Wow, what a year for me. My family. The Panzon. It’s been a whirlwind however, looking back honestly say I’m in a bit of a better place. Here are some highlights for the autism newsletter – first and final of 2016:
- I’ve learned to accept autism more and that it’s not my fault
- our case with the Vaccine Court was lost (no surprise)
- ABA is just a business with few therapists that actually care
- I still f#*king hate health insurance
- blood, stool, metal, urine, acid – tests can become a weekly thing and not all are accurate
- there are a ton of therapies, protocols and treatments I discover every week
- work and life balance and the guilt has gotten figured out 70%
- Panzon’s siblings are fuel for growth; we see it everyday
- I still hate the cold, snow and need healthy doses of Vitamin D each day
Regarding the Panzon it’s been a great year. He’s made a ton of progress and to summarize:
- lot’s of supplements are just a lot of supplements
- cannabis helps with stims; still searching for the right maintenance strain
- we’ve juiced cannabis and seen results
- he loves being GF/CF/SF and juicing all his greens daily
- he’s finding his voice and starting to talk more on his own
- he learned to swim and tread water (can do a solid 10 hours in the pool)
- he loves the ocean (duhh!?…he needs salt and those minerals)
- he still hates shoes, socks and well… clothes, just a little less now
- he does amazing on an airplane or in a car for 3,400 miles
- he fell in love with a new ABA therapist and loves to laugh with her
- his personality is shining through and well, not everything is autism we are learning, it’s his personality too
- he, like me, also prefers shorts and a tank top
Our family still has good days and bad days but we are survivors. Not all is grey, in-fact I’m penning this from Mexico where we are spending the holiday (remember I hate cold and love sun). Lot’s of relaxing and I’m actually getting some much-needed rest and just recharging. I actually know what that term means now, seriously.
We have a few super-important decisions to make in the next few weeks regarding the Panzon but somehow I feel like we have the strength, knowledge and power to make sound decisions now. 2 years ago I never could of even imagined.
Autism life is not easy and many days I wish it was never apart of my family. It’s taught me a number of things over the years and continues to each day. I hope next year it does even more.
Before you bail you may want to read my top 10 things every special needs parent wished you knew, then please write in to the IACC and tell them that they need to be responsible with governmental dollars for autism next year. It’s a simple email you can send.
Best to you in 2017,
AutismDad