Re: Can nerves in the brain regrow?

[Guest guest]

Rhonda:

My children also had Augmentin. They are recovered now. I felt the same worries -- is it possible? I think that it's difficult to see such strong symptoms and imagine they can go away. But, I am here to tell you, they can. I stock-piled treatments. In that I did it all at the same time, and still do. I do diets, enzyme, mop up toxins, do liver support, kill all pathogen types, etc. Thus, it's doing all of it together, at the same time, that got us results. Improvements could not be detected if I just did some things. I am also hear to tell you that ammonia is likely in all with autism. So, it's common in them already. We used l-citrulline for ammonia with great results.

Love and prayers,

Heidi N

> I saw a post on another board, then read the paper for myself that Augmentin has been implicated in some cases of Autism. I was interested because this is exactly the reason I lost my 4 year old son. He regressed completely while on Augmentin for an ear infection. The cause of the Autism from the Augmentin producing high amounts of ammonia/urea. It affects the Small Intestine, Brain and nervous tissue. Both my boys have ALL of that! My question is can they still be recovered depending on the amount of damage done to the brain or are they autistic forever? I wondered why my 4 year old seemed like a non-responder to most interventions I have tried. Maybe he's just too brain damaged. I am feeling very sick to my stomach right now, like I did when I found out about the Autism in the first place! A very sad mommy in Oklahoma > > Rhonda Masengale Looking for love this summer? Find it now on AOL Personals.

[Guest guest]

Rhonda -

From one nonresponder to another.. cyber hugs your way!

It is so frustrating I know. We have been at this for

5 yrs., son dx. at 20 mos. old and will turn 7 in 2 wks.

I thought for sure we would be well onto recovery by

now, but he is nonverbal with low cognitive progress.

We have chelated to the point that he has a virtually

clean porphryin test for two years now, been on the

diet since he was 18 mos. old, and done everything

in between from supplements to therapy!

However, back to your brain question, lol - we just

got a SPECT scan done last month by Dr Uszler, as

I just couldn't stand not knowing how much " damage "

is there. It shows inflammation, reduced blood flow,

and " hot spots " that may be indicative of seizures.

My son's hot spot was deep in the cerebellar hemisphere

and would not have shown up on an EEG. We are in the

early stages of introducing an anti seizure med. to

see if this makes a difference (but dosage build up

is very slow over several months, so we have some

waiting along the way) and the report did give us an

idea of how HBOT might help (hard chamber vs soft

chamber, and severity of inflammation). HBOT is the

one thing we hadn't tried as I was wary of the O2

as strep thrive on it and my son is PANDAS profile, and

secondly b/c it is one of the most expensive treatments

and I couldn't bear another " non responder " let down.

I feel much more at ease now that I have his brain

scan pictures and I can grasp what we are dealing with

on a biomedical front. Might be worth looking into?

>

> I saw a post on another board, then read the paper for myself that Augmentin

has been implicated in some cases of Autism. I was interested because this is

exactly the reason I lost my 4 year old son. He regressed completely while on

Augmentin for an ear infection. The cause of the Autism from the Augmentin

producing high amounts of ammonia/urea. It affects the Small Intestine, Brain

and nervous tissue. Both my boys have ALL of that! My question is can they

still be recovered depending on the amount of damage done to the brain or are

they autistic forever? I wondered why my 4 year old seemed like a non-responder

to most interventions I have tried. Maybe he's just too brain damaged. I am

feeling very sick to my stomach right now, like I did when I found out about the

Autism in the first place! A very sad mommy in Oklahoma

>

> Rhonda Masengale

>

[Guest guest]

A little thought on this......

When my son was 3, they didn't know much about his condition and the doctors told me that he would grow out of it. He didn't, he just got worse and worse with time and grew 'into' it.

When my son was 6, they diagnosed him as borderline mentally handicapped. Nothing was to be done. OT services were denied as he was deemed 'unresponsive' to therapy. (a cool way for the system to deny funding, imo)

When my son was 9, he was considered a special education 'lifer' with not really much hope and I should consider what would be done with him as he aged. (ie. group home anyone?) The school decided that he would no longer need testing to remain in the special programming. It was just a given that he would never leave.

