So much to say!!!

I am so sorry it has taken so long to post again. It has been a crazy month. At the first of Oct we went to the National DAN conference in Dallas. It was so amazing to go and be with so many leading Doc in the field of biomedical research, to hear and to learn and get hope from these amazing people was just what Danny and I needed. As, I go along this road of Autism there are many ups and downs that I go through but this conference renewed my hope and gave me many new ideas to try with Tucker. So those that have young children that are autistic do biomedical treatment this will improve there lives so much. I know there are many people that have questioned my decision to do biomedical and have told me that Tucker can not recover and I know that happens to all of us on this road, but to those people I say wait and see Tucker will recover I feel it in my soul I know that it is possible. Anyway, if you ever have the chance to go to one of these conferences GO. It will chance your life and the life of your child. For those that are interested I am going to post a link to the list of all the DAN doctors it will be under my important links. Please look it up and find one.
Also, we learned a little bit more about ABA. I believe I will push his hours up to 35 after the first of the year. Running a home program is not easy but I know that it is very important to the improvement of Tucker. ABA is also key to the recovery of your child, so if you are not doing ABA you need to start a program. We do Verbal Behavior so that we can teach language to him that is are big area that we need to work on. I will also put on my list of link the BCBA website so it can help all those that need help finding a certified BCBA. These are the people that can help you set up a home ABA program. With Biomedical and intense ABA I know that Tucker will recover and it will be the greatest miracle in my life. My heart is often reassured that what I am doing for him is right. Best of luck to all.

GFCF diet

Hey I am putting up some new links to the website that helped me the most with the GFCF Diet. It is great for those that are new to it and it really is a great help. The website is TACA. The links are to the right. To all the moms in Quanah or the area, yall are on the right track and keep up the good work and email me with any question I am always here to help.

Sleep makes everything better!

OK, OK, OK my world is not over. I realized last night that I am always going to have small set backs, but that it is for my own good and the Lord is just trying to make me the person he wants me to be. My wonderful Mother-in-law told me to sit and have a good cry, eat some ice cream, and watch a good movie and go to bed and it would be better when I woke up. She was right I can see the light again. In the end I knew that my head therapist was going to move into the consulting role and cut back her hours, it just happened a little fast then I thought. It just pushed me to find a new therapist a little bit faster. So in the end it is a good thing I think. Anyway, I am now on to my next challenge and that is to find a 3rd therapist to help with some of the hours. I know I will find the right people and it will be OK, Tucker is going to get better we can do this.

When you Think all is well!! BAMA

Just when I think everything is going well, my head therapist tells me she found a new job. It was like I was walking down a hall and I could see the light at the end on the hall and then out of no where someone slams a door in my face and I have to find a new path. She can still do some hours but not as many so i don't know what to do. I guess the hunt is on to find a new therapist and to get them trained. I was really feeling like I was getting my family life under control and then this happens and now I have to start all over again. I know that he has to have ABA and there is just not a lot of option here so I will do what I have to. I could use all your prayers to find something wonderful.

ABA is Amazing!!!

ABA is amazing! I wish I had started sooner. When we first found out about PDD-NOS and that Tucker had it, I started to do my research to see how we could best help him. ABA keep coming up and I just keep putting it to the back of my mind in hopes that there was something that would be easier to do with him. Then it seemed like we keep hitting brick wall after brick wall. Then one day I read something that said if you start ABA for at least 20 hours a week before the age of 3 1/2 you have a higher chance of recovering your child. In that moment I knew that I had to do whatever it took to get Tucker ABA. So for us that meant we had to start our own home program. When you first think about that it feels like there is no way anyone can do that, but the Lord is always there to guide you to where you need to be. I was guided to the best consultant in El Paso and I really mean that she is the best here. Then I found the best therapist and she has years of experience with ABA, can you believe that I found these great people in El Paso. Anyway, we have been doing the program for 2 weeks and it is amazing in that short amount of time how far he has come. He is one really smart little boy. It is so cool to see him trying so hard to speak and ask me for things. I know this is what I was looking for and it was the answer to my prayers. Some days are bad and I think does the Lord even hear me, but he hears and he is so willing to give when we are willing to listen and do what he wants us to do. I love my T-Man and he will be ok someday I just know it. As for now we will continue to do ABA and biomedical intervention and everyday watch as he improves.

ABA, ABA, ABA!!!

I am so excited that I found what I have been looking for and it is right here in El Paso. I have been doing my research and have decided that we need to do ABA with Tucker. This is an intents form of therapy that is one on one. So once I decide to do this I decide it would have to be an in home program. At first I had know idea how to go about starting such a thing but everything just fell in to place. I have found a wonderful consultant and today we are going to interview some people to do the one on one therapy with him. I know that the Lord is guiding me in this search and will help me find the right person. Tucker is going to do great with this, I just know it. Pray for us and pray that Daniel makes more sale, these programs are very expensive. Anyway off to clean the house want everything to be perfect for the interviews.

