Riding the WaVe

Attaching a lanyard or neck strap to an ipod touch

2012-02-14T09:23:00.000+08:00

I use a cable tie adhesive holder to attach her lanyard. Stick it on her ipod touch case and problem solved. Its so weird that those waterproof / shockproof casing designer/manufacturer cant even add a simple hole in the cases for us to attach a lanyard.

Happy day

2011-11-18T15:50:00.000+08:00

The destination is still far but im thankful that the journey has many great moments despite the many obstacles.
Looking forward to more progresses :-D

My dad love n hate nutriiveda

2011-11-08T10:40:00.001+08:00

I was surprised when he asked for a canister of nutriiveda in june. he had not drank it consistently coz its a chore to him. Whenever I asked him whether he had drank it or not, he ignored my question or shooed me away so as not to bother him.

So when he himself asked for it, of course i need to know why the sudden change. He has diabetes and he likes to cook. Sometimes when he cooks he got injured either by getting bumps and bruises or a cut by the knife. His bruises heals slowly and his arm looks ugly with blue blacks spots here n there.

He said he noticed that when he drank nutriiveda his bruises and wounds heals faster. he thought its the traditional oil that he uses to rub on it that works on the bruises but it didnt work as fast as usual when he stopped drinking nutriiveda.

So now he acknowledged that nutriiveda somehow or other is benefitting him. He stil cant stand drinking it everyday but now he is motivated even more to drink on his own. I dont need to urge him anymore ;-)

The light at the end of the tunnel

2011-11-08T10:13:00.002+08:00

I can finally see that the light is clearer now. The first award awarded to Nazurah from her school is a confirmation and motivation for me to perservere on for her sake and never to give up on her. It made me feels good that im not delusional about her progress and improvements. Others noticed it too and acknowledged her milestone achievements. A late bloomer but better than never.

I believe Nutriveda plays a part too. She took full dose of 2 scoops twice a day when she started about june 2010. Stopped awhile in dec 2010 to see any reaction. In Jan 2011 onwards she took 2 heaping scoops once a day again.

Her cognitive improves alot. This year she could blow her birthday candles with no problem at all too. She could write and copy from the whiteboard. Could be on seat to complete simple assignments. She vocalizes more and attempts at following my mouth movements to talk!

There are still alot to improve in. Im just so glad she is progressing and not stagnant. Do give her your prayers and may she progress more and found success and independence in life and good health. Amin.

2011

2011-01-13T11:24:00.000+08:00

I had a busy year end that i couldnt find time to update. Here's gist of whatever I could remember.

I didnt give my gals a month plus of nutriiveda as theres a lot of changes in our routine.

In the beginning, Nazurah red bumbs on her forearms and legs dissappeared when she started nutriiveda but then after 5 months it came back n got worst. Its not itchy but it made her arm look rough with pimply like bumbs. After a month without nutriiveda, her cognitive is still good and the red bumbs is subsiding. Her moods with rare tantrums is maneageable because her listening skills to instructions is still good too. She understands when I told her the reason why she cant have or cant do something. So that means she still retain her surges.

The negative part without nutriiveda is that she have constipation and her sleep got disrupted. It took her a long time to fall asleep. Nazurah eats alot so maybe with Nutriiveda it gives her a fuller tummy? I dont know.

I started Nazurah with Nutriiveda again yesterday. Hopefully i see more surges. Ill monitor if the red bumbs get worst again.

My dad and NV

2010-11-09T11:17:00.000+08:00

My dad is now a believer in Nutriiveda to help him keep healthy and the energy he needed. I dont need to remind or persuade him to drink nutriiveda anymore. He felt the difference in himself.

He could go marketing, cleaning the produce he bought and cook them too. He will drink one heaping scoop with honey before an activity. He will drink another heaping scoop with honey if he feels exhausted after the cooking activity.

He is 65 years old, retired now so marketing and cooking fills his daily activity on weekdays. Im glad Nutriiveda helps him have the energy to do what he wants and we get to enjoy the home cooked meal he had cooked for us too.

Nazurah has no obvious surges but her understanding and awareness of her surrounding is still good.

Slurp

2010-09-27T10:31:00.001+08:00

Nazurah slurping noodles.

She beginning to like to eat noodles since last month.

This photo was taken early september. Noticed the pointed finger she folded? Now its ok already. She uses it normally again. Phew!

She still doesnt like vegetables. She will put it out of her plate no matter how small the vege piece is. She eats chicken but some chicken meat is not as tasty to her liking.

Nazurah still have her autistic behaviour but it is under control and most important her cognitive is improving. At times i feel that she is still the same but when I noticed her maturity and understanding to complex instructions, Im convinced nutriiveda is helping her.

She has CST and MNRI once a month again.
Im looking for time and fund to start her on PROMPT speech theraphy again.

Nutriiveda 4th month

2010-09-20T11:19:00.003+08:00

I had reduced Nazurah's dosage back to 2 scoops twice a day.

I and her teachers noticed that she had become impatience and want to rush doing her routine and tasks. Her hyper is a result of better awareness of her surroundings but she is not able to take her time doing it. She needs help in time management. She comprehends conversations too! She eavesdrop and will do what we had planned to do eg. taking her shoes out of the shoe cabinet coz she knew we were going outing but its dangerous when she disappear to do certain task herself in a school setting without permission.

This is my happy problem. Im happy she is more aware but i think she needs to slow down and thats why i cut her dosage. I rather she go slow and steady than fast and furious.

She is more advanturous with foods too! I noticed she is more willing to try new foods. So far the foods she tried and beginning to like is cream pasta, soup noodle, bread, sweets (she used to eat lollipop only), other type of cookies other than chocolate chips. Her oral sensory is improving.

She cut the tip of her pointed left hand finger with a knife last december. She was trying to cut an apple herself. After the wound healed that took about a month, she would bend the finger all the time and wouldnt use it. Do look at her video sorting the Alphabets cards. For months we tried all sorts of ways to make her opened it up but to no avail. Finally she opened it last 2 weeks ago after the 4th session of craniosacral and MNRI theraphy with Angie. She was on the 4th month of Nutriiveda too. So relief that she is able to use that finger normally at last. Its not her first CST, I started her on it again after she hurt her finger. I even thought of giving her hypnosis theraphy if she still cant use her finger due to trauma.

Nabilah is taller now! Alot of people had commented :-)

This year fasting month was better than the last. My dad is more energetic. He can go to the market with a trolley and even cook for Aidilfitri's guests while fasting. Although he still walk slowly coz his legs still hurt but he is much better than before because he couldnt do anything last year. He slept alot last year. After he lost a lot of weight his skin was very wrinkled and shrivelled? After he took nutriiveda for a month i noticed his skin is firmer. Still wrinkled but taut, not loose or filmsy to the touch. He didnt drink nutriiveda regularly now, but im pleased with his improvements. I will bug him to drink it from time to time.

Nutriiveda 3rd months

2010-08-03T13:15:00.000+08:00

I have increased Nazurah's dosage for a week already to 5 scoops a day. 2 scoops in the morning and 3 scoops in the afternoon. We added 2 scoops of vanilla with 1 scoop of chocolate for the PM.

The chocolate nutriiveda has some ingredients that vanilla doesnt have so its would be good to mix since 2 scoops of chocolate is too yucky for her.

The increase in dosage cause her to be somewhat grumpy. By this week she is more enthusiastic. There is improvements in her rollerblading skills. She can move a short distance by herself. She is also more willing to try and to put on the safety gear and helmet.

Nabilah is getting taller and her arm at last feel more definite meaty/muscular. I guess Nutriiveda speed up her puberty hormones that had laid dormant. Earlier this year before nutriiveda, she was the same height as Nazurah who is 2 years younger. I thought she is going to be short like my husband's side of the family. Now i think there is hope. She even commented that she is now taller than the other shortest girl in class.

Nutriiveda Mth 2 wk 1

2010-07-06T15:01:00.002+08:00

I thought Nazurah has no new surges but she has subtle changes that I dont see until the new school term starts last week. Her teacher feedback to me that Nazurah couldnt sequence her ABC fully last term but now she can! She also "followed frontal reaching very well. She followed what she should write from the board to her worksheets."

My elder girl is still not a big eater but her arm now has a degree of firmness. From what i know, Nutriiveda does promotes muscles growth. I used to be able to feel her bones when i hold her arm. Used to feel she is just skin and bones. Her bowel movement is very regular now. Everyday. Used to be about twice a week!

Alphabetical order

2010-07-02T14:12:00.001+08:00

Last night i went to Nazurah's room to call her for bedtime and saw her stacking the alphabet cards in alphabetical order! Finally i know she knows her alphabets!

The cards were all over the table. She started with A at the bottom and upwards. Took K card, traces it and places the K on top of J card and so on until Z. She did it quite fast. As usual im dumbstruck again. I wished i had taken a video of it. Will try it tonight.

I smsed her teacher wondering if she had already done that in school. Teacher said before the term ends for 1 month holiday, Nazurah was only able to sequence alphabets halfway. Now she can do full by herself! Must be the help of the apps in her Ipod Touch and also Nutriiveda is working on her cognitive? Whatever! This is great. Now im hoping for the next step that she can generalise the letters into words and objects.

Staying hopeful :-)

Nutriiveda For Your Info

2010-07-02T13:57:00.001+08:00

A few notes from Barbara A. Taylor, M.S., CCC-SLP, Executive Director/ Help Me

Speak, LLC

1. Remember that NV seems to be DOSAGE dependent.

In other words, don’t start counting days on NV until your child has been on the full dose. You may see changes/surges prior to that but you may not.

It’s the same as taking a portion of any medicine or supplement. If I have a migraine and take ¼ of the Imitrex, I don’t expect it to work nearly the same way. If I’m on an antibiotic for a sinus infection and I take it only once a day (vs. twice/day), my infection WILL take longer to improve and may NOT improve because I altered the dosage.

2. Rate of gains

The rate of surges/gains on NV depends on ALL the factors of strength/weakness in a child. If a child is functionally nonverbal (= a few sounds/words), has ASD, has apraxia, and more, then it make take more weeks to see changes. I would not expect my clients who are similar to come in to therapy after a wk or two on NV and suddenly use a verbal 4-5 word sentence. I

DO expect progress but at a realistic rate. (It’s sorta like weight loss---you can’t start a diet today and expect to lose 50 lbs by the weekend.)

It’s like a flower opening slowly or opening a child’s NEW toy (in the package)--- many layers to open before you can get the toy out! I would expect my clients skills to emerge in the same way—in a hierarchy. So, first, we might notice increased oral exploration, tongue play, etc. Then, sound play/ emergence, etc. and so on…..

3. Eating/Fluids

ALSO…NV does detox the body and remove the ‘junk’ BUT again, it’s a gradual process. That is why increased fluids (multiply body wt x .6= total oz of fluid/day) are so important. Remember, fluids are water, juice, etc. and in foods---applesauce, fruit, etc.

The foods eaten by the person on NV need to improve somewhat so that the true ‘work’ of the NV can occur.

Yes, I know that many kids on this list are picky/problem eaters---I work with many too---and I am not speaking about them.

There are many other kids w/apraxia who are typical eaters. So, work on improving the quality of what they are eating as well. Decrease sugar, excess fat, & highly processed foods. Trade a Happy Meal at McD’s for a burger, apple ‘fries’, broiled fries, and “toy” at home. Yes, it’s more work but worth it.

