Our darling son, Alex now 23 months old was born March 2006. Alex was born healthy, and has never had a shot, vaccination, or medications. Alex was sick (maybe) 2 times with a stomach virus, and has never had any ear infections. Throughout my pregnancy I lived a healthy, organic lifestyle.

The only thing that I could see that may have been a possible "trigger" (but I do not know for sure) is Terbutaline. Terbutaline is generally used for individuals with asthma, but can also be used to arrest premature labor during pregnancy. I was one of those individuals who experienced premature labor at 8 months after getting into a car accident. My doctor gave me a few injections of this drug and also said I needed to take the terbutaline around the clock to stop the contractions. After doing some research, I found a few studies conducted that seem to suggest that there is link between the drug terbutaline and autism. The thought is that the terbutaline causes changes in a certain receptor in the fetus brain that prevents it from "down-regulating" normally after birth and during the child's development. This is the first I've ever heard of the possibility of this drug having ties to autism. If I would of known then what I know now, I would have NOT taken the terbutaline and would have given birth at 8 months.

Another thing I found was that Terbutaline is an asthma drug. Terbutaline also relaxes some other types of smooth muscles, such as the muscles of the uterus; however, other types of muscle may be stimulated to contract rather than relax. Terbutaline was first approved by the FDA in 1974. It is not approved by the FDA for use as a pre-term labor drug; it is used off-label for the purpose of stopping contractions. After doing my research, I am finding that this practice is quite common.

In August 2007, at the age of 17 months, Alex was diagnosed with having Autism.

First of all, I am not a writer. I am a mom who wants to share our story of love and determination, and possibly help other families who are on a similar journey.

Here is our story:

When Alex was 14 months old, a close friend of ours (from my moms group) mentioned to me that she had some concerns and suggested I should get my son tested for Autism.

This mom has been around and worked with autistic children, so she knew the signs to look for. I NEVER had any thoughts in my head that there was anything ever wrong with Alex. I always knew he was different from the other kids (more active, strong willed...etc). This mom mentioned the signs of (no pointing, clapping, waving, no eye contact, no words, no interacting with the others). I knew my son was not doing these things and whenever I mentioned these concerns to friends or family, I was told...every child is different and he will catch up. They told me these things only because they were just as unaware as I was.

The next day I made an appointment with my pediatrician to discuss our concerns that we had and get referred to a specialist. Our Pediatrician said she saw no concerns but, since she is not an expert in the field of autism, she is going to refer us to a Pediatric Neurologist.

We got in to see the Pediatric Neurologist...which took us weeks to get the appointment. The Pediatric Neurologist told us that EVERYTHING was fine and I should have no worries...concerns and that Alex will catch up. After this evaluation, we still had something inside that told us to take this a step further.

We also wanted to make an appointment with the For OC Kids clinic which is a multidisciplinary center for autism and other developmental disorders. They provide developmental assessments and treatment for children with autism in Orange County. Yet, I needed a referral to get in. I actually had to change to another pediatrician to get a referral (since my pediatrician was in a different group provider). This new pediatrician we went to see also said "everything is fine with Alex but I will give you a referral to a pediatrician neurologist". He was determined (and very rude) to send me to his place of choice. I DEMANDED to go to FOR OC KIDS and finally got the referral.

It took us 3 MONTHS to get the appointment for OC kids. The appointment day finally came and I took Alex to the OC Kids appointment (my husband did not go, since we did not see a need). My intent was to go and just pick their brain.

What came next was a SHOCK!!!!!

The Director assessed Alex (which was a much different assessment from the pediatric neurologist) and I could tell by her body language and tone of voice...that something was terribly wrong and I started to tremble. After an hour and a half, I asked her what was going on. She said, I really want to see you AND your husband back here next week...so we can talk.

The following week, we went back and the director did ANOTHER assessment. She then said Alex has AUTISM. I said..."Wait...how he can have autism? Alex is not banging his head, spacing out, or acting like rainman". The director said....that is very rare to see and that the range of autism is HUGE. That is why they call the SPECTRUM.

After the diagnosis, we did much research on Autism, that we now look back at things Alex has done in the past as well as the present and it all makes sense. The signs were all there, but we did not know what to look for. The only thing I ever thought was that Alex was different than the other babies…….

I did mention that Alex has no eye contact, pointing, waving, clapping, and interaction with others. This is not necessary true for all cases.

