Field Trip to ZOO!

Successes: 

~Maddox ate his homemade allergy free pancakes (ingredients blended into pancake mix: kiwi, broccoli, carrots, kale, plain coconut yogurt-3 tbsp, pumpkin seeds and whole blueberries once cake started cooking in cast iron pan with coconut butter spray) I used an egg substitute and gluten free pancake mix. He ate 3...success! And Gavin ate 1 pancake, Amelia ate one later that day too! 

~Maddox did an amazing job at our little Henry Villas Zoo mommy field trip! Our friend from WEAP (Wisconsin Early Autism Project Therapist) joined us and it went really well. Maddox had great recognition of the animals and good eye contact. He held hands with us and walked calmly throughout zoo. His favorite things were the "big tree" play structure with slides, the duck & black swan area, seals and prairie dogs. He also did a great job viewing the camels and lions. Gavin was very loud during part of the walk but, Maddox handled it by covering his ears and we split the boys up while walking. 

~Maddox went poppy today...(after two days of no). Hope can get back on track.

Regressions:

~Maddox didn't want Gavin to jump with him on outdoor trampoline as usual but, did well swinging next to him.

Therapies:

~2  1/2  hours with WEAP therapist(Wisconsin Early Autism Project). He really enjoyed going to the zoo with his WEAP friend! He had great attention & awareness.

~15 min of exercises/x4 times today (Maddox working with mommy)-Brain Balance exercises (methods stimulating the different areas of his brain where there's a lack of proper connections, and working towards simultaneously raising them to the same level for real-time integration) Sensory-Motor Exercises, Coordination and Balance

Food Journal: (All foods are organic & free of gluten, egg, casein, soybean, strawberry)

Breakfast~ 3 homemade allergy free pancakes (ingredients blended into pancake mix: kiwi, broccoli, carrots, kale, plain coconut yogurt-3 tbsp, pumpkin seeds and whole blueberries)

Snacks~ 1 1/2 cup GF pretzels, 1 cup GF Whole-O's cereal, 2 cups green grapes

Lunch~ 4 allergy free dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, 1 cup raisins

Dinner~  5 pieces of nitrate free Turkey bacon, 1 cup applesauce

~4 bottles of water throughout the day

Supplements: (Mixed with 1/4 cup Aroniaberry juice diluted & pressed-organic apple juice)

~AM~ 

DHA 2.5 mL(1/2 teaspoon)

Pure Vitamin D(4 tiny drops...each little drop=1,000 IU

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

1/4 teaspoon Probiotics

Multivitamin "Rhino" gummies(2 gummies)

~Lunch~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~Dinner~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~PM~

1/4 teaspoon of Probiotics 

Melatonin w/ Magnesium Oxide (2 capsules)

Zinc (1 capsule)

***Gavin was a little cranky at the zoo but, really enjoyed seeing the animals when they were out. He was super cute making goat noises! He did well playing with Amelia after the zoo. 

Videos/Images:

Tried new food today!

Successes: 

~Maddox ate blueberry coconut yogurt for the first time in months!!! Variety in his diet is very important. Healthy buddy!

~Maddox did a wonderful job interacting with me on his outdoor trampoline. He said "mo, mo, more" after prompting. Maddox is so sweet! He often comes up to me and rubs my face and then kisses me! Lucky mommy!

~Maddox did a nice job trying to say "up"...good job trying buddy!

Regressions:

~Maddox had a meltdown as we parked at the grocery store to get more apple juice. He has a very hard time traveling with Gavin due to his auditory sensitivities. Maddox covers his ears very often (nearly always when he's around Gavin). I attempted to "model" headphones for Maddox but, after many attempts he had zero desire to try them. I will try to re-introduce them next week.

~No poopy today again today.  

Therapies:

~3 hours with WEAP therapist (Wisconsin Early Autism Project). He did great! He really does well with his programs. He also really enjoyed going on their wagon ride walk.