It’s the same for any adults who are trying to lose weight on NV. You can’t continue to eat junk and not drink enough water (no, diet soda does not count) AND expect to lose weight.

http://pursuitofresearch.org/

http://pursuitofresearch.org/survey.html

http://pursuitofresearch.org/faq.html

http://pursuitofresearch.org/ingredients.html

Nutriiveda 2 months

2010-06-30T10:50:00.000+08:00

Its been 2 months already. So far no other surges that i have seen. Her verbal comprehension is still good. I think i would like to increase her dosage next week to 3 scoops in the morning and 2 scoops in the evening and slowly increased to 3 scoops twice a day.

Lisa saw new surges when she increased her boys dosage. I guess its about time for Nazurah.

Im starting her next week because school term just started. I dont want to change her routine too much coz then i will not know whats upsetting her later.

Nutriiveda mth1 wk1

2010-06-08T14:43:00.000+08:00

Nazurah had a cough and running nose last week. No fever so i didnt give her any medication except fish oil and Nutriiveda. Her coughing didnt affect her sleep too. I dont know if this is her body's way to expel any toxins. Im just hoping it is.

Her progress is painfully slow for me. I have to remind myself that Nutriiveda will help in her recovery but it is not a magic potion. Her body needs time to heal and normalise. Still to early to say Nutriiveda doesnt work for Nazurah. Im going to let her try for at least 3 months. She is not on GFCF diet so i guess that is a hindrance to a fast recovery. Last saturday she went for craniosacral theraphy. a once a month session. I started her on that ever since starting nutriiveda.

She is still having more attempts at communicating. She understand verbal instructions well too. Though she have some tantrums Most of the time i can calm her down by reasoning! Talking to her now makes more sense to her. Thats the only thing so far that is keeping my faith in Nutriiveda.

Looking forward to the future :-)

Nutriiveda 1 month

2010-06-01T23:20:00.001+08:00

Hmmm I dont know what to say. Its one month she is on Nutriiveda today but Nazurah seems to have more stimming today. The only change is because since its school holidays now so she is given her 2nd 2 scoops of nutriiveda drink at 3pm instead of the usual time at 6.30pm. Her morning drink is at about 9am.

I hope this is temporary. She dont have new sounds or improved behaviour but I notice that she is very aware of language and understand more verbal instructions than before. More attempts to communicate in signing, ipod and mouth movements.

Nutriiveda Day 26

2010-05-30T12:35:00.001+08:00

I was told that Nazurah's autism is slightly below moderate, few sensory issues, she can make sense with environment, good hands-on skills but less skills in cognitive and language.

Last thursday night, I was sitting opposite Nazurah. I called her name and i asked her if she wanted to go Changi airport. I told her to get ready if she wants. I only gives her verbal instructions. She looked at me and she showed me the airport photo in her iPod and she got ready to go. Usually she will just look at me with no response and continued doing what she was doing and i have to give her physical prompts or cue.

I think she can now understand simple random verbal instructions better.

Last Friday night we went strolling at the Helix Bridge towards Marina Bay Sands, Nazurah was walking in between me and my helper and i was chatting with my elder daughter. I heard somebody roll the R sound 3 times and i turned around and asked my helper who was that doing the R sound 3 times? She said Nazurah did it first twice and the 3rd time it was her immitating Nazurah to play with her. I never heard she did that before! When i asked Nazurah to roll her R again and even immitate her, she couldnt or wouldnt do it on demand. So didnt hear it anymore. I asked my helper many time if she is sure that was Nazurah who rolled her R and not somebody else. She was definite it was Nazurah. I was surprised coz i think rolling the R is not an easy thing to do.

I am so happy to hear that from her coz i guess something is working. My earlier post i said that she played alot with her saliva, making bubbles and even spitting! Now i hear her roll her R and i feel a sense of hope that one day she can talk. I hope she can talk purposefully though. Thats whre I hope Nutriiveda can help too.

Lisa gave me some pointers that are most useful.

"The way I'd get Tanner to repeat is reverse psych.. Me: 'OMG!!! Kids your age are NEVER able to say ______!!! That means you are growing up and I want you to stay little forever. Don't say ____ again!!!!" I would say as I put my hand over his mouth (of course I would say this laughing and he would be laughing) and then of course he would keep trying to say it and I would be saying "NOOOOooooo!!!" and laughing we'd start running with me chasing after Tanner saying "don't say it again don't say it again" and I'd count to make sure he said it at least 3 times to make sure it's in his motor memory."

So for rolling the rs I'd read the following and get a mirror and lay on the floor and play around with your tongue and have fun making funny faces and sounds- but perhaps while "playing" you can make the rolling r sound (with other sounds too like raspberries and popping sounds blowing air out of your cheeks...you know the way you can fill your cheeks with air and then slap your cheeks and make them pop like a balloon ) and when you do the rolling r sound see if Nazurah does it again. If she does just laugh and imitate her back and make a game with it -no stress. I was always told to try to get them to repeat (in a fun way) at least 3 times to help it get into the motor memory -always worked for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(tips I found on the net for rolling r's)

Place your tounge on the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth - with as little pressure as possible (very gently)

Then blow with your tounge in this position - if you blow har denough your the air will fore it's way betwwen your tounge and your mouth forcing your tounge to vibrate producing the rolling sound.

Then make an ahhhh sound at the same time.

Put a standard r sound at the begining of this.

Hopefully this will produce the desired result
`````````````````````

Try this: don't think of it as an 'r'. Think of it as a really long 'd' with a little bit of an 'r' at the end.

``````````````````````````

Obviously, modify this once you get the hang of it.

1. Make "duck lips".

2. Open your jaw slightly.

3. Place the sides of your tongue so that it touches the underside of your top teeth, but leave the tip of your tongue not touching anything.

4. Take a deep breath and blow out forcefully. Try and get your tongue to make a flapping noise. Then start adding the traditional "r" noise.

`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

you might need some of the following techniques to be able to roll a perfect r in the future.

1. Loosen up the tongue

The reason why a lot of people can't roll their r's is simple because they're too stressed, or at least their tongue is. Speakers of American English are actually quite near a rolling r, although most tend to say it's impossible for them to do. The problem is, however, that they keep their tongue way too far back. The trick is to put your tongue in the front of your mouth, but we'll get back on that later. First, you want to loosen up your tongue.

Something I found useful is to use a tongue-twister. Three simple words worked to loosen up MY tongue: tee dee va. All I did was saying these words fast and for a long period, in order to loosen up my tongue. First I though it was a bunch of bullsh*t to do, but it actually worked.

2. Try to make short trilling sounds

So, you tongue is `loose' now? Good. After a lot of practicing with the above method I was able to produce short `trrr' and `drrr' sounds. The reason why I could only make the sound with a t or d in front of it, is because you hold your tongue close to the place it should be with and r when producing a t or d.

After the above technique you should be able to produce short rolling sounds as well. It doesn't matter if the rolling part only is there for a second, as long it's there. Just take a deep breath and push the air out trying to make a `trrr' or `drrr' sound.

3. Make a an individual rolling r

The next and crucial step it so be able to make a individual rolling r. This can be VERY hard to do, so be sure you practiced a lot with the `trrr'/'drrr' method. When I was learning to roll my r, the first few weeks my individual r's sounded like a weird sissing sound in the beginning. The good part, however, is that after a while you can make looooong rolling sounds without a sissing part in the beginning. Just practice, practice and practice. It can look hard, maybe impossible, to roll your r correctly, but you WILL succeed. Trust me, I've been there, I've been depressed over the fact I couldn't roll my r. But I've succeeded!

4. Putting your rolling r into words

Putting your newly acquired r into words can be really awkward in the beginning. The only way to overcome this is practice A LOT. One thing that helped me was listening to Spanish music and singing along (most people can't sing, including me, so you might try not to sing too loud), concentrating on the r's. Just try it, after some days you can confidently roll your r in words, just like any Spanish native-speaker.

Want some examples and instructions on how to place your tongue? http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#

=====

Lisa Geng

President CHERAB Foundation

Communication Help, Education, Research, Apraxia Base

http://www.cherab.org http://www.pursuitofresearch.org

http://www.apraxia.org http://twitter.com/TheLateTalker

772-335-5135

"Help give our cherubs a smile and a voice"

Nutriiveda Day 18

2010-05-23T13:46:00.001+08:00

Nazurah liks to throw out her numerous pit balls off its basket. She will then pick it up one by one to and fro the basket. I had taught her many times to carry the basket with her and throw the balls in. She just wouldnt do it that way. However today i saw her carrying the basket around and putting the balls back in it as she picks it up!

Finally she sees that its easier that way because of Nutriiveda or is it a coincidence?

I noticed that Nazurah tummy is flatter nowadays too. She is plump but her tummy was big and kind of ugly for a small girl. Now it looks good. When shes angry I can her grumbling out loud! heheheh Kinda cute.. Her grumbles is not words but just some word approximation of babbling. She usually just scream and cry.

Nabilah has not been a good eater and now with Nutriiveda i dont see her increase of appetite either but somewhat she looks kind of chubby? She is still thin but looks stronger. She said she feels full though. She also actually gave me a good idea to solve my problem about who is going to send nazurah to school. Usually she is the one who needs to be told how to do things efficiently.

Nutriiveda day 11

2010-05-15T22:16:00.000+08:00

My dad said he felt sleepier than usual. He have difficulty to stand up after seating on the floor but now he doesnt grunt when he wants to stand. Maybe a bit less effort or pain now?

I was cuddling nazurah today on my lap with her head on my arm and I noticed she was playing with her saliva in her mouth. making bubbles too!! Sounds gross but i have never seen her doing that. i think its a good work out for her tounge and mouth to keep those fluids in her mouth. Im just thinking if that's a first step to speech?

Epsom salt Info

2010-05-13T10:29:00.001+08:00

Epsom Salt Baths

Information compiled by Mary Wetherby, with editing and research

information provided courtesy of Susan Owens. This information may

be shared with families and professionals, but please do not use it

in a part of a larger document/paper without obtaining written

permission.

What are Epsom Salts?

Epsom Salts are the same thing as Magnesium Sulfate, which is a salt

made of only magnesium and sulphate (and maybe a little bit of

water). Magnesium is a positively charged ion, and it binds to

sulfate, which is a negatively charged ion. Sulfate is a sulphur

atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms.

You can buy them at your local drugstore or pharmacy or even in the

grocery store. They are usually located in larger bags near the

bandages or the foot care section (in a pinch, smaller containers can

be found in the laxative aisle, but it is cheaper to buy them in the

larger bags/cartons).

What is the anticipated effect from an Epsom Salt bath?

Epsom Salts have long been used to stimulate detoxification, reduce

inflammation to sore muscles, promote healthy circulation, and help

with relaxation and normalizing sleep patterns.

Most children respond to an ES bath by appearing happier, more

relaxed. Some parents report that their children are more

responsive, more "with it". Some parents who give the bath in the

evenings report that their children are able to get to sleep easier,

and have a more normal sleep pattern.

Given over time, the ES baths may help reduce sensory integration

symptoms. Some of this effect may occur due to benefits of

detoxification, but it is much more likely to come from direct

effects on the nervous system.