Life

Well, the B12 came and we gave him the first shot. I will not lie I was hoping for a miracle. I was hoping that the next morning he would wake up walk into my bed room and say "mom get up lets play." Well it didn't happen, and that is reality. I have heard stories about these kids that one day they just start to talk and I guess that is what I am hoping for deep down inside of me, but I know it is not going to be that simple. I did see some improvements with Tucker he can sit longer then ever before. The B12 has seemed to help his focus. I do little drills with him everyday, and he was able to sit for longer yesterday then ever before. So every little medication and new treatment is making small steps in the right direction. I just have to keep telling myself that this is a marathon and not a sprint. I have always wanted to run a marathon so maybe this one is mine. Anyway, no matter what you do on this journey never give up you can make it.

Danny you are an amazing and supportive dad and husband. I love you for your caring heart and I know that we are in this fight together. We can do anything as long as we work together. Remember we are team BOB. I Love You.

My Tuckerman/ A Dad's post

I know that it maybe a little weird that a dude or a dad be posting on a blog, but I myself am so absorbed into T-mans fight that it moves me into action. (Even if its doing something as girly as writing on blog.) We have had so many people ask us about the different things were doing for T-man that we started this blog for these people to go and see. Maybe it will help someone else on in their fight. Because it literally is a fight, their is no one place to go to get the answers that your looking for. I especially felt it important to post my experience because I feel like there is not much out there for the dad's going through this fight for their child. The women have Jenny and her warrior mom cry to rally around, but we as men have to stand up in a unfamiliar way for your child. There is no one threatening your child or something you can stick a strip of duck tape on to fix this problem. So, what I did I stuck my head down and worked that's what I could do to make it better make more money.

I remember the December evening like it was yesterday when when a little old Latin doctor that we waited six months to see, spent an hour and a half with my All-American and told us he was Autistic. That was the hardest punch in the stomach that I have ever taken. My wife and I couldn't even ask any or think of any questions to ask. We wander out of that clinic half crying and half confused. We kept doing what we where doing, we keep him in ECI till the end of January when he turned three we sent him into public school for three hours every morning. I had know idea what to do. I finally let myself see the signs that everyone else had been seeing for a while. I started re-thinking all of my hopes and dreams that every dad has the first time you hold your first brand new little Ball Player. I started thinking well I just want him to have a nice comfortable life maybe get him to where he can have a nice job and some normal things. Friends and family told us how blessed we where to have such a choice spirit to be blessed to us and that if anybody could handle this we were the parents that could. (I love you all, no hard felling on what I'm about to write.) I just wanted to punch them in the face!!! Your just glad its not yours and you is what I'd say in my head. I just stopped talking to anyone about it and started working trying to make enough money to throw at the situation.

I thanks my Father in Heaven everyday for the wife He gave me. As my wife posted the Doctors T.V. show started her on a very fast and consuming journey that took her to Oklahoma City and on hours and hours of research on the Internet. I looked at this time as my role was to go to work and make the money and support and listen to the wife. This was my wonderful attitude, leave it to the wife and me the stupid monkey go make the money.

Understand, I love my wife and my Little Man and would do anything for them. I never retreated I was their for them both, but my mind and thought process was all wrong. My little Team Captain is one the most unconditionally loving persons that I have ever meet in my life. At about 18 months progression just stopped, but I could always see the intelligence in his eyes. I thank my God every night for such a loving Tuckerman.

About a month ago my wife left to help her brother and I picked up out of no where one for the many books my wife has laying around on Autism. I read like the first four chapters and caught the fire that burns so strongly inside my wife on the subject. I thought to myself saying this to myself "SCREW YOU I can restore my sons! my wife is on the right track I can have my ALL-AMERICAN BALL PLAYER TEAM CAPTAIN and he will go to college, get married, and have little T-men of his own. I can do this, I HAVE TO FIGHT FOR MY SON. Yes, I do have to work and make the money, but their is so much more that I can do as a husband and father to see this process through. I'm still trying to change and be more involved but I'm just as excited as my wife is now to start the next new treatment and see the huge little changes and watch my Super Tuckerman emerge out of this autism and see him FIGHT off this medical disease. I'm going to the next DAN conference in Dallas and I as a dad will be a advocate for my son.

So, after all that, to the DAD's out there its OK to say to others my child is Autistic and where going to beat this. There is nothing to be ashamed of you know and love your child for who they are. Learn as much as you can don't leave it all to the wife. (But, some times you will have to help her and pull her off the Internet and take her somewhere nice, she will be totally consumed at times with the research.) STAND UP AND FIGHT!!!! Its the most different fight you will ever fight in your life, like I said no amount of duck tape will instantly fix this problem but in the end it will make you better man and your whole normal child will love you even more than you will ever know.

