new to this

[Guest guest]

I'm new too, but started the challenge three weeks before I went home

to the States for Christmas. The reason I fell off the wagon was

because there are no crab cakes in England- which is, and will be my

home for a while.

I followed the books advice with the dumbells, starting with 5/8/10

when doing the squats and lunges. Also used dumbells for the upper

body before finding some nautilus and free weights at the gym. It

depends what resources you have available. If you're going to a gym

or have a weight bench, it will be easier to 'graduate' to other

exercises as your body will get stronger and be more efficient. So

yeah, just go to it and imagine your biceps getting big.

Can't wait to get back to England and the challenge. I was so fit, I

frightened my family. I'd already lost 100 pounds (used to be 240)

through various methods and needed something to get me off that

plataeu. Best wishes H!

Lany

[Guest guest]

I've never actually read this all the way through, but it looks like it might be

helpful for finding your starting weights.

Finding Your Perfect " 10 " in a Body For Life Workout

http://members.tripod.com/bflbob/id23.htm

new to this

Any advice is welcome! I am brand new to the challenge, truth be

told, I haven't started yet. I have absolutely no idea how to start

the weight training, no idea how much weight to use or even a vague

idea of what i am capable of. how did everyone else start? did you

just guess and go to it? not so worried about the aerobics portion,

but the weight training just throws me.

thanks

H

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I don't have any info on the Doctor you mentioned, but I wanted to comment

on your statement about what the therapist told you being reluctant to

diagnose before age three.

This is a common myth that you need to wait, there is a CHAT test that has

shown greater than 80% accuracy in diagnosing Autism (or PDD) at 18 months

of age. There are questions in this test for both the Doctor and the

parent. You can find a copy of this test at:

http://www.featnt.org/info/chattest.asp

<http://www.featnt.org/info/chattest.asp>

I am the webmaster for this site and it has been up and down the last couple

of days due to that LoveSan Worm. If you have any trouble reaching this

page, go to google and search for the " CHecklist for Autism in Toddlers "

test, or CHAT test for short.

Don't be afraid of a " label " , if your child has this condition, people are

going to label your child when they see them anyway whether the label is

official or not. But getting an official diagnosis (or " label " ) can benefit

you and your child by qualifying your child for services they might not

receive otherwise. And then, with early intervention, hard work and a

little luck, you may be able to help your child progress tio the point where

the Autism or PDD is not noticeable to the average person and THEN the label

will be inconsequential anyway!

Good luck,

J. P. Reirdon

Webmaster

<http://www.featnt.org/> http://www.featnt.org

" Building a Bridge of Hope "

Webmaster

<http://www.autismtreatment.info/> http://www.AutismTreatment.info/

You CAN treat Autism!!

Get treatment tips for children with Autism, PDD and Aperger's Syndrome from

parents who have successfully helped their children.

Webmaster

http://www.StarThrowers.org/ <http://www.starthrowers.org/>

Fundraising for In-Home treatment programs

----Original Message-----

From: brandeesimmang [mailto:simmang@...]

Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2003 9:26 AM

Autism Treatment

Subject: new to this

Hi

My name is Brandee. I have a 27 month old who has not officially

been diagnosed b/c the therapist I work with don't believe in

diagnosing/labeling before age three. I thought I agreed with this,

but now realize that I do not. If I had to " label " , I feel Hannah

would be PDD-NOS. After her 18 month vaccinations she lost her

language and sociability, among other things. I have been working

with her myself and that seem to be helping. I also started her on

the gfcg diet have seen pretty dramatic results in a hurry (we've

been on the diet 3 weeks now). I am waiting on a referral to Texas

Children's...in the meantime, I came across Dr. Volpe(in Houston) as

a DAN practitioner. I am considering paying him a visit and was

wondering if anyone had any comments regarding his services. I feel

that dietary intervention is a big part of Hannah's improvements and

would like to continue this path. But, I don't want to leave any

stone unturned, so I am looking at any and all avenues! I live in

, TX which is pretty much 2 hours from Houston,Austin,Corpus

Christi,San . Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Brandee

[Guest guest]

Hi Brandee,

My son received the same services before and after receiving his official asd

diagnosis (a little after his third b-day) which were not enough. He was

totally gone and in his own world in my opinion. He has been GFCF, low soy, low

sugar and low phenol for almost four years. Since he is pretty much on the

SCDiet (www.pecanbread.com) with the exception of the Goat Yoghurt, I am now

changing his diet. During the past six months he has become a real carb addict

and has not been eating any meat or vegetables, I think the carbs are only

feeding his yeast problem. I do not want to keep using nystatin so I will

restrict

his carbs to carbs that supposedly are readily digestible (medium chain and

short chained as opposed to long). I am just learning so I will probably make

a lot of mistakes.

My son also lost his speech and became asd at about 18 months. I have not

ruled out the weakened live viruses in the vaccines as causing some of his

problems and have been thinking of seeing Dr Randall in Austin TX. Dr

Megson's research on EFA helped my son (www.megson.com). As did Dr Horvath's

(Univ of MD in Baltimore) research on secretin.

