A year ago, while Biomed Mom Joanne Allor and I were at the Fall Autism
Research Institute (DAN) Conference in Long Beach CA, I attended a talk about
Autism and the Immune system.  At the end of the session
the speaker urged all of the parents in the room to get screened regularly for
cancer.  In particular for breast, colon and prostate cancers.  For whatever
reason they were seeing a trend in their practice of parents being diagnosed
with these three cancers.  It sent a shiver up everyone’s spine.  Like it isn’t
enough to have a child on the spectrum – we need to worry about cancer too??

The reality is that cancer touches all of us.  Having a child on the spectrum
doesn’t exempt you. This was made painfully obvious to Joanne when she lost a
second sister to cancer this summer.  That’s when her son’s doctor recommended
she read “Anticancer – A New Way of Life” by David Servan-Schreiber.  On this
week’s Everyday Autism Miracles Joanne is going to join us to talk about this
important book and how is has changed how she looks at things.  She’ll tell us
why it is so important that we know this information and make changes in our
children’s lives to ensure they live longer and happier.

Of course we are also going to take a few minutes to celebrate the fact that
California has become the 28th state to pass Autism Insurance Reform.  They said
it couldn’t happen – but somehow it did!  Join us at 7pm EST and 4pm PST to hear
all the news.  Better yet, join the conversation at 877.864.4869.

I am an admitted control freak.  The worst part of being a control freak for me is my unshakeable belief that I can solve all of your problems if you would just let me.  I have no desire to work on my problems.  Why would I?  My problems are old, boring and insurmountable, not to mention complicated and convoluted.  On the other hand, your problems are crystal clear – to me, and infinitely solvable if you would just do what I say.  Of course it’s exhausting knowing how to fix your life and watching you resist my plan for you.  Not to mention that quite honestly there are a few things that I need to take care of in my own life that I can’t seem to get to because I’m so entrenched in what you should be doing.  There’s the rub.  You know what they say, when the student is ready, the teacher appears….I must be ready, because my teacher has appeared.

I am reading Bryon Katie’s book, Loving What Is, and I am seeing myself in a way that I haven’t ever before.  Even in the first few pages of the book she has challenged me to consider that there are only 3 types of business – My business, everybody else’s business, and God’s business.  Katie simply asks her reader to examine when ever they are sad, lonely, angry, uncomfortable, cranky or just our of sorts, whose business they are in when feeling that way.  Her supposition is that when you are out of whack it is because you are in business that is not your own.  Ugghhh.  This is a little too close to home.  I live in other people’s business!  Still, I thought I would give it a try.  Oh my!  In the past 24 hours I have discovered that, oddly enough, I am rarely in my own business  AND when I make a conscious choice to let go of other’s business and be in my own business…I am really happy and peaceful.  Who knew?

I can’t wait to read the rest of the book and see what else can happen if I stay in my own business.  Is it really possible that I could turn into one of those really happy, present people who oozes peace like a Buddha on a Benadryl.  I think I would like that.  So here’s the really exciting news, I’m not only reading Byron Katie’s book, I’m interviewing her on my radio show this Monday at 4 pm PST – 7pm EST.  You can tune in and listen to my chat with Katie by visiting www.toginet.com.  Better yet if you want to work on getting your inner Buddha on give us a call during the live show and you can chat with Katie too!  Simply call 877.864.4869 during the live show.  For more information on Bryon Katie and “The Work” that she does visit  www.thework.com. You can find her book, Loving What Is, by visiting here.

Catch Everyday Autism Miracles LIVE in its new time slot Mondays at 7pm Eastern Time, 6pm Central, 5pm Mountain and 4pm Pacific Time of Toginet Radio.

We’ll talk about how to prepare for an IEP, how to work with your teachers and administrators to create the most harmonious relationship possible without leaving your child vulnerable to losing services.  Also learn the simple secret that has helped many parents to navigate the school system without fear or fuss.

Even ten years ago it was widely believed that there was no help for Autism.  We still have many questions to answer about Autism, but for many parents the main question is now, “How do we afford the help that is out there?”  Today on Everyday Autism Miracles we are going to talk about the money side of Autism.  We’ll brainstorm ideas for every financial situation, because the truth is there is hope for Autism and there are people and organizations who are willing to help you fund your journey if only in part.

I have a friend who is fond of saying, “Show me the dollar sign over my child’s head.  I don’t see it.  But if you can show it to me I’ll shut up.” and then she keeps right on talking.  She’s been able to fund a great deal of treatment simply because she won’t give up.  Not giving up is a great skill to have when you have a child with Autism.  Tune in to today’s show and get some new ideas and new inspiration about how you CAN make this happen!  After all our kids are worth every penny!

