Biomedical and DAN Dr's

[Guest guest]

Hi friends!

 

After reading a lot of posts lately about Biomedical intervention - I looked

into it for my son .  is almost 4 and was diagnosed with apraxia

last year.  He's made great strides over the past year - learning to blow

bubbles, and putting together more and more sentences.  His articulation is also

improving but he still has a long way to go.  We have seen a lot of peaks and

valleys when it comes to his improvements.

 

Although does not have autism, I thought that possible biomedical

testing might help us get to the root of the problem (heavy metals, mercury

poisoning, digestion and absorption problems).  I contacted a very good friend

of mine whose 10-year-old son has autism.  I knew if there was a therapy or

test out there, she had probably tried it.  Her son Jack was diagnosed with

autism as a toddler, but is mainstreamed in school and doing great!  I told her

that the DAN Dr we contacted told us it would be $600 for our first visit, $300

for the follow up and $250 for every appointment after that - all out of

pocket.  You can't put a price on our child's language, so I was willing to pay

that, but I was concerned about what kind of success we would see.  Would

dietary changes - like eliminating wheat and dairy from a kid's diet whose not

allergic to either - really help?   Could hyperbaric chambers and B12 shots help

heal ?

 

For those of you like me - who may be on the fence - Here was this veteran

mother's response to my questions about DAN Dr's and Biomedical

testing/intervention...

 

 

Gretchen-

Honestly I am probably the worst person to ask this question, but you know I'll

tell you the truth. I don't believe in half of the crap that is out there. It

seems to me that everyone wants to get their hands on a quick fix and there just

aren't any. We tried the diets and they were a miserable failure. They didn't

work, and they made everyone miserable! I know McCarthy swears by DAN and

the diets, and mercury poisoning and gut issues- but I have to be honest- I

think time and being proactive are the best treatment you can give. It's so

frustrating when they are little, because it seems like they aren't getting

better- but 5-6 is a magical age when everything you've done starts to come

together.

I have a lot of friends in the autism community who have tried all of things you

are thinking of trying, and not a one of them has had any success with any of

them. We have friends who went to the DAN dr.'s, who subjected their children to

chelation therapy, who severely restricted their diets, and every other miracle

cure out there. Some of them are to the point of bankruptcy in trying these

things, and it pisses me off. If the dr.'s really wanted to help- they could

make it affordable- and it's not. It reminds me of snake oil cures. But that's

just me- I'm quite the cynic. I feel like there are a lot of people out there

just looking to profit on our hope. I would sell my soul for Jack to be

" normal " - whatever the hell that means, but there aren't really any quick fixes

to neurological disorders. I will tell you that when he turned 6, he was so much

better than when he was 5. It wasn't any one thing we did in particular- it was

working with him through

his therapy, immersing him in normal daycare, school, and just being

consistent. I don't know if that will work for you since you are dealing with

something a little bit different, but I am sure everything you are doing is

going to help Coop out in the long run. You will be amazed when it all comes

together and you see how much everything you did actually did help him. It's

just a slow steady process. I wouldn't spend money on the false hope that these

dr.'s sell, but if you find something that works- let me know. I have yet to

find anyone (other than jenny mccarthy) who has found any of that stuff to work.

I think that until they find out what causes these disorders, it's just a shot

in the dark trying to figure out how to fix it.

Take care Gretchen- it will get better.

Mandi