Shining Stars

This Saturday is a BIG DAY. It is World Autism Day AND Opening Day for Trevor's baseball team. Go Rattlers! We are very proud of our shining stars. Trevor was drafted! He is playing AA baseball this season and is soaring. At his first scrimmage he started a shortstop (yes, I was super proud) and batted first in the line-up. He had never played short before and had never hit off live pitching in a game situation. Trevor did great. His timing needs some adjusting, but he made good contact and even got on base once. Sources say he may even pitch on Opening Day...another first! He has been practicing hard and says he's ready to go...Put him in Coach...he's ready to play...today:) I am baffled by this little athlete...he is so fun to watch. A couple of funny stories: First day of practice, Trevor is working with the pitching coach and he is teaching him a how to snap his wrist down more. Trevor yells out "Hey Coach, my mom already taught me that drill" Coach responds "Wow, really? When?" Trevor responded "Umm, like 5 years ago". Ha! Yes, I did teach him that, but it certainly wasn't 5 years ago at the age of 2! But it made me laugh. Secondly, the team was taking infield...Trevor was playing third base at the time and the ball was hit to short. The shortstop did not go for it very aggressively so Coach questioned the shortstop about the play. Coach proceded to go into this whole rant about the position of SS. "It's and ego position, SS wants every ball, every play" etc. I look out of the corner of my eye and Trevor is raising his hand...he is ready to tell coach with innocent happiness that Mommy played SS...ha! Knowing that was not the best time to share that information...I quickly shook him off:) World Autism Day I love that these two events are happening on the same day. Wonder Twin Powers-Activate. I will send out reminders tomorrow. But get you blue gear ready for Saturday and spread the word! "Autism Speaks....It's Time to Listen" Autism Speaks Inc. http://www.autismspeaks.org/

Reading Materials

Here are some of the Hot Topics surrounding Autism.
Many theories...No real answers
I really like this first article....

Articles:


What It's Like to Have Autism

http://www.webmd.com/brain/features/understanding-autism-symptoms

Proximity to Freeways Increases Autism Risk, Study Finds

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-autism-20101217,0,2040535.story

Autism-Vaccine Link

http://autism.about.com/od/vaccinesandautism/a/MMRcause.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080204212852.htm

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/searching-for-answers/vaccines-autism?page=1

Autism and IVF

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100614122026.htm

Gene Variants in Autism Linked to Brain Development

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110301111243.htm

Older Fathers More Likely to Have Autistc Children

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060904160625.htm

Books:

Strange Son by Portia Iversen

Love introduced two mothers, one who lived in India and the other in the United States. Their passion to seek health for their children, both afflicted by autism, brought the two women across continents and over oceans. Each stimulated the other with her fervor to find medical breakthroughs. Their story is exciting and uplifting. There is within Strange Son a sadness, but this in truth is a hopeful book. The mothers expect that medical research will find a solution for the cruelty of autism, and in Strange Son they show us that the lushness of family love continues to be the greatest therapy. -- Maya Angelou

Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson

"In this intense, polished account, the parents of an autistic boy trek to the Mongolian steppes to consult shamans in a last-ditch effort to alter his unraveling behavior.... Isaacson records heartening improvement in Rowan's firestormlike tantrums and incontinence, as he taps into an ancient, valuable form of spirit healing." (Publishers Weekly )

Louder than Words by Jenny McCarthy

"Jenny McCarthy takes us on journey of a mom dealing with her son’s Autism diagnosis and treatment. We learn what it is like to be a parent and have your dreams shattered. We learn about a disease and about how others dealing with similar circumstances can aid one another. We learn about alternative approaches that seem promising. We learn about healing, hope, and faith."—David Feinberg, from the foreword, MD, MBAMedical Director, Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Emotionally powerful from beginning to end, House Rules looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way--and fails those who don't.