If you need for me to find Dr s website info, let me know. Hope

> My name is Brandee. I have a 27 month old who has not officially

> been diagnosed b/c the therapist I work with don't believe in

> diagnosing/labeling before age three. I thought I agreed with this,

> but now realize that I do not. If I had to " label " , I feel Hannah

> would be PDD-NOS. After her 18 month vaccinations she lost her

> language and sociability, among other things. I have been working

> with her myself and that seem to be helping. I also started her on

> the gfcg diet have seen pretty dramatic results in a hurry (we've

> been on the diet 3 weeks now). I am waiting on a referral to Texas

> Children's...in the meantime, I came across Dr. Volpe(in Houston) as

> a DAN practitioner. I am considering paying him a visit and was

> wondering if anyone had any comments regarding his services. I feel

> that dietary intervention is a big part of Hannah's improvements and

> would like to continue this path. But, I don't want to leave any

> stone unturned, so I am looking at any and all avenues! I live in

> , TX which is pretty much 2 hours from Houston,Austin,Corpus

> Christi,San . Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

>

> Sincerely,

> Brandee

[Guest guest]

Brandee,

I saw wonderful results with the GFCF diet; eye contact returned, toe walking

stopped and he became sociable again. He no longer wanted to be in his room

24/7. But thinking back, he has been on a restricted GFCF diet because the

soy starch and soy protein are too difficult for him to digest. I thought it

was (and may very well be) because of what a nutritionist told me, " Most soy

beans in the U.S. are genetically engineered and are not what other countries

use " . After being on the diet for almost 4 years, the decision to switch is

difficult. However, I do think that I have only been treating the symptoms and

not treating the problem, healing the stomach. Whether my son will eat the goat

yoghurt which has a lot of beneficial bacteria, I don't know.

Here is some info on a doctor that also works on healing the gut and that I

plan on seeing next year.

Pfeiffer Treatment Center <A

HREF= " http://www.hriptc.org/ " >http://www.hriptc.org/</A>Presented by

Walsh,

Ph.D. and Anjum Usman, M.D. at the American Psychiatric Association Annual

Meeting, May 10, 2001 in New Orleans.<A

HREF= " http://www.hriptc.org/MetalMetabolism_and_Autism.htm " >

http://www.hriptc.org/MetalMetabolism_and_Autism.htm</A>The Pfeiffer Treatment

Center (PTC) has discovered that defective

functioning of metallothionein protein (MT) is a distinctive feature of autism.

This abnormality (believed to be genetic) results in impaired brain development

and extreme sensitivity to toxic metals and other environmental substances.

This disorder is often unnoticed in infancy and early childhood until aggravated

by a serious environmental insult.In a study of 503 autism-spectrum patients,

PTC found abnormal levels of copper and zinc in blood (p<0.0001) indicating

defective functioning of metallothionein (MT) proteins. In humans, MT proteins

regulate blood levels of these metals, detoxify mercury and other heavy metals,

and assist in neuronal development. The expected consequences of defective MT

during gestation or early infancy are consistent with several classic

symptoms of autism. It appears that defective functioning of MT proteins may

represent a primary cause of autism.MT is directly involved in neuronal

development

and maturation of the brain and G.I. tract, and the timing of environmental

insults is critically important. By age three, these systems may have

sufficiently

matured so that environmental toxins can no longer provoke autism.

In a message dated 8/14/03 9:15:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

simmang@... writes:

> Hi Hope,

>

> Thank you so much for your response. It opened my eyes to the SCDiet which

> I had never heard of before. Has the GFCF diet been helpful to you? Are

> you switching because of the " addiction " to starches?? Like I said, I am new

> to this arena and I have seen improvements in the 1sy three weeks of this

> diet, but I just don't want to leave anything out.

>

> Your input has been extremely helpful and very much appreciated!

>

> Sincerely,

> Brandee

[Guest guest]

Brandee,

I saw wonderful results with the GFCF diet; eye contact returned, toe walking

stopped and he became sociable again. He no longer wanted to be in his room

24/7. But thinking back, he has been on a restricted GFCF diet because the

soy starch and soy protein are too difficult for him to digest. I thought it

was (and may very well be) because of what a nutritionist told me, " Most soy

beans in the U.S. are genetically engineered and are not what other countries

use " . After being on the diet for almost 4 years, the decision to switch is

difficult. However, I do think that I have only been treating the symptoms and

not treating the problem, healing the stomach. Whether my son will eat the goat

yoghurt which has a lot of beneficial bacteria, I don't know.

Here is some info on a doctor that also works on healing the gut and that I

plan on seeing next year.

Pfeiffer Treatment Center <A

HREF= " http://www.hriptc.org/ " >http://www.hriptc.org/</A>Presented by

Walsh,

Ph.D. and Anjum Usman, M.D. at the American Psychiatric Association Annual

Meeting, May 10, 2001 in New Orleans.<A

HREF= " http://www.hriptc.org/MetalMetabolism_and_Autism.htm " >

http://www.hriptc.org/MetalMetabolism_and_Autism.htm</A>The Pfeiffer Treatment

Center (PTC) has discovered that defective

functioning of metallothionein protein (MT) is a distinctive feature of autism.

This abnormality (believed to be genetic) results in impaired brain development

and extreme sensitivity to toxic metals and other environmental substances.

This disorder is often unnoticed in infancy and early childhood until aggravated

by a serious environmental insult.In a study of 503 autism-spectrum patients,

PTC found abnormal levels of copper and zinc in blood (p<0.0001) indicating

defective functioning of metallothionein (MT) proteins. In humans, MT proteins

regulate blood levels of these metals, detoxify mercury and other heavy metals,

and assist in neuronal development. The expected consequences of defective MT

during gestation or early infancy are consistent with several classic

symptoms of autism. It appears that defective functioning of MT proteins may

represent a primary cause of autism.MT is directly involved in neuronal

development

and maturation of the brain and G.I. tract, and the timing of environmental

insults is critically important. By age three, these systems may have

sufficiently

matured so that environmental toxins can no longer provoke autism.

