Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Perfection

"A lot of disappointed people have been left standing on the street corner waiting for the bus marked "Perfection". "
-- Donald Kennedy

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Healthy Aging After Retirement

I received this email from Tri-Vita, so it has some product links, but it also has tons of good info on an important topic!

According to the book “BioMarkers, the greatest predictor of health as we age is the level of lean body mass that we carry. Lean body mass fuels our metabolism. Unfortunately, a chronic wasting condition affects many seniors. The condition is called sarcopenia. What causes it and what can we do to prevent and even reverse it?

Sarcopenia – chronic wasting
A deficit in lean body mass (muscles, organs, bones, etc.) is called sarcopenia. Energy is born in your muscles and other lean body mass. It is created to meet the needs of the day. People actually program their energy metabolism by their activity level. In other words, if you regularly expend a certain amount of energy every day, your body will start anticipating this. Your metabolism will create the lean body mass and produce the energy needed to meet the regular tasks of the day.

Energy requires fuel. A healthy person will have a hunger equivalent to their energy needs. The hunger ceases and you feel satisfied when nutrient levels – especially fats – have reached the general requirements for fuel anticipated by your body. Interestingly, in a healthy person certain cravings will direct their appetite to foods containing the nutrients they lack. Most of us have obliterated our delicate sense of taste with added salt and sugar. We have erased the ability of our body to communicate through cravings.

These are three main components for metabolism and building lean body mass:

  1. Peaceful sleep
  2. Nutritious foods
  3. Purposeful daily activity.

Without these three elements your body simply does not have the resources or even the need to build lean body mass. Building up does not keep pace with wearing down. As the balance of metabolism tips toward muscle loss instead of muscle gain, a person is at risk of sarcopenia.

Purpose, sleep and nutrition
“BioMarkers” also discusses how the human body can begin to shut down after retirement when there is a lack of purposeful daily activity. This is accompanied by a reduced ability to sleep and eat. With less whole food in the diet, fewer nutrients are ingested and vitamin deficiency is very common.

A real key for healthy aging is reclaiming your sense of purpose in life. When we are younger, this sense of purpose is often expressed in caring for a family or pursuing a career. As we age, new activities may replace the endeavors of our youth:

  • Adult education
  • Volunteerism
  • Mentoring.

Additionally, a regular exercise program becomes very critical as we age, and we should pay more attention to a healthy diet every day and peaceful sleep every night.

The supplements of healthy aging include four critical components:

Vitamin B-12 is the number one nutrient deficiency among seniors, followed by Vitamin C.

Healthy aging after retirement
The average lifespan of retirees is only 2.5 years from the point of retirement. Without a sense of purpose there is no reason for energy and the body simply begins to shut down. The greatest wellness and longevity is experienced by those who enjoy purposeful daily activity, peaceful sleep and a nutritious diet. Take your healthy aging supplements and, to paraphrase former President George H.W. Bush, “Stop yelling at the TV; get up off the couch, get out of the house and live the life of your dreams!”

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Dare

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."

Robert F. Kennedy

Saturday, November 1, 2008

A new test for Alzheimer's

I received this email today - it is an advertisement for Trivita as well as great information, but I really wanted to share it here in its entirety. It is very encouraging news as far as progress being made in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of this challenging illness.

A New Test for Alzheimer’s

A breakthrough blood test for Alzheimer’s disease may soon be on the market. It is for a protein called CD-69 that lives in lymphocytes (white blood cells involved in your immune system). This new blood test joins the established blood tests for Alzheimer’s risk: Apolipoprotein e-4 and Homocysteine.

Risks for Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s dementia is a progressive disease where inflammation tangles up nerve fibers and toxic proteins trigger plaque formation. Inflammation often occurs in the immune system of the brain.

This damage increases as you age. It can be amplified by certain lifestyle choices, such as smoking and poor nutrition, and multiplied by brain injuries, heart disease and depression. Injury, nutrient deficiency, electromagnetic fields and stress all cause brain inflammation and produce tangled nerves. Toxic blood levels of minerals such as aluminum, iron, zinc and copper can also create inflammation and may produce toxic protein complexes that trigger plaques.

Tests you can take
If you suspect you or a loved one has Alzheimer’s disease, there are a number of tests you can take that may help determine a diagnosis:
CD-69 lymphocyte test
As I mentioned, the CD-69 lymphocyte test will be available soon. Lymphocytes are immune system cells made in your lymphatic system; primarily in the lymph nodes of your abdomen. The same stem cells that create these lymphocytes also serve as the foundation for the immune system in your brain.

The CD-69 lymphocyte test helps to confirm the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and to separate it from other causes of dementia such as Parkinson’s. It is very accurate once a person has serious signs of dementia. However, we do not know how early these CD-69 proteins appear. So, we do not yet know if CD-69 can be used to predict Alzheimer’s disease in time to alter the course of dementia.

Apolipoprotein e-4
Apolipoprotein e-4 is a genetic test for Alzheimer’s and other diseases. We get Apo-e genes from our parents (e-2 is the longevity gene, e-3 is the common gene and e-4 is the gene associated with heart disease, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s).

Homocysteine
Homocysteine is a test that shows how active the disease process is: the higher the homocysteine number, the more active the disease. Homocysteine is a strong trigger for inflammation. C-Reactive Protein (CRP) is a measurement of inflammation.
Other beneficial tests that can help determine your level of risk for Alzheimer’s and other diseases of inflammation include LDL-C (“bad,” inflamed cholesterol) and fasting insulin levels (insulin is very inflammatory!).

Steps to take
It is always better to know than to not know. Take as many of the tests listed above as you or your loved one can access. And remember, a positive test is not a death sentence. There are simple lifestyle techniques that can yield a profound result in terms of wellness.
  • A single brain injury can increase your risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 1,000%! Yet, lifelong learning can erase much of the effect of injury by creating new connections in your brain. (See the WWR article on Memory).

  • Low homocysteine, low CRP and low LDL-C are all associated with reduced risk for dementia. Eating an organic, plant-based diet high in fiber and B vitamins can help reduce CRP and homocysteine. Eating cold-water fish like wild salmon may reduce LDL-C. Supplements such as HCY Guard and OmegaPrime can make the critical difference between success and failure in a prevention program.
Good health – your best defense
Aggressive application of the Ten Essentials as well as the principles of healthy aging can help create the best possible biological terrain – your best defense against Alzheimer’s dementia and, indeed, all diseases.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Childhood Bipolar Diagnosis?

I enjoy reading "My life as being a bipolar person", and she's given me permission to share a little from her blog. She's been doing some research about children with Bipolar disorder vs. ADHD that I wanted to share here....

