autism treatment for 4 year old

[Jane]

I'm at a loss. The doctors have given me a diagnosis of autism and my beautiful girl seems very delayed now. The first two years she seemed normal. This is so hard to handle. I have been offered special services for her--physical therapy, speech therapy, small class. Am doing all that. But have seen so much on the internet about diet and treatment that might really help her more. It's overwhelming. Takes all my energy just to get her to her appointments and to care for her. Where should I turn to get a handle on this? Thanks for any help you can give.

[Mustang Carole]

Hi,

My advise to you is simple...take care of your self first because this child will depend on you all the way.

Find an outside interest and go there , like books, start to read to get away in your head. Get on a chat forum with other parents because you will need support. YOU ARE NOT ALONE !!!!

Do not gt over whelmed. . Your best intensions are for your kid or you would not have posted. Get help started ASAP due to early intervention is the best time for recovery.

Seek professional help or find another Mom who can take you on the same path to a recovery.

You will have a lot of twist and turns in your travels, but just remember, your kid can walk and talk and chew gum......they are alive and can move and be free and not paralized on a vent for life. There is always hope.

 

Hope this helps a little.

Been there, done that ..still doing that.

[Marybell]

Jane--the main thing you need is professional (medical) help. It's too hard to go it alone! And too much to learn while caring for a family. Find a DAN doctor--www.autism.com\ari will have a list. Don't be fooled by everyone who signs up for this--call the office or ask around to find someone EXPERIENCED you can go to. Wish you all the best. Keep the faith. Marybell

[Pam]

Hi! I'm new to this site. I have a son with ADHD and Aspergers Syndrome. We've had great success treating him with digestive enzymes. There is a book by Karen DeFelice called Enzymes for Autism. She's a mom with two challenged boys. The enzymes she recommends using can be purchased through a company called Houston Neutraceuticals. They are definitely worth the investment! Our son has much improved eye contact and now carries on "normal" conversations with us.

 

Pam

[sallyanna]

my son has adhd and aspergeres syndrome and he also takes fish oils, optimim oils and multi vitamins with high B vits and magnesium. i researched this at great length and also took him for an intolerence test that confirmed my suspiscions that he is allergic to all milk but also found that he was allergic to aspartamine (sweetners) and mildly to wheat. This is the absolute easiest way of explaining the supplements without having to do all the research! There is a definite 100% improvement but remember the fish oils take about 2 months to get in the system. I also changed the vegetable oil to olive oil and took out most junk food. we did go extreme at first to organic etc and there was a difference but not so much as the hecticness of the diet itself! I have to say, the sweetners was an eye opener in itself. Personally, I would reccommend all kids with or suspected adhd to have the allergy/intolerence test before accepting any meds as you may find the adhd symptoms may be triggered by something not adhd at all! however, like i say my son does have adhd (no doubt about that lol!) and is still on Concerta, purely cos i can't find a consultant to help try and wean him off, so if anyone recommends anyone it would be greatly appreciated. Sally (North wales - but prepared to travel if necessary!!) p.s. please explain these enzymes for autism....not heard of this but then i have been trying to help the adhd side more at the mo. please explain, i also work with a little four year old girl with autism

[GarethNelson]

unfortunately language delay is something that plagues many autistics, but you can help them develop by getting the right kind of education in the areas that trouble them. i'm a higher-functioning autistic / aspie (there is no real difference) and had a language delay. i got over this with speech therapy though. just keep at it, and remember autism is not the enemy: the language delay is.

[Guest April]

Hi Jane,

I consult with many families of children and adolescents on the autism spectrum and unfortunately there is not one panacea that helps all children. However, there are some really good interventions that can help these kids make great gains if they are appropriate.

1. Most families report improvement with the GFCF diet

2. Some families have used DAN doctors to aid with chelation of metals, supplements, etc.

3. Once nutrition and cleansing the body is underway, therapies can be more effective. Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) is a parent driven intervention that remediates the core deficits of children with autism. The website is www.rdiconnect.com. Remember that even if there was a pill to "cure" autism, as some people say, the child still would have to make up for the thousands of hours of lost time in social interactions that other children have had. RDI helps regain some of those lost hours.

4. HANDLE (www.handle.org) is a developmental approach that determines the underlying dysfunction in the nervous system and provides simple daily activities that provide input to strengthen the weakened system(s). Even when you detox, if the nervous system is still under stress, the system will continue to create toxins. HANDLE helps the system handle the stimulation we encounter through our sensory systems. I have had one client so far wean off of medication as a result of this program. The HANDLE program has been studied with brain injured patients (all injuries were over 3 years old) and brain imaging showed improvements, in addition to functional outcomes.

