What is RDI?

Over the last few years, several health professionals have recommended that I look into RDI – Relationship Development Intervention – for Nicky.  I didn’t know much about it and the more I asked around, the more I realized that most of my autism mom friends had never even heard of the program.   Around the same time, Lisa Strata came into Nicky’s life.  She and her staff at Spectrum Consulting are trained in RDI and work in Nicky’s class at the public school.  She’s agreed to help me break down RDI, so that we can all learn a bit more about it.

Lisa, could you give us a general definition of Relationship Development Intervention?

RDI (Relationship Development Intervention) is an intervention for individuals on the autism spectrum and other related disabilities that targets social interaction and dynamic thinking skills. It is a step-by-step program that is consultant/parent-led in which parents are taught how to re-establish the “guided participation” relationship with their children.   

What is “guided participation?”  Well, as parents we have a natural tendency to want to lead our children without relying on their feedback.  In the beginning stages of RDI, all parents learn how to be “guides” to their children, not directors.   They’re taught to be in the moment and share in their children’s participation and interaction.

How do parents accomplish this?

In RDI, parents are taught to use strategies like slowing down daily interactions, making changes to their communication style, and engaging the child in simple interactions that offer a re-do of the foundations that were missed in infancy and early childhood. An RDI Program Consultant will guide you through this process, and train you to re-establish the guided participation relationship with your child. As the child moves through the stages of RDI, new connections are built in the brain, helping the child to develop dynamic thinking, flexibility, and relationship skills.

Is there an ideal age or time to begin RDI?

RDI is appropriate for all people with autism, regardless of age or mental ability.  Brains are not “hard-wired,” therefore at any age we can remediate the brain to become more flexible and capable of good problem-solving

What are the main differences between RDI and other therapies such as Applied Behavioral Analysis?

Comparison of Service –
Typically, a parent will hire a staff to implement ABA therapy with their child.  These therapists work with the child during scheduled therapy times, often in a specific therapy room. 

RDI, on the other hand, is parent-based and isn’t usually done at specific “therapy times.”  It’s considered a lifestyle program.  Instead of adding therapy time to a parent’s already hectic day, it is incorporated into what the parents have to do or want to do in a typical day.  RDI can be done anywhere, inside or outside of the home.  While it’s best to start in an environment free of unnecessary distractions, not special rooms or environments are needed.

Parent Role –
Depending on the ABA program, parents may receive training.  When it’s offered, the training consists of teaching the parents how to be therapists to their child.  They are taught behavior principles, such as extinction, reinforcement, data collection, prompting, etc.  They are taught to interact with their child in the same way a therapist would.

With RDI, parents are the primary agents for change and do not take on a therapist role, but maintain their role as parent.  The role of any parent, whether they have a child with ASD or not, is to guide their cognitive growth.   In order to accomplish this, parents are taught to slow down the entire process  and afford their child a re-do on the developmental stages they missed. 
An RDI consultant helps the parents re-establish a reliable feedback system like that of neurotypical children and their parents.  In addition, some consultants work as RDI “extenders,” to carry over the developmental and social goals from that family environment, to other settings, such as the classroom.

Static vs. Dynamic Thinking

The structure of ABA promotes static – black and white – thinking.  There are correct answers and there are incorrect answers, just as there are appropriate behaviors and inappropriate answers.  While this teaching can work quite well for learning “cut-and-dried” skills, it can also reinforce static neurological pathways in the brain and individuals on the spectrum can become rigid and inflexible in their thinking.  They may not develop the ability to think dynamically or understand that most real-life problems don’t have black and white answers and tend to fall into what is commonly referred to as “grey areas.”  ABA does attempt to generalize those learned black and white answers into more grey situations, but those static pathways the therapy’s created make it difficult.

Because RDI isn’t a skill-based program, it doesn’t place the same emphasis on “correct” answers.  Its focus is more about developing the dynamic function of the brain and individual with ASD’s ability to think like his or her guide.  So for example, if you think about the question, “where is the correct place for a bag of chips?”  The child learns with the aid of their guide that there are many “correct” places, but some may be better or worse than others.  In this way, the child will discover how to make “good enough” choices in “grey area” problem.

