Homeschool Highlights - Week of January 4, 2010

Days 79 - 83 

What a week!  After DH worked mandatory overtime during the holidays, this week he surprised us by taking some vacation time. 

Needless to say, it was not easy getting ANYTHING done.  It was slow going, but we managed.  (And we had lots of fun, too!)

Reading:  She finished Book 4 - Series 3 Thick Slush.  She also started Book 5 Bad Luck.  After finishing her reader, she played on Starfall.  She is learned about famous artist, Georges Seurat. 

Handwriting:  Shayla wrote a thank you  letter to Elaine, the assistant at our chiropractor's office.  These two seem to share a common bond.  Shayla has never spoken to Elaine, but Shayla loves Elaine, and the feeling must be mutual.  Elaine made and gave Shayla a beautiful teddy bear tie blanket for Christmas.  She even stitched her name on it.  I am planning on making a video of Shayla saying something to Elaine and giving it to her.

Exercises:  Unfortunately, we did not continue with the Brain Balancing Exercises over Christmas break.  I had planned on continuing those daily, but well, life happened. 

We started them again, although they have changed some.  Instead of jumping on the trampoline, which is covered with about a foot of snow, we are doing plenty of sledding. 

How is this schoolwork?

Well, my child NEEDS fresh air and physical exercise.  Running up a hill, dragging a sled behind (for hours at a time) has to be good exercise. 

*Note to self:  Although Shayla is not actually diagnosed with autism, I know she has many characteristics, so I try to learn as much as possible about this condition.  One thing that I have come across many times is the digestive disturbances that many autistics have.  Leaky gut, candida, low vitamin and mineral levels, abnormal heavy metal findings and low enzymes, as well as, ADD/ADHD and learning differences are just some of the things many spectrum children suffer with.

We follow a strict GF/CF diet and avoid other food allergens. She improved tremendously on the diet.  She also improved when she was put on a prescription antifungal for candida, but I still feel she hasn't reached her full potential.  So, I continue to read, learn and try many therapies to help her reach her full potential.

 I started enzyme therapy this week.  She gets sprinkles of her digestive enzyme with every meal and snack.  Since starting this she has had "The Happy Child Effect."  Who would believe the turn around!!! :)   Since starting enzyme therapy this week, we have noticed an increase in her communication skills - both verbal and non-verbal.  She almost spoke at King's Kids.  She made verbal sounds in stores.  And her give and take conversation has improved.

Shayla's whole demeanor is that of a happy child, now.  She also has been having a better relationship with her sister, not constantly fighting and screaming at her.  And the best improvement is she is wanting and giving more affection.  She is more open to being hugged and even asks for hugs, kisses and attention from everyone in the family - even her sister!

I am reading a book called Enzymes for Autism (it also covers many other auto-immune disorders).  For more information about enzyme therapy, visit Enzyme Stuff.  I hope to post more about this at a later time. 

Unit Study:  U is for Uriah.  We did a fun, Bible themed unit study.  I usually move through these fairly quickly, but this week, we were easing back into school.  I also found many resources to use.  She has a few more things to finish up before it's complete. 

So, how did everyone else do this week?  Were you ready to jump back into it, or did you start school again dragging your feet all the way?

Bentonite Clay

I know April is Autism Awareness month, but I'm busy here. Please forgive me for not posting this sooner.


Many of you know that our youngest daughter has many autistic behaviors. It has been suggested that she has autism, Asperger's, etc, but she didn't quite meet the criterias in any given diagnosis. Instead, she has been labeled as having selective mutism and sensory processing disorder.


Ok, we can work with this. It's better than having autism, right? Imagine my surprise when after reading several of these sites, I found that sometimes selective mutism IS autism. UGH!


First, I would encourage you to check out this video called Autism Yesterday (it's kind of long, but if you or someone you love is affected by autism, it is worth your time).


Generation Rescue is an organization owned by Jenny McCarthy. She contributes her son's autism to the mercury and other heavy metals in the vaccines he was given as a child. She believes that there is hope for autism, it is completely reversable.