Why do they work? And Why is sulfation important?

One benefit of the ES baths is linked to an enzyme system known as

phenolsulfotransferase or PST. Dr. Rosemary Waring researched this

and found that in 92% of the autistic children tested, PST was

functioning at below optimal levels. This enzyme, like all other

sulfotransferases, has to use a modified form of sulfate: not the

form it takes in the bathtub. This change occurs inside your cells

by adding the molecules adenosine and phosphate to sulfate before any

sulfotransferase enzyme can use it. The molecular additions are said

to turn sulfate into its "activated form". If you think about it,

none of this can be happening in the bathtub: it is happening in

your body after sulfate is absorbed through the skin and after a

complicated interplay of enzymes. It is not going to happen

spontaneously, no matter how much sulfate you have around.

When PST has enough activated sulfate to use, it will then attach the

sulfate part of that molecule to molecules called phenols. In most

cases, adding sulfate sets up those molecules for excretion in the

urine, but it can actually activate other molecules.

When there is a deficiency of sulfate inside your cells, phenols may

build up. In the brain and nervous system this may interfere with

neurotransmitter function since many neurotransmitters are phenolic,

too. For instance, there is actually a form of PST called

catecholamine sulfotransferase or M-PST which acts on

neurotransmitters. Other sulfotransferases act on hormones and

proteins and carbohydrates of certain sorts.

Again, epsom salts are believed to help PST by providing the much-

needed sulfate to the child's body, by being absorbed transdermally (through

the skin) during the bath. The body is full of other sulfotransferases

that need sulfate to be much more concentrated than

what PST likes. These other sulfotransferases, among other jobs,

help form the extracellular nets around certain neurons, and regulate

things like axon guidance and neurons sending out processes to make

connections.

The gastrointestinal system especially needs a lot of sulfate. A

diferrent sulfotransferase enzyme called TPST uses sulfate to

activate two major gut enzymes. In animal studies the GI system

takes as much sulfate out of the blood as the liver puts into the

blood, so epsom salts are likely to mostly nourish the gut and spare

the liver the job of making sulfate from scratch from the amino acid

cysteine.

But how does this produce neurological improvements?

Detoxification is only a little part of sulfate's job. Most of the

body's sulfate is used to form huge molecules that govern chemical

traffic at the cell surface. Many of these sulfated molecules find

their more enduring home in the area immediately around the cell

called the extracellular matrix. [Extracellular = outside the cell]

These sulfated molecules function in all cell types. However, in the

brain, this type of molecule has a very special role, providing

modulation, or something like a volume control. It does this by

forming a geometric net outside particular types of neurons.

The sulfate in these molecules is no longer in an ionic form, like

you see in epsom salts in the bathtub, but is part of highly

organized structures that will attract, bind and regulate many of the

ions that are involved in cell signalling before those ions even get

to the surface of neurons or to ion channels.

You haven't heard about this from your neurologist because research

on the function of this type of molecule has been done mainly in the last

decade, and in the last year or two, especially. Even so, there are

pictures of these nets around neurons that were drawn by scientists

more than a hundred years ago before they knew what they were made

of. Nobody thought they did anything!

What seems particularly relevant is that the nets are abundant and

function in the auditory system, the somatosensory system, the

vestibular system, the cerebellum, and in almost half of the cranial

nerves. They even seem important for developing trunk strength.

You may recognize these systems as the parts of the nervous system

that are targeted by sensory integration therapy. Interestingly, the

nets won't form properly in the brain without two things happening at

the same time: adequate biochemical resources, and continued rapid

firing of the relevant nerves. This argues favorably for coupling

biochemical therapies that support this chemistry with the physical

and educational approaches that are also known to offer benefits to

these systems.

If you want to know more about the biochemical side of this, you can

read a paper written by Susan Owens who has studied the sulfated molecules

(called GAGs) for seven years. Her paper reviewing this area is part of a

book that is sold by the Autism Research Unit in Sunderland: The

Proceedings of their 2001 conference in Durham, England. See

http://osiris.sunderland.ac.uk/autism/.

What are the potential long-term benefits of continued use?

After using epsom salts on a regular basis, children may have

improvements with language, behavior, mood, and physical skills.

What if my child gets agitated?

Very few children may seem more agitated after the initial bath, or

several baths later. It is not known why this happens, but it is easy

to deal with. Just cut back on the baths for a few days and then

begin again, but with a much smaller amount of ES-perhaps a teaspoon,

and work up the amount very slowly. Also, you may see if the child

reacts to magnesium by trying it in a different form orally.

Kirkman Laboratories "Guide To Intestinal Health" booklet discusses

how impaired sulfation process can lead to a decreased production of

peptides, and bile acids, which are important to digestive function,

and lead to problems with maldigestion and malabsorption. Sulfation

is also important to the intestinal lining. Over time, decreased

sulfation can allow small portions of the gut wall to be exposed,

creating the "Leaky Gut" which is suspect in allergies, asthma, and

other neurobehavioral disorders. Sulfate's relative absense from the

esophagus may be what makes reflux hurt so much.

Okay, I think we'll try the baths—what do I need and how much Epsom

Salt, and for how long?

The amount and frequency can vary from child to child. Some parents

prefer to use as much as 2 cups of ES in a bathtub of water, allowing

the child to be in the tub for around 20 minutes, on a daily basis.

Some parents prefer to do the baths every few days, some prefer every

week. As mentioned before, if your child is one of the rare few who

seem to get agitated by the bath, then simply cut back on the amount

of salt used (my son was one of these kids and we dropped back to a

teaspoon and worked up gradually to about ¼ to ½ a cup).

What are other ways to employ Epsom Salts for sulfation benefits?

Some parents prefer to mix the ES with water and keep it in a spray

bottle and spray their kids during the day. As it dries, it leaves a

white residue that you can leave on for more of a "timed-release"

effect if it is tolerated. Others have found ways to make ES oil or

lotion. Please join the Enzymes and Autism Yahoo! Group for recipes

on how to make it into an oil or lotion. Instead of a bath, some

parents give their child a foot soak while they are eating or doing

something else. Kirkman Laboratories at www.kirkmanlabs.com sells

an Epsom Salt cream that can be applied 1 to 3 times a day. It does

not leave a residue. I have been told that there are other ES

creams out there, but I haven't seen them in any stores yet. If

someone knows of another source, please add it to this file.

Q: I gave my child an epsom salt bath, and s/he seemed more hyper

and/or emotional afterwards. Is this related to the bath? Why would

my child react this way instead of having the "expected" results?

I think the trick here, which is important to know about, is that you

need to start slowly when introducing a supplement of something for

which you have been deficient a long time, and then slowly work up to

more. This is because, unlike drugs, where the quantity of a dose is

set by the doctor trying to obtain a blood level of something FOREIGN

to the body, introducing a supplement of something the body uses

every day works in a whole different way, and this can be generalized

to lots of things. I'll explain why.

Most chemical reactions happen inside cells after substances have

crossed over the cell's outer membrane. For things cells use

everyday, they have specific transporters and receptors that are

expressed on the cell surface in the quantity that is appropriate to

assure an appropriate supply to that cell type. Not all cells like

the same quantity. When everything works right, the inside of the

cell gets the appropriate quantity of what it needs of that

substance. The cell wants not too much and not too little and it

knows how to adjust the availability of that substance to the inside

of the cell when the supply outside the cell changes.

If the supply of something the body uses up every day has been low

for awhile, the cell will upregulate the transporter or receptor that is

specific for that substance. Upregulation means it will put more of

these working molecules on the cell surface in order to increase the

odds that the substance will find its receptor or transporter.

When the supply has been high for a long time, the cell will also cut

back the quantity of the receptor or transporter on the cell surface.

Cells are very fluid like that: changing and adjusting constantly:

not like a machine at all! Your car doesn't increase the gas caps

when its fuel supply is low, but it doesn't have to gets its gas from

the passing parade by chance and kinetics...

So, if you have been deficient in sulfate for a long time, your cells

would have upregulated the transporters to make much of little. All

over the body, receptors that need sulfated ligands might have been

upregulated as well, trying to increase their signal or supply.

If you suddenly increase the quantity of sulfate that approaches the

cell by several fold, you can get too intense a signal, and that can

be overwhelming. That is why you should start slowly. This gives your

body's cells a chance to readjust to the new level they will be

seeing. We're not trying to overdo that level, but just to return it

to something normal.

Remember that cells are accustomed to biological rhythms that change

the quantities of nutrients that cells see. This includes feeding

schedules and sleep. Cells don't make these adjustments on whim or

very quickly, for they know there will be long periods of time when

the supply gets lower just because it has been a long time since you

ate something. I would guess, for that reason, that cells tend to

adjust to conditions that may continue for at least a day or two.

The way this biology works gives me the suspicion that the children

who get the most hyper after their first epsom salts bath or baths may be the

children who have been the most deficient of this substance, and have

receptors and transporters dialed WAY up.

If you are deficient in supply, even when you have receptors or

transporters expressed at extremely high quantity, you still might be

low in quantity for the function you need. The increase of receptors

or transporters will help, but it isn't much of a solution long term.

If you get exposed to something that requires a lot of sulfate for

your body to detoxify (like phenols in fumes or foods or drugs), the

level of sulfate available for NORMAL functions will be hurting

temporarily as your body tries to recover from this demand. The loss

of the function of other molecules that use sulfate for normal

function is likely what is producing symptoms: not your body feeling

toxic as if it had just been "burned" by the substance your body was

trying to detoxify. That sort of injury might take longer and it

would probably be more subtle, anyway. If you are having neurological

reactions, you are probably seeing an adjustment in the neurological

chemistry which is feeling shorted and may be overwhelmed with sudden

change.

Of course, you really need an appropriate supply of sulfate, but the

story of HOW the supply got low in the first place can be very

different from child to child, and involve organs like the kidneys,

the liver and the GI tract and systems like the immune system.

Anyway, as an example of this sort of mechanism with an entirely

different substance, I'll tell you a little about the secretin story.

This sort of receptor-quantity issue was suspected to be happening in

the children with autism who were given IV secretin. In response to

the same dose that had a predictable response in normal people, those

with autism instead put out huge quantities of pancreatic fluid.

Their response was intense on the very same dose that other patients

were getting without experiencing this overexuberant response.

Why? The sudden increase in secretin was more of a surprise for the

bodies of autistic children than it was for the other children with GI

problems being tested. The pancreas was OVER responsive to secretin

probably because this was the first good supply of secretin that it

had gotten in a long time. Scientists suspected that the amount of

secretin these children had been producing on their own had been low

for a long time. I hope all this makes sense. Your body makes

secretin, but it also makes sulfate from the amino acids cysteine and

methionine. There may be a reason this isn't happening appropriately.

I've heard of parents starting with as little as a teaspoon in the

bathwater and working up. You can also apply the solution topically,

and can control the quantity by how much surface of the skin you

cover. The half-life of sulfate in the blood is 4-9 hours.

At any rate, please do not interpret this [emotional/hyper reaction]

to mean the epsom salts were the wrong thing...it may mean exactly

the opposite! Normal people do not have any response to epsom salts

baths except maybe to feel relaxed later! They don't get hyper or

emotional…

If you have already tried reducing the quantity of epsom salts

drastically and slowly increasing the quantity, and it doesn't work

to reduce this hyper or emotional response, I'd be glad to talk to

you offlist about what else it might mean.

