A quick update on Demi. Her memory seems to be increasing.
When reading a story at bedtime this evening, one we'd read many times before, I paused at certain points and asked questions. Demi answered almost all of the questions, while Dana (younger by 16 months, but fairly advanced for her age) got only the easiest of them. I was very surprised by what Demi recalled and how appropriately she responded. Often, she responded with the right answer in her own words, not from memorizing the words of the story. Sometimes she regurgitated a long sentence from the story. Either way, I know she's retaining, which means learning!
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Friday, July 07, 2006
18 month Jump in Receptive Language!
Demi just had her annual speech evaluation yesterday. Her scores showed an 18 month improvement in receptive language! At least half of that improvement has been in the last 4 months since she started NCD. Her expressive score improved by 12 months in a year, so at least there's no gap-widening. She still has major articulation issues.
I also have to mention the new study that's being conducted on NCD and Autism. They are doing a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study to determine whether or not NCD helps kids with autism.
There's a Yahoo discussion group - AutismNCD - where mothers discuss the ins and outs of giving NCD to your child, watching for minor negative reactions, and adjusting the dosage specifically for your child. The gradual dosing protocol allows parents to maximize gains while eliminating regression which might be seen with other treatments.
If you're thinking about trying NCD for your child or just want to know more about how it's affecting children, just join the group and read what other parents are saying. It's free and very educational.
I also have to mention the new study that's being conducted on NCD and Autism. They are doing a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study to determine whether or not NCD helps kids with autism.
There's a Yahoo discussion group - AutismNCD - where mothers discuss the ins and outs of giving NCD to your child, watching for minor negative reactions, and adjusting the dosage specifically for your child. The gradual dosing protocol allows parents to maximize gains while eliminating regression which might be seen with other treatments.
If you're thinking about trying NCD for your child or just want to know more about how it's affecting children, just join the group and read what other parents are saying. It's free and very educational.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Menstrual Cramps no Fluke; Acne Clearing Up
About a month ago, I reported the pleasant absence of menstrual cramps for the month. I wasn't sure if it was due to cellular zeolite, Juice Plus+, or a fluke.
This month confirmed that it was no fluke.
Not a single cramp this month either. This stuff is pretty cool!
Although the acne on my back cleared up over a month ago, the acne on my face proved more persistant. However, even that is getting less and less. In this time period, I've also stopped drinking diet pop [soda, for any diehard southerners] because of the many toxins in it. So, I can't say for sure if the acne clearing up is due to getting rid of the toxins (cellular zeolite), adding more antioxidants (Juice Plus+), or not putting the specific diet pop toxins in my body. I can't say that I really care, since all of them are good for me.
This month confirmed that it was no fluke.
Not a single cramp this month either. This stuff is pretty cool!
Although the acne on my back cleared up over a month ago, the acne on my face proved more persistant. However, even that is getting less and less. In this time period, I've also stopped drinking diet pop [soda, for any diehard southerners] because of the many toxins in it. So, I can't say for sure if the acne clearing up is due to getting rid of the toxins (cellular zeolite), adding more antioxidants (Juice Plus+), or not putting the specific diet pop toxins in my body. I can't say that I really care, since all of them are good for me.
Eating More; Clicking a Mouse
Typically, Demi has a strong aversion to fruit. She'll eat a sliced green pepper in a heartbeat; but she'll have a conniption if confronted by an apple slice or an orange wedge.
Dana (3yo) has taken to eating a small cup of pineapple wedges as a snack. I've offered them to Demi many times. "No, tank oo," she replies.
Today, she surprised me by stealing the pineapple wedges away from her sister. I made them share and she readily took as many as I gave her. After that, I asked her if she still wanted a banana like she had last night (again, unheard of). "Yeah," she says.
"Well, OK!" I think. Two bonus foods in one day! :)
After the pineapples and banana, Dana wanted to play a Dora game on the computer. Neither Dana nor Demi has shown great skill at maneuvering a mouse enough to play a game. But we tried again, with me planning to hand-over-hand the mouse movements to gradually show them how it's done.
Early on, Dana actually got the hang of moving the mouse to where she wanted, but she had difficulty clicking. Then Demi wanted to try. Demi couldn't move the mouse correctly to save her life, but she could readily click it correctly.
So, as we played the game, we came across Dora's Buggabugga Baby friends and the girls wanted to play that over and over again, particularly Demi. Not wanting to impede this unusual desire to do something with her hands, I readily helped Demi play the game over and over again. She never wanted to try moving the mouse, but she got pretty good at clicking at the right time to get the Buggabugga babies back in their carriage. This was a first for persistence!
Demi also seems to be more social, as well as socially aware. Rather than spending so much time in her own world, where she doesn't care what other people are doing, she's aware of where other people are and what they're doing, usually wanting to go and join them. Daddy was in the garage working out this morning; Demi readily wanted to go with Dana to see what Daddy was doing.
