article in metrovoice magazine

[Guest guest]

Is Your Child on the Autism Spectrum?

By Lash

The beginning of another school year is not all happiness and

light for some parents. Many are privately dealing with issues regarding

their children that they can't explain. Parents make observations such as:

" He's having trouble focusing; " " She forgot all the instructions; " " He

acted up because of what the other children did; " " She gets upset when the

routine changes; " " He's in his own world most of the time; " or " She's very

disruptive to the rest of the class. "

Some parents are told to put their child on medication to

control their behavior. They hear this from both the medical community and

school officials. The children are often ridiculed, ostracized, and

marginalized.

About 3 million school-aged children and 1.6 million

elementary-aged children are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity

Disorder (ADHD) in the U.S. (1,2) ADHD is characterized by: impulsiveness,

distractibility and hyperactivity. Predictions are that one-half to

two-thirds of ADHD children will have significant effects that will follow

them into adulthood. Job, family, and relationships will be impacted. (3)

Some studies say that " approximately four to six percent of the U.S.

population has ADHD. " (3)

To confuse the matter, about one-third of the people do not have

the hyperactive component. (3) We would just call these folks ADD

[Attention Deficit Disorder]. There is also an even broader set of problems

and behaviors that are similar to ADD, but are more complex by nature. We

are seeing an increase in the number of these diagnoses: Aspergers,

Pervasive Developmental Delay (PDD), and Autism. Some say that these

disorders have increased 10-fold in the last 10 years. (4) Every day, here

in the U.S., and estimated 53 children are born that will later receive an

autism spectrum diagnosis. (5) These issues seem to be related to ADD, yet

more severe. What's the connection?

The autism spectrum disorders are all related. We put them on a

continuum, going from least severe on the left moving to more severe as you

move right:

ADD ADHD SENSORY HYPERLEXIA

ASPERGERS PDD AUTISM

Thus, someone with ADD may have some of the same symptoms as

someone at the other end of the spectrum where Autism is located. Of

course, the child with Autism may have many more symptoms. And the other

diagnoses in the middle are shades of grey.

A child with sensory problems will have all the traits of the

ADHD child and will have an extreme sensitivity to touch, smell, light,

noises, etc. The hyperlexic child has all of these symptoms plus he or she

may display an obsessive, mechanical interest in words, books, and reading

to the exclusion of interpersonal communication with others. These children

have abnormal social skills, concrete rituals, listening difficulties, and

struggle with conceptual ideas. (6)

Still further on the continuum, the Aspergers child will have

the above symptoms and also will tend to have preoccupation with certain

topics. They are typically very restrictive in what to talk about and be

involved in. This child is often thought of as inflexible. They might also

have some motor mannerisms with their hands or fingers or body. They often

fail in relationships - lacking empathy or reciprocity. Some children will

resist making eye contact. (7) These children are usually little professors

and are often above average in intelligence.

One more step to the right is PDD (Pervasive Developmental

Delay). This diagnosis will note impairment in language, and lack of make

believe play. Autism is the last diagnosis on the spectrum and has the most

severe symptoms. Sometimes language is very impaired or non-existent. We

see preoccupation with objects or compulsive bodily movements. Autistic

children have many of the symptoms of the other diagnoses already mentioned.

(8)

So, knowing your child is on the spectrum, what's a parent to

do? As believers in Jesus, the first step is prayer. Pray for wisdom from

our Lord to proceed in the right direction. Gladly take the responsibility

for this child and the problems that you are facing. Don't fall into the

trap of delegating decisions and intervention to others. The conventional

path that teachers and many physicians will attempt to influence you towards

will be to use medication. The most common medication used to treat ADD and

ADHD is Ritalin, which can have harmful side effects. I believe other

avenues need to be explored when difficulties first arise. Most of the

children I help have at least one physical cause impacting this type of

behavior. The three most important factors to check are:

1. Severe food allergies/intolerances/sensitivities: No matter what word

you choose, at least 80% of the families we help have some foods that are

affecting their children's behavior and development. There is an in-home

pin-prick blood test that will check for 113 foods. (9) Delete all

offending items.

2. Yeast and yeast metabolite overgrowth. Many of these children had ear

infections, ear tubes, or heavy antibiotic use early in childhood. While

destroying the bad bacteria as intended, antibiotics also kill friendly

bacteria that keeps in check opportunistic invaders, such as Candida, a type

of yeast organism. Again, an in-home urine test can check for this. (10)

Candida and the like can be treated with the prescription medication

Nystatin and/or a sugar-free diet.

