Can Autism be cured?

[Jenfrog79]

i have worked with kids with autism for quite a few years now. i've worked with special education teachers, ABA therapists and speech therapists. i read her book since i figured it would be somewhat amusing since there is no cure for autism. doctors don't even know the cause of it. many doctors told her "no its not autism" before she went to many other doctors to find out what was wrong since he was getting all these severe seizures. in my opinion, i think he was misdiagnosed. she's no doctor and i don't believe she can say she cured her son if this has been researching by professionals for many years and they don't know a cause or a cure. and this is after a years time. yes, with ABA therapy kids may get better over time. i work with other kids on the gluten free caisen free diet and they are not cured. its supposed to help their GI system, not their brain. its sad to me to see all these articles out there saying she cured him.

 

[jenfur]

Doing a term paper is not the same as being a professional in the field. I have taught in an EIBI room for preschoolers and have been trained by people at one of the foremost autism research schools in the country.

We never use the word cured. Instead, we describe our kids as being indistinguishable from their neurotypical peers. In other words, if you saw them in a class with other children who did not have a disability, you would not see a difference right away. There will always be little things that will mark them as a child with autism. Their brains will always see things differently, and some children have much greater success with this than others. To call it a cure is irresponsible and gives the wrong impression.

Cure is indeed in the eyes of the beholder at times, it means different things to different people. I am so sorry. I will make sure not to comment on things I simply do not understand. I hope after I graduate I can recieve your high level of training and treat those still learning as irresponsible and ignorant as well- it is very encouraging.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

i have worked with kids with autism for quite a few years now. i've worked with special education teachers, ABA therapists and speech therapists. i read her book since i figured it would be somewhat amusing since there is no cure for autism. doctors don't even know the cause of it. many doctors told her "no its not autism" before she went to many other doctors to find out what was wrong since he was getting all these severe seizures. in my opinion, i think he was misdiagnosed. she's no doctor and i don't believe she can say she cured her son if this has been researching by professionals for many years and they don't know a cause or a cure. and this is after a years time. yes, with ABA therapy kids may get better over time. i work with other kids on the gluten free caisen free diet and they are not cured. its supposed to help their GI system, not their brain. its sad to me to see all these articles out there saying she cured him.

Do you also know that many children who are autistic also have a very elevated level of heavy metals in their tissue? It is because some cannot metabolize it like someone who is not autistic.

 

[perla75]

i work with other kids on the gluten free caisen free diet and they are not cured. its supposed to help their GI system, not their brain. its sad to me to see all these articles out there saying she cured him.

I just wanted to throw in that there is some fascinating research out there now that is proposing increased GI health may lead to decreased autistic symptoms. GFCF diets, trips to DAN doctors, the controversial chelation treatments...interesting stuff.

 

[Jenfrog79]

Do you also know that many children who are autistic also have a very elevated level of heavy metals in their tissue? It is because some cannot metabolize it like someone who is not autistic.

yes i do know. i had one mother tell me that she put her son on the diet he no longer had excessive diarehha.

 

[perla75]

Do you also know that many children who are autistic also have a very elevated level of heavy metals in their tissue? It is because some cannot metabolize it like someone who is not autistic.

The toxicity levels are just amazing (shocking), aren't they? Not with all children on the spectrum, but quite a few.

The biomedical research that's been coming out just fascinates me.

 

[1PrincessMomma1]

Thank you for all the interesting information. I still think she may harm the cause she worked to bring so much attentionto.

 

[TheZue]

I agree with the questioning of whether it should be cured. My son is a HFA and I would not jump at a cure. I'm not sure how much of him it would take. This is a kid who was reading at two, has a photographic memory, and makes elaborate patterns on the floor. I'm fairly sure it's all related and goes hand in hand with his autism. His gifts came with a price, but I'm sure that we can overcome that price to help him reach his potential and lead an independent adult life.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

The toxicity levels are just amazing (shocking), aren't they? Not with all children on the spectrum, but quite a few.

That research just fascinates me.