Anyway, I hope this helps. You've just got to think like a cell thinks!

Susan Owens

. Epsom salt baths have been in use with autistic children, sensory children,

and adhd children to help supply the

body; with magnesium, and sulfate. The document has a lengthy

explanation; about why sulfate is needed by the body. These baths are

especially useful for kids who have food sensitivities-- kids who react to

phenolic foods such as apples or foods with artificial food

coloring/flavorings.

Tok and Nenek on nutriiveda!

2010-05-10T23:22:00.001+08:00

My parents are on Nutriiveda too! At first I wanted my dad to try it coz he is quite frail because of his uncontrolled Diabetes. I thought he is going to resist it. After I told him I paid good money for that canister and even sulk if he dont drink it, so he drank it without a fuss. My mom joined too! Even though she said it tasted like drinking a cardboard box, she did finished it.

My dad drinking one scoops a day.
Will increase it as his body gets used to it. Since he is frail i dont want to take the risk of him having a diarrhea. Better to start slow coz i didnt consult any doctor to let him try it on. I told him to try for about 2 weeks or when he feels ok to up the dosage..

My mom drinking 2 scoops per day. Surprised that she wanted to join too. hehehhee

They started last Friday. Today is DAY 4 for them. So far they feedbacked to me that both felt a lot sleepy. My mom tasted burning sensation on her lips due to some undissolved nutriiveda powder. I told her to drink more water and to rinse her lips well with it.

DAY 6th for my children.
Nabilah also said she felt sleepier.
Nazurah is more demanding with tantrums and quite aggressive too. I hope its just a phase. I remember something from brain gym, if im not wrong, the therapist said that when a child realises her awareness, they will tend to show temper and 'attitude' just to test their limit or new found ability.

I have yet to experience pure joy to celebrate any achievement that I deemed the break through for my child on nutriiveda.

Looking forward to everyday.

Nutriiveda

2010-05-06T22:12:00.000+08:00

Its been soooo long. Well theres nothing interestingly different to blog. Im starting again as a journal for me to track my daughter's progress as they are having Nutriiveda.

First time we tried it was on the 9th of april. i bought a canister of chocolate and vanilla each.
1st week my daughters drank 2 scoops once a day.
Noticed an improvement to their bowel movcement. Soft stools thus no constipation.
Nazurah was in good mood! Always smiling an no frustration or tantrum.

2nd week the girls drank 2 scoops TWICE a DAY. That is the minimum dosage for their age.
Nabilah - good energy. alert.
Nazurah - still in a good mood, concentrate better and on task. mischevious/intelligent/ knowing look? though she is still not verbal but that twinkle in the eyes seems to be saying something.

And then the stock run dry after 2 weeks. Only 30 scoops in a canister and some got spilled coz Nazurah dont take it too well in the beginning. I drank a few cups too to taste what im putting them thru. Overall we prefer the vanilla better coz of its not so overpowering taste. i alwasys give them 2 scoops in one serving coz i want them to finish it fast heheheh.

Anyway as we runs out, i cut back on the dosage. Nabilah prefers one scoop of chocolate better than 2 scoops. Its not so thick and tasted better with Milo, green tea or chrysanthemum tea drinks. we even tried with juice but its too acidic and blueberry tea gives the drink a weird smell! heheheheh

The shipping took longer than I thought about 2 weeks so my girls was not drinking it for about 2 weeks too.
I dont notice any regression in Nabilah but nazurah started to have temper tntrums and frustrations at the end of the 2nd week without nutriiveda.

And then the second shipment came. This time i bought 6 canisters. i gave them the very evening it came.

So today is just the second evening that the girls started drinking nutriiveda again. Nazurah doesnt want her nutriiveda but i have to be stern with her. Luckily she finished it up. she got angry after drinking the nutriiveda and threw all her toys all over the playroom.

ABA

2008-08-01T10:12:00.002+08:00

I heard alot about ABA and how good but expensive it is. I cannot afford it at the moment. However I got to know about this website from the yahoo support group.

http://www.mariposaschool.org/materials.html

Print the entire manual.

http://www.mariposaschool.org/images/interiorpages/TrainingManual.pdf

Its a good introduction to ABA I suppose.

Been There Done That

2008-06-03T13:02:00.004+08:00

Kite Day

2008-02-17T23:18:00.000+08:00

It was a good hot but windy day for kite flying. My children enjoyed it. At first Zuhrah was not interested but she did attempts to play :-)

2008 ??!?!?!??!

2008-01-11T10:07:00.000+08:00

Ack!! I have not got over the fact that its 2007 and now its 2008 already?!!?!?!?!!

Gosh where had all the times gone? What had I, my family and Zuhrah accomplished? What had she improved? Where are we heading? What's the plan for the future? Well I dont really know.

What i know is that something had been done but as with any planning and efforts put in, God decides the outcome. So be it but still I cant help the lousy feeling that more or better ways could have been done.

Unconsciously I think this year I had wanted to do nothing much. Zuhrah have stopped going to the VSA art classes since she doesnt seem to like it anymore. Im also getting tired. No news from RDA to continue her horse riding session. I did not continue braingym coz need to revive our pocket. I will continue what ever braingym excercise I have learnt with Zuhrah. Hmmm practically theres no activities for her in the weekends.

One thing still going on, besides going to special school, she is still in the special student care that provides OT and some learning skills like writing and independent life skills. Although my family gets tired out of doing house work but not having maids makes us more involve with Zuhrah activities and she is also more independent. After 7 years of having maids, we have survived 7 months now without maid but of course I have parents to help us out otherwise it will be very tough.

Im still continuing homeopathy too. I got a new homeopath, i like his way of working with Zuhrah. His style is also the same as what been described in the book "Impossible Cure" about what to expect in a homeopath. However there is still no outright improvement that i can celebrate yet. Well to be fair Zuhrah just started seeing him in July 2007 and there is some small improvement that i dont know how to describe in writing. In other words, i trust in him and his work. Hmmmm im being selfish by not publishing his contacts yet ya.... coz i want him to concentrate on Zuhrah first and to see the results before I recommend to others. hehehehe.

Anyways we had fun in 2007.

Duck Race

2007-09-09T12:52:00.000+08:00

Went to see the duck race for the 1st time. Its the last one before they upgraded the Singapore River. Another reason we went was just to test Zuhrah's limit to noisy and crowded environment. Its also to test my limit to how i can handle her too.

It was soooooooooo hot!!!!!! but then better than rain.

Having Fun

2007-08-26T12:49:00.000+08:00

I feel so happy just to see her joining the fun.

Fireworks

2007-08-18T12:06:00.000+08:00

We went to the Singapore fireworks festival at Marina Bay.

Zuhrah was ok during the waiting but once the fireworks started she began to cry. When they countdown for the fireworks to begin i had carried her to sit on my lap and hugged her. She whined the whole time but she didnt struggle badly and she even peeked out of her covered eyes.

The fireworks display was beautiful. Immediately after it stopped, she stopped crying too. I took chances to bring her there. I dont like to leave her out even though i knew she will cry when there's fireworks. If she had cried or struggled badly, i would have had left the place.

We went with my extended family so i told them not to be surprised if i left with her.

Well Im glad she's ok :-)

7 Years Old

2007-07-17T23:44:00.000+08:00

17.07.07 is Zuhrah's 7th birthday , celebrated at her student care centre. Theres 2 birthday gals. Zuhrah just came back from her Rainbow School. She was kinda tired hehehhee. She loves donuts.

My wish for Zuhrah remains the same but with added hope.

Hope next year birthday she can blow the candles herself.

RDA

2007-07-07T23:40:00.000+08:00

Riding for the Disabled (RDA)

After 3 months in the wait list, Zuhrah finally gets 3months of 45mins ride every Saturday for FREE. Its been a long time since her last horse riding so initially she refused to put on her helmet. After that all goes well. She even did some tasks while on the horse after much prompting.

Theres 3 volunteers for each rider.

For more info http://www.rdasingapore.org/indexlow.html

That slide

2007-07-01T12:18:00.001+08:00

This is the slide at a Chalet that i mentioned in my post before. It's memorable because this is where Zuhrah got a good ear flush to get rid of her ear wax while having fun!

We came back to have an annual ear flush hehehehe. It was cloudy at 1pm and the pool was empty. My gals had the pool for themselves till the crowd started to come at 4pm.

Amusement Park

2007-06-03T23:00:00.000+08:00

Zuhrah enjoyed herself after she cried so much as we entered the park even after she put on her ear muffs. We just stand near the entrance to let her "soak" in the noise for a good 30mins. Well i have thick skin already and so i just dont care when people looked at Zuhrah. I want her to enjoy the rides as much as her sis does. When she finally settled down and realised that im not leaving the noisy place, i slowly introduced to her a ride. I rode with her as she hugged me tightly so thats why i have no photos to show.

Once she got used to the place, i let her ride with her sister and cousin :-)

Haircut

2007-05-02T13:26:00.000+08:00

Zuhrah's first time sitting nicely by herself while having her hair cut.
She used to sit on my lap and i have to hold her head still while she cried and wriggled. She would cry when we walked passed the hairdresser's shop. The aunty is very patient and nice with Zuhrah. She's quick too. I brought Zuhrah there since she was 4 years old and only now that she's getting used to a hair cut.

Walking and Cycling

2007-03-26T10:25:00.000+08:00

Yesterday Zuhrah showed her wants and memory to me.

After some time playing at the playground, she pulled my hand indicating me to follow her. So i thought she wanted to take the bus so i just followed her to play along. Usually she will sit at the bustop but this time she lead me to cross the zebra crossing and walked passed the busstop. She continued walking and i just followed her from behind while keeping watch of the traffic.

I didnt know where she's going but i guessed she might be going to her grandparent's block on the 10th floor. The path she took was exactly how we will walk there.

When we reached the lifts, i followed her in and just let her press the buttons herself. She pressed 12th floor and when the lift door opened, she went out and noticed the lift landing looks different so she quickly went in the lift again. When she did not pressed any buttons, the lift door closed and the motor powered off. She looked at me and i looked back just smiling without prompting anything. She pressed 1st floor and the lift started to move.

When the door open she peered out and noticed it was not right again. She hesitated which button to press at first and finally pressed the 10th floor. When the door opened on the 10th floor, without hesitation she got out and walked towards her grandparent's door.

My mom was surprised to see us. Zuhrah went in straight to play with her toys there. She must have had missed playing the toys there because she had not been there for 2 weeks.

That was a first. I hope she can tell me where she is going the next time though.

Zuhrah also cycled her tricycle very well yesterday. The excercise bike i bought for her really helps to tone up her leg's muscle.

Study Fish

2007-03-01T10:15:00.000+08:00

Good studies about fish oils...

http://www.treatingautismconferences.com/Essential%20Fatty%20Acids%20Dr%20Alex%20Richardson.pdf

http://www.treatingautismconferences.com/Importance%20of%20Nutrition%20for%20Mood,%20Learning%20&%20Behaviour%20-%20Dr%20Alex%20Richardson.pdf

Fish oil

2007-02-14T12:02:00.000+08:00

Zuhrah started on CD4 TLP this week. I added fish oils EPA 1 casule 1x per day. 5ml of proEFA twice a day. The fish oils bought at Vitakids Vivocity. Can be ordered at 63769378 or 98559905. Free home delivery above $100 of purchase.

