Insomnia Strikes

Our Kimball has a tendency to stress out about things that are difficult for him. (Anxiety is a real problem for many kids with Asperger's Syndrome.) One of those things is falling back to sleep when he awakens in the night. At one point we gave him permission to turn on the lights and read when he awoke in the night, but that led to him being awake and reading complete novels between 3am and 7am. So we try to discourage that these days.

A couple of nights ago he came into our room in a panic because he said he had been awake for an hour. It's possible that he had really been awake that long and also possible that he had drifted off and awoken again-- either way he was stressed out and afraid that he wouldn't be able to get back to sleep.

After holding him close and breathing together until I could feel his heart rate slowing down to a more sleep-conducive speed, I made a few suggestions. One, my dad's old standby when we couldn't sleep: "Read the Old Testament. I like Leviticus for insomnia.":) I assured him that it would have quite a different effect than Percy Jackson books did in the middle of the night.

My second suggestion was that he try counting sheep. I explained that he should close his eyes and relax and imagine sheep jumping over a fence. He should count each one until he fell asleep.

The next morning, I asked him if he'd been able to fall back to sleep.

"I did," he replied, "but the counting sheep didn't work out so well."

"Why is that?" I queried, figuring that if he'd fallen asleep, it had worked out great.

"I kept having problems with three or four sheep jumping the fence at the same time and it made them hard to count!"

How do you deal with insomnia yourself, or with your kids? Please share!

Cartoon used with permission from this site.

HFCS=Mercury Poisoning

Get ready for a rant.

Most of you know that our oldest son, Kimball, is on the autistic spectrum. He has an autistic spectrum disorder called Asperger's Syndrome, which is similar to High-Functioning Autism. After coming to grips with the reality that our son was different and making peace with his diagnosis, we began to educated ourselves as much as possible about autism.

Much about what causes autism is a mystery, but many researchers have found links between autism and mercury poisoning--one big reason for the debate over vaccinations and autism. (We choose not to vaccinate our children, but that is a post for another day.) It is theorized that some people don't process mercury as well (although mercury is toxic to everyone), and that people on the autistic spectrum have weakened immune systems, which further complicates matters.

Until now, if we wanted to avoid mercury, we knew that the big risks were some seafood, the old amalgam used by dentists, and in some vaccinations. Because Jared & I also believe firmly that diet has an effect on behavior and overall health, we have really tried to eliminate processed foods from our family's diet. This is one reason that I make my own bread (including grinding my own wheat,) why I rarely buy cookies (although my food snobbery does play into that,) and try to make as much as possible from scratch. We, like the rest of you, have heard about the evils of High Fructose Corn Syrup--that it leads to obesity and diabetes, and have been reading labels madly to eliminate that as well.

But we haven't eliminated it completely. If you haven't read labels looking for it, you might not realize that HFCS is found as a main ingredient in lots of everyday items, like jam and preserves, yogurt, breakfast cereal (and not just the kind you think of as "sugary"), maple-flavored syrup (like Log Cabin), and even in nectars and sweetened juices. I have been gradually replacing the strawberry preserves in our food storage with organic preserves, in spite of the cost difference, but have been feeding my family the HFCS stuff until we wipe it out. And I have yet to bring myself to spend upwards of $20 on a bottle of real maple syrup for this family of 6, who goes through a lot of syrup in a year.

Imagine my shock, concern, and even outrage, when I read about two new studies that were published this week. It turns out that much of the HFCS out there has measurable amounts of mercury in it! Even worse, one of these studies was conducted by someone who left the FDA and became a whistle-blower over this issue--because the FDA knew about it over 3 years ago. But did the FDA insist that this type of HFCS be pulled from the shelves? Did they recall all the Kellogg's Raisin Bran and Nesquik? They did not.

Now I look at the Log Cabin in my cupboard and see poison. My poor little children, at least one of whom is even more sensitive to mercury poisoning than I am, and my unborn child, have been consuming mercury with their pancakes, waffles, and french toast. Yes, I knew the HFCS was not good for you, and we cut back dramatically, but I see no reason to give my children ANY mercury at all, thank you very much.

