How to Save Money on Diapers and Pads That Are SensoryFriendly *Giveaway*

For a person who does not normally even talk about herself this is an interesting subject, but I am going to jump right in and see how things go. I am all for talking about autism, my son and things that have made our life easier. Autism can be expensive at times (ok how about all the time), we all know this. For those who seek therapies money is a big thing. Before Josiah was even diagnosed we had switched him to cloth diapers (originally this post was going to be just about saving money on pads, but I just can't speak about one without the other).

Diapers

*Not just for babies, but many companies make larger sizes for children with special needs as well*
We switch to cloth when he was 11 months old to save money. We started off his life with a stack of disposable diaper cases we received at the baby shower and the ones we had purchased starting at newborn. When he was born early and we suddenly needed to buy preemie diapers. The price for the amount of diapers was outrageous and after he was almost out of preemie size (almost 3 months) that Luvs NB diapers were the exact same size as Huggies preemie and much cheaper. After we ran out of size 2,  My mom recommended cloth diapers like she did and told me about safety pins, prefolds, bars of soap (to stick the pins in to keep them sharp), wet buckets and it was all just not as I wanted to picture something I had to deal with daily.

We bought a few cases and quickly realized that diapers were really expensive, even when getting them from diapers.com and using their brand diapers. From being in natural parenting mom groups I had quickly erased the stereotypical view of cloth diapers from my mind (seen above). I learned that cloth could look like this, but it could also look like a disposable diaper if you got AIO or pockets and you could also get a cute cover to cover the prefold if you didn't want it to show. There are also things called snappies to fasten prefolds, so no need for safety pins and pocking babies.

Look at them, they are so colorful and cute. We finally decided to get diapers and when going through Alva and using a co-op on Facebook we paid about 4.00 a diaper and got 26 diapers, so our "stash" was about 120 with coop fees and shipping. If you want to learn more about the types of diapers this has easy to follow pictures and also info on the "I don't want to deal with poop" part of it all here. 

Pads

Pads have been a complete sensory nightmare for me since I was 11 years old. Never knowing there was any other option I have been using them since then, besides the 30 months that I did not have a period between pregnancy and breastfeeding. When getting cloth diapers and joining cloth diaper chats I soon learned there were cloth pads. Not having been so sure about cloth diapers and not having my period when I started cloth diapers, I did not give them much thought. Time passes and I just deal with the sensory nightmare that the pads are and that my period was to me. Sandpaper is what pads felt like for me, Always Infinity being the closest thing to bearable (absorbs the liquid really thoroughly and quickly). 

If you can't stand things like tags, how on earth are you able to stand a pad? Especially since most are so rough, cut weird, sit weird, and are just annoying all around. I absolutely can not stand the wet, bloody feeling at all and am often anxious and irritated during my period not because of hormonal issues, but because all the sensory issues with the feeling of the blood. Otherwise, most of the time the emotional side of aunt flow just does not affect me, but the physical side does. We move on to Aug 1st at 1:15A, after finally getting Josiah to sleep I was still awake. Why? Because the stupid annoying night pad had me so anxious and uncomfortable and boy does it feel like sandpaper (to think that baby diapers are the same texture makes me so happy my son does not have to deal with diaper sensory issues anymore). I was searching online as always infinity was not my night choice due to the size. Then I got to thinking about cloth pads and found some buy, sell, trade pages on FB and got to asking some questions. I found places that did reviews along with people reviewing on YouTube and decided first on overnight pads through treehuggerclothpads.com which are 12in long made of minky and sell for $14 a pad. I discovered that since minky can get hot during the summer. Through asking questions and my sensory aversions that sued cloth could be the answer to my wishes for daytime.

9.5in Cotton cloth pad compared to tampon, liner and always infinity folded up.

With a quick google search of suedecloth pad I found in a YouTube review that led me to MamaJewelsJems on Etsy I was checking out her awesome prints for the size pad I was looking for and sparked up a conversation in messages. I always like to message buyers before purchasing to see if they check their stuff often and if they can answer questions about their product even if I know the answer. I notice when going to her profile to massage her that she was from MI which is awesome since I live in MI and also that she was a stay at home mom of 4 boys. Through the back and forth conversations I soon found out that one of her boys who is 7 has autism and her youngest is 3, same age as Josiah. I figured why not support another autism mommy while trying out something new. I bought two sued cloth pads and one cotton 9.5in pads from her for $8.25 for the sued and $7.50 for the cotton. She shipped out the items right away.