3. Heavy metals such as mercury, lead, tin, antimony, and arsenic, can

cause serious developmental problems. Possible sources abound in our

environments - however, the controversial link considered today is

vaccinations. (11) A simple blood test done by the regular pediatrician

can check for mercury and lead. Consider a full panel testing. If heavy

metals are present in abundance, chelation therapy is needed.

After looking at the inside of our children and treating those

areas, the child often starts to feel and behave much better. Children on

the left side of the spectrum may need no extra intervention. Or perhaps a

few hours of occupational therapy will suffice to help them behave normally.

Children in the middle and on the right side of the spectrum will need a

more aggressive plan to catch them up developmentally. This will include

therapies to address: auditory processing, vision processing, tactile and

sensory issues, tools for proper socialization, etc. Many times, these

therapies will go at record speed because the child is feeling so much

better on the inside.

Parents, you don't have to resign yourselves when it comes to

your children. You don't have to accept the status quo. Though I am not a

medical doctor, the experience of recovering my child and helping others

recover their children has been life-changing. There are resources to help

restore and recover our children. Persevere, and may God bless you on your

journey.

Footnotes:

1. Centers for Disease Control,

www.cdc.gov/nachs/releases/02news/attendefic.htm

2. Centers for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov/programs/defects1.htm

3. Attention Deficit Disorder Association,

www.add.org/content/abc/factsheet.htm

4. National Alliance for Autism Research,

www.naar.org/aboutaut/whatis_hist.htm

5. Current Statistics - Autism Spectrum Disorders,

http://autismawakeninginia.bizland.com/autismcouncilofamercia/id3.html

6. American Hyperlexia Association, www.hyperlexia.org

7. land Aspergers Advocacy

http://www.aspergers.org/what_is_aspergers_syndrome.htm

8. Missouri Families for Effective Autism Treatment,

http://www.mo-feat.org/Handbook/CHAT%20and%20DSMIV.htm

9. York Nutritional Labs, FL, www.yorkallergyusa.com

10. The Great Plains Lab, Inc. www.greatplainslaboratory.com

11. " Autism, vaccine link considered " , Mark , United Press

International,

5-6-2003. http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030505-123913-6672r

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

----

Lash lives in Wildwood, MO with husband Dale and 4 children. Their

oldest son recovered from PDD in 1998. The family has started a home

business, Harvest Field, to help families recover their children from the

autism spectrum. They sell a protocol ($5) and a book ($24.95) and have a

website at www.recoveryfrompdd.com. offers free online help at:

jeannelash@.... The family has a goal to include information on

salvation to their customers. " Pray to the Lord of the harvest that He will

send out workers into His harvest field. "

Publisher's Note

While this article makes a number of good points, there are other issues

related to this subject that parents need to take into consideration. The

diagnosis and treatment of disorders such as ADD and ADHD have become very

controversial in recent years as the number of children with these diagnoses

has dramatically increased. A good number of cases have been reported by

parents and others where these disorders have been over-diagnosed and

medications such as Ritalin have been used as behavior modifications tools

on children who proved to be just normally rambunctious youngsters,

particularly boys, to make them conform. Young boys and girls may have high

energy levels, and may just need breaks to blow off steam. Many schools have

cut back on the amount of recess and physical education time allocated

during the school day. Other children may be inappropriately diagnosed

because their intelligence is so high that they are completely bored with

the conventional classroom environment. The typical public school curriculum

is designed for the child of average intelligence, and often does not serve

the child of exceptionally high intelligence. Frequently, these children can

be more intelligent than their teachers, who may be intimidated or just

simply overworked and may not have the time to provide special attention to

individual children. Rather than questioning the teaching approach and

offering more challenging material to the child, the educational

establishment may tend to assume that there is something wrong with the

child. If you suspect that your child may exhibit some of the symptoms

described in this article, or if your child's teacher suggests that he or

she may, please proceed with caution and discernment. Explore all options,

and do not accept medication as the only viable option. Phyllis Schlafly of

Eagle Forum has written quite a bit about the subject of behavior

modification drugs utilized in schools and would be a good resource for this

type of information. On the web go to www.eagleforum.org and at the bottom

of the site you'll find a heading entitled Quick Topics. In the list of

Quick Topics you'll find the word " Ritalin. " Click on the word and it will

pull up a number of articles on the subject.