Both disorders share many characteristics: impulsivity, inattention, hyperactivity, physical energy, behavioral and emotional lability (behavior and emotions change frequently), frequent coexistence of conduct disorder and oppositional-defiant disorder, and learning problems. Motor restlessness during sleep may be seen in both (children who are bipolar are physically restless at night when “high or manic”,though they may have little physical motion during sleep when “low or depressed”).

And the differences are;

The destructiveness that are in both disorders may seem the same but they are very different. A child with ADHD often breaks things carelessly while playing, where as the destructiveness with a bipolar child is not a result of carelessness, but usually out of anger. The duration and intensity of the angry outbursts and temper tantrums in the two disorder differs. A kid with ADHD usually calm down within 20 to 30 minutes wheras a kid with bipolar will continue to feel and act angry for over 30 minutes to 4 hour. The energy that a child with ADHD puts out during the anger outburst could be mimicked by an adult, If an adult tried to mimick a bipolar child would reach exhaustion in a few minutes.

You can check out more at her blog, linked above...

Don't forget to change your clocks back one hour this Sunday!!!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Looking for someone similar?

There are so many different networks online - it's amazing! Most everyone knows the "classics" like MySpace and FaceBook, and then there are all sorts of niche networks as well, ones that I'm sure I've never heard of. I think that they are fun, but I lose interest quickly, and they require some time to keep up. I've found a neat one today that is new to me - maybe you've heard of it already. It's called MyTrybe. It's easy and once it's set up it kind of does the work for you, which I like!! I've got their Similar People widget on my sidebar right now. It is meant to expose your blog to people like you. It allows you to express your sense of style, humor, art, music, food, and so on. It shows your "similar people" and what they like best, and it even has a similarity indicator that shows visitors how similar they are to you. I signed up today - it only took about ten minutes. Anyway, check it out and see what you think... Learn more & get the widget, then maybe I'll see you around - maybe we'll turn out to be "similar people" :).

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Thursday, October 23, 2008

Fall Allergies

My younger daughter has a doozy of a time with fall allergies. I guess it's the mold in the leaves. The only way that she can get through it that we have discovered so far is Benadryl at night and Claritin in the morning... I'll be glad when we have a real cold spell; then she'll be fine and we can lay off the medicine!!

I got a great email from TriVita specifically about fall allergies, so thought I'd share :)...


This can be a difficult time of year for many people. It is the time when autumn plants bloom outdoors and mold spores bloom indoors. Both of these trigger allergic responses in people prone to allergies.

What are allergies? Why do some people get them? And how can you find relief if you have allergies?

What are allergies?
Allergies occur when a plant or animal protein or a synthetic substance contacts your mucous membrane and your immune system reacts to reject the irritant. These irritants can include:
  • Mold
  • Pollen
  • Dust
  • Animal Dander
When your immune system senses one of these irritants it creates an antibody. The antibody protein is rushed to the site of the irritation and “pops” a mast cell. This releases histamines, which create inflammation in the area surrounding the site. This in turn attracts white blood cells and plasma fluid from the lymphatic system, causing heat and swelling. At the same time, blood vessels in the area dilate, causing redness. This irritation may also cause pain.

Although trigger proteins often come from pollen or mold spores, they can really come from anything. For instance, the most common food allergy in North America is milk. Here, the allergic reactions happen within the intestines, where the milk antibody protein (casein) pops the mast cells in the intestines similar to the way a needle pops a balloon.

Something interesting about the nature of mast cells is that they seem to be connected in groups. The H-1 (histamine-1) receptors line the sinuses, intestines, skin, joints and lungs. So, when ragweed pollen triggers mast cells in the nose or a milk protein triggers mast cells in the intestines, all the body’s H-1 mast cells react. That’s why milk allergy is related to asthma, ragweed-induced asthma is related to eczema, and mold-induced eczema is related to arthritis.

Why do I have allergies?
A more important question than “What are allergies” may be “Why do I have allergies when others do not?” A little story might help us understand where we are in the course of health in North America and around the world.

Many years ago, coal miners took a canary with them into the mines to check whether the air was safe for them to breathe. As long as the canary was alive, the miners knew that the air was safe. However, if the canary began having breathing problems, the miners knew that the air was toxic and that they had to immediately leave the mine. Today coal miners use sophisticated air-quality sensors to test for toxic air.

People with allergies are like canaries in the coal mine: They suffer sooner than others. But make no mistake – toxic air affects everyone sooner or later! Those watching world health trends are seeing incredible increases in rates of hay fever, asthma, arthritis and many other allergy-related disorders.

Therefore, we can easily say that there are only two kinds of people:
  1. Those who have allergies today
  2. Those who will develop allergies tomorrow
Health research from around the world confirms this startling trend.

What you can do
Allergy protection is possible when you approach the problem from two perspectives: isolation and insulation.
Isolation
This means keeping your environment as allergen-free as possible. You avoid foods that may be allergy triggers as well as keep your indoor air as clean as possible. It may also mean you stay indoors when allergen counts are high.

Insulation
This means keeping your mast cells as tough as possible so they don’t “pop” too easily. All mast cells are made of good fats, such as those in OmegaPrime. In fact, OmegaPrime has specific “anti-allergy” fat called perilla seed oil. Using these fats in a high concentration (two per meal) over time will toughen up mast cells and help prevent histamine release.
Vitamin B-12 also helps protect you from allergies by reducing the total amount of histamines your body makes. According to an ongoing study of B-12 and allergies, it takes about three milligrams of B-12 to break through the allergy process and reduce symptoms. Additionally, there appears to be a long-term effect. People in the B-12 study experienced more allergy relief in their second year than they did during the first.

A few other nutrients play important roles in allergy reduction:
  • Maximum levels of Vitamin C (learn about the Vitamin C Flush) act directly to help block histamines
  • Calcium assists B-12 in blocking histamine formation
  • Probiotics with enzymes (such as those in Digestive Complex) help reduce mast cell triggers found in foods.
What we all can do
The incidence of allergies increases as carbon dioxide increases in our air and toxins increase in our water and foods. Everything we do to reduce these toxins and support organic agriculture decreases the toxic burden that all of us, including our children and grandchildren, are forced to bear. We are the canaries in the coal mine. Each of us must decide for ourselves how to best insulate our bodies, while at the same time, doing our part to help reduce our planet’s toxic load.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Chronic pain

I read an article by the American Pain Foundation that talked about chronic pain in America. It was amazing! One in four adults in our country report having had daylong bouts of pain in the last month, and two in five report pain for a year or longer. Yikes!!!

