, we're stuck with diapers. But, haha, that's okay.  I LOVE my fitted diapers!

Fundraising time!

Kaiden's been using a Vantage Lite (LAMP system) loaner unit in speech therapy and is doing fantastic!  He picked it up quicker than anyone thought he would (except me, LOL!!  I KNOW he's a smart little stinker!!).  But, since it's a loaner unit, it's time for it to be used with another child.  These speech devices, while fantastic . . . are not cheap.  We're talking a range of $6000 and up, up, up.  So . . . here we are . . . fundraising time!

Here is our GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/HelpKaidenTalk  Please go check it out - donations of any size are immensely appreciated, as well as sharing his page via social media.  We're off to a great start, and are so blessed to have so many wonderfully caring people in our lives!

Just clarifying . . .

With the recent articles published about Kaiden's story, I have received many wonderful comments, and people are really beginning to share his story! 

I do, however, want to clarify a few things.

In the first article published in our local Albert Lea Magazine, there was some incorrect information that unfortunately, downplayed the amazing things that happened.

• they wrote that I first noticed Kaiden's sensitivity to nightshades when I started keeping a log of what he ate.  NOT QUITE correct - I had been keeping his food log for months, but didn't connect the dots until I realized I had to keep track of what I ate, too (because of breast milk).
• they wrote that "eventually, in conjunction with a calcium supplement, his seizures stopped".  NO!! The calcium supplement had nothing to do with his seizures - it did not stop or slow them.  Trying the calcium supplement and seeing increased cognitive function is when I began looking into TNI (Targeted Nutrition Intervention).
• they wrote that in 4 to 6 months, Kaiden excelled. NO!!!  In THREE short WEEKS, he gained 4 to 6 months in development.
• they wrote the whole family is on the paleo diet.  NOT QUITE.  It's really just myself and Kaiden.  My husband eats what I cook here at home, but eats whatever he wants otherwise.

In the many very appreciated!!! shares, some are writing that going paleo "cured" Kaiden's seizures. 


This is not what happened. 


I mean, sort of yes, but not exactly.  This needs clarification!  "Paleo" has many different versions.  Paleo at its easiest, is being grain, dairy, and legume free.  There is also Primal (allows some dairy & nightshades), Raw (everything is raw, including meat, can also include nightshades), Auto-immune (eliminates nightshades, nuts, & eggs, as well as grain, dairy, & legumes), etc. 

I had Kaiden grain & dairy free about 5 months before the seizures stopped just simply because I'd read that with Down Syndrome, he was more likely to be gluten and lactose intolerant.  He was not legume nor nightshade free at that time.  It was solely dependent upon eliminating nightshades (and the carrots & sweet potatoes as discovered early on) that eliminated his seizures. It wasn't until seeing that Kaiden needed to be grain, dairy, AND nightshade free, that we went whole hog, so to speak (and yeah, slightly pun intended) with paleo.

I just don't want anyone out there thinking I'm claiming that "going paleo" cured his seizures, because I'm not, and I never have. There are many different versions of paleo.  Many are NOT nightshade free.  Carrots ARE allowed in all versions of paleo, yet Kaiden is sensitive to them.  Some say sweet potatoes are okay to eat as well on paleo, and some say they are not.  Kaiden is sensitive to them.

Kaiden is almost on the auto-immune version of paleo, with the exception of nuts.  He does just fine with nuts.  He is sensitive to eggs, too, so he gets limited quantities of those - and only if they are mixed into something else; he does not tolerate them by themselves.

Kaiden's diet

As individuals with Down Syndrome are more likely to be lactose and gluten intolerant, I made the decision to go not only dairy free, but completely legume and grain free.  I'm not crazy.  This is how our ancestors ate.  This is also the ancient Taoist diet - and I mean ancient, before the 5 sacred grains.  Think, if you were a caveman or part of a nomadic tribe . . . you picked it fresh and ate it as you went.  Basically what's called the "paleo diet" or the "raw" diet . . . except I cook our meats . . . I say cavemen had fire and knew how to use it!  I do cook some veggies as well, and I do know that anything heated higher than 118F, the heat begins to destroy essential enzymes and nutrients. 
 
