Is a Gluten and Casein-Free Diet an Answer to Autism or ADHD?

A gluten- and casein-free diet is as much of an answer to autism and ADHD as a band-aid that is soaked in antiseptic, and blood-clotting solution is an answer to a bullet that causes infection and bleeding in the body.

So, if one looks at some symptomatic improvement in both situations, autism and the bullet, and is happy to report it, there is nothing wrong with this, per se. However, if one assumes, in the process, that something of essence has been accomplished in autism, ADHD or in the overall health of this child, one has made the wrong assumption. The distributors of this and other diets often convey an impression that there is something fundamental or genetically sinister about these proteins - gluten and casein or other foods such as soy, corn, etc. - and, therefore, these and other diets are presented as some big answers to autism and chronic diseases. As "proof" to this, autism and other diseases do seem aggravated by allergic foods. However, in spite of the fact that these aggravations are formally correct, such an approach to chronic diseases is wrong because it confuses the trigger and the cause of disease. In practically 100% of all cases with allergens triggering any chronic disease, allergens are never the cause of autism or any other disease. Furthermore, the preoccupation with allergens detracts from the search for the 'bullets' - the true causes of disease - which by remaining in the body will inevitably continue causing further damage and destruction and, thus, leading to more advanced and more diseases.That is why avoiding triggers leads to neither substantial nor long-lasting progress. And that is why once the diet is broken, even if on few occasions, whichever the symptoms that seemed to have been subdued in autism and other diseases rebound viciously. In addition, even if the diets are maintained religiously, new triggers find their victim, anyway. That is why I have seen multitudes of patients who started out with excluding just 3-4 allergic foods from their diets and who have subsequently ended up becoming allergic to so many foods that they were down to only 3-4 foods, total. That is because that the bullets or the causes of allergies have remained in the body and kept eating it away as the disease and overall health worsened. So, the bottom line is don't chase triggers, but pursue the bullets, instead.

What are these bullets in the case of gluten and casein in autism or in all food allergies, in general, and how to and how not to go about identifying and addressing these?

These "bullets" are primarily toxicological agents such as mercury, lead, methylmercury, pesticides and a few others as well as gastrointestinal infections such as parasitic, yeast, and, sometimes, bacterial infections also. The best way to misdiagnose these is to do exactly what most of the alternative practitioners do - that is, to order blood, stool and other lab tests. (Conventional doctors are even out of the equation here because they act as if their patients are immune to these toxicants or infections and that is why they hardly ever look for these.)

The main reason why blood, stool and other lab tests are unreliable is because their detection ability is very low. And even if a blood test confirms allergy to gluten or casein it is not worth subjecting your child to being stuck with needles because the blood test, even if positive, cannot tell what symptoms these or other foods or nonfood allergens will or will not trigger. This, one can establish simply by avoidance or observation.

As far as stool is concerned for gastrointestinal infections, in order for these tests to be positive, a sufficient and large number of infectious organisms or parasitic eggs must show up in the specimen on the day of collection. This rarely happens because these infectious agents may not be present in sufficient numbers on the intestinal surface itself but burrow inside it where they become undetectable to stool tests. And even if stool or lab tests catch one or two infections this does not mean that the tests did not overlook other infectious agents at the same time. It is often, that these other infections are the ones which cause most of the allergies and the notorious leaky gut which are commonly present in autism and other chronic diseases.

