Re: Funding for alternative treatment/therapies in NY area

[Guest guest]

From the Golden Fund for Autism's website www.goldenfundautism.com :The Golden Fund for Autism is committed to helping childrendiagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders access alternative forms oftreatments and therapies.Specifically, our organization provides funding directly todoctors/practitioners who are involved in administering variousforms of alternative treatments and therapies to children on theAutism Spectrum. At this time, we are focusing our efforts onproviding funding to doctors/practitioners who are located on LongIsland and in the New York Metropolitan area who in turn provideservices to children in need.The Golden Fund Offers Hope To Kids With AutismBy: le Centamore12/12/2007When le Golden's five-year-old son, Liam, was diagnosed withautism spectrum disorder - a severe developmental disorder that,according to the Centers for Disease Control, now affects one in 150children - she was devastated. However, she also was determined tohelp her then two-year-old son overcome the disorder.In addition to educational services, Golden sought the expertise ofdoctors who incorporated alternative or complementary therapiesthat, according to Golden, were crucial to her son's recovery. Andnow, in an attempt to assist other families in helping their childreach their greatest potential, Golden created The Golden Fund forAutism, a non-profit organization that aims to assist families whodo not have the financial resources to participate in suchtherapies. The organization also is raising funds for a new study tobe completed by the Columbia University Medical Center and the LongIsland Spectrum Center, which will evaluate the use of alternativetherapies in the treatment of children with autism."While education plays a very important role in helping children onthe autism spectrum get the skills that they need to function inlife, without working on the neurological deficits, ridding the bodyof toxins, getting the body chemistry right and removing allergensfrom the diet, it is my opinion that a child on the [autism]spectrum will not reap the full benefits of the education system,"Golden said.For nearly three years, Golden's son has followed a gluten-free/casein-free diet, as well as the Feingold diet, which restrictspreservatives, artificial colors or dyes and foods high in naturallyoccurring preservatives. Her son also has taken various vitamins,supplements and homeopathic remedies "to help get his chemistry ontrack," she explained. In addition, he has been receiving cranialsacral therapy from Dr. Alan Sherr at the Northport Wellness Center.Neuro-enhancement therapy, which entails a series of evaluations toascertain weakness in the brain, followed by drug-free therapiesthat aim to treat those specific areas of weakness, was anothermethod her son underwent, under the care of Dr. Gruttadauriaof the Long Island Spectrum Center in Plainview."I believe that the combination of all of this has caused Liam to bethe child that he is today," she said, noting that her sonis "virtually indistinguishable" from his typically developing peers.A child who participates in alternative therapies, said Sherr, "mayhave a better opportunity of achieving optimal function." Itis "equally valuable" to educational therapies, he added.There are several contributing factors to the disorder, according toSherr, which means that treatment may not include a one-size-fits-all approach. "All aspects need to be considered in regards to thetreatment of the child," he said. "Not only do we look at thebiochemistry and structural manifestations but we also need to lookat the variables that relate to a person's overall health and well-being, including diet, nutritional deficiencies, and other exposuresthat they may have on a day-to-day basis. The question is both howdo we support the immune system of the individual and is thereanything that is interfering with the immune system's ability towork efficiently?"While Sherr believes complementary treatments to be essential, hesaid it may be more challenging for some families than others,depending on their financial stability. "The average patient has anout-of-pocket expense of $5,000 to $10,000," he said. "This [ TheGolden Fund for Autism] will help reduce that cost.""Our goal is to help families with children on the spectrum accessalternative therapies by giving funds directly to the doctors whoare providing these services to children in need," Golden explained.These funds would be used by doctors to create scholarships fortheir patients, based on financial need."In addition to this, we are now actively raising funds for aproposed treatment study being conducted jointly by the Long IslandSpectrum Center and Columbia University Medical Center," saidGolden. "At this stage, the plan is to put 20 children on thespectrum through the program over the course of a year."The program, according to Golden, would include treatment such asneuro-enhancement therapy, bio-medical interventions, special dietsand other therapies provided by the LI Spectrum Center. "Theirprogress will be monitored with neurological testing to be conductedby Columbia and by other means, and reported upon in an accreditedscientific journal," Golden noted. "The goal is to show that thesealternative therapies are indeed helping children on the spectrumand to hopefully get insurance companies on board to start coveringthe costs.""It has been proven that children with autism have a weakenedability to detoxify the environment and they have other things thatare very commonly seen like chronic bowel, leaky gut, etc.,"Gruttadauria explained. "There is a giant brain-gut connection andthat connection is thrown out of kilter with children on thespectrum. If you don't look for these things, then you don't findthem and that is really the problem."Right now, autism is classified as a psychiatric disorder in theDiagnostic and Statistical Value of Mental Disorders, according toGruttadauria, "so pediatricians really have never been trained andnow we are finding out that it is biochemical and neurological andthe psychiatric aspect is just the symptom. We need to figure outhow to treat this as a medical condition and not just try to managethis educationally ... Very often you will see kids improve but veryrarely do you see a kid get declassified because you are nottreating the underlying problem that the child has. This is adisease. If you change the chemistry and change the brain you couldactually change the child's life forever for the better," he added,stating that his own five-year-old daughter has recently beendeclassified as a result of alternative therapy.Noting that dealing with autism "is a lot of work for the parents,"Gruttadauria said that, "if you invest the time in your child, youcan make a giant difference in the rest of their life. And that iswhat le Golden is doing ... making a difference. As time goeson, more and more people will see this as a worthy cause and theactual kids that live in our towns will get the care that they need.""I feel like so much time, money and energy is spent on finding thecause - which of course is necessary and may ultimately lead tofinding a cure," Golden noted. "However, there are so many familiesjust waiting for that big break in research while they watch theirchildren struggle each and every day. I think that what we reallyneed to do is start looking at these alternative therapies andtaking them seriously ... Conducting studies, measuring results, andhelping children push through to reach their full potential isessential."Golden said that she dreams of the day that insurance companies willrecognize the significance of alternative therapies and ease thefinancial burden of treatment that could potentially have a greatimpact on a child's prognosis."My hope is that some day soon insurance will cover these costs andthere will be a protocol in place - not just educational - forparents to follow when they get the news that their child isdiagnosed with autism," Golden said. "Parents need some direction.They need some hope. I believe these alternative therapies will givethem both." And the Golden Fund for Autism, she added, will helpthose who can't afford those therapies get that much closer tohealing their child.For more information on the Golden Fund for Autism, visitwww.goldenfundautism.org. Donations may be sent to The Golden Fundfor Autism, PO Box 424, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724.See AOL's top rated recipes and easy ways to stay in shape for winter.