In a message dated 8/14/03 9:15:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

simmang@... writes:

> Hi Hope,

>

> Thank you so much for your response. It opened my eyes to the SCDiet which

> I had never heard of before. Has the GFCF diet been helpful to you? Are

> you switching because of the " addiction " to starches?? Like I said, I am new

> to this arena and I have seen improvements in the 1sy three weeks of this

> diet, but I just don't want to leave anything out.

>

> Your input has been extremely helpful and very much appreciated!

>

> Sincerely,

> Brandee

[Guest guest]

Hi Hope,

Thank you so much for your response. It opened my eyes to the SCDiet which I

had never heard of before. Has the GFCF diet been helpful to you? Are you

switching because of the " addiction " to starches?? Like I said, I am new to

this arena and I have seen improvements in the 1sy three weeks of this diet, but

I just don't want to leave anything out.

Your input has been extremely helpful and very much appreciated!

Sincerely,

Brandee

Re: new to this

Hi Brandee,

My son received the same services before and after receiving his official asd

diagnosis (a little after his third b-day) which were not enough. He was

totally gone and in his own world in my opinion. He has been GFCF, low soy,

low

sugar and low phenol for almost four years. Since he is pretty much on the

SCDiet (www.pecanbread.com) with the exception of the Goat Yoghurt, I am now

changing his diet. During the past six months he has become a real carb addict

and has not been eating any meat or vegetables, I think the carbs are only

feeding his yeast problem. I do not want to keep using nystatin so I will

restrict

his carbs to carbs that supposedly are readily digestible (medium chain and

short chained as opposed to long). I am just learning so I will probably make

a lot of mistakes.

My son also lost his speech and became asd at about 18 months. I have not

ruled out the weakened live viruses in the vaccines as causing some of his

problems and have been thinking of seeing Dr Randall in Austin TX. Dr

Megson's research on EFA helped my son (www.megson.com). As did Dr Horvath's

(Univ of MD in Baltimore) research on secretin.

If you need for me to find Dr s website info, let me know. Hope

> My name is Brandee. I have a 27 month old who has not officially

> been diagnosed b/c the therapist I work with don't believe in

> diagnosing/labeling before age three. I thought I agreed with this,

> but now realize that I do not. If I had to " label " , I feel Hannah

> would be PDD-NOS. After her 18 month vaccinations she lost her

> language and sociability, among other things. I have been working

> with her myself and that seem to be helping. I also started her on

> the gfcg diet have seen pretty dramatic results in a hurry (we've

> been on the diet 3 weeks now). I am waiting on a referral to Texas

> Children's...in the meantime, I came across Dr. Volpe(in Houston) as

> a DAN practitioner. I am considering paying him a visit and was

> wondering if anyone had any comments regarding his services. I feel

> that dietary intervention is a big part of Hannah's improvements and

> would like to continue this path. But, I don't want to leave any

> stone unturned, so I am looking at any and all avenues! I live in

> , TX which is pretty much 2 hours from Houston,Austin,Corpus

> Christi,San . Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

>

> Sincerely,

> Brandee

[Guest guest]

Hi Hope,

Thank you so much for your response. It opened my eyes to the SCDiet which I

had never heard of before. Has the GFCF diet been helpful to you? Are you

switching because of the " addiction " to starches?? Like I said, I am new to

this arena and I have seen improvements in the 1sy three weeks of this diet, but

I just don't want to leave anything out.

Your input has been extremely helpful and very much appreciated!

Sincerely,

Brandee

Re: new to this

Hi Brandee,

My son received the same services before and after receiving his official asd

diagnosis (a little after his third b-day) which were not enough. He was

totally gone and in his own world in my opinion. He has been GFCF, low soy,

low

sugar and low phenol for almost four years. Since he is pretty much on the

SCDiet (www.pecanbread.com) with the exception of the Goat Yoghurt, I am now

changing his diet. During the past six months he has become a real carb addict

and has not been eating any meat or vegetables, I think the carbs are only

feeding his yeast problem. I do not want to keep using nystatin so I will

restrict

his carbs to carbs that supposedly are readily digestible (medium chain and

short chained as opposed to long). I am just learning so I will probably make

a lot of mistakes.

My son also lost his speech and became asd at about 18 months. I have not

ruled out the weakened live viruses in the vaccines as causing some of his

problems and have been thinking of seeing Dr Randall in Austin TX. Dr

Megson's research on EFA helped my son (www.megson.com). As did Dr Horvath's

(Univ of MD in Baltimore) research on secretin.

If you need for me to find Dr s website info, let me know. Hope

> My name is Brandee. I have a 27 month old who has not officially

> been diagnosed b/c the therapist I work with don't believe in

> diagnosing/labeling before age three. I thought I agreed with this,

> but now realize that I do not. If I had to " label " , I feel Hannah

> would be PDD-NOS. After her 18 month vaccinations she lost her

> language and sociability, among other things. I have been working

> with her myself and that seem to be helping. I also started her on

> the gfcg diet have seen pretty dramatic results in a hurry (we've

> been on the diet 3 weeks now). I am waiting on a referral to Texas

> Children's...in the meantime, I came across Dr. Volpe(in Houston) as

> a DAN practitioner. I am considering paying him a visit and was

> wondering if anyone had any comments regarding his services. I feel

> that dietary intervention is a big part of Hannah's improvements and

> would like to continue this path. But, I don't want to leave any

> stone unturned, so I am looking at any and all avenues! I live in

> , TX which is pretty much 2 hours from Houston,Austin,Corpus

> Christi,San . Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

>

> Sincerely,

> Brandee

[Guest guest]

Hi Hope,

Thanks so much for your email. I have been weeding through so much information

that I was just able to read some info from Dr. Megson's website. It was very

interesting! So far, all we have done is gfcf diet. I was informed that Texas

Children's Hopsital can't see us until mid January! Ugh! In the meantime, I set

up and an appt with Dr. Arturo Volpe in Houston. He can't see us until October

15th! I hate waiting! I was recently infomred of a doctor here in , TX

that practices " alternative " medicine. He has been helping a mother and her son

who have had similar experiences as we have had. I am trying to gather as much

info as possible before going to him this Thursday, so that I know what he is

talking about. I wish like anything I had that DAN Protocol, but I am hoping my

research will assist us!