When my son was 11, I discovered neurodevelopmental therapy in the US ( http://www.nacd.org .....non profit and very reasonably priced btw) and flew him stateside for a program plan which we did at home (we are from Canada) and special diets..... within 10 months, his processing was age appropriate and he was mainstreamed but still noticeably 'affected'.

When my son was 13, we started chelating and he started taking the public transit on his own, flew to California on his own for an 'extreme' adventure camp 6 months after we started and his relationships with his peers became completely normal. He has TONS of friends now and OMG.... the girls are liking him too! The only friends he could make before were other kids with issues. Today, he is considered the 'cool' geeky kid.... the athelete of the nerdy brainiacs! He now hangs out with the kids who are in the 'exceptions' program in his school which requires an IQ of 135 or more and is placed in their classes...... what a big change from the low IQ kid he used to be. (he still sports a slight speech affectation but language is good) Chelation was a godsend and we are still pulling mercury 1.5 years later.

For me, the best thing about this was to see his personal happiness. I am rarely able to deny him a sleep over with 5-6 fourteen year old boys tromping through my house. The other great thing is the loss of that 'stare' that others give you when you go out. It's funny, people looking and wondering, "What's wrong with THAT boy?" became part of my existance. (I wonder if they know how transparent they are when they think that?) I really only noticed it when we stopped getting the 'look'. I still have to pinch myself. In my mind I almost cannot believe that they can't still see 'it'. The 'it' that plagues my son's body is quietly disappearing now..... only other moms with affected kids would really guess it. None of the mothers of my son's friends can tell that he has any type of condition and they know him well.

When my son was 14, he was selected to go to France with a group of kids from school. It's a difficult application process and while my boy's grades were not as good as the other applicants, he is just so darn likeable that he made it into the group. (as a child, my boy got the crap beat out of him for being different.... today, he is loved by all and makes friends easily) He beat out 50 other kids.....all NT. The principal was a bit concerned about his organizational skills (or lack therof) for the trip but he's going next March!

Today, my son is 14.5 and we started MB12 about 2 months ago. I notice an enormous difference in his fine motor ability and his energy levels. We are still fighting to build muscle on his low toned body and it is coming..... with plenty of hard work. He has a 75% average and there is no question that he is University bound. He uses a lap-top to write essay type exams but that is the only special accomodations he receives. All other exams are written manually. I am hoping that next year, he'll be able to eliminate this and that his writing speed will be faster.

I just dropped him off to summer school where he is taking a grade 9 math prep course. He's not going because he has to. He's going because his buddy's mom is making him and my boy asked to go in order to keep this other boy company..... and to improve his math skills, of course! It will take him 2 buses to get home and he's never done this route before but I'm not worried. He might even pop into the mall and check out the new video games on the way. He has his cell phone with him and he'll call if there's any trouble.

If you had asked me 5 years ago that my son would be where he is today, I would have told you..... "only in my dreams".

The key in the end was not to listen to the doctors or anyone. When I followed what mainstream said, we just went downhill further and further. When I began to research and fight back, he thrived and blossomed. A few things were key: daily therapy to work on processing, chelation, ridding the body of bacteria/yeast/viruses, diet and finally B12 shots. He tested positive for mold recently (the really BAD kinds) and we are doing a trial of amphoceterin B to address this.

The sky is the limit. Visualize your son as being completely NT. Then inch by inch, step by step..... sometimes 2 steps forward and one step back into the dreaded recession, you heal the body and you work the mind..... it heals too!

Actually, it was much easier to heal the mind then the body. It was labour intensive and we did about 3 hours of home therapy a day for about 2 years to achieve it but today, the mind is completely healed while we continue to work that pesky body. Did you know that you can actually increase processing to bring a child who is considered MR to that of genius levels? It's amazingly tough to do but we came close. I finally got tired of the work and stopped short of genius but today my boy processes at a much higher level then myself. When we started at the age of 11, he had the processing of a 5 year old so this made a HUGE difference to his life. Along with chelation (which improves processing too, imo), working the brain daily and working the processing daily has been an enormous BIGGIE. And..... the great thing is, the results stick. We haven't done any of those exercises for about 9 months now and every gain has held. They were really booooooring, a pain in the rear..... I dreaded them daily but did they ever work to change his abilities~!

