Because of the many colds and flu viruses running around, both girls have had to deal with fevers, colds, coughs and sometimes all 3 at once in the past 1 month. When sick, appetites has waned and suddenly they’re spitting up the supplements that they used to take obediently. Having missed up to 1 week’s worth of supplements has made a huge negative impact especially on Maya. Suddenly, from a girl who’s so sweet and well-behaved, Maya has regressed and showing some of the behaviors that we thought are long behind us. She is experiencing anxiety and non-compliance in school, starting to tantrum at home, a lot of climbing and jumping and meltdowns. By missing some of the key supplements, her yeast issues have come back amongst other things.

She now refuses to wear clothes, screaming whenever we try to dress her. At night she would strip off her pyjamas and at times even her nappy. Seeing our daughter curled up sleeping naked in bed, freezing because the air conditioning is on and she had thrown off the blankets, is a very disturbing image for Paul and I. The past 1 week, she has started to wake up at nights, wanting to play and sing for several hours. She would wake up tired and too sleepy to perform well at school.

After seeing Dr Rina, we immediately started Yasmin on her antibiotics, anti-fungal protocol and healing her gut issues. And for the first 10 days, we did not see any behavioral improvements in her, mostly due to the die-off reaction. We also noticed more repetitive behaviors in Yasmin such as opening and closing doors and drawers, a lot of patting and knocking and tiptoe walking. However, she started to sleep through the night, her appetite is really good now and she hasn’t had any constipation lately. In the past 3 days, we noticed that Yasmin is no longer cranky and upset. She is happy, calm and smiling. But the self-stimulatory behaviors are still there.

Needless to say, both Paul and I have not had a full night’s sleep for a long time. We are mentally and physically exhausted and the many worries running through our minds are too long a list. We are going through a particularly rough patch and we will get through this. Our focus now is to get Maya back on track on all her supplements, increasing her anti-fungal protocol and try to deal with the tantrums and behaviors with patience, grace and strength. I will try to look past Yasmin’s behaviors and stims, not to freeze in fear that with every tiptoe or knocking, that Yasmin will not get a little closer and cross the threshold that is Autism.

Both Maya and Yasmin are the biggest joy in our lives, we show them our love each and every day. They are blessed to have a father as wonderful as Paul. He is strength, patience and love. Amidst all the chaos and uncertainties that surrounds a family affected by Autism, he has been our rock. He is Warrior Dad.