The ACTUAL holistic "treatment" for a teen with Asperger's, Autism, ADHD

So, WHAT does my "holistic" approach for a person with Asperger's Syndrome, high-functioning autism, or ADHD consist of?

Well in the case of Claire, here is what she and I agreed upon together (the list of which is not listed in ANY particular order of sequence or importance):

1. Exercise - begin training for a 10K Fun Run
2. Nutrition - reduce processed foods, gluten & dairy
3. Supplementation - WHOLE food Supplements
4. Mental - guided imagery training with journaling
5. Energy Balancing - Reiki, Chiropractic, & Ondamed
6. Education - various skills, including Reiki training, healthy cooking, & more
   
7. Career - begin applying for jobs that fit her skills (which are very limited)
8. Life Skills - get driver's permit and safety driver?s training
9. Creative Expression - mold clay, time for flute, piano, dancing & singing
10. Outdoors/Nature - walk the dog for 45 minutes when possible
11. Water - drink lots of water, other drinks can have no sweeteners
12. Research - determine learning style, DISC profile, & medication history
    
13. Emotions - learn "appropriate" balance through discussions and real life situations
    
14. Spiritual - find a church or "community" that supports her goals and gives her a sense of "belonging"
    

Be patient with me . . . I will take time in multiple postings to explain each of these things listed here in greater depth so that you will be able to do them too.

But first, know that EVERY treatment plan is best when it is customized to meet the needs of the individual! And the buy-in for meeting the individual's goals is MOST important!!!

So before DOING any of these things that I SO KNOW HOW to do, I needed to sit down with her and ASK her all about what SHE wanted out of life.

What I heard from Claire is that she is passionate about helping others, doing something that fits in with her talents, although she has no idea what that might actually be.

She wants to have a sense of "family" around her no matter what it is that she does.

She wants to travel the world, although at this point, she has MANY fears that would truly hold her back. The fears amazed me as I heard her speak of them. But listening with NO judgment was my goal, so I ENCOURAGED her to talk about everything!

Once she was done, I then showed her my list of "holistic concepts" and asked her if SHE was up to the commitment of doing ALL of these things on the list . . . just as one would do when attending a health spa.

I let her know that my goal was to help us all find the AUTHENTIC Claire . . . NOT the Claire who to this point had only tried to please everyone else.

I told her that we will adjust this "treatment plan" as we go, to determine more about what is and is not working for HER and her overall goals.

We agreed to SHELVE the whole college idea until she FOUND this Authentic Claire. For WHY spend good time and money on chasing someone ELSE's dream!!

Our task is now before us. Commitment from ALL parties has been obtained. So now YOU get to be a part of this journey and learn from the gift of getting to know Claire!