Monday, November 5, 2012

Spirulina or a blessing? Either way it's mind blowing!


 
                This week has been a real eye opener with new things coming at us from every direction. One of the new things happening here is only what I can call my son busting out of locked doors autism has been holding him hostage behind. I have always been a big advocate for the genetic side of autism and still am but over the last three years it has been hard to ignore some of the medical clues thrown at me.

                From constant bowel problems, the lost look in his eyes, and the way his mind would not allow him to communicate. Yes he has physical ways of communication but at the same time, I could always see the desire in him to verbally communicate. My son has had basically no therapy to this point with lack of resources and the ones we did have were just not effective from day one. Twice he regressed from even attempting to utilize what we did have available to us. Heartbreaking both times and one of the biggest setbacks with this was therapists putting his frustration level to the test. To learn his limits and a tactic I can’t understand. A child who lives on the brink of frustration every day is taken into a room with a stranger only to be pushed beyond what they can tolerate for a test? This never made sense to me at all and clearly he felt the same way.

                We solved the bowel issues for the most part with a simple probiotic given to him daily but when life changes a bit that issue does come back. I can say that is stress related and doesn’t seem to be related to his digestive system like it used to be. We tried gluten free for some time and although a good diet for anyone, he is very thin and again lack of resources sent us back to regular but healthy eating. Gluten free was good for him, but the picky side of him or sensory side of him limited his food intake to a point of concern. Then we had the allergic reaction to the only antibiotic he has ever taken which again sent me into research mode and the medical side of autism.

                Late nights of reading until my eyes begged me to stop I found myself researching Spirulina. A blue algae supplement with a ton of benefits. Just to name a few, anti-inflammatory, balanced immune system, protein up the ying yang and so much more. It is even thought to fend off those GMO active DNA cells that sit in our system.  Very much worth reading about for anyone who is looking into taking back their health. I take this every day now and fatigue is no longer my side kick.

                I also starting giving Phillip 1/8th of a teaspoon in his juice every day and he doesn’t seem to mind the taste one bit. The protein benefit is a God sent alone just because tapioca and bacon are not cutting it. There are also some changes that have come quick in the last week. First change that was a bit shocking was a new show of emotion and if you are raising a child with autism you know sometimes the only emotions that are clearly expressed are joy and anger. On day two I told Phillip it was bedtime and typically no reaction to this comment but to our surprise he whimpered. A typical three year old reaction that did not escalate into tantrum and it blew my mind. The same day he ate his dinner and more. Something he has actually never done. The next day we heard a few new words come from him while playing. Four, total for the day and again my mind was blown. Now let’s move onto day five and we have eight sign language and words come out of his mouth. Please, thank you, ball, eat, book, all done, more, and help.  He hasn’t said these things or signed them but knew them. Something opened the door to let them out all together.

                Was it Spirulina? I don’t know for sure and wish will all my might I could know for sure. We are going to continue using it every day and see how changes play out. Getting ready for a huge move and if the doors are in fact open then his reactions will be different through the changes. If he is able to communicate emotions in a healthier way then I will have to credit Sprunila for creating some kind of balance in his system. Until then it is a blessing and taking it in as I watch it happen, thankful for every moment.
                 Aside from autism I would suggest anyone look into Spirulina and do some research. The above link is just one break down of the algea but there is much more info to look into.
 

3 comments:

  1. Hows ur kid doing now with spirulina? We have a kid with ASD as well and we are very much interested on your outcome....

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  2. We used the spirulina for a year. He was getting almost no nutrition and it seemed to help or at least make me feel like it was. I can't say for sure but he did begin to want it in his juice which told me he was getting something from it that made him feel good or better. We stuck with a probiotic all the way through and now we use the spirulina if I get concerned about his food intake so occasionally instead of daily like when we began. He is doing AMAZING but I credit that to daily ABA. At the time yes it seemed spirulina was helping in some way but now it's only used for peace of mind if he refuses food for an extended amount of time.

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  3. How encouraging - bought some today for my son. Hoping for the best. We're in South Africa.

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