Support, understanding, encouragement...

Newly Diagnosed?
There are many people who still insist that autism is not a true biological disorder, but a mental disorder instead. There are many people with autism (mostly higher functioning with the exception of a few), that resent any efforts to “cure” or “recover” our autistic children. To them we say this…

With all due respect, there is no way possible that autism is simply a purely genetic disorder, because it is statistically impossible to have a genetic epidemic. We also kindly refute those who claim that better diagnostic techniques account for the rise. We as a society would surely have noticed if 1 out of 67 kids were exhibiting autistic like behaviors ten years ago. We may not have known to call those behaviors autism per say, but we would have recognized that something was going on with our young people.

Yet here we are in the year 2008 with a huge epidemic on our hands and no explanation from our doctors as to the cause. Well, no explanation from MOST of our doctors anyway… There are a few brave doctors out there like Andy Wakefield and Rebecca Carley who speak the truth and lose everything, and not too many more who want to risk following in their footsteps. We as a society need to ask ourselves WHY we are not listening to the only people who are making sense.

We are not here to badger anyone into getting treated biomedically or homeopathically if they are happy being autistic. We agree that some treatments for autism can be barbaric and just plain unsafe. However, we are here to offer hope to individuals and their parents who feel they have reached the end of their ropes. For the autistic child who continuously self mutilates, and for the non-verbal child who is frustrated to the point of tears when he cannot communicate his needs and desires…we are here. For the child who has no social skills and cannot make friends (it can be a very lonely existence indeed), we are here…For the eloping child who strikes fear into his parents hearts by running off again and again, and for the violent child who may never grow up and make it in this world…we are here. As long as we feel that we can make a difference by positively impacting even ONE child’s life, we will be here spreading our message of hope and recovery.

We used to be afraid to spread the message that autism can be cured. For starters, we only recently found most of the missing pieces ourselves and our children are still in the process of recovery. We didn’t think anyone would listen to us until they were fully recovered! But then we quickly realized that it would be too late. By waiting, we would be depriving other families of the chance to get started down the path toward recovery. When we speak of recovery, we are not talking about being “perfect” or “normal”. Only one person was ever perfect in this world, and His name is Jesus Christ. By recovery, we mean a healing of the autistic symptoms sufficient enough to change the person’s quality of life (both now and in the future). And we believe that is very possible!!!

We have done a lot over the years, and hindsight is always 20/20. The benefit is that we can look back and see what we have done that works, and what we have done that has not been very effective. Then we can share that information with you as you begin your journey. Hopefully with the right information, you will be able to be more effective starting out and lessen your child’s time spent in recovery. As we all know, early intervention is the key. That is especially true when you are using natural detoxification protocols. So here it is…this is the list of what we wish we knew eight years ago, and what we would do today if we were just getting the autism diagnosis (or ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s, etc…)