Some disorders that are accompanied by chronic pain:
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Rhematoid Arthritis
  • Diabetic Neuropathy
  • Fibromyalgia
Treatment options:
  • Medications
  • Injectable therapies
  • Mind-body approaches
  • Rehabilitative approaches
  • Complementary/alternative approaches
  • Surgery
If you find yourself, or someone you care for in this large group of chronic pain sufferers, your first stop should be your primary physician. You need to really work together in coming up with a plan to deal with chronic pain, and the emotional and psychological pain that can accompany it. Don't give up!!!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Palin on Special-needs Children

"Sometimes even the greatest joys bring challenge.
And children with special needs inspire a special love.
To the families of special-needs children all across this country,
I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more
welcoming place for your sons and daughters.
I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend
and advocate in the White House."

-Sarah Palin

Monday, October 6, 2008

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know?

  • The third Friday of October is designated as National Mammography Day, a day on which women can receive free or discounted mammography screenings at participating facilities.
  • The risk of breast cancer increases as a woman grows older. The risk is especially high for women age 60 and older.
  • A woman’s best overall preventive health strategy is to reduce her known risk factors as much as possible by avoiding weight gain and obesity, engaging in regular physical activity, and minimizing alcohol intake.*

If you are living with breast cancer or have had some form of breast mastectomy, especially if the lymph nodes were involved, your physician may advise you to avoid having blood pressure or venipuncture taken on the arm of the affected side. Many women have a warning to this affect engraved on their MedicAlert jewelry and also include detailed information about their condition in their MedicAlert personal health record.

For more information about breast cancer and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, please visit NBCAM.org.

*Source: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month website.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Happiness

"Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but though fidelity to a worthy purpose."

Helen Keller

That's a bit different then the general worldview today, isn't it?

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Words of Comfort

WORDS OF COMFORT
by Charles R. Swindoll

Read Job 3:1--26

In the early l960s when a Christian suffered from a depression that resulted in Job's kind of thinking and candid admission, you never said so publicly. You wallowed your sorrow. The first book I read on this subject, covering emotional turmoil and mental illness among Christians, was considered heresy by most of my evangelical friends.

The pervasive opinion then was simple: Christians didn't have breakdowns. Furthermore, you certainly didn't say "depressed!" You know what term was used to describe those who struggled with deep depression in the early and mid-sixties? "Nervous." "He's got a nervous problem." Or simply, "She's nervous." And if you ever, God help you, had to be hospitalized due to your "nervous" disorder, there just wasn't a Christian word for it. I repeat, you didn't tell a soul. Shame upon shame that you didn't trust the Lord through your struggle and find Him faithful to help you "get over" your depression.

I remember being told by a seminary prof, who talked to us about assisting families with funerals, that if you did funerals for those who had committed suicide and the deceased was a Christian, we were never to mention that fact. Frankly, it didn't sound right then, and it doesn't sound right today. Shame-based counsel never sounds right because it isn't right! And I didn't know enough to know that Job 3 was in the book back then. Had I known, I would have said, "Hey, what about Job?"

I want to write to you who are reading these lines who may be in the pit, struggling to find your way back. It's possible that things have gotten so dark that you need a competent Christian psychologist (or psychiatrist) to help you find your way. The most intelligent thing you can do is locate one and go. In fact, go as long as you need to go. Make sure that the counselor really does know the Lord Jesus and is truly competent, able to provide the direction you need so you can work your way through your maze of misery. And, I would add, "God bless you for every hour you spend finding your way out of the hole that you have been in. There is hope. Our faithful God will see you through."

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Inferiority

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Eleanor Roosevelt

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Keeping your memory sharp

I got this emailed to me from TriVita and just wanted to share in its entirety, as I think it's valuable stuff...

Keeping Your Memory Sharp

OK, I will admit it if you will – I have forgotten the names of people while talking to them! I have lost my car keys, misplaced my glasses and turned the wrong way on my drive home.

How about you? Does it seem like your memory is playing tricks on you as you age? Well, there are reasons for that and very few of the reasons are related to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

How to make a memory
Your memory is an amazing miracle. Each second, your brain processes billions of bits of information from your five senses. You may consciously perceive only a very small percentage of this information because one function of your brain is to filter out unimportant information. The things you remember will usually be advantageous to you, such as remembering your wedding anniversary date as well as where the speed trap is on your drive home.

Memory is divided into two basic groups:
  1. Short-term memory
  2. Long-term memory
Short-term memories are quickly forgotten when they are no longer important. Practicing or rehearsing can improve your memory by moving more information into the long-term category. For instance, when I am distracted by stress I may not be able to remember where I left my car keys. That information was deleted from my short-term memory. However, if I consciously say, “I am hanging my car keys on the hook,” I am far more likely to remember where they are.

How to keep a memory
Reduce stress
Stress kills your memory. The stress system is designed to ensure survival. It helps us fight off a snarling dog or flee from a menacing bear. As important as that is, humans do more every day than merely survive. If you want to have a good, healthy memory, do all you can to reduce the need for fight or flight stress responses.

Learn something new
As I mentioned earlier, practicing or rehearsing something enhances memory. So does learning something new. You see, memory is facilitated through the billions of neurons and synapses in your brain by patterns: retracing old patterns as well as creating new patterns. The more new things we master, the more connections we create and the better our overall memory will be.
If you want to remember your anniversary, start learning a foreign language. If you want to remember important names, learn how to play a musical instrument. The more you learn – and the more you connect the old with the new – the better your overall memory will be.

How to nourish a memory
Certain nutrients help the memory remain sharp. These nutrients fall into two basic categories: those that create brain structure and those that nourish brain function.

Your brain is made mostly of fat. And the majority of that fat is an Omega-3 fatty acid called DHA. So, to have a healthy brain we need healthy fats like OmegaPrime. Your nerve cells convert some fats into functional nerve proteins called myelin. Formation of myelin requires dietary protein and Vitamin B-12. So, for healthy brain structure and function we need Omega-3 fats, healthy dietary protein and Vitamin B-12.

When the memory is activated it creates heat in the brain. To fuel the memory, quench the heat, and repair the daily wear and tear on your brain, you need antioxidants. Certain antioxidants specifically target brain function. A recent study at Arizona State University demonstrated that the antioxidants found in Optima4 not only helped golfers perform better on the course, but they also significantly improved their memory.

What do you remember?
To recap: Occasional memory lapses usually indicate you are distracted by stress. Rehearsing things you want to remember will help and practicing new things that you have learned will help as well. Because new behaviors create new pathways in your brain, learning something new such as a foreign language or musical instrument can improve your overall memory.

Stress kills your memory. Nutrients such as Omega-3, Vitamin B-12 and brain-specific antioxidants such as those found in Optima4 help rebuild and restore your ability to remember. With all of these tools at your disposal you have access to the power of a healthy memory.


