So, imagine my surprise when my friend Tory showed up with ANOTHER supplement.
C’mon. I’ve already tried everything. I THOUGHT.
“I’m not gonna spend the next 6 months fighting him to swallow pills hoping for some small change.
I’ve already done that… more than once. NOPE.”
Then Tory shared with me his story (he has a more cognizant ASD son and his dramatic results) and said something that
CAUGHT MY ATTENTION.
He said, “On days when he takes this supplement I can see a difference. On days he does not I can also see a difference.”
“One day?” I asked. “Yep… one day.”
The challenge was ON. And I was determined to (and I’m a bit ashamed to say this… but) PROVE Tory wrong.
Just so you’ll know… I’m very methodical in my approach to trying new things. I like to remove variables so I don’t misread what I learn. So I took some time when I considered how I could accomplish that.
The answer became clear for me.
For more than a year I had been working with Erik (my more severe ASD son) on learning to regulate himself better when the internet buffers and especially when the internet goes down completely. I had even created a strategy wherein I had placed a “visual instruction map” on the wall above the TV he watched so that when the internet buffered or failed he would a) deep breathe three times; b) say to himself, I can be patient; and then c) come and get Dad for help to reset the router if needed.
Was this working? Not really. He’d simply yell, stomp his feet or punch his chair where he sat and come stomping down the stairs enraged. And this would happen multiple times a day - every day - and I ALWAYS heard it.. I’m sure you get it.
When I’d hear this (if I caught it early enough) I’d run to where he was, say “Are you okay?” And point at the “visual Instruction map” at which point he’d follow the strategy and it would help to calm him. And I was patient. I KNEW eventually he’d get it on his own…
but it had been over a year and he had not gotten it yet.
So I thought, “This may be the perfect opportunity to see if this supplement has any effect at all.”
But I had another problem. Initially, he wouldn’t take the supplement. And nothing I tried was working. So I got sneaky.
I opened the capsules and poured and stirred it into his favorite treat. Strawberry Milk. “This is the answer” I thought.
I was wrong. He tasted it and refused to drink.
But I was undeterred. I REALLY didn’t believe that there would be a noticeable difference in one day.
But… I was willing to try. No stone unturned, right?
Then I thought, “He LOVES scrambled eggs. And they have a more pungent flavor. Might that work? So the very next morning, on Tuesday, August 1st 2023, I mixed the supplement into his scrambled eggs as I cooked them and added a little extra salt and cheese to help “mask” the foreign flavor. Then I sat with him as he ate them all. Success.
Luckily, I currently work from home so I could watch what happened next REAL TIME. Here we go.