Some History...

We welcomed Phoenix into our family on November 24, 2007. I was 37 weeks pregnant at the time, but our little boy came into this world weighing 3 lb. 14 oz. Come to find out later it was due to a blood clotting disorder I didn't know that I had at the time. Phoenix scored low on his Apgars, was groaning, and did not cry (he never has cried to this day). He was sent to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee where he spent his first three weeks of life surrounded by loving nurses, visitors, and family. Doctors there found that Phoenix had been experiencing minor seizures, which went away after a few months time.

As Phoenix grew, we noticed that he didn't meet the normal developmental milestones that he should have. There were times where we would say, "can he see?", "can he feel pain?", "can he hear?", "can he talk?", etc. Phoenix was involved in the Birth to Three program from the age of 3 months to 3 years. At the age of 3 he started Early Childhood Education.

Due to his developmental and social delays, we had him evaluated at age three to see if there was anything that the neuropsychologist could tell us. After extensive testing, and 4 long visits later, they informed us that Phoenix had Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified, which is to say Phoenix diagnosis falls on the low end of the Autism Spectrum.

As parents, we wanted to do everything that we could for our little man. We implemented a gluten-free and caisen-free diet, which has helped tremendously. At age four Phoenix is acedemically developed every bit of his four year age; however in other areas of developement Phoenix is still at a 2.5 year old level or below. Trying to be an informed parent, we searched the internet looking for a way to help Phoenix. This is when we stumbled upon a site for Brain Balance Centers which uses a natural, non-drug approach to normalizing brain and body functions. We are fortunate to have a center in Mequon, about 40 minutes away from our home. After talking to parents who have sent their children to Brain Balance with positive success, we started taking Phoenix as of 11/28/2011. This blog is Phoenix's Journey towards an improved way of life.

How It All Started...

A few months ago, I was researching Autism and options to help Phoenix with his PDD-NOS and came across a website for Brain Balance: Achievement Centers. As I looked at the site, I noticed that there were seminars in the area that gave an overview of the program. On a Wednesday night, my mother and I went to meet Dr. Jeremy Fritz and hear a lecture on what Brain Balance is all about and what the program entails. My mother and I were very impressed. It made complete sense... Through research they understand that the underlying cause of many of the disorders is a functional imbalance of brain activity between the right and left sides of the brain. After much discussion and reading the book Disconnected Kids by Dr. Melillo (the founder of Brain Balance) we scheduled an appointment to have Phoenix evaluated to see if he was a good candidate for the program. A week later, we met with Dr. Fritz who went threw the evaluation results. Being very cautious I recieved a list of parents that have taken their children to Brain Balance and asked them about their children, their experience, and what thoughts they may have. It was AMAZING! They had success with their children. There was one parent I talked to that her son was nonverbal and within the first 4 weeks he started to talk. There was a parent as well that her son had sensory issues and was not calm at all and within weeks he was calmer. The mothers I talked to, including one I met in the waiting room today, said that the time and expense were worth the success their children have had with Brain Balance. A few days later, I called and signed Phoenix up for this new program. I can't wait to see the little or big successes that Phoenix will have. http://www.brainbalancecenters.com/

Monday, January 9, 2012

Week 6



I am overwhelmed by and grateful for the progress that we have seen in Phoenix this week. Prayers are being answered. This week Phoenix has been increasing his word base (Mater, LeapPad, etc.) and has been putting the first sounds on words (Gampy/Gammy), which he didn't do before regularly. We did take away his "nuk" without a fight! At church this week, reports are that he did well, was a good listener, and wanted to sit by his teacher in the classroom setting. His assistant, Sis. Becker, said that he smiled a lot. I am so happy to hear that this new year is starting off well in primary. I can only hope that it continues. On the home front, Phoenix has been more calm. Amazingly, Phoenix has not tried to run away from us at the store or in the yard. In fact, today, we made a snowman and he played in the yard and didn't try to leave us at all! This is a huge step and we are truly thankful for this gift. I would love to not have to put my 4-year-old in the shopping cart all the time. I'm glad he doesn't mind for the time being.

We did get Phoenix's customized supplements this week. I have to give Phoenix powder amino acids in between meals and powder vitamins at meal time, two times a day each. Phoenix has been very cooperative, which I am pleased about. I put about a tablespoon of juice and his supplement in a cup, mix it up, and let him suck it up with a straw. Due to Phoenix's yeast issues, we have also incorporated what is called CoCo Biotic into his daily juice/water cup. CoCo Biotic takes the nutritional properties of young coconut water by fermenting it and creating a potent, non-dairy liquid probiotic. It contains special strains of beneficial microflora that helps the body and gut. According to the opinion of parents that have their autistic children on this, it has helped with calming their child and with their bowels.

This week we did have the opportunity to view Phoenix during his therapy via video camera. They sure do fit a lot in 30 minutes. He has two technicians, Laura and Sarah, that work with him. Some exercises that they did were: hanging on the monkey bars, having him being caught by a therapist while falling (helps with inner ear and equilibrium), following with his eyes different blocks on a fabric, hide and seek after being spun in a chair (quick reaction to change), etc. It was very interesting. We sat with the director of the facility, Taryn, and she explained what they were doing and why.

We have really seen some major progress and look forward to the next few weeks! Thank you to all of our friends and family for your support and kind words. It really means so much!
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 17, 2012 at 6:18 AM

    So happy to hear about the positive changes Phoenix has made and the positive start to the new year! Miss you guys!

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  2. Dennie LouJanuary 17, 2012 at 6:47 AM

    I really enjoy your updates. We too have seen some very definite changes. The committment both you and Mike have to Phoenix is very admirable. It is not an easy path, but one that is oh so worth it! As has been said before, he certainly came to the right family. Love, Gammy and Gampy

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