Take Control of Your Health

  • Reduce stress
  • Increase physical and mental activity
  • Learn something new
  • Rehearse before an important event
  • Practice and review the things you want to remember
  • Nourish your memory with

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Some Children Must Work Too Hard To Learn

I received this via email from the Home School Legal Defense Association, but it has great information for anyone who struggles in school or with learning...

It is always puzzling to a parent when one of their children doesn’t learn to read or write as quickly as their siblings. Sometimes parents find that giving the child more time to mature works well. Other times the child struggles with the learning process in spite of being given more time.

Maybe you are a parent who has recently taken your child out of the school setting because he was not learning well, despite an Individual Education Plan and special reading and writing classes. Your child is likely suffering from a block in one or more of his “learning gates.” One of the main learning gates is the “writing learning gate,” and consequently is the most common to be blocked by a glitch in learning.

Writing Gate Blocked—When Copying Doesn’t Work

God designed our left brain hemisphere to concentrate on new tasks, such as driving a car, or riding a bike. After concentrated practice, that task is then transferred over the corpus callosum (the brain midline), to the right brain, which is responsible for automaticity of processes. If we imagine the left brain hemisphere as the “thinking (concentrating) brain” and the right hemisphere as the “doing (automatic) brain,” we can see how this transfer allows us to “think and do” at the same time. Then we can think and drive at the same time, or think and ride our bike at the same time.

Generally, when we teach a child how to write, after six months of practice that writing is expected to cross over from the “concentrating brain” to the “automatic brain” so the child can now “think and write” at the same time. For many children, this transfer does not easily occur. Thus, they have to give energy, or a level of concentration, to a task that other children do not have to do...

This often solves the mystery of why many children learn their spelling words easily by writing them in a workbook, or writing them five times each, while other children can write words hundreds of times and still not store the spelling word in their long-term memory. Now we realize that these struggling children have to use their “batteries” just for the writing process, so that the learning process cannot occur. Thus, the method of copying to learn is totally ineffective for these children. We need to help them open up their writing gates.

These children are very commonly thought of as “lazy, sloppy or unmotivated.” We, unknowingly, make them re-copy work that is sloppy, not realizing that they have a bona fide writing block. The majority of the time, when a child who loves to listen to mom read stories, but says that he doesn’t like or even “hates” schoolwork, he is struggling with a blocked writing gate.

Characteristics

Let’s look at some of the symptoms children who have blocked writing gates present to us daily:

  • Frequent or occasional reversals in letters or numbers (after age 7)
  • Letters made from bottom to top (vertical reversals)
  • Writing is very labor intensive
  • Copying takes a long time
  • Math problems solved mentally to avoid writing them down
  • Writing appears sloppy and child is often considered lazy
  • Oral recitation of stories is excellent, but writing is minimal
  • Capital and small letters mixed in writing
  • In math, lining up numbers in multiplication or division is difficult

No child has all of these characteristics, but if your child has several, you may consider this an area he or she is struggling in. If a child has many of the characteristics, or is over age 9 and still writes reversals, they may be labeled with dysgraphia. Many times these children are considered “gifted with a glitch.” They are excellent in verbal expression, but way behind in written expression. Writing paragraphs and longer papers are something that they take great pains to avoid. They give one-word answers whenever possible.

Compensation

When a parent recognizes that their child has a blocked learning gate, and is not just being sloppy or resistant to writing without a reason, then steps can be taken to alleviate some of the writing burden on the child, until the problem can be corrected.

  • Reduce the amount of writing a child needs to do during the day. Do more answers for chapter questions orally. Limit the amount of writing in workbooks.
  • Reduce or eliminate copying for 3-6 months. Save the child’s “battery energy” for writing paragraphs, or a paper once a week.
  • Use another method of learning spelling words that does not include writing multiple times. Resources include Sequential Spelling or Right Brain Spelling.
  • Teach the child keyboarding for some writing projects (However, most children who have dysgraphia, or a writing glitch, also find keyboarding quite labor-intensive also.)

Correction

There are various methods that can be used to take the stress out of a child’s writing system, and make the whole writing process more fluent. Here are a few:

Conclusion

A child can have a learning glitch, or block in a learning gate, that causes him to struggle everyday with schoolwork, without the parents’ knowledge. Using some simple checklists, the parent can identify this problem and design the school day to be less frustrating. More importantly, the parent can avail herself of all the wonderful corrective techniques, so that the child does not need to struggle with the burden of having to work so hard at writing, or with a dysgraphia. God has wonderful answers for us. He leads us in so many ways, and we are ever grateful!

For more information on the Four Learning Gates, and how they can be affecting your child’s daily learning, visit the HSLDA Struggling Learners website. This site is designed to help parents both identify and correct many of the everyday learning challenges that children experience. Of particular interest is the “Smart Kids Who Hate to Write” article on that website.

Life Is Difficult

Read Job 1:1--12

Life is difficult. That blunt, three-word statement is an accurate appraisal of our existence on this earth. When the writer of the biblical book named Job picked up his stylus to write his story, he could have begun with a similar-sounding and equally blunt sentence, "Life is unfair."

No one could argue the point that life is punctuated with hardship, heartaches, and headaches. Most of us have learned to face the reality that life is difficult. But unfair? Something kicks in, deep within most of us, making it almost intolerable for us to accept and cope with what's unfair. Our drive for justice overrides our patience with pain.

Life is not just difficult, it's downright unfair. Welcome to Job's world.

Job was a man of unparalleled and genuine piety. He was also a man of well-deserved prosperity. He was a godly gentleman, extremely wealthy, a fine husband, and a faithful father. In a quick and brutal sweep of back-to-back calamities, Job was reduced to a twisted mass of brokenness and grief. The extraordinary accumulation of disasters that hit him would have been enough to finish off any one of us today.

Job is left bankrupt, homeless, helpless, and childless. He's left standing beside the ten fresh graves of his now-dead children in a windswept valley. His wife is heaving deep sobs of grief as she kneels beside him, having just heard him say, "Whether our God gives to us or takes everything from us, we will follow Him." She leans over and secretly whispers, "Why don't you just curse God and die?"

His misery turns to mystery with God's silence. If the words of his so-called friends are hard to hear, the silence of God becomes downright intolerable. Not until the thirty-eighth chapter of the book does God finally break the silence, however long that took. Even if it were just a few months, try to imagine. You've become the object of your alleged friends' accusations, and the heavens are brass as you plead for answers from the Almighty, who remains mysteriously mute. Nothing comes to you by way of comfort. It's all so unfair; you've done nothing to deserve such anguish.

Pause and ponder their grief---and remember that Job had done nothing to deserve such unbearable pain. If it had been you, how would you have responded?

