Out of the Mouths of Babes: "Autism is a Sickness Where Your Tummy Hurts and You Can't Talk"
This conversation started from Harrison noticing me wearing a new pair of flip-flops (the ones from Healthy Souls that benefits Generation Rescue). They were the first flip-flops I’ve ever had, but for the first pair, it was like it was meant to happen.
Harrison saw me wearing them (my sandals) and said, “Dad, you have new shoes!”
This started a conversation which was one of the biggest turning points in his recovery: identifying with autism for the first time. I pointed to the “a” in the puzzle piece (on the sandal) and asked, “Do you know what this is?”
Harrison replied, “It’s a puzzle piece.”
I asked, “Do you know what the “a” means?”
Harrison looked at me and replied, “Autism.”
I had never heard him say ‘autism’ before, so I asked, “Do you know what autism is?”
Harrison replied, “It’s a sickness.”
I asked another question, “What kind of sickness?”
Harrison pointed to his stomach and head saying, “Where your tummy hurts and you can’t talk.”
I was in a state of amazed shock at this point and wanted to keep it going, so I said, “But you can talk now, and you’ve said for awhile that your tummy doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Harrison looked up at me, “Yes, I’m getting much better now.”
I asked him, “How did you get better?” and he answered, “Dr. Usman, Dr. Krigsman, and Dr. Michele (his primary care), are all taking away my autism.”
I could barely squeak out, “Do you remember what it was like when you couldn’t talk?”
Harrison answered, “Yes, it was the sickness, but now I’m much better. Can I watch YouTube now please?”
Through a heavy layer of tears, I
was barely able to answer, “Yes.”
Harrison looked up and saw my tears. He got up and hugged me saying, “Dad, don’t be sad. I love you.”
If there was anything that I will always remember about AutismOne/Generation Rescue 2013, it was this very conversation. His “sickness,” his autism is going away, and I am so proud of everything he’s done.
Since I originally wrote this, Harrison (in a way) referred back to this point. I was getting all his evening meds/supplements ready, and he really seemed to be in a hurry to take them, so I said, “Harrison, please be patient. Why are you in such a hurry tonight?” Harrison replied, “Because all my medicines are taking away my autism.”
Cody is the father of 8-year old (and over 90% recovered from autism)
Harrison and his 4-year old brother, Isaac. He and his wife, Jolene,
live in Iowa where he advocates for children with special needs in a
variety of ways. His main hope is that people
no longer see these children as having "dis"abilities. Instead, he
sees them as having "super"abilities for what they are showing the
world.
It's no wonder a lot of autistic kids have tantrums...they have these sights and sounds literally causing them pain. And they're unable to let anyone know.
Before my husband and I started using cilantro and chlorella to try to detox our son, the sound of unwrapping a gift made him scream. If I listened to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On," he started crying when she hits the high note towards the end. After we started detoxing him, he actually enjoyed opening presents! So I think we were on to something.
I firmly believe that by not having him vaccinated at ages 5 and 12, we kept him from going further down the autism rabbit hole. If anything we reached in and are still in the process of pulling him out.
Posted by: Alexandra | March 13, 2017 at 02:12 PM
Wow. When I saw the title of this post, I assumed it was about childhood trauma and bullying. Maybe something dealing with the rampant depression and low self-esteem that plague the autistic community? I cannot describe how horrified I was to see that the article was actually praising teaching a child to believe and repeat such horrible things about himself. I understand that in some way, this may be done out of love, but please consider what this does to a child's sense of self-worth. Exodus (that big pray the gay away organization) recently apologized for the trauma that they inflicted on people by teaching them that they could only have worth if they could become straight. The only difference between what they did and what is described in this post is that Exodus targeted adults who chose to join them, and this is targeting children in their own home. Being autistic is really hard. Aside from anxiety disorders and sensory overload, the knowledge that your brain uses an operating sysyem that is fundamentally different from the one that is expected can cause constant stress. Most autistic adults I know have been or are on anti-depressants. Some are suicidal. Middle school and high school were hard as hell for me because despite having perfect grades, I had a growing sense that I wasn't like the others and that I was therefore a failure. Having OCD and being convinced that you're a failure for just existing is a pretty hard combinational emotionally. I made it out alive and mostly untaumatized because my home was my safe place where it was okay to tic and flap my hands and stop pretending to be Neurotypical because I knew that I was accepted. I knew my family loved ME, not the Neurotypical child that they imagined they wanted in my place. I'm now a special ed teacher of autistic kids, and if a single child graduates from my class thinking that autism is "a sickness," I will know that I failed both the child and the parents. (And yes, my kids often graduate from me and go on to mainstream classrooms, because it is possible to teach children to love their own autistic "special brains" and still function in the world at large.)
Posted by: Becky | July 03, 2013 at 03:07 PM
I think that would make me cry so hard I would die.
Posted by: Carter's Daddy | June 22, 2013 at 01:11 PM
Theresa 66 : "Family and friends seem to disappear."
Yes this is true but new friends appear (like here on AoA).
And we all have to be strong . The rate of autism is said to be 1 in 25 and increasing (as the vaccine program is increased) . So ultimately where is this holocaust going ,
1 in 10 , 1 in 5 , at those kind of numbers its game over for medicine (Doctors will be villified at those levels) .
We are definitely in the later stages of this nasty business. The vaccine criminals wont be able to hold it all together too much longer . We are going to be demanding full justice , i dont care who has retired , who is no longer CEO , who is no longer in office , all these Bliars will be dragged back out to face the full weight of the law .
Posted by: White Rose | June 21, 2013 at 04:02 AM
oh man, what you must be feeling, Cody!
Posted by: Sheri Nakken, former RN, MA, Homeopath | June 21, 2013 at 02:19 AM
...I had never heard him say ‘autism’ before, so I asked, “Do you know what autism is?”
Harrison replied, “It’s a sickness.”
I asked another question, “What kind of sickness?”
Harrison pointed to his stomach and head saying, “Where your tummy hurts and you can’t talk.”...
Perhaps Harrison can teach Paul Offit, Poul Thorsen, Brian Deer...a thing or two!
Well done Harrison!
Elizabeth Gillespie
Posted by: AussieMum | June 20, 2013 at 07:50 PM
re: Erik.
Have you tried grants like from NAA or is there one from
gen. rescue ?? We have not tried them yet, just using IRA's
( we can never retire, ha ha )
It's really sad a dr. goes thru med. school and still can't get
his/her head out of the sand ( OR other area ) and HELP OUR
KIDS. Usually we know what will help if dr.s would just order
tests or research supplements. I think we all need to use the internet more and help each other. Stand together, even if it
is only virtual. Very hard to fight this, as most of us are very
isolated. Family and friends seem to disappear.
Posted by: Theresa 66 | June 20, 2013 at 05:16 PM
Beautiful and amazing! Very happy for you and your family.
Posted by: Twyla | June 20, 2013 at 10:52 AM
More Heroes :
"Dr. Usman, Dr. Krigsman, and Dr. Michele"
Posted by: White Rose | June 20, 2013 at 10:48 AM
You know what sucks? I've known the doctors that could help my daughter for years...and I can't afford them.
Posted by: Erik Nanstiel | June 20, 2013 at 09:26 AM
"Out of the mouths of babes" for sure. What an uplifting story and precious, precious boy. My wish is that all of our kids would know what it feels like to feel better and know their autism is being "taken away".
Posted by: Shelly | June 20, 2013 at 09:23 AM