Last week started on the proEFA 5ml once a week.

The teachers at school said Zuhrah has higher tolerance of noise the last week. Though she covered her ears, she doesnt get agitated or cry. Shes calmer and able to perform tasks well.

The problem is, i can't pinpoint what is it that i have done right for her to have an excellent week. I have to drop one by one to see how its effecting her. The 1st one to go will be the pony ride coz expensive lehhh.

Riding again :-)

2007-02-02T14:14:00.000+08:00

Zuhrah sitting nicely on the pony. Zuhrah really loves riding Pony now. This time i don't have to hold her hands or walk by her side.

My 2 princesses getting ready to ride.

I bought this old fashion excercise bike at http://sg.auctions.yahoo.com/ for $40 just to teach her how to paddle the bicycle and also get some excercise. Saves my back from breaking if i had teach her with a real bicycle. She keeps padling backwards. I guess its easier.

Zuhrah

2007-01-24T16:07:00.000+08:00

Hmmm time flies so fast! 2007 already? Hehehehe yah now then i realise. So many events happened but no mood to blog it.

But Zuhrah still not talking. I feel quite helpless,disappointed and lost at times. Done so much but that 1 thing im looking forward to still has not happened. Maybe because of that i failed to notice the small things she has achieved and to work on it.

Well this year she has good teachers at school and great after school support at the student care centre in Hougang. She get to spend 2 hours bus rides daily around Singapore in the school bus too. She likes bus rides but on some tiring days my heart ache to think she have to doze off in the bumpy bus. School says the budget for busses are less this year so less buses to ferry all the children so longer journey lorrr. My poor darling. arggghhh i feel like resigning at once! sigh....

The good news is Zuhrah now shows alot of affections and interest in toys. Though she didnt really play with it but she now notice their presence and mess the whole room. She seems to understand more verbal instructions too :-) She sleeps well at night so im counting my blessings.

- This year zuhrah start with cranialsacral theraphy and brain gym sessions again. $90 per hour, once a month but better than nothing. Time and $$ is the factor.

- Her listening theraphy (TLP) is in the 3rd cycle. Her sensitivity to sound is still a problem but still hoping for the best.

- Daily prayers, homeopathy, traditional juice cocktail, complete omega 3,6,9 to supplement her.

hmmm

Pony Ride

2006-12-13T12:42:00.000+08:00

At Pasir Ris Park (Car park C) on Saturday 9 Dec 2006.

$10 per ride. Zuhrah enjoyed her 1st pony ride. I did not have to persuade her. She willingly sat on the pony. I walked by her side while holding her hands though.

The place was very peaceful and serene. Zuhrah must had felt so calm that she did'nt fuss over the ride.

After the ride, i rented a small bicycle for Nabilah to practice on. That day was Nabilah's successful attempt at riding bicycle by herself.

Changing Name.

2006-09-06T14:00:00.000+08:00

Im changing Zuhrah blog address maybe in october to ZUHRAHRIDE.blogspot.com

So keep note.

I dont know why one thing always leads to another, is it a sign from God?

No wonder theres always something new to try. It doesnt help that i desperately want her to talk and get a cure! Im asking for the sky but i choose to still have hope thats why all this running around trying this and that. The motivation is HOPE. The only thing that will stop me is lack of $$$$.

Anyway my story is ; few weeks ago i tagged along a colleague out for lunch. I usually dont go out for lunch but that day i was feeling kind of low, bored and sick of routines. Suddenly, i was in a curtain shop with her coz she was checking on her order. It made me intrested to fix my 8 years old DIY window dressings too. I think i need a change. To cut the story short, the towkay himself came to my house to take my window measurements. With towkay can get better discounts mah :P

As usual i will tell everybody and anybody about my gal coz who knows they can help and Yesssss im proud of my blessed gal! If not for her i wont get to travel to USA, Disney or "Holland". Anyway he noticed her charm too. So fast forward >>>>> nice towkay recommended me to someone he called a "datuk"....... actually a traditional Malay medicine lady lah.

I had tried a lot of sophisticated scientifically researched theraphies from professionals so i tot no harm to go back to basic. Anyway i didnt plan to meet with towkay so this must be some kind of destiny to have our path crossed....... The lady dont charge fixed price per hour of consultation but we pay up to our own budget and sincerity. That i can afford so we went to meet her at her flat in JURONG WEST!

sighhh.....Why does it always have to be so far from where we live????!!! but still i thank God its not in Malaysia :(

Her apartment was nice and clean..... and she herself is nice and friendly. So she confirmed Zuhrah is not under any voodoo but sick physically internally. Zuhrah got 5 points of blocked blood circulation which she diagnosed by touching Zuhrah's toes.

She also said that Nazurah (respected leader) is a 'heavy' name for my gal to have. Ok....... so from now on we will call her ZUHRAH only..... i consulted her and she said Zuhrah is ok coz it means "pleasant"....... She advised us to have it changed formally but hmmmmm i find it a hassle.... so at the moment will stick to Zuhrah unofficially 1st.

Actually Zuhrah's grandparents had that understanding already and had called her some other affectionate names too but i just didnt take it seriously and brush it off as an old wives tale. Ok now im at a dead end we will follow the traditional path. So please call her Zuhrah from now on. Thank you.

"Datuk" also gave us the recipe for a drink we have to blend for Zuhrah to drink twice a day to detox her body. The ingredients are ginger, tumeric, white carrot, garlic, green apple, honey and etc.... hmmm taste not bad actually just the smell a bit strong..... we have to give Zuhrah slowly but surely she drinks it. Just started drinking last monday so will see how far it goes.

The cocktail master is my hubby. I passed him the task coz im getting sick. He have to take some load off me before i go crazy.

Oh ya. havent seen Zuhrah sign much. But still doing signing when i cant find her PECs. Her favourite sign is TV ( our version : thumb to thumb and pointer to pointer = makes a square tv)

ha n also on monday found out she have a hole in her left molar despite regular brushing.

i wonder what this will lead to ..............

Learning to Sign-ing not sing-ing lah

2006-08-18T10:17:00.000+08:00

Sometime in July I got to know from a friend that her ASD nephew learning to signing by watching dvd. It was a success coz he is now 4 years old and had no speech until about 5 weeks ago when he was introduced to Signing Time Vol 1 to 3. http://www.signingtime.com/

I had always been interested to learn sign language to communicate with nazurah to complement her PECS http://trainland.tripod.com/pecs.htm , but i just cant get started to learn. I guess the time and mood wasnt right. So my friend's sharing sparked my interest again. Ironically i have a book about sign language http://www.sign2me.com/pmu.php which i bought last year at a bookshop in USA but had never opened it until about 4 weeks ago. Since it was successful with her nephew, i better gave it a shot and started to learn and i made it a habit to talk and sign to Nazurah at the same time whenever possible.

My friend gave me Essie's contact http://www.giftofsigns.com/ . Just last Saturday i went to her class to see her introduce signing to parents with babies. Nazurah needs baby signing step to start off.

So I got my order of the signing time DVD vol 1 to 3 on Monday. http://www.planetbabysigns.com/ That evening my whole family watched and learned togather. Nazurah was not so interested because its something new but she did glances at the tv espeacially during song time. On wednesday Nazurah watched vol.2 once before bedtime.

AND LAST NIGHT she made her 1St attempt at signing !!!!!!

Nazurah sign "more" "tv" last night!!!

It was 10.30pm and i sign her to sleep while switching off the barney vcd shes watching...... she cried and stamped her feet to protest and i noticed both her hands were moving too.

She wasnt signing the exact way of signing but it was a resemblance to it. Just like toddler have baby way of prounouncing words to talk; there is also such a thing as baby way of signing.

Her way to sign "more" , her fingers were spread open and she was tapping her hands finger tips many times before i saw her hands changed sign to " tv "......... then i realised what shes doing so i just snapped out from my shock and responded her by signing with " You want more tv?". She stopped her noise but her hands still in the "tv" sign position. So to reward her 1st signing attempt i switched the tv back on again and let her watched for another hour!

I didnt expect her to start signing so fast! She only watched the dvds twice with "no interest" way but i did start signing with her about a month already. Yet i dont know whether she understand the purpose of what im doing. So that DVD watching somehow made her see and connected that what i have been moving my hands while talking has a meaning to it. Maybe she thinks im not weird after all since she sees other kids in the DVD doing it too! Autistic child is a visual learner anyway.

Im very excited and looking forward to getting more signs from her. Nazurah is still communicating with Pecs too. Signing to me is a great way to complement it when i dont have her PECs file within reach or need impromptu communication.

Ultimately im hoping for the day that she can talk coherently will come soon. And one day i wish you could read my posting of Learning to Sing-ing not sign-ing lah.

Amin.

Welcome to Holland

2006-08-08T09:58:00.000+08:00

I found this article written by Emily Perl Kingsley.

I really feel its a good way of describing and explaining what we parents of special needs child feel about our journey in life with our unexpected blessings in disguise.

Welcome To Holland

"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland. "

http://www.nas.com/downsyn/holland.html

Jet planes & Helicopters

2006-07-25T11:59:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday we went to Nazurah's paternal grandmother's house. Her block is nearby the National stadium. Every year we get to see the jets and fireworks LIVE from her house's corridor. There was a practice for the National Day parade at the stadium that day.

Usually when the sound of jets and helicopters were heard, i will rush to carry Nazurah to get her look at the jets and helicopters. She will either get scared or was not looking at where im pointing or even showed interest..

Last Saturday was very different. While covering her ears with her hands, she ran out the door and stood at the corridor looking up to the sky. Her grandmother's house door is always open because my sister in law lives next door so 6 kids and adults are always coming in and out of these 2 houses. I had to run after her and as i carried her i was not looking at the jetplane or helicopters but i was looking at her eyes and it was the happiest sight of all because i see her for the first time really looking at those noisy things in the sky!

I am looking forward to spending National Day at my in laws house because i want to see her running to look at those noisy things in the sky again.

My Blessed gal 6th Birthday

2006-07-17T22:08:00.000+08:00

Nazurah is 6 years old today. Do say a prayer for her. Thank you.

I feel very blessed to have her. Believe it or not, good things happened with the sufferings. My only obstacle in life is her ASD. Life is a testing platform and i have accepted her as my test from God. I had had a good life journey. I thank God she is healthy and has the mobility to enjoy things/activities as a family. Even though she dont seem to understand its her birthday but shes able to participate in her own way. Everything is fine when i see her smile :-)

My wish on her birthday is to hear her voice in good conversations and of course to be cured of ASD.

She is not ready to be in Pri 1 next year. I felt sad but at least she has a special school to go to.

I have stopped giving her B12 shots and transdermal gluthathione. Its expensive and also i cant imagine doing that for years to come. I cant see any significant difference with or without it.

Mainly im still continuing giving her
- nordic naturals omega3,6,9
- TLP
- homeopathy

the other theraphy are on and off. I think i want to cool off this year but i know at the back of my mind, im sourcing new approach for Nazurah. Im mentally tired and stress.

So i picked up a new skill of balloon twisting! hehehehehe

The song that motivates and uplifts my spirit.