When I got the items there were three pads, a cloth wipe, a tea and her business car all wrapped up in tissue paper. What an exciting gift to unwrap! I quickly threw them in a hot wash, then a hot, dry to get them prepped for use. They came out really fluffy from the dry and were stuck to the side of my dryer as we didn't use any dry sheets with them (something we are used to from cloth diapers). I decided to try the cotton one out first. When I put it on it was thicker than what I was used to with the always infinity, but after a while I didn't seem to notice it at all, it was really comfortable. The pad has two snap choices which are great for getting them in the right position, so they fit nicely in your underwear. I am on the tail end of my period, so this review of these pads is actually going to be sitting and waiting a month. 

Tampon in front of cotton cloth pad, panty liner to left and always infinity to the right.

I however did get to try one of each out for the tail end of my period for comfort level. The suede cloth seems to be far less noticeable to me than the cotton. The sued cloth does as promised and absorbs liquid much quicker even the thicker end of period stuff gets absorbed up. The cotton it did not get absorbed as quickly. I am going to try both during the full swing of my period, but I am going to bet that the suede cloth will be my favorite fabric between the two. I will also have spinning class that I will get to try these out in.... Wait a minute, am I actually excited for my period to come even though I just got done with it... Yup! That's because as I am sitting here typing this I do not feel like I am sitting on barbed wire and razor blades. I feel comfortable! That is a start and I will take it....

While waiting for my cycle to return I decided to also order a 12in suede cloth from her and got a friend a 10in in the super. 

One Cycle Later... (All pads listed are through MamaJewl's Handmade Jems unless otherwise stated)

Another cycle begins and like always it does not matter what else is going on. I am just getting over a kidney infection that has been kicking my butt the past week. I am also starting all of my classes this week, so guess I get to test out the suede cloth pads out with spinning class right away! Start of my cycle since I do not have that many cloth pads (plan on washing partially through cycle, so I can test them more).

*The next few areas are written as a daily thoughts on the pads sometimes written at the end of the day and sometimes throughout the day adding comments and feelings about the pads. There are going to be some mention of blood since they are pads*

Day one

I am wearing a disposable and it is already irritating me. I tried putting on the always infinity on the silky (polyester blend) underwear I was wearing and it refused to stick to it, so one went into the trash without wear. Then the next one stayed on a little later before it came unstuck. I really did not want to switch to cotton yet, I normally do with my period even though blood washes out better from the others, because at the time I was feeling extra sensitive to things and cotton can seem like sandpaper to me during those times, especially on the more sensitive areas of the body. I ended up switching to a wingless liner since the wing issues continued and I was only spotting anyways. I would compromise some comfort for the wings to stop sticking to me and not sticking to my underwear.

 

Day two

I started out with an always infinity so I could compare to the suede cloth later. I wanted to save them for my classes as I had spinning and other active class. It was the first day so we did nothing, so real test Thursday. The always infinity. No the suede cloth absorbs liquid just as quickly as the always infinity. Just the cloth pad is more comfortable and it doesn't have sticking issues since the pad snaps into place. I also did not even realize I was bleeding very heavy with the suede cloth at first until. I used the bathroom and there was one clot that did not get absorbed and a lot came out when on the toilet. I started to see blood on the side of the suede cloth and took it as a sign it was starting to get full. That night I decided I was bleeding heavy enough to give the treehugger cloth pad a test. It is a minky 12in cloth pad. When I first put I to it was really awkward, but IDK what night pad isn't I couldn't get enough in the back and there was too much upfront. I was too tired to hassle with it. I put it on around 9p and got up at 8:30 with no leaking issues. It was really full on the top of not absorbed blood when I woke up. It was really soft, but not sure if I like the absorbency rate so much of the minky.

Day three

I started out with a cotton cloth pad. With this day being a serious gushing day. It was clear that blood was being absorbed and was taking a little longer. The pad had a larger blood spot on it as the blood took longer to sink in past the first layer. I wanted to give the suede cloth a test under the same conditions, so it was my next victim so to speak. I could still feel gushing, but couldn't feel the moist feeling after as much. When I used the bathroom the pad had a much smaller blood spot on it as it was absorbing the liquid in quickly not giving it a chance to spread out across the parade. I again couldn't really tell I was even bleeding much until it was full. I am for sure a fan of the suede cloth so far! I wore an always infinity afterwards and the suede cloth was still a great contender with it. Nighttime I gave the treehugger cloth pad a try again. This time with cotton underwear I had better luck with it. Better fit and not as awkward. It was really hot last night and tonight and I do not seem to notice that it was any hotter then wearing the always infinity at night. I know that is one complaint with the minky material. This morning when I woke up there was less blood sitting on the pad that had not been absorbed. I am not sure if I had a fresh gush the night before just before I got up, but was a way better experience with the minky material from Treehugger cloth pads the second time around.

