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After the long hiatus…

Looking forward again
Looking forward again

What has happened? It’s been almost 2 years since I last posted anything about our journey…really? Two? Yep. I had to double check. Since then, surprise baby number 5 has become a rampaging toddler and mess-maker extraordinaire, breaking all of his siblings’ records for getting into things.

Along with managing my 5 little monkeys, I have stepped into the children’s ministry director position at our church, sent my beautiful girls to public school, and as of December have left the open fields surrounding our small rental to buy our first home less than a mile away and enjoy a fenced-in backyard in town. Jackson loves it and made the adjustment amazingly and gleefully. But he misses his favorite “tall trees” as well as our dear friends who live there. We follow the tree tops and visit when we can. Continue reading “After the long hiatus…”

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Regressions and Metabolic Disorders


When we finally figured out that Jackson apparently did not have seizures (at least for now, the neurologist maintained), it was back to the drawing board. Our developmental pediatrician was not satisfied that his regressions were of the typical, cyclical sort that many children with autism experience. He had run a thorough panel of metabolic and genetic tests to rule out the big scary metabolic or genetic disorders. He was out of ideas, so he referred us to a metabolic specialist.

Again, I wasn’t hoping for an ailment, but a potential answer and treatment approach (aren’t we all)? This appointment lasted all of 20 minutes (after 20 minutes of Jackson playing in the sink and completely soaking his shirt while waiting). After a careful physical examination, the doctor all but apologized for the lack of research on autism, and any clear answer for Jackson’s regressions. He felt confident, though, that we had ruled out any scientifically testable metabolic disorder. “We just don’t know.”

I left the doctor’s office feeling deflated, but realizing traditional medicine and research I desired was possibly five to ten years too late to help me…I was ready to look for other solutions.

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The big, bad “R” word: Regressions


A year ago, we started looking at seizures as a possible cause for Jackson’s severe regressions. Every child seems to regress generally when routines are disrupted (say during summer months when not in school) or structured times and schedules are not in place. Jackson is no exception to this rule, but he doesn’t flip out when not following a routine…he just meanders. He becomes a wandering, withdrawn little guy who would rather amuse himself by flipping socks in front of his face for hours. He needs directed play to remember that: oh yeah, people and toys CAN be fun. Continue reading “The big, bad “R” word: Regressions”