Words From Heaven

Every parent knows that feeling, the feeling you get when you hear your child say your name, "mama" or "dada", for the first time.  Or when they say "I love you", or the first time they say their prayers...and all the many firsts that come along when a child is learning to talk, learning language, and expressing themselves to you.

Before we even had an Autism diagnosis for Chase, speech (or lack there of) was our number one concern with his development.  We prayed and prayed for it to come.  To hear him say what it was that he wanted.  For the tantrums and frustrations to stop.  Even after his diagnosis and months in to therapy, we kept praying for words.  For something to "click" and for it to just happen.  Like you read about so many times, that one day they just start speaking.

Well our prayers have been answered.  The words are starting to finally COME!  It has been the hardest puzzle we have ever worked.  All of us.  Including and most especially for Chase.  We have prayed for direction and guidance to make sure we are doing everything we can on our part...to make sure he's in the best school setting, getting the best therapies, utilizing all the resources that we have available, and most recently prayed for guidance in alternative treatments and supplements.

We knew by moving here and putting him at BCA he would be getting the BEST possible therapies available in the state (in our opinion).  We fought to get him in to a blended preK class this year at the and his class and teacher are AWESOME!  (the public school therapies are not the best, at the moment, but that's another issue).  He will be enrolling in a KidTalk study starting after Christmas getting additional FREE speech therapy through a research study at Vanderbilt where they will come to his school 4 days a week for speech therapy!  And starting back in May we began the journey of the gluten free casein free diet.

The diet has been the hardest thing in the last few months that we have done.  Without any proven research on this topic, and with so many different options of diets, supplements, biomedical treatments, etc...it's so hard to know what avenue to go?  We started with the basic, gfcf, diet, which I wrote about here, here and here.  Most recently we have cut out soy, msgs, any preservatives or artificial sweeteners, etc.  He's 100% gfcf, and about 95% free of the other things.  He still eats a handful of things that have one or 2 of those in them, but for the most part they are out of his diet.

In the last 2 months Chase has said more new words than I can count!!!  He's saying 1 or 2 new words just about every day, at either school or at BCA.  It's amazing to hear such sweet words.  Words that we have prayed and prayed to come.  And once again, God has answered our prayers.  There is a renewed hope!

Just today in his daily notes his therapists wrote: "When looking at the star, and after being prompted to show us yellow on the iPad, CH spontaneously said "YELLOW"!  Then during art, he repeated Morgan's direction "Pat-Pat-Pat"!!!"  In another session later he said "water" and "hi" in context!  And last week he said, "Yea, videos!" when the iPad was brought out at circle time.  All of his words are spontaneous and in context, which is EVEN better, because he is intentionally saying things in an appropriate way and appropriate setting

I don't know how much the diet contributes to this success?  I am certainly not going to act like it is the cure-all, because I don't believe that to be the case.  I was a skeptic of this diet, and any alternative treatments, for a long time.  Admittedly, it was easier to be skeptic than to buck up and fight the fight to try it, because it is SO HARD, especially with a very picky eater.  But I do think, in combination with his amazing therapies, this diet has helped clear the "fog" and made the therapies all the more effective!  And we can now tell a MAJOR difference in certain behaviors when we "cheat" on the diet and give him foods with gluten or casein.  And I just don't think it's coincidental that after starting the diet 4-5 months ago, he is now saying words!

Praise the Lord, for answering yet another prayer!  I know Chase has a long way to go, but after a hard week last week, and in moments of doubt (which I am guilty of way too much lately), God once again reminds me that He is in control and that He has much bigger and better plans for Chase in His own timing.

Here is a pic of Chase last week at BCA during "western week" :)