Everyday Autism Miracles is moving to Mondays at 7pm EST starting on Monday Feb 7th on Toginet Radio!  Recorded podcasts of the live show will still be available for free, both on the showpage and on iTunes.  The Monday February 7th show will be the fifth in a six part series titled, “My Child Was Just Diagnosed with Autism; What do I do Now?”  Previous episodes have featured the topics Diagnosis, Dietary Interventions, BioMedical Interventions and ABA Therapy.  This weeks show will center on other forms of therapy like HBOT, AIT, Horse Therapy,  Sensory Integration, OT etc…  On Feb 14th, the final show in the series will focus on funding Autism.  It’s great to talk about the therapies and interventions that can help with Autism but if you can’t afford them what’s the point?  We are going to talk about all of the ways to fund your journey through Autism.  You won’t want to miss it!

You might be asking yourself why we are moving time slots?  Ahhhhh, well there is a BIG announcement that will explain all of that.  Tune in to Monday’s show to hear the big news!

ABA stands for Applied Behavioral Analysis which was first introduced in 1957 when Skinner wrote Verbal Behavior. In the ’80’s Lovaas first used ABA with children on the spectrum to see if the principals of ABA could have a long term affect on Autism. His results were astounding. In 1987 he published his findings, after 2 years of intensive ABA therapy 47% percent of the children in the study were largely indistinguishable from their neuro-typical peers, the rest of the group showed considerable improvement. Since that time there have been several studies that have replicated Lovaas’ initial study. It is for this reason that the scientific community has embraced ABA as the only treatment for Autism proven scientifically effective. Insurance companies, who for years claimed they did not have to pay for Autism Treatments because nothing had been proven effective, are now beginning to pay for ABA programs.

The science is important, crucial to getting an ABA program funded, but ask any parent who has a child in a quality ABA program what the benefits are and they will tell you simply, “I’m getting my child back!”

This week on Everyday Autism Miracles we are going to talk about ABA therapy, parent to parent. What is it really like? Is it worth it? What does it mean for the family and how can you get it? Tune in to hear host Shannon Penrod describe what she calls “The Autism Miracle in My Living Room.”

When your child isn’t meeting all of the their developmental markers it seems counter intuitive to take away their favorite foods, maybe even cruel.  It seems that way but it isn’t.  The truth is that food is sometimes part of the problem.  If your child was recently diagnosed with Autism, you may have been told there are some dietary interventions that prove very effective with some children.  You may also have been told that it doesn’t work for all kids, or even that it doesn’t work at all.  I can’t speak for all children, but as a parent I can tell you that my child started speaking again when we took milk and wheat in all forms out of his diet.  If that isn’t compelling enough, it also changed his behavior so greatly that I was able to walk down the sidewalk and hold his hand for the first time.  It was so clear in our son’s case that milk and wheat made his symptoms of Autism worse that we were highly motivated to keep it out of his diet.

I remember my mother saying to me, “Isn’t he ever going to get to eat ice cream?”  I looked at my chubby cheeked three year old and told her, “He can have ice cream, he just won’t be able to talk or communicate for days afterward.  Ice cream is great but I’m going to choose being able to talk over ice cream.”  My mother looked like I’d slapped her, but she really “got it”.  I’m sure kids who have peanut allergies wonder what it’s like to have a peanut butter sandwich or to eat our without fear of contamination, but who would choose peanuts over breathing? Or ice cream over speaking.  In our case it was a no brainer.  Unfortunately, it isn’t always as cut and dried with other kids.

There is one efficient way that I have found to predict if your child could benefit from one of the dietary interventions for Autism:  Look at what and how your child currently eats.  Is your child addicted to colorful candy?  They don’t want to eat meals they just want to snack on colorful sweets?  Chances are that your child could benefit from a version of the Feingold Diet.  Does your child live on crackers and milk, or mac and cheese and chicken nuggets?  They don’t want juice, but they crave milk?  Your child is a prime candidate to improve on the gluten free, casein diet.  Is your child in love with potatoes?  French fries for lunch, tater tots for dinner, mashed potatoes at restaurants and potato chips in the car? They don’t want water, but they love juice and crave fruit of all kinds? Odds are your child could benefit from at least a modified version of the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  Does it all sound scary and overwhelming to you?  You aren’t alone.

In this week’s show we are going to talk about dietary interventions, what to try, how to do it with very little fuss and what it can mean for your child and your family.  Have questions or want to tell how dietary intervention helped your child?  Call in during the live show on Friday at 2pm EST, 11am Pacific Time at 877.864.4869.

For the next six weeks Everyday Autism Miracles is going to focus on what a parent or caregiver can do before during and right after Autism diagnosis to speed the process and to begin healing.  This week our topic is Diagnosis.  We will be talking at length with experts and parents about who to go to for diagnosis, what tests should be done and what the results mean.  We’re going to answer all the questions you have about PDDnos, Aspergers and Autism and what separates them.   We’ll give tips on what to do while waiting for your child to be tested and how start helping your child NOW.

Have questions?  Or want to tell your diagnosis story?  You can email Shannon at shannon@everydayautismmiracles.com or you can call in to the live show at 877.864.4869

Everyday Autism Miracles airs live every Friday at 2pm Eastern Standard Time, 1pm Central Time, Noon Mountain Time and 11am Pacific Time on Toginet Radio.  Free podcasts of the show can be downloaded at www.toginet.com/shows/everydayautismmiracles and on Itunes.