The-Courier-recoveringnoah

Okay, this is the blog post that is officially going to label me as a quack. I just know it. (Oh and have you noticed that this is my second blog posts in 24 hours? I know. I know!)

This is probably going to be one of the hardest posts to write. Actually, I think letting you all know what we're doing with Noah is hard in general. Because I don't want to look like a fool. I have this fear of people saying, "Oh my gosh, you're investing in hogwash. You are so wasting your money!"

But this is what's working for Noah. It is. And it's hard because I'm a facts person. I'm one of those nerdy types who loves research and facts and figures. Five, six, seven years ago you could've asked me anything about autism and various treatments and I would've been able to rattle off tons of statistics off the tops of my heads. I could've told you who was who in the autism world. Where each doctor went to school. All the clinical trials that had been done. I could have rattled on about DNA and genes and the human body so much that you would've thought I'd gone to medical school.

And now... I can tell ya nothin'. Because I don't need to know how this stuff works anymore. I just have faith that it does.

But it's one thing to keep it all to myself. To let everyone know that this is what we're doing and this is what we're claiming is helping Noah... now that's a different story. Because people like facts. And people like concrete evidence. I totally get that. I'm a questioner through and through. I wear people out with my questions. I've been called out on it. But it's just how my brain works. And trust God to lead us down the path where there are no answers... .where I just have to rely on faith. It's totally like God to do that to me.... He knew that I needed to be rattled.

Anyway, if you've been reading this blog for awhile (you know, back when I used to blog interesting things and had a sense of humor) then you may have seen the blog post I did about homeopathy and Noah's skin - complete with pictures that STILL make me grimace. That post will give you a good idea about what led us to try homeopathy in the first place - and the pictures speak for themself.

A couple of years ago, a friend that I'd met while living in Franklin, TN told us that she was using a homeopath named T.I. Bishop who owns a company called Breath of Life. My friend is very religious and she said that she felt like God was telling her to let me know about T.I.

See, this is where I either gain your attention or lose you, right? Where you start to judge if I'm sane or not.

Well, my friend urged me to contact T.I. (who had no idea about us) and T.I. agreed to work with us. Here's where it gets tricky. She only works with local people -and she was based in Franklin and we were in TX. But she agreed to give it a try and told us that she couldn't make any promises and that she wasn't even sure if it would work, but she'd pray about it and see what happens.

It didn't phase us a bit because we'd already dabbled into alternative medicine quite a bit... so things like "energy medicine" didn't strike us as odd. If you've never heard of it, then you're going to think it's nonsense. But if you're reading this and you've already done energy clearings or energy medicine before (like if you have allergies and such) then you know that there is some merit to it. And the best thing for us is that it didn't involve poking Noah with needles... and it wasn't all that expensive.

Now, T.I. does electra dermal screening. I can't really tell you what it is, but you can find more info HERE. Of course, the problem was how was she going to work with Noah if we weren't in TN? So, we sent her a picture of Noah and she put it on the machine, prayed over it,... and it printed out a response.

Okay, I know that sounds crazy. But here's the even crazier part....

Each month T.I. does that. And each month it prints off things that fit Noah to a T. And before I give you some examples, let me tell you that T.I. doesn't know much about Noah. Even though we've done this for 2 years now, it still floors me and there's still a bit of skeptic in me, so I make sure never to say what's going on with Noah until after the tests are run. And every month, I am blown away by how accurate the results are.

See.... God is really working on me in the area of faith.

Here are some of the things that the test has shown before...

1. It showed that Noah had a little-known bacteria (and named it by name). The thing is that T.I. didn't know that we'd already had a fecal test run (for much $$$) and it showed that Noah had that same bacteria in his stool. Her test - the one that is completely wild, and even she'll admit it - showed the same thing.

2. One time T.I. emailed me and said that maybe the test wasn't working properly because it showed Noah was having a problem with coffee (and obviously a 7 year old shouldn't have a problem with coffee, right?). But what she didn't know is that Noah had been sneaking my coffee every morning and drinking it. We would find my coffee mugs all over the house. We couldn't keep him out of it. But T. I. didn't know that.... and it still showed up on the test result.

3. Once, the test results showed that Noah was having a problem with water.... and the day before he had actually drank a bunch of stagnant water that had collected at the bottom of the slid on our swingswet.

4. It once showed a bacteria found in moldy leaves (or something like that) and what she didn't know is that Noah was having diarrhea from eating leaves in the backyard.

5. The test has detected when Noah is about to get a cold or when he does have a cold - and we never tell her these things beforehand.

6. Once, the test showed that he was having severe emotional issues and feeling despair..... and a few hours before he'd had one of the biggest meltdowns we'd ever seen.

Ya'll, I KNOW if sounds crazy... and even though we've done this for two years now, it still blows us (and T.I.) away. But these tests are accurate... and I can only attribute it to God. I think this is what we're meant to be doing. I think He wants me to humble myself and go out here and admit that we do this crazy sounding thing that can only be attributed to believing in the unseen... and having a bit - or a lot - of faith.