In all of this my son has developed this amazing spirit. Today, he will admit to having some extreme depression as a youngster (neurotransmittors were all messed up.... get good labs). He learned how to look at failure in the face and to stare it down. He learned how to overcome and that if you are persistant, you can do and be anything. I never taught him this; survival did. He is a good kid who has this amazing ability to 'read' people..... something he could never really seem to do when he was little (I guess all of the bullying wised him up!) Inside his somewhat laid-back, slightly ADD-like demeanor, is a young man who is competent, capable and steady. I don't know how or really when this happened. His childhood has been tough..... unbelievably tough.....it was completely unfair.... but hopefully he'll take his lessons with him through to adulthood. In truth, he has learned so much more about life through this experience then others can possibly imagine; he is an extremely evolved individual for having had this condition. I have met middle-aged men who were not nearly as insightful nor as wise as my boy. In the end, he is an absolute hero.

Good luck and never count your kid out. He is full of unlimited potential beyond what anyone says and what anyone knows. Just BELIEVE and push forward. Never stop.

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14.5

[Guest guest]

Janice,

Thank you for this post. I have followed your posts before on

NACD and have it tucked away as a very real next

intervention with my son. Biomed has helped my son

in many ways (healthy, responsive and engaged,

transitions well, etc) but he just isn't progressing

with learning. I feel that being non verbal is a huge

hurdle to get past with the school system, as they too

are basing this aspect WAY TOO MUCH on his current

progress. I have to find a way around this. Some have

suggested Soma, which intrigues me, and others NACD.

Do you know how effective NACD is with non verbal

children? I feel dumb almost typing that question, as

it is exactly the limitation the school is putting on

him as he isn't responding to years of verbal behavior,

but I know he is capable of acquiring academics, it

is just incredibly slow. I'm a bit lost with his current

school placement (in a VB room with non verbal autistic

children) and I sensed at his last ARD that they are

considering pushing for a lifeskills placement, which

is NOT an option in my mind - it is like the ultimate

" we've given up on your non responder! "

I need to try something different soon.. can I do

NACD outside of school, or is the daily requirement

too much to benefit in the afternoon hours???

Thanks for any guidance, and big congrats to you and

your family for seeing the journey through!

-- In mb12 valtrex , " Janice " wrote:

>

> A little thought on this......

>

> When my son was 3, they didn't know much about his condition and the doctors

told me that he would grow out of it. He didn't, he just got worse and worse

with time and grew 'into' it.

>

> When my son was 6, they diagnosed him as borderline mentally handicapped.

Nothing was to be done. OT services were denied as he was deemed 'unresponsive'

to therapy. (a cool way for the system to deny funding, imo)

>

> When my son was 9, he was considered a special education 'lifer' with not

really much hope and I should consider what would be done with him as he aged.

(ie. group home anyone?) The school decided that he would no longer need

testing to remain in the special programming. It was just a given that he would

never leave.

>

> When my son was 11, I discovered neurodevelopmental therapy in the US (

http://www.nacd.org .....non profit and very reasonably priced btw) and flew him

stateside for a program plan which we did at home (we are from Canada) and

special diets..... within 10 months, his processing was age appropriate and he

was mainstreamed but still noticeably 'affected'.

>

> When my son was 13, we started chelating and he started taking the public

transit on his own, flew to California on his own for an 'extreme' adventure

camp 6 months after we started and his relationships with his peers became

completely normal. He has TONS of friends now and OMG.... the girls are liking

him too! The only friends he could make before were other kids with issues.

Today, he is considered the 'cool' geeky kid.... the athelete of the nerdy

brainiacs! He now hangs out with the kids who are in the 'exceptions' program

in his school which requires an IQ of 135 or more and is placed in their

classes...... what a big change from the low IQ kid he used to be. (he still

sports a slight speech affectation but language is good) Chelation was a

godsend and we are still pulling mercury 1.5 years later.

>

> For me, the best thing about this was to see his personal happiness. I am

rarely able to deny him a sleep over with 5-6 fourteen year old boys tromping

through my house. The other great thing is the loss of that 'stare' that others

give you when you go out. It's funny, people looking and wondering, " What's

wrong with THAT boy? " became part of my existance. (I wonder if they know how

transparent they are when they think that?) I really only noticed it when we

stopped getting the 'look'. I still have to pinch myself. In my mind I almost

cannot believe that they can't still see 'it'. The 'it' that plagues my son's

body is quietly disappearing now..... only other moms with affected kids would

really guess it. None of the mothers of my son's friends can tell that he has

any type of condition and they know him well.