Who is Dr. and is he a " DAN " doctor? IF so, I would be very interested,

as AUstin is only 2 hours from here.

Are there any particular tests that you think I should ask the doctor about when

we meet on Thursday?

Also, how is your son doing? Do you feel all your efforts have made the

difference? Did you guys have ST, OT, ABA......?

Sorry for the very long email! I am just so saturated with info, but still have

so many questions!

Thanks again!

Brandee Simmang

simmang@...

361-574-9391

Re: new to this

Hi Brandee,

My son received the same services before and after receiving his official asd

diagnosis (a little after his third b-day) which were not enough. He was

totally gone and in his own world in my opinion. He has been GFCF, low soy,

low

sugar and low phenol for almost four years. Since he is pretty much on the

SCDiet (www.pecanbread.com) with the exception of the Goat Yoghurt, I am now

changing his diet. During the past six months he has become a real carb addict

and has not been eating any meat or vegetables, I think the carbs are only

feeding his yeast problem. I do not want to keep using nystatin so I will

restrict

his carbs to carbs that supposedly are readily digestible (medium chain and

short chained as opposed to long). I am just learning so I will probably make

a lot of mistakes.

My son also lost his speech and became asd at about 18 months. I have not

ruled out the weakened live viruses in the vaccines as causing some of his

problems and have been thinking of seeing Dr Randall in Austin TX. Dr

Megson's research on EFA helped my son (www.megson.com). As did Dr Horvath's

(Univ of MD in Baltimore) research on secretin.

If you need for me to find Dr s website info, let me know. Hope

> My name is Brandee. I have a 27 month old who has not officially

> been diagnosed b/c the therapist I work with don't believe in

> diagnosing/labeling before age three. I thought I agreed with this,

> but now realize that I do not. If I had to " label " , I feel Hannah

> would be PDD-NOS. After her 18 month vaccinations she lost her

> language and sociability, among other things. I have been working

> with her myself and that seem to be helping. I also started her on

> the gfcg diet have seen pretty dramatic results in a hurry (we've

> been on the diet 3 weeks now). I am waiting on a referral to Texas

> Children's...in the meantime, I came across Dr. Volpe(in Houston) as

> a DAN practitioner. I am considering paying him a visit and was

> wondering if anyone had any comments regarding his services. I feel

> that dietary intervention is a big part of Hannah's improvements and

> would like to continue this path. But, I don't want to leave any

> stone unturned, so I am looking at any and all avenues! I live in

> , TX which is pretty much 2 hours from Houston,Austin,Corpus

> Christi,San . Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

>

> Sincerely,

> Brandee

[Guest guest]

Brandee,

Unless things have changed dramatically at Texas Children's Hospital over the

past year or two, I'd highly recommend finding a different group/doctor to

see for your child's diagnosis. Everyone I know who has seen them (including us

many moons ago) have been extremely disappointed with many being given

extremely negative prognosises that later turned out to be unfounded. Even

though

they are listed as developmental pediatricians, their developmental testing is

not very thorough (unless it has changed a great deal -- they completely

missed glaring motor issues with my son), they do no biomedical testing and

typically only give you the contact numbers for a few schools and the autism

society

as their recommendations.

Dr. Gail Sheeley or Dr. Guitstein -- both psychologists -- come to

mind as a good place to start in Houston for a general diagnosis and more

appropriate help. If not them, the county MHMR group can refer you (and usually

covers the cost) to other doctors who can do developmental testing and give a

diagnosis. Look for the phone number for MHMR in the phone book under Health

and

Human Services, call and ask for the paperwork to get a service coordinator.

The wait is usually a bit long with them as well but you can be doing many

other things if your child is showing signs of autism without a firm diagnosis.

Also for your own info, you can go to the Autism Research Institute's website

www.autism.com/ari and request their checklist for autism (I think it's the

E-2 form but I'm not sure). They'll send this comprehensive list of questions

to you to fill out and then score it to show whether your child would fall into

the spectrum or not. It's the only firm answer we ever got in my son's 8

years of diagnosis fun. You should also be able to get the info to order a copy

of the DAN protocol from that site as well.

Another site that might be helpful is www.neuroimmunedr.com. This is the

site of Dr. Goldberg in Calfornia who believes many of the kids

diagnosed

in spectrum have immune system dysregulation that leads to viral infections,

yeast buildup, allergies, intolerances, etc.

Best wishes,

Gaylen

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/20/03 1:53:06 AM Central Daylight Time,

simmang@... writes:

<< During the past six months he has become a real carb addict

and has not been eating any meat or vegetables, I think the carbs are only

feeding his yeast problem. >>

Hope,

Carbs can be a real craving in yeastie folks but they can also be a sign of

seratonin imbalance. In addition to the yeast issue, you might want to do some

searches to see if some of the symptoms of low seratonin fit your child. You

can bump up the tryptophan in his diet in other ways like turkey or the

supplement 5-HTP.

Gaylen

[Guest guest]

<<<<<< I was informed that Texas Children's Hopsital can't see us until mid

January! Ugh!

