Topic : 12/19 Parents’ Ultimate Test: Dealing with Autism

THI IS MY STORY

I’m very concerned about a serious incident that happened to my 3 year old son, Kevin whom by the way is autistic.

On Wednesday, July 27, my mother was awaiting the arrival of Kevin, he was attending school.  When the school bus aide let him out, he was crying. My mother had been told by the driver that Kevin had been crying continuously since upon entering the bus.

My mother brought him upstairs and he walked straight to the living room sofa and laid down and went to sleep.  (usually he runs into the kitchen to get his bottle).  He was still on the sofa sleeping when I arrived after working which, was about 4:00pm.

Sometime between 4:30 and 5:00 pm, I received a phonecall from Kevin’s teacher.  She asked me if he was okay.  I found it strange to be hearing from her at this unusual time, so, I asked he why she was calling me.  She replied that he had 2 episodes of diarrhea that day.  I asked her why she didn’t call me earlier that day to inform me, as I would have left my job and picked him up.  She replied that Kevin seemed to be fine after that.

I then assumed that he was sleeping so much because he did not feel well and expressed my feelings to my mother.

I told my mother that I was going to the Rite Aid Pharmacy to buy Gatorade and crackers for Kevin,  and that I would be right back to take him to the emergency center.

While I was at the pharmacy, my mother called my upset, stating that his eye turned black.  I then rushed back to my mother’s apartment, gathered Kevin and went to the hospital.

At the hospital, I advised the doctor of the condition that Kevin was in when he arrived from school and of the development of the black eye.  I told him that I wasn’t sure what had happened to Kevin during his day at school.

The doctor checked his eye and put eye drops in his eye.  He stated that everything was okay.  I then went home.  Kevin continued to sleep throughout the night.  He would wake up moaning every once in a while and then fall back to sleep.

The following day, July 28th I went to Kevin’s school to inquire about the happenings  of the previous day.  I was advised that nothing out of the ordinary had happened to Kevin.  I was told that something must have occurred on the school bus.

I then left dissatisfied and went to work.  I left my job early that day and took Kevin to his pediatrician.  I was told that he had an ear infection and that was probably the reason that he was sleeping so much.

The next day I did not go to work, I was very concerned about Kevin because of all of the sleeping.  I then remembered that Diabetes runs in his father’s family, and requested the doctor to do blood work and run a urine analysis on him.  He referred us to go to the lab. So we did.  Kevin would not urinate, so I was given a cup to take home with me.  This was to be returned the next day with the urine sample in it.

Kevin would not urinate, so the next day, I prepared to go with the empty cup to the lab. I placed him in his car seat and began strapping him in. My hand brushed his head.  I felt a strange swelling covering Kevin’s head.  I then panicked and rushed to the doctor.  The doctor advised us to go immediately to the Emergency Room of the hospital..

Kevin was diagnosed with a fractured skull after some tests were done including a Cat Scan.  He was then admitted to the Intensive Care section of the Pediatrics Unit and remained there until August 3.

The Prosecutor’s Office was handling this case.  It was then transferred to Institutional Abuse.

Till this day I have not been informed of what actually happened to my son.

I have left several messages to no avail.

PLEASE HELP ME!

Our son Lucio was also in the photo montage on yesterday's show, and I agree with Siobhan's mom....had I known how the show would turn out I would not have participated. I was hoping to see a show that detailed all of the many therapies, biomedical interventions and approaches to helping children with autism become their very best selves. I wrote in asking for a respected and reliable voice to inform parents about what is available, and help them find it in their own communities. I was very disappointed.

 

Lucio is an amazing, loving, sweet, smart, funny little boy. He is 2 1/2 years old, and while he does not speak, he uses PECS, sign language, and gestures to communicate. He is curious and energetic, and loves exploring, climbing and snuggling.

 

We are blessed to have a wonderful and supportive family, great friends, and a network of educated and caring professionals to help us teach Lucio all he needs to learn, in a way that makes sense to him. I was hoping this show could have brought support, information and guidance to others who are not as fortunate as we are.