Day by Day, Charles Swindoll, July 2005, Thomas Nelson, inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Purchase "Day by Day" here.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

World Alzheimer’s Day

Did you know?
  • World Alzheimer’s day is commemorated every year on September 21.
  • 6 out of 10 Alzheimer's patients wander away from home. Of those, 70% will wander more than once.
  • It is estimated that more than 5 million people have Alzheimer's or another form of dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease, a progressive, degenerative condition, is characterized by worsening symptoms which, in advanced stages, include confusion, memory loss, disorientation, dementia and the inability to communicate. People with these advanced symptoms often require continuing supervision to prevent them from harming themselves or wandering away from home. Advanced symptoms may be mistaken for drunkenness or mental illness.

This was sent to me by MedicAlert, and they had some amazing stories of how their bracelets have helped keep individuals with Alzheimer's safe. Worth checking out...

Friday, September 19, 2008

Quiet Strength

INTRODUCING...
Tony Dungy - On winning with quiet strength
Tony Dungy on Winning with Quiet Strength DVD

In this engaging and revealing DVD presentation, Coach Tony Dungy encourages us to look beyond life's struggles and disappointments and learn to live with a sense of purpose and significance. Anyone who loves sports and desires a winning life will enjoy this candidlook at how one man used his quiet strength to rise to the top despite overwhelming personal and professional obstacles.

The DVD can be viewed in 10 segments for small group study along with study material supplied as a PDF or as one presentation.

AFA Online Store is offering this DVD while the supply lasts. Don’t miss your opportunity to own this DVD.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Success

"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position one has reached in life as by the obstacles he has overcome trying to succeed."

- Booker T. Washington

Monday, September 15, 2008

Share?

Anyone have any great info on their blog, website, or somewhere else that they'd like to share about struggles and successes? Let me know - I'd love to have lots of great resources on here!!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

The Basic Building Blocks of Healthy Aging

I received this email from TriVita today and thought it was a great one about aging well.

“None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm.” - Henry David Thoreau

Healthy aging is an important topic for me as I age, and I am sure it is an important topic for you as well; no one wants to be sick as they enter their “wisdom years.” This article is about living long and maintaining optimum health.

Is that possible? Yes, it is! Even though some of our longevity depends on genetics, even more depends on the choices we make every day. Health only comes from healthy living, based on healthy choices. The best possible choices for healthy living today will give us the best chance for healthy aging – and a life filled with vitality instead of disability.

What is aging?

Look around at the wide variety of people you know. Look at the health status of each of them and you will see people of the same chronological age that are far different in their biological age.

We see seniors such as John Glenn who went into space at age 77 and former President George Herbert Walker Bush who went skydiving at age 75 and then again at age 80. Unfortunately, these remarkable people may be the exception to the rule. All you have to do is look around you and see people your own age (and younger) who are already disabled or suffering. Many chronic health concerns may be prevented with just a little care!

So, chronological aging is about the calendar and has nothing to do with our health and vitality. Biological aging is about how healthy we are and how energetic we feel. Whereas we cannot literally “turn the clock back” on chronology, we can often repair and rejuvenate our biology and reduce the speed at which we age.

Learning life’s lessons

If we are observant we can learn from people around us. For instance, don’t you see that non-smokers live longer and healthier (in general) than people who smoke? And don’t you see that people with a strong sense of community are happier and more engaged than people who tend to isolate themselves? So, it is easy for us to learn some of the lessons we need for healthy aging just through observation and common sense.

Other lessons are a little more challenging and we need to look to science and medicine for a healthy perspective. For instance, after decades of admonishing people to “just eat a balanced diet” (whatever that may be), we are now told that everyone should be taking a multiple vitamin. Why? Because science and medicine have observed that the people following the practice of nutrient supplementation are healthier than those who don’t.

So, be quick to learn the lesson of nutrients and nurturing from people around you and from your own experience. Also, set aside time to keep up on current information concerning health and aging.

Healthy aging nutrients


Multiple vitamin

Let’s start with a good, food-based multiple vitamin and mineral supplement. Everyone needs one! We need it because even if we eat a perfectly balanced diet, the foods we eat are grown in depleted soil. They simply don’t have the nutrients in them that they once did.


Vitamin B-12

We also need Vitamin B-12 in a form that is readily usable by the body. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is the most common vitamin deficiency in people over 50. Vitamin B-12 deficiency may cause everything from fatigue and grumpiness, to mental confusion and mental exhaustion.


Vitamin C

Vitamin C deficiency is the second most common vitamin deficiency among people over 50. It’s also something you should take every day, because your body can’t store Vitamin C. Results of Vitamin C deficiency include a sluggish immune system, poor dental health and easy bruising. Vitamin C helps your skin, bones and blood vessels.


Omega essential fatty acids

The most common cause of death in North America is cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association tells us that Omega essential fatty acids can help delay or prevent many heart and vascular diseases. So, Omega oils round out the basic recommendations for healthy aging.

A body deprived of the proper nutrients and nurturing will be more prone to disease and premature aging. Practicing the 10 Essentials for Health and Wellness gives us the healthy habits we need for healthy aging. And supplementing with the right nutrients helps us get what we need to facilitate the replacement of old cells with new healthy cells.

So, the choice is always yours. But remember, the clock is ticking...

Thursday, September 4, 2008

A Refreshing View

“I’m looking at him right now, and I see perfection. Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking, in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?”

Sarah Palin on the birth of her son, Trig, who has Down Syndrome. No matter what your political stance, you have to admit that this is a refreshing view. I like it.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Lactose Intolerance: Separating Myth From Reality

Another great article from Meals Matter...

Do you think you might have lactose intolerance, or do you know someone who does? If so, you are likely getting advice from a wide range of people on what you should and shouldn't be eating.
In reality, many people who say they have trouble digesting milk have actually never been diagnosed as lactose intolerant by a health professional.
Unfortunately, there is a large amount of misinformation on lactose intolerance that may place people at risk for serious nutritional deficiencies and a number of chronic diseases.
The following common questions and answers about lactose intolerance will help you separate the myth from reality.
What is lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance refers to digestive disturbances caused by not having enough intestinal lactase, the enzyme needed to break down lactose--the sugar found naturally in milk and milk products.
If lactose is not digested, it can cause gas and stomach cramps. While no treatment exists to improve the body's ability to produce lactase, symptoms can be controlled through diet.
Drinking milk gives me gas and makes me feel bloated. Does that mean I am allergic to milk?
Milk allergies can cause stomach discomfort similar to that of lactose intolerance but with milk allergies the body may react more quickly and/or include skin reactions and breathing difficulty.
True milk allergies are very uncommon. Only about 2 to 3% of children experience cow's milk allergy and they usually outgrow this by age three. In adults, the incidence is even lower.
Chances are you are not allergic to milk but may have some degree of lactose intolerance. Try consuming smaller amounts to see what your "threshold" is for digesting lactose. Using the tips below will help to ensure that you are getting enough of the important nutrients in dairy foods without experiencing symptoms.
Tips for eating dairy foods if you are diagnosed with lactose intolerance:
  • Drink milk with meals or snacks. Symptoms are generally milder if milk is consumed with other foods.