Just a word of caution. Don't place so much hope on TCH. They are not in

touch of what's the latest with treating Autism. They may suggest doing

tests such MMR and EEG, and prescribe some psychotic drugs, and ask about

your school district. They could give referral to speech and occupational

therapies, but your pediatrician could that. The Bridges school could be

beneficial but only if you live in Houston nearby the medical center. They

use the Floor time approach by Stanley Greenspan. You could google on it

and find more info.

Check into Verbal Behavior. A great resource is www.behavioranalysts.com.

They have online training classes for parents.

HTH,

[Guest guest]

I've heard several people in this group weren't happy with TCH. I just

wanted to say we are extremely happy with the developmental pediatrician our

son sees through The Meyer Center. She seems to really care about .

My friend said we got so much more in the way of testing done than she was

ever able to get through her daughter's doctors. She even did the ADOS test

for us since our insurance wouldn't cover it (she couldn't do the psych.

stuff, obviously). They do always seem to have a waiting list and it can

take a while to get in. We'd gone in March to get the " official " dx, after

all the testing, although we all knew has autism. The next

appointment I could get was for Jan. 14! She put me on a list to have me

called if there were any cancellations. She told me if I didn't have an

appointment for sooner than January by the end of June to call her and she'd

take a vacation day, if necessary, in order to see sooner. There has

never been mention of medication for . Maybe we lucked out but we've

had a good experience.

Pam

Re: new to this

<<<<<< I was informed that Texas Children's Hopsital can't see us until

mid

January! Ugh!

Just a word of caution. Don't place so much hope on TCH. They are not in

touch of what's the latest with treating Autism. They may suggest doing

tests such MMR and EEG, and prescribe some psychotic drugs, and ask about

your school district. They could give referral to speech and

occupational

therapies, but your pediatrician could that. The Bridges school could be

beneficial but only if you live in Houston nearby the medical center.

They

use the Floor time approach by Stanley Greenspan. You could google on it

and find more info.

Check into Verbal Behavior. A great resource is www.behavioranalysts.com.

They have online training classes for parents.

HTH,

[Guest guest]

Pam,

Would you please share what exactly does the development ped. do? I thought

the main function of this specialty is the diagnosis which is mainly done by

observation and parents interview to provide info about the child. What

tests are exactly are being used? Is she going to see on a regular

basis? Is she treating him as well? How?

I hope I am not sounding negative (not my intention). I am just curious

since we really got no where pursuing this path.

Thanks,

Re: new to this

>

>

>

>

> <<<<<< I was informed that Texas Children's Hopsital can't see us until

> mid

> January! Ugh!

>

> Just a word of caution. Don't place so much hope on TCH. They are not

in

> touch of what's the latest with treating Autism. They may suggest doing

> tests such MMR and EEG, and prescribe some psychotic drugs, and ask

about

> your school district. They could give referral to speech and

> occupational

> therapies, but your pediatrician could that. The Bridges school could

be

> beneficial but only if you live in Houston nearby the medical center.

> They

> use the Floor time approach by Stanley Greenspan. You could google on

it

> and find more info.

>

> Check into Verbal Behavior. A great resource is

www.behavioranalysts.com.

> They have online training classes for parents.

>

>

> HTH,

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Pam,

Would you please share what exactly does the development ped. do? I thought

the main function of this specialty is the diagnosis which is mainly done by

observation and parents interview to provide info about the child. What

tests are exactly are being used? Is she going to see on a regular

basis? Is she treating him as well? How?

I hope I am not sounding negative (not my intention). I am just curious

since we really got no where pursuing this path.

Thanks,

Re: new to this

>

>

>

>

> <<<<<< I was informed that Texas Children's Hopsital can't see us until

> mid

> January! Ugh!

>

> Just a word of caution. Don't place so much hope on TCH. They are not

in

> touch of what's the latest with treating Autism. They may suggest doing

> tests such MMR and EEG, and prescribe some psychotic drugs, and ask

about

> your school district. They could give referral to speech and

> occupational

> therapies, but your pediatrician could that. The Bridges school could

be

> beneficial but only if you live in Houston nearby the medical center.

> They

> use the Floor time approach by Stanley Greenspan. You could google on

it

> and find more info.

>

> Check into Verbal Behavior. A great resource is

www.behavioranalysts.com.

> They have online training classes for parents.

>

>

> HTH,

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Gaylen. I'd never read this before.

Lori

In a message dated 8/20/2003 10:39:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Googahly writes:

> Carbs can be a real craving in yeastie folks but they can also be a sign of

> seratonin imbalance. In addition to the yeast issue, you might want to do

some

> searches to see if some of the symptoms of low seratonin fit your child. You

> can bump up the tryptophan in his diet in other ways like

> turkey or the

> supplement 5-HTP.

> Gaylen

[Guest guest]

Thanks Gaylen. I'd never read this before.

Lori

In a message dated 8/20/2003 10:39:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Googahly writes:

> Carbs can be a real craving in yeastie folks but they can also be a sign of

> seratonin imbalance. In addition to the yeast issue, you might want to do

some

> searches to see if some of the symptoms of low seratonin fit your child. You

> can bump up the tryptophan in his diet in other ways like

> turkey or the

> supplement 5-HTP.

