My brain is just about fried!!!  I've spent so much time researching alternative vaccination schedules, but I think I'm making progress.  I am working on a timetable because my wife and I are starting to make plans for #2.  If I do go with an alternative vaccination schedule, I hope my son's ped. will go along with it.  I've heard stories about uncompromising pediatricians when it comes to things like that, but I don't really care.  If she doesn't go along with it, I will find a ped. who will.  My job as a parent is to protect my child(ren) and to do what is right, even if that means going against the conventional grain. As for Harrison, he is doing fine.  My wife and I took him to a pediatrician who follows the Defeat Autism Now (DAN!)! protocol when it comes to treating autism.  I am now in the process of collecting samples from Harrison to send in to a lab.  It seemed a little overwhelming at first, but I'm figuring thing out; I'm getting it done because there's a sweet little boy in my life who needs me to do it.  Once all the lab results are back, we'll go from there, depending on what the labs say. We had to drive over four hours to see this doctor.  There's not a single DAN! doctor in Iowa, but even if there was one, I wouldn't settle just for the sake of convenience.  The doctor we're seeing now (who Harrison calls "Dr. John"), seems like a very caring doctor who puts alot of compassionin what he does.  At least, that's my first impression of him.  I've become very protective of Harrison, and for me to feel comfortable in trusting his health to somebody says alot about him. The are a few unfortunate things about going to this doctor.  Since he is so far away, he is not a contracted provider with my insurance company, but I did change my policy to cover (partially) out of network providers.  In addition to this, since many of these treatment methods are still "newer", insurance companies classify them as "experimental", so many of the tests an treatments are NOT covered at all.  OUCH!!!!!!!!  This is going to be quite an expensive venture, and I was, at first, questioning the validity of the cost. But then I remembered that I have a little boy who is depending on me for his well being.  I don't have time for these treatments to go through 10-20 year, double-blind placebo studies.  I don't want to, years down the road, possibly forego on treatment that could have helped my son have the best possible life just because of the out-of-pocket expense.  About the money, who cares?  I certainly don't.  This is my son we're talking about, and it's just money.  What else am I going to do with it?  Buy a big screen t.v.?  That won't make Harrison any better.  Make a down payment on a better car?  That won't make Harrison any better.  Fancy clothes?  That won't make Harrison any better.  I think you get the picture.  A parent's job is to give their children a better life than they had, and this is how I'm going to do it.  And if I have to spend my last dollar to make Harrison just a little better, then I'm going to do it. All the OT and other therapies are working.  A little over a year ago, my little boy didn't talk much, if any at all.  He didn't show much emotion that wasn't prompted.  He didn't even acknowledge the presence of other children.  But on the way back from this doctor, we stopped at a shopping mall to eat and stretch our legs.  It had a play area for children, so we let Harrison run around it for while.  There was a little girl who must have fell or something because she was sitting in her mother's lap, crying.  Harrison heard her cries.  He walked over to her, hugged her, and said, "Love."  I don't know who had more tears, the little girl or me.  If this is a sign of things to come, I will do what I can to help Harrison get there.  I love him too much to give him any less.