>

> When my son was 14, he was selected to go to France with a group of kids from

school. It's a difficult application process and while my boy's grades were not

as good as the other applicants, he is just so darn likeable that he made it

into the group. (as a child, my boy got the crap beat out of him for being

different.... today, he is loved by all and makes friends easily) He beat out

50 other kids.....all NT. The principal was a bit concerned about his

organizational skills (or lack therof) for the trip but he's going next March!

>

> Today, my son is 14.5 and we started MB12 about 2 months ago. I notice an

enormous difference in his fine motor ability and his energy levels. We are

still fighting to build muscle on his low toned body and it is coming..... with

plenty of hard work. He has a 75% average and there is no question that he is

University bound. He uses a lap-top to write essay type exams but that is the

only special accomodations he receives. All other exams are written manually.

I am hoping that next year, he'll be able to eliminate this and that his writing

speed will be faster.

>

> I just dropped him off to summer school where he is taking a grade 9 math prep

course. He's not going because he has to. He's going because his buddy's mom

is making him and my boy asked to go in order to keep this other boy

company..... and to improve his math skills, of course! It will take him 2

buses to get home and he's never done this route before but I'm not worried. He

might even pop into the mall and check out the new video games on the way. He

has his cell phone with him and he'll call if there's any trouble.

>

> If you had asked me 5 years ago that my son would be where he is today, I

would have told you..... " only in my dreams " .

>

> The key in the end was not to listen to the doctors or anyone. When I

followed what mainstream said, we just went downhill further and further. When

I began to research and fight back, he thrived and blossomed. A few things were

key: daily therapy to work on processing, chelation, ridding the body of

bacteria/yeast/viruses, diet and finally B12 shots. He tested positive for mold

recently (the really BAD kinds) and we are doing a trial of amphoceterin B to

address this.

>

> The sky is the limit. Visualize your son as being completely NT. Then inch

by inch, step by step..... sometimes 2 steps forward and one step back into the

dreaded recession, you heal the body and you work the mind..... it heals too!

>

> Actually, it was much easier to heal the mind then the body. It was labour

intensive and we did about 3 hours of home therapy a day for about 2 years to

achieve it but today, the mind is completely healed while we continue to work

that pesky body. Did you know that you can actually increase processing to

bring a child who is considered MR to that of genius levels? It's amazingly

tough to do but we came close. I finally got tired of the work and stopped

short of genius but today my boy processes at a much higher level then myself.

When we started at the age of 11, he had the processing of a 5 year old so this

made a HUGE difference to his life. Along with chelation (which improves

processing too, imo), working the brain daily and working the processing daily

has been an enormous BIGGIE. And..... the great thing is, the results stick.

We haven't done any of those exercises for about 9 months now and every gain has

held. They were really booooooring, a pain in the rear..... I dreaded them

daily but did they ever work to change his abilities~!

>

> In all of this my son has developed this amazing spirit. Today, he will admit

to having some extreme depression as a youngster (neurotransmittors were all

messed up.... get good labs). He learned how to look at failure in the face and

to stare it down. He learned how to overcome and that if you are persistant,

you can do and be anything. I never taught him this; survival did. He is a

good kid who has this amazing ability to 'read' people..... something he could

never really seem to do when he was little (I guess all of the bullying wised

him up!) Inside his somewhat laid-back, slightly ADD-like demeanor, is a young

man who is competent, capable and steady. I don't know how or really when this

happened. His childhood has been tough..... unbelievably tough.....it was

completely unfair.... but hopefully he'll take his lessons with him through to

adulthood. In truth, he has learned so much more about life through this

experience then others can possibly imagine; he is an extremely evolved

individual for having had this condition. I have met middle-aged men who were

not nearly as insightful nor as wise as my boy. In the end, he is an absolute

hero.

>

> Good luck and never count your kid out. He is full of unlimited potential

beyond what anyone says and what anyone knows. Just BELIEVE and push forward.

Never stop.

>

> Janice

> Mother of Mark, 14.5

>

[Guest guest]

I reread your post and found one of my answers

Actually, it was much easier to heal the mind then the body.