They really are. That is where I think the vaccine debate comes in. Older vaccines were preserved with thimerisol. While I would not want to put that in my child at all, it has been said that children who are autistic have a fragile immune system. The combination of multiple vax and/or the preservatives in them are what set off the autisim symptoms. Sort of like having a loaded gun and that pulls the trigger if you will. The genetic component is the fragile immune system. At least this is how I have come to understand it. It is not the actual vaccine per say but all the additives in it as well as the combo disease vaxes. I don't think that parents of autistic children (well not all) are so opposed to vaccinating but would like to see our vaccines become green. Stop putting additives in them. Stop doing 5 diseases in one. That type of thing.

 

[jodifla]

I just wanted to throw in that there is some fascinating research out there now that is proposing increased GI health may lead to decreased autistic symptoms. GFCF diets, trips to DAN doctors, the controversial chelation treatments...interesting stuff.

My son is language delayed. Most of his preschool class was on some sort of diet....didn't seem to do anything for any of them, except make them unhappy that they couldn't eat anything.

 

[jodifla]

http://www.autism-watch.org/about/bio2.shtml

This is an interesting article from a doctor who was at first sold on the diets:



After years of “supplements,” restrictive diets and “unconventional” therapies (too many to list), our boys were improved, but were a long way from being cured. We were forced to carry their special foods with us whenever we left the house, lest a molecule of gluten or casein catapult them back to where we had begun. We were nearly broke, despite both of us having well-paying jobs, and we were on the verge of exhaustion. The beginning of the end was when my wife, suspecting that some of the “supplements” we were giving our older son weren’t having any effect, stopped them all—without telling me. I saw no difference, even after two months (when she finally told me). We had been chasing our tails, increasing this and decreasing that in response to every change in his behavior—and all the while his ups and downs had just been random fluctuation. My eyes began to open.

The final step in my awakening came during a Disneyland vacation. My younger son was still on a gluten- and casein-free diet, which we both swore had been a significant factor in his improvement. We had lugged at least 40 pounds of special food on the plane with us. In an unwatched moment, he snatched a waffle and ate it. We watched with horror and awaited the dramatic deterioration of his condition that the “experts” told us would inevitably occur. The results were astounding—absolutely nothing happened. I began to suspect that I had been very foolish.

In the following months, we stopped every treatment except speech and occupational therapy for both boys. They did not deteriorate and, in fact, continued to improve at the same rate as before—or faster. Our bank balance improved, and the circles under our eyes started to fade. And quite frankly, I began to get mad at myself for being so gullible and for misleading other parents of autistic children

 

[Mouse House Mama]

My son is language delayed. Most of his preschool class was on some sort of diet....didn't seem to do anything for any of them, except make them unhappy that they couldn't eat anything.

Not to be rude but you said it didn't "seem" to do anything. You don't really know. I personally know one person that as soon as she changed her dd's diet her speech exploded. The mother herself said that she couldn't believe it. We live in a very polluted environment. Foods are not made like they used to be. There are tons of chemicals and junk in everything. Do you really think that doesn't have any effect on us as humans?

 

[suzanna1066@comcast.]

Just out of curiosity, if you feel comfortable answering, did the doctors give your child an "autism" diagnosis?

I used to work with a child who had a similar background as to what you described. The doctors at first diagnosed this child as "PDD" but changed it to "language delays" after a year and a half when the child was re-tested by a neuropsych. The child made such rapid gains in certain areas and they labeled the child as being "on the cusp." They no longer felt comfortable giving the child a PDD diagnosis. Mom actually asked for the diagnosis anyways to ensure the child was eligible for ABA services at school.

No, her Developmental Pediatrician is very cautious about making an official diagnosis until she sees the patient several times at 6 month intervals. When we first went she was diagnosed with autism spectrum symptoms but as she as gotten older, they are fading. She still has some feeding issues (certain textures) and speech problems but her improvement has been phenomenal.

I was always skeptical about the link to autism and vaccines but now I am a believer. She was fine until her two year shots, then almost overnight she stopped eating solid food and started showing symptoms.

 

[debbi801]

No, her Developmental Pediatrician is very cautious about making an official diagnosis until she sees the patient several times at 6 month intervals. When we first went she was diagnosed with autism spectrum symptoms but as she as gotten older, they are fading. She still has some feeding issues (certain textures) and speech problems but her improvement has been phenomenal.