I am a mother of a 13 year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome, " high functioning autism". You are right that in the sense that these children are not normally violent, but all of these children do react differently when frustrated. My child does scream, yell, kick, bang his head and wail loudly and will resist and fight any type of hold that is used to help protect him. These behaviors are a way for these children to let you know that they are frustrated and they can not control some of these feelings and emotions. Alot of times if you know what triggers these actions you can learn to avoid situations that are hard for someone who is living with autism. Even in the school environment you need to be sure that all of your child's teachers have a clear understanding of what your child lives with on a daily basis, so that they can also learn to help avoid situations that may arise and prevent a posssible total meltdown. My child is a very bright and intelligent boy who excels in his academic work at school, but struggles everyday with friendships and social issues. I really think that there needs to be more awareness in society about autism, because I'm sure that everyday day is a challenge for any person dealing with  this neurological disorder. All I can say is for 13 years my life has been enhanced with joy since I gave birth to this intriging child, I do not know any other life and could not imagine what my life without this loving boy would be like. I often wonder what is going on in his mind, because it seems like the wheels are always spinning and I know that he struggles with many different emotions daily. I have spent many hours researching and trying to understand this diagnosis, but I don't think any of us will ever understand truly what our child or any other person with autism has to deal with. All of these children are amazing and offer many different insights into the world of autism. All I can say is give your child unconditional right and fight for your child in school and out in the community because many people do not think that people with autism should participate in the same things as what other children do. I think that they do and that is why I am behind my child 110% in anything that he wants to do. Thanks for reading and if anyone would like to know more about my son feel free to e-mail me at redneckwannabe@verizon.com.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Thank you!  I would be second in line.  There is no cure. Period.  Autism seems to be the hot topic for holly wood to talk about nowdays.  It was there long before the media turned it into a circus.  I'm all for awareness but they never , and I mean never, show what life is REALLY like.  They only show snipets.  Those snipets are either really bad or of some kid whose mom "has found a cure".  Never about those hundreds of adults living with autism and doing quite well.  My son is 18.  I've never believed in the vacinnation theory.  I was kind of a "tardy" mom and didn't have my son vacinnated "on time".  His vaccinations don't even begin to coincide with the onset of his symptoms.  I wanted them to so I could have something to blame.  But they just didn't.  It's genetic.  And we've been through it all too.  I finally just learned to accept it and go on with life.  We are all happier now, my husband, my other children , and my son with autism.  And some of you will never believe this, but I am so very blessed that God chose me to be the mother of a child with autism.  It has changed my life.  For the better.  15 years ago, I wouldn't have said that.  But I'm saying it now!!!!Thank you, Jesus!!!!!

 

Lori

My dear, something happened to that child and you have a right to know.  Start with the bus.  It is possible something did happen on the bus.  Is there an aide on the bus?  What school does your son go to--Public or private.  Question teachers, question aides, question administrators.  Let them know you are not going to let this drop until you get answers! 

 

You have now entered the world of having a special needs child and you are his advocate.  He has no voice but you do.  You have rights under special education laws.  Google IDEA laws .  You will find a wealth of info.  Know your rights.  Know your child's rights.  Knowledge is power.  In this computer world there is no reason not to know. 

 

When my 18 year old son was 5 (and he was nonverbal at the time), he began coming home with bruises on his body.  Finally, one bruise was in the exact shape of fingerprints that were on his upper arm.  His new teacher's aide was a man and did not have any experience working with special needs children.  I called the school.  I talked to the principal.  I talked to the teacher.  I talked to the aide. The aide never confessed to "manhandling" my son, but that's exactly what had happened.  Every time my son saw him after that, he kicked him in the shins.  He had never done that to anyone else before or since.  He couldn't talk but he could kick.  I demanded that this aide no longer work with my son.  He didn't and my son never had bruises again.  The aide never came back to the school.  The school never admitted what had happened but I knew.  Especially when the aide was let go.  I've never had a problem since.  My son is verbal now and would tell. 

 

So you must be vigilant.  I know how hard it is but it's important.

 

Lori

Good luck with that! I truly hope it helps.  But I've been at this a very long time and have tried every know treatment and "cure".  My son was a guinea pig.  I am sorry now for everything we've put him through.  He "got better" when we accepted him for who he is.  But good luck to you.  I totally disagree with Jenny McCarthy and truly question the validity of her claims.

Dr. Sears made the comment that time will tell whether or not vaccines are responsible for autism. I presume he meant that because mercury has supposedly been removed from childhood vaccines, we ought to now see the incidence going down. There is just one problem with this theory--children are still being exposed to toxic levels of mercury and other metals and poisonous substances in their vaccines. Now doctors are advising and administering flu vaccines for babies and pregnant women, and the vast majority of these shots have twenty five micrograms of thimerosal, the mercury based preservative that was supposed to be removed from vaccines. This is a toxic level.

 

While the Department of Health and Human Services promised, eight long years ago, to work with public health agencies and manufactureres to remove thimerosal from vaccines, they continue to poison Americans.

 

Robin Nemeth

http://www.wideopenwest.com/~r_nemeth/clinic_timeline.htm

thank so much for this info my son now is 5 yrs old he is still non verbal he just says a couple of words now.. we have done so much till this day we have no answers the only good thing that came out of all this is that my son is alive and also he was put in a private school...

I really think that instead of just focusing on vaccines we should think of how much has changed in the last 2 decades. There are chemicals in flame retardant clothing, in the teflon in pots and pans, there are more being tossed into the air every day. Vaccines can't be the only culprit. Otherwise the explosion would be 10 fold than what it already is. People need to stop finding a scapegoat, take a step back and look at the whole picture. Obviously something is going on, but how are we ever going to move forward if people keep focusing only on the vaccines?? Ther are many potential triggers that could have set off autism in our kids. And what about the rest of the children who don't regress but just stagnate? Nobody seems to have an explanation for them do they? It is so irritating for parents to give new parents dealing with this diagnosis false hope. Put them on the diet, they'll start talking. Chelate the metals, they'll begin to socialiize. Detox the yeast, they'll be the next president of the US. Are people so narrow minded that they only see one view? It's like starving dogs hanging onto a bone. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Do your research. And stop jumping on bandwagons.

    Autism is very difficult to understand and deal with.  You are constantly learning and dealing with he cycle that seems to come along Progress, plateau, regress.  It never ends I know I have four kids and my youngest son is autistic. He looks 6 is 5 and mental he is less than 2.  The best thing is not give up hope my little angel did only have a vocabuary of 5 words now with the help of his therapist he for sure knows and can use properly 31 words.  So help is out there but everyon involved has to work together.