Long Overdue Update

William is using his words consistently now, albeit still with great difficulty. We finally got him in front of a psychiatrist specializing in children with autism. Given Will's particular set of behaviors we agreed that a sedative (in this case Tenex) would likely be of the most benefit to him. After 2 weeks on it he had improved in some areas, but had become unacceptably emotional and withdrawn.

The next appointment had him on Adderall. We were warned with this transition that he might become more emotional, however, as he adjusted to the medication he became VIOLENTLY emotional. It became more and more difficult to get him to do the simple things that he hadn't really had any problem with before.. like getting ready for school. He also lost weight over the 2 week period, and this is a child that, due to his picky eating, didn't have much weight he could afford to lose in the first place.

He finally got to the point on Friday where we just could not get him to cooperate and he went without the medication. Friday was a "difficult" day for him at school, according to the report in his communication log. Saturday was worse and he refused to eat anything in the morning so he didn't get his dose that day either. His violent outbursts were downright scary. However.. as the day wore on he ate and calmed down. He spoke his requests wonderfully. He played, calmly, with his brother and sister. He did not hyper-focus on playing his complex computer games. He was likely the most "normal" I've ever known him to be.

The human brain is still a mystery. The experts have determined that the part of the brain that is responsible for controlling fever is also associated with autism behaviors. This was virtually unknown when I began writing this journal three years ago, despite countless care givers (including myself) having noted a correlation between fever and autism behaviors. As a sidebar, I'm really disappointed that there isn't more out there on this connection. The best I could find was this recent article, but it's just a rehash of what was being "announced" almost two years ago in April of 2009. I hope they're working on it.. because these two medications don't look like they're going to help my little boy one bit.

However, the processes his brain had to go through in adjusting to not only one but two rather powerful medications seems to have had a long term effect. He IS more stable. He IS more talkative. He is focusing well on his tasks. But not because of him being ON the medications. He seems to have experienced some perspectives in that wild roller coaster ride that have helped him now that he's OFF the medications. (Please.. it would be totally inappropriate for you to consider taking your child off of medications that are helping him/her without talking to your child's doctor first.)

Only time will tell if these changes prove to be lasting.. but for now.. he's a happy and content little boy who's eating everything in sight. =)

A New Interest

A couple of years ago we got this great little log cabin building set as a gift for Will and, although he enjoyed immensely watching any of the rest of us put it together, he had not yet ventured into actually assembling the cabin himself. We hadn't had it down off the top shelf in quite a while and so when he pulled me to the shelf yesterday and said "log" I thought that was sufficient to reward him with the toy. We set up a spot in the middle of the living room floor where we could work with it. It's cute.. just a little cabin with one door and a window.. and after assembled he will often put various figures in there.. you know.. because they fit. I think our school bus driver from this toy has been in there a lot.. and I'm certain fireman Elmo has also had his share of incarceration play time in the camp. Occasionally various cows and a giraffe will tend watch in the yard outside..

It's really just a 3D puzzle.. and a bit more complex than the jigsaw puzzles he's been so good at doing all on his own for years now. But there is a bit of thinking ahead involved in putting it together. Regardless, he's attached himself to this old toy in a big way and is having a blast putting it together.. and then tearing it down.. and then starting all over again.

Oh.. and I've definitely noticed a reduction in his verbal stims over the last couple of days.. lots going on in that brain of his right now..

Movie Credits

Another example of my son's early reading abilities came in his reaction to the end credits of a movie. Now granted, they usually are accompanied by the music score from the film, which in itself might be enough to get him to come running, but he loves to watch the credits roll by! When he was younger, around 2, we would joke that they were his favorite part of the movie. I've heard other parents of hyperlexic kids say the same thing so here we have yet another example of the unique behaviors that go hand in hand with this disorder. I love to hear him blurt out things like "Production Designer" or "In Between Artist". Those certainly are not words he's been hearing anywhere.. what a kick!

Way Back Then...

In my case my son wasn't talking by 18 months so we started to do the preliminary research. I learned about late talkers. I learned about autism. I learned about all kinds of things that didn't really fit. My child wasn't violent. He didn't have tantrums or bang his head into the wall. He didn't rock. He didn't sort or line up toys. Despite all of these "didn'ts" there were a few things that did fit with autism. He didn't respond to his name. He never pointed and he loved to spin the wheels on toy cars. It was this fascination with spinning things that led me back into the world of autism disorders when, by the age of 2, he still hadn't begun to communicate with us. I still didn't buy the "A" label as there were so many components of that disorder that didn't fit.. not the least of which was that this kid LOVED to be held. Any personal interaction was welcomed with wide open arms. Then one day I stumbled on a page that referred to a disorder by the name of hyperlexia. This seemed to fit. I had never really considered his fascination with letters and numbers as a potential sign as his older sister was a very precocious girl and was indeed reading at the age of 2. She was also talking to us and behaving like a "neuro-typical" child so we had no concerns for her development. But it would seem that in his case it was very important indeed. Thus began the search to learn more about this splinter.