5. Some therapies parents have recommended as beneficial are craniosacral therapy (helps detox) and Aqua chi (footbath that absorbs toxins in body).

 

From my experience it appears the children who make the greatest gains are those whose parents prioritize their most pressing needs, and address these issues first. You can't do everything at once, and if your child is impacted by a particular stressor, it makes sense to address it before other things can be effective. I hope this information was helpful.

 

April

[bookmaggats]

Take all the energy you have and fight...I have a darling baby boy who has also been diagnosed with autism..That diagnosis came about 6 months ago when he was 21 months old...The first thing that I did was to read everything (and I still am) that is written on the subject so that I could become knowledgable about the condition...A book written by Karen serreousi (forgive me if I misspellled her last name) is a must read..It is a truley inspiring book about a mother of an autistic child who through research and trial and error "cured" her son. (The book is called Unraveling the mystery of autism.. I beleive). My son is also receiving ST, OT, and ABA.... If your pediatritian is anything like mine, he wont beleive in the treatment other than behavioral therapy....

 

Join asd_solutions @yahoogroups.com there are several parents of autistic children and they discuss the different therapies etc.

 

 

I personally started my son on the Gluten free/ casean free diet and I had him see a DAN doctor (See the ARI (Autism Research Institute) for a list of DAN doctors in your area...These are medical doctors who beleive that autism is a biomedical condition that can be treated. Our DAN performed a series of blood and stool tests on my son, As most DAN's will do, and found that my son is indeed allergic to gluten and had high aluminum in the blood. My son is now being chelated with TD-DMSA....Lookup Shoemaker and Autism in the keyword search and you should see the story of a family using this therapy for their son and the success that they have had.

 

Looking back, I missed many signs...I now know a lot about vaccines...I blindly trusted that they were safe..Now I know that that is ridiculous...At two months after my son's first vaccine he slept the next day and would not wake for a feeding ...He slept for a total of 16 hours straight....I just recently learned that this can be an abnormal reaction to a vaccine...Also there is a chemical called thimerisal in vaccines that has been mandated to be removed from all vaccines and it has in most except for the flu shot. The night of recieving the flu shot my son started spinning in circles with his eyes rolled up in his head smiling in a bizzar way.....

 

 

I could go on and on....Another book Special diets for Special kids by Lisa Lewis is a great resourse

 

Its very hard....To deal with physically and emotionally but I always tell myself....God trusted me with this child because he knew that I would do everything in my power to help him overcome....I have faith that my son will be OK...It is an uphill battle and you do slip and fall but you have to continue to beleive that your daughter will and can get better....I see amazing changes in my son since his diagnosis...They are not as fast as I would like but I do see promise....Once again I cannot emphasize to research all that you can...note your daughters particular symptoms....and start a program of supplementation for her...

[Ang]

I have a three year, three month old son who was diagnosed ten months ago with Autism, Develomental Delay. I am still working through all of this within myself and am now doing alot of research as to super-nu thera, probiotics and other dietary suplements as well as GF/CF diet. There is a lot to take in and I am looking for some help. I live in Ontario, Canada and everything seems to be in the States. These items can become very expensive. My son is currently recieving six hours a week of ABA/IBI Therapy and is in day care five mornings a week for socialization. I have a Developmental Pediatrician but I am not sure how much he knows about these supplements and tests or if he would do the tests. Is there a place to go for me to find Dan Doctors in Ontario and how much do these doctors charge? My husband and I do not have high paying jobs and are strapped for cash as it is. We see improvements in our son since we started him in day care in February and even more improvements since we started his six hours of therapy a month ago but I know we can bring him further with some medical and dietary interventions. If anyone can help, I would really appreciate it. We are all in this together

[Chemar]

Hi Ang and welcome

 

I have just sent you an Private Message thru the Latitudes/ACN system that I think may be helpful to you

 

[PDDNOSMOM]

Get to a DAN Doctor as soon as possible. It is money well spent. We have also had a huge amount of progress with ABA therapy, which can be very expensive also. You only have a small window of opportunity to get some of the toxins out that could be affecting your daughter. "The Autism Resource Book", and "Let Me Hear Your Voice" are good books to start with. I get the best info. from other parents in our area, try to find an Autism Support Group in your area. Good Luck. God Bless.

 

Cheri

 

I'm at a loss. The doctors have given me a diagnosis of autism and my beautiful girl seems very delayed now. The first two years she seemed normal. This is so hard to handle. I have been offered special services for her--physical therapy, speech therapy, small class. Am doing all that. But have seen so much on the internet about diet and treatment that might really help her more. It's overwhelming. Takes all my energy just to get her to her appointments and to care for her. Where should I turn to get a handle on this? Thanks for any help you can give.