Autism Spectrum

The Autism Spectrum   l   Autism: an overview
Vaccination Pros and Cons   l   Therapies
Life Skills   l   Autism from the Inside

It is unfortunate that the diagnosis of autism has for too long been associated with the stigma of mental illness. With new advances in neuroscience, that model is, albeit slowly, being discarded. Thanks in part to the unceasing efforts of dedicated parents with children and other adults on "the spectrum", it is becoming better understood as a neurological/neurodevelopmental dis-order having an important biochemical/nutritional component. Parents unwilling to accept the idea of a diagnosis that implies a static condition have worked hard, individually and collectively to improve the health and wellbeing of their children. In doing so, they are showing us that many of the "signs" of autism are actually symptoms of biochemical and neurological challenges that can sometimes be greatly aided with the right kind of intervention.

This is not to say that autism per se is a "sentence". Or that the individual with autism is "broken" and needs to be repaired like a broken car. Rather, many of the issues the autistic person has to deal with while living in our modern world are often the cause of unnecessary physical and emotional/psychological pain. If we can reduce some of the obstacles to effective functioning, such as de-stressing overloaded sensory systems, calming neurological pathways, repairing some of the damage to related biochemical systems involved with digestion and detoxification (for instance), the long term effects could be very positive and life-affirming. Definitely some of the stigma, isolation and self-esteem issues associated with living with non-neurotypical issues will be lessened when there is an improved ability to cope with the many and varied environmental demands of our particular culture.
Which the autistic community, with a lot of truth, could tell us a peculiar culture. =8^D

It is my experience, as a mother of a thrice-exceptional son whose challenges involve many of the issues of the autistic spectrum, environmental illness (now called multiple chemical sensitivities), chronic fatique, chronic asthma/bronchitis and gifted/learning disabilities, that these health and neurological issues cannot be addressed effectively by an single modality.

Having explored the cognitive/neurodevelopmental options, I have had the opportunity to learn some of the foundational concepts behind some of the more popular ones.

My efforts to find effective ways to deal with the chronic health problems without recourse to allopathic drugs have given me an arsenal of "alternative" treatments, that while not as "quick to relieve symptoms" as prescription and over the counter drugs, have gone farther in addressing the causes and strengthening the immune system.

Having run the gauntlet of quite a few available therapies, those sanctioned by the medical community as well as (alternate ) therapies, I have learned many of the pros and cons of those choices.

In many ways the North American lifestyle is more synthetic than we would suppose at first glance, and our diets are equally concerning. For instance, food choices for the 'daily food pyramid' reflect biases by "experts" which have more to do with marketing than health concerns.
For instance, see The USDA Food Guide Pyramid

There is also a growing awareness of the contamination of our food supply by pesticides, hormones, irradiation, genetic modification, and chemicals such as neurotoxic artificial sweeteners in baby food and hormone disrupting chemicals in ice cream and condiments. Now nanonized metals are being used (and ingested) as 'polish' on fresh produce, in baby care products and sun screen. Environmental toxins, both inside and outside the home, are significantly affecting the immune system and biochemical balance of our bodies.

With the increased numbers of children with learning disabled, autism spectrum, AD/HD, and immune system impairments, it is important that parents, caregivers, teachers and other professionals develop a multi-dimensional understanding and approach to the care and education of their charges. Not doing so reduces the likelyhood that these children (and adults) will experience the optimal conditions in which to create the lives they would like to live.

This list of resources is by no means complete.


Margaret Romanowitch






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• The HANDLE Institute Judith Bluestone, the founder of the HANDLE Institute, had reason to know the issues of autism inside out. Unlike the typical psychological model, she taught a holistic neurodevelopmental approach to reading the messages of the body and strengthening weak systems. No system works in isolation, and it is important to understand that these systems are not "closed", but instead interconnected with each other, and with all the systems of the body, including the balance of the biological/biochemical systems.
  
  
• Frequently Over-looked Issues
  An interesting and informative place to start reading some of HANDLE's basic premises.
  
  
• Autism: An overview
  by Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D.
  This site offers information on various theories about autism.
  
  
• Environmental triggers are a neglected component of autism research
  "There is no doubt that an environmental factor has contributed to the dramatic increase in the incidence of autism over the past 15 years. Genetic factors are a component in the condition-concurrent rates of autism in identical twins approach 90 percent-but rates of inherited genetic diseases do not change abruptly in one generation, whereas autism rates skyrocketed during the 1990s..."
  
  



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• How do we balance the risks from disease with the risk from vaccines?
  "The question of vaccine-related damage provokes tremendous controversy. Conventional opinion holds that vaccines are good, and that those who question vaccination are bad. Two potentially conflicting values operate in this controversy - first, the desire to eliminate disease, and, second, the desire of parents to protect their children from damage. Children's vaccines pose risk. Diseases pose risk. How do we balance the risks from disease with the risk from vaccines? Unfortunately, few studies of the long term risks of vaccines exist. Parents are struggling to make hard decisions in a medical climate of antagonism for even questioning routine and extensive vaccination. Public health laws propose enforced vaccination. Where does the answer lie?"...
  
  
• Vaccination education
  "Vaccination is a medical procedure which carries a risk of injury or death. As a parent, it is your responsibility to become educated about the benefits and risks of vaccines in order to make the most informed, responsible vaccination decisions..."
  
  
• Dispelling vaccination Myths:
  An Introduction to the Contradictions Between Medical Science and Immunization Policy
  
  



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• Effective Therapies for Autism and other Developmental Disorders
  Enhancing Conventional Medicine: Alternative Medicine's Place in Treating Autism by Lewis Mehl-Madrona, M.D., Ph.D.
  
