Some Possible Answers

Since taking Gus off his medication, I've looked for some alternative ways to help him focus during the school day. He's had a great week, only one less focused afternoon. That's pretty darned good! The weather is a big factor; he's just naturally more hyper and has a harder time during the colder months. But it's looking like physical activity and noise have been playing a big role as well.

It seems that when Gus has lots of physical activity on a daily basis, he's more focused in school. This is not surprising. Exercise increases serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and endorphins. The neurotransmitters control alertness, emotions, and concentration, while endorphins are natural mood lifters. So, I've made it a point to make Gus exercise for about 10 minutes every morning with a peddler - an exercise bike without the seat part - spending 5 minutes working his legs and 5 minutes working his arms. After school, he's been either swimming at the beach or walking or something else to get him out and moving. I think that if I can work something out with his teacher in the fall where he has a break midday to do some exercises, everyone may have a happier school year.

The other change we've made is that Gus now uses headphones in the classroom. It seems that when he doesn't have to be anxious about noise, he can concentrate better on his work.

So I'm feeling optimistic about the possibility of a drug free school year to come. Now I just have to find an exercise regime that we can afford and that will be interesting enough for him to want to do it every day.

Wonderfully Imperfect

Gus has been off Strattera for a few days now. I will admit, he's a little less focused and a little more hyperactive. I find myself having to tell him to do something ten times instead of eight. And ya know what? I'm so happy!

The Strattera seemed to suppress something essential in him. He became 'dulled.' I can't go so far as to say he was like a zombie, but he certainly lost his light. Sure he was calmer, but he wasn't Gus. Even the bus driver, who hadn't seen him since last summer, immediately noticed the difference.

As much as I'd like him to be able to focus, I don't want to lose all the parts of him that make him special. He's laughing again. He's running and animated (boy is he running and animated!) He's joking and singing - exuberant! I'd be an idiot to not want this version around. And he's sleeping again, thank heavens! One very interesting thing - I took him to a crowded beach today and he didn't have single problem. (He had two minor incidents last week, in a much smaller crowd of beach-goers.)

I'm sure that there are many people in the world who think the dull version is more socially appropriate, just because he was quieter, but they can, quite frankly, bite me.

Freedom

Gus's last day on Strattera was Monday. It's a huge relief, and I feel like I've got my son back. He's more animated and he's eating again, thank goodness! So far there haven't been any major complaints from school. He was a little squirmy on the bus yesterday afternoon, and he was a little chatty and loud on the bus this afternoon. Otherwise, no unsafe behavior.

I got to observe him at school yesterday for a little while and the teacher seemed pleased and impressed by his encyclopedic knowledge. I'm sure she could have done without the low-level talking to himself, but she took it in stride.

He's been showing signs of sensory turbulence lately. He'd been okay with noise for a long time, but lately, since the spring, he's been covering his ears more and more. Now there's a student in the class who screams randomly. We're considering noise cancelling earphones.

Amazing how much easier I'm breathing this week.

Kung Fu Panda Review

It is very rare that we take our kids to the movies. They're usually too loud, too visually busy, and Gus has a hard time sitting still through them. I can count on one hand the number of movies we've been to. We decided to try again since it was a rainy holiday and the people who had invited us for a barbecue lost their power.



What a great movie Kung Fu Panda is! The entire family enjoyed it and this will probably be one that we add to our DVD collection. Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman were really wonderful, and my husband and I laughed probably more than the kids.



In general Kung Fu Panda is a nice family movie with some positive messages. It is the story of an overweight, clumsy and completely lovable Panda who dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master like his idols, the Furious Five: Tigress, Mantis, Viper, Monkey and Crane, who are all trained by the legendary Masters Shifu and Oogway. He learns to believe in himself and that being himself is the way to achieve his destiny. I will admit and caution, the fights are pretty violent for younger kids, and it gets scary at some points. But this was not a G rated film, so I wouldn't criticize per se, just caution. There was one scene where the villain, a buffed up snow leopard warrior named Tai Lung, is strangling Master Shifu and that got a bit hard even for me to watch. Yet the fights were also beautifully choreographed/animated, and were better and easier on the eye than some live action movies I've seen. Pretty amazing.