1. DO NOT GIVE YOUR CHILD ANYMORE VACCINES! This is a very important one… No “school” shots, and even no “flu” shots. Read our Vaccine Truths page to understand why, and explore the vaccine links there to find out how to claim an exemption in your state. (If you live in West Virginia you are going to have a terrible time getting an exemption, because they ONLY offer medical exemptions, and you will probably never find a doctor willing to give you one. Our daughter almost died from her vaccines, and we couldn’t even get a medical exemption!) This is not optional. If you want recovery, you MUST stop vaccinating and begin reversing the damage. The schools will tell you that you can’t, but you CAN, so it is important to know your rights. Remember that the government pays individual schools “bonuses” for having a 90% or higher vaccination rate. They want your child vaccinated at all costs, and will not willingly offer this info to you. We go one step further and don’t allow our children to be around any newly vaccinated children if we can help it. Virus is shed after vaccination, and we are playing it as safe as possible at this point.
2. Begin changing your home environment. You cannot protect your children from the entire toxic world that we live in, but you CAN and you MUST do your part to keep them safe at home. See our Natural Living pages for more information on greening your environment, and start doing what you can. You will need to remove sources of chlorine (your water supply is a big one), get the chemicals out of your personal care products and household cleaners, remove sources of pesticides and herbicides, and eat organically. There is a lot involved in this step, but it is crucial to your child’s recovery because it will reduce the overall load of toxic exposure, which will hopefully lower the overall body burden in time.
3. Visit Dr. Shauna's website at www.noharmfoundation.com and download her free report about the Spectrum Balance Protocol. I suggest having a consult with her if you can afford it, but if not just trying the Spectrum diet will probably help your child alot. We have seen great progress with a few of our children in a short period of time following her protocol. It's less complicated than some other things we've done because there's no shots, no saunas, not a million supplements to take, and the best part is that you can begin the program for free.
4. Begin nutritional supplementation while waiting to begin the Spectrum Balance Protocol. To see what supplements we like, please see our Nutritional Supplementation page. Dr. Shauna will probably suggest that your child take Spirulina and Transfer Factor from the start, so those are two great ones to choose if you can’t afford them all. You can look at the money you spend on supplements and organic foods as an investment into your child’s future. Nothing drives me crazier then when a well meaning person suggests that we abandon our organic diet in order to save money. Our diet and supplement protocol is our true health insurance, and we will never give up on being healthy!
5. Find a reputable chiropractor and begin getting your child adjusted. The B.E.S.T. technique and/or upper cervical chiropractic styles are highly recommended. If you cannot find someone practicing these types, then find a doctor used to working with children who has treated neurological conditions before. Fixing “subluxations” in the body is a very important step towards recovering your health no matter what is wrong with you. We have an amazing self-healing body that is capable of great things when given a little nudge in the right direction!
6. Use essential oils for healing, stress relief and relaxation in yourself and your children. We like the Young Living Oils, and have used them with success this year. Our favorites are as follows:
   • Lavender- for diaper rashes, fugal skin infections, calming your emotions & relaxation
   • RC- for colds, coughs, allergies & respiratory problems (including bronchitis & pneumonia)
   • Peace & Calming- for total relaxation and for creating a calm environment simply diffuse this through the house and breathe a sigh of relief… (or use it for massage with a carrier oil)
   • Thieves- to help prevent illness & support immune function especially when around a lot of people or during flu season
   • Lemon- we love to add this one to our water to make a refreshing drink & it also makes a nice liver cleanse when added to a cup of warm water and taken on an empty stomach in the morning
   There are many more wonderful oils to choose from, these are just a sampling of our favorites. We have been using oils for years intermittently, but these pure and powerful oils really make a difference!
7. If you have a formal diagnosis for your child, you can try to apply for SSI from the social security department. There are income guidelines so you may not qualify, but it is worth a try. You will need the diagnosis paperwork, your child’s SS card and birth certificate, proof of income, copies of outstanding loans and bank statements, and your picture ID. The process can be lengthy, but if you qualify your child could get up to $550.00 a month in disability payments.
8. Again, if you have a formal diagnosis, apply for a handicapped parking permit. You may think this is odd as we did originally, but when your child runs through parking lots unsafely or refuses to walk at all, you will be glad that you have access to a closer spot. I have been nine months pregnant in 110 degree heat with a 90 pound child who decides to run from me, and I never again questioned the validity of having a permit!
9. If your child is young, have them evaluated through your state’s early intervention program. They will offer free services to qualifying children. (The usual criteria is a delay of 25% or more in at least two developmental areas, or a 50% delay in one area.) Services offered may be speech therapy or occupational therapy, and usually only an hour or so a week which is pathetic! Sometimes it is worth it (we have had some wonderful providers), and sometimes it is not (we have also had some providers that didn’t know WHAT they were doing…)
10. If your child is school age and you get the diagnosis (which would be unusually late), then request an evaluation for special education services through your school district. Your child would most likely be having trouble in school anyway, and hopefully the school will be happy to oblige. Keep in mind that they ALWAYS paint a rosier picture then the reality, and you have to be a strong advocate to get what your child really needs. Be prepared for a fight, or else consider homeschooling or even a private school specifically designed for children with autism. (Both of these options have pros and cons of course, and will still take time and effort and MONEY which is often scarce for families dealing with autism…)

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