Dairy free?  But didn't you know you can get soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk you say?  What is this obsession people have with drinking milk?  Milk comes from animals . . . not plants - that's not milk and never will be.  It just looks like milk to make those who are lactose intolerant feel more normal, like they are drinking milk like anybody else.  Who first looked at a cow and decided that should be our primary source of calcium instead of fresh foods anyway? And why are people today so squeamish about breastmilk?  It's human milk, meant for human children to consume.  It's best suited to their needs.  Cow's milk is best suited to calves.  Soy and rice are grains, so they aren't even an option in my book.  Yes, I do realize there are situations where breastmilk is not an option . . . you do what you gotta do.

Grain free you say?  Why?  Well, because grains inhibit absorbtion of certain nutrients, calcium being one of them.  Calcium is essential to the nervous system and as Kaiden was already having trouble with that, why make it harder for him?  Grains are not an essential part of our diet.  They're just convenient these days.  We also stay away from as much processed foods as possible.

A little vent here . . . I don't think the government wants us to be healthy . . . think about the FDA and what they have approved as food - all sorts of non-food artificial colors, preservatives, flavorings, etc.  And, if we all stopped eating processed foods, dairy, and grains, think of all those people who would be out of jobs.  Farmers . . . unless they switched to growing something else.  People who work in the factories that make our processed "foods".  People who work in the factories that make the packaging.  People would be healthier, so there would be much less need for doctors, nurses, clinics, hospitals, etc.  But I digress . . .

Back to Kaiden's diet.  If we take away dairy, legumes, grains, and now nightshade foods, what the heck is left to feed him, you say?  Plenty!  Kaiden eats:

Beef
Chicken
Turkey
Pork
Fish
Walnuts
Pecans
Sunflower seeds
Sesame seeds
Almonds
Pine nuts
Coconut
Acorn squash
Butternut squash
Spaghetti squash
Summer squash
Zucchini
Cauliflower
Rutabaga
Turnip
Asparagus
Kohlrabi
Cucumbers
Radishes
Cabbage
Celery
Mushrooms
All lettuces/leafy greens including Spinach
Fresh/dried herbs
Onion
Garlic
Apples
Apricots
Bananas
Pears
Cranberries (sweetened)
Cherries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Blueberries
Mangoes (frozen, got a rash from fresh)
Strawberries
Pineapple
Avocados
Grapes
Hemp – yes, you can eat it!  You can get it dried/powdered like you buy your spices & herbs.
Maple syrup

I use olive oil to cook with.

Kaiden drinks my breastmilk as well as water.  Juices are fine but he doesn’t get them that often, once/twice per week usually or less:
Apple
Orange
Blueberry
Grape (purple, healthier for you than white)
Prune

Did you know you can actually get fresh squeezed, not-from-concentrate juices at Walmart?  Priced decently too.

Technically, maple syrup, olive oil, and juices are processed foods.  But any processed foods I buy I make sure are 100% natural - just real food, no other crap.
 
There's plenty more fresh foods out there than the short list above.  It's true, once you switch to whole foods, you lose your taste for processed foods.  I actually feel ill now after eating processed foods with crap ingredients.  Oreos are my nemesis . . . and yes, I do realize some of that passes thru my breastmilk to Kaiden.  That's why they are very rare treats.

Introduction

I wanted to start this blog to find a public place to talk about my son's conditions in hopes of reaching others suffering from the same thing.  Kaiden has Down Syndrome, and was diagnosed with benign myoclonic seizures on September 22, 2009.  The seizures had been going on for about a month and I had already noted that sweet potatoes and carrots seemed to intensify his seizure activity.  The neurologist we saw blew it off and told me diet had nothing to do with it.  In his official report to Kaiden's pediatrician, he wrote "I doubt an underlying metabolic abnormality". 

