When he was 2 ½ he started having episodes that I called “melt-downs”. They were usually triggered by changes my son didn’t expect. Maybe I put the wrong pair of shoes on him, or touched his hand instead of his face. He didn’t talk much at that time, and would get so frustrated by not being able to communicate that he would just start crying and screaming. His little body would stiffen up, and nothing could calm him down. It didn’t matter if I rocked him, left him alone, was stern or gentle, offered candy or warnings – nothing helped. Brian and I both tried everything we could think of. While in the middle of these meltdowns, he started rubbing the tops of his feet on each other – so much so that he developed raw sores on the tops of his feet. It was very strange.
We had just moved houses and had a new baby, so at first we thought his behaviors were in reaction to those changes. But as they persisted and increased in frequency and intensity, my momma radar started going off and I began to wonder if it was something more.
At age 3, he started in preschool part-time, and although he had been in daycare before, he now started having severe anxiety when I dropped him off. I noticed that he never joined the circle group; he was always on the outskirts. He started avoiding eye contact, even with me. If I asked him to look in my eyes he would, but his eyes would fill with tears as if it was just so hard for him. He had never liked loud noises, but now they seemed to terrify him. Another odd thing was that he would only color in orange. Any picture or painting he did – ALL orange, ALL the time.
I switched preschools the next year, thinking a different environment would help. But it was all the same behaviors. During chapel, he started sitting in the office because the boisterous kids’ songs they played scared him and hurt his ears. Every day when I picked him up, his class would be on the playground. But Isaac would be sitting on the bench by the teacher, sniffling. He stopped interacting with the other kids. The preschool director kept telling me he was adjusting and it would just take time. My momma instincts told me 3 months was plenty of time to adjust, and something else was wrong.
It was so hard to watch him be so sad. He was within normal ranges for everything so the pediatrician wasn’t concerned, and I didn’t really have the vocabulary to express how concerned I was. I finally found a doctor who successfully treated my daughter’s health problems with “alternative” techniques. I took Isaac (who was 4 ½ at the time) to him, and he immediately suspected Asperger’s syndrome. He changed his diet and took him completely off white flour & sugar, increased in DHA/EPA intake, and gave him blue Eyelights.
I had enough history with this doctor to trust him, but colored sunglasses with flashing red lights was a bit of a stretch. (Especially at an $80 price tag !) But I was willing to try anything, and we started the supplements and the Eyelight Therapy protocol he gave us. It was easy (10 - 20 minutes a day), and Isaac didn’t mind wearing them.
Two weeks later I went to pick Isaac up from preschool, and he was out on the playground, running around and playing. (I nearly fainted.) After I composed myself and got him in the car, I casually mentioned that I noticed he was on the playground. I asked what had made him go out to play on this day (Remember, after 12 WEEKS of crying on the bench). He replied with typical 4 year-old nonchalance, “I just feeled like it”.
That was good enough for me! As the weeks progressed, I noticed his ability to deal with change better. After about 4 months he told me his ears didn’t hurt anymore. I am sure the dietary changes helped, but I am convinced the Eyelights did something in his little brain and allowed him to develop neurologically in a way that had been impeded before. He is now 9 years old and has no residual symptoms whatsoever. I am forever grateful for this doctor and the methods he used for
treating my kids.
Isaac still wears the Eyelights every so often, as a kind of maintenance. Once I asked him how the glasses made him feel. Of course, he shrugged. Trying to avoid overtly leading questions, I offered a variety of suggestions --- happy, sad, hungry, sleepy?
He pondered for a moment and replied, -- Just good.
No further explanation necessary! J