~15 min of exercises/x5 times today (Maddox working with mommy) -Brain Balance exercises (methods stimulating the different areas of his brain where there's a lack of proper connections, and working towards simultaneously raising them to the same level for real-time integration) Sensory-Motor Exercises, Coordination and Balance

Food Journal: (All foods are organic & free of gluten, egg, casein, soybean, strawberry)

Breakfast~ 5 pieces of nitrate free Turkey bacon, 2 cups of green grapes

Snacks~ 1 1/2 cup GF pretzels, 1 cup GF Whole-O's cereal with dried organic raspberries added

Lunch~ 5 allergy free dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, 1 cup cherry tomatoes

Dinner~ Blueberry Coconut Yogurt, 3 pieces of nitrate free Turkey bacon, 1 orange 

~3  bottles of water throughout the day

Supplements: (Mixed with 1/4 cup Aroniaberry juice diluted & pressed-organic apple juice)

~AM~ 

DHA 2.5 mL(1/2 teaspoon)

Pure Vitamin D(4 tiny drops...each little drop=1,000 IU

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

1/4 teaspoon Probiotics

Multivitamin "Rhino" gummies(2 gummies)

~Lunch~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~Dinner~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~PM~

1/4 teaspoon of Probiotics 

Melatonin w/ Magnesium Oxide (2 capsules)

Zinc (1 capsule)

***Gavin did a great job tracing his letters on the iPad and is doing amazing with using new words! Go Gavi!! Also, it was his first time eating organic ketchup on nitrate free/organic hotdog. He loved it and says "hot dah"! Its super cute!

Videos/Images:

New 14ft outdoor Trampoline is Priceless!

(I say "outdoor" trampoline because we Maddox already has his 8 ft trampoline downstairs and a 5 ft trampoline that travels between the screen porch and the living room...anything for our Maddox's needs. Gavin hit the jackpot on all of these therapeutic toys he gets to share now!)

Successes: 

~Maddox played really well with his little cousin, Amelia outside on the play-system and on the trampoline. They were very funny together and he was actually acknowledging her and they were laughing at each-other bounce around the trampoline! He let her slide with him and climb on the same apparatuses. Great parallel play all afternoon!

~Maddox said "more" for me today after prompting and waiting 2 min. and giving him some space. He also did amazingly well mimicking my actions on the trampoline again tonight. He was very engaged in playing with me...he helped me get up, and hugged and kissed me a lot. My favorite!

~Maddox said "Yeah" to me twice in conversation! I typically talk to Maddox as if he is talking back (as I realize how frustrating that would be to want to respond and have a voice but, just can't get the words out) and he responded appropriately with a smirky smile, "yeah" twice in conversation!

~Maddox overall did a great job going "pee-pee on the potty" today.

Regressions:

~No poopy today but, I'm sure first thing tomorrow. He just loved that trampoline so much today that I think it was hard for him to focus on what his body was telling him. I will help him with tummy exercises in AM and hope that does the trick. 

Therapies:

~2 hours with his Senior WEAP therapist (Wisconsin Early Autism Project)went really well. Again, he really enjoyed doing some of his set programs outdoors on his trampoline. 

~15 min of exercises/x4 times today (Maddox working with mommy) -Brain Balance exercises (methods stimulating the different areas of his brain where there's a lack of proper connections, and working towards simultaneously raising them to the same level for real-time integration) Sensory-Motor Exercises, Coordination and Balance

Food Journal: (All foods are organic & free of gluten, egg, casein, soybean, strawberry)

Breakfast~ GF (Gluten Free) buck-berry waffle, 4 pieces of nitrate free Turkey bacon

Snacks~ 2 cups of green grapes, 1 cup GF Whole-O's cereal with dried organic raspberries added

Lunch~ 3 allergy free dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, 6 dried large pieces of mango, 2 cups allergy free pretzels

Dinner~ Attempted Tortilla pizza, no success. Ate 1 1/2 cups green grapes, 1 cup applesauce. 

~3  bottles of water throughout the day

Supplements: (Mixed with 1/4 cup Aroniaberry juice diluted & pressed-organic apple juice)

~AM~ 

DHA 2.5 mL(1/2 teaspoon)

Pure Vitamin D(4 tiny drops...each little drop=1,000 IU

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

1/4 teaspoon Probiotics

Multivitamin "Rhino" gummies(2 gummies)

~Lunch~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~Dinner~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~PM~

1/4 teaspoon of Probiotics 

Melatonin w/ Magnesium Oxide (2 capsules)

Zinc (1 capsule)

***Gavin did really well reading books today with mama! He loves copying everything Amelia says when she visits! Super funny.

Images/Videos:

Weekly Road Trip to Mequon with my buddy...

Successes: 

~Maddox did very well on the "road trip" down to Mequon this week. He did NOT try to take his seatbelt off on the way home (which has been an issue the past few times). However, he did take if off in the first 15 min. down the road on the trip back home, and I had to pull over and teach him to be safe and wear his seatbelt like mommy.