The second study, which tested 55 top food brands for mercury (and found significant amounts of mercury in 1 out of 3 foods tested), points out that HFCS does not require mercury. It is simply a less expensive way to produce it, and as the industry is unregulated, they have gone with the bottom line. It's disgusting, really, how irresponsible that is. Lots of kids out there practically live on processed foods (not that I support that), and think of what kind of exposure they have had now to this toxin.

So, I'm writing to get the word out. Parents need to know about this. And we need to stand up to these companies who are poisoning our children to save a few bucks. I plan to write to several companies, sharing my shock and concern. I will also be returning all my unused HFCS products to Costco (as long as that's where they came from), rather than using up those last few jars of strawberry jam before we go clean.

For more info on this, read:

USA Today
The Huffington Post (this one has links to the studies as well)
Washington Post


Now please, go through your cupboards and get rid of that stuff!

Book Review from GoodReads

Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was wonderful to read, not only because it helped me understand savants, but also for the insight it gave me into Asperger's. My oldest son has Aspgerger's, although he is not a savant. Since autistic spectrum disorders are varied in their manifestations, I knew that he wouldn't be just like my son. But Daniel Tammet is able to help us understand how his brain works, why certain things bother him, why others calm him down. It was also wonderful to see how self-aware he has become and how well he functions in adulthood--and yet without making it seem as if he has overcome everything about his disability. He still doesn't drive and takes great care in many situations that he knows will be challenging for him--and yet he is fully functioning.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to know more about autism, Aspergers, savants, or living with a disability. Or to anyone who wants to read a book about overcoming obstacles and not giving up.

*A note not on my Good Reads review: I also read the book wondering if Kimball would enjoy it, but have decided not to have him read it right now. Daniel Tammet discusses his homosexuality and his relationship with his partner in the book. Although it is by no means graphic or sexual in it's language, I am not ready to discuss that topic with Kimball at this point. (He is still innocent enough to not be inquisitive about sexuality in general.) When he reads it, I want to be able to talk about how we feel about homosexuality as a lifestyle (we believe in complete chastity before marriage and that marriage is ordained of God to be between a man and a woman), and also about looking for the good in people who don't share our values (you don't have to look hard to see the good in Daniel.) Since Daniel is very matter-of-fact about being gay, I am not ready for Kimball to read this book and have it presented to him this way--and for all of the questions that will come. In a few years I may feel differently. Anyway, I only bring this up because I know that many of my readers are moms looking for books to share with their children and I want you to know what you are getting. This added comment may generate some hate mail for me, but I feel strongly about this topic and didn't want to shrink from saying so on my own blog.

A Great Moment

We had a moment here on Monday evening that you can probably only appreciate if you love someone on the autistic spectrum. Kimball, who has Asperger's Syndrome, has difficulty standing still at all, but especially when singing, reciting, or performing in any way. He typically spins, sways, and walks around while performing, no matter how many times we might encourage him to stand still. It is a form of self stimulation that is fairly common among kids with autism.
Last night at our weekly Family Home Evening, we had the boys perform solos for us of the "hymn of the week" that we had learned over the previous week. This is a regular part of our FHE routine. Kimball always does great with remembering the words (since his memory is incredible,) but it is usually so difficult to watch him because he is moving so constantly. Last night, without even being reminded by us, he stood still, arms to his side, and sang every word of "O Come, All Ye Faithful." There were tears in my eyes by the end as I realized what he had just done. He knew it, too. He excitedly announced as we were praising his performance, "I didn't even sway or anything!" So not only was he able to stand still, but he was really self aware.
This exciting bit of progress we attribute to the many sessions he has been having in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber over the past couple of months. Up until now, the changes we have noticed have been a willingness to try new foods and an increased awareness in social situations. Last night was a powerful moment for us. I am so grateful for this sweet little boy who teaches us so much and through whom we are able to see the Lord's blessings.