Lisa: "Fortunately, Julion's developmental pediatrician, Cheryl Tierney of Hershey Medical Center, happens to be on the forefront of autism support in the state of Pennsylvania. Thanks to her efforts Applied Behavioral Analysis, ABA services, are now acknowledged as the only treatment for autism and must now be treated as such with the compliance of insurance companies. Dr. Tierney has been very helpful in directing us to resources to make sure Julion gets all that he can possibly get. I've also been very instrumental in Julion's developmental spending a lot of time researching anything that could accelerate his progress. Over the years I've come across dietary supplements that I am confident aided Julion's speech and overall sensory development. When you are a parent of a child with autism you must be very involved in his or her progress. Doctors don't know everything and along with therapies and ABA services, there is nothing much outside those realms they recommend so you must educate yourself with what's out there. I am overwhelmed just reflecting on the support we have because I do know that that's not the case for many families. I've also spent a lot of time researching dietary supplements and purchased a couple I believe have strongly affected his incredible progress that has really stunned his therapists and educators. I can share the names of those supplants with you. One was for speech and the other for brain health and sensory development."
P.A.R.C. Mag: What are some daily activities that you do with your son? Would you say that routines work for him? If so, explain what types of routines have you established?
Lisa: "Since Julion spends the bulk of the day at school I find that there is not much time left when he returns home. We don't have much of a routine. He likes to go out to the electronics and toy stores. I try to keep things light at home because he works so hard during the course of the day at school. When he comes home he wants Doritos and juice and his iPod or tablet. I allow it because it's his kick back time. He's on the electronics more than I would like but then I think of myself as a child and my love for cartoons after school. He's on YouTube searching his favorite characters and shows so when I think about it, it's not so different than when I watched cartoons after school. I still want to cut down the time on it though."
P.A.R.C. Mag: In terms of interactions with adults and other children, how does your son interact with others? How does he react to speech, tasks, tactile, affection, public situations, etc.?
Lisa: "Julion would like to engage more. He initiates play with his classmates and familiar people but not too much with strangers but I see his desire to do so. Hopefully, his ABA services will help him with this. I'm just happy he wants to play with others when he's so inclined. Julion was on his first plane ride at a week old so he's very accustomed to traveling long distances whatever the mode of transportation. He hops on a plane seat the way he would a car seat. We go to the regular movies with the loudest audio. We don't do any special sensory versions of anything. He's never had a problem with public situations. We do lots of activities and he's accustomed to our lifestyle. Every day I'm asked where and what we're doing tomorrow. He likes an itinerary for his day so he knows what to look forward to."
P.A.R.C. Mag: We know that autism is not a mental health issue and it’s classified as a spectrum disorder. Did you find it difficult for other people to understand and accept that concept? Was it something that you felt that you were always explaining?
Lisa: "Some people, I think, assume he's mentally challenged so I do let them know that he's far from that. He's very intelligent, funny and full of surprises. I tell people if they want to know something just ask him and he'll tell you. I mostly find myself more than anything talking about his progress since it's a regular thing."
P.A.R.C. Mag: Was there ever a time where you questioned your capabilities as a parent? Meaning, were you able to manage his care? Even though his diagnosis was obviously not your fault, did you sometimes blame yourself?
Lisa: "I've never blamed myself because I don't think anything in particular during my pregnancy occurred. I do believe that vaccinations played a role. The timing and decline go hand in hand. When I saw a holistic doctor and did tests outside of the mainstream tests we found unusually high amounts of iron and lead. Our house was a new construction so there weren't any paint chips available to munch on and mercury?