Our Story

 I have been the wife of a wonderful man for 20 years and a Christian for 18 years.  We have been blessed with 3 beautiful boys, that I have the opportunity to home school.  Our youngest son, George, was born with Down syndrome and we could not imagine life without him.

 From the time we found out George had Down syndrome, I quickly went into research mode checking into all the health issues involved, therapies and strategies we could use to help him be his best.  I have tried many things to help him including medical intervention, early intervention therapies, natural therapies, diet interventions and early learning approaches.  Once I realized George was not being held back by Down syndrome issues so much as his autistic issues, then my focus had to change.  The list of behaviors that the world calls autism became the number one focus for me.  I know if I can help him with his autistic behaviors and sensory issues, then I can reach him and teach him.

My background is Elementary Education, but I am also a researcher and love to learn.  I have been fascinated with natural health since 1996.  I am always looking at ways to improve the quality of our lives and those around me.  I had been interested in the rise in autism way before George was born, but didn't imagine it would ever personally affect me.  I have my own theories as to why we have this epidemic and I believe there are numerous ways to treat the symptoms refereed to as autism.  When I say 'treat' I do not mean 'change my child's personality'.  I don't believe autism is part of George's personality or a different way that he thinks.  From my experience these symptoms are not allowing him to let us know who he is, as if he is trapped in his own body.  The symptoms that he exhibits appear to be caused by physical issues such as pain somewhere or sensory overload.  I have seen kids totally recover from these symptoms, not just manage it.  So I know it is POSSIBLE.  

My research led me to look into the more standard and government funded behavior therapies.  I immediately was not comfortable with them because of the philosophy that autism is a behavior problem. The behaviors are what we see, but that is not the "problem."  I wanted to get to the root.  I believed there were physical reasons why George was exhibiting certain behaviors.  I chose not to pursue any behavior therapies not only due to the philosophy but because the methods did not feel like a good fit for our family.

I was already doing dietary things to help George and will always continue doing so because I believe much of autism is caused by toxic overload from our environment and food supply.  Many say autism is a genetic issue as well, but I believe since our foods are genetically modified now then our genes are being changed as well.  Otherwise there would not be such a sudden and drastic change in everyone's genetics producing such an increase in autism and the myriad of other health issues we are seeing in our children these days.

So while I was pursuing better nutrition for George, I still needed help in how to interact with George to help him to learn and connect with us.

I went on to look into different relationship based therapies since connecting socially with George was such a huge challenge. He was in his own world so disconnected from us all.  This is when I found Julie Sando.  She is the director of a company in California called Autistically Inclined.  She is a Natural Play Therapy Family Coach.  She volunteered in a child's relationship based program years ago and it changed her life.  I was drawn to her positive attitude about autism and how she was coming from a place of not judging.  Respecting these special people in our lives is top priority.  I didn't want to feel 'anymore' like I was doing therapy on George, which was causing stress in the family.  I wanted to connect with him, enjoy him and use that as a springboard, so to speak, for him to WANT to and be motivated to learn.

Julie has worked with thousands families touched by autism world-wide since 1998.  Studying everything from behavior modification to relationship based therapies.  I was drawn to her approach for many reasons.  One reason was because she works with the whole family.  She helps all family members relate better with each other and with the special needs child.  Her program "fits" our family.  I experimented with some of the guidelines and George responded beautifully.   I wanted him to have this experience all day with a variety of people, so he can learn that people are unique and more fun than being in his own world.  Really what is life without our relationships?

What is having a child with autistic behaviors like?  All children are different, but here is an idea.  Many parents see a quick or sometimes a gradual regression.  This means at one point their child seemed perfectly typical, then all of a sudden they were gone, some even expressionless, losing any skills they may have had before like being potty trained or speaking.  Imagine caring for your child 24/7 and not knowing if they really even know who you are and wondering if you will ever hear the words ma ma or da da.  They don't respond to their name and they don't treat you much different than a stranger they may meet.  It is as if you are just someone who feeds them and takes care of them.  People wave and smile at them in public and they totally ignore them, not making eye contact at all or really even acknowledging them.  Many like George don't know how to "play" properly with toys or people.  Many do not speak so they may make frustrating noises all day and you don't know what they need.  It is hard to teach them sign language or anything because they don't look at you or know how to mimic you.

I have tried to teach George for over 2+ years to touch his head, noes, etc....He will look at me as if to say, "I know where my head is but I can't make myself respond to touch it!."  It is literally like he is trapped in his body.  I remember thinking this early on and the first time I heard a boy tell about his experience when he "was" autistic he said the exact same thing that he was trapped in his own body.  It is a heart breaking thing to witness and this is what really opened my eyes to what parents affected by autism are going through.  .

When children don't get the help they need their behaviors may even become violent and they may get to a point where their parents can no longer care for them.  The CDC admitted this year that the current rate for autism is now 1 in 50!  This is a huge statistic and affecting so many families. 

Many people may not be aware of this epidemic, because most times these parents are pretty isolated in that for them to go places with their child it is very stressful for everyone.  People with autism receive much different sensory information than we do and it can make it very hard to go places.

For George certain noises really upset him like laughing or crying.  It is as if it is painful for him.  He also gets over stimulated visually and will start shaking his head a lot when this happens.  He throws objects to stimulate his peripheral vision as well.  It is getting much harder to take him places the bigger he gets.  He runs off with no concept of fear.

During George's first 5 years, many of my friends and family have wanted to help me/us.  Being able to verbalize the help we really needed and then being able to accept it, was a huge obstacle for me.  Now I realize that this whole project can be a blessing to so many others.  Not only can it give George a chance to be the best he can be, but it will help educate others on the possibilities for their children with autism.  Also, anyone who is able to volunteer locally will be enriched by the whole experience and come away with a valuable skill, learning how to connect and develop a real relationship with a person with autism, brain injury etc... This will be huge in the world we live in today!

Updated 2014