Day four (The real test day)
Still heavy flow and both of my active classes are today. I always put on an infinity before hand as I do not have that many cloth pads. Before leaving for Josiah's therapy and the start of our long day I changed into a suede cloth one at 9A I didn't return home until almost 1p and changed into a cotton cloth pad. The whole time it absorbed well and did not feel the wetness. I had my elementary class and we hopped like bunnies, threw  and caught balls, getting up and down all the time and walked three laps around the track (10 is a mile). It stayed in place the whole time. With the cotton one was the same way as yesterday where it is absorbing just not as quick as the suede cloth or always infinity and since I have sensory issues with the wet feeling cotton pads do not seem to be the thing for me. I can stand to wear them, just figure if they are the same price I might as well get suede cloth instead. Putting on another suede cloth again for spinning class and this time we are getting on the bikes and going to work up a sweat. Lets see how things go... So forgot to change before leaving, so I took off the cotton one and put it in my handy dandy pad wrapper made by Harmony Hill Cloth then put on a disposable I had in my backpack.

Day five-Seven 
Was more of the same

Afterwards:
I will for sure be ordering some more suede cloth. If you are getting pads for incontinence issues than a cotton one might not be as noticeable since urine is not as thick as blood and it does absorb pretty quickly just not as quick as the suede cloth ones. From TreeHuger Cloth Pads I will order a couple of bamboo ones for night/postpartum to try. I like the minky enough to order some more as well after trying the bamboo to see which I like better.
I decided to order some more suede cloth pads and to wait another cycle of testing before officially publishing this post.

My new regular pads!

Another cycle came and past and I got to use these wonderful pads pictured above, along with the ones that I used in the past month. I did not get a chance to wright a day to day and did not feel it was necessary. I can tell you that these hold up to 12 miles plus in a spinning class, they hold up to running around chasing a three year old and that they hold up to running around like a preschooler/grade student as part of one of my physical classes (elementary PE class).  

The Specs on MamaJewel's Handmade Jems

Hi, My name is Julie and I'm the mama to 4 boys. When I was pregnant with my youngest, I decided I wanted to cloth diaper him. Which led me to start thinking of using reusable menstrual pads, as well.

I started sewing in 2011. I started by making cloth wipes, then cloth diapers, then I started making reusable menstrual pads, which I enjoyed making so much, that's what I decided I wanted to stick with. It's kind of a passion of mine! I also enjoy doing giveaways and have been known to do them out of the blue and for no reason. Sometimes it's one and a couple times it was several!

On each of her pads she has this information listed:

Why choose cloth pads?
Cloth pads are an excellent alternative to disposables for many reasons. They are much more comfortable. No plastic stickiness! No chemicals in cloth, either. Just soft comfort! They are better for the environment. While they are an investment at first, in the long run you will save money. With proper care, they will last you years! You'll never run out of pads, when you can just wash and re-use them.

Sued cloth pad folded up with a liner on the left, tampon in front and an always infinity on the right.

Information on the materials used for all sizes:

Suede cloth is an awesome stay dry material. It pulls the moisture in quickly.
ZORB absorbs 10x it's weight in less than half a second. Care: Wash HOT, dry HOT, Bleach OK, no fabric softeners.
Fleece is a moisture barrier that is also breathable, so less odor than using disposable (plastic/paper) pads. So much more comfortable, too!! It also helps keep the pad in place, along with the kamsnaps. Kamsnaps are applied with a snap press. 

A top view of the sued cloth pad compared to a liner,always infinity, and tampon. 

One thing nice about her pads are that the fleece back color varies with the absorbency so if you have the same size in different absorbency levels you can easily tell the difference. The liners have purple fleece, regular have black fleece on the back, and super and overnight/postpartum ones have red fleece on the back.

Liner

Her liners listed in her store 7.75 in long or 8in long all listed currently in her store are cotton ones and sell for $5.25. Top layer is cotton, inside is a layer of flannel and backed with fleece.

Regular

Her regulars listed in her store 9.5 or 10in long. Currently, she has listed both cotton and sued cloth pads. They are listed at $7.50 or $8.2 for this size. These pads are made with a top layer of suede cloth or cotton, one layer of zorb and a layer of flannel in the middle, another layer of cotton, and backed with fleece.

Super

Her super listed in her store is 10in long and listed at $9. Layout: top layer is suede cloth, 2 layers of zorb a layer of cotton, and the base is a layer of cotton and backed with fleece. She is currently testing one layer of zorb and two layers of flannel to try and make them thinner.

Overnight/postpartum

The overnight pads listed in the store are 13in or 13.5in long and listed for $12. Top layer is suede cloth, inside is two layers of zorb, a layer of flannel and backed with fleece. This pad fans out in the back for added protection at night.

Wrappers and packaging

Wet bag by 529 Baby

One way to carry your pads when out and about is in a wet bag in your purse. Most wet bags have a dry and wet area to store clean and used pads. You can look at a review I did on 529 Baby.

