Thursday 18 July 2013

It's not the pox

Having had to take Holly out of nursery early yesterday due to suspected chickenpox, Sue has clarified - via a doctor's appointment this morning - that it is not actually the pox. The doctor confirmed what Sue and I THOUGHT it was - heat rash. The bumps apparently don't conform to what the pox would resemble and they weren't all over her body.

This is good news for all involved - but does emphasise how this heat wave is taking it's toll on poor Holly. Even though she's not "poxy", she's still listless, grumpy, has a upset stomach and seems to break out grizzling for no reason. All, apparently, symptoms of being stinking hot.

At the behest of my mum, it really does sound like a good time to invest in an A/C unit for the house.

Wednesday 17 July 2013

Chickenpox for Holly

Got a call today from Busy Bees that Holly potentially has chickenpox.

She's been quite moody and crabby the last couple of days, and this would explain her foul mood. I had to race home to pick her up before my call today at 2pm.

I still swear she's had chickenpox before, but I was told that depending on how mild she had it the previous time, she could get it again.

Wonderful.

She's currently quite placid and sleeping, so a little better off than she was the last couple of days.

Tuesday 9 July 2013

New report shows US 18 times ahead of UK in Autism research

If you're keeping score of UK autism research investment vs US autism research investment, you might as well quit now. The US wins. And wins again.

A new report, undertaken on behalf of Research Autism, found that the US spends an average of 18 times the amount the UK does on autism research in accordance with population size. The US spent the equivalent of £75.79 per person with autism in 2010, while the UK spent just £4.26.

Ouch.

Still, I feel as this is a global epidemic and not constrained to national borders, ANY research being done is of benefit.

I would assume though, that with the budgets what they are, each region needs to be quite selective in what their aim their research at. I feel (without any basis apart from hunches) that the deeper work into the gut / autism relationship is being spearheaded quite deeply in the US. A lot of the specialists we've seen in the UK refuse to acknowledge any relationship and believe a change in diet to be purely a matter of choice.

Just the other day there was a hyperbolic report from the US of a change in diet "curing" a child's autism. It's a little extreme, but I believe the principles to be sound and this seem to be coming from the US.

The difference in research spending is fine; I'm just concerned with the sharing and being able to apply the best results to the afflicted. If the research becomes an "us" vs. "them", we will lose every time. 

Thursday 4 July 2013

Further proof regarding the gut - brain connection with autism

Read an article today about a boy in the US who seems to have been "cured" of autism by going on a gluten/dairy free diet. I read this with massive scepticism, but feel positive about the overall message.

Here's a clip from YouTube, but I have to warn you, the interviewer is really really REALLY annoying.

Sue and I have been in two minds whether any of the "hokey science" stuff we're doing with Emily is actually of any benefit. This includes cutting out gluten and dairy and also the homeopathic remedies she's been on. They say that dairy effects will be noticeable in 3 days but gluten effects can take 3 months to see.

We haven't really seen any dairy-related changes yet, but are hopeful that all the research does point to a gluten-free gut paving the way to a healthier gut and a lessening of the autistic behaviours we've come to tolerate.