2006-07-13T10:05:00.000+08:00

I have always like this song and from this song i took the tittle for my 1st post with a little twist.

I Have A Dream - ABBA ,Westlife

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream

I have a dream, a fantasy
To help me through reality
And my destination makes it worth the while
Pushing through the darkness still another mile
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream

I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you fail
I believe in angels
Something good in everything I see
I believe in angels
When I know the time is right for me
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream
I'll cross the stream - I have a dream

Missing

2006-07-12T21:28:00.000+08:00

I always worry what happens if Nazurah goes missing.

So i make her wear my handphone number on the plastic cubes people use to make bracelets on her necklace. My handphone number in this photo is of course had been jumbled up and some erased. Anyway I got the number cubes from a beads shop in Holland village.

So far i dont see her being uncomfortable with the cubes. Its light weight. I make her wear as long as shes ok with it until i can find something else or better still when she can interact by TALKING!

I promise i will not get angry with her if she talks too much when she eventually does talk :-P

8~ Ear noise protector

2006-07-03T12:21:00.000+08:00

Bought a Peltor Kid ear defender from http://www.peltorkid.co.uk/
With shipping it cost about SGD$47

Very useful since Nazurah is very sensitive to sound now and looks cool too. It makes going out to noisy places much easier.

I like this balloon. Miracles do happen.

7~ Triathlon

2006-06-30T20:59:00.000+08:00

Just an example what a parent of special needs child will do to let their child feel to be a part of and not apart from...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiXV9x8ZQ7U

6~ VSA Art class

2006-06-29T19:20:00.000+08:00

On Saturday is another term Nazurah start her art class with VSA http://vsa.org.sg/our_services/index.html at Bedok North. She likes messing with paints , tearing, sticking and doing arty things so the class is a good exposure for her. Something she enjoys.....

Shes in the beginner class for smaller ASD kids. I think 7 years and below? Per term cost $100 for 10 sessions of 1 hour every saturdays.

The art teacher got the help of volunteers to oversee the class of less than 10 children.

5~ Homeopathy Book: Impossible Cure By Amy Lansky

2006-06-29T01:13:00.000+08:00

Her book is available for loan at the National Library. I recommended it to them and was glad that they took action.

Search for the book availability at http://vistaweb.nlb.gov.sg/
Choose "Easy Search"
Then type in the book tittle Impossible Cure
You can make reservation too.

Below are some excerpt about homeopathy i got from yahoo forum's past sharing.

Amy L. Lansky, PhD
Over ten years ago, computer research scientist Amy
Lansky began a journey to try and help her
three-year-old autistic son Max. She found the answer
in Homeopathy. As Max gradually made a complete
recovery, she began to study this alternative therapy
and eventually became a practitioner herself. Her
best-selling Impossible Cure: The Promise of
Homeopathy (R.L. Ranch Press, 2003,
http://www.impossiblecure.com) describes the history,
philosophy, and science of homeopathic medicine, and
includes the story of her son's cure along with dozens
of first-person testimonials of cures for a variety of
physical, mental, and emotional conditions.

Amy Lansky graduated from the University of Rochester
in 1977 with degrees in mathematics and computer
science, and received her doctorate in computer
science from Stanford University in 1983. After many
years working at various Silicon Valley research
institutions in the area of artificial intelligence
(including SRI International, NASA Ames Research
Center, and three years as a consulting associate
professor at Stanford), she made an unusual career
move: she became a student, writer, promoter, and,
most recently, practitioner of homeopathic medicine.
This was prompted by the miraculous cure of her son's
autism with homeopathy. Lansky now speaks and writes
widely about homeopathy in general and especially its
role as a treatment for autism. She is an executive
board of the National Center for Homeopathy in
Alexandria, Virginia. A health-freedom advocate, she
is also an executive board member of the California
Health Freedom Coalition, the organization that
sponsored SB-577, the California health freedom bill
that was passed in September 2002.

You can learn more about homeopathic treatment of
autism by visiting http://www.impossiblecure.com or by
listening to Amy's monthly radio show on AutismOne
Radio -- http://www.autismone.org/radio -- at 2pm EST
the 3rd Friday of each month. Archives of old shows
are available at www.impossiblecure.com.

lansky@impossiblecure.com

***

Q: Hi, I believe my son has had multiple reactions to
vaccines. The he definitely had an immediate reaction
to his set of two flu vaccines. Do you feel that this
is primarily because of mercury, or possibly the flu
virus itself?. Also, with the cold/flu season
approaching. Do you have any recommendations for
keeping kids healthy, and fending off colds?

A: I believe that most of the autism epidemic is
caused by vaccines, both the mercury in vaccines and
the fact that there are so many vaccines given.
There’s an excellent article in Mothering Magazine by
Richard Pitt about homeopathy. There is a lot of hype
about the flu vaccine. Homeopathy has an amazing track
record of treating the flu. Go to the homeopathic.org
website – there are great tips there to treat the flu.
Skip the vaccines, they’re a bad idea. Especially if
your child is already vaccine-damaged.

Q: Hi Amy and thank you for being here. For someone
fairly new to homeopathy where is the best place to
start with a 3.5 yr. old with autism? We are currently
doing some bio medical interventions. Will that
interfere with homeopathic remedies? and are there
ever any negative side effects from homeopathic
remedies? thank you

A: The best place to start is to learn on your own.
Read my book Impossible Cure ( www.impossiblecure.com)
; also the book by the Ullmann’s that just came out –
A Drug Free Approach to Aspergers and Autism.
Most biomedical interventions will not interfere with
homeopathy. The homeopathy will certainly not
interfere with them. Chelation will probably interfere
with homeopathy. If you’re dead set on chelation, you
might try that first, but you might find it’s not
necessary once you start with homeopathy.

Q: Amy can you explain what are the different
definitions for classical, clinical, and sequential
homeopathy?

A: Classical is what my book discusses. Classical is
what is defined by the founder, Hahnemann. Homeo means
similar, pathy means suffering. You want to find a
remedy that’s associated with the symptoms of the
child. Healthy people take the remedy, find out what
symptoms it causes. EG Coffee causes sleeplessness,
heart palpitations, insomnia in a healthy person. The
homeopathic remedy would match those symptoms.
Clinical homeopathy refers to isopathic – child
damaged by vaccine, so you give the vaccine in
potency, or the thimerosal in potency.
Sequential homeopathy is a philosophy in which you
treat everything that happened to the patient in
reverse order. EG first surgery, then vaccination,
then your mother died. So you get grief remedy, then
flu remedy, then remedy for the effects of the
surgery. My view is that’s a bit of a mechanical
approach, people don’t generally work that way.
A classical homeopath will include clinical and
sequential in their practice. If they only get so far
in classical, ie find a block, they might go to an
isopathic remedy to clear a vaccine, for example.

Q: Do you recommend Chiropractic care for children as
a form a treatment for Autism. How do you feel about
cranial sacral therapy for treating autism versus just
relieving subluxations at the chiropractor?

A: I think manipulative therapies are really good,
particularly cranial sacral and osteopathic. In my
experience, I follow the practitioners that treat
autistic kids, they say their cases go much faster if
the kids are getting osteopathic/cranial sacral. These
therapies don’t interfere with homeopathy, and do
boost eachother’s effect.

Q: Last time homeopaths were on Biochat, there were a
lot of words defined with other words like miasms and
similums, and I didn’t get an idea of how the
homeopathic treatments work. Can you explain how
homeopathy works in the body.

A: Miasms is an advanced subject, I took it out of my
book.
The law of similars – coffee example – states that to
treat a person with a set of symptoms you give them a
remedy from a substance that can also cause those
symptoms. Physical and mental symptoms.
Samuel Hahnemann was having difficulty curing some
diseases, and realized he had to treat things at a
deeper level. He discovered often the disease
progression begins with a particular disease
(gonorrhea, syphilis, tuberculosis, etc). Then he
realized there was a way to categorize remedies in
general classes –miasms are broader categorizations of
disease states. If he chose a remedy in the right
miasm, he found he had better results.
EG With tuberculosis, there are respiratory problems,
and it might run in the family. To get rid of the
chronic lung infection, you have to treat the miasm.
Sometimes it’s treated by using a remedy made from the
disease tuberculosis. Hahnemann felt there are 3
miasms, others feel there are up to 8 miasms.

Q: Have you heard of Bioray's NDF+? What do you think
of this natural chelator, and have you seen things
like this work? Like milk thistle, chlorella?

A: I’m not an expert on chelation, I don’t do
biomedical treatments. My instinct is the natural
chelators would interfere less with homeopathy.

Q: You said that chelation might hinder homeopathic
treatment. Can you explain this in more detail? I
don't understand.

A: I say this based on stories I’ve heard. I know of
cases where the child was progressing nicely with
homeopathic treatment, the mom got impatient and
started chelation; all the gains were lost from the
homeopathy. In the end the child was set back for
about a year, and now the child is back with
homeopathy and making progress again.
I’ve heard this from other homeopaths too. If you’re
seeing slow but sure progress, stick with the
homeopathy.
Homeopathic literature indicates that it can chelate
metals from the body. There is a story in my book
about a person who worked in an orchard and was dying
from arsenic poisoning. Within an hour of taking the
remedy, he sweated out huge amounts of arsenic.
Another case was of a dental hygienist who started
excreting mercury in her menstrual flow.
So homeopathy doesn’t force a biochemical change in
your body like a drug – it stimulates your body into
helping itself. It will happen at the rate that the
body can naturally handle it.

Q: Is this a much easier way of treating the child
rather than chelating? What is the success rate?

A: I wouldn’t call it easy. Chelation, you see the
results with testing, it’s a fixed form of treatment.
Homeopathy is a more involved process. You have to
find a good, experienced homeopath. Then the homeopath
has to find the correct remedy for your child, and
that’s a total individual thing. Each child gets a
different remedy based on their symptoms. It takes
time – several months – to get any results usually.
Years of recovery time. But the homeopaths are getting
really good results, very striking noticeable changes
in autistic kids. The success rate for these
homeopaths are 50-75%. Some get complete recovery,
like my son, no residual symptoms – that happens in
about 5% of the cases.

Q: What homeopathic protocol/remedy did you follow
for curing your son's Autism. How old was your son
when you started to see improvements and how old was
he when he was completely recovered?

A: We brought my son to the homeopath when he was 3.5
(this is before all the biomed stuff was well known,
and I was groping in the dark). The only thing we had
done prior to homeopathy was food elimination, based
on Feingold. My son was totally addicted to milk. That
was when he started speaking. That was when he was 3.
He was in speech and language therapy. We also
eliminated food coloring, corn. He was speaking but
had echolalia, was autistic. We hit the right remedy
immediately. In a week, his therapists noticed a
shift. Within 9 months, the therapist felt he didn’t
need treatment any more. Within a year and a half, he
was testing normally (age 5) and was released from
eligibility for special ed. He was 80% - there was
still social awkwardness, not completely responsive
all the time, etc. We felt out of the woods, in
another 3-4 years. So this was like a 5 year process.

Q: How long usually takes to see the improvement by
homeopathic approach?

A: Once the homeopath finds the correct remedy, you
should see something within a month. If you see
nothing, you have to change the remedy. There are some
remedies that take longer, say 2 months. You might see
changes within a day or a week. You might notice the
child reaching out for more contact, more eye contact.
Even if it’s very subtle. Don’t expect your child to
have a full recovery in two weeks.