  • Consume dairy products in smaller amounts - if one cup of milk makes you uncomfortable, try one-half cup.

  • Try chocolate milk - it may be better tolerated and is nutritionally comparable to regular milk.


  • Buy lactose-reduced or lactose-free milk.


  • Eat yogurt and hard cheeses (cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella) - these have as much calcium but less lactose than softer cheeses and milk.
  • Increase your consumption of milk products gradually. Your body will slowly build up the enzyme it needs to digest the lactose.


  • If you've been avoiding dairy products due to a recent bout of stomach flu or other virus, gradually introduce them back into your diet after you've fully recovered.


  • You may consider taking lactase enzymes. These come in the form of drops to add with milk and in capsules to have before a meal.


  • Include other good food sources of calcium in your diet, such as broccoli, kale, almonds and fortified foods.
Are certain ethnic groups more likely to be lactose intolerant?
Some ethnic groups such as African Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians and Latinos have a higher chance of developing lactose intolerance. The condition is least common among persons of northern European descent.
Does lactose intolerance mean I should avoid all milk and dairy products?
No. Avoiding dairy products altogether makes it difficult to get the calcium you need. Dairy products are an excellent source of calcium, which is needed to develop and maintain strong bones, as well as a host of other nutrients.
Often people with lactose intolerance can comfortably consume smaller amounts of dairy products throughout the day. A recent study showed that most people with lactose intolerance can consume up to 2 cups of milk per day, one in the morning and one at night, without experiencing symptoms. Others may be able to manage ice cream and aged cheeses, such as cheddar and Swiss.
Dietary control of lactose intolerance depends on each person learning through trial and error how much lactose they can handle.
People who give up dairy products consume far less calcium than they need, putting themselves at risk for chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, hypertension and certain types of cancer.
If you have an extreme case of lactose intolerance, talk to a registered dietitian about how to get enough of these nutrients from other sources.
If I can get my calcium through supplements and fortified foods like orange juice, why should I even bother with milk products?
Calcium-fortified foods may be a good way to boost your calcium intake if your intake is low. However, fortified foods do not always provide the same combination of nutrients as found in nature (for example, milk provides calcium and other bone-building nutrients protein, vitamin D and vitamin A). In addition, the calcium from fortified foods may be less completely absorbed than calcium found naturally in foods.
In addition, new research shows that there may be a number of other components in milk and milk products that are beneficial to health. Fortified foods and supplements don't come close to providing this unique "package of nutrients" available only through dairy products.
Take a few minutes to check your diet with the Calcium Quiz and see if you are getting enough of this important nutrient.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Prevent Osteoporosis: How to keep your bones strong

A great article from Meals Matter....


Prevent Osteoporosis: How to keep your bones strong

Everyone needs strong bones. Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become brittle and are more likely to break. If not prevented or if left untreated, osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks.
Osteoporosis leads to an increase risk of bone fractures typically in the wrist, hip, and spine. A broken hip almost always requires hospitalization and major surgery. It can impair a person's ability to walk unassisted and may cause long-term or permanent disability or even death.
Contrary to popular belief, osteoporosis is not a natural part of aging and is preventable in most people. You can improve your bone health through weight-bearing exercise and adequate intake of calcium and vitamin D.
Activity is important for maintaining strong bones. Any exercise that puts weight on your bones will help your bones stay strong. Walking is a good "bone exercise" and is ideal because it can be done anywhere and can easily fit into your day. Jogging, dancing, stair climbing, tennis, yoga and weight training are also good examples of weight-bearing exercise.
The Role of Calcium
Calcium is one of the minerals that helps build strong bones, especially during childhood and young adult years. We all lose bone mass as we age, but if you've built up bone mass early in life, the loss is less likely to cause devastating problems as you age.
What is your calcium IQ?
Strong bones depend on many things. How many yes answers do you have to the following questions?
  1. Are you female?
  2. Do you have a family history of osteoporosis (sibling, parent or grandparent) or broken hips?
  3. Do you diet to lose weight much of the time?
  4. Do you do weight-bearing activities (running, walking, weight training) less than three times a week?
  5. Do you get less than 15 minutes of sun exposure (without sunscreen) daily?
  6. Have you gone through menopause without taking estrogen replacement therapy?
  7. Do you eat less than 3 servings of calcium-rich foods every day? (One serving = 1 cup of milk, yogurt or calcium-fortified orange juice, 1½ oz. of cheddar cheese)
The more you answered "yes," the more your bones are at risk. Some of these things you cannot change, but others you can - for example, getting enough calcium from the foods you eat and drink every day.
The foundation for a lifetime of strong bones is built during the teen and young adult years until about age 30. This represents your peak bone mass. This is the strongest your bones will ever be. The trick is to keep them that way the rest of your life.
Women are at increased risk because their bones are less dense to start with and after menopause, bone loss is accelerated due to hormone changes. This is a time when women need to be particularly attentive to bone health.
How much calcium do you need?
Although calcium alone cannot prevent or cure osteoporosis, it plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of the disease.

The Current Calcium Recommendations

Group (years)
Calcium mg/day
1-3
500
4-8
800
9-18
1300
19-50
1000
51-70
1200
70+
1200
The upper limit level is 2500 mg/day for all age groups.

The best natural food sources of calcium are milk and dairy foods, which provide about 75% of the calcium in the American diet. However, calcium is only one of the nutrients you need for bone health.
Vitamin D also plays an important role in healthy bone development. Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium (this is why milk is fortified with vitamin D). Others include vitamin A, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and protein. Foods often provide unique nutrient packages. Milk, for example, is a nearly perfect package of bone-building nutrients.
Other food sources of calcium include broccoli, almonds, tofu and beans.
Quick and easy ways to add calcium to your diet
  • Use yogurt as a dip for vegetables
  • Add a slice of cheese to sandwiches
  • Grate cheese in salads and soups
  • Add kidney beans to your chili or white beans to pasta dishes
  • Make a smoothie with fruit, yogurt and juice
  • Eat yogurt for a mid-afternoon snack
  • Eat a bean and cheese burrito for lunch
  • Add milk to soups, sauces and hot cocoa mix instead of water
  • Order a latte instead of plain coffee
  • Eat almonds as a snack

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Bravery

Ok, so normally I don't go looking to tv personalities for good advice, but here's one saying that I really like...

"You can't be brave if you've only had wonderful things happen to you."

