My son, Trason, was born 8 yrs ago. The 1st 2 days he was happy & healthy. The 3rd day, a few hours prior to being discharged, he had begun screaming non stop & projectile vomiting. The dozens of hospital trips I took that 1st year, only led to more colic & milk intolerance diagnoses. Nothing anyone ever did helped. At 9 months old, he started walking & stopped making eye contact. At 15 months old, he stopped eating 90% of his previous foods & lost the few words he had. At 20 months old, his daycare referred him to 1st Steps Early Intervention Program, where he got his 1st IEP. He immediately began OT, Speech, Behavior & Special Instruction.
October 2007(3 yrs old) He was seen by a team of developmental pediatricians & Autism specialists at Children's Mercy Hospital. Diagnoses: Autism, Impulse Control Disorder & Disruptive Behavior Disorder. Over the next 4 years, they would try many different meds & combinations. He was suspended from Kindergarten almost 10 times, for his outbursts, sleeping, streaking, kicking over shelves & desks,etc.
We moved to a better school district & I weaned him off of all medications. During his 2nd yr of 1st grade(7 yrs old) he eloped & was missing for 30 minutes. I hired an advocate, removed him from the school, & he has been homeschooled for 4 months now. I began changing his diet, started using non drug treatments & got him into Theraputic Riding. He no longer qualifies for feedings in OT & his behavior has improved drastically. His reasoning, problem solving & communication have improved so much, we sometimes forget he has 5+ neurological diagnoses.
His level of functionality is so much more than what we ever thought possible. I have always held Trason to very high expectations & in junction, myself & his therapists were always there to redirect him in every step he took in life. My motivation was my fears. I didn't want him to fall through the cracks. Never give up, & Never give in.
Liberty, MO