> Gaylen

[Guest guest]

I sent a message earlier stating we've been happy with TCH, specifically The

Meyer Center, and we have been. However, I agree with you on their support

services not providing much. And, you are right, we got no biomedical

testing. Of course, I didn't know what all was available elsewhere. I

spoke with a doctor this a.m. and was VERY impressed with him. I left a

message for his nurse stating I'd like to talk to her about a medical

exemption for a child with autism, did the doctor do them, etc. Well, the

nurse didn't call me back. The doctor did! I bet we spent 15-20 minutes or

so on the phone this morning...just minutes after I'd placed my call. He

suggested some testing we could do that involves drawing blood and these are

for TREATABLE diseases. He said he'd hate to have live with autism if

he has something that can be treated! I am so happy to have found a doctor

who not only is not acting like I'm a crazy woman for being fearful of the

vaccines, but one who told me flat out he doesn't believe vaccines are as

safe as we are led to believe and that he wouldn't give vaccinations

if he were me and for me not to allow others to do it to him either.

Thank you for the referral, Kim. You mentioned this doctor several months

ago. I was bewildered about exemptions and not wanting to go through the

TDH for the religious or conscientious exemption and I thought of this

doctor. His name is Dr. Pottkotter. He is in Sugarland. His phone number

is 281/265-7800. He is not exclusively a doctor trained in autism but he

knows a lot about it, unlike the other pediatricians I've used. I plan on

attending the ASA meeting in September, Kim, so maybe I'll see you there!

Pam

Re: new to this

Brandee,

Unless things have changed dramatically at Texas Children's Hospital over

the

past year or two, I'd highly recommend finding a different group/doctor to

see for your child's diagnosis. Everyone I know who has seen them

(including us

many moons ago) have been extremely disappointed with many being given

extremely negative prognosises that later turned out to be unfounded.

Even though

they are listed as developmental pediatricians, their developmental

testing is

not very thorough (unless it has changed a great deal -- they completely

missed glaring motor issues with my son), they do no biomedical testing

and

typically only give you the contact numbers for a few schools and the

autism society

as their recommendations.

Dr. Gail Sheeley or Dr. Guitstein -- both psychologists -- come to

mind as a good place to start in Houston for a general diagnosis and more

appropriate help. If not them, the county MHMR group can refer you (and

usually

covers the cost) to other doctors who can do developmental testing and

give a

diagnosis. Look for the phone number for MHMR in the phone book under

Health and

Human Services, call and ask for the paperwork to get a service

coordinator.

The wait is usually a bit long with them as well but you can be doing many

other things if your child is showing signs of autism without a firm

diagnosis.

Also for your own info, you can go to the Autism Research Institute's

website

www.autism.com/ari and request their checklist for autism (I think it's

the

E-2 form but I'm not sure). They'll send this comprehensive list of

questions

to you to fill out and then score it to show whether your child would fall

into

the spectrum or not. It's the only firm answer we ever got in my son's 8

years of diagnosis fun. You should also be able to get the info to order

a copy

of the DAN protocol from that site as well.

Another site that might be helpful is www.neuroimmunedr.com. This is the

site of Dr. Goldberg in Calfornia who believes many of the kids

diagnosed

in spectrum have immune system dysregulation that leads to viral

infections,

yeast buildup, allergies, intolerances, etc.

Best wishes,

Gaylen

[Guest guest]

I sent a message earlier stating we've been happy with TCH, specifically The

Meyer Center, and we have been. However, I agree with you on their support

services not providing much. And, you are right, we got no biomedical

testing. Of course, I didn't know what all was available elsewhere. I

spoke with a doctor this a.m. and was VERY impressed with him. I left a

message for his nurse stating I'd like to talk to her about a medical

exemption for a child with autism, did the doctor do them, etc. Well, the

nurse didn't call me back. The doctor did! I bet we spent 15-20 minutes or

so on the phone this morning...just minutes after I'd placed my call. He

suggested some testing we could do that involves drawing blood and these are

for TREATABLE diseases. He said he'd hate to have live with autism if

he has something that can be treated! I am so happy to have found a doctor

who not only is not acting like I'm a crazy woman for being fearful of the

vaccines, but one who told me flat out he doesn't believe vaccines are as

safe as we are led to believe and that he wouldn't give vaccinations

if he were me and for me not to allow others to do it to him either.

Thank you for the referral, Kim. You mentioned this doctor several months

ago. I was bewildered about exemptions and not wanting to go through the

TDH for the religious or conscientious exemption and I thought of this

doctor. His name is Dr. Pottkotter. He is in Sugarland. His phone number

is 281/265-7800. He is not exclusively a doctor trained in autism but he

knows a lot about it, unlike the other pediatricians I've used. I plan on

attending the ASA meeting in September, Kim, so maybe I'll see you there!

Pam

Re: new to this

Brandee,

Unless things have changed dramatically at Texas Children's Hospital over

the

past year or two, I'd highly recommend finding a different group/doctor to

see for your child's diagnosis. Everyone I know who has seen them

(including us

many moons ago) have been extremely disappointed with many being given

extremely negative prognosises that later turned out to be unfounded.

Even though

they are listed as developmental pediatricians, their developmental

testing is

not very thorough (unless it has changed a great deal -- they completely

missed glaring motor issues with my son), they do no biomedical testing

and

typically only give you the contact numbers for a few schools and the

autism society

as their recommendations.

Dr. Gail Sheeley or Dr. Guitstein -- both psychologists -- come to

mind as a good place to start in Houston for a general diagnosis and more

appropriate help. If not them, the county MHMR group can refer you (and

usually

covers the cost) to other doctors who can do developmental testing and

give a

diagnosis. Look for the phone number for MHMR in the phone book under

Health and

Human Services, call and ask for the paperwork to get a service

coordinator.

The wait is usually a bit long with them as well but you can be doing many

other things if your child is showing signs of autism without a firm

diagnosis.