A wrapper under and next to an always infinity(same size) with a 9.5in sued cloth pad on top of the other.

Another option is to get pad wrappers by Harmony Hill Cloth, so if you are like me and do not carry a purse you can just stick a couple in your pocket when you are out and about. This is what I decided to go with.

A couple of the wrappers I ordered $1.50 each

The specs on Harmony Hill Cloth

Hi! I am Caryn Evirs of Harmony Hill Cloth. Proud mother of 5 biological children and in the process of adopting (prayers welcome) a baby from DCF. We began our journey to living a 'cleaner' life when one of my sons was diagnosed with Autism and we were looking for ways to help him naturally through diet and supplements. (Since then my husband was also diagnosed with Aspergers). We have been specialized foster parents of children with special needs and babies born drug addicted, which is how I ventured into the cloth diaper world, and thus became my gateway to all things cloth! I am also a labor and delivery nurse since 1997 and like to open up the conversation with new moms who seem open to the idea of cloth! Two years ago, I bought myself a sewing machine for my birthday and found a new love and pastime! I started making cloth wipes, napkins, unpapertowels, pads, wet bags, and pad wrappers for my family and friends, but recently started a Facebook page (named after our house) Harmony Hill Cloth to offer custom items for others. My computer skills are lacking, but I'd like to think I make up for it with my sewing and communication!

Family Cloth

Ask for price depends on sizes/materials since they are custom.

3 7" light minky topped liners

7", 9", 9" sealif 

7" light Christmas sweater, 9" heavy minky dots

9" and 11"

Pads and Liners:

Price list: SHIPPING $2 (add .25 each pad) 6-7" $4
8" $5
9" $6
10" $7 (take $1 off for light)
11" $8 (take $1 off for light)
12" $9 (take $1 off for light)

Cloth Napkins

Ask for price depends on sizes/materials since they are custom.

Wipes are .85 and
Pad wrappers 1.50
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An Endeavor Well Worth It

One early Saturday morning or late Friday night depending on how you wanted to look at it was when we called our friends and family to come and join us. Music played in the background while we talked about all kinds of things and patiently waited for the big moment. We all watched the sunrise, through the window of the medium sized room that we sat in. Everyone was excited, but also calm and relaxed. My husband, mother, sister, closest friend, and sister-in-law were all there beside me the whole time and for a short time my brother-in-law and my sister’s friend even stopped by. After what seemed like forever on that beautiful Saturday morning, July 9th, 2011, my life changed forever when I gave birth to a five pounds ten once boy. It was great to finally have him in my arms. The problem free pregnancy (besides him being born a month early) and easy, pain free, natural labor was sadly not a sign of what was to come next.

The first week of his life he was healthy. He didn’t have to go to the NICU or even have jaundice. However, one thing after another happened after that. We first encountered projectile vomiting almost every time he ate. We tried multiple medicines for acid reflux and nothing worked. He was tested by ultrasound for pyloric stenosis, a stomach condition that requires surgery or death. My tiny baby was not allowed to eat, which was heartbreaking. He was laid on a regular sized bed which made him seem smaller. Then the tech used the smallest tool for the ultrasound which engulfed his abdominal area. They decided after testing that had a dairy intolerance. I cut dairy out of my diet and he got better. By the time he was four months he started to have difficulties breastfeeding and had even more problems with a bottle. This was a very painful time emotionally and physically for me. I endured toe curling pain for my child. We soon learned the issue was caused by a tongue tie and lip tie. It took until he was six months to get them clipped. There were no immediate changes and since he had no weight gain while waiting to get them clipped and weight loss after we were referred for feeding therapy. I continued my classes again when he was six months old, so doing feeding therapy and my classes was a lot for those three months. I learned to manage my time well. When he turned eleven months he was old enough to have his hypospadias surgery that fixed the deformation of his penis. During the surgery I paced anxiously. Two hours later the urologist came and got us. He said everything went well. I had roommates who criticized me for putting him through surgery and for getting his partial foreskin hood removed, but I pushed through as I knew what was best for him. We celebrated his first year and we hoped for better years to come.

Even through all of the pain and suffering that we endured as a family, my husband and I would never trade it for not having had him. Soon after his first birthday, we were still having acid reflux issues and added to that an aspiration issue when drinking liquids. This was discovered, though an x-ray which they strapped him down and he screamed and I could not help him because he needed the test. We had to get drink thickeners, it was really expensive, but for the safety of my child the sacrifice was made. He had leg x-rays, which again he screamed with, when he finally started walking at 16 months because he was walking with a strange gate. Thankfully nothing was wrong. I joked with my son that he was not allowed to have anything else to go wrong because mommy wanted a break from medical exams. My heart broke when he had to go through all of it and I knew he hated it, too. I started to notice social and emotional differences in him before he turned a year old and I just assumed it was because he was born early. When he was eighteen months we made an appointment at Hope Network Center for Autism. This started us on a whole new journey that began two months later.

