Re: Autism (long)

[Guest guest]

Hi ,I have a son, 3,5 years old, who has autism spectrum disorder.  He is considered to be moderately affected.  He is verbal, speaks in full sentences and by all accounts is quite bright.  He is not conversational yet and he has a high number of self-stimulatory behaviors, as well as many sensory issues.  He is pretty well connected to the family and is starting to take a social interest in other children.  I believe that my son was genetically predisposed to get an autism spectrum disorder and that some insult (probably in the womb or during birth -- he had a difficult birth) caused his autism.As I'm sure you're aware, each child with autism is a case study of 1 -- each is uniquely affected, each responds to a variety of treatments in a unique manner.  Here are some of the things we've tried:* Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy.  This is, by far, the treatment that has had the most impact on our child.  The state of PA pays for him to have 25 hours of in-home ABA each week.  Here are a couple of links to information on ABA:  http://www.iaba.com/  and http://www.christinaburkaba.com/* Gluten Free Casein Free Diet: Systematic removal of gluten (the protein in wheat and other grains) and casein (the protein in cow's milk) from the diet.  My son had some blood and bowel tests run by a developmental pediatrician and it showed that he is quite sensitive to gluten and casein.  The diet has not been easy for us to stick to this month, with all the graduation and birthday parties we've been attending, but it is definitely an appropriate treatment for our son.  Plenty of info on the net about GFCF diet.  Here are few links to get you started:  http://www.gfcfdiet.com/ and GFCFKids/* Nutrient supplementation:  Of the various supplements my son takes, we've found that Zinc has had the most effect.  I urge people to contact a qualified DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doctor or a pediatrician who uses biomedical interventions to treat children with autism.  Messing with an autistic child's biochemistry can have some damaging side effects, and it is recommended that you work with a qualified physician or naturopath on this type of treatment.  Here is a link that would help you find a DAN! doctor:  http://www.autismwebsite.com/ari/dan/dan.htm* Speech Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy:  Mixed results on both of these therapies for us.  If the state of PA did not pay for this for my child, I'd not do it.  Even with it being covered, I may stop.  It's just not an effective therapy for all children with ASD, and my son might be one of those kids.Therapies that we've considered but not tried yet:* Craniosacral therapy -- best done by a trained osteopath.  Costly....most insurance companies won't pay for it.* Ionic Foot Baths -- supposedly good at detoxing the body.* Homeopathy -- I am fortunate to have a good DAN! doctor within 10 minutes of my house who treats ASD children with homeopathic remedies* Greening my home -- our son's pediatrician is recommending this highly.  We're in the process of doing it.A treatment that more and more parents are turning to is chelation.  Many parents believe and/or have firm evidence that their ASD children have toxic levels of heavy metals in their bodies, many received from immunizations.  I am too scared of the side effects of chelation, and for my son, there is no evidence that he has heavy metal toxicity.  Most people will tell you to work closely with a qualified practitioner if you choose to chelate your child.Please feel free to email me offlist if you need more information.Best wishes to you!RoseOn Jun 18, 2005, at 11:27 PM, Suzanne wrote:,Welcome..There are some members here who can help.. it may take a while as some of them are not on daily emails..Suzi Fieber <pfieber@...> wrote:Hi I am looking for some help in the area of treatment for Autism.  I have looked at numerous websites and see so many different resources and treatments.  Are there any good success stories and treatment protocol's among the members of the group? 

[Guest guest]

Hi Carol,

My son's dev ped wants to see us use all non-toxic cleaning products,

get rid of all pesticides, invest in a good air cleaner, use only

organic personal care products, etc. We may even need to repaint some

of our rooms with different paints.

It is so refreshing to find a medical doctor with a real appreciation

for how important it is to detox our homes and our bodies!!!

Rose

On Jun 19, 2005, at 9:46 AM, carolG wrote:

> Rose,

> What's greening your home mean? Putting green plants around?

> Thanks for great info.

> carol

>

[Guest guest]

Rose,

What a blessing to find a dr. that can encourage greater health with divine wisdom. I use vinegar/water lots. For organic eating may want to see about getting in a buying coop or start one. Oh what about mattress? I'm not home now, but will see if I can find out the name the guest speaker Hallelujah Acres had for our health ministry reunion who spoke about chemicals, etc. There was even talk of electrica currents being harmful to sleep around. I hope I am saying that right, but maybe someone here has more insight to help us both. I actually unplugged my light fixture near my bed. Keep us posted please.

carolRose Baumann <rose@...> wrote:

Hi Carol,My son's dev ped wants to see us use all non-toxic cleaning products, get rid of all pesticides, invest in a good air cleaner, use only organic personal care products, etc. We may even need to repaint some of our rooms with different paints.It is so refreshing to find a medical doctor with a real appreciation for how important it is to detox our homes and our bodies!!!RoseOn Jun 19, 2005, at 9:46 AM, carolG wrote:> Rose,> What's greening your home mean? Putting green plants around? > Thanks for great info.> carol>