It was labour intensive and we did about 3 hours of home

therapy a day for about 2 years to achieve it but today,

the mind is completely healed while we continue to work

that pesky body. Did you know that you can actually increase processing to bring

a child who is considered MR to that of genius levels? It's amazingly tough to

do but we came close.

WOW, is all I can say!

> >

> > A little thought on this......

> >

> > When my son was 3, they didn't know much about his condition and the doctors

told me that he would grow out of it. He didn't, he just got worse and worse

with time and grew 'into' it.

> >

> > When my son was 6, they diagnosed him as borderline mentally handicapped.

Nothing was to be done. OT services were denied as he was deemed 'unresponsive'

to therapy. (a cool way for the system to deny funding, imo)

> >

> > When my son was 9, he was considered a special education 'lifer' with not

really much hope and I should consider what would be done with him as he aged.

(ie. group home anyone?) The school decided that he would no longer need

testing to remain in the special programming. It was just a given that he would

never leave.

> >

> > When my son was 11, I discovered neurodevelopmental therapy in the US (

http://www.nacd.org .....non profit and very reasonably priced btw) and flew him

stateside for a program plan which we did at home (we are from Canada) and

special diets..... within 10 months, his processing was age appropriate and he

was mainstreamed but still noticeably 'affected'.

> >

> > When my son was 13, we started chelating and he started taking the public

transit on his own, flew to California on his own for an 'extreme' adventure

camp 6 months after we started and his relationships with his peers became

completely normal. He has TONS of friends now and OMG.... the girls are liking

him too! The only friends he could make before were other kids with issues.

Today, he is considered the 'cool' geeky kid.... the athelete of the nerdy

brainiacs! He now hangs out with the kids who are in the 'exceptions' program

in his school which requires an IQ of 135 or more and is placed in their

classes...... what a big change from the low IQ kid he used to be. (he still

sports a slight speech affectation but language is good) Chelation was a

godsend and we are still pulling mercury 1.5 years later.

> >

> > For me, the best thing about this was to see his personal happiness. I am

rarely able to deny him a sleep over with 5-6 fourteen year old boys tromping

through my house. The other great thing is the loss of that 'stare' that others

give you when you go out. It's funny, people looking and wondering, " What's

wrong with THAT boy? " became part of my existance. (I wonder if they know how

transparent they are when they think that?) I really only noticed it when we

stopped getting the 'look'. I still have to pinch myself. In my mind I almost

cannot believe that they can't still see 'it'. The 'it' that plagues my son's

body is quietly disappearing now..... only other moms with affected kids would

really guess it. None of the mothers of my son's friends can tell that he has

any type of condition and they know him well.

> >

> > When my son was 14, he was selected to go to France with a group of kids

from school. It's a difficult application process and while my boy's grades

were not as good as the other applicants, he is just so darn likeable that he

made it into the group. (as a child, my boy got the crap beat out of him for

being different.... today, he is loved by all and makes friends easily) He beat

out 50 other kids.....all NT. The principal was a bit concerned about his

organizational skills (or lack therof) for the trip but he's going next March!

> >

> > Today, my son is 14.5 and we started MB12 about 2 months ago. I notice an

enormous difference in his fine motor ability and his energy levels. We are

still fighting to build muscle on his low toned body and it is coming..... with

plenty of hard work. He has a 75% average and there is no question that he is

University bound. He uses a lap-top to write essay type exams but that is the

only special accomodations he receives. All other exams are written manually.

I am hoping that next year, he'll be able to eliminate this and that his writing

speed will be faster.

> >

> > I just dropped him off to summer school where he is taking a grade 9 math

prep course. He's not going because he has to. He's going because his buddy's

mom is making him and my boy asked to go in order to keep this other boy

company..... and to improve his math skills, of course! It will take him 2

buses to get home and he's never done this route before but I'm not worried. He

might even pop into the mall and check out the new video games on the way. He

has his cell phone with him and he'll call if there's any trouble.

> >

> > If you had asked me 5 years ago that my son would be where he is today, I

would have told you..... " only in my dreams " .