Here's an interesting article about autism and low levels of vitamin D.


After having viewed the video and read these articles, I wondered if we had stopped to early on my daughter's road to recovery.

At the same time I was doing this, I ran across Healthy Again an article in No Greater Joy Magazine.


My daughter improved dramatically after religiously following the GF/CF diet. We also discovered that she is allergic to red dyes, corn, non-organic sugar and yeast. We avoid these, too. We've been doing this religiously for three years now.


Next, we had formal testing done through Great Plains Laboratory. (BTW, this is a great site for information on a whole bunch of maladies that medical science can not explain) She was found to have problems with candida overgrowth in her intestines and was not able to digest foods, vitamins & minerals properly. So, she was prescribed nystatin antifungal medicine and a digestive enzyme. Again, she improved more. At this point she does need to take the antifungal.


But still, she seems to have problems socializing outside of our family. She often appears rigid and unfriendly. She often shows no facial expressions at all (in public). She wants to have relationships and we have home therapy lessons as part of our homeschooling day, we also take her to almost every children's program available through our local parks and library. But in this area she has made little progress. When she does, it's extremely slow, 2 steps forward, 1 step back kind of thing.


I question myself if we should we have went one step further and had chelation done? I never felt at peace about it. I have read numerous sites that say it's safe, but just as many that talk about irreversible damage and even death occuring. So, I began looking for something more natural.


I came across bentonite clay. Since I have many of the same symptoms of my daughter (probably because of the MMR vaccine I was required to get before being discharged after having her) I thought I'd try it out on myself first.


I bought a bottle at the local health food store for under $10. I take 1 tsp a day, which is much less than the suggested 1 - 2 TBS, because I have a small build and because I have a quirky system. So far I am pleased with the results. The main thing I've noticed is that my sense of smell is much better than before taking it.

Have you learned anything new and interesting about health lately? If so, please share.

More Books for Home Speech Therapy

At the beginning of the year, I started a quest to help my daughter overcome her selective mutism.

What I found was probably there all the time, but I just didn't see it. Lately, I have been directing my attention at the whole child, not just the selective mutism behavior.

I must say, I'm having a great time bringing my daughter "out of her shell." Some days are tedious, some discouraging, but we're both learning and growing.

Here's several books that we've used as conversation starters:

Cat's Got Your Tongue is a story about a little girl, Anna, who is entering kindergarten. She is unhappy and avoids sharing her true feelings about it. Her teacher notices that she is not transitioning well and suggests counseling to her parents.

Anna goes to counseling and over a period of time, learns to use her words through play therapy, namely puppets.

Anna and her counselor put on a puppet show for her parents and teacher in her school classroom for familiarity, then they decide it would be fun to put the show on for the kids.

After overcoming her fears and anxieties, Anna is able to make friends.

My thoughts were mixed with this book. I wasn't sure my daughter would like it because the pages were black and white. However, she quickly identified herself in Anna.

The breakthrough moment came last week when we were washing dishes together. My daughter was asking questions about the book. She told me she wanted to be able to speak in public! She said she wanted to be able to make friends! She told me that maybe we should find a counselor that would help her learn to talk!

I about fell on the floor! I think I scared her when I hugged and kissed her all at the same time!

Since then, we have been more able to talk about everything! She is trying new things left and right now!

I guess I honestly believed that my child enjoyed the attention she received by not speaking. I thought it was a control issue. How wrong was I!?!

To Be Continued. . .

Double-Dip Feelings is just what the title says. It talks about how it's possible to feel several emotions at the same time.

We had a lot of fun with this book and it started many conversations. She enjoyed the colorful illustrations.

BTW, we are still filling the jar with candies everytime she tries something new. I also write her "tries" in her own little notebook, so we can review all her accomplishments.

Does anyone else have any suggestions? (books, resources, games, anything to try) Please share!

For other tips, visit 5 minutes for Special Needs

And We Are THAT Family.