Mickie is Going to Private ABA School!!

This week I recieved a call from Mickie's school district to let me know that they would give the go ahead for him to be placed in the private ABA school I had requested back in May. Apparently, the current arrangement is not going to work out.

Sure I am happy, since it's what I wanted in the first place, but other then asking me to cut his nails and complaining about his farts, I never heard anything from the teacher that could have given me any indication, that Mickie was to much for her to handle.

I was noticing his lack of progress and he was coming home with his cheecks red and raw from stimming, which told me they weren't keeping him busy.

For all the money being poured into Autism, you would think, that our kids out to be making more progress, then they are. Everything he knows, I taught him!

Jenny MacCarthy vs Amanda Peets

Last summer Amanda Peets comments In Cookie Magazine, angered a lot of parents, who choose not to vaccinate their children and others who blame vaccines for their kids autism; She said, "There are a lot of misconceptions about the dangers of vaccinations...but frankly, I feel that parents who don't vaccinate their children are parasites." She since apologized by saying, “I believe in my heart that my use of the word ‘parasites’ was mean and divisive…For this I am truly sorry.” Jenny McCarthy spoke out against her comments and does not accept the apology from Peets.

I belive that Jenny and Peets both have a right to their opinion, but for Peets to call us parasites, was of very hurfull and of poor taste and it brings into question her creditability. Without someone like Jenny to speak on our behalf, we would have no voice.

I do think that Jenny speaking out on a subject that hit so close to home will have an influence on how parents look at vaccinations.The Mercury moms have been screaming for years about what vaccines did to our children and Jenny has the power to relay that message and it will be heard.

In a stament in the next issue of Spectrum Magazine,McCarthy whose 6 year-old son, Evan, was vaccinated and since diagnosed with autism, says, “Peet has a lot of nerve to come forward and be on that side, because there is an angry mob on my side, and I like the fact that I can say she's completely wrong.”

Meanwhile Peets has agreed to become a celebrity spokesperson for rival child welfare group Every Child By Two, which according to Age of Autism, has ties to vaccine manufactures: Read full article here. Since learning about this, Executive Director of McCarthy’s autism advocacy group, John Gilmore, is calling for a boycott of Peet’s films.

A GLUTEN-CASEIN FREE DIET

It was March 2003 and Mickie was now 5 years old and has lost all speech by now. He had started to have these episodes. I didn't know what to make of them. He screams desperation, and as the weeks pass he gets worse. The episodes happen at school, at home, in the middle of the night. Mickie seemed to be in pain, but no one can tell me how to help him. No one in our house has been able to sleep-it's been four months. He would be happy one minute and sad the next. Late in May, I found a nice doctor who ordered some blood work upon my request.

One night I went as far as faking a head injury and taking him to Los Angeles Children's Hospital. It proved to be useless, because the doctor on duty that night refused to examine him. Another testament, that when an autistic person needs medical attention, he or she is treated like just another crazy person. I never took him back there again.

The next day Dr Alejandro, his pediatrician saw him and with the blood work being ready, was able to tell us that Mickie suffered from Malabsoption, but to not worry, that there were no toxins going into his blood. What I didn't know then, was how inaccurate that statement was. His Sed-Rate was at 33, which shows inflammation and It should be under 10. A few days later Mickie saw a Gastroenterologist. I showed him the blood work and he told me that Low IgA would make Mickie prone to gastrointestinal infections and that IgE, Mickie was to stay away from Dairy. Finally there was a reason for his unexplained pain!

I took him off milk and went a step further and took him off cereals. Within days the diahrrea had stopped and his pain had gone away.

The Fire

On February 14, of 06, there was an electrical fire in Mickie’s room. I woke up to a house full of teenagers screaming: "Mom, mom; Mickie's room is on fire". I ran out of my room towards the hallway and I could see the smoke coming out from under his door. Without even thinking, I pushed the door open and saw the fire reaching the ceiling on the left hand corner of the room. The TV was on and Mickie was sitting there on his bed, under the covers. He had no intention of getting out of there.

The fire looked like a giant snake and it was moving towards the closet on the other side where Mickie was. I ran in and tried to pull him out and he started to fight me. I had to grab him by his pajama shirt and drag him out. He still wanted to go back into the room. He didn't seem to have any idea of what had just happened. Danger awareness is one of the most disturbing issues parents with children on the autism spectrum have to deal with. Without a sense of danger our kids are prone to tragic accidents.

Keeping Mickie Safe

People on the autism spectrum, have no fear of death and no awareness of danger. Many are not afraid of large bodies of water. They are prone to wonder away for home. Wondering away is one of Mickie’s favorite things to do. Over the years I’ve adapted the house we live in to Mickie’s changing needs. My father installed two iron gates, one on the entrance to a hallway leading to the living room and the other leading to his siblings’ bedrooms.

One morning, in the spring of 2008, I walked out of my room as I do everyday, at 7 O'clock in the morning to find that the Iron Gate leading to the living room was wide open and the front door was unlocked.I remember latching the lock the night before. Who could have opened it? I asked myself. Then I remembered I had locked the lock, but it was almost dark and only one side of the chain was hooked on to the lock. I didn't even notice it. With all the precautions I take every day to keep Mickie safe, even to have earned the name of camp Gitmo, that mistake could have caused a tragedy. He must have had an angel watching over him that morning.