Amazon.com review

Autism: Part 2

Core symptoms:
Social interactions and relationships. Symptoms may include:

• Significant problems developing nonverbal communication skills, such as eye-to-eye gazing, facial expressions, and body posture.
  Failure to establish friendships with children the same age.
  Lack of interest in sharing enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people.
  Lack of empathy. People with autism may have difficulty understanding another person's feelings, such as pain or sorrow.
  

Verbal and nonverbal communication. Symptoms may include:

• Delay in, or lack of, learning to talk. As many as 40% of people with autism never speak. Problems taking steps to start a conversation. Also, people with autism have difficulties continuing a conversation after it has begun.
  Stereotyped and repetitive use of language. People with autism often repeat over and over a phrase they have heard previously (echolalia).
  Difficulty understanding their listener's perspective. For example, a person with autism may not understand that someone is using humor. They may interpret the communication word for word and fail to catch the implied meaning.
  

Limited interests in activities or play. Symptoms may include:

• An unusual focus on pieces. Younger children with autism often focus on parts of toys, such as the wheels on a car, rather than playing with the entire toy.
  Preoccupation with certain topics. For example, older children and adults may be fascinated by video games, trading cards, or license plates.
  A need for sameness and routines. For example, a child with autism may always need to eat bread before salad and insist on driving the same route every day to school.
  Stereotyped behaviors. These may include body rocking and hand flapping

(This information was obtained from the WebMD website)

In my opinion, Darren isn't a typical child with Autism. Being a twin has put an interesting twist on his personality. He has always had Trevor in his face, whether he liked it or not. Darren's interests have always been unique. It started with sticks, spatulas, a tape measure, his own hand, a hoop, and various other objects that he HAD to have with him at all times. He still carries "transition toys" (toy that he likes to have in his hands when leaving the house and going to school etc) but they are not as specific as they used to be. AND most importantly, he is willing to leave the item in the car or share the item...in the past, asking him to do so would prompt a major tantrum.

His speech issues were obviously a concern. When Trevor's language started to take off, Darren went no where. He made sounds, and showed emotion...but nothing substantial was developing and his frustration level began to rise dramatically. So for the longest time, he would drag me around and take me to what he wanted. For example if he was thirsty, he would take me to the refrigerator. I would then take my best guess as to what he wanted. If I chose the wrong thing...let's say milk instead of juice..a meltdown would occur. This was a very frustrating time for all of us. We are so thankful that he is verbal! Although we are now in the "no" stage. Ha!

Darren's sleeping issues were exhausting. I would say that there was a span between 12-24 months that Darren would wake up around 2am and remain awake until 4am. Not every night...but it happened often enough. It was like he just couldn't regulate his body.

Early on, Darren was sensitive to loud noises. Yet, when we would call his name, he wouldn't turn around and acknowledge us. It seemed odd. We knew his hearing was fine though because if he was in another room and heard Baby Einstein come on, he would come running in to watch.

The extreme tantrums when transitioning from one activity to another started to happen with great consistency. Leaving the park for instance, was an every day nightmare. Trevor certainly had his tantrums, but Darren's had a different intensity.

Looking back, there were certainly more red flags than these. These are just the ones that stand out the most. It's hard to think back to those times, but helps me appreciate how far we all have come.

April 2 World Autism Day

I have decided to take these next couple of weeks to do my part in educating others about Autism. Then, by April 2nd, you will be well informed and able to share this awareness with others when they ask "Why are you wearing blue today?".

I found these interesting facts on the Autism Awareness Website:

• Approximately 67 million people worldwide are affected by autism
• Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the world
• More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with diabetes, cancer, and AIDS combined
• Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism
• There is no medical detection or cure for autism, but early diagnosis and intervention improve outcomes

So those are some of the basics. I have some other thoughts about information I would like to share, but if you have any questions about autism that you would like to ask please email me your question and I will post my response on the blog! It can be about Autism in general or about Darren specifically. Thanks!