~Maddox said "mama" during his session with Dr. Fritz, referencing me. He did very well during the session and was in happy spirits the whole time. He ran right into his office with an excited giggle when we arrived. 

~Maddox did an amazing job grocery shopping at Whole Foods with me after our long road trip back and forth from Mequon. He decided he wanted to sit in the cart and expressed this by pulling my hand and putting it in child seat area and then lifting his foot towards my hand. I asked him if he wanted to sit in the cart and he smiled. Cute. Maddox was very compliant the entire time we were in the store, he was silly and maintained amazing eye contact with me the whole time. Overall a great shopping trip!

~Maddox said "no" to Matt, when Matt said, "hey buddy let's shut the door to the screen porch and head inside"...Maddox said plain as day..."NO." It was great and took us both by surprise! Whatever words he wants to use at this point are priceless!

~Maddox went poopy on the potty again! Daddy helped Maddox and our potty success continues. (Dr. Fritz suggestion of massaging his belly in the pattern of his large intestine has been a miracle...works everytime along with physical therapies and healthy/balanced diet.)

Regressions:

~Besides Maddox slipping off his shoulder belt in the van ride home from Mequon, Maddox really didn't have any negative regressions today. Overall a good day!

Therapies:

~45 min appointment with Dr. Fritz/15 min additional for me to check-in on progress & weekly exercises. 

~15 min of exercises/x2 times today (Maddox working with mommy) -Brain Balance exercises (methods stimulating the different areas of his brain where there's a lack of proper connections, and working towards simultaneously raising them to the same level for real-time integration) Sensory-Motor Exercises, Coordination and Balance

Food Journal: (All foods are organic & free of gluten, egg, casein, soybean, strawberry)

Breakfast~ GF (Gluten Free) buck-berry waffle, 6 dried large pieces of mango, 1 cup organic applesauce

Snacks~ 2 cups of green grapes, 1 cup of Blue Corn GF tortilla chips, 1 cup allergy free pretzels, 1 cup GF Whole-O's cereal with dried organic raspberries added, 

Lunch~ 5 allergy free dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, 1/2 cup raisins

Dinner~ Early dinner/8 pieces of crispy bacon, 10 cherry tomatoes

~3 1/2 bottles of water throughout the day

Supplements: (Mixed with 1/4 cup Aroniaberry juice diluted & pressed-organic apple juice)

~AM~ 

DHA 2.5 mL(1/2 teaspoon)

Pure Vitamin D(4 tiny drops...each little drop=1,000 IU

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

1/4 teaspoon Probiotics

Multivitamin "Rhino" gummies(2 gummies)

~Lunch~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~Dinner~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~PM~

1/4 teaspoon of Probiotics 

Melatonin w/ Magnesium Oxide (2 capsules)

Zinc (1 capsule)

***Gavin did well playing with Grandma Paula while me & Maddox were in Mequon. He was working on his colors and ate very well (as usual). Miss my little Gavin on Thursdays.

Today was an AMAZING DAY! Mr. Maddox has made great progress today!

Successes: 

~Maddox woke up and cuddled with mommy a little then it was time to start the day. 

~Maddox did really well with in-home speech therapy-He said "pig" when prompted after approx. 3 min of waiting for him to respond! GO BUDDY! The words are in there sweetie! We just have to be patient.

~Maddox's stimming (short for self-stimulatory behavior...such as hand-flapping, humming, jumping) were minimal again today.

~Maddox was very relaxed during horseback riding today. It only took 1 prompt for him to choose a PEC to express his desired activity. (PECS=Picture Exchange Communication System: a form of alternative and augmentative communication that uses pictures instead of words to help children communicate.) When choosing the PEC for outside, he said "OUT"....we were all so excited! YAY MADDOX!!!!

~While watching the video of himself horseback riding on my iPhone, Maddox said "Maddox" twice!!!! Great self-recognition and talking!

~Maddox did an amazing job mirror imaging me outside on the new trampoline! He had great eye-contact with me and was acting in a joking around, funny manor. It was wonderful! I would say and demonstrate jumping with arm circles, jump splits, stopping, high-fives and clapping, using the "sign" for JUMP. He mimicked everything! Great attention buddy!

~Maddox did a nice job bouncing with daddy (Matt) and doing the monkey bars. Maddox said "more" for Matt twice.