I was always skeptical about the link to autism and vaccines but now I am a believer. She was fine until her two year shots, then almost overnight she stopped eating solid food and started showing symptoms.

I wonder how much this makes the difference. DS was truly always different, from birth. It was rare to see him smile, he always looked terribly worried and like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He never could self-sooth. At 6 months of age, he was having nightmares. He has always had problems with food and feeding. I could go on and on.

He was my 3rd child and from the beginning, I had concerns. Sadly, I let DH, the pediatrician, his day care, our families, etc. all reassure me and brush the concerns under the rug. I will for ever feel guilt that he missed out on early intervention because I ignored my instincts.

 

[perla75]

My son is language delayed. Most of his preschool class was on some sort of diet....didn't seem to do anything for any of them, except make them unhappy that they couldn't eat anything.

As other people have stated, I think some people see results with these biomedical and nutritional interventions, and some don't. Watching an unhappy preschool class is not empirical evidence though. There are many other factors involved. Remember that you are talking to a behavior analyst here-I need to see the data!!!

I'm not saying one way or another-the research is not yet solid and there is more research to come.

What I do think though is hey, why not? We change our diets all the time to decrease symptoms of several issues and that has worked. My best friend changed to diet to get rid of horrendous migraines & it worked (she is also a behavior analyst by the way & took data on her symptoms-even did a little withdrawal study to see if it was in fact the diet that caused the change! ). People change their diets to help with depression, PMS, take supplements to relax-all of these issues have an effect on behavior. IF there is a true link to GI issues and autistic tendencies, wouldn't it make sense to get those GI issues under control? It's an interesting thought.

All I am stating is that I find the biomedical research very interesting & I'm open to reading more as the research arrives.

 

[EveDallas]

SO has anyone read her book?

She accepted his diagnosis. She just refused to accept, "Well, this is it."

I read her first book, and it was actually very touching and smart. I haven't read the second one yet, but as far as I can tell she isn't claiming to own any special cure- she just found what worked for her kid and is encouraging other parents to do the same.

Actually, I have read her books. All of them. And I stand by my original statement.

 

[daughtersrus]

http://www.autism-watch.org/about/bio2.shtml

This is an interesting article from a doctor who was at first sold on the diets:



After years of “supplements,” restrictive diets and “unconventional” therapies (too many to list), our boys were improved, but were a long way from being cured. We were forced to carry their special foods with us whenever we left the house, lest a molecule of gluten or casein catapult them back to where we had begun. We were nearly broke, despite both of us having well-paying jobs, and we were on the verge of exhaustion. The beginning of the end was when my wife, suspecting that some of the “supplements” we were giving our older son weren’t having any effect, stopped them all—without telling me. I saw no difference, even after two months (when she finally told me). We had been chasing our tails, increasing this and decreasing that in response to every change in his behavior—and all the while his ups and downs had just been random fluctuation. My eyes began to open.

The final step in my awakening came during a Disneyland vacation. My younger son was still on a gluten- and casein-free diet, which we both swore had been a significant factor in his improvement. We had lugged at least 40 pounds of special food on the plane with us. In an unwatched moment, he snatched a waffle and ate it. We watched with horror and awaited the dramatic deterioration of his condition that the “experts” told us would inevitably occur. The results were astounding—absolutely nothing happened. I began to suspect that I had been very foolish.

In the following months, we stopped every treatment except speech and occupational therapy for both boys. They did not deteriorate and, in fact, continued to improve at the same rate as before—or faster. Our bank balance improved, and the circles under our eyes started to fade. And quite frankly, I began to get mad at myself for being so gullible and for misleading other parents of autistic children

I'm the mom to a special needs child (genetic disease, not autism) but I can relate.