What frustrates me the most is western medicine's take on Down Syndrome . . . anything that comes up, they say, "well, he has Down Syndrome so of course he's going to have issues.  Deal with it."  Now, there is plenty of evidence out there that the extra chromosome causes metabolic issues, they don't process nutrients correctly/as efficiently as the non-Down Syndrome population.  Yet there is little information out there about what to do about it . . . it's more so presented as "yes, we know about it, but there's nothing you can do so we aren't going to try.  Get over it." .  There is, however, Targeted Nutrition Intervention, which targets the mental development.  There are a few companies that sell nutritional supplements designed for Down Syndrome based on the research of Dr. Henry Turkel & Dr. Jack Warner, but at a pretty high price.  Some parents swear by it, some don't.  More on that later.

Something else interesting I found . . . Down's individuals seem to have some of the same dietary needs as autistic individuals - lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, etc.  Again, there is little information on what to do about this in regards to Down Syndrome . . . yet there is tons of info out there for the autistic community.

Let me get back to the beginning . . . Kaiden was born via c-section at 33 weeks and 3 days due to an overly large placenta that seemed intent upon evicting him and spent 6 weeks in the NICU to finish growing.  Due to some issues with the NICU nurses, I ended up exclusively pumping for Kaiden rather than breastfeeding.  Never, EVER, let the NICU nurses give your infant a fast flow nipple if you intend to breastfeed.  Good luck getting them back to the breast after that!  I am still angry they did it without my permission.  Had I known, I would never have let them.  Anyway . . .at Kaiden's 6 month well visit, he was found to be severely anemic (due to his prematurity and him not yet being on solid foods, getting exclusively breastmilk).  His hemoglobin had dropped to 5.  Scary thing, I hadn't noticed.  Sure, he was a little pale, but he has my skin tone and blonde hair.  I had a tan and had kept him out of the sun.  The pediatrician did note that his iron level did not seem to bother him, he was happy and active and was hitting milestones. 

Unfortunately, at that appointment, I let them vaccinate him with the Hep B and D-TAP vaccines . . . the CDC states that any ill child should not be vaccinated at that time . . . the Hep B vax contains yeast.  The D-TAP hasn't been definitively proven but there seems to be a correlation between infants getting the D-TAP vax and developing seizures.  Kaiden was also prescribed an iron supplement and I was instructed to start him on solids whether or not he was ready.  Most iron supplements for children are filled with sugar.  Gee, guess what yeast feeds on . . . then a couple weeks later I went on antibiotics that were supposed to be safe for breastfeeding . . . and BAM all of a sudden, Kaiden had a massive yeast overload.  The antibiotics I took were the last straw for his little system, wiped the good bacteria in his gut right out.  Stinky, sticky, yeasty diapers, cradle cap, and projectile vomiting.  Because he didn't have thrush, his pediatrician blew me off 3 times about it, said there was no way Kaiden could have a yeast infection.  Poor kid, you could tell he felt just awful . . . and then within a few days the (benign myoclonic) seizures started. 

I tried everything under the sun to find the cause of the seizures . . . I looked at the vaccines he'd been given, the dosage of the iron supplement, the antibiotics I had taken . . . all of which had seizures as a possible side effect.  However, the details do not go into the type of seizure.  I had noted that carrots and sweet potatoes intensified his seizure activity and stopped feeding him those foods.  I had found some evidence that some (not most) individuals with Down Syndrome do not process beta carotene well, and came across an individual with epilepsy that said carrots did it for them.

(As an aside, I stopped the iron supplements and began giving Kaiden a tiny dosage of powdered kelp instead for his iron.  Worked wonders, his hemoglobin is and remains excellent.  It's super cheap and full of all sorts of good nutrition . . . DON'T waste your money with iron supplements when you can use FOOD to do it!  You just have to be careful to give TINY doses if you're going to use if for an extended period of time.)

