Hello :-) My name is Sarah Perkins and I am excited to be invited to join the group! I moved here last summer from Montana where I had been teaching for eight years. I have three wonderful children ages 11, 7, and 2 that are my world. However, my life took a drastic turn and flipped upside down with the birth of my third child. Since birth (Feb. 10,2006) my son has been unlike that of a "normal" (which who defines that?) infant. He would not let me hold and cuddle him - which took away my ablility to nurse. Of course, the crying 7/8 of his awake time was chalked up by doctors as "COLIC" but I knew that was untrue already having a previous "colicy" child. By four months when the "Colic" was supposed to go away and didn't they put him in the hospital and ran all their tests. Conclusion - "the only thing that we can see wrong is that his stomach doesn't appear to be emptying as fast as it should". Solution - thickening bottles with rice cereal. Right - not the problem!! So this doctor and that doctor and this developmental pediatrician and psychotherapist...etc. spend all their efforts trying different medicines! Some took the edge off but nothing helped him or me get to the root of the problem. The final straw was when they decided to challenge my parental skills and tell me that could be the problem. I was floored! If I hadn't been 35 with two other children that are exceptional and extremely smart and well behaved, I probably would have wondered what I was doing wrong! I wonder how many other parents are blamed when the doctors have no answers! I was not a new mother and had been through numerous early childhood college courses as well as Parenting with Love and Logic etc....in otherwords, if I had been young and he was my first chid I probably would have pulled back and hid from the world. BUT instead I took the advice of a close friend and headed to Seattle Children's Hospital for answers - only to not have a clear answer. They told me his was a unique case and they weren't quite sure where he fits. Our records from Montana have a coversheet and the only words written on it are "Autistim Spectrum Disorder" in which he was being treated with Risperdol when we left! We found an amazing pediatrician here Dr. Pedersen who was irrate that a team of medical professionals had put him on this and sent us to Mary Bridge. We stopped the medication immediately and began another spiral of doctors. So far we have been fortunate to get him qualified for Birth - 3, OT and Speech. Everyone keeps telling me how "unique" he is and that he fits some of the autistic signs but don't know if he is and that he makes good eye contact and will sometimes interact. Then am told he has severe sensory problems and even the OT can't get him to let her do her therapy. It is like he is somewhere in the middle and has some spawn of both but is creating another branch off of the current spectrum. All I know is that he can't connect his wants and needs and therefore has meltdowns, rages and is unconsolable. I could go on and on about his additional mental issues but hopefully someone is still even reading this far :)

When I moved back this summer (graduated from Timberline 1990), I had every intention of teaching but then realized how much therapy my son needed. In addition, specialists were telling me that trying to put him in daycare outside his home was going to be a challenge. Being a single mom, I can not afford to have someone come in full time and babysit. And as you all know it takes someone pretty amazing to care for our kids! So, not knowing what I was going to do was just taking life one day at a time. I believe everything happens for a reason and a small jaunt to Mr. Postman has changed my family's life! I met a woman in line who was talking about a baby's rash going away and one thing my baby had always struggled with were severe butt rashes. Desperate to find something to help my son, I tried the babyline.  The VEGAN based products made such a difference and within days it was gone, I decided to try other products and was overjoyed with our results!  I wanted to share it with everybody and anybody.  Before I knew it, I was creating a home business!  It is a  network marketing company called Arbonne and is formulated in Switzerland. For me, it is not about the money (however it is nice as I build an empire for my kids - business is willable) but how it helps people and I like to help people feel better. In addition, I had become kinda lost in my role as a teacher, mother, care taker to my baby with special needs etc. and found that this was like a self-growth business disguised as a health and wellness company....lol!  I would love to share with you the products and have you see for yourself! Also, if anyone is interested in discussing the opportunity let me know and maybe we can meet for coffee! I am not pushy but am interested in helping your child as I have done for mine.  In conclusion, I want to say it is not a fit for everyone but it could be a life changing experience for you and your family!

Sarah Perkins

360-878-0338