The biggest life changing thing that happened to me besides having a child, was hearing that he has autism and that it would be a lifelong disability with a varying possibilities of functioning. It was not a life changer in that my son changed. He was the same child that I wanted so badly after I had a miscarriage and he was the child I loved and wanted so much after he was born and the child I still wanted when we went through all the difficulties his first two years of life. It was an internal emotional change that happened. I went through a time when I grieved for the loss of what my child may have become. When you have a child, you have all these hopes and dreams of who they may become and what they may do and then you hear that it might not happen; that they might not get to do all that you dreamed or hoped for, it crushes you. Not because they made the choice, but because they have a lifelong disability that prevents them from making that decision. After I went through the process I came to the wonderful side of acceptance. I loved and accepted him for who he was now, not who he might become someday, or the growth he might or might not make. I accepted him for exactly as God made him. I accepted him for all of his difficulties, not knowing what his strengths might be someday. I loved him and still wanted him. He was completely mine and I would not want to trade him or get rid of him, he was still what I wanted.

Having a child with autism was one of the most meaningful and special things that has happened in my life. My life may not be the easiest, but we all have struggles; No matter if you have a child who has a disability or a child that doesn’t, whether you go to school, go to work, work as a stay at home parent they all have their challenges, different challenges, but they still have their challenges. In some people’s eyes, I was seen as a super mom for all I had done, but with my own eyes I had not always seen it. I did what was needed to help my son function daily and strived to get school work and house work done. Having a child with autism uncovered a whole new part of me. It first started with my ability to stand up for my son and what he needed. The road to getting his diagnoses of autism was not quick and easy we were told by early on they would not diagnose him because he was not old enough. His pediatrician was thankfully not of that same mindset. I learned to stick up for the fact that what was happening was not just a tantrum or that he was in any way spoiled, but that he was having a sensory overload meltdown. This in return taught me to stick up for myself, my parenting and other choices in my life. Through learning how to stand up for myself and my son and what was best for him and our family I had many friends recommend that I should share our story of that and swimming to help inspire others in many ways. Inspire them to fight for the diagnoses, to fight for their child’s needs (a child with autism has sensory needs along with the normal needs) to educate themselves on their child’s needs because with understanding comes patients, which was another thing that I learned from my son, to find what helps meet their child’s sensory needs and what helps to stimulate them in a good way and what over stimulates them, and to just otherwise show that they are not alone and you can fully love and accept your child with autism.

I took the advice of my friends and created a blog titled Just Josiah J. -Autism Adventures (this blog). It started simply enough by being shared with friends and family. I started talking about our adventures in swimming and then branched out to talking more about autism as well as myself. The blog has now had close to 9,500 views. Shortly after I started the blog, I found it would be easier to share it with strangers who wanted to know more about swimming and autism if I created a Facebook page this would also let everyone know there were new blog posts. I was able to use the page to share little updates and pictures from when we went swimming and other adventures we went on. The page started out small with just mainly friends and family and it has grown to nearly 2,000 people. I had gotten comments about how the page or blog has helped others learn what autism was and gave them understanding and acceptance of those with autism and from other parents who I had helped in many ways. About a year later I created a local support group because the Grand Rapids area did not have a parent group online. This had helped nearly two hundred fifty moms and dads, we had just recently expanded the group to not just moms, but dads too. I was glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and created the local support group because I got comments all the time about how helpful it had been to just be able to talk to other parents and get ideas on how to deal with different behaviors.

The best gift of all of from this whole journey, besides having a wonderful son and getting to help many people, was that I discovered even more about myself. I discovered through my walk through the world of autism that I was on the autism spectrum, too. It answered so many questions to why I thought differently and why my senses were a lot different from other people. When I found out it was an ah ha moment and was such a relief to know what makes me the way I was. I was glad to have gotten a better understanding of myself and my son. Not a perfect understanding because each person with autism is as different from each other, as each person who does not have autism is from each other.

PDD-NOS a Fading Diagnoses?

What is the definition of pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified and how was it considered different then autism spectrum disorder? What are the symptoms of pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified? How prevalent is it? What is the age of onset? What causes it? What are the physical features? What are the treatments for pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified? What does pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified look like in the DSM-IV and what does it look like now in the DSM-V? Why where these changes made?

