
It was held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto, Ontario. There were about 400 people there including 2 Blue Jays Wold Series Champions - Kellly Gruber and Roberto Alomar. I was very moved by a woman who spoke of her 12 year old that just learned how to tie their shoe. It's common activities like these that parents like myself take for granted but to the parent of an Autistic child, it means the world. I could see it in the woman's face - and if she was looking at me, she would have seen how proud I was of her child too! After she spoke, the lights were dimmed and a video was put on for us to watch. Not even 20 seconds into the video I was covered in goose bumps and fighting back tears. The video was set to music and had a father of an autistic child, sitting with cue cards, in black and white. He was just holding up cue cards with words but those words were so real. I have included the video in this blog so you can see exactly what I am talking about.
During an intermission, Ron introduced me to many professionals and told them about creams and indigestibles I make with cannabis. Some looked at me with confusion like Ron was joking, others seemed much more interested. For those interested, I gave them little tidbits of information. I did not want to overwhelm them with information and lose interest, I wanted to spark curiosity - and I think I did. I had to leave early because I had work the next morning but before I left I managed to introduce myself to a few people and give out some business cards.
One of the reasons I want to tell the world about using cannabis for symptoms caused by Autism is because I have seen first hand how it can help. A couple months ago I received a call from a woman who was at her breaking point. Her daughter was autistic (low functioning) and on many different pharmaceuticals to treat her autism. Her mother was worried about the side effects of the anti psychotic drugs her daughter's doctor had been prescribing to her. She wanted to know more about cannabis. She described her daughter's aggressive and sometimes self mutilating behavior to me. I told her about ingesting cannabis and how it could help relax her daughter. I continued, it may not completely "fix" the aggression problem but It could definitely help reduce the severity. Feeling like she had nothing to lose, she sought out cannabis. Not being a cannabis user herself, she was unsure of the amount to give her daughter but knew she needed to start somewhere. She gave her daughter a very tiny bit of cannabis to ingest (in the form of a cookie). The Mother saw her daughter's temperament change within the hour. Instead of repetitively hitting her mother and then leaving the room, her daughter sat on the floor and tickled her own hand and smiled - SHE NEVER SMILED!
This is just one story of many. I know of another woman that rubs cannabis infused creams on the temples and neck of her child diagnosed with Aspberger's Syndrome (a form of ASD) She stated, and so did her child, that the cream helps with the pain and anxiousness. They also use it as preventative therapy for impetigo which she believes comes from the repetitive hand washing and mouth rubbing her child does.
There are 2 great examples of how cannabis helped improve the quality of life for 2 people diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder - and their families.
Approximately 1 out of 110 children will be diagnosed with a form of autism - Please give generously to AutismSpeaks.ca
Losta Love!
♥ Amy Anonymous ♥