What are the most important things a parent should consider when weighing the decision to start RDI?

The RDI program requires a strong commitment from you, the parent.  You must be ready to work and commit to a different lifestyle that consists of slowing down and talking TO your child, not AT your child anymore.  Working on family and peer relation ships is a priority.  You must have the mind set that RDI is a lifestyle, not a therapy.  That means making time in your schedule; chores, making dinner, eating together are the best opportunities for incorporating RDI.

Where can parents learn more about RDI?

Obviously, from other families who have embarked on RDI, but also from these resources:
http://www.rdiconnect.com
http://specrumconsultinginc.com
Autism Speaks

About Lisa Strata:

Lisa Strata MS Ed, founder and director of Spectrum Consulting, Inc. has a Master’s

Degree in Special Education with an emphasis on autism, and holds a Bachelor of the

Arts for Teacher of the Handicapped Degree. She’s developed and taught in many public and private schools within NJ & NY as well as served as an Early Intervention Evaluator and a Developmental Interventionist. In addition, she was one of the first 50 who were certified 10 years ago as RDI Certified Consultants. Lisa continues to help families develop balanced treatment plans for their children while addressing the core deficits of autism. In addition, Lisa consults with many local school districts, provides training on the various behavioral and educational interventions, and speaks at many conferences and school inservices.

Coping With An Autism Diagnosis

 When I think about those months leading up to and immediately following Nicky’s diagnosis, I remember crying nonstop, feeling overwhelming guilt (what if I’d done something differently during pregnancy? what if I’d fought for a diagnosis sooner?) and complete exhaustion from talking about it to everyone.

The majority of the responses I received fell into two separate categories, but they were equally upsetting to me.  Mostly because they both presumed how I was feeling or how I should feel.  Unless you’ve experienced having a child diagnosed with autism or some other special need, you really can’t understand the multitude of emotions.   Before Nicky’s diagnosis, it’s very likely I would’ve responded in one of these two ways, myself.  It’s hard to know what to say to any parent in this situation, but maybe this will lend some perspective. 

The most common response is pity.  “I’m so sorry to hear that.”  “That’s terrible!  I don’t envy you.” “That must be so hard.  How do you cope?!”  I know that all of these responses are well meaning, but they immediately made me feel like I should be devastated.  The reaction wouldn't have been much different if I'd told them my child had a terminal illness.  Autism is not a death sentence.  In fact, a lot of autistic children grow up to be productive, independent and happy adults – probably happier than most of the typical adults you know.  Special needs parents don’t want pity or sympathy.  Our kids are amazing, lovable and incredibly inspiring.  We definitely experience struggles that other parents couldn't fathom, but our children make us smile every day, just like any other kid, and we feel grateful to be their parents.  

The other common reaction was to point out just how grateful I should be.  I was told to remember that my child was “perfect” no matter what.  Several seemed to point out my fortune that they couldn’t have guessed Nicky was autistic.  While the first group of people felt sorry for me, this group seemed to think I had no right to mourn either.  And there definitely was a mourning period.  As much as we may protest, no parent can deny that their child is born with a long list of hopes and dreams attached to them.   Little league, piano recitals, honor roll, college graduation, grandchildren…  Some of those dreams may still be attainable for an autistic child, but when I was just trying to get my little boy to look me in the eye and talk to me, the possibilities seemed pretty remote.   I love my boy just the way he is, but I also want more for him.  Honesty, I think that’s what makes me a good parent.  If I’d just accepted that he was perfect the way he was (and frankly, I don’t think any child or person is perfect), then I never would’ve sought the numerous therapies and treatments that have brought him so much progress.  I think my own complacency would've been a grave disservice to him.

I know … You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.  I don’t want you to think I'm ungrateful for my child, but I don’t want you to expect me to be grateful either.  Like I said…it’s complicated.  Honestly, I think it’s best not to talk to special needs parents about our feelings.  There’s nothing you can say to make it better or make it go away.

The best way to react is to listen and not impose advice or opinion.  Just listen.  Let us vent on the hard days.  Ask us questions.  Show us that you want to learn about autism or whatever the condition may be, and most importantly, that you want to get to know our children for who they truly are.  I’d rather answer questions all day about what makes Nicky tick than talk about how I feel.