> >

> > The key in the end was not to listen to the doctors or anyone. When I

followed what mainstream said, we just went downhill further and further. When

I began to research and fight back, he thrived and blossomed. A few things were

key: daily therapy to work on processing, chelation, ridding the body of

bacteria/yeast/viruses, diet and finally B12 shots. He tested positive for mold

recently (the really BAD kinds) and we are doing a trial of amphoceterin B to

address this.

> >

> > The sky is the limit. Visualize your son as being completely NT. Then inch

by inch, step by step..... sometimes 2 steps forward and one step back into the

dreaded recession, you heal the body and you work the mind..... it heals too!

> >

> > Actually, it was much easier to heal the mind then the body. It was labour

intensive and we did about 3 hours of home therapy a day for about 2 years to

achieve it but today, the mind is completely healed while we continue to work

that pesky body. Did you know that you can actually increase processing to

bring a child who is considered MR to that of genius levels? It's amazingly

tough to do but we came close. I finally got tired of the work and stopped

short of genius but today my boy processes at a much higher level then myself.

When we started at the age of 11, he had the processing of a 5 year old so this

made a HUGE difference to his life. Along with chelation (which improves

processing too, imo), working the brain daily and working the processing daily

has been an enormous BIGGIE. And..... the great thing is, the results stick.

We haven't done any of those exercises for about 9 months now and every gain has

held. They were really booooooring, a pain in the rear..... I dreaded them

daily but did they ever work to change his abilities~!

> >

> > In all of this my son has developed this amazing spirit. Today, he will

admit to having some extreme depression as a youngster (neurotransmittors were

all messed up.... get good labs). He learned how to look at failure in the face

and to stare it down. He learned how to overcome and that if you are

persistant, you can do and be anything. I never taught him this; survival did.

He is a good kid who has this amazing ability to 'read' people..... something he

could never really seem to do when he was little (I guess all of the bullying

wised him up!) Inside his somewhat laid-back, slightly ADD-like demeanor, is a

young man who is competent, capable and steady. I don't know how or really when

this happened. His childhood has been tough..... unbelievably tough.....it was

completely unfair.... but hopefully he'll take his lessons with him through to

adulthood. In truth, he has learned so much more about life through this

experience then others can possibly imagine; he is an extremely evolved

individual for having had this condition. I have met middle-aged men who were

not nearly as insightful nor as wise as my boy. In the end, he is an absolute

hero.

> >

> > Good luck and never count your kid out. He is full of unlimited potential

beyond what anyone says and what anyone knows. Just BELIEVE and push forward.

Never stop.

> >

> > Janice

> > Mother of Mark, 14.5

> >

>

[Guest guest]

,

I have to comment on this....

This is what I have learned about increasing cognitive processes. You have to

do the work and it is tough, daily labor!

The brain is meant to grow, to develop new dendrites and connections. When the

brain incurs damage, the brain goes into homeostasis. Everything stops and

progress either stops or grows very haltingly/slowly.

When you begin to do exercises that target specific processes in the brain, the

brain gets stimulated and begins to resume building connections. Thus, it comes

out of homeostasis and starts to rebuild.

There is no pill for this. You have to do the work. Think stroke patient.

After a person incurs a stroke.... if they do enough therapy to stimulate

neurodevelopmental pathways, the brain begins to rebuild and to bypass the

damage. It develops new connections.

This requires daily, intensive stimulation targeting very specific

processes..... really, it is all about targeting short term visual memory and

auditory memory which increases cognitive processes.

I also want you to think about an athlete when you consider this. You might be

able to take a pill, get a burst or surge of energy to run the race but to get

long term sustainable results, you actually need to condition the body via

endurance and exercise.

It is this way for the brain. This was how we got my sons' processing up to

normal levels. Yes, good diet was required. Yes, we had to pull the garbage

from his body and clean him up. But at the end of the day, in order to pull the

affected processes out of homeostasis and to get them normalized, we had to

exercise the brain and it's cognitive functions. We had to get the brain moving

again and stimulating it to rebuild.

It worked. The results affected every single area of Mark's life; from language

fluency, to 'with-it-ness', to regular peer interactions, to performing math

problems, to functioning and 'remembering' everything he needed to remember.

Yes, the brain is elastic but if we don't stretch that rubber band manually via

stimulation, nothing will happen and nothing will grow.