Also for your own info, you can go to the Autism Research Institute's

website

www.autism.com/ari and request their checklist for autism (I think it's

the

E-2 form but I'm not sure). They'll send this comprehensive list of

questions

to you to fill out and then score it to show whether your child would fall

into

the spectrum or not. It's the only firm answer we ever got in my son's 8

years of diagnosis fun. You should also be able to get the info to order

a copy

of the DAN protocol from that site as well.

Another site that might be helpful is www.neuroimmunedr.com. This is the

site of Dr. Goldberg in Calfornia who believes many of the kids

diagnosed

in spectrum have immune system dysregulation that leads to viral

infections,

yeast buildup, allergies, intolerances, etc.

Best wishes,

Gaylen

[Guest guest]

Every ped should be looking for this. How can we get them to become

informed?

I have had no luck with my HMO docs. Actually, they think I'm crazy. They

do tell though, that my son has wonderful eye contact, doesn't stim (sp) and

looks very interested in what we are saying. He does stim but for some reason

has not the last few times we have been at the doctors. I guess he must be

wondering what testing he is there for.

In a message dated 8/20/03 10:42:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

Googahly@... writes:

> in spectrum have immune system dysregulation that leads to viral

> infections,

> yeast buildup, allergies, intolerances, etc.

[Guest guest]

Every ped should be looking for this. How can we get them to become

informed?

I have had no luck with my HMO docs. Actually, they think I'm crazy. They

do tell though, that my son has wonderful eye contact, doesn't stim (sp) and

looks very interested in what we are saying. He does stim but for some reason

has not the last few times we have been at the doctors. I guess he must be

wondering what testing he is there for.

In a message dated 8/20/03 10:42:38 AM Eastern Daylight Time,

Googahly@... writes:

> in spectrum have immune system dysregulation that leads to viral

> infections,

> yeast buildup, allergies, intolerances, etc.

[Guest guest]

She did the ADOS testing which consisted of certain activities and

observations. She did it for us because our insurance wouldn't cover it.

The tests she had done were MRI (to be sure his brain was all there and that

the communication part of the brain was fully developed since he is speech

delayed), an EEG to determine whether the crying out in his sleep could be

due to seizures, genetics testing, Fragile X and heavy metals testing,

including Mercury, speech and language testing, o.t. evaluation, I'm trying

to remember what else at this point. She's never suggested medications for

him and I don't he needs any. I hope that doesn't change.

We first saw her on Oct. 30 last year and she's seen him twice since then,

plus, my husband and I went for a meeting to go over all of the test

results. His next appointment is in March so she can see how he's

progressed and to get recommendations ready for starting Kindergarden in the

fall. I'm not sure how often she will see him after the March appointment.

She always returns my calls when I have questions for her and doesn't seem

to be watching the clock when we talk.

After saying this, I am very happy to have come across the other doctor I

spoke about though. Nobody has ever mentioned any alternative testing of

any kind. It is nice to have hope that something can be done to help him by

doing a simple blood test to find out whether something else is causing the

autistic traits.

I'm new to this myself and didn't know how much more there is out there.

So, while I've been happy with TCH, I am happier to get a fresh perspective.

Pam

Re: new to this

Pam,

Would you please share what exactly does the development ped. do? I

thought

the main function of this specialty is the diagnosis which is mainly done

by

observation and parents interview to provide info about the child. What

tests are exactly are being used? Is she going to see on a regular

basis? Is she treating him as well? How?

I hope I am not sounding negative (not my intention). I am just curious

since we really got no where pursuing this path.

Thanks,

Re: new to this

>

>

>

>

> <<<<<< I was informed that Texas Children's Hopsital can't see us

until

> mid

> January! Ugh!

>

> Just a word of caution. Don't place so much hope on TCH. They are

not

in

> touch of what's the latest with treating Autism. They may suggest

doing

> tests such MMR and EEG, and prescribe some psychotic drugs, and ask

about

> your school district. They could give referral to speech and

> occupational

> therapies, but your pediatrician could that. The Bridges school could

be

> beneficial but only if you live in Houston nearby the medical center.

> They

> use the Floor time approach by Stanley Greenspan. You could google on

it

> and find more info.

>

> Check into Verbal Behavior. A great resource is

www.behavioranalysts.com.

> They have online training classes for parents.

>

>

> HTH,

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

She did the ADOS testing which consisted of certain activities and

observations. She did it for us because our insurance wouldn't cover it.

The tests she had done were MRI (to be sure his brain was all there and that

the communication part of the brain was fully developed since he is speech

delayed), an EEG to determine whether the crying out in his sleep could be

due to seizures, genetics testing, Fragile X and heavy metals testing,

including Mercury, speech and language testing, o.t. evaluation, I'm trying

to remember what else at this point. She's never suggested medications for

him and I don't he needs any. I hope that doesn't change.

We first saw her on Oct. 30 last year and she's seen him twice since then,

plus, my husband and I went for a meeting to go over all of the test

results. His next appointment is in March so she can see how he's

progressed and to get recommendations ready for starting Kindergarden in the

fall. I'm not sure how often she will see him after the March appointment.

She always returns my calls when I have questions for her and doesn't seem

to be watching the clock when we talk.

After saying this, I am very happy to have come across the other doctor I

spoke about though. Nobody has ever mentioned any alternative testing of

any kind. It is nice to have hope that something can be done to help him by

doing a simple blood test to find out whether something else is causing the

autistic traits.

I'm new to this myself and didn't know how much more there is out there.

So, while I've been happy with TCH, I am happier to get a fresh perspective.

Pam

Re: new to this

Pam,

Would you please share what exactly does the development ped. do? I

thought

the main function of this specialty is the diagnosis which is mainly done

by

observation and parents interview to provide info about the child. What

tests are exactly are being used? Is she going to see on a regular

basis? Is she treating him as well? How?