 Definition of PDD-NOS 

 PDD-NOS is Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified. PDD-NOS and ASD are sometimes used interchangeably. Sometimes PDD-NOS is referred to as “subthreshhold autism” this can mean one of two things: One, the child does not have all of the characteristics. Two, they have mild symptoms (Autism Speaks Inc.). When saying my son had PDD-NOS it was often stated “oh so he has a mild form of autism” or “he is high functioning then”. I would try to explain that although those statements can be true, they are not always true with the diagnoses of PDD-NOS. When we went in he was hardly talking and was not very social with very little short eye contact, so he was not mild in those areas, but he did not have repetitive behaviors, so he was missing one of the three areas of diagnoses of classic autism. 

Symptoms, Prevalence and Age of Onset of PDD-NOS 

 “PDD-NOS is characterized by delays in development of socialization and communication skills. Parents may notice associated behaviors as early as infancy. These may include delays in using and understanding language, difficulty relating to people, unusual play with toys and other objects, difficulty with changes in routine or surroundings and repetitive body movements or behavior patterns” (Autism Speaks Inc.). “Some children with an ASD show hints of future problems within the first few months of life. In others, symptoms might not show up until 24 months or later. Some children with an ASD seem to develop normally until around 18 to 24 months of age and then they stop gaining new skills, or they lose the skills they once had. A person with an ASD might: not respond to their name by 12 months, not point at objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over) by 14 months, not play "pretend" games (pretend to "feed" a doll) by 18 months, avoid eye contact and want to be alone, have trouble understanding other people's feelings or talking about their own feelings, have delayed speech and language skills, repeat words or phrases over and over (echolalia), give unrelated answers to questions, get upset by minor changes, have obsessive interests, flap their hands, rock their body, or spin in circles, have unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). “Children with these conditions [PDDs] often are confused in their thinking and generally have problems understanding the world around them” (WebMD, LLC).
These conditions are identified in children around the age of 3. This is why they are called developmental disorders because 3 and younger is when the most development occurs in a child. “The condition actually starts far earlier than age 3, but parents often do not notice a problem until the child is a toddler who is still not walking, talking, or developing in the ways other children of the same age are.” “The five types of PDD are: autism, aspergers syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, rett’s syndrome, and not otherwise specified” (WebMD, LLC).
The prevalence is 1 in 88 children in the US. In South Korea, using a different diagnoses process, it is 1 in 38. The process that South Korea uses picks up the 2/3 of the children who could be missed using the US diagnoses process (Autism Speaks Inc., 2014).

Cause of PDD-NOS 

“Investigators have already identified more than a dozen gene patterns associated with autism” (Wallis, 2009). Although all the causes are not known, there are many likely causes. There are many different factors that make children have a higher chance of having ASD: environmental, biologic, and genetic factors can all play a role. Scientists agree that genes are at the top of the list. “Children who have a sibling or parent with ASD are at a higher risk of having ASD. ASDs tend to occur more often in people who have certain genetic or chromosomal conditions”. 10% of children with ASDs also have Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, Tuberous Sclerosis or other genetic and chromosomal disorders. The prescription drugs valproic acid and thalidomide have been linked with ASD when taken during pregnancy. Parenting practices do not cause ASDs. “The critical period for developing ASDs occurs before birth.” “However, concerns about vaccines and infections have led researchers to consider risk factors before and after birth. A small percentage of children who are born prematurely or with low birthweight are at greater risk for having ASDs.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013).

Physical Features 

“The face and brain develop in coordination, with each influencing the other, beginning in the embryo and continuing through adolescence. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found distinct differences between the facial characteristics of children with autism compared to those of typically developing children. This knowledge could help researchers understand the origins of autism. Aldridge and colleagues found the following distinct differences between facial characteristics of children with autism and those of typically developing children: Children with autism have a broader upper face, including wider eyes. Children with autism have a shorter middle region of the face, including the cheeks and nose. Children with autism have a broader or wider mouth and philtrum -- the divot below the nose, above the top lip. She says these are subtle differences that will enable researchers to further study people with autism spectrum disorders” (Missouri-Columbia., 2011)

Treatment 

The main treatment is behavioral therepy, but some children may need medications ot stabilze mood or behaviors (Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.). Applied behavioral analysis (ABA) is used to bring about positive, long lasting changes in behavior through learning principles. “ Positive reinforcement is one such principle. When a behavior is followed by some sort of reward, the behavior is more likely to be repeated. Through decades of research,” many techniques have been developed “for increasing useful behaviors and reducing those that may cause harm or interfere with learning.” (Autism Speaks Inc., 2014)“Curriculum development is an individualized process that varies with each child (and his/her family).” “As Lord and Bishop (2010) point out, ‘One of the cardinal requirements of ABA involves collecting data on the progress of the individual and then changing the treatment plan if progress is not occurring.’” (Borden, 2011). “There is currently no cure for ASDs. However, research shows that early intervention treatment services can greatly improve a child’s development.” “Services can include therapy to help the child talk, walk, and interact with others.” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). “ Additionally, the National Research Council offered the following recommendations for Educating Children with Autism (NRC, 2001): Begin treatment early — as soon as a diagnosis of ASD is considered, actively engage the child with ASD in intensive instructional programming, year-round, for at least 25 hours/week, plan teaching opportunities for brief periods of time (15–20 minutes with young children) either one- to-one with an adult or in a small group (depending on individualized need), maintain a low student/teacher ratio (no more than two children with ASD per adult in a classroom), include a family component in programming and provide parent training, evaluate treatment interventions and assess the child’s progress on an ongoing basis to insure that his/her individualized needs are being met” (Borden, 2011).

