Re: Re: Update on Rob (my 26 yr old Autistic brother (PDD-NOS)

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you are truly a wonderful person and your brother is extremely fortunate to have you as a sister. I  read somewhere that all the cells in your body are replaced in a 2 year cycle. Your brain also prunes connections at intervals throughout our lifetime, and although some of the pathways in the brain may take longer to reconnect, with your help your brother should continue to heal and you will likely continue to see progress. There is so much new research on neuroplasticity which shows that your brain can create new connections at just about any age.God bless you .Hey Alberta, He's been on Biomed since July 2009. A little less than 2 years. Rob is the youngest of 7 children. (I am the third - there is a 13 year difference between Rob and I) -- Our Mom passed in 1997 (Rob was 13)and my Dad had been taking care of him. My father has had several strokes and is unable to truly care for him. Rob's option was to go to a group home. I found this option terrifying after visiting one. Rob is very high functioning, but his education/experience is that of maybe a 10 year old now. (probably 7 when I got him two years ago.) Rob has a hernia that didn't heal, and was a disaster to put it mildly when he arrived at my house. The reason I took in Rob was I realized that Jimmy (my son) and Rob (my brother) had very similar issues -- an event one night literally brought me back to being 16 again. When I saw that removal of milk/wheat did wonders for Jimmy, I started to question my brother's diagnosis. Could diet possibly help him too? When Rob arrived, I took him to the autism clinic here in Houston. I did about $3k worth of tests on him, and they had confirmed what I suspected, and some test results were quite surprising. I immediately put him on 'the diet' -- and then removed all the IGg foods - all 60 of them. While Jimmy's progress was almost immediate and noticeable, I noticed that Rob, while maybe not noticeable to the average person, was very noticeable to me. His DAN doctor, has forewarned me that Rob was probably MR (mentally retarded) and would not be able to recover from that. I accepted that information, but put that out of my head, because I wanted to see what was truly possible. I don't think if I believe that, that I would be able to see positive results. As people see what they want to see, not necessarily what is there. Needless to say, after seeing the doctor from being on the diet for a month - Rob's processing time went from 20 minutes to almost instant. While she still maintained that Rob was mentally retarded, she agreed that it was significant. It's true. Rob may be mentally retarded. He could have been lacking so much in nutrition and bombarded with toxins that his body shut down and may not recover completely. I'm not willing to throw in the towel just yet. I wouldn't want someone to give up on my Jimmy, and therefore, I can't give up on him. He's with me, because he's supposed to be. :)laura> > >> >> > You know, I think about the generation where children are being diagnosed> > with Autism - 1 out of 90 (I think)...and I have a brother 26 who is truly> > the poster child of what is to come for many of them. It's really not> > pretty. In fact, it's like what becomes of our parents in nursing homes -> > they are dead long before they are put in the ground. It's not only> > disturbing, it's a burden, and it's really no way to live. I refuse to let> > my brother be a burden. Today, he helped me dismantle a part of my wooden> > deck. He learned how to use a manual screwdriver, and a cordless one, not> > too shabby for a guy who rocked in my closet almost two years ago.> >> > Rob went to FL three months ago to up his prescription on his glasses (so> > they are closer to what he is supposed to be wearing) and get his teeth> > fixed. All the mercury fillings are out. Whew! What a relief.> > He says he feels better. He played with the kids, and the kids were excited> > that he was finally home. He proceeded to vacuum my upstairs, clean my> > kitchen, start some laundry, and thumb thru a recipe book to find some> > cookie recipe he wants to make. WOW. Was all I could think.> >> > Interestingly enough, he tried on his "old" glasses (the glasses that are> > closest to his actual prescription) and this time when he put them on, he> > didn't flinch, wince, or get teary eyed from the prescription being too> > strong...in fact, he sat there with them on for a total of 5 minutes. Two> > years ago he couldn't leave them on for 30 seconds without tears falling on> > his face, the drooling picking up to a high speed swell out of his mouth.> > And him literally looking like he was going to come out of his skin.> > Progress? You bet! I asked him if he could see..and he said, "Yes,> > everything." I said would you like to 'see everything?' and he said "no, not> > yet." -- I wonder what THAT means...we have time, I guess. And then he> > mentioned that the frames made his face look weird. (Noticing his own looks?> > hmmmm...) Not to mention the normalcy of the conversation. It's nice, and> > starting to be a little more consistent.> >> > We go tomorrow to get him back in his program (yuck!) -- but, he thought> > that finding a job (that had more hours) would be good. He wants to take an> > art class. (Hobby? Holy Crap!) And when I mentioned taking a class> > (education) he wasn't completely against it. There is hope yet...> >> > We are going to test him this week for metals. Starting his 'natural' detox> > protocol, and then next week a visit to see his doctor. WHile in FL, my> > sister, added Lysine to his supplements, Rob mentioned that he got a very> > large rash all over his belly, and then it was gone. I have also noticed> > that he isn't drooling anymore. (This drooling stuff seems to come and> > go...)> >> > So, off to the Dr's...and keep on going. We have a lot to accomplish before> > he has to take his IGg test again...gotta get rid of the 57 allergies> > remaining...> >> > laura:)> >> > > >>