  "During my medical training, I learned that autism and its related disorders were essentially incurable, a finding certainly confirmed by our dismal experience. Our autism clinic was an exercise in diagnosis and no treatment; what little we did for children was largely ineffective. While we had come a long way from Bettelheim's refrigerator mother theory of autism (in which a cold, unresponsive mother was the cause of the condition), we were stuck in a genetic-biochemical hypothesis allowing no possibility for cure or improvement. We were confident that the unknown genetic defect was buried deep in the biochemistry of the brain. We were excused from searching for treatments, thereby leaving this crucial journey to the parents.
  
  The parents of autistic children convinced me that everything I learned was wrong, to everyone's benefit. Freed from the fetters of training and pessimistic professors, I discovered that children with developmental disorders are interesting, and have rich social and communicative lives, though different from their so-called normal counterparts. Attentive parents naturally learn this secret language of their autistic children without even realizing this amazing feat. "...
  
  
• Dana's View from the Inside
  This mom has a wealth of information to share on her site, both in her perspectives and her treatment of her family. She has done a lot of work, with good results, to treat the many health imbalances which seem so prevalent with ASD.
  
  
• Defeat Autism Now! "If you have a child affected by autism you already know that "recovery" doesn't mean "cure." Our conferences provide the latest information that leads to medical treatment and metabolic support sufficient to reduce physical pain and roadblocks in children with autism, to the extent that many are newly able to communicate and learn..."
  by Jane Johnson, Director, Defeat Autism Now!
  
  
• Spectrum Supplements
  A Canadian source for biochemical supplements created for treating the biomedical issues of ASD
  
  
• It can be confusing for parents/professionals to try to sift through the volumous information available on the internet about natural therapies for children on the autism spectrum.
  
  This is especially so as there is such a wide range of responses to these therapies. Some people believe adamantly in a particular therapy that helped their children, while others had very different experiences.
  
  However, parents who have worked with some of these therapies are valuable resources, as they see the effects day in and day out over a wider time frame and in a more personal environment than many professionals who offer services to the autistic community. The challenge is to find what works for your child. The label of autism can not define the uniqueness of the manifestations of challenges for each individual.
  
  The following link is included to warn people about a fairly large group of websites (which often link to each other) which falsely claim expertise and unbiased critiques on natural/alternative therapies. (although the conclusions are always negative)
  The aim of these sites seems to be to discourage people from straying outside the boundaries of officially sanctioned Western medicine in general, and the pharmaceutical industry in particular.
  
  My advice is to find out for youself. Ask questions, talk to people who've had direct experience with the therapies you are interested in learning about. Look at the kind of issues the therapies are used for. Usually one can discern some kind of pattern between the therapy and the issues it is most effective at helping.
  
  And remember...each of us is unique. Therapies work best when adapted to the individual, not the other way around.
  
  
• Quackbuster/Quackwatch Founder Stephen Barrett, a "de-licensed" psychiatrist and self-proclaimed medical expert on "quackery" is famous for his attacks on chiropractic and most natural therapies. This despite losing every defamation lawsuit he has made against natural health practitioners and conceding in court his ties to the AMA, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food & Drug Administration (FDA)...
  
  


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• Cooking School "Our cooking school for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder began in 2002, in response to parents' request for more support enabling them to keep their adult offspring at home as long as possible. A needs survey in the Hamilton, Ontario region in the 1990's documented that many parents were in no hurry to find group homes for their family members who had autism. They preferred having them continue to live in the family home as long as possible, but needed support to be able to do that. Teaching the art of cooking to adults with autism has been our way of offering some of that support..." ~Autism/PDD Family Alliance
  
  
• "Coach in the Kitchen is a one-of-a-kind cookbook, designed for those who need extra help in the kitchen."
  
  



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• The following excerpt was written by a woman with Asperger's. I think that what she had to say in response to an abusive post is important to be shared. Like many people on the Autistic Spectrum, she has had first-hand experience with being the recipient of mean-spirited treatment by what some people on the spectrum call "neurotypicals" who hide their ignorance behind prejudice.
  
  It seems ironic that while people on the spectrum may make social blunders, it is the "normal" population that often displays the lesser capacity for compassion and a greater intolerance for neurological differences.
  Something to think about...
  
  *****
  "I too suffer from Asperger's as does my son. The lack of empathy sometimes cited as a characteristic of Asperger's does not refer to a callousness toward the feelings of others, but rather to an inability to decipher from things like body language and expression what others are thinking or feeling. Consequently, people with Asperger's are often socially awkward and miss cues that are obvious to others. In place of an absent social sense, we often learn "rules" of behavior by observing others. Unfortunately, the rules we absorb don't apply to all situations and are useless in new situations. The resulting missteps sometimes unintentionally give offense to others or provoke scorn and ridicule.
  
  People with Asperger's typically suffer deeply as a result from the cruelty of others, are often bullied as children and isolated as adults. The rate of clinical depression among this group runs as high as 56%, anxiety disorders are also common and the suicide rate is higher than that of the general population."
       Chesire
  *****
  
  
• What Is NT? "Neurotypical syndrome is a neurobiological disorder characterized by preoccupation with social concerns, delusions of superiority, and obsession with conformity.
  
  Neurotypical individuals often assume that their experience of the world is either the only one, or the only correct one. NTs find it difficult to be alone. NTs are often intolerant of seemingly minor differences in others. When in groups NTs are socially and behaviorally rigid, and frequently insist upon the performance of dysfunctional, destructive, and even impossible rituals as a way of maintaining group identity. NTs find it difficult to communicate directly, and have a much higher incidence of lying as compared to persons on the autistic spectrum..."