There's an essay I came across a few years ago that really expressed the mixture of emotions in a way I never could.  It's like a trip to Holland...

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
 Emily Perl Kingsley.

c1987 by Emily Perl Kingsley. All rights reserved

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.

Happy Early Birthday Nicky!

Nicky's birthday is June 2nd, but since we have a lot going on over the next few weeks, we decided to celebrate today with a couple of close friends and family.

It was a beautiful day and we have a lot to celebrate this year.  Here's hoping that his coming year is as great as his last!

We started chelation almost two months ago, but had to pull back and start over at one point.  He was detoxing too fast and it was causing a lot of stimming and hyperactivity.  We've been taking it much slower now and over the last couple of weeks we've been seeing some progress.  He's more talkative, more observant, and just more interested in what's going on around him.  There's definitely still some focus issues, but some of the positive standouts for me recently are:

1)  Every morning, I would send him out the door to get on the bus and he'd never look back, say goodbye or acknowledge me in any way.  Over the last two weeks, every morning he stops on our porch, turns around to look me in the eye and says "See you later!"

2)  He's never had any interest in riding a bike.  Every time he's gotten on his two-wheeler (with training wheels) he's wanted to get right off as soon as he sat on it and it wobbled.  And even on a tricycle, I always had to grab the tops of his legs to help him pedal.  Last weekend, he wanted to get on his bike and he finally rode it for the first time.  He pumped his legs and didn't complain or ask to get off even once.  He even fell off once and got right back on.  I was SO proud of him.

3)  I've noticed him talking to Samantha more.  They have mini-conversations.  And yesterday when I put lunch on the table, he said "Come on Samantha!  Lunch is ready!  Go get your water bottle!"  That's a lot of successive sentences for him.

Here's a video I took this morning.  He sang himself "Happy Birthday."

One Big Hippie Family

Not a lot to report on the Nicky front at the moment.  He recently started chelation and his growth hormone shots and he's still adjusting to both.  About two nights after we started the injections, Lance said "Am I crazy or does he look like he's grown already?"  He's crazy.  And I thought I was the impatient one.

So while we sit back and let the kid breathe a little bit, I thought I'd fill you in on how Nicky's new way of life has directly affected the rest of the family...

Back in the fall, Samantha's teacher would pull me aside every now and then and tell me that she was having trouble paying attention in school.   I started to notice that on the days her teacher mentioned it, Sammy was very congested, had a runny nose, etc.  She's always seemed to have allergies, but they  were getting worse and becoming year-round.  So I mentioned it to Nicky's nutritionist at PATH and she suggested I try putting Samantha on the gluten-free, dairy-free diet as well, to see if it helped.  At first, I was pretty skeptical and wasn't super strict about it.  I'd make sure she stayed on the diet at home, but if there was a special snack at school or something, I'd let her have it.  Every time she had the snack (or in one case, a glass of milk) she'd be horribly congested for several days.  On two occasions, she ended up with a sinus infection.  So I decided to go all in and we started to see a lot of improvement.  Her teacher even commented a month later, that she'd been doing much better in school.  I was shocked.  At home, we noticed she was more observant and started paying closer attention to detail, particularly in her drawing.  She'd never shown much interest in art before, but now she's gone through about two rolls of scotch tape to convert the walls of her room into a Samantha museum.  Since this horrible pollen season started, we've seen a little bit of a backslide, but we've recently started her on an all natural allergy remedy that seems to be helping.

With neither kid eating gluten or dairy, I felt like I shouldn't be eating them either.   Nicky's always been so passive that he never seemed to mind when we ate things he couldn't have, but I knew Samantha would feel differently.   I used Christmas gift cards and money to buy five Paleo cookbooks.  While we don't follow all of the restrictions of a Paleo diet, they're all gluten-free, dairy-free recipes, so they're a good resource.  I've been cooking a lot more and for the most part I don't miss any of it.  Except feta.  I really love feta...