The seizures continued. The neurologist started Kaiden on vitamin B6, but said he would most likely need topiramate to control the seizures with repeat EEG's and a future MRI.  We were told that benign myoclonic seizures would not affect Kaiden cognitvely, but as there was a concern it was actually West Syndrome, we were to watch carefully in the event of cognitive regression.  Because of the side effects of western medicine, we chose not to go that route.

The vitamin B6 did absolutely nothing for Kaiden's seizures.  At their worst, he was having 6 clusters per day with one spasm every 10 - 15 seconds for anywhere from 10 - 45 minutes.  The longer the clusters lasted, the more time between spasms until they finally stopped.  He would scream and cry after each spasm.  These clusters would happen at random times of the day and night.  As a parent, you feel so frustrated and want to cry right along with them . . . you feel powerless to stop it, yet you can't cushion them forever.  The seizures would throw Kaiden forward violently, and he would smack his forehead on his toys, hard enough to bruise.  I kept my homemade salve on hand, which kept away the bruising.  The best way to describe these is like taking a bow, very hard and fast, and without your permission.

Because I am a huge fan of natural remedies, and not a fan of western medicine, we started giving Kaiden Native Remedies' Epi-Still and Triple Complex Nerve Tonic.  The nerve tonic made him happier, no doubt about that.  Epi-Still significantly reduced, but not eliminated his seizures.  It reduced them down to an average of 4 - 10 single spasms per day over the course of 3 months and he didn't cry nearly as much when having a seizure.

The more research I did into seizures and the nervous system, I decided to try giving Kaiden calcium supplements to help support the nervous system along with the Native Remedies supplements.  The calcium supplement also contained vitamin D3, magnesium, and vitamin K.  This was about a week before his first birthday.  Overnight, I noticed Kaiden was more alert and active and loud!  This is where I began looking into Targeted Nutrition Intervention.   I hadn't gotten into it previously as the reports I read said the Down's children would begin reaching milestones reported by happy parents . . . but that they also typically reached them at the same time as those not taking the supplements.  The idea behind it is that Down's individuals do not process nutrients correctly/as efficiently as the non-Down's population does and that they need extra nutrients to compensate.  It's not about mega doses, but finding the right dosage for the individual.  Since I saw results overnight with just a calcium supplement, I wanted to try it all.

Because Kaiden was sensitive to certain foods, I researched as much as I possibly could and began slowly adding supplements to his routine rather than just buying a pre-made blend.  My goal was to get him to the point we could go with a premade blend but I had to try all those ingredients separately.  And I'm glad I did, found somethings he didn't tolerate well.  I will note, that the over-the-counter supplements, even in infant doses, gave Kaiden really loose stools.  Which, of course, he would let loose while bouncing in his excersaucer.  Yay, poop down his legs and up his back!!  Good thing it was winter and it was all contained in his sleeper!  YUCK!  And it didn't matter if we used cloth or disposables . . . there wasn't a diaper in the world that could hold it in.  Maybe a garbage bag and duct tape, I don't know!

Eventually I moved Kaiden to a whole foods vitamin by my favorite company, Dr. Christopher's.  Along with their Kid-E-Mins, Kaiden also gets their Kid-E-Calc (calcium) and when we ran out of the Native Remedies supplements, I gave him Dr. Christopher's Ear & Nerve Tonic and Kid-E-Trac (emotional wellbeing, helps the child to focus).  He also gets choline bitratrate, TMG, tryptophan, and grapeseed extract.  I don't really think the tryptophan does anything for him, so when we run out, I do not plan to continue that one.