I've watch an acquaintance drain their bank accounts, take a second mortgage on the house, sell anything extra and go into huge credit card debit trying to find the "cure". The sad part for me is that I told the parents early on (when their child was about 2) that I thought that there were some developmental delays that they should look into. They blew me off saying "Oh isn't it cute A*** is pretending to be a plane when they watch A*** walk up and down the hall with his arms out to the side. Or when A*** would scream and throw a fit at the age of 2 when anyone would knock over a tower instead of unstacking them and re-nesting them and say that he's just a "neat freak". Or when A*** was 3 and wouldn't respond to his name or a simple direction like bring me your shoes and they would say, "Oh he's just being a boy"

Now, they have completely gone the other direction. They have spent THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars in the last few years on supplements for chelation, hyperbaric oxygen chamber sessions (actually considered buying a camber for their home), GF/CF diet, and now on Sonrise therapy. They pulled him out of EI services when he was 2 1/2 but did start him in EC when he was 4 only to pull him out of that as well because "all of the teachers and therapists are a bunch of quacks and don't know how to cure autism". He's now 6, not in school, not getting any therapy or services because they are sure that with 60 hours a week of Sonrise he will be cured within the next year.

I truly do hope that they find a cure but I can not see any difference at all even after everything that they're trying. Instead, they are in debt past their eye balls and still have a child with classic behaviors of autism (screaming, rocking, flapping, repetitive, no spontaneous speech but will echo...)

As I said, I'm a parent of a special needs child. If I was told that there was a cure, I'm sure that we would try but at the same time, I would hope that we would not be so gullible and be able to realize if she was really being "cured" or not.

 

[mytwotinks]

I agree with the questioning of whether it should be cured. My son is a HFA and I would not jump at a cure. I'm not sure how much of him it would take. This is a kid who was reading at two, has a photographic memory, and makes elaborate patterns on the floor. I'm fairly sure it's all related and goes hand in hand with his autism. His gifts came with a price, but I'm sure that we can overcome that price to help him reach his potential and lead an independent adult life.

I totally understand what you are saying, but the child my sister volunteers with is not able to even comunicate with others. I am sure that his parents would do anything to have him cured. They can't really even "know" him the way most of us can get to know our children.

Does Autism stay the same for a persons whole life? I guess that would make a big difference if I were in your position. I would be more likely to want to treat if I were afraid that it might become more severe over time.

 

[KirstenB]

I totally understand what you are saying, but the child my sister volunteers with is not able to even comunicate with others. I am sure that his parents would do anything to have him cured. They can't really even "know" him the way most of us can get to know our children.

Does Autism stay the same for a persons whole life? I guess that would make a big difference if I were in your position. I would be more likely to want to treat if I were afraid that it might become more severe over time.

Mytwotinks, this is exactly how I feel. Both my mom and my priest tried to console me by saying our dd would probably be some kind of genius. Like there's some cosmic swap out there. I would give my soul for a cure. Dd's autism isn't clever or charming....it interferes with her potential every day of her life.

I was convinced that she was deaf, because she would never answer to her own name until recently. I understand that some kids with autism do have "gifts". Unfortunately our dd isn't one of them. Or not yet. I don't want to be bleak. WE've seen enormous gains across the board. Not so much in speech, but I can live with that. There's a saying, "when you've met one autistic person, you've met ONE autistic person". It's very frustrating how differently autism manifests itself in each individual.

 

[mytwotinks]

Mytwotinks, this is exactly how I feel. Both my mom and my priest tried to console me by saying our dd would probably be some kind of genius. Like there's some cosmic swap out there. I would give my soul for a cure. Dd's autism isn't clever or charming....it interferes with her potential every day of her life.

I was convinced that she was deaf, because she would never answer to her own name until recently. I understand that some kids with autism do have "gifts". Unfortunately our dd isn't one of them. Or not yet. I don't want to be bleak. WE've seen enormous gains across the board. Not so much in speech, but I can live with that. There's a saying, "when you've met one autistic person, you've met ONE autistic person". It's very frustrating how differently autism manifests itself in each individual.

I'm so sorry that you are in that position. I know that my sister gets so excited when her little friend does something as simple as grabbing her hand to show her what he wants to do. It breaks my heart. I feel like these kids are in there and we just can't get to them. It must be heartbreaking.

My oldest has some health issues and I can relate with how frustrating it is to need answers that aren't there. I know how hard it is to accept that there isn't something that can be done for a child who is in pain, physically or emotionally.