Eliminating dairy was new, but I'd been restricting my gluten intake and carbs in general for the last few years.  I had been experiencing a lot of joint pain, moodiness and fatigue, and a holistic practitioner had put me on thyroid medication and diagnosed me as insulin resistant.  The excess insulin my body produced while eating carbs was causing a lot of the inflammation.  I notice a big difference now in my joints when I'm not eating the way I'm supposed to.  I also started exercising more and hired a trainer.  I see Dawn once a month, but she checks in with me regularly and is a constant source of inspiration.  Over the last 3 1/2 years I've gone down 5 dress sizes and feel younger than I did at 35.

I can't say I've felt a burst of energy since I eliminated the gluten and dairy completely.  I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that I'm just not an energetic person.  However, I recover from my workouts much faster and I virtually never have any kind of stomach upset or other digestive issues.  And while I'm nowhere near my goal yet, it also just makes me feel leaner.

I think some of my friends may think I've gone hippie or joined some kind of granola-crunchy cult.  I never would've seen myself making these choices 10 or 15 years ago.  But I was tired of feeling ten years older than my age, and felt responsible for taking care of myself so that I could do everything possible for my kids for as LONG as I possibly can.  Having a son that may never become independent, that particular responsibility weighs on me heavily.

So now you can call me an open-minded skeptic and a reluctant hippie, but rest assured, 1/4 of our family will always be gluten-eating and ice-cream-loving.  Nothing can get between my husband and his pasta with Country Crock!

The One and Only Time I'll Talk About The Vaccine Debate

One of the things I hate about social media and media in general these days is the simplification of every argument into black-or-white, pro-or-con.  It's polarized every political argument and social issue into two separate sides that never have any chance of meeting in the middle or achieving any kind of progress.

One of the hottest, most contested debates these days is regarding vaccines.  I'll be honest.  It drives me crazy to see posts or news articles by extremists on either side of the issue.   They're always nasty, insulting and completely narrow-minded.  Well, my opinion lies somewhere in the middle, much as Jenny McCarthy's explained her viewpoint today in the Chicago Sun-Times:  http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/26784527-452/jenny-mccarthy-the-gray-area-on-vaccines.html

Yes.  I know.  I might as well have cited an article written by Satan, given the way this woman's been vilified.  She's not my favorite person -- I find her rather grating -- but I don't think she deserves the hate she's garnered, especially since a lot of it is born out of misinformation and false internet rumors.

I usually shy away from any political posts or anything remotely controversial.  The level of ire it can stir just makes me uncomfortable and since it's mostly unproductive, I avoid it.  Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but it can often get nasty and accusatory and I don't need the added stress in my life.  That's why this is the one and only time I'll ever bring up my stance on vaccines.  I just felt the need to advocate for something besides the black-and-white viewpoints.  I support the "Gray Area."

I do not think that vaccines caused Nicky's Autism.  I do believe however it's possible that they contributed to some of his regressions.  Now that I've seen how much havoc his body endures just from eating an egg, it doesn't seem much of a stretch to think that injecting eggs, formaldehyde, aluminum, mercury and a bunch of other chemicals directly into his bloodstream could have had a profound effect on him.  I don't think that every child is in danger of suffering the same consequences, and I absolutely believe that vaccines are necessary for our society's welfare, but I've met the parents of vaccine-injured children (some non-autistic as well) and I don't think it's fair or morally right to tell them that the unfortunate circumstances of their child losing the ability to speak, or suffering from seizures or losing his/her life was just an "acceptable risk" for the benefit of the rest of the population.

There has to be a better way.  There has to be a way to manufacture safer vaccines.  There has to be a way to screen children to see if their immune systems are strong enough to endure vaccines at a young, vulnerable age.  There has to be a more conservative vaccine schedule that can still safeguard our kids from polio, measles, etc. in a period of time that everyone can agree on.

But instead of looking for better ways, everybody's still stuck on the finger-pointing.  I remain firmly in the Gray Area, hoping for progress.

"Crazy" Mom

I think every parent gets frustrated by how much of an enigma their own child can be.  Why is he in a bad mood?  Why are her grades falling?  Am I doing what's best for them?

When you have a special needs child that struggles with communication, that mysteriousness is just magnified.  Nicky rarely complains.  He almost never expresses discomfort.  And yet for years he was dealing with digestive problems that had to be painful and uncomfortable.  As a mom, it just tears me up inside to think his little body was hurting and he couldn't tell me.  I feel like it's my responsibility to know and make it better.

