Not much has been going on really. We had a pretty crappy weekend behaviour wise with Beth, lots of tantrums and crying when she didn’t get her own way. She was pretty tired, I think camp took a lot more than we know out of her. Beth’s a pretty social girl and would have loved the fact that she shared a cabin with 5 others. I know she had a fabulous time on camp and Helma said that she wrote a great story about it on Monday which was good for her, especially after being all over the shop the 2 or 3 days before.
Being at camp for 3 days with lots and lots of people would have been exhausting. They say with autistic kids that being at school is twice as much work for them because they not only have to do the school work but they have to try to read the social cues that are constantly there for them. Beth for example used to get right in kids faces when they got hurt and laugh. She didn’t think it was a funny thing but knew that an emotion was required and wasn’t sure which one. Sometimes when she jumps up and down laughing people giggle and think “ooh something’s funny” but it could just be a release of tension or frustration or confusion. I like to think that it is happiness and excitement and more often than not it is but we have to read the situation, something that she basically can’t do.
That’s why you almost have to read their minds, I need to know what has triggered a meltdown in Beth so that I can reassure her that it either wont happen again or desensitise her to the situation. Sometimes she’ll realise it isn’t so bad, sometimes it just can’t be fixed such as her Oscar the Grouch fear.
I’m not really sure how the treatment is going that we’re doing. I did see quite a big difference in Beth after the Mercury detox but during the flaxseed oil phase that we’re currently in I haven’t really noticed much difference. Since being home she’s been terribly vague to the point of incredible frustration for Paul and I, like going back to the days when we wondered if there was something wrong with her hearing. And her tantrums and stimming have certainly accelerated but Richard Malter says that that could be the virus coming out of the liver inadvertently so we can cope with that. Her communication, when with us, is good.
For example when we went to horseriding a boy called Adam who can’t talk was there. Beth said (of course within earshot of his mum) “Adam doesn’t talk very often does he?” I thought that was an excellent observation and told her how well she had used her words but perhaps not so loud around others as she had also commented on the grunts that he made quite loudly too. Of course his parents didn’t really mind, that’s the beauty of places like that, all have kids who are special in one way or another so they’re accepting of others. She’s being very good with others too, always asking questions of people and quite chatty at times. When she’s like this it’s lovely to see, especially with kids that know her and take the time to answer back.
So I guess we’ll just plod along and see how we go. I’ve had several independant people tell me that I’m on the right track with Richard Malter. We’ve still got a couple of weeks until we go back to see him and we’ll see what he says then. I’ll be interested to see how it effects her when the liver virus starts to come out in earnest. I think it will make her feel so much better but I know she’ll be bloody hard work while it’s happening. Still, what choice have I got, I am a mum after all and will try anything that wont hurt if I think it will help my girl.