While she was out there, she started riding her bike! Bonus! Demi has been doing pretty well on her trike for a while, so we got her a small bike (with training wheels, of course), which she refused to ride ... until we got rid of her trike. Now she'll ride her bike, although she still needs a lot of practice. Dana is well ahead of Demi in the bike-riding department, but hopefully not for too long!
Demi is now on 3 drops, 3x/day, Natural Cellular Defense (cellular zeolite), fish oil (10-15ml, 2x/day), and Juice Plus+. She's had no therapy for the last two weeks, but we'll back at it full blast this week, probably adding some new stuff to the mix to help stimulate her blossoming brain. I'm looking forward to good progress!
Dana (3yo) has taken to eating a small cup of pineapple wedges as a snack. I've offered them to Demi many times. "No, tank oo," she replies.
Today, she surprised me by stealing the pineapple wedges away from her sister. I made them share and she readily took as many as I gave her. After that, I asked her if she still wanted a banana like she had last night (again, unheard of). "Yeah," she says.
"Well, OK!" I think. Two bonus foods in one day! :)
After the pineapples and banana, Dana wanted to play a Dora game on the computer. Neither Dana nor Demi has shown great skill at maneuvering a mouse enough to play a game. But we tried again, with me planning to hand-over-hand the mouse movements to gradually show them how it's done.
Early on, Dana actually got the hang of moving the mouse to where she wanted, but she had difficulty clicking. Then Demi wanted to try. Demi couldn't move the mouse correctly to save her life, but she could readily click it correctly.
So, as we played the game, we came across Dora's Buggabugga Baby friends and the girls wanted to play that over and over again, particularly Demi. Not wanting to impede this unusual desire to do something with her hands, I readily helped Demi play the game over and over again. She never wanted to try moving the mouse, but she got pretty good at clicking at the right time to get the Buggabugga babies back in their carriage. This was a first for persistence!
Demi also seems to be more social, as well as socially aware. Rather than spending so much time in her own world, where she doesn't care what other people are doing, she's aware of where other people are and what they're doing, usually wanting to go and join them. Daddy was in the garage working out this morning; Demi readily wanted to go with Dana to see what Daddy was doing.
While she was out there, she started riding her bike! Bonus! Demi has been doing pretty well on her trike for a while, so we got her a small bike (with training wheels, of course), which she refused to ride ... until we got rid of her trike. Now she'll ride her bike, although she still needs a lot of practice. Dana is well ahead of Demi in the bike-riding department, but hopefully not for too long!
Demi is now on 3 drops, 3x/day, Natural Cellular Defense (cellular zeolite), fish oil (10-15ml, 2x/day), and Juice Plus+. She's had no therapy for the last two weeks, but we'll back at it full blast this week, probably adding some new stuff to the mix to help stimulate her blossoming brain. I'm looking forward to good progress!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
More Language Developments
Demi has surprised me again with her new abilities.
The other night we were reading "Mouse and a Cookie" (aka When You Give a Mouse a Cookie). The story line follows a trail of events, each one leading to the next. I was asking questions along those lines.
The story goes, "When you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, ..."
I asked, "What is he going to want?"
Dana, looking at the pictures on the page, replied something about a box of cookies. Demi, taking it in quietly, said, "A shtaw" [straw].
"What was that, Demi?" I asked?
"A shtaw."
"That's right!"
Obviously, since Demi is 16 months older than Dana, she should be more advanced, but lately that hasn't been the case. Whenever Demi gets something that Dana doesn't, I consider it a great advance. :)
I truly believe the liquid cellular zeolite cleans out her system, allowing her to better absorb and assimilate the EFA's from the fish oil as well as the antioxidants and general nutrients from the Juice Plus+.
We're planning to start some new therapies this summer, too, just to see what else may help fuel her development further. Sometimes it's hard to tell exactly which supplement or therapy makes a real difference in development. In this case, I think it's all of them contributing. I believe the therapies will be more effective because her system is more prepared to benefit from them.
The other night we were reading "Mouse and a Cookie" (aka When You Give a Mouse a Cookie). The story line follows a trail of events, each one leading to the next. I was asking questions along those lines.
The story goes, "When you give a mouse a cookie, he's going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, ..."
I asked, "What is he going to want?"
Dana, looking at the pictures on the page, replied something about a box of cookies. Demi, taking it in quietly, said, "A shtaw" [straw].
"What was that, Demi?" I asked?
"A shtaw."
"That's right!"
Obviously, since Demi is 16 months older than Dana, she should be more advanced, but lately that hasn't been the case. Whenever Demi gets something that Dana doesn't, I consider it a great advance. :)
I truly believe the liquid cellular zeolite cleans out her system, allowing her to better absorb and assimilate the EFA's from the fish oil as well as the antioxidants and general nutrients from the Juice Plus+.
We're planning to start some new therapies this summer, too, just to see what else may help fuel her development further. Sometimes it's hard to tell exactly which supplement or therapy makes a real difference in development. In this case, I think it's all of them contributing. I believe the therapies will be more effective because her system is more prepared to benefit from them.
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