Time for a confession.
I am completely guilty & won't apologize for trying to buy a cure for my daughter.
When she was first diagnosed I threw myself into researching treatments and cures for autism. I read books about parents whose kids had beat the odds, whose autism had been cured by this or that. We tried special diets, supplements*, and bought special toys and books by the dozen on Autism and treatments. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that there is no cure, but that doesn't mean that there isn't always, room for growth.
My original goal was to fix my daughter and in pursuit of that I will admit to spending all of my savings, rrsp's, maxing my credit cards and even selling my house to ensure she had access to any and everything she needs. I derailed my career and poured all of my energy into working with my Tiger Lily.
Some things that I am really happy I spent the money on and believe to have made a difference for Tiger are.
Staying at home, being there 24/7 to provide the security and routine she needed. How do you do a good job when your child never sleeps through the night and has 56 appointments in 1 year.
Private Therapies!! The wait lists for therapies were and are just too long.
Tiger Lily started speech therapy before she was even diagnosed. With her diagnosis came referral letters for therapies. We paid for private until she came up on the wait lists for speech, physio, occupational and ABA. We also enrolled her in the Ontario Early Years resource teacher program,We participated in the YMCA inclusive programs as well.
Supplements: Gastrointestinal issues abound with autistic children . On the advice of our specialist we gave Tiger a live probiotic. They are ridiculously expensive but we noticed improvements within a week of starting these. Less crying, less bloating, more bowel movements, more sleep and more speech.. Omega therapy to reduce swelling in the brain, again we saw marked improvement when we started these.
Better Food: This came from our specialist, butcher meat, home made bread, less preservatives absolutely no Tartrazine ,Aspartame, Sucralose and no artificial colours and no deli meat was her advice. Nowadays I always know when Tiger has had the fake food, it shows up in her behaviour, stims and sleep.
What I Wasted Money On.
Books: I should have gone to Kerry's Place or the Library instead of purchasing these.
Sensory Toys: Of course pinterest wasn't around then but seriously, what was I thinking?
I didn't need to buy special toys, I needed to find the cheap version, of the special toys.
Special Play Equipment: Again there are cheaper/ better ways to get results and oh how I wish Pinterest had been there for me.
The Specialty Store Food: It's much cheaper to just plan ahead and make it yourself.
Things I'm On The Fence About.
Apps, Videos and Educational Supplies: I bought and still buy a lot of these, Tiger loves technology and I try to use that to my advantage but I'm really beginning to feel that maybe there is too much technology and not enough outside time going on. Of course it feels like minus a gazillion degrees outside so I'm going to cut myself some slack.
If you are new to the lifestyle, I envy you the ready information at your fingertips. Use your GoogleFu! Again folks this is all just me talking about my experiences, and I'm no one special.
Do your research, talk to your specialist and make the choices that are best for your child.
The High Functioning Life, where seamless socks cost lots, but they actually stay on.
HFL Mama
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