So...  sometimes that can turn me into "crazy mom."  I analyze his every move, watch every bite of food he takes,  count every minute he sleeps...

 About 4 to 6 weeks ago, I was noticing that Nicky seemed to be "off" again.  He wasn't sleeping very well, he was spacing out and he just looked sick to me.  His complexion was pale and his eyes were glassy and dark-rimmed.   His focus just wasn't there either.   It was taking him two or three times as long to do his homework.  I was worried something was really wrong.  I was worried he was regressing again because of another digestive issue or other ailment.

I voiced my concerns to his doctor, who thought it was probably a Herxheimer reaction brought on by the Diflucan.  The medicine kills off the excess yeast in the digestive tract and as the yeast dies off, it releases toxins into the body.  This can wreak all kinds of havoc, like headaches, spaciness, stomach upset, etc.  But to make sure the Diflucan wasn't causing some other negative reaction (affecting his kidneys, etc.), Dr. Gabriel ordered a blood test.

The next day, Nicky came home with the beginnings of a rash on his face.  I recognized it right away as impetigo, because he'd had it twice before.  Impetigo can present when the strep virus is in a child's nose and results in a rash in that area.  I thought right away that this must've been what was wrong with him.  He's had strep this whole time!  Well, I took him to see Dr. Gabriel (who heard a lot from us that week) and he found that Nicky didn't have strep throat.  So the virus was very localized and not very significant.

While we were waiting on the blood test results, Nicky's Diflucan prescription ran out.  He'd been on the medication for 21 days.  Soon after we stopped he really seemed to bounce back.  He was much more "with it." And his coloring improved.

The test results all came back normal, so Dr. Gabriel really felt that it had all been a Herxheimer reaction after all.  And since Nicky had responded so strongly, that probably meant he still had a lot of yeast in him and needed to go back on Diflucan.  I had mixed feelings.  Obviously, I was happy to have normal test results, but I wasn't looking forward to seeing him react that way again.

But I trust Dr. Gabriel and everyone at PATH (including the wonderful nurse, Elisa, who fields a lot of e-mails and texts from me and is so caring and responsive -- not to mention brilliant), so Nicky's back on the Diflucan.  They've added a supplement to help with the Herxheimer reaction.  We're on day 12 and it seems to be going a little better this time, but time will tell.  Eventually the Herxheimer reaction should subside and we will see improvements in his behavior and focus.

I'm trying to ease back into "sane mom" mode again.  As hard as I try to diagnose him and figure him out, I really need to leave that to the professionals.  Fortunately, the team at PATH takes family concerns and observations very seriously and they listen.  That's what I'd been looking for in a doctor for the last five years and I'm just so gratified to have found that.  So I'm going to be patient and let these things take their course, but it's hard.  As moms -- special needs or no -- we feel compelled to be doctors, detectives, psychics, and a million other things all rolled into one.  So hey...we're entitled to go a little crazy now and then, right?

Bump in the Road or Piece of the Puzzle?

Over the last couple of years, Nicky's doctors have been keeping a close eye on his rate of growth.  It's slowed down substantially over the last 3 years.  He's turning 9 in June and his size 7 jeans are still too long on him.  I had hoped that once we resolved some of his digestive issues and he started eating more, he'd start to catch up.  Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.

Last week we spent the morning at the hospital for a growth hormone stimulation test.  They hooked Nick up to an IV and gave him a medicine that stimulates whatever growth hormone he has in him.  Then they drew blood every half hour for 3 hours.  His pediatric endocrinologist called on Friday with the results and confirmed that he is, indeed, deficient in growth hormone.  Once he has an MRI to make sure there's no abnormalities with his pituitary gland, we'll begin daily HGH injections that will continue until about the age of 15.  The endocrinologist tells me he should grow 3-4 inches in the first year and then 2-3 inches every year after.