The Kid-E-Mins & Kid-E-Calc made one HUGE difference noticeable within 48 hours . . . nice, normal SOLID poop!  Soooooo much better!!!!  The Ear & Nerve tonic . . . overnight Kaiden's balance improved and I could actually carry him around with one arm without him falling backward.  What a relief!

Back to the seizures . . . I didn't notice a reduction in the amount of seizures, but rather a decrease in their severity.  He was still having on average 4 - 10 single spasms per day but most of them were pretty mild.  He would have a few though, that would lock him up for 2 - 3 seconds.  Completely locked up, couldn't breathe . . . sometimes it would take a minute or two for Kaiden to snap out of it once it was over.

And back my belief that diet has everything to do with his seizures, no matter what the neurologist said . . . as far as the carrots & sweet potatoes went, it's not like I gave them to him once and noted activity . . . I tried on 3 separate occasions with the same, repeated result.  A day and a half later each time, his seizure activity spiked.  So I stopped giving him those foods.  By now, Kaiden was pretty well on table foods. I had thought that he was spiking after eating spaghetti and tacos, but wasn't sure as the activity didn't seem much worse than average.  One weekend, I ate an eggplant dish from Buca.  It was super tasty, and a HUGE dish - took me 3 days to eat it all.  And boy, did Kaiden's seizure activity spike.  It was really bad, poor little guy.  Once I finally figured out it was the eggplant doing it (I had never eaten eggplant before), I pumped & dumped all my fresh milk and gave Kaiden frozen breastmilk for a few days, and his seizure activity went back down as expected.  Several months later, in late April 2010, I tried some fresh green peppers since Kaiden was doing well on table foods.  (Kaiden had been sensitive to when I ate fresh green peppers all along, giving him a rash and made him painfully gassy.  I stopped eating those long before the seizures started.)  I ate a tiny amount on a Subway sandwich and didn't notice any significant difference in Kaiden, so a few days later I had a good helping of them at Chipotle.  A day and a half later . . . on Mother's Day no less . . . Kaiden's seizure activity spiked like it had done with the eggplant.  He spent Mother's Day having seizures and screaming.  For several days after that I would literally walk around the house saying, "what the F do eggplant and green peppers have in common that Kaiden reacts so badly to them?"  Then finally, I got the bright idea to type in Google, "green pepper eggplant have in common".  And the connection came up . . . they are both members of the nightshade (solanaceae) family.  As are tomatoes (remember spaghetti & tacos?), potatoes, all peppers - sweet and hot, paprika, ground cherries, and lots more foods I wasn't familiar with. It was like the lightbulb finally clicked on.

Being into natural remedies, I am familiar with some of the properties of deadly nightshade but never thought about foods of the nightshade family.  I was using tomatoes, paprika, and chili peppers on a regular basis.  Nightshade foods cause the body to excrete calcium, and calcium is essential to the nervous system.  It is one of those plants that is used to treat in tiny doses, but in high doses causes the problem you are trying to treat.  Eating nightshade foods = high doses.

I immediately eliminated nightshade foods from my & Kaiden's diets, and within a few days, saw a significant reduction in his seizure activity.  Then I ate a grilled chicken sandwich from Dairy Queen (contained mayo, which has paprika in it, and a slice of tomato).  A day and a half later, Kaiden's seizure activity spiked.  When it went back down, I ate a hamburger with mustard (contains paprika) and as expected, a day and a half later his seizure activity spiked again.  That was enough of a "lab test" for me, and I completely eliminated nightshade foods for both of us.  Kaiden's seizure activity dropped again, and on May 28th 2010, he had his last seizure.

Within one week of being seizure free, Kaiden has become so much more alert, so much happier . . . he used to smile all the time before the seizures started and during the time he had them, a smile was a pretty rare thing.  He smiles and giggles all the time now, it brings me to tears!  Also within that first week, Kaiden began standing, supporting himself by holding onto something rather than relying on us to hold him upright.  He began signing back his first "word", the sign for "eat".

And the neurologist said diet had nothing to do with it.