As a parent of a child on the autistic spectrum I have spent countless hours researching, making phone calls, traveling to and from doctors and appointments, all in hopes of finding effective treatments for my son. I suppose it is like they tell you, every child is different and each responds to different combinations of therapies and clinical treatments (or drugs). We have had many different doctors for Cam over the years and each one has offered different options for him as far as treatment goes. We have always been hesitant about using drugs for him but have relented to at least trying some different combinations to see what may help him. Of course we also make sure to try to watch his diet, limiting salt and sugar and caffeine. Making sure he eats his whole grains and takes supplements of omega 3's (which he hates) and a multi-vite since he is a produce hater... Diet is a real challenge since he has texture difficulties and sometimes cannot swallow. Lately I have been researching massage therapies as a means of relaxation for him since he suffers from some pretty severe tics which are increased by his anxiety over schoolwork and social events. I have been reading about the benefits of acupuncture which we are not ready to try as of yet due to his fear of needles and anything having to do with what he sees as a doctors office. Acupressure seems to be another thing that seems like it would work. One website I had found though was really raving about the benefits of scalp massage for kids who have difficulty relaxing and sleeping due to ADHD ar ADD or OCD's. This seemed interesting to me since Cam has a small obsession with playing with his head and rubbing it and asking me to brush his hair, cut his hair, rub his hair, etc. So it seemed to me this may help him relax and maybe subdue the current tics he is dealing with. It just so happened though that last week we sold our second car and ended up witha few extra dollars so we did a little clearance sale shopping. I wondered into Bed, Bath, and Beyond, called by the huge banner for clearance sales they were having. Cameron went with me while Jared and Peyton headed to Dick's Sporting Goods to browse. Cameron kept asking me about the "funny whisk" in the corner and me, the lover of kitchen gadgets, had to check it out. It turned out to be this:
Not a whisk but a scalp massager!! It was only four dollars and so I decided to buy it and try it out on him to see if he would even respond to it. I opened the package in the car and at first he was a bit hesitant as I guess to him it looked like needles. He asked me if it would make him bleed!! I finally convinced him just to try it. Form thE first moment I placed it on his head his eyes closed and he smiled a relaxed smile and said it felt soooo good!! Now I find him coming in to my room in the morning with it in his hand asking me to rub his head. He loves it and it is helping him to relax all over his whole body!! He seems so much more content after a good scalp rub and the nasty head jerk has somewhat lessened too. Not saying that this will work for everyone, but for the time being it works for us and that is good enough for me!!
That's great! Hope it continues to work for him :)
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