Q: I'll admit I don't understand homeopathy very well
– I’m just learning about it - but I’m terrified when
a remedy contains tetanus. Can you ease my thoughts?

A: My son’s first remedy was made from cancer. My
homeopath told me that. I was taken aback.
But all the remedies are so dilute that not even a
single molecule of whatever it’s made from is in the
remedy. Also if you’re eating chicken, you might be
eating cancer…you can’t get the disease from eating
it.
Lots of remedies made from disease matter – you
wouldn’t find any of that disease matter if you tested
the remedy.
Homeopathy is completely and utterly benign compared
to conventional medicine.
If you start taking a remedy in high quantities over
and over, you might start getting the symptoms that
that remedy could cause.
You need to find a homeopath that knows what they’re
doing.
Once you discontinue a remedy, the symptoms usually go
away quickly.

Q: Do rashes mean that a remedy is working? Will
there always be improvements with rashes? Also, is it
ever helpful to treat the parents and discover their
constitutions in order to help discover the child's
correct remedy, especially if the child is non-verbal?

A: Rashes can often mean the remedy is helping. This
is discussed in my book at length. If the disease
began with an external rash and went inwards, if you
see that rash coming out it’s good news, a good sign.
Your homeopath can help assess that.
It’s very helpful if parents go to the homeopath too,
along with their children. If you’re treated, it will
provide a better atmosphere for your family. That will
help in your child’s recovery too. You’re going
through so much anxiety, worry, etc. It can only help
if the parents get treated as well.

Q: Does the Homeopath need to see the child often? or
can this be done long distance?

A: If you can find a good homeopath nearby, I always
recommend that, esp for the very first appointment.
You don’t have to go that often. If you’re local,
maybe once every 2 months, especially in the initial
stages. If you are trying to work long distance,
ideally go once a year.

Q: Are you familiar with bioplasma or essential cell
salts? Are they useful?

A: Most classical homeopaths don’t use cell salts.
They are low potency, made from mineral salts in your
body. Some homepaths feel they’re like vitamins. But I
feel they are powerful in their own right, and don’t
advise their use in my practice.

Q: My son was given 3 remedies at the same time (to
detox), these caused his cough, fever and running nose
but after that nothing happened. Would that be an
indication of correct remedy not found yet? (you said,
and also the practitioner said it too, that it is a
good sign)

A: I don’t normally give 3 remedies at once to detox.
It might be a good sign…but the question is what
happened next. If a month and a half has gone by, I’d
say give it another month. It sounds like the
homeopath is not classical, you might go back in
another month.

Q: We’ve seen great things with MB-12. What is your
philosophy about homeopathy and the mb-12 phenomenon?
In most of the kids we’ve seen there is a problem with
the pathway. By injecting the vitamin, we get past the
blockage.

A: Homeopathy should correct the underlying problem in
the body, so you wouldn’t need the supplement/vitamin
anymore. Here’s another example, milk was aggravating
my son, we took it out of his diet. Over time, his
food sensitivity went away. Hopefully with the
homeopathy, the child’s need for mb-12 will decrease
as the child improves.

Q: Can a strong die-off reaction from probiotics
interfere with homeopathy?

A: I don’t think that would interfere. But definitely
tell the homeopath what you’re doing, so he/she can
adjust your dosing.

Q: I’m informed that the homeopathy can be added to
biomed treatments except that it dislikes the
aggressive chelations, any other factors we need to
consider in order to combine these 2 approaches
together?

A: Yes, I would guess that they could be combined.
Another thing that could interfere would be a strong
oil, like oil of oregano. Sometimes things that are
very strong can antidote the remedy. The remedies
operate on a fine energetic level. Things like
drinking coffee can antidote the remedy, it’s too much
input. It depends totally on the person. Some people
can drink coffee while they’re doing homeopathy, some
not. If you’re going along fine and improving, and you
take a substance and you get worse or it stops
working, you can suspect the remedy was antidoted.
There are ways around this. You can change dosing. I
might give a low potency every day so they can get
around the antidote effect.
It’s possible that daily dosing might work better for
someone doing a lot of strong biomedical treatments.

Q: what would the average cost of homeopath be?

A: In general they will charge by the hour at about
the same rate as a therapist, 100-150/hour. Usually
the first appointment is the longest, 1-3 hours. You
might spend 2-300 on the first appointment. A followup
is usually like ½ hour. The remedies cost essentially
nothing, either very cheap or sometimes free with the
appointment. Typical price for a remedy is $10.

Q: is it caffeine in general that would antidote; or
specifically coffee?

A: It’s specifically the coffee – tea or coke would be
ok.

Q: Do people usually avoid mint toothpaste completely
during homeopathy?

A: Personally I don’t think it’s a problem. Some
doctors are very strict about that…but I have never
avoided it.
Coffee is sometimes a problem; Camphor and eucalyptus
and tea tree oil, Vick’s vapor rub. These are all
effective antidotes.

Q: Amy have you ever heard of Native Remedies brand?
they use the homeopathic approach for treating
autism/add etc etc

A: I’m not familiar with it, no. But I can tell you
Hahnemann Labs in US is very good. In England Helios
Pharmacy is good. There are lots of other good
suppliers. National Center for Homeopathy is a good
site www.homeopathic.org

Q: Dear Dr Lansky , Can you pls. tell us about Zincum
metallicum?
how can it help increase zinc levels?
My child has the symptoms. Is it recommeded to take
Zincum Metallicum to increase blood zinc level?

A: Zinc is a remedy. It can help autistic kids.
However, it should not be used as a vitamin. It’s
inadvisable to view a homeopathic remedy as a vitamin.
If you don’t have the symptoms that zinc metallicum
has, and you take it regularly like a vitamin, you
could potentially get the symptoms. Go to a materia
medica online and look up the zinc to see what the
symptoms are.
It will help your body regulate itself, so if it
works, it would cause your body to improve the zinc
level.

Q: Are you familiar with Dandi Comp Liver,
gallbladder, and hydrate I remedies? What are your
thoughts on these?

A: These sound like organ support remedies. They’re
often used as organ support. If you’re using a good
homeopath, I’d say it’s ok, someone familiar with
organ support remedies.

4~ Forum yahoo group

2006-06-19T08:12:00.001+08:00

USA group (I read Cindy's post here)

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/childrensapraxianet/

3rd~ What a RIDE!

2006-06-18T10:31:00.002+08:00

I have not been posting my ride because things been riding past in a dizzying pace. My hubby is back from his one year stint in the states so i have some free time now to think of blogging.

At 1st i cant be bothered to blog but i realised that AUTISM is becoming a pandemic and i meet new parents having newly diagnosed kids and well and not so well meaning friends, acquaintances and relatives who wants to know about my life with an autistic child. I find myself repeating my story which tires me out; but to a parent who had just known about their child diagnosis, my ride helps them to make their own plans and choices from the resources they got from me. I learnt from others so i must do my part to share with others too.

So this is an outlet that i can let them read for themselves. Also good for Nazurah's therapists and teachers to know what shes been up to.

The events dates before July 2006 will not be accurate.

Continuation from my earlier 2 posts since september 2004.

APRIL 2005

Hubby left for Alabama, USA.

I began in full gear to research about the MISSION im going to embark. Notice that its a mission and not a holiday. WHy a mission ? because i had carelessly wished to be able to bring Nazurah for the theraphy there and God grant it in an unexpected way. I could not passed it off as mere coincidence because the logistics and timing was too much to be just a coincidence. It needs the help of a greater power to bring it all togather. So no matter what, I have to do it or i will regret because God gave me an obvious opportunity and i dont follow through.

I planned to go in June coz the weather is hot which im used to so less luggage to bring. During summer the days are longer than nights so i will feel more secure in a foreign land.

My problems were :-

- whose going to accompany me to the theraphy centre in georgia? (my hubby just started training so he cant get leave to be with us for 2 weeks in Georgia. Luckily my sister was still studying in the university so her holiday was long. But my mom freak out bcoz her 2 daughters going to a country they had never been before with my 2 small daughters and no male bodyguard. That was the initial headache. Everybody i had asked wanted to follow me but because of their commitment I cant find anybody else who can be with me there for a periode of a month. Lastly my mom gave her blessings bcoz i really wanted to try it out and my sister too bcoz her expenses excluding her shopping will be borne by me. My sis is the advanturous type who loves travelling. I found strength and support in her. If shes the indecisive and scardy cat i dont think i have the courage to go.)

- the theraphy itself
cost: USD$2400,
duration: 30 days,
frequency: 12 days at the centre and 18 days home therapy with a light box,
timing: twice daily sessions,
location: Georgia; none in Alabama then.

- The journey to Alabama took about 26 hours including transits from Singapore. I was worried as to what am i going to do to entertain my autistic daughter and also what if she throws a tantrum. An autistic child tantrum is not because of being spoilt but of fear and anxiety of not understanding how this world works. They are usually in their own world. By the way my child is not verbal and its her 1st time on an airplane.

- I have to stay in Georgia for 2 weeks; so have to think about accomodation, transportation, safety, food and the non essentials eg. shopping and sightseeing to destress heheehhe

- All this within a tight budget $$$. Our life savings gone but i reasoned that money can be earned but time and opportunity lost will be gone forever. We did not borrow or loan. Basically I n hubby are disciplined savers so we will build up our savings again from scratch.

My resources then were the internet, yahoo, http://www.timeanddate.com/
http://maps.google.com/ this map engine is great because it gave me ideas on how the place im going to will look like, know more about the area and could plot my driving route too , my greatest help was of course my USA friend Cindy who started it all; she provided all the local infos that i needed.

31 MAY 2005

Flew to Alabama. Nazurah drank lots of milk in the flight. She didnt sleep or eat much and she didnt throw any tantrums either. What a relief! I brought the books and toys that she likes. Once in awhile i will bring her walk to the back of the plane or she will stand and play at the aisle when the seat belt light was off and had a bit of hard time persuading her to be on seat when the light was back on again. I did informed the air stewardeses that my daughter has autism so if theres any tantrums or what ever i hope they will give me their support and understanding.

They were helpful and accomodating (SIA & Delta airlines). I would say it was a smooth flight singapore (SIA 16hrs) to los angeles (Delta 5hrs) to Atlanta (Delta 1.5hrs) to Alabama. I hated the air turbulences though. The agony! My sis and elder daughter enjoyed the SIA inflight entertainment while i entertained Nazurah...sigh..