What are the differences in DSM-IV and DSM-V and why was the change made?

“(DSM-IV), which was adopted formally in 1994, includes 5 subtypes of Pervasive Developmental Disorder (Autistic Disorder, Rett’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder — not otherwise specified). DSM V only lists ASD” (Borden, 2011). One of the reasons that they are making the change is if someone is recommended to get testing for autism they may dismiss it because they talk and have friends and don’t realize there are milder forms of autism. It also “replace[s] the old “you have it or you don’t” model of mental illness with the more modern view” that there are many degrees of severity. The other source of confusion that is addressed with this change is “’A child can look like they have P.D.D.-N.O.S., then Asperger’s, then back to autism,’ Dr. Lord said. The inconsistent use of these labels has been a problem for researchers recruiting subjects for studies of autism spectrum disorder” (Wallis, 2009). I completely understand the confusion of the changing diagnoses subgroups. At my son’s therapy there are two other children that are really similar to him and they have a lot of the same behavior and speech level. One of them is diagnosed with classic autism the other aspergers while my son is diagnosed with PDD-NOS with the note that it could be changed in the future when more testing is done. Dr. Lord, of Michigan, said the genetic markers [for autism] “don’t seem to map at all into what people currently call Asperger’s or P.D.D.” Nor have many of these genes been linked to distinct sets of symptoms. Until research can identify reliable biological markers for autism subtypes, Dr. Lord and other experts say, it is better to have no subtypes than the wrong ones” (Wallis, 2009).

Bibliography 

Autism Speaks Inc. (2014). Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Retrieved Febuary 10, 2014, from Autism Speaks: http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/treatment/applied-behavior-analysis-aba

Autism Speaks Inc. (n.d.). PDD-NOS. Retrieved Febuary 10, 2014, from Autism Speaks: http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/pdd-nos

Autism Speaks Inc. (2014). Prevalence Faq. Retrieved Febuary 10, 2014, from Autism Speaks: http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/prevalence/prevalence-faq

Borden, M. C. (2011). Treating individuals who have autism: DSM-V, ABA, and beyond. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter , 27 (8), 1, 4-6.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013, December 20). Facts About ASDs. Retrieved Febuary 10, 2014, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (n.d.). pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). Retrieved Febuary 10, 2014, from Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1527231/pervasive-developmental-disorder-not-otherwise-specified-PDD-NOS

Missouri-Columbia., U. o. (2011, October 21). Autistic facial characteristics identified. Retrieved Febuary 10, 2014, from Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111020105914.htm

Wallis, C. (2009, November 2). A Powerful Identity, a Vanishing Diagnosis. New York Times , 1-5.

WebMD, LLC. (n.d.). Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs). Retrieved Febuary 10, 2014, from WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/development-disorder

YouTube, Facebook and Pinterest

Posting, Uploading and Pinning.

I have been busy posting, uploading and pinning of all sorts lately. Pictures, videos and meme's galore. Josiah started swimming again and I got copies of all his under water videos and underwater pictures. 

Pinterest

Pinterest has all kinds of new memes posted to it. The pinterest posts links to the location on FB that the photo's are located for easy sharing on FB.

FaceBook

For facebook I organized the edited meme type pictures by:
Other Memes: which contain the non Josiah picture memes that I made.
Bible Quotes: Different quotes from the Bible with pictures of Josiah
Josiah Memes: Memes that I have used Josiah's picture for plus maybe a few other ones.

This is also where I make small updates/share funny things LM does and share pictures I take of him each day.
YouTube
This is where I have uploaded quite a few new videos: click the link for more than what is posted below.

