Thursday, January 30, 2014

The Highlights from Mae's Week (so far!)

We had a tough week and a half after Mae started taking probiotics a little over a week ago.  I'd known that there was a possibility that they'd make her pretty uncomfortable for the first week or two, but since all the other supplements had had such immediate positive effects I hadn't really expected anything dramatic.  I thought that the probiotics seemed to be taking her digestive health in the right direction with the problems we've had in the past (she's been able to completely go off the prescription for her tummy associated problems and the probiotics and magnesium are working 100 times better than the prescription ever did), but it was still tough to see the loss of ground in communication that we experienced while she wasn't feeling 100%.  

We seem to have turned the corner now however, and in the last two days there have been little moments that have made my heart soar.  I wrote down a few of my favorites so that I wouldn't forget them and I thought I'd share them here too:

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Yesterday morning I handed Maggie a car.  Part of the therapy we do involves trying to encourage her to use toys for their correct purpose.  We haven't done much with cars though, since Maggie isn't really interested in them and we try to use activities that she's motivated by (like bubbles) when we're doing our little Mommy and Mae therapy sessions.  

After I handed the car over to Mae, she took it and ran across the room and set it in front of Patrick on the table and then made it zoom back and forth in front of him while he watched her with a smile.  

Not only was she using the car the way a toy car is intended to be used, but she was doing it to make her brother smile!

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During our afternoon therapy session (with just Mae and I) we were playing with her Sock Monkey Jack-in-the-Box.  She wanted the music to play, but she didn't want the monkey to pop all the way out of the box and kept putting her hand over the box to make sure it wouldn't open.  

She was kind of tired thanks to a certain little brother who had woken everyone up at midnight the night before, and I was having a hard time getting her excited to play with anything at all.  In a last ditch effort I took the Jack-in-the-box and said "Where's the monkey?  He's in the box!  Where is he?  He's in the box!" in my silliest voice.  

Mae started to laugh uncontrollably.  When I said it a third time "Where's the monkey?" I paused about to say "in the" and wait to see if she said "box when she said "in the box!" in a perfect clear little voice before dissolving into giggles.  After that she was ready to play and pointed and said "in the box" over and over again.

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She had smuggled one of her sisters toy stamps into the bath tub last night and after I told her it was a stamp she held it and said "stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp" over and over again. 

A new word!  New words always make me smile!

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My favorite moment of the last couple days came two days ago when we were doing our Skype meeting with our coach from the University.  Mae had said "bubbles" over and over again and our coach prompted me to try to encourage her to use more complex language, so I said "More bubbles?  Can you say more bubbles?"  She paused, looked at me and said:  "Please!"  

I guess she's paid attention to all the times Sadie has asked for more of something and I say "what do you say?"

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And those are the little encouraging moments from the last couple days.  I'm so relieved that she finally seems to be feeling a bit better after a tough week starting out the probiotics.  While I'm now seeing major improvements in her health from taking the probiotics, the first week and a half was definitely tough!

Now for a fun day!  We're meeting her therapist at her favorite museum/play area for a little freedom from being cooped up in the house!

5 comments:

  1. Why would probiotics make her feel/act poorly? I'm not sure I'm understanding. They simply add nonpathogenic bacteria to the intestinal tract, right?

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  2. So much good news! First, that the supplements are working better than the prescriptions. In my book, that is always wonderful. Second, that you're over the hump with the probiotics, and you're seeing some good effects. And third, that she pointed. SHE POINTED! Isn't that one of the things about autistic kids; they don't point. I have so much hope for her. So much hope, and I pray for you and Paul and your whole family. I pray she's gonna be able to manage this condition in her adult life in a very functional way. God Bless. ~ Bonnie
    P.S. Padre Pio said, Hope, pray and don't worry. Good advice.

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  3. On the probiotic front, some people have bloating, gas and diarrhea for about two weeks when they start out. I think I've also read that the bad bacteria dying off can release toxins that can make a person feel pretty sick too.

    Either way I'm so glad we seem to be past the unpleasantness!

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  4. Oh my goodness! You can actually see a difference in her face in the pictures... How wonderful! God bless her!

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  5. Yep, introducing a probiotic can definitely cause some digestive symptoms that can be unpleasant, but the symptoms are really just an indicator that the probiotics are "good," meaning effective and establishing a better gut environment. ~ Bonnie

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