~Maddox drank all of his supplements today.

~Maddox went poopy again today!

Regressions:

~Maddox threw a major tantrum after picking up Gavin (little brother) from Grandma Paula. While I was putting Gavin in the van, Maddox threw his head back twice, cried & yelled. He proceeded to do this the entire ride home. I tried to calm him down by saying "This is your little brother, Gavin ...we love him and he is coming home with us...it's no big deal." 

Therapies:

~1 hour/Speech Therapy at home today went really well. Maddox said "pig" after prompting and waiting about 3 min. for the response. He is doing well with the new headphones for "music therapy" trial. (He doesn't always prefer to wear the headphones but they can be flipped around and set near him for sound.)

~30 min. of Hipp0therapy (Therapeutic Horseback riding)

~2 1/2 hours with one of his WEAP (Wisconsin Early Autism Project)therapist went very good. She was working on mimicking sounds as well, and Maddox said "bah,  bah" for "blue" a few times! He really enjoyed doing some of his set programs outdoors on his trampoline and on the screen porch. I believe it is becoming increasingly important for Maddox to be flexible in different learning environments. 

~15 min of exercises/x4 times today -Brain Balance exercises (methods stimulating the different areas of his brain where there's a lack of proper connections, and working towards simultaneously raising them to the same level for real-time integration) Sensory-Motor Exercises, Coordination and Balance

Food Journal: (All foods are organic & free of gluten, egg, casein, soybean, strawberry)

Breakfast~ GF (Gluten Free) buck-berry waffle, 1 cup of GF Whole-O's cereal with dried organic raspberries added, 2 cups of crispy green grapes

Snacks~ 1 1/2 cup of Blue Corn GF tortilla chips, 2 clementines

Lunch~ 5 GF chicken dinosaur nuggets, 6 cherry tomatoes

Dinner~ Organic GF corn tortilla pizza! (Tortilla with 2 pieces large nitrate free/organic pepperoni, pizza sauce, Daiya Vegan Cheese-mozzerella)

~3 bottles of water throughout the day

Supplements: (Mixed with 1/4 cup Aroniaberry juice diluted & pressed-organic apple juice)

~AM~ 

DHA 2.5 mL(1/2 teaspoon)

Pure Vitamin D(4 tiny drops...each little drop=1,000 IU

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

1/4 teaspoon Probiotics

Multivitamin "Rhino" gummies(2 gummies)

~Lunch~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~Dinner~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~PM~

1/4 teaspoon of Probiotics 

Melatonin w/ Magnesium Oxide (2 capsules)

Zinc (1 capsule)

***Little brother,Gavin did a great job talking today! New words everyday for our little guy!

Videos:

Hi Everyone! I would like to start each future post with the successes during "Mr. Maddox's" day. Maddox is amazing and his successes should take center stage!

Successes: 

~Maddox woke up again with a bright smile on his face. He greeted me good morning with cuddling and a kiss. My favorite! He loves to be tickled and immediately raised his arm to express wanting to be tickled. "Oh really...you want to be tickled all of the day?" I say in a funny voice and he starts giggling! What a great guy! 

~Maddox did very good at transitioning back and forth from home to speech therapy in Madison, and from home to swim lessons in Fitchburg. (Many days can be rough due to construction or a different route that I may need to take. These unforeseen changes in driving routine can leave him feeling a little insecure as he knows each route by heart...Maddox is non-verbal but is intelligent beyond belief...he has an amazing photographic memory).

~Maddox's stimming (short for self-stimulatory behavior...such as hand-flapping, humming, jumping) were minimal today.

~Maddox drank all of his supplements today.

~Maddox went poop today! (Many, many children on the Autism Spectrum suffer from a variety of gastrointestinal issues. Dr. Fritz from the Brain Balance Center in Mequon showed me a variety of exercises to help ease the process for Maddox. FYI-"the more you know" is so true...nearly everyday since Matt & I returned from the AutismOne Conference in Chicago area, Maddox has pooped! And prior to that he would go 5-7 days on average sadly without. It was terrible and we had tried everything.)

~Maddox's first speech therapy session with his new WEAP speech therapist went very well. He actually tried to head back upstairs after they were done to her office again. That's a good sign!

