Budding Pharmacist?

My son is a collector. I recently wrote about his introduction into his grandfather’s hobby of collecting tins. More recently, Kai has taken an interest in accumulating pennies. In addition to these, he has his collection of Ugly Dolls.

But perhaps his most eclectic collection is his stash of used medicine containers.

We have been doing biomedical treatment with Kai since shortly after he was diagnosed with autism. As such, he gets a steady dose of supplements including vitamins and minerals, fish oil, and other natural supplements, in addition to some prescription drugs. These treat things like gut issues, food sensitivities, immune system deficiencies, neurotransmitter malfunctions, and yeast overgrowth, among others.

We mix most of these with apple sauce and give it to him at various times of the day.

Lately, he has become more interested in preparing the supplements. He is particularly excited when a container is running low. When it runs out, he takes the empty container and puts it on a shelf in his bedroom.

He is amassing quite a collection. (The supplement containers shown here are in front of Ugly Town that his grandfather in Japan made for him the last time he visited).

This week, we had another appointment with our DAN (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor. For the first time, Kai initiated a conversation with him.

“Um, excuse me,” he said. “Can you give me more medicines?”

He asked the doctor for different supplements, not because he enjoys taking them, but because he wanted new containers for his collection. And when the doctor happened to oblige with recommendations for a few new supplements, Kai was happy.

When we got home, Kai opened his “medicine store.” He took all of the new supplements and arranged them on the kitchen table. He didn’t want to go to bed; he wanted to keep playing with all of his medicines.

Hmm, I wonder: Is this how most pharmacists get started?