Summer

It inevitably starts in April every year; the unavoidable compulsion to plan a summer escape of any kind. After a glorious winter, the envy of every snowbound friend and relative, it is time for the sweltering heat. The goal is to make it until May before we succumb and turn on the air conditioning. We never seem to make it that long, but we cling to the idea of putting off summer a little longer. As the temperature increases so does my desire to leave for cooler and far more exciting adventures. So every year I plan a glorious vacation. This year's plan was the trip of a lifetime. A European tour followed by a Mediterranean cruise. It sounds amazing doesn't it? I'm sure it will be . . . someday. As always my dream of exotic vacations comes face to face with reality and we end up having a very nice and quiet time visiting family.

This year the vote was for Utah to visit "all the Popes" and enjoy some time 4-wheeling at Grandpa's cabin up near Park City. To add the missing exotic element we planned a side trip to the Grand Canyon. We've lived in Arizona for 14 years and we've been to the Grand Canyon only once, 14 years ago. Rather shameful don't you think?



The views were spectacular, but the drops were terrifying. We kept a tight hold on Ben.

It was quite the challenge getting Nate to control his face long enough for a lovely family picture and when he finally did.....

The other clowns had to act up.

What you can't see is the drop off just to the right of the trees. Obviously Joshua did not inherit my aversion to heights.

He just can't help himself.

The clowning around seemed to be quite contagious that day.

After a long week at girl's camp Amanda was a trooper. She was kind enough to only "cheerfully" complain about the heat and length of our stay.

Jacob seemed to have endless energy.

Benjamin putting on a show.

No trip to the Grand Canyon would be complete without a thorough Geology lecture. The natural consequence of having a scientist for a father. I learned long ago when to make myself scarce and they will too eventually.

It was a lovely visit with great company.

New Supplements

We have discovered some new supplements and started the nightmare of getting the nasty things into an unwilling 2 year old.

Ben has regained his losses in speech progression, but has not progressed any further. Essentially we are back where we were in March: a limited number of 2 word sentences. We noticed an improvement after introducing a stronger probiotic from Klaire labs and after even more endless hours of research we are going to introduce several new supplements in hopes that these will provide his body with the nutrients that will help his brain continue to recover.

Glutamine -- Research has suggested that glutamine levels may be significantly decreased in individuals with autism (Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica Volumn 87 Issue 5). Glutamine plays a role in neurotransmision, providing energy to the neurons, metabolism and function of the intestinal mucosa, and glutamine is utilized at a high rate by immune cells and is required for optimal immune system function. 

Silymarin -- Essentially milk thistle;   it is believed to strengthen the cell membranes and limit liver toxins from entering the cells as well as increase ribosomal protein synthesis and thus increase the remarkable regenerative ability of the liver. Many studies have been done but since they are poorly structured it is difficult to accurately gauge the benefits (if any) of silymarin. However, since there are no significant risks it is on the list of supplements.

VSL #3 -- One of the few probiotics supported by clinical double blind placebo controlled studies. Although the studies focused on ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and IBS, anecdotal research is suggestive of significant gains when used as a biomedical supplement for autism spectrum disorder. It will be the most powerful probiotic we've tried to date.

Cod Liver Oil -- Although we have been giving Ben an Omega 3 6 9 supplement daily, a switch to cod liver oil is likely to benefit him. Cod liver oil is high in readily accessible vitamin A and rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which help reduce inflammation. Vitamin A is a supplement that has shown promise in autism treatment and research has shown we have an abundance of omega 6, which increases inflammation,  in our modern diet and an imbalance of Omega 3 fatty acids.

There are many more supplements I am researching. However, in order to assess the impact of each supplement on behavior and language development it is necessary to introduce new supplements a minimum of one week apart.  So these list will take us at least a month to go through; that's assuming we can get Ben to take any of them.

Let the torture, ahem, adventure begin.