I hope this post make sense I have never written anything like this before. and I hope a mom or a dad will get some thing out of this as well. I think I did this more for me I have always have gotten more out of experiences in life if I will write them down and remember them later.

GOOD LUCK!

B12 B12 B12 B12!!!!!

I am so excited to get the B12 shots for Tucker today. I have to stay home all day to wait to sign for them, so I might go crazy waiting but whatever. The B12 shots are like the most exciting thing for parents of autistic kids that are using biomedical treatment. They are suppose to do amazing things for vocabulary in these kids. One parent I talked to said their son started putting sentence together after they started the B12 shots. I don't expect that, but if it would give him a few new words that would be good enough for me. With every new treatment I have to remind myself that I can't get my hopes up because if it doesn't work I don't want to be crushed, I don't have time for that I must keep going on to the next thing. Anyway, I sure hope that today will be a good and exciting day with lots of new words. Well, wish us luck.

New picture on the way

I will put pictures of Tucker up but my computer died and that is where all the pic are so you will have to wait. Sorry

Biomedical Treatment

Well I first heard about biomedical treatment on the show The Doctors. I thought can these kids really be doing that much better on this treatment. So I found a DAN conference that was in June in Oklahoma City and I thought I am going to go and see what this is all about. So I drove the 10 hr to Oklahoma City for a life changing event. Those doctors are proving that Autism is not just a development problem but a biomedical problem and that most of these children have serious medical problems. So I found a DAN Doctor and we have started our biomedical journey. She started him off slow with just the Cod liver oil and in the first day he was really trying to say new words. Then we did some tests on him and now it is full steam ahead. Tucker like most autistic kids has a leaky gut. So we have to first cure the gut so that he can began to learn again. We are know up to 11 pills a day and 4 liquids a day. Just in these last 2 months his eye contact has increased 50%. He now whats to play with other kids, he never wanted to do that before. He tries to say more words. I know that he wants to talk and he has things to say but he just can't get them out. I feel so sad for him that he can't ask other kids to play with him, but with this and other treatments I know that he will get there. So for those again just starting like I am look into the biomedical treatments for autism it works. Find a DAN doctor and get going.

GFCF diet

The GFCF diet has been amazing. For those of you with autistic children please start this diet. We started about 4 months ago and we are having so much success with it I can't believe it. The first month was very hard and I thought no way can I do this diet will I can and I have. Tucker is like a different kid. We had our fights at first were he didn't want to eat anything that I gave him but over the months he has started to expand what he will eat and it is amazing. I think he didn't trust me at first because for so long I had been giving him food that was making him sick, so now that his little tummy doesn't hurt anymore I think I am earning his trust back again. Now if you are going to try the diet you really have to try it and not just for a week but for 6 months. They say it takes between 3 week to a month to get all the mike products out of there system. Then it can take up to 6 months for the gluten to come out. With the mike it is like they are drunk on it and crave it so be sure to watch because they will try and get it anyway they can. I truly believe in this diet and think it is the first step to recovery for any autistic child. For those that want info the best website that I found was TACA and then hit the GFCF tab and read all that you can.

Tuckerman

Tucker is my most amazing 3 yr old son. He is my first child and so I feel a deep love for him and all the sweet love he brings to my life. Tucker was a normally developing child so I thought when he was first born. He developed like most kids. He flip over on time, sat up on time, and started to crawl on time. He walked a little later at 15 months but it was still nothing to worry about so they said. He began to babble at the right time and stated to use his first words at a round 1 yrs old. So for me as a first time mother I was so proud of my son. Then around 18 months he just stop gaining any more words. I also started to notice that he stopped making eye contact. I didn't think much about it because I thought and was told he is just a boy they speak late. So at 2 yr old when he still only had about 10 word and about 10 signs I thought I better see if he may need speech therapy. So we called our local ECI program here and got him evaluated and started to get OT and SPL service. Still at that point I had no idea that my son was Autistic. About 9 months after we started to see the OT and ST we went to a pediatric developmental specialist to have him evaluated to see what was wrong and to see what we need to have done. I thought there was no way he could be autistic all the little things he does were just Tucker. Well, that was one of the most hopeless nights of my life when we were told that are sweet baby was on the autism spectrum and had PDD-NOS. I think it took about 3 months to sink in and for me to really start to look into this epidemic called Autism. There have already been many people say there is nothing to be done for him he will always be autistic and weired. Well to those people I say "when HELL Freezes over that will be true" but for me I will recover my son and he will be a handsome, wonderfully bright young man that can and will be anything he wants to be. So for those willing to take this life changing journey with me I welcome you to read and follow along with me and my sons ups and down on this roller coaster of autism.