Regression

Having lunch at Subway.

Abby has had some sort of regression. We don't know what triggered it or exactly what's going on with her, but for the last six weeks or so she has started doing things that she hasn't done for two years. She is biting everything, drooling off and on again, engaging in lots of sensory play, etc. Her potty training is stalled or going backwards and involves messes you don't even want to know about. Her impulse control has never been great, but the last six weeks it has been almost nonexistent.

We called her neurodevelopmental specialist only to find out she no longer works at the clinic, and we haven't been able to locate her. It's a long, complicated story, but we really can no longer attend the clinic where we were once "regulars," mostly due to Abby's age. I have been researching and trying to find some answers because things just cannot continue as they are.

Through a very unlikely source, I heard about ICAN, and I sincerely believe the Lord led me to this group! Though they don't have an associate in the Portland area, there is one, Marilee Coots, who travels here several times a year. I have been talking to her and have set up an appointment to have Abigail evaluated and a treatment plan designed in Modesto next month (we don't want to wait till June when they will be in Portland). Though her website's focus is helping with learning disorders, she has dealt extensively with FAS/FAE children and drug-effected children, and it was a relief to talk to someone who understood Abby so well even without seeing her.

Many doctors believe that children with Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) are permanently brain damaged and there's nothing you can do about it. While it's true Abby has permanent brain damage and the connections aren't being made correctly, neurodevelopmental specialists believe that the brain has plasticity and can be retrained or remapped to give her another way to access the information and intelligence that is there but not able to be used efficiently. We have seen this to be true and are not willing to give up on our precious girl! If you feel led to, please pray for her and us. It has been a stressful and exhausting year so far for our whole family.