Something on Autism

I haven't posted on the big "A" in a while. Believe me, it's still one of the main focuses of my life!

An hour or so ago, I called a local compounding pharmacy to see if they could make Hutton's Methylcobalamin injections. These are also known as MB12, and he's been getting them for about two months now. In that time, his verbal skills have greatly increased, so I think they're a keeper. The downside - I have to give him a shot every three nights. I do it while he's asleep, and the needles are tiny, so he doesn't feel them. The shots are given subcutaneously, into the fat, at a 30 degree angle. The best spot for this subcutaneous fat? The buttocks. Yes, that's right. Every three nights, I sneak into Harrison's room (where Hutton sleeps, too) and attempt to expose enough of Hutton's booty to get the syringe in at an angle, all without waking him. Needless to say, this is hard to do. Most times, he'll wake up as soon as he senses my presence, or what he probably thinks is the Boogie Man hovering over his bed, and flip from his side onto his back, so I have to wait a few minutes for him to go back to sleep, then try to flip him on his side again and hope he stays asleep. If he hadn't had the huge improvement in language, I don't think I'd bother, but there's undeniable progress there. Even his bus driver noticed, after all!

Anyway, the local pharmacy can prepare the shots, and they'll ship them overnight with no additional charge, plus our insurance covers the shots. Hallelujah! One less thing to pay for. The previous pharmacy, in New Jersey, charged us an additional $34 to ship the shots every month. Thirty-four dollars is just a drop in the bucket of our Autism supplements costs, but I'll take what I can get! The new pharmacy is The Falls Pharmacy, and even though they're about a half hour drive, I consider them local! (That's what happens when you live in the boonies.)

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Also going on: I've been reading lots of Autism related books this month.
Completed:
Kenneth Bock, Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders This book was wonderful. Easy to understand, with lots of the science behind the current treatments for Autism. I definitely feel like we're on the right track after reading it.

Jenny McCarthy, Louder Than Words This was a great, fast read, and I love how Jenny has made the world of biomedical treatments for Autism so mainstream! Her appearance on Oprah a couple of weeks ago led my 82-year-old grandmother to call me, excitedly announcing, "Laura! You have to watch Oprah! There's a woman on taking about Autism! She's talking about that diet stuff you've been doing with Hutton!" I LOVE that! If my grandmother is paying attention, who knows how many other grandparents and other family members are out there learning about Autism and that treatment is possible! Fabulous!

I'm still reading:
John Elder Robinson, Look Me in the Eye This is a great story, and I would have finished it already, but I got distracted with the new fall TV season and with my knitting. It's a lot easier to knit and watch TV than it is to knit and read a book!

Bryan Jepson, Changing the Course of Autism This is another book, like the first one, written by a doctor who treats children with Autism. This one has lots of statistics and more complicated scientific writing that my poor little English major brain can handle easily, so I'll be reading this one for a while. Good thing I bought it, rather than checking it out of the library! Oh yeah, I need to return the Kenneth Bock book to the library. It was due yesterday. D'oh!

Off to go to the library and take Hutton for a haircut. It's picture day tomorrow, and he looks like an early era Beatle, but before they'd grown their hair to mop-top perfection. In other words, he looks like he needs a haircut.