Saturday, April 14, 2012

Supplements......

These are the only two supplements that we are doing right now with Nick. The first is a probiotic that aids in digestion and helps the immune system. Nick has had near constant mushy type stools since infancy. We were told that "mushy" stools were a variation of normal. We tried altering his diet, and yogurts with probiotics in them. None of that seemed to help as much. He in no way takes pills whole, so we have a pill crusher (that has MANY miles on it....) and I am able to just crush up the probiotic and give it to him in his regular yogurt. This seems to work much better! He has less "poopy" issues, and is a bit more regular. Without these he can go as much as 5-6 times a day. That is 5-6 messy, mushy, yucky diaper changes. With the probiotic, he is more on a "normal" schedule of maybe once-twice a day, and much less of it is mushy.

The second one is Calcium Magnesium Citrate with Vitamin D3. This comes in either a liquid or pill form. We use the liquid form that is blueberry flavored. There are a couple different flavors, but this one tastes the best. Two tablespoons is the amount for an adult daily, but we only give Nick two teaspoons a day and that seems to do just fine. We first used the magnesium cal. citrate while we were in Florida. I had read on a sensory processing bulletin board that it helped reduce anxiety, behavior problems, and physical/verbal aggression. It also helps in noise sensitivities. All of which Nick has. After taking this supplement for just a few days, Nick was able to tolerate things like taking short trips to the store, and even going to the barber shop and getting his hair cut. Neither of which could be attempted without meltdowns before. He felt better. He was wanting to do things! Nick has a lot of sensitivities with his senses. We have auditory processing and visual processing disorders, as well as proprioceptive issues. When things get overwhelming, he does not feel 'safe' and that leads to his anxiety going way UP and then meltdowns ensue. It is literally like a fight or flight response. The magnesium helps combat that. There are many supplements out there to help autistic kids, and you can easily go overboard. We like to take it one at a time, and not to add too many things to his daily regiment. These were the two main issues we wanted to help him with, and so far so good.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Waiting for the bus....

I took this picture of Nick this morning as he waited for his bus. The harness is used on him so that he does not get up and wander around while the bus is in motion. This is just one of those things that you have to think about when you have a special needs child. I realize it is for his own safety, but I don't like the fact that he HAS to wear this little accessory. Again, it just reminds us how different our lives are from the "norm". But, it is for his own safety, and for that reason alone I like this item.