The humor was funny, but not obnoxious. One reason we pass on most kids movies is that the language and humor is often geared toward adults and not appropriate for younger kids, or kids who perseverate and echo lots of things they hear. We have to be very careful what Gus watches because he'll go and start spouting is at inappropriate times, like at school. Or he may mimic some of the behavior, as many kids do. There was a minimum, if any, of what could be considered potty humor or offensive language. Very respectfully done, but I would expect no less from Jack Black or Jackie Chan. These are two actors who have earned my trust when it comes to kids' movies.



As far as elements that might set off an autistic child, this movie is loud, but not too bad, and it's not constant. Gus didn't cover his ears once. The fight scenes did seem a little too stimulating for him, as those were the points when he got the squirmiest. I think the visuals were moving too fast and were perhaps too bright for him. At ninety minutes, it was just the perfect length for a child who has trouble sitting still. The message that you can be 'flawed' and still rise to greatness is one that I always love for Gus to see.



All in all, I'd give Kung Fu Panda 4.75 out of 5 stars. It's a worthwhile flick for any kid, and parents will have a good time as well.

My Little Wise-Guy

"Good night," I say.

"Good night."

"I love you," I say.

"I love you."

"Sweet dreams," I say.

"Sweet dreams."

"Mommy rocks," I say.

"Good night."

He doesn't even miss a beat. I guess all that work on pragmatic speech has paid off in impeccable comic timing.

Strattera Update

After a brief period off of Strattera, Gus has been back on for a little while now. He started at 10 mg and then increased to 15. I took him to the doctor last week, it had been almost a month. The word she used to describe him was 'loopy.' He was not running all around the room like he usually would, but he wasn't exactly what you could call focused either. Instead of his body buzzing, his brain and mouth were motorized. He went on and on about Who Framed Roger Rabbit, very perseverative and going a mile a minute. Our pediatrician wasn't sure what to make of Gus's behavior, so she consulted with the specialist.

The specialist felt that Gus was not on a high enough dosage to see any result. He wanted to go for 36 mg a day, but the dosing guidelines limit his size/age at 25. So he started on that level this weekend.

The only real difference I see is that the meds are making him subdued and sleepy, but I don't know if that equates to focused. He's less responsive when I call him and still needs lots of reminders to complete tasks like getting dressed, maybe not as many as before, but not a huge improvement there. On the other hand, he is having some sleep issues (waking up before 5 am randomly, getting out of bed several times at bed time, sometimes waking in the middle of the night). He's not eating normally. Several times I've had to feed him. He's still anxious and has been getting grumpy on & off, but he's expressing himself more clearly.

This morning, about an hour after taking the meds, he started complaining of feeling sick, tired and of a headache, which is very out of character for him. Even when he's sick, he rarely complains, which told me that he had to be feeling pretty bad, at least for a while.

So I don't know. The side effects haven't been earth-shattering, but neither have the positive results. I'm thinking this medication may help a bit, but ultimately is probably not worth it. We'll have to let him adjust to this new dosage, but it seems more pessimistic by the day.

Beating the Heat

The heat index is reportedly going up to dangerous levels today and tomorrow. Days like these, I worry about Gus, not just for the obvious reasons, but because his body never seems to respond well to even less intense heat. He gets awful eczema all summer long, incredible angry red bumps and blotches all over the backs of his legs and inner elbows. along with the inflammation come itching and discomfort, sometimes he rips up his skin something fierce. The rashes have, at times, extended to more unmentionable parts too, which is my big concern today.

Last week it was hot, but not sweltering. He apparently kept fussing with his pants and before the end of the day, he pulled them off. His tactile sensory issues are usually only a problem if he gets his clothes wet, so I concluded that his skin was the issue, not the clothes. I put what I could on his skin today to keep him comfortable (as much as I hate using steroids i.e. hydrocortisone, I can't watch him suffer for the next three months). So hopefully, he'll keep his pants on - literally - today. And I really hope that someone has the good sense to keep the little ones indoors, out of the beaming sun, today.

If anyone knows of any natural eczema ointments or creams that work really well, please comment and let me know! It would be great to help him without the steroids.