Fwd: DAN! Day One (1 of 2)

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Here is an early summary of some of DAN - I got it from the

St s list.

Terri

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Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000

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Reply- SJU Autism and Developmental

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From: Gallup

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Subject: DAN! Day One (1 of 2)

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Conference Introduction: We need to go beyond the comfort zone of

standard

medical procedures here -- because in autism there IS no standard

medical

procedure. The goal of the presenters at this 6th annual DAN!conference

is

to expand the knowledge base, with cure and prevention as the

ultimate

objectives. The goal of this conference is for those attending to

leave

with more knowledge and more motivation, and to be more prepared in

dealing

with their children and their health care providers.

Dr. Sydney Baker kicked off the public portion of the conference

this

morning with a short presentation entitled " What Works -- A

Clinician's

Perspective. " He cautioned that the list of therapeutic options he

had were

all indeed options; they're not a recipe or checklist. There isn't

an

out-of-the-can treatment for all children with " autism. " On the

contrary,

our children present an extraordinary variety of immunological,

digestive,

and CNS disorders, and different kids need different approaches. (Thus,

to

quote the founder of the Czech Republic, " Follow those who seek the

truth,

but flee from those who have found it. " )

He mentioned an old med school truism that " when many things appear

to

work, nothing really works, " but said in the case of autism that is

wrong.

A. ANTIFUNGAL TREATMENTS: For GI treatment, use Nystatin powder (1

million

units in glycerine). For systemic treatment, use Diflucan, Lamisil,

Nizoral, or Sporanox, all of which he said are very safe, despite

warnings

on the label. Non-prescription treatments are also effective, but

because

of the taste most need to be in capsule form: caprillic acid,

undecelyinic

acid, citrus extract, oil of oregano.

B. ANTIBACTERIAL TREATMENTS: For the rare children with a positive

response

to antibacterials, use Vancomycin, Gentamycin, or Cipro.

C. ANTIPARASITIC TREATMENTS: There is one parasite that, if found, must

be

treated: Blastocystis hominis (despite conventional medical wisdom

of

recent years which held that this was common and harmless). Use Bactrim

and

Humatin (paromycin), Yodoxin, Artemisia annua, citrus extract, or

other

herbals.

D. ANTIVIRAL TREATMENTS: Acyclovir, Valacyclovir, Famciclovir, and

Gancyclovir are all effective against Herpes simplex/zoster.

(Another

antiviral, transfer factor, will be discussed separately.)

E. DIGESTIVE TREATMENTS: These are enzymes from various sources for

breaking down large molecules (mammalian and plant enzymes and a

special

preparation peptidase, SerenAid).

F. DRUG TREATMENTS: A few children have a brief positive response

to

steroids. Depakote is more often successful than the other frequently

used

drugs (Clonidine, Risperidone, Prozac, Naltrexone ...). Drugs in

general

are very problematic, but again some kids may respond.

G. EDUCATIONAL TREATMENTS: Dr. Baker said this area is NIMPE

( " not in my

professional expertise " ) but offered the view that children on whom

high

expectations are placed do the best. He said it's very disappointing

that

educators have bought into the " medical model " with its

emphasis on labels

and de-emphasis of individuality. Emphasis on a child's strengths is

the

fulcrum for raising self-confidence, and that should be the objective

for

every kid, disabled or otherwise.

H. FLORA TREATMENTS: Smelly gas and poops are the result of abnormal

gut

flora. Re-florastation is difficult, but diet is one approach.

Clostridia

likes wheat, oats, and casein, so if you have that you should avoid

those

foods. Likewise, yeasts like sugars. Fiber and probiotics are

helpful.

Antibiotics usually do more harm than good.

I. GENERAL TREATMENTS: This is an umbrella category for things like

oxygen

therapy, cranial-sacral therapy, secretin, and homeopathy and NAET.

Dr.

Baker didn't say anything about these except to report that many

parents

like C-S therapy and he himself was currently using homeopathic

remedies

for an illness.

J. IMMUNE SYSTEM TREATMENTS: He made an interesting comparison between

the

immune system and the CNS, saying they form " a functional unit

engaged in

perception + memory = recognition . " In the immune system, this just

occurs

on a microscopic or chemical level. Our kids usually have a shift from

TH1

to TH2 (i.e., two varieties of T-helper cells), and could benefit from

a

reduced antigenic load, antifungals, IVGG, transfer factor, colostrum, or

EPD.

K. METABOLIC/MISC TREATMENTS: Yet another umbrella category of

poorly

understood measures including melatonin, cell therapy, fibroblast

growth

factor.

L. NUTRIENTS/METABOLIC TREATMENTS: These are all the dietary

supplements

we're been hearing about for so long: B6 and magnesium, DMG, zinc,

selenium, cod liver oil, flax oil, calcium (essential for anyone who

is

casein-free), B12, primrose oil, DMAE, urocholine, glycine, MSM ...

M. SENSORY TREATMENTS: Auditory therapy, visual therapy, tactile

therapy

.... (also immune therapy -- see above)

N. SYMPTOMATIC TREATMENTS: Activated charcoal (treatment for yeast

die-off

reactions, and helpful also on any bad day), Alka Selzer Gold

(alkalinizes

a person -- whenever we feel " off " we tend to be on the acid

side).

Summary: These apparently diverse therapies are not as unrelated as

they

appear.

Dr. Bernie Rimland then spoke a little about the progress in

treating

autism over the last several decades. He makes no bones about saying

" the

medical establishment has been the enemy of families with autistic

children

from Day One. " It began in the 1950s, when the treatment was

psychotherapy

for the supposedly unloving mother and play therapy for the kid. Dr.

Rimland endeavored to show the establishment that it was really a

biological disorder.

Next (mid-60s) there was a massive effort to discredit the idea that

vitamins could benefit autistic kids. Much of this was based on the

story

of some kid who went around with jars of chewable multivitamins and ate

'em

like candy every day until he developed Vitamin A poisoning. Bernie says

he

continues to get letters from parents reporting that vitamins (esp B6)

are

helping, but psychiatrists continue to prefer drugs. Linus ing

suggested the term " ortho-molecular psychology " (i.e., using

supplements to

provide the substances that normally should be present in the human

body.

Drugs on the other hand are sub-lethal doses of toxic substances. Well

over

100,000 people are killed every year by prescription drugs. Imagine

the

response the government and the public would have if that many people

were

dying in plane crashes. Over 3,000 families have reported to the ARI

that

Ritalin had been prescribed for their kids, and 44% say it made the

children's condition worse, vs 29% who said it helped. Only 4% are

worse

after taking B6 and magnesium (a figure so low as to be

statistically

meaningless) and 46% are helped.

These " parent ratings " statistics (published in bar chart

format by the

ARI) provide backup when you go to a doctor who wants to take the drug

route.