So, anyway, after the tests are run, T.I. formulates a remedy for Noah. A lot of time it involves homeopathic remedies or Bach flower remedies or cell food. In the beginning, it involved a lot of essential oils that we had to rub on Noah (and that made him smell like a delicious bottle of incense). And she gives us instructions on how many drops to give how many times a day.

It's easy-peasy.

He's never been harmed by any of these remedies... whereas all the biomed treatments we did nearly killed him. The oils smell soooo good, and you can google all the beneficial effects and see that these oils have been used for centuries and centuries.

I truly believe that God gave us everything we need on this earth to heal ourselves... we just have to find what it is.....

Anyway, so here's the lowdown...

T.I. is very honest. I really like her and trust her. We'd had some bad experiences with homeopaths in the past, so I was really skeptical in the beginning, but month after month these tests are turning out to be accurate and true, so this skeptic has turned into a believer.

She is very cost-effective. The tests + remedies + shipping are usually always between $100 - $145 a month, depending on the remedy. This is really NOTHING compared to what most therapies cost. In the beginning, it was more expensive because some of the oils are a bit pricey, but she never takes advantage of you. As soon as the tests stopped showing that Noah needed them, she stopped suggesting them. Like I said, I really trust her.

She's also very willing to work with you. There was a time when we couldn't afford to do the testing once a month, so she let us call the shots and for a while there we tested only every 2 - 3 months.

She's also very open. She's not out there to take your money. She really and truly wants to help. And that's the difference between a good practitioner and one who's just trying to sell you snake oil.

As far as how this is helping Noah... it's hard to say. It's like trying to tell someone how a flower grows. You know it's happening right before your eyes, but it's so slow and gradual that you can't really discuss it in great detail. All I know is that since we've started seeing a chiropractor, seeing Soma, and working with T.I., Noah has calmed down a lot. No, he's not one of those kids who recovers overnight. In fact, most people would look at him and ask if anything we've been doing has been working at all....

But here's what I'll tell you. Last night, I went into Nandi's room and Noah was laying there next to Nandi and he was holding her hand and had his head rested on her shoulder and she was talking to him and he had the sweetest smile on his face and the sweetest look in his eyes.

He loves his sister. He.loves.her. And he was able to show it.

Ya'll, not to promote a stereotype, but a lot of children with severe autism can't show affection. Withdrawing from society is one of the symptoms that makes autism autism. And there was a time when I could sit right on Noah's bed and look right into his eyes... and there was no light. He was gone. He had no idea who I was. He was a shell. And now, he crawls into our lap. He reaches out for kisses. He hugs his brother and sister. Not all the time. Not even half of the time. But it's getting more and more each day.

He's always been "there". He's always been inside his body... but he couldn't get it out. He was trapped. And slowly - soooo slowly - he's starting to emerge.

And that's what homeopathy has done for my son.

If you live in TN and you have any type of health problem, I'd really encourage you to look up T.I. Her website is HERE. I honestly don't know if she'll work with any other long distance clients... I mean, I think even she is blown away by what's happening with Noah. I mean, I think it amazes her, too. But it's worth contacting her and asking. She'll be really honest with you as to whether or not she thinks it'll work.

And it's slow going. It's not overnight. But we feel confident enough in it to do this long-term. Our goal now is not for the miracle pill or for the instant cure. Our goal is for Noah to have a happy and healthy life. Our goal is for the future.

Next time, I'll talk about Brain Gym and how we struck gold with Noah's Brain Gym instructor.

P.S. I think I'm supposed to mention that I didn't take the picture off the top. I got it off her website. So, now you know.

KLEENEX ALERT! Wash off the mascara before you watch it...


Next time.... and I'll try to post sooner (promise!), I'll talk about the 3rd Key Player in Noah's life... his homeopath.

We've used TONS of practitioners in the past - not only locally, but all over the U.S. But we never did manage to use a doctor living in Hawaii. Darn!



Anyway, over the years we've weeded down Noah's therapies significantly. I'll be blogging about each one over the next few days. Each one is a therapist that we've been using for at least a year or so and they're the ones that I consider essential to Noah's daily life. In other words, they're the ones I go to bed praying about each night and begging God to please let them each live to be 150 and not retire early. Thank you so much, amen.


Today, we'll start with Noah's chiropractor.

1. Dr. Rosenthal

This is Dr. Rosenthal. He's Noah's chiropractor. And he's really good. (And, no, I didn't take that picture. Come on, now! I swiped it off his website.)


I love chiropractors. They do so much more than just back adjustments. And, honestly, this is just my opinion, I think they're really picking up where a lot of medical doctors leave off - especially in the field of autism. They work with allergies, sensory issues, balance issues. I find the whole field just really fascinating.