What I Love About Teenagers

Having three teenagers in the house you would think life was miserable. When I would pile young children in and out of the car or corral them in the grocery store, everyone would warn in a tone of dark foreboding, "Just wait until they're teenagers." Well, that time of doom has arrived and I find that teenagers are absolutely wonderful.

What I Love About Teenagers:

1. Built in babysitters. It is an absolute pleasure to go grocery shopping without children  (coming from someone who generally hates grocery shopping). I remember the days when a trip to the dentist was a vacation because I was alone.

2. They are amazingly witty. What fun to always have a reason to laugh. (It does require ignoring the occasional discussion regarding gastrointestinal processes or nose contents).

3. They enjoy watching shows that require intelligence. Although with younger children cartoons are still a frequent request and occurrence, it is an absolute reprieve to watch "Pride and Prejudice" with Amanda and yes, the boys watched too.

4. I have slave labor available on a regular basis.I never have to lift heavy things or take out the garbage.

5. They do their own laundry!!! Enough said.

6. I can actually sit and listen to Sacrament Meeting because there is always some one willing to take the noisy little one out. And yes I am almost absolutely certain they are helping out of the goodness of their hearts and not simply trying to get out of sitting through Sacrament Meeting.

Regression yet again....

I have come to discover with autism recovery that there are seemingly endless bumps in the road and the occasional mountain to climb. This one feels like a mountain; we have entered another period of regression. I guess it's the proverbial two steps forward and one step back scenario.

After Ben's glowing assessment last month he has stopped using the few simple two word sentences he had acquired. Possible causes are the reintroduction of gluten into his diet in February and the change to a less potent probiotic in March. Both biomedical interventions could possibly have a delayed behavioral impact. The obvious solution is to remove gluten from his diet again (frustrating because I hate cooking gluten free) and to reintroduce a much more potent probiotic. We'll add fasting and prayer for good measure and hope to see him leap out of this regression.

We have stopped all outside speech therapy and are implementing our own program within the home. I am grateful for the time he spent in therapy because of the skills I learned and the research it let me to. We are now able to achieve much greater gains with the comfort and familiarity he has at home with his family. What an amazing thing to see teenage boys down on the floor working hard to teach their little brother to communicate. Their fresh enthusiasm helps me keep going day after day.

Steps in the Right Direction

Benjamin was assessed again today for language and social development.

Both his receptive and his expressive speech are now within normal limits!!!

It has been 6 months of hard work and he is still on the low end of normal, but we have made tremendous progress. In fact, the specialists have referred to his rapid progress as 'remarkable' and they were kind enough to give us the credit for his amazing improvement. Which, of course, is the case since doctors have been so completely unhelpful. We owe his amazing progress to Priesthood blessings, many prayers in his behalf, endless hours of research, dietary changes, supplements, and 5 amazing brothers and sisters willing to act as therapists regularly and without complaint. I'm not sure a little man has ever been loved so much.

Our brush with autism has awakened tremendous gratitude and compassion.

You are amazing Benjamin!!

Christmas in California

Our first California Christmas in 3 years.

It was quite a group with 41 people Christmas morning.

We loved being with family. It was even worth the stomach flu that everyone passed around. Well maybe not for Amanda she says she will be traumatized for life after spending Christmas morning in such a miserable and undignified state. However, the time with cousins and Grandparents was worth it she says.

Christmas Eve

Nathan and Amanda as narrators for the Christmas pageant.

Grandpa Pope and Joshua serving dessert. Notice which one is taller!

Amanda and Alayna Pope

Christmas Morning

Benjamin and Nathan

The excitement of Christmas morning!

James Pope, Jessica, Matthew Pope, and Jacob
Matthew's face is priceless!

Jacob

Jessica

Even the Desert Can Be Beautiful

In spite of the misery of scorching summers, after 13 years I'm willing to admit, grudgingly, that Arizona has a beauty all its own. We certainly have amazing sunsets.

I will always miss the green hills and trees of Oregon and California though.