Of course, this is not anything that a diagnostic lab will share readily with a doctor or a doctor with you. As a result, most of the time, the lab tests end up misleading instead of leading. This, as many other important facts in medicine remains "classified", i.e., not for patients' ears. Besides, even if and when these infections become partially detected, the pharmaceutical treatments for these with using drugs or "natural treatments" can often be worse than the infections themselves. The reason for this we explain in the DVD, Autism -A curable disease that also explains why any chronic infections remain incurable whether in autism or Lyme disease or other as long as toxicological and other agents mentioned in the DVD continue causing the state of immuno suppression in the body. Concerning heavy metals and other toxicants, both lab and chelators/detoxifiers are not capable of properly addressing these either. Instead, the chelators can cause unpredictable and even worse toxic effects than the metals themselves. This is also reflected in the DVD, Autism - A curable disease and in my article Chelators of Mercury, Lead and Other Heavy Metals: Theoretical Benefits, Suboptimal Results and Real Dangers. The Implications for Autism, Other Brain- and Somatic Diseases. (This article, even in spite of being supported by scientific references, has been rejected for publication by several alternative medical peer review journals. Certainly, it flies in the face of their editorial staff which tries to dress up the store window of alternative medicine as "natural", "progressive" and harmless. The reader may also find the DVD, The power of missing knowledge: An explanation for the failures of conventional and alternative medicine in chronic and degenerative diseases. An introduction to FCT as very edifying as it explains why terminology as "natural", "progressive" or "harmless" belongs rather to the territory of fairy tales or naive assumptions, rather than to the real facts or factual science.)

The main diagnostic tool that I use and that overcomes all of the lab hurdles and omissions is - bioresonance testing. This noninvasive test that is capable of tuning into gastrointestinal and any other organs energetically and completely pain free is ideal for children and adults, also. This is particularly the case for children with autism who have been through the proverbial mills of tests.

Homeopathic treatment that begins with the removal of the immunosuppressive agents and residues of antibiotics or side-effects of vaccines, the necessary requirements without which all infections are doomed to chronicity, treats these infections very effectively. As the rule, "genetic" gluten and casein and other food allergies disappear. Following the treatment course, children or adults consume formerly allergic foods without untoward reactions.

For more details and viewing presentations of cured children from autism go to Autism - A curable disease.

Original article

A Parents Story About Helping Their Child With Autism

Having a child diagnosed with autism can be at once a blessing and a curse. Finally, you have a place to begin to find some help for your son or daughter, but you may find your hopes dashed that things will go back to the way things used to be. Some experts say that autism has no cure. The idea that your child will never be "normal" is heartbreaking, but make no mistakes. With early diagnosis and Autism Services, children with autism can and do develop and thrive.

Our son was 21 months when his doctor first mentioned autism. We thought she was crazy. He was acting just like his brother and sister did at his age. His sister didn't talk until she was three, at which point she'd started and never stopped. Besides, he was always interacting with us... or was he?

One of the assurances I clung to during the quiet months while we waited was the fact he would take our hands and lead us to do things he wanted. He wouldn't point at the milk. He would take my hands and put them on the fridge door, and once opened, he'd put them on the carton. To us, that was communication in lieu of speech. To the educational autism team, it was the sign he was using us as tools instead of interacting with us socially.

We have always homeschooled our children and the idea of using a set of autism strategies on our son - to trick him into doing things his teachers wanted - seemed alien. If it wasn't coming from him, how was it helping him? They told us that he would see the benefits of the skills, and be motivated to develop them on his own. We wanted him to talk, to see a reason to communicate and build relationships. We weren't sure the team's ideas would work, but regardless, we tried them.

ABA stands for Applied Behavioral Analysis. It's one of the oldest, most effective methods for treating autism, and relies on actions being rewarded. Bribes, in other words. For autism teacher training often focuses on compliance, and the easiest way to get compliance from a young child is offering them something in return.

At a base level, I didn't feel it was the right things to do because I couldn't see it's long-term success. I do not bribe my other children to do chores with gold stars, and I didn't think using M&Ms to convince my youngest to use words would keep him talking at age 8 or 12. The thing I realized over a few months is that at very young ages, these autism strategies work to build skills that will continue later without those motivations. Once the child picks them up, they see the benefits and continue to develop.

After a certain point, ABA stopped motivating our son and we moved on to other autism strategies - like picture sequencing. To teach him how to use the restroom, we illustrated the steps, laminated them and taped them to the bathroom door. To keep him focused during the day, we had a flipbook we used for helping move him from one task to the other. We added sign language and speech therapy to help with communication. Three years after our journey began, our son phased out of the services the system could offer.

I know the story we share is different from many families. There are children with severe autism who always need assistance, and do struggle all of their lives. We know we're lucky to say our son is happy, well-adjusted and relatively self-sufficient. He may be a few years behind in maturity, but he isn't thought of as "different". Early diagnosis and follow-up with Autism Services helped our son to the point where he would not be diagnosed as autistic today.

