AMAB Conference and Simon Says

Hey, all!

Wow...where to begin...

Ben missed most of the week last week at CHIP due to his cold. He still has a lingering sinus infection, but I was assured that he is not contagious so he has been back to school this week. He's been great through it all.

Friday and Saturday I went to the American Medical Autism Board conference in Novi, MI with Colleen (Gavin's mom from CHIP). It was AWESOME!!! I learned so much. I don't even know where to begin to summarize... Here are a few highlights/comments:

1. The tone of the entire weekend was awesome. I didn't feel like I was in a cult or that anyone was trying to sell me on their ideas...that was a fear I had going in. Many of the doctors and other speakers have a child or grandchild on the spectrum and they were really just there to help and share what they've learned in their practices and in their personal struggles. They made it clear that they are not trying to treat "autism" biomedically, but are treating the physical symptoms these kids have.

2. I learned how all the biomed stuff fits together and the biochemistry behind many of the interventions (at least...I tried to follow these explanations!) I do have to say that I was a little disappointed in Dr. Neubrander's presentation. He is the B-12 and HBOT guru and very prominent in the Autism Community. I found his discussion really difficult to follow and I don't think I was the only one!

3. Raun Kaufman was there from the Son-Rise Program. What an amazing guy. He was diagnosed as autistic back in the 70s...you would NEVER have guessed that from meeting him today. His parents defied his prognosis (which was even more grim than it would have been today), and developed a way to break into his world and work with him. They eventually cultivated their success into the Son-Rise program. They have a ranch in Massachusetts or somewhere and they train families to work with their children. The principles of the program are very similar to Floortime (which we do with Ben). His talk was awesome. He just had a way of explaining things that made them seem so clear. I bought his DVD to share with our family.

4. I am appalled at the toxins that are in our everyday environment. Non-stick pans, stain resistant carpet and furniture, Baby Tylenol, etc. etc...I won't even get into the vaccines and such. It is scary. And our poor little kids can't excrete this crap. Sigh. I will digress before I get all worked up... (For the record, I am not anti-vaccine, but want green vaccines and an updated schedule.)

I could go on and on, but I won't. If anyone is interested in hearing more specifics, let me know and I would be happy to share! Also, I believe the AMAB will be selling DVDs of the entire conference. I'm not sure how good they will be because they had A LOT of problems with the sound system. But, I'll put the link to their site on my list on the sideboard. I also recommend the book "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies" by Dr. Bock.

We had an exciting moment last night! Noah was over and I was playing Simon Says with him. Out of nowhere, and completely unprompted, Ben came and started imitating Noah's actions!! And, he was copying things that were new to him...not everyday things! He got on the floor and rolled across the room, crawled around acting like a doggie, etc.! It was AWESOME!! I don't think we've ever seen that kind of motor imitation from him before! Woo hoo!

Well, I really need to go play with my little guy. I hope all is well with everyone!

God Bless!
Love,
Julie