All children are different and EVERY treatment is DIFFERENT. Just because a child likes to spin wheels or walk on their toes does not necessarily means anything (my son does not even care a whole lot about spinning wheels). Even if the child meets all the milestones (talking, pointing, clapping...etc), but as a mom if you feel that something is not quite right or any regression, definitely look into it. Do not just let it go. A mother's instinct is ALWAYS right.

With Alex, there were certain situations that seemed not quite right. When we would go to the grocery story all the cashiers would talk to Alex or offer him a cookie and he would advert his gaze and completely ignore them. He would never even smile at them. I remember thinking that was odd, but thinking that it was just some sort of "quirk".

Also, when I would take Alex to the toy store and I would pull toys off of the shelves for him to play with…and he wanted NOTHING to do with any of the toys.

Alex would cry for an hour or more every time he would wake up from his naps. He would also kick and punch (not intentionally) every time I tried to put him to bed at night.

Alex also never pointed. Alex takes in his surroundings and quietly observes. He also takes our hands and moves it on to things he either wanted or wanted us to help him with. I now know this is called autistic leading. Alex loves books, but never pointed at objects in them. He makes us point for him. This goes the same for clapping. He will not clap, but takes my hand and makes me clap for him.

There is also that lack of joint attention (referencing) and facial expressions.

Alex also says no words...not even Momma or Dadda.

The list goes on and these are things I would have NEVER known to look for.

How is it that I am told by 3 professional doctors that EVERYTHING is FINE? Now I look back and know that they did not ask me the right questions or were not properly trained on what to look for.

We immediately started the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free (GFCF) diet, but saw little changes. The fog was still there.

After telling our family members of this news, we found out that my husbands' aunt in Massachusetts Trina Bigham is not only on the Board of Directors of the Gottschall Autism Center, but has been close friends with Pam Ferro R.N. for the past 10 years. Pam Ferro is in Private Practice in Mattapoisett MA, and is a parent of a child on the autism spectrum. She has treated well over 300 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) utilizing biomedical approaches in her clinic. She is the first Defeat Autism Now (DAN) clinician to implement Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) for autism and started a movement to get recognition for SCD from the doctors who treat autism.

After getting a phone consultation with Pam, we decided to take a trip to Massachusetts to meet with Pam and discuss SCD and biomedical treatment.

With the help of Pam we started Alex on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (at the end of October 2007). Since starting the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Alex is showing wonderful progress. In addition, our other treatments that have been helpful are B12 injections, supplementation (under the supervision of Pam) ABA, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and Physical therapy. I do believe that the therapy and other treatments would not have worked as well if we did not implement the SCD. I believe that the biomedical therapy is helping Alex to improve his brain and body health and making it easier for him to learn. The gut does affect the brain.

I also keep a detailed daily journal. I record all foods eaten, bowel movements, supplements taken, behavior, sleep patterns, and ALL SUCCESSES…

Keeping a journal has been a valuable tool. A journal lets me understand the cause and effect of all foods eaten. I can then see if I need to make adjustments.

In addition, we are constantly researching and attending conferences. Everyday we are learning something new about Autism.

After day 3 on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet we noticed that Alex started to sleep through the night. Alex also started to be in wonderful moods. He stopped crying (for hours) after waking up from naps (probably his belly was hurting). Alex also LAUGHED at something that was funny in a cartoon show (that has never happened before).

Some others things we have seen are:
Showing affection towards Daddy

Laughing at something when it's funny and playing with toys. (Alex now knows how to play with his toys). He is actually a wiz at puzzles. Alex did not play with toys in the past.

Making lots of sound to get our attention and let us know what he wants but not actual words yet

Clapping, pointing and mimicking (but not consistent)

Better eye contact and referencing

Better body awareness (no more bumping into furniture)

No big issues with transition (we had HUGE issues in the past)

Alex now has preferences for things. A few months ago, he would do without and could care less. Now, he knows what he wants and finds a way to get it from momma or dada(by either taking our hand and leading us or pointing…or sometime screaming like a normal 23 months old toddler would do).

Most of all, we are seeing that the fog is lifting more and more everyday.

Alex is amazing. He is funny, loves music (especially the drums), dancing and his puzzles; he is very affectionate & smart.

We are not trying to "fix" Alex. We love everything about him. What we want to do is to treat the symptoms that make him feel bad and prevent him from learning. We want to make the most we can out of the unique life gifts he has been given.

For us autism has made us better parents to Alex, because I think we are more aware of the details of life, more so than we might have been otherwise. Because of Alex, we now feel more emotions and strength that we never knew was possible

We know that with our devotion, determination, sacrifice, struggles and love, Alex will live to his fullest potential in life.