Dylan had his "official" diagnosis of autism a few months ago, but it had been suspected for months prior. As a 2-year-old nonverbal child, he had frequent tummy aches. He never made eye contact or smiled. He had frequent tantrums that involved biting the back of his hand and hitting his head against the wall.
As with many autistic kids, he had an extremely self-limiting diet. Imagine having a skinny toddler who refused to eat most foods. Talk about feeling helpless.
Immediately I started reading about autism. The more I read, the more it became clear that biomedical treatment and ABA therapy yielded the best results for his age. Here are some videos that show proof of the miracles that can be performed with these treatments.
Biomedical Miracle - Ethan's dad insisted on antiviral antifungal treatment even though his tests came back normal. It is believed that low level infections may exist in the bodies of these kids for years often yielding no outward clinical manifestations of disease, but causing chronic problems. Ethan had other symptoms of viral issues: cold sores, frequent illness and infection and others. Because of this dad, many docs are now taking a second look at this treatment even in lieu of negative test results. Take a look for yourself.
Amazing results of intensive ABA therapy - this sweet girl went thru 1200 hours of intensive ABA therapy for 7 months. The results speak for themselves.
If you're new to all this terminology here are a few quick lessons. You can learn more by checking out my reading list:
Biomedical Treatment
Research has shown that children with autism overwhelmingly have yeast and fungal overgrowth in the gut. The theory goes that this blocks the absorption of nutrients needed by the brain and compromises the immune system. The first steps in biomedical treatment is to remove the foods that are feeding the "bad bugs" - sugars, yeast products, etc and get rid of foods containing gluten, casein and soy.
As I'm sure you've heard it said, autism is a "spectrum" - therefore there is not a one-size-fits-all treatment plan that will work for everyone. This is why extensive testing is required to formulate a plan for each child. Blood, urine, stool and hair samples are routinely taken to determine the child's needs and adjust the plan as warranted. This is where you'll need a DAN doctor.
DAN doctors are trained in the Defeat Autism Now protocol of treatment. These brave professionals are pioneers in the field of autism, as the mainstream medical community still holds that there is no effective medical treatment for autism. They believe the DAN protocol to be unproven and ineffective. In my opinion, this is because the extensive testing and research done by the DAN community usually at best yields results of 47-50% effectiveness in treatment. But common sense tells us that on a "spectrum" no one treatment will by totally effective for everyone.
In the book Children With Starving Brains, the author describes it as follows:
"Imagine you are standing on a pier. Your child is drowning and you can't swim. You desperately look for help or a life preserver. You find a rope tied to the pier. However, authorities warn you not to use them because it has not been proven that the rope is strong enough. Meanwhile, your child is still drowning. If you were that parent on the pier you wouldn't wait for the completion of double-blind clinical trials to assure you that the rope is strong enough. You would pick it up and throw it to your child. The worst that could happen is that the rope would break with your child closer to the pier!"
This treatment has shown amazing results for some and significant progress for all. I must go to my grave knowing I pursued every angle, tried every possibility and barked up every tree to save my child. So we are moving forward with these treatments and trusting God.
Most autistic kids are found to have heavy metal toxicity. No cause-and-effect answer has been found as to why. It could be due to compromised immunity. All signs point to the theory that these kids are not able to get rid of toxins they are exposed to in the environment - including the mercury and thimerasol preservatives in some vaccines, pesticides and chemicals in non-organic food, surface toxins form cleaners and toxins found in our air. Care is taken to keep a 100% organic environment and use detox methods such as garlic, oregano and cilantro extract, clay baths and epsom salt baths. Some DAN doctors use chelation therapy depending upon test results. This is an area of strong disagreement among mainstream medical doctors. They argue that chelation can be dangerous if not done properly (which is true) and that it's effectiveness has not been proven to their satisfaction. Parents of children who have undergone the treatment couldn't agree less.
ABA Therapy
Applied Behavior Analysis is a far reaching term. It is not used exclusively for autistic kids. Look for a BACB certified therapist and ask lots of questions about their experience. To be BACB certified, they must have a masters in Special Education or related field and receive additional ABA training, then work under a certified therapist for a period of time. Again, remember that not all BACB therapists have experience with autistic kids.
The underlying goal of ABA is to reward the correct behavior and ignore the incorrect. To this end, they incorporate several methodologies such as PECS and the token system (see ABA video) As the child grasps the concepts and begins to communicate, the plan advances.
For those curious about cost:
We found our therapist using THIS database. Expect to pay $80-$125 per hour. In order to keep costs down, she trains students or those with a bachelors in special education students to carry out the behavior program she writes. She comes back 1x per week to rewrite the program and speak to those carrying it out. The results shown in the video above are from 40 hours. Matt and I plan to make up the hours by doing 20 hours of therapy ourselves.
Students are paid between $11-$40 per hour depending on experience and education level. I have heard of people paying as little as $9/hr. In order to accommodate a student schedule and to get 30-40 hours of therapy in per week, it is necessary to have several. The United Healthcare Children's Foundation offers grants for families paying for private ABA therapy. To qualify, you must have health insurance that does not cover ABA.
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