My youngest was assessed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder. She manifests mild to moderate delays in all developmental areas with gross and fine motor skills showing the least delay while cognitive, communication and socio-emotional skills proving to be problem areas for her.

MG is a sweet, affectionate and playful kid. She’s fond of playing peek-a-boo with adults around her and likes to affectionate play (tickling, kissing, hugging) as well. She likes Barney a lot and actually grew up watching it.

She’s undergoing therapy for a year now and has shown great improvement. She can now communicate basic wants and needs mostly one-word utterances or gestures. She can easily learn new skills and concepts and able to apply newly learned skills without much assistance. She can now name common body parts, most colors and shapes. She can also easily identify letters of her name and counts from 1-20 with ease.

She has acquired much skills and learned a lot this past year but she still has a long way to go. I’m very optimistic that she can overcome this all the way . With daily practice and application of learned skills and with me, her father and brother beside her, MG can advance and progress further.

For additional information and support, please refer to these links:

http://www.autism.org/
http://www.autism.com/
http://www.autismpinoy.com/
http://philippines-autism.blogspot.com/
http://www.autismcoach.com/

What’s happening with our government today? Tomorrow is the anniversary of People Power 2. Year after year, it’s the same cause we try to haul at our administration. We cry for change but our government does not listen. How can change happen when the protagonists or prime movers of this circle are not even one? Left and right, accusations are being thrown. Allies become enemies. Many relationships are struggling. Friendships are ruined. Take the case of Gloria Arroyo and Jose De Venecia, Jun Lozada and Romy Neri…Makes me think what the foundation of friendship really is.

I came across this article which tackles friendship in depth. There are three types. Friendship based on utility develops when persons involved pursue their own advantage. They don’t have to like each other. Once they get what they really came for, friendship is ended. This is what happened to GMA and JDV. GMA ditched JDV because JDV’s purpose has already expired. She has no use for him anymore.

Friendship based on pleasure springs from immediate gratification, enjoying the moment. This kind changes rapidly once the emotion changes. Love relationships early in life are oftentimes based on pleasure. So, I’m not sure if it falls under here. Or people with the same interests or curiosities would probably fall under here, too. Look at Benjamin Abalos and Jun Lozada. They were golf buddies. But due to some unpleasant circumstances, Lozada could not play golf anymore (couldn’t pay his membership fees anymore). The friendship based on what they both love to do cannot continue for obvious reasons. I dunno. I’m just citing for lack of better analysis.

Lastly, friendship based on goodness. This kind of friendship is lasting. People who seek out what’s best for each other and are generally good have this kind of friendship. They have the same “good” qualities and they trust each other for the right reasons and not because they have hidden agendas. This is the ideal friendship. In the world of politics, this is kinda rare. In the real world, there is still hope.

Can’t bare to look at my body anymore. What once was a somewhat “ok” body is now turning into a pile of flab. It’s gross and it’s time to do something about it. I’ve been in this state way too long now and it’s already time.

I did everything to lose weight. Name it, I’ve done it–bangkok pills, zhen de shou, reductil, atkin’s, south beach, no rice diet, high protein diet, fruit and vegetable…almost everything. I guess almost any girl would sympathize with my dilemma because I think every girl has gone through this path once in her life. In my case, I’ve gone through this more than once.

Right now, I’m contemplating on taking duromine. I haven’t tried this before but I read that its effect is similar to Ionamine. The only problem is it’s a prescription drug because it contains phentermine. Phentermine has many undesirable side effects such as headaches and dizziness, irregular heartbeat, dry mouth, constipation or diarrhea, abnormal behavior (this is quite scary), insomnia and changes in sex drive. But I can take all that just as long as I lose weight.

I read in one forum that many people can attest to losing weight using duromine. Like me, they’ve tried every tip and tricks to losing weight and turned to duromine only as a last or desperate attempt to lose the bulge. And 90% (rough estimate) experienced favorable results.

Here are helpful sites to know more about this drug:
http://health.yahoo.com/obesity-medications/phentermine/healthwise–d00806a1.html
http://www.fattybeauty.com/reviews/2006/11/duromine-diet-pill-review.html
http://www.steadyhealth.com/Duromine_weight_loss_t68502.html

I wish I could write here someday that I’ve lost weight by sheer diet and exercise. But at the rate things are going, I’m using desperate means for now. Talk about birthday resolutions…it hasn’t been a week and I’m already breaking them.

What do you do when you feel sad? Me, I usually crawl to my nest and bury myself in books or magazines. If that doesn’t work, I would just lie down and give in to tears. But surely and more often than not, I welcome a little sadness in my life. It’s the only way I can truly appreciate the many good things and happiness this life of mine has to offer.

After sadness comes happiness, in most cases. If you go beyond that, that’s already depression. And I think you need to consult a therapist for that one already. But minor sadness is ok. I just read somewhere that in the US where almost every American has a psychiatrist, popping pills is the “in” thing. When they feel blue, they go to their therapist and ask for anti-depressant pill. I can’t imagine even doing that. I wouldn’t even wonder if one day there would be medicine for every feeling or disposition we want to combat. Feeling fat, take this…feeling ugly, take this…feeling a little jolly, take this…

Whatever happened to emotional support from family, spouse or friends? I’d like to believe that each person has at least one person to depend on in times of need. I really would like to believe in that. Otherwise, we can expect a huge sale in alcohol and drugs in the years to come. When I’m feeling a little down, my friends encourages me to go out and do something fun. They would often invite me to go out to have lunch or go shopping. They really mean well. I sometimes do as they say. I sometimes don’t.

By the way, my youngest is autistic. She doesn’t have all the manifestations of autism but has a great deal of difficulty in speech. She’s turning four this year and she still can’t construct a sentence that makes sense. That’s what makes me sad these days. But I always look forward to hearing her say new words. It gives me so much joy when she recognizes numbers and letters of her name or when she repeats the words I teach her. It’s a constant battle but a battle worth all my time and effort just for the simple reason that it’s for my child.

Anyway, give in to a little sadness once in awhile instead of taking a pill. Sadness is normal.