Anyway, we've been seeing Dr. R for about the last 16 months. Last summer (2009), we really hit it hard and all three kids saw him twice a week for for about 2 months. We saw enormous changes in Eli that summer. He learned to ride a bike. His balance became stellar (he started walking on ropes tied between two trees. Uh huh, he did!). This was soooo big for a kid who'd been diagnosed by an OT with a coordination disorder 9 months earlier.


Last year, we stopped going as much - mainly because our insurance changed and also because we were trying to save gas by not driving to Dallas so much. But this past summer, at the beginning of June, Noah started having huge meltdowns and started banging and hitting his head over and over again. So we experimented a bit and realized that if we go more than one week without Noah getting adjusted, then he'd start screaming and headbanging.


I don't really understand the science there, but he loves going to see Dr R. He loves getting stretched out and twisted like a pretzel. And it keeps him happy. So we do it.


Anyway, Dr. R adjusts Noah and does certain exercises with him each week and then gives us homework. I love that part! No, really, I do. I love being a part of Noah's therapy and seeing small bits of progress here and there.


Now, honestly, I can't really - in a medical type way - explain exactly what Dr R does. It involves phrases like "firing up neutrons" and "getting both sides of the brain to communicate" and other stuff that just flies straight over my head.


What I can tell you is that it involves cranial sacral therapy (which is on top of my "I really really recommend this therapy" list, body adjustments, stretching, balance games, and exercises.


And while I'll go over the exercises and equipment used in another post... just to give you an idea though, at home, we follow Dr R's exercises for Noah by using a large stability ball, a bosu ball, and a massage table. Most of the stretching is done with Noah on a massage table (that we bought at a garage sale) while I sit on a stability ball. I do a lot of foot stretching and massaging (remember, Noah also has cerebral palsy), midline crossing... cross crawl patterns, body brushing, massaging, etc. Noah stands on the bosu ball and does Captain Morgans against the wall to open up his chest (he leans forward while he walks and this has really helped his posture). We sit him on the stability ball and play "bucking bronco" while holding onto his feet. He looooves this! We'll put the stability ball in a corner and hold Noah's hands while he hops up and down on it. We'll put him in a swivel chair and spin him around and around. Things like that.


It looks really easy.... all these things that Dr R does in his office. And, I admit, there was a time when I thought to myself... "This is really nothing. I can get all of this at OT. I don't understand. How is this helping? Am I wasting my time? Am I wasting my money?" And, truthfully, if our insurance hadn't changed (again!) and allowed us to see him for less than we had been paying before, I might have stopped. It's only because our insurance changed that we can afford to see him once a week.


However, after going for a year and seeing the difference in Noah from going once a month to once a week and then seeing the change from Noah only going once a week without me working at home with him to seeing the improvements from me working at home with him... (wow, is that a long sentence or what?) I can honestly say that it's a therapy we recommend.


The plus side is that he does accept insurance. Yay! Most people who work with children with autism DON'T take insurance. After we pay our deductible, it only costs us $12.80 a session. Yee haw!


Another plus side is that we only go once a week for 30 minutes and then I get exercises to do at home for the rest of the week. I'm not dragging him here and there and everywhere all week long. I get to spend time with him at home while doing his exercises. I do see progress being made.... it's terribly, painfully slow, but it's happening. And he loves it!


The downside is that it is in Dallas.... so we drive 3 hours RT once a week for a 30 minute appointment. He also has a lot of clients and gets booked up fast. The initial consultation is also a little expensive. But if he takes your insurance and your deductible is met, it can be a really cost effective therapy. Don't expect instant results (although we saw near instant results with Eli), but if you want a slower, non-invasive therapy that your child will probably like and that you can maintain at home, then you'll definitely want to check him out.


Also, if you just strictly want Cranial Sacral Therapy, Dr Adele Kestner works in the same building. We saw her for 3 years and she is amazing. She doesn't take insurance and I think (unless her prices have gone up), she charges $50 for 30 minutes. I will say, though, that cranial sacral therapy is one of my favorite therapies. Noah had really bad headaches and sleep patterns at one time... screaming and screeching and crying all the time. Cranial Sacral Therapy helped relieve that head pressure. In the beginning, we went 3x a week, then 2x, then 1x, then once every 2 weeks, then once every month.

Can you see why we ended up in so much debt? And this was the cheapest therapy we were doing at the time! (And let me tell you... if I had to do it over again, I would. In the beginning, it cost a ton, but I cannot begin to tell you how much cranial sacral helped.)

Both Dr Kestner and Dr R are Christians. They are also both very honest. They care about the patient - not the $$$. In fact, Dr Kestner referred us to Dr Rosenthal because he takes insurance. She knew we'd stop seeing her, but it didn't matter. She really cares about Noah.


You can find Dr Rosenthal's info HERE .


You can find Dr Kestner's info HERE.


Next time, I'll talk about Soma and RPM. We saw Soma last Saturday and Noah blew me away with his smarts!