I've spent a lot of time on the internet trying to see if there's a correlation between autism and growth hormone deficiency.  I haven't found much.  In fact, there seems to be much more written about autistic children with higher than normal levels of GH.  Our nurse at PATH has told me that there is a subset of children on the spectrum that are diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency.  She feels that this whole discovery could turn out to be a blessing -- that the injections could affect other areas of his development too.  In fact there have recently been studies on the use of HGH as an alternative treatment for autism (on children that aren't diagnosed at GH deficient).  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything conclusive yet.

Regardless of whether or not the injections will provide any benefits beyond making him taller, I'm relieved that PATH doesn't see this latest diagnosis as an obstacle to his course of treatment with them.  We're continuing everything as planned.

Nicky's been on the Diflucan to treat the yeast in his gut for about a week and a half now.  His teachers reported that he had a terrific week at school and that his self-talk (scripting) decreased dramatically.  He's still stimming and scripting quite a bit at home, but Lance and I noticed a big improvement in him today.  Perhaps it's a fluke, perhaps not.  Nicky can be pretty inconsistent, but we're hoping this is a good sign.

This is a video I took today.  He didn't answer everything correctly, but he seemed more engaged in the conversation than last week and he did offer answers to questions that he sometimes has a hard time with (naming his school).

Gotta Start Somewhere

Our Nicky has had a wonderful year since starting his biomedical protocol with PATH Family Center.  As we begin his next phase of treatment, I wanted to start documenting his progress more thoroughly and perhaps share his progress with friends and family.

This course of action really felt like a last resort to us.  Nicky had been regressing for years.  We'd tried many different therapies, many different medications, and several different doctors, and every step forward had been quickly followed by three steps back.  He was also just looking unhealthy to us.  He had digestive problems and poor sleep habits.  We were growing increasingly concerned for his overall health -- not just his neurological issues -- so it seemed time to give the biomedical approach a try.  We were skeptical, but hopeful.  (Hence the blog name.)

We officially joined PATH in June 2013.  The first step was adjusting his diet.  Nicky was already on a gluten-free, dairy-free diet, but through testing we learned that he was also sensitive to eggs, tomatoes, soy, mustard, peanuts, cashews, and some beans.  We eliminated those items from his diet as well as all sugar.  The immediate results were dramatic.  He started eating a lot more.  He smiled more and made better eye contact.  The chronic constipation that he'd been suffering from for years, finally went away.

During this time, Nicky went off of his ADD medications for a few days because the neurologist's office forgot to send the prescription.  We noted that he started receiving better feedback from his behavior therapy camp while OFF the meds.  So we decided to keep him off and see what happened.  He'd been off all of his meds six months prior and the results hadn't good.  He was bouncing off the walls -- literally...running back and forth across the room and banging into the walls.  He couldn't sit still at all.  This time, he was definitely a little more hyper than he had been on the meds, but it was much more manageable and the upside was that he seemed more aware and more social.  He's been off his ADD medications ever since.

The next step was starting supplements based on what blood tests showed he was deficient in.  One piece of the puzzle that PATH emphasizes is facilitating "methylation pathways." Many kids on the Autism Spectrum (including Nicky) have certain gene mutations which mean that there are key factors they're missing to help them detoxify themselves from any environmental elements.  The methylation cycle helps our bodies rid themselves of toxins.  Nicky is missing some of the ingredients (enzymes) needed for steps of that cycle to function.  So he's also taking supplements to make up for those deficits.

The most recent addition to his protocol is Diflucan, an anti-fungal used to treat yeast infections.   Many kids on the spectrum have overgrowth of yeast in their guts.  It often presents as if the child is drunk.  They giggle for no reason, exhibit self-stimulatory behavior and are just generally spacey.  Nicky acts this way much of the time.  We're trying the Diflucan to see if some of these behaviors are, indeed, caused by the yeast.  I'll be posting videos regularly to keep track of his progress.  Here's the first.  We started Diflucan on 2/13.  This video was taken 2/16.  Kids can sometimes experience a yeast die-off period when the symptoms are exacerbated, but that generally shows the anti-fungal is working, and should be followed by an improvement.

He was actually spacier in this video than usual.   He hasn't mistaken his age in quite some time, so I was surprised when he did here.

His sleep pattern has been a bit off lately, so I'm hoping the Diflucan helps with that too.