Mary Tyler Moore

I'm sure that there are people who would argue with that, but you know, the more challenges that you've had to overcome, the more opportunities that you do have to become stronger, and braver. It's not fun, but it can be a good thing.....

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Vice President Pick

It's been all over the news - John McCain has picked little known Susan Palin for his VP candidate. She's a mom of five, can you imagine? I have a hard time balancing homeschool, housekeeping, two of my own kids and one foster kiddo, a tiny bit of work at home, and just life!!! Wow! More power to her! I also read today that her youngest son has Down Syndrome. She certainly would bring life experience to the White House that's a bit different than your typical politician. I look forward to seeing what happens in this race!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Paralympic Games 2008

The Olympics have gotten a LOT of press coverage over the past few weeks, which is a good thing. Unfortunately another event that will be held shortly on the olympic grounds in Beijing probably will go unknown by many. The Paralympic Games 2008 will begin on September 6, with a torch relay beginning with a lighting ceremony on August 28th. A lot of information is available about the Paralympic games in general, and this event in particular, on the above linked website. If you are unable to find coverage on tv, there is even a web channel of the games. Check it out - these hard working athletes deserve a loyal fan base as well!!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

A Universal Issue

For_advertiser_profile
"No matter your name
We have one problem the same
Paying all our bills."

Pretty clever eh? :)

I just finished taking the BillsIQ quiz on www.bills.com, so my mind is on things money... Normally I don't break into random haikus, but hey, I'm overtired and it just kind of happened :). Anyway, this site is great!! It's jam packed full of tips about debt consolidation, debt help, and debt relief. The quiz that I took is helpful too. It helps you to see which areas of your financial health need a bit more attention, and also which you're doing well with. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to take, and gives you an easy to understand summary. Check it out...

You know, money stuff is an issue that we all, no matter the rest of the details of our life, have to deal with. It can be overwhelming at times, so it's important to have as many tools as we can to help with it. The internet has many many resources on it that can serve as these tools, but be careful about who you take advice from, and especially who you give any personal information to. Happy researching!

Sponsored by Bills.com

Thursday, August 21, 2008

More homework hints

I found a few more homework hints for kiddos with ADD/ADHD at Additude. These obviously aren't a one size fits all formula for "fixing" every situation, but hopefully you can pick and choose from them and find something useful. Any other ideas you'd like to throw out?? Things that have worked for you or your children?

* Make a plan for tracking homework assignments. Encourage your child to write every assignment in his daily planner. As a backup, see whether assignments are also posted on a school website. Get a phone number for a student in each class who would know the assignments. One high school senior wrote his assignments on 3 x 5 cards, preprinted with the names of his courses, that he stored in his jeans pocket.

* Establish time for homework. Some children need a break after classes. Others work best while still in “school mode.” If after-school activities make a regular schedule impossible, post a weekly calendar that lists homework start and finish times.

* Ask the teacher about assignment routines. The math teacher may say, “I assign algebra homework four nights a week, and give a test at the end of each chapter — roughly every two weeks.” This tells you that something is amiss if your child says he doesn’t have any math homework two nights in a row.

* Schedule a five-minute break for every 20 minutes of work. Short, frequent breaks help children with ADD recharge.

* Respect your child’s “saturation point.” If he’s too tired or frustrated to finish his homework, let him stop. Write a note to the teacher explaining that he did as much as he could. If he has problems focusing, writes slowly, or needs extra time to understand concepts, assignments will consistently take longer than they should.

* Talk with the teacher. If homework sessions are often emotionally exhausting,work with the teacher to determine whether assignments are too long or are too difficult for your child.

* Consider medication for homework time. Talk with your doctor about a short-acting medication, like Ritalin, which lasts three to four hours. Taking the medication between 3 and 5 p.m. shouldn’t interfere with sleep. Most medications given earlier in the day have worn off by late afternoon. When medications are working, students stay focused, complete homework quicker, and are more likely to remember the material they studied.

* Monitor your child’s progress with a daily or weekly report. Daily and weekly reports from a teacher warn parents when their child is in danger of failing and in need of more supervision at home. The reports help you and your child identify missing homework assignments, so you can find them and get them to the teacher. Younger children need more frequent feedback, so a daily report may be best for them. In some cases, weekly reports may be sufficient for students in high school.

* Request an extra textbook to use at home. Students with ADD often leave their books at school. Having access to a textbook every night is essential. Once a student with ADD falls behind, it is difficult to catch up. Since many schools have only one set of books for each student, you may have to purchase extra copies.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

ADD and homework

I have a daughter who deals with some of the challenges of ADD, and we are attempting to deal without medication. Even though we homeschool, and can accomodate some of her special needs, schoolwork can sometimes be tricky. I came across a site with some great recommendations on the topic of ADD and homework.

After a long day at school, homework can be tough for children with attention deficit disorder (ADD ADHD) or learning disabilities such as dyslexia—and for their parents, too. Here are strategies for wrapping up assignments:

1. Start a homework group.

Invite one or two kids from your child’s class to come over and do a little homework together. This can be an effective way to get a look at other children’s studying strategies, and the chance to play for a while when homework is done is a strong incentive to do the work more efficiently.

2. Consider your child’s daily rhythms.

Most children do much better if they do their homework relatively early in the day—maybe not immediately upon coming home from school but certainly before supper. (Everyone deserves a break, and our kids, in particular, may need a chance for some physical activity before they have to sit down again.) Some quirky kids are notoriously early risers and that can be a terrific time to get homework done.

3. Have a plan of attack.

Sit down and strategize the day’s homework with your child: How much has to be done? What looks easy? What looks hard?

4. Have a specific place to do the work.

How can you minimize distractions? How available do you, or some other supervising adult, need to be? You may want to set up a dedicated homework location. If your child’s room is the place most full of possible distractions, the best spot might be some boring adult setting: a little desk in the living room or some space at the kitchen table.

5. Reward accomplishments.

We are big believers in small, tangible rewards for small, tangible accomplishments. Finish your worksheet, and you’ll get a cookie. Finish all your homework, and we’ll go to the playground for 15 minutes before dinner. With the assignments your child really hates, there’s nothing wrong with offering a grape or a gold star for every single successfully completed sentence on the worksheet or math problem on the list.

6. Don’t overschedule.

If you fill up every afternoon with sports, therapy sessions, and other activities, then homework will have to wait until later, and that may be hard. How about moving some of these activities to the weekend? How about getting your child accustomed to bringing his homework along if you know there’s usually a wait in the physical therapist’s office? Some schools send home a weekly packet of assignments due on Friday, or the following Monday. This allows for more flexibility in planning, and the final product is more likely to be relatively neat and well thought out.

