Re-Programming an Immune System

[Guest guest]

Jody, Liz and All

The challenge of retraining an ASD child's immune system--to keep yeast under

control or to be able to recognize his or her own myelin sheath as not foreign,

for example--is a formidable one. In our present environment, everyone's immune

system in under pressure due to toxic overload, over-use of antibiotics, etc.

The rapid rise of auto-immune diseases in recent years makes it clear that many

people's immune systems are confused and weakened. The challenge is a global

one that is particularly critical for ASD kids. (We might say with some accuracy

that we have confused the Earth's immune system as well.) Taking a few steps

back to look at the big picture for ASD kids, this is what comes up for me...

* The first step is to relieve the child's system of ongoing stress and

unbalance. This is one of the core goals of the biomedical approach. So we

clean up the child's diet, use supplements that re-balance the gut, anti-virals

to relieve the neurological onslaught, supplements to enhance the general health

of the immune system, chelate the heavy metals, etc.

* This may be enough for many regressive ASD children (particularly if they are

young)since they have some memory of a more or less properly behaving immune

system. For others--those who were ASD with birth--this may improve the

situation, but healing is still incomplete, sometimes significantly so. The

immune system may be healthier but it is still not " reprogrammed. " The immune

system's intelligence is still confused. The possibilities of stem cell healing

is intriguing but will these cells, as they migrate to the immune system, be

altered to fit the old confused pattern or will they be self-corrective? I

don't think the answer is in on that question. Could we find stem cells that

carry an immunity to being distorted--stem cells that transcend the confusion of

even an ASD child's immune system that has no memory of correct action? It

would appear that our human intention to heal the child has to intervene here

for this to happen.

* The immune system, which is largely located in the gut, is " organized and

directed " by the thymus gland that sits in the region just above the heart. One

might say loosely that the thymus gland is a significant part of the immune

system's intelligence. It is now known that there is considerable neurological

activity in the heart muscle, activity that connects with the neurological

system in the brain (see the HeartMath research, for example). We can

conjecture that this " heartmind " has an influence on the thymus gland, which is

in its immediate vicinity. Thus the heartmind might be an agent for changing

the immune system's intelligence.

* It is becoming increasingly clear that intense interaction with ASD children

changes their neurological system. Dendrites are created through heightened

interaction, for example. So the " intimacy " that we create with our kids,

changes their neurology. Is it possible that the mechanism for this involves

the heartmind influence on the thymus gland and the latter's central role in the

immune system? Is it possible that a doorway to reprogramming an ASD immune

system is through certain kids of intense interactions with the child? I think

so!

* If this is true then, how might the re-programming take place? I think part

of the answer lies in the power of setting intentions. If we undertake a series

of interactions with a child with the explicit intention of healing her or his

confused immune system, I believe we can support transformation over an extended

period of time. Setting an intention is a like profound prayer that we make

without attachment to the outcome--and therein lies the rub. Expectations

easily lead to disappointment and even despair. An intention has the quality of

" We would like this child's immune system to function in a way that allows the

child to become who he or she really is meant to be. " We are supportive of

healing without projecting our specific goals on the healee's system (even

though we recognize the powerful tendency to do just that!). This is not easy to

do and requires that we as the " healers " realize that we have to change as

significantly in our " neurology/consciousness " as the child

does. Chelsey has made it clear to us in so many ways over the years that if

she is to change in a significant way, then so do we have to undergo

transformations in our consciousness that are comparable in a life-altering way.

Most parents of ASD children know this teaching well.

* One can imagine a series of interactions with our ASD children during which

specific images of the immune system becoming awake to what is truly foreign and

not foreign are held by the parent(s) as they play " on the floor and in their

children's faces " (to use current jargon). For me it means carrying these

intentions into the core of the intimacy with which we relate to the

children--an intimacy that is remarkably powerful and takes most of us beyond

what we thought possible in human interactions.

* Thus the " stem cells " that might reprogram a confused immune system are little

moments of intimacy--bits of love, if you will--that have the effect of wooing

the child--and us--into the relational world more expressively and overtly.

More later...

I would love to hear your stem cell moments so we can co-create the " practice of

transforming (all of our) immune systems. "

Happy Holidays!!

Jack

rt@...> wrote:

I, too, was intrigued by these ideas, Jack. One of the things I'm told by my

NAET doctor is that he's retraining the immune system to stop treating food

as poison. I wonder what will do the converse-treat yeast and other harmful

bugs as something to be acted upon by the body.

Liz

>

> Reply-To: csb-autism-rx

> Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 15:13:40 -0800 (PST)

> To: csb-autism-rx

> Subject: Re: Re: High Fatty Acid Markers - Balancing Act

>

> Jody,

>

> You raise some deep questions at the end of your post...

>

> In working with Chelsey, I often came to the (intuitive) conclusion that our

> challenge was to " reprogram " her immune and digestive systems, since she has

> no memory of what is good and bad, being autistic from birth. We conjecture

> that she may have had yeast in utero and therefore her immune system (and

> other systems) would not recognize yeast as " foreign. " Regressive ASD children

> at least have a memory that (if they are still young) can be used as a

> powerful force in healing. This issue may explain some of the wide differences

> in response among the kids--their memories are more or less " good " depending

> on their age and other factors.

>

> The interesting question then is how to reprogram an immune or digestive

> system. More on that complex question later...

>

> Jack

>

>

> ble.net> wrote:

> Hi ,

>

> I am certainly not out to start a fight, but I don't know anyone in

> the ASD community that started the diet using cow yogurt as it is done

> in BTVC.

> I am not saying that they should either. I am just wondering if

> starting the yogurt in the beginning has some sort of beneficial

> effect for those adults and kids with GI issues that have followed the

> diet successfully.

> You know as well I as I do how much work I have put into making

> recipes available for those who wished to remain CF. I am not opposed

> to being CF. Just wondering if somehow the yogurt helped those people

> get rid of their yeast problems faster.

> If it did, then I think our first line of work should be on how to get

> the same effect without using the yogurt in the kids who cannot

> tolerate any dairy.

> If it's not the yogurt making a difference, then we need to figure out

> what it is.

>

> I just read through Dr. Walsh's PP presentation from the Spring Autism

> One Conference. I am going to type what was on one of the slides:

>

> ROLE OF MT-I and MT-II in Intestinal Mucosa

>

> --Barrier to penetration of Hg, Pb and Cd into the blood stream

> --Regulation of copper absorption

> --Combats inflammation

> --Kills candida

>

> Normalization of MT may eliminate tendency for intestinal

> inflammation, leaky gut and yeast overgrowth in autism.

> ___________________

>

>

> This makes me really wonder if the kids with autism are not seeing the

> decrease in yeast that the people with GI problems do... because of

> something completely separate from the diet itself.

>

> Maybe our kids bodies don't just pick up the fight against the yeast

> and help out like " normal " bodies do.

>

>

> Here's another thought. Both of my kids were on antibiotics

> constantly as infants and toddlers. Maybe their systems have no idea

> that they should " fight " the yeast at all. It's been there since the

> beginning...

>

> Is it possible that our kids guts are completely confused? Could

> their bodies " think " the yeast and bad bacteria " belong " because they

> have been there so long?

>

>

> Jody

> mom to -5.0 and -7.3

>

>

>

>