Taking the bad with the good

This year has definitely had it's ups and downs. Never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined having to learn our baby boy had autism, on the other hand we welcomed a baby that cannot be any happier. I honestly think Cruz was put into our life for a reason, with all the stress, frustration and tears we have endured dealing with Prestyn's condition, Cruz will smile and laugh and remind us that everything will be ok. All of our boys know how to make us smile when we need it most!

Last week we got to spend an evening in Prestyn's class for a small Christmas party. It was low key and mostly a way for parents and teachers to share stories and watch their children interact with one another. Prestyn insisted that they have a "circle time" and wanted to sing his favorite songs, it was great to see all the children so enthusiastic about singing! That night it was great reassurance that we are not alone, there are parents who are going through the same thing as us. There are children who are not as fortunate as Prestyn to be diagnosed as high-functioning, children who may not ever be able to fully communicate with their mommy and daddy and then there are those children who will.
Something that I have to share because it really touched my heart; there was a young single mom there who's son was just diagnosed, I cannot even begin to imagine what she is going through, she looked scared, she looked unsure. I just wanted to hug her and tell her everything will be ok. The night before the party I made some Christmas crayons and got some coloring books to give to the students in Prestyn's class. When I handed her the little package she got this huge smile on her face and was so thankful. I think it was just what she needed that night, like we once used to feel, she now knows she is not alone.
In other Prestyn related news.....
Prestyn's pediatrician ordered some medical testing to be done on Prestyn. Although there is not definite reasons as to what causes Autism there are certain things that may or may not be linked to it . The first two tests were done through a blood draw. Dr. Zipp would like to start ruling certain things out. First, celiac disease then Fragile X. The Celiacs test was because of the terrible reaction Prestyn has when he has anything with Gluten. Well we got the results back and that was negative. We are still waiting on the Fragile X. Dr. Zipp is confident that will also be negative. What now? Well with no celiac disease, it just further supports the research that certain doctors have preformed that say children with Autism cannot digest the gluten and it messes with their digestive system which in turns sends signals to their brain, which is english for Innate Immune Abnormalities. We notice when Prestyn does have gluten, his stomach looks so bloated and his behavior is not quite the same, more meltdowns and less cooperative. Hopefully in the next year we will see a gastrointestinal doctor and also get some genetic testing because there have been some studies saying that it is caused by chromosomes and genes in the parents. I am not sure I fully believe or trust these studies. Although we may NEVER know what caused Prestyn's Autism it will be nice to know what didn't cause it. It is so frustrating that there are all these contradicting studies, but we can never loose hope and just keep taking everything as serious as possible.
Thank you to my readers who continue and read my blog, I am not writing about Prestyn and our journey to gain attention, rather I am writing about it in the hopes that one day a parent who is going through the same thing will find hope. It is also great therapy for me to share with you all the happiness and struggles we are going through, so I do not keep it bottled up inside!

Then:

Prestyn in the back, prior to his diet change, his poor tummy:(


Now:

I cannot find a belly picture of Prestyn, however just in this picture you can see a huge difference in the belly.