eSpecially Ben

Many parents with special needs children chart behavior, medicine and any other information they may need to know. Up until this June, I had only made note when Ben had seizure activity and this was at the request of the neurologist. I had made sad attempts to track his sleep in the past when it was haywire, but nothing was consistent because I was too tired to follow-through. I started this journey with a goal of a four week dairy elimination diet. Now we are on Day 60, tracking the following items: Seizure medicine changes Addition of allergy pill Addition of probiotic Bowel Movements Sleeping hours (including any naps) Dietary changes Cheating with diet changes We have learned so much from keeping this chart. As you can see from the photo, I did it "old school", on a paper calendar. I used pencil, pen and different colored highlighters to help things stand out.  These are a few areas in which I think charting may help: 1. It is a good reminder about t

Ben's annual visit with the pediatrician was today. I was excited to tell her about all the changes and updates he has had in the past year. But before we could get in with the doctor, the nurse had to check Ben's height and weight. First, I was weighed. Then, I picked Ben up and we were weighed together. The nurse did the simple calculations and gave Ben a weight of 69.8. Huh?  That cannot be! He is 88lbs. Trying to wrap my head around yet another weight dilemma, I kept repeating those same lines about the impossibility of him only weighing 69 lbs.  So we did it again. I stepped on the scale without Ben, and then with Ben. The nurse checked to see if my feet were placed firmly on the scale and that Ben was not touching anything that could cause an inaccuracy.  Came back with 69.8 again.  Two thoughts raced through my head: Damn! I wrote a blog post about Ben weighing so much , and made such a big deal about his weight with friends and family. I even had my fath

When my longtime friend, Carla, strongly recommended Ben see a chiropractor during the period when he was not sleeping, I decided it would not hurt to try it. Luckily, the mother of one of Sean's classmates is a chiropractor, and I was able to get him an appointment with Neva Doctor .  At the first appointment, Ben was apprehensive but warmed to Neva quickly. By the second visit, Ben nearly jumped out of the car to get into the building. Once inside the room, he moved his foot pedals aside to get onto the table. To me, he clearly was enjoying the pressure Neva applied with her special tools. Her approach with Ben was gentle. She did not force him to do anything he did not want to do. She asked him if it was okay to massage his feet or face, and then she waited patiently to see if he responded positively. The goals of these chiropractic visits were to help Ben with sleep and breathing. Because we have introduced so many things during the same time period (no dairy, new medici