Maximum Potential specializes in online learning environments for ABA Therapy

Original article

Musicophilia Meets: Early Hyperacusis' Contribution To Autism

In Musicophilia Dr. Sacks offers the concept that removal of normal auditory input might result in a hypersensitivity of the auditory cortex causing heightened powers of musical imagery -- and sometimes auditory hallucinatory process.

Dr. Sacks' focus is with music and how it is utilized and occupied in the brain of neurotypical persons, many of whom developed their non typical and more fascinating response to music later in life.

What is not lost where autism is concerned is the fact that many times sight perception, auditory perception, and other sense perception translates to unique and non typical understanding of life experience for many within the spectrum.

My autistic daughter's auditory sense is profoundly unique in how it is processed, and certain sounds affect her physical well being. This means that she most probably has not learned in the usual manner even from her earliest years.

If one is dealing with a confused non typical auditory process, a process that might even have ramifications with regard to feeling physically well or not, their complete focus would not be upon a normal assimilation of all that is going on around them. Learning about life in typical context -- the abstract, the concrete, emotions and so on -- would hardly be doable.

Perhaps because of the above my own daughter's ability to discern life in context -- to understand the abstract, the vague, pretend, real, rote meaning, and meaning in context -- has either been delayed or lost in varying degrees. Indeed, she has more easily understood things that are rote in nature, or mathematical; and these have been a strength for her. Perhaps the abstract, vague, pretend, real, concrete, rote meaning, meaning in context, have equal relevancy in her mind and are not neurologically tucked away where each type of memory belongs.

Her understanding of all thought and life experience might very well be that concrete is abstract and abstract is concrete -- there is no difference. There seems an absence of pecking order with regard to types of thought, and thought's assimilation in her brain. Thus her intellectual complexity creates a repertoire process that is similar in concept to musical imaging that Dr. Sacks describes -- but hers is a process that is intensified and includes more than processing of music.

The autistics' neural underpinnings might not always possess development of separate identity types for different types of thought (Short-Term, Long-Term, Explicit, Episodic, Semantic, Implicit, Priming, Procedural); those underpinnings might be hard pressed to develop typically since, for those with hyperacustic hearing, ability to focus typically to the stimuli is absent.

Not just my own daughter, but all within the autism spectrum, most likely possess an unique intellectual complexity that is amazing, hardly understandable to the masses. Understood only by those who have in some significant way witnessed an autism affected person's life experiences.

I suppose that due to the offensive way my daughter has heard all along, her neural connections might have never developed the proper pathways with regard to directing typical comprehensions during differing types of thought scenarios. Her neural connections have taken unique non typical paths, therefore her thought is utilized and occupied in a vastly different way than normal.

The autistic mind, every one, has potential for extreme brilliance that is housed in such a way that we might only be lucky to be able to test it or tap into it. The methods by which IQ is tested, cannot identify the kind of smarts that many in the autism spectrum have.

My daughter's worsening autism -- psychosis nos -- seems to represent the "filling in" that Dr. Sacks describes with regard to musical imagery. His book describes how some persons' brains actually function as if they are hearing music, when they are not exposed to the auditory input of music playing. The way such was determined was to play familiar songs quietly as subjects listened, but have gaps where the music wasn't playing (while performing the brain imaging).

In truth, my daughter's "filling in" is not about music, it is about her whole life experience. She seems to lack the thought filters that are standard in most human models. Her neural stimulation seems a hodgepodge that is simply invoked by even the most novel of thought associations. It has made life for the rest of us most interesting and many times for my daughter, most exhausting.

*****

About our journey with autism... At the very beginning I figured we would get our daughter normalized in no time and pretty soon she would be asking for the car keys. It didn't quite work out that way and as my entire family and I continued to work through the ebb and flow of her unique walk, we fell madly in love with her in all her glory. This articles are just an outreach.

For a real life look at one case of severe autism, just Google "Hello, Dr. Wells". It is a sixteen year account of autism that turned to schizophrenic like psychosis.

Original article