We have learned a great deal about healing autism and adhd through our journey with our own child. We have witnessed multiple miracles by not giving up until we found a total cure. We now think we have found one (I’ll keep you posted). You can read all about our path of miracles in Jeremy’s Story. If we could turn back the clock and do it over again knowing what we know today, we would just make a few appointments with Paul Tom in San Jose and be done with it! But then I never would have been motivated to create this website. If you are more comfortable with it, you can follow the much more mainstream and expensive path I’ve outlined for you below. It will help too!
What is Autism?
Following is the DSM-IV definition of Autism: “A disorder beginning in childhood. It is marked by the presence of markedly abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication and a markedly restricted repertoire of activity and interest. Manifestations of the disorder vary greatly depending on the developmental level and chronological age of the individual.” Autism is recognized today as a “spectrum” disorder. The Autism Spectrum includes not only Autism and High-Functioning Autism, but also Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), and Pervasive Development Disorder Non-Specific (PDD-NOS). These other disorders are also defined at the DSM-IV link above. Some also view Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional-Defiant Disorder (ODD), and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and even Schitzophrenia as being part of the autism spectrum. You can read more about Autism by visiting the Autism Society of America’s website.
To Diagnose or Not?
The labels above carry sufficient stigma (if not pressure to treat your child with drugs) that most parents dread seeking a diagnosis for their child. The tragedy with this situation is that sometimes parents of children who are struggling in some way do not get help their children because they are so put off by the prospect of having their child “labeled.” The fact is, whether or not they decide to go ahead and seek a psychological diagnosis for their child, parents can help their children. Diagnosed autistic and ADHD kids are not the only kids with problems. Other children who are merely quirky, with a minor speech delay, for example, or a fine motor delay, or a child who avoids sensory input such as loud noises or sticky substances, can also benefit a great deal from following a similar protocol.
How to Help A Child Who Has Symptoms of Autism or Developmental Problems
Here are some steps to follow for parents who are concerned about their child’s development:
1. First consider a session with Paul Tom, a healer in San Jose who practices BioElectromagnetics. He is inexpensive and can help all children with autism. He claims he can cure children of autism who are not yet five.
2. Schedule a medical evaluation from your county. Your child may qualify for medical, therapy, and social (child care) support from your county. If your child qualifies and is under three, your county is the likely your main–if not your only–resource for free assistance for your child. In addition, unlike schools, the county is not specifically concerned with your child’s academic development, but is concerned instead with the child’s overall development. This distinction could result in greater support with non-academic problems if your child qualifies.
3. Schedule an evaluation with your local school district if your child is older than 3 years of age. Your child may qualify for services from his or her local school starting at 3 years of age.
4. Seek out online and local groups of parents of children with autism or other issues similar to your child’s. Search for these groups on www.yahoogroups.com and on www.groups.google.com. Find out from these groups who are the most respected *and helpful* practitioners in your area. Focus on your child’s areas of need: physical education (you need an OT), sensory problems (you need an OT specializing in sensory-integration), hearing issues such as under- or over-sensitive hearing, not processing auditory input, etc. (you need an audiologist, perhaps an audiologist specializing in diagnosing Central Processing Disorder), vision problems (you need a pediatric opthomologist), speech (you need a speech therapist), cognitive (you probably need a clinical neuropsychologist).
5. Get a medical exam with a blood test including a renal function panel, CBC, Ferritin, Zinc, and Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiencies are now being found to be very common, especially in the autism population. In addition, many parents find urine testing helpful. Urine testing can indicate mineral and other imbalances which can be helped with improved diet and supplementation. This testing is particularly important if your child has autism symptoms but you do not believe she or he has digestive issues. Sometimes yoru child may have absorption problems, but you don’t see evidence of them until you get a blood test–and your child’s blood shows signs of malnourishment.
6. Schedule evaluations with the recommended practitioners in your child’s areas of need.
7. If your child’s problems are significant, it may be useful to schedule a psychological evaluation. Some parents feel an evaluation by a clinical neuropsychologist is more useful than an evaluation by a psychologist, since a clinical neuropsychologist can give you information on what is going on in your child’s brain to produce the symptoms you are seeing. A clinical neuropsychologist may also be more knowledgeable than a psychologist about what drug therapies may help your child. It is not necessary to wait for the results of a psychological evaluation prior to getting evaluations from other practioners who may be more empowered to actually help your child. If you cannot afford to get a private psychological evaluation (cost can be around $4,000), discuss your concerns about the cost with the psychologist. You may need to find a psychologist who is willing to work on a sliding scale.
8. While you are waiting for evaluations, start a notebook. Make a list of concerns that you have about your child’s behavior or capabilities. Add to it over time as you need to. Is your child behind other children his or her age in any area? Include drawings, photographs or tapes that demonstrate your concerns. Date all entries so that you can compare these with later samples. This record will also help you advocate for services for your child in the school system. See Wrightslaw for more extremely helpful guidance on advocating for your child in the school system.
9. Consider a gluten-free, casein-free diet. This diet has been proven to help a majority of children with symptoms associated with Autism (click here for more on this topic), and has been hugely beneficial to our family. It’s not as hard as you think. Children with Autism, Asperger’s, PDD-NOS, ADHD, ADD, ODD, Sensory Processing Disorder, and other diagnoses often have one thing in common: a pattern of digestive troubles such as constipation, diarrhea, picky eating, or digestive sensitivities. Even if you see no evidence of a digestive problem, your child may have one. These children are very commonly helped by implementing a strict gluten-free, dairy free diet. Many parents have seen sensory sensitivies, self-restricting eating behaviors, oppositional behavior, and other behavior problems disappear after 3 months of following this diet. See my page on the GFCF diet for more information on this approach.
10. Educate yourself about the impact of nutrition on your child’s health. See Books We Like for some helpful reading suggestions.
11. Learn about safe ways to detoxify your child. See Books We Like for some helpful reading suggestions on this topic.
12. Consider homeopathy. Homeopathy has been nothing short of miraculous for us. The advantage of homeopathy over dietary and other interventions is that homeopathy treats the underlying problem, promising a permanent effect. With homeopathy, dietary restrictions and specific detoxifying methods may not be necessary.
13. Research other methods that help children with developmental challenges. The book Disconnected Kids details a completely different approach that works to improve the connection between brain hemispheres.
No matter what you choose to do, research does show that taking some action will pay off.
For more helpful information, see the links below:
Autism Links
http://www.autism-society.org
http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org
www.autism.com
www.rethinkautism.com (this site just launched today–it is a fee-based resource designed to help provide guidance to parents of autistic children, as well as help parents track their children’s progress.
www.autismspeaks.com
Sensory Processing Disorder Links
http://www.spdfoundation.net/
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/
Auditory Links
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/index.asp
http://www.ncapd.org/php/news.php
Visual Processing links
http://www.noah-health.org/en/disabilities/learning/types/visual.html