Neurofeedback Not a Total Bust

After another three or four neurofeedback sessions, they did seem to have a lasting positive effect on Culley. We had to go for 2 weeks between session during Spring Break since our therapist was out of town and I was nervous that he would regress. However, during the latter half of that two week period it occurred to me that Culley's "nidging" behaviors had pretty much stopped! He did have a mild but persistent stomach bug at the time so you're always wondering what other factors may have been at play. So when we resume neurofeedback, we stayed with the same protocol since it had been working so well. But alas, those two weeks marked the peak of his now pretty regular cycle and he's been regressing ever since. He's not back to where he was in February but I'm fighting the panic that he will get there if I don't do something.

I read a blog today by a person who has autism. In it he says that cycling is a normal part of autism and that there is nothing you can do but be patient and wait for the cycle to come back around. However, he also says that cycles do not happen regularly or happen for months at a time but Culley's definitely do. He's cycled 4 times since he's been diagnosed and every time, I intervene with a new therapy and the cycle seems to turn around with a week or two of beginning it (and it must be new - not one that he's done before). So do I sit back and watch him regress while I wait for the cycle to complete? I don't think I can do it.

The good news in this case is that our summer is starting which means lots of new things. Unlike most autistics, Culley seems to do well with new things. First a big road trip to Ohio, then his summer preschool starts which coincided last year with the upswing of a very long downward cycle. Out of desperation, I'm looking into the "autism diet" which is so daunting especially for a kid who is a picky eater to begin with. Funny that we tried to eliminate dairy (which is half of the "autism diet") at this same point last year. Again a desperate move in response to another cycle. And interestingly it also coincided with that same upswing that I attributed to the preschool.  Maybe it did have something to do with the diet, though I gave up on it after a month and he continued to improve until winter.

Maybe I'll never figure it out!?