Josiah In 2013

Another free photo slideshow by Smilebox

Long Days, Well Worth It

*The main subject of the post is......who would of guessed it Josiah, swimming, and autism. I do apologize for any thing that might not make any sense or grammar mistakes(not my thing), but we can just use the excuse that I am tired, yup, tired. *

TIRED

Okay, just a little on the being tired. Josiah sleeps anywhere from 5-9 hours, the latter being less common,  (supposed to get 12-14 hours and I know I could use about 10) a night with getting up 3 or more times a night. then nap time is always up in the air if it is going to happen or not, has been happening lately on a bus ride to swimming (which I promise I will get to-the bus and swimming...). We are waiting to hear from a sleep specialist to get an apt with them. If we do not get a call by next Monday, two weeks from when we got the referral through the pediatrician, then we will be calling the ped back to get things moving hopefully. *fingers crossed, praying, and hoping*

Bus, Swimming, Amazing

Last Thursday, Josiah started swimming with Michael, his swim instructor, again.

The Bus

Since it is at a latter time I take the bus both their and back. Last time it was earlier and hubby would drop me off on his way to work and I would just take the bus back, Josiah loves the bus so either way he is happy and I do not mind (we were taking the bus back and forth to the Kroc center for a while, too and that is a longer trip and latter at night). I was told through someone telling Josiah that I must really love him a lot to take the long bus ride just for a 10 min lesson. I have never even given it a thought of being that out of the ordinary. I just want Josiah to be happy, if it is possible to make him happy. We leave at about 3:55. Today it was more like 3:25 because Josiah was getting impatient and could not wait to go swimming. He kept saying Michael, please! and going to the door and saying "bus, bus". I told him he needed to wait, which turned into crying/tantrum/meltdown. After getting him to calm down a little I decided since last time we left at 3:55 we were late(the first time we were early), that we would just leave at 3:25 and that maybe he would just take a nap on the bus and I could actually study (test tomorrow). One fact about me, you might not know. I HATE being late for anything. Specially if it is something scheduled. I will get a pit in my stomach, horrible feeling, just for being late. Does not matter if the other person(s)/place has no problem with it, it still does not go over to well with me (was late TH, first day too because my sister brought us). Back to the bus. We have gotten there from about 4:40-5:23 when leaving at 3:55. Our swim time is 5:20. Today just like most days Josiah passed out on the bus ride there and was able to nap for a bit before it was time to swim.

Swimming/Amazing

Getting out by himself

If you do not know by now Josiah's favorite person in the world besides certain family members is Michael. There is no doubt in that one. He is the only person besides family that he requests when they are not with him. Most of the time he LOVES swimming. Today was not his best day, we will blame the tired/teething mess he was all night long for that one too. Josiah is really good at swimming, too. If you are familiar with my blog or FB page I am sure you already know this. In that way HE is amazing. His bond that he has with Michael is amazing as well. Even after a day like today when he cried the whole time and even a little after, what does he do when he gets calmed down and Michael is not busy with another little swimmer? Well, he gives him a high five, hug, and a kiss. That is just SO awesome. It took forever for us to get him to hug and kiss back and Michael has been the first non family member to share in Josiah's expression of love.

One happy swimmer

Oh, but that is not all. Swimming with Michael again just brings out so much more in Josiah. He loves to swim with him so much more then Mommy (who is normally harder on him then Daddy, when it comes to swimming) and/or Daddy. We just can not replace his buddy. I think Josiah has adopted him. Beyond his amazing swimming and bond what else could be so amazing about swimming? To start social interaction with other's besides M. All the other kids around. I have noticed at the Kroc center even if kids get interested in his swimming and follow us around he will laugh at certain things and kind of interact with them (normally results in splashing of some sort). The first time I seen this was with Lolo which was so awesome. The Kroc center it is way less the a 50/50 chance of this kind of interaction happening because most kids are busy doing their own thing and Josiah is swimming or hot tubing doing his own thing, but when he is at the pool with M everyone is there waiting their turn. Josiah has copied some parents with clapping and cheering for their children. One day he was copying moves M was teaching an older child to do while swimming. He follows some kids around. The other kids prompt him to interact with them which is great. Specially the older of the two boys who goes right after Josiah. He loves to say hi to Josiah and talk to him. These kinds of interactions happen before and after swimming, but there is still more. Just after his lessons he enjoys laying down calmly with his two towels under him and the other wrapped all around him other then his head. First, the calmly doing something is amazing in its self, but there is more too it then that.

Watching

He watches M teach the other kids. His eyes follow him around the pool. He is people watching and in a way interacting by doing so. For this reason he gets to lay there as long as he wants to. I am not going to rush him to get ready and stop interactions that could happen. How these little things are so AMAZINGLY significant is hard to explain. They are just new social interactions that most kids probably do on a daily bases and they just are not in the complete norm for Josiah. I am sure they have been working on this in ABA, but it is just so great to watch it is person. The little things that most people probably do not see as special or even notice. I notice and I celebrate the little victories and the big ones, too!

OH, OH and I get to take pictures. Which has been interesting to get right with the lighting.

watching Papa

Showing off for papa