7. Plan for supervision.

Think about homework supervision as you make your child-care arrangements. If you have a babysitter overseeing some of these after-school hours, give her clear instructions for helping with homework, and make sure she understands that, if possible, it needs to be done by dinnertime. If your child spends time in an after-school program, is there some provision for homework? Many of these programs offer a supervised homework room, where kids can work in peace and get help if they need it.

8. Organize.

For many quirky kids, just keeping track of papers is a big task. When an assignment is given at school, your child should know exactly where to put the paper so she’ll be sure to bring it home.

After homework is done, she should pack it in whatever special folder or backpack is going back to school the next day. The parent who picks up and drops off the child at school may need to double-check to see that assignments or completed homework has been packed. No matter how carefully you plan, every parent has, at some time or another, driven madly back across town one morning with the forgotten, left-at-home important assignment in hand. You just don’t want to have to do it every day.

9. Check in with the teacher.

If the assignments are not always clearly indicated, or if your child has trouble figuring out exactly what is expected, you should either check in with the teacher on a regular basis or establish a connection with another parent who seems relatively clued-in, so that you can, in a pinch, call for advice and instructions. Some teachers are available by e-mail, and some even post homework assignments on a website.

10. Bend the rules.

By far our favorite homework activity for young children is reading—reading together, letting the child read to the parent, and, of course, letting the parent read to the child. If your child’s worn out by the evening, take over more of the reading and let her enjoy the pleasant one-on-one contact. We’d like to express the hope that homework reading programs will recognize the pleasures and comforts of reading aloud and will allow children to select books that interest them. If you find yourself with a homework reading program that is taking all the fun out of it, you may need to make some discreet alterations at home—with or without notifying the school.

11. Use tools to plan.

Help older children plan their time—not just for any one evening’s work but for the bigger, longer-term assignments. Some quirky children are unable to understand how to break these down into manageable steps, so a chart, a checklist, or a calendar, with separate due dates for each task, can be really helpful.

12. Remember the power of praise.

Try to make homework a period that is associated with a certain amount of praise, with some physical comfort, and even the occasional treat. It won’t make your child love worksheets, but it may start to seem like a familiar, relatively pleasant interlude in the day—or at least, like a doable assignment.

Adapted from Quirky Kids (Ballantine), by Perri Klass, M.D., and Eileen Costello, M.D.

Autism and Asperger's signs

I found a great fact sheet by Barry K. Morris about early signs of asperger's or autism that I wanted to share some of with you here. These are two diagnoses that we hear tossed around a lot, but what really are the "signs"?

This fact sheet is one of over 350 fact sheets for parents of children with autism and Aspergers syndrome. Visit www.autism-help.org for practical information on communiation issues, behavioral strategies, tips for school, personal stories and more.

All children will have both delays and sudden progress in their development. It is normal to be worried or concerned over lack of progress or unusual behaviors, and happily these are resolved eventually. However, parents are in an ideal situation to watch for potential early signs of Autism, Asperger's syndrome, and other developmental issues in their child.

Autism and Asperger's syndrome are developmental disorders and minimizing these developmental delays is very important for a child's long-term outcome. For this reason, early diagnosis and early intervention are crucial. Here are some tips for parents looking for possible early signs.

These disorders will cause delays in a child's early development, with possible indicators in social skills; the senses - hearing, taste, touch, sight, smell; play and imagination; and behavior. It should be stressed that a diagnosis of Autism or Asperger's syndrome arises from a wide range of these indicators appearing to be a consistent theme in a child's development.

THE FIRST YEAR - possible signs of Autism & Asperger's syndrome

There are certain milestones of development that the average child reaches within the first year of development. Some of these include: standing with support by parents, crawling around, saying single words, waving goodbye and other simple gestures.

Not reaching these milestones does not indicate your child has symptoms of Autism or Asperger's syndrome, as many children may be late developers and catch up at a later point. However it pays to look out for possible early symptoms as early intervention therapies can make a big difference if a diagnosis is reached in the years ahead. Children are usually not diagnosed until the second year at least but there are moves toward making earlier diagnoses to allow earlier intervention therapies.

Even in the first few months of life, it may be apparent that an autistic child does not interact with others, and avoids eye contact. They may seem indifferent to other people and prefer to be alone. They may not like attention, or just passively accept cuddles.

Toward the end of the first year, the child may not appear to react normally to certain objects and activities. They may have an extreme reaction, or none at all. They may begin to show the first signs of repetitive behaviors such as rocking, or fixating on objects with their eyes. A lack of eye contact with other people is very common at later stages but may not show in the first year.

In some cases, a child can be developing normally in the first year then begin showing these characteristics.

THE second YEAR -

Possible signs of Autism & Asperger's syndrome are a lack of interest in other children and people, lack of eye contact, not pointing at objects that are wanted, not using sentences of two words by two years of age, losing words or language skills that were already acquired, does not look at objects you are pointing to, repetitive behaviors such as hand flapping or rocking, does not play pretend games, walking on tip toes.

Unusual behaviors and the differences in the way an autistic child reacts to people may become apparent in the second year or later. This change could be sudden, with a child starting to lose language skills, rejecting people and developing some of the above mentioned behaviors. Sometimes the child ceases to progress, and this lack of development becomes noticeable when compared with other children of the same age.

TWO TO FIVE YEARS

Some possible signs of Autism & Asperger's syndrome are a lack of interest in other children and people, lack of eye contact, not pointing at objects that are wanted, strange reaction to the distress of other children, obsessed with certain objects, toys and games, focus on order, routine and arrangement of objects, distress when these orders, routines or arrangements are disturbed, repetitive movements such as rocking, hand flapping, or spinning around, sensitivity to loud sounds that don't disturb other children, sensitivity to touch ie. disliking hugs or fabrics of certain clothes, sensitivity to smell and taste.

Pre-teenage years

In some cases, a child may be at the milder end of the autistic spectrum and developmental delays may only become obvious in the pre-teen years. Some signs of Asperger's syndrome could include lack of eye contact, few if any close friends, does not share or take turns, lack of communication skills, unusual ways of talking, little use of non-verbal communication and gestures, repetitive phrases and focus on limited range of topics, does not show empathy toward others, difficulties with the 'give and take' of conversation, and unusual gestures made when excited or distressed.

Teenage years - signs of Asperger's syndrome

In mild cases of Asperger's syndrome, developmental delays may only become evident in the teenage years. Some signs of mild Asperger's syndrome could include lack of eye contact, apparent lack of emotion, difficulty in establishing close friendships, literal thinking and trouble with sarcasm, irony and subtle humor, tendency toward obsessive and compulsive behaviors, inappropriate comments or behavior in social situations, difficulties in understanding the views, emotions and needs of others.

 
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