~Said "more" after multiple tries and 2-3 minutes in between me requesting him to mimic my words

~Signed "jump" unprompted to me 3 times while on the trampoline when he wanted me to bounce him in the air

~He attempted to say "orange" after multiple prompts from me and directing his focus continuously between my mouth saying "orange" and the orange block he desired

Regressions:

~Maddox threw a massive tantrum when Gavin (his 19 month old brother) tried to jump on his new 14ft. outdoor trampoline with us. It's as if he has saved up all of this backlash for Gavin. Maddox is very kind and extremely patient with Gavin (he mainly just avoids him like the plague) but today he threw a tantrum. I had to verbal explain to be kind to our little brother and cheer him on for doing a great job jumping with us. I made him kiss and hug him to express that we love him and to calm down. 

~Maddox had a hard time being patient when me and Gavin took awhile to get inside from the backyard, and he was fiddling around with the screen porch door "screen" and pushed his foot right threw it. I showed him what he had done and explained that we need to play inside now since we could not be patient and wait. "We need to pick a better choice, let's go inside Maddox."

Therapies:

~No one from the WEAP (Wisconsin Early Autism Project) was scheduled for today.

~Speech Therapy at WEAP in Madison went well today...mainly a day to get to know our new therapist friend.

Food Journal: (All foods are organic & free of gluten, egg, casein, soybean, strawberry)

Breakfast~ GF (Gluten Free) buck-berry waffle, dried mangos (we have a food dehydrator...get one, they're great for making healthy, on-the-go snacks!), 5 strips of nitrate free turkey bacon (his favorite!)

Snacks~ 1 cup GF cereal with dried raspberries, GF pretzels (great to give a little if he won't drink his supplement juice because the pretzels really make him thirsty), 2 organic suckers during & after speech therapy for oral motor stimulation

Lunch~ 5 GF chicken dinosaur nuggets, green crispy grapes (also a favorite!)

Dinner~ 4 more GF chicken dinosaur nuggets after a failed attempt at organic chicken toquitos, applesauce

~3 bottles of water throughout the day

Supplements: (Mixed with 1/4 cup Aroniaberry juice diluted & pressed-organic apple juice)

~AM~ 

DHA 2.5 mL(1/2 teaspoon)

Pure Vitamin D(4 tiny drops...each little drop=1,000 IU

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

1/4 teaspoon Probiotics

~Lunch~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~Dinner~

Digestive Enzymes w/Isogest(1 capsule)

~PM~

1/4 teaspoon of Probiotics (hidden this time in small scoop of applesauce)

Melatonin w/ Magnesium Oxide (2 capsules)

Zinc (1 capsule)

***I always want to end by adding a little something about little brother, Gavin. Gavin had a good day. He played with cousin, Amelia and Grandma Paula for a portion of the day during our therapy/swims trip. He is working on saying "please"...super cute! He has handfuls of little words and when he is not "whining" is a delight! I think that's part of being the little brother. He loves copying everything Maddox does, good or bad. Funny! XOXO Gavin

Video: Maddox Doing Amazing Back-floats at swimming Lesson. Thanks to our friend JON at SwimWest!

Our Journey Continues and Our Blog Begins

I am starting this blog for my sweet Maddox. He is the best person I've ever known! Maddox was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at 2 1/2 years old. Since that January afternoon in 2009, our  little family has been consumed with the world of Autism. A set "roadmap"does not exist for curing this condition that overtakes your beautiful, innocent child. Not yet anyways. As parents, we are left to fail or succeed on our own for our babies. It truly is a marathon, not a sprint and the most important piece of advice that I could ever give to another parent is to BE PROACTIVE. Children Do Fully Recover from ASD and my goal in life is to include my wonderful Maddox in that growing group of success stories. He is an amazing gift and I cherish him and all of the lessons he continues to teach me. 

Many of you would be shocked to know how much time, energy, money and research it takes just to fulfill our kid's ever expanding health needs on a weekly basis. Each child struggles with such seemingly endless challenges that change and morph into different symptoms. Just as soon as you conquer one symptom, another one arrises. I have been so blessed to meet many amazing children and parents facing the very same challenges that we, as a family face on a daily basis. This is a platform for me to reach out to others and bring them behind the scenes on Maddox's daily therapies, successes, regressions, diet, biomedical interventions and more! I truly hope this blog helps those outside of the Autism world fully appreciate what these children and families are going thru daily. Autism is just a curtain that needs to be lifted. These are beautiful, vibrant, talented, intelligent children and adults that are struggling with the symptoms of Autism and deserve the utmost respect and care.