I hope I am not sounding negative (not my intention). I am just curious

since we really got no where pursuing this path.

Thanks,

Re: new to this

>

>

>

>

> <<<<<< I was informed that Texas Children's Hopsital can't see us

until

> mid

> January! Ugh!

>

> Just a word of caution. Don't place so much hope on TCH. They are

not

in

> touch of what's the latest with treating Autism. They may suggest

doing

> tests such MMR and EEG, and prescribe some psychotic drugs, and ask

about

> your school district. They could give referral to speech and

> occupational

> therapies, but your pediatrician could that. The Bridges school could

be

> beneficial but only if you live in Houston nearby the medical center.

> They

> use the Floor time approach by Stanley Greenspan. You could google on

it

> and find more info.

>

> Check into Verbal Behavior. A great resource is

www.behavioranalysts.com.

> They have online training classes for parents.

>

>

> HTH,

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Pam,

I don't know what has been discussed so far so excuse me if this has been

mentioned.

My son also has had two MRI's and two EEG's. They did not revealed anything.

What did reveal something was the endoscopy. Unfortunately, this test was

not a test the doctors thought to do. I had to have a non-HMO doctor do it. I

was amazed the gastro found a problem with yeast because I had already had my

son on colostrum and probiotics for over a year. He is much calmer and not

as hyper when his yeast is under control. Also, another test that I will

probably have doctor Volpe or Dr do or look at is the herpes or roseola

virus (sp). I need to find my print of previous postings regarding this. What

I

remember is that if a child has had a rash and then later temporarily lost

the use of his right leg, it could be due to a virus. This virus could still be

in the body causing problems. My son also has TS (tuberous sclerosis) but

his MRI's indicate he does not have any spots on his brain.

Again, excuse me if this has previously been discussed. Hope

In a message dated 8/20/03 9:40:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

pamelapotter@... writes:

> She did the ADOS testing which consisted of certain activities and

> observations. She did it for us because our insurance wouldn't cover it.

> The tests she had done were MRI (to be sure his brain was all there and that

> the communication part of the brain was fully developed since he is speech

> delayed), an EEG to determine whether the crying out in his sleep could be

> due to seizures, genetics testing, Fragile X and heavy metals testing,

> including Mercury, speech and language testing, o.t. evaluation, I'm trying

> to remember what else at this point. She's never suggested medications for

> him and I don't he needs any. I hope that doesn't change.

>

> We first saw her on Oct. 30 last year and she's seen him twice since then,

> plus, my husband and I went for a meeting to go over all of the test

> results. His next appointment is in March so she can see how he's

> progressed and to get recommendations ready for starting Kindergarden in the

> fall. I'm not sure how often she will see him after the March appointment.

> She always returns my calls when I have questions for her and doesn't seem

> to be watching the clock when we talk.

>

> After saying this, I am very happy to have come across the other doctor I

> spoke about though. Nobody has ever mentioned any alternative testing of

> any kind. It is nice to have hope that something can be done to help him by

> doing a simple blood test to find out whether something else is causing the

> autistic traits.

>

> I'm new to this myself and didn't know how much more there is out there.

> So, while I've been happy with TCH, I am happier to get a fresh perspective.

>

> Pam

[Guest guest]

Pam,

I don't know what has been discussed so far so excuse me if this has been

mentioned.

My son also has had two MRI's and two EEG's. They did not revealed anything.

What did reveal something was the endoscopy. Unfortunately, this test was

not a test the doctors thought to do. I had to have a non-HMO doctor do it. I

was amazed the gastro found a problem with yeast because I had already had my

son on colostrum and probiotics for over a year. He is much calmer and not

as hyper when his yeast is under control. Also, another test that I will

probably have doctor Volpe or Dr do or look at is the herpes or roseola

virus (sp). I need to find my print of previous postings regarding this. What

I

remember is that if a child has had a rash and then later temporarily lost

the use of his right leg, it could be due to a virus. This virus could still be

in the body causing problems. My son also has TS (tuberous sclerosis) but

his MRI's indicate he does not have any spots on his brain.

Again, excuse me if this has previously been discussed. Hope

In a message dated 8/20/03 9:40:35 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

pamelapotter@... writes:

> She did the ADOS testing which consisted of certain activities and

> observations. She did it for us because our insurance wouldn't cover it.

> The tests she had done were MRI (to be sure his brain was all there and that

> the communication part of the brain was fully developed since he is speech

> delayed), an EEG to determine whether the crying out in his sleep could be

> due to seizures, genetics testing, Fragile X and heavy metals testing,

> including Mercury, speech and language testing, o.t. evaluation, I'm trying

> to remember what else at this point. She's never suggested medications for

> him and I don't he needs any. I hope that doesn't change.

>

> We first saw her on Oct. 30 last year and she's seen him twice since then,

> plus, my husband and I went for a meeting to go over all of the test

> results. His next appointment is in March so she can see how he's

> progressed and to get recommendations ready for starting Kindergarden in the

> fall. I'm not sure how often she will see him after the March appointment.

> She always returns my calls when I have questions for her and doesn't seem

> to be watching the clock when we talk.

>

> After saying this, I am very happy to have come across the other doctor I

> spoke about though. Nobody has ever mentioned any alternative testing of

> any kind. It is nice to have hope that something can be done to help him by

> doing a simple blood test to find out whether something else is causing the

> autistic traits.

>

> I'm new to this myself and didn't know how much more there is out there.

> So, while I've been happy with TCH, I am happier to get a fresh perspective.

>

> Pam