5 JUNE 2005

I, my sis and 2 daughters took Greyhound Bus (www.greyhound.com) 7 hours ride to Georgia. By bus was a cheaper option than flying to Georgia and I dont dare to self-drive for 7 hours. God really wants me to go on this mission so He made things less complicated coz the Alabama Greyhound bus station is only about 6mins car ride away from my hubby apartment.
It was 5am, said goodbyes to my hubby and we took our bags to the bus. I didnt know that we had to weigh our bags and have it tagged just like in the airport! I thought it will be just like taking a coach from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. I think one of the 2 baggage handlers know we are foreigners coz i was dumbstruck after saying "Ha? What tags?" when he had asked for the missing destination tags on our luggage. He was very nice to suggest with accompanying me to the weighing station while my sis and kids go up the bus to chope seats (free seating lah) and get the tags without my bags being weighed. That was service Excellance and God's helped that i met nice people! It would be a hassle for me n my sis to carry the luggage n kids back to the crowded weighing station.
It was very unnerving for me because now i felt responsible for my brood. I never travelled alone ok. Whats more on a non touristy path and destination. We dressed as plain and as common as possible so i hope people dont notice us or know we are tourists as long as we dont open our mouth :-P
Reached georgia atlanta airport at about 12 noon. Took reserved HERTZ rental car there . The drive to our hotel was easy because i had the map plotted the exact roads. My sis is a good map reader while i fixed my eye on the road. No problem with left hand driving coz i have oriented my mind which way to turn and before we left Alabama i got some crash course from hubby and his friends which includes how to pump petrol myself. Only needed getting used to the signal switch which was on my left and the wiper switch on my right. It wasnt raining but my wiper was switched on a few times hehehehehe. Im glad that the brake and excellerator pedals remains the same position!

6 JUNE 2005

1st session at sensory learning centre. It was great to meet Cindy there. She was there to bring her son for occupational theraphy and meet me too. We couldnt believe meeting each other. I was at a lost of what to talk about. I thought i was dreaming.

18 JUNE 2005

Back in Alabama with hubby and continuing the 18 days home based theraphy with the light box from the theraphy centre. The light box had to be returned by post after the theraphy ends.

What my daughter benefitted from the theraphy was that she could hear better without me screaming out her name and still oblivious. Now I could call her from a distant and she would stop n turn to look at me.... Her eye contact is so much better too. Her body awareness is good too . She has more agility and the most memorable was that before the theraphy she had no alternate steps down the stairs but after only 10 days of theraphy she could walk down the stairs with alternate steps with no prompting. Coincidence? To me it was a miracle! Had tought her to walk down the steps that way for a year without success. She also became more aware of her surroundings and other people, better on sit behaviours thus shes ready to learn. though she is still not verbal i believe the time will come. I will not lose hope.

I dont regret spending the time, effort, and money.
My only lost was some brain cells which i hope it got replaced. My great lost which i hope it stayed as a lost was my weight, from 62kg down to 55kg. hehehhe

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.
I-M-POSSIBLE WITH GOD'S HELPED AND GUIDANCE.

JULY 2005
The sensory learning program has no requirement to repeat the process but to follow up with the usual speech theraphy, occupational therapny, brain gym and etc. From Cindy's experiences i got to know about GFCF diet and biomedical intervention ie. heavy metals detoxification (chelation) and supplementation of vitamins. Another coincidence was that my family had kept for me a newspaper article about autism while i was away in the states. from that article i got to know about biomed way available in Singapore at THE AUTISM CLINIC in Thomson medical centre Tel:62536257 (John/ Dr Ang Poon Liat)

So i made an appointment and went for the allergy test, yeast test and toxic metal test. They use hair, blood and stool samples. Nazurah was prescribed with lots of vitamins. Most of it i cant make her to take. So chelation is out for her. I did continue the ones she can take it eg fish oil complete omega 3,6,9 (nordic naturals from VITA Kids- forum the shopping mall basement), B12 shots and transdermal gluthathione from autism clinic. From the allergy test nazurah is allergic to milk so i stopped giving her milk gradually. That was great bcoz i dont have to hassle with the bottles. I was glad also becoz shes addicted to milk... kept asking for it every hour. The allergy test showed shes allergic to milk, eggs, curry, chicken, soya bean, yoghurt , bananas n etc.... I couldnt follow the recommendation to rotate the food religiously or to do the GFCF diet which avoid those foods with gluten and casein so i just limit her consumption of those foods.

Nazurah also did braingym excercise or cranial theraphy once a week . I chosed that because it works on her internally. its difficult to explain but i have seen the difference and i believe it made a difference so i continued budgeting for the theraphy.

AUGUST 2005

I got to know about Homeopathy from another parent and also a book called "Impossible cure" by Amy Lansky sometime in april 2005. I was also told about homeopathy by my aunty. I brought Nazurah to a Homeopath which my friend recommended; Mr Ahmad. I showed him the test i did for nazurah at the autism clinic. He gave the remedy for mercury and silver which is the highest toxic metal present in my child body. i found homeopathy medicine easy to give and nazurah have no problem taking it.

She just have to avoid coffee and minty things like vicks, axe oil etc.

18 November 2005
We went to Alabama again. All our plane tickets courtesy of hubby's company so must not waste the opportunity to go again. hehehehhe This trip was my holiday at last.
This time on Japan airlines and american airlines though. The seats and entertainment wasnt as comfortable as SIA. Nazurah has stopped drinking milk. She sleeps well according to the timing. No tantrums either. So i get to sleep too.
I was not sleepy when we reached Alabama but my body ache because the seats was not comfortable. The june flight with SIA , i was sleepy but my body was well rested.
I love the weather in Alabama during winter. Its between 3 to 15 degrees celcius. Like an outdoor airconditioned weather. Walmart indoor temperature was colder than daytime outdoor temperature. They didnt turn on the heater. We had to put on our jackets in Walmart and took it off when we walk to the outdoor car park.

1 December 2005
We went to Disneyworld, Orlando, Florida. My childhood dream!!! I had always wanted a mickey mouse ear hat that i saw the mouseketeers wore in the MICKEY MOUSE CLUB show on TV in the 1980s. So that was the 1st thing i bought at disneyworld.
Cindy told me to get a special pass for special needs at the Disneyworld information counter. I brought her doctor diagnosis too. With that pass, 6 people in my party get to cut queues! Nazurah took on all the rides with no fear.
We had a memorable time and enjoyed the rides in Magic kingdom.

18 December 2005
During our last meal time on our flight home in American airlines, i was so angry with a flight steward. Nazurah didnt want to eat so as i placed the meal tray on her table she pushed it away and some foods spilled on the floor. I was shocked when the steward scolded Nazurah in a loud voice. I was so shocked that my reaction was too slow to tell him off but i was also holding back tears and anger because this steward didnt know that Nazurah is autistic and i think he thought she was being naughty but he shouldnt shouted at her! Nazurah was oblivious to him. When a stewardess that i had earlier told her about Nazurah autism came by to help me, i complained to her about the steward and she was apologetic and very sweet but that steward never come to apologise to me! He got about an hour to do so and neither did he pass my seat either.
Because of him, i dont want to take american airlines ever again. Besides i prefer Delta airlines. hmph

January 2006

Nazurah stopped going to braingym sessions because i had enrolled her in a childcare centre so that she can socially mix with other children which i hope the kids there will provoke her to talk and improve her social skills. I still continue the knowledge i learnt from brain gym and incorporates it in our daily life. In the morning Nazurah goes to Rainbow centre special school for 2 hours and after that goes to childcare centre until 5.30pm . Her Childcare centre has no special facilities for autistic kids but the principal, teachers and aunties there are warm, understanding and supportive of nazurah. Its not easy to find a suitable childcare for her. I got the help of http://www.glowingseed.com/ Tel: 62200714 to help me help the teachers in the childcare centre to understand and work with Nazurah. Glowing seed are very systematic and what i like most is their affordable fees.

FEBRUARY 2006
Did another toxic level test using hair sample. He results showed that her silver has dropped significantly. Now shes given homeopathy remedy to get rid of more mercury.

MAY 2006

I had started Nazurah on brain gym since 2003. When Nazurah came back after the Sensory learning program in June 2005 her brain gym therapist, Sumi, was amazed at her change. I did consult sumi about the Sensory learning Program before i went there and Sumi said the theraphy makes sense and worth to try out. So now with my child change for the better, she shared with other parents whom their child she worked with. Theres some parents interested so she went to learn more about it. One of the theraphy she learnt was The Listening Program (TLP) http://www.advancedbrain.com/tlp_intro.asp She recommended it to me.
Since Nazurah had done The Sensory learning program, it will be beneficial for her to have TLP. Its home based that i can monitor on her and also our whole family is doing the TLP togather. Its general and not like Samonas which is too individualized and troublesome to Me. http://www.samonas.com/info/f_info.htm

June 2006

Nazurah had a lot of ear wax. I cant get rid of it because she refused to let me put olive oil to soften it and dig it out. I bought waxsol from pharmacy. for 3 months i randomly drip it in her ears while shes sleeping. It does kind of dissolve the wax but it still looks thick in there..... Then i went to a chalet which has a slide at the swimming pool. We spent so much time in the pool and Nazurah went so many times down the slide and at times her head even when under water as she splashed down. Guess what? When we were home i checked her ears with a torchlight and the wax was gone. Clear unblocked ear canal. Funny huh.

I had wanted her ear to be clear because of the TLP. So that the music frequency that she hears are not muffled by the wax. Somehow without the wax blocking sounds, it made her more sensitive to her surrounding sounds. She will cover her ears with her hands. Anyway from my understanding the TLP can help to regulate the frequency of sounds that shes hearing. so only time will tell. She just started on 1 cycle and now in the 6th week (cd no. 6)

2nd~ Dream coming true?

2005-03-03T21:40:00.000+08:00

My husband told me he was applying for a new job.

"Ok so whats great about this job?" I had asked uninterestedly......

He replied ,"bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla dron dron dron etc etc etc etc bla dron etc bla dron etc bla bla bla but i will be sent to USA for training and family might be able to follow. Its ok if you dont want me........."

"YES YES YES YES!!!!!!! Go and try out for the interview!" I nearly shouted in his ear.

He was shocked that i was so eager for him to go for the interview. I was so shocked myself that i can even hear my heart pumping so hard.

He laughed at me and assumed that i thought i could follow him to USA for holiday while hes on training there thats why i had wanted him to try so much. I dont know what else he said but my brain was thinking so fast that i had to sit down and calmed myself. All i could think and hear of was that the sensory learning program is in USA! If if if if he gets that job, it might just be possible.......

I didnt tell him whats running in my thoughts though. I didnt want us to be disappointed or stressed him out during the interviews. So i silently prayed so hard he will get the call up for the interview myself.

Finally for the last interview i had roped in all my close friends, families and relatives to pray that he do well in the interview to get that job for the sake of my daughter's chance. The powers of emails and prayers were electrifiying! Thank you to everyone involved.

YES! he got it!

Finally i told him why i had encouraged him so much to go for the interviews.

He was so full of amazement at the coincidence. By this time we had already known bits n pieces of where he will be attached and it was only a 7 hour drive between where my lady fren was n where he will be attached. Considering USA is huge.

1st~ I had a dream, an impossible dream.

2004-09-22T07:11:00.000+08:00

I read in a web forum about Sensory Learning Center (www.sensorylearning.com). The parent who wrote about it was glad she brought her child there and offered her help to anybody who was interested in it. I checked the website and was very interested in the theraphy. It sounds too good to be true. That same day I made an impossible wish I could bring my daughter there.

Impossible because Im in Asia and the center is in USA! The program is 30 days duration. Air fares will already cost so much and what about the accomodation and food and living expenses! Where am i going to squeeze the vitamin M?

Anyway since the lady offered her help, out of curiosity i just emailed her and asked about her experiences and the changes in her son. Her conclusion was though its not a cure, its definitely a great help and theres no regrets. I can relate to that. With an autistic child, any small achievements is a cause for celebration. How i wished even more that i could bring 4 years old Nazurah.