I remember back when my NT child (that’s “autism mom talk” for neurotypical AKA normal kid) was at that stage past nursing where she would wake up in the middle of the night — and I was on the verge of hurling myself off of a high cliff.
I had survived with little or no sleep for way too long and I just needed that kid to sleep through the night and I had earned it. While at a playgroup, I began to commiserate about this with the other moms and within minutes I was inundated with similar experiences and helpful solutions, which calmed me and my cliff hurling desires.
But seriously, those are the kind of moments of connecting with moms for a feeling of validation and understanding that can only come from being in the same room with shared experiences. I guess that’s where the concept of support clubs comes from huh? Well it’s a good thing because they work.
Raising children isn’t exactly easy even when they’re neurotypical.
Imagine what a mom with a special needs child feels when she walks into a room with other parents that have similar issues. It goes something like this…
MOM: I am really confused, my little Ben has these horrible bouts of constipation and diarrhea and he also has this strange forced laughter. He often pushes his stomach into the dining room table and we don’t know why.
A TACA Mom: Ohhh…. Ben’s stomach is hurting him, because he most likely has some gastro-intestinal issues that you don’t know about and his laughing is most likely due to high yeast levels. Have you tried a heavy duty probiotic? And by heavy duty we aren’t talking about something soaked in dairy products.
MOM: breaks down crying because for the first time someone doesn’t stare at her with a blank look.
It’s safe to say that the validation she feels is equivalent to that bond that dogs must share when they hear a high squeal that only other dogs can hear. No real comparisons to make here, because when it comes to our children, we can all be a little psycho — right? All you know for sure is that they can’t adequately communicate what’s going on at all, but in your heart you know it hurts and you want to fix them.
This is exactly what happened at our TACA meeting this past month. We had members who are already on their journey in different stages. Two families came and both left with a Journey Guide and the knowledge that other people know what they’re going through and want to help them. The funny thing is the journey is different for each child and it’s not like every solution works generically for everyone, but there is hope and there is treatment for our children. It’s not exactly the mainstream solution, but there are times in life when you have to go with your gut and what works for YOUR child.
My advice to anyone who thinks or knows they have a child on the spectrum:
- Ask questions, lots of them
- Reach out to anyone with knowledge
- Get breaks
- Explore every option and remember there are options in there
We would love to have you join us at our next meeting. And above all… don’t lose hope and seek help from others who understand.
TACA Richmond, Virginia ~ Talk About Curing Autism
~We meet the first Friday of each month~
- Date: Friday, May 4th 2012
- Time: 7pm-9pm
- Where: St. Andrews United Methodist Church
- 9801 Fort King Road
- Richmond, VA 23229
Topic: Supplements Overview
Lisa Ann Setchel is a powerful autism advocate.
Baylor Rice, Pharmacist and owner of South River Compounding Pharmacy, will provide an overview of the most common supplements and biomedical interventions currently used in autism and related disorders as well as some promising recent discoveries.
Baylor Rice has been a licensed pharmacist since 1994. After earning his degree at the Medical College of Virginia, Baylor worked in community pharmacies. In 1998, Baylor and his wife opened South River Compounding Pharmacy, Inc. His vision of treating each patient based on their individual needs and using a “team approach” by working together with the patient’s physician has proved to be quite successful with positive outcomes for the patients.