We had to work my sons cognitive processes about 4 different times per day with

exercises. So, frequency, intensity and duration are the key 'buzwords' to

affecting elasticity of the brain. If you do highly intensive exercises with

great frequency through the day, you can reduce duration time and the brain will

build connections faster. Each morning we would get up and do exercises, then

after school, then after dinner and again before bed. It sucked! I hated every

second of doing it, I won't kid you. We did this for one year to normalize him

from age 5 to age 11. In the second year of doing this, we began to pull him up

higher then most people. I was lucky; many people are working with kids who are

at an age of 2-3 neurodevelopmentally and my son had no actual physical damage

so bad to he responded quite well. The lower the initial level of processing,

the longer it takes to normalize function. The more severe the damage, the

longer it takes to pull the brain out of the initial homeostasis that it is

hiding in. But once you begin to get movement forwards to bypass the original

damage or issues, the brain rapidly surges forward.

But.... he needed it. It worked beyond anything I could have dreamed and today

we are all reaping the benefits of that regime.

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14

> >

> > I saw a post on another board, then read the paper for myself that Augmentin

has been implicated in some cases of Autism. I was interested because this is

exactly the reason I lost my 4 year old son. He regressed completely while on

Augmentin for an ear infection. The cause of the Autism from the Augmentin

producing high amounts of ammonia/urea. It affects the Small Intestine, Brain

and nervous tissue. Both my boys have ALL of that! My question is can they

still be recovered depending on the amount of damage done to the brain or are

they autistic forever? I wondered why my 4 year old seemed like a non-responder

to most interventions I have tried. Maybe he's just too brain damaged. I am

feeling very sick to my stomach right now, like I did when I found out about the

Autism in the first place! A very sad mommy in Oklahoma

> >

> > Rhonda Masengale

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you Janice (and Mark)! This is truly inspirational and one to keep in the 'inbox' for those days when things seem to be unravelling and everything is out of control. - Amy

Subject: Re: Can nerves in the brain regrow?To: mb12 valtrex Date: Wednesday, July 8, 2009, 4:01 PM

A little thought on this......

When my son was 3, they didn't know much about his condition and the doctors told me that he would grow out of it. He didn't, he just got worse and worse with time and grew 'into' it.

When my son was 6, they diagnosed him as borderline mentally handicapped. Nothing was to be done. OT services were denied as he was deemed 'unresponsive' to therapy. (a cool way for the system to deny funding, imo)

When my son was 9, he was considered a special education 'lifer' with not really much hope and I should consider what would be done with him as he aged. (ie. group home anyone?) The school decided that he would no longer need testing to remain in the special programming. It was just a given that he would never leave.

When my son was 11, I discovered neurodevelopmental therapy in the US ( http://www.nacd. org .....non profit and very reasonably priced btw) and flew him stateside for a program plan which we did at home (we are from Canada) and special diets..... within 10 months, his processing was age appropriate and he was mainstreamed but still noticeably 'affected'.

When my son was 13, we started chelating and he started taking the public transit on his own, flew to California on his own for an 'extreme' adventure camp 6 months after we started and his relationships with his peers became completely normal. He has TONS of friends now and OMG.... the girls are liking him too! The only friends he could make before were other kids with issues. Today, he is considered the 'cool' geeky kid.... the athelete of the nerdy brainiacs! He now hangs out with the kids who are in the 'exceptions' program in his school which requires an IQ of 135 or more and is placed in their classes..... . what a big change from the low IQ kid he used to be. (he still sports a slight speech affectation but language is good) Chelation was a godsend and we are still pulling mercury 1.5 years later..

For me, the best thing about this was to see his personal happiness. I am rarely able to deny him a sleep over with 5-6 fourteen year old boys tromping through my house. The other great thing is the loss of that 'stare' that others give you when you go out. It's funny, people looking and wondering, "What's wrong with THAT boy?" became part of my existance. (I wonder if they know how transparent they are when they think that?) I really only noticed it when we stopped getting the 'look'. I still have to pinch myself. In my mind I almost cannot believe that they can't still see 'it'. The 'it' that plagues my son's body is quietly disappearing now..... only other moms with affected kids would really guess it. None of the mothers of my son's friends can tell that he has any type of condition and they know him well.

When my son was 14, he was selected to go to France with a group of kids from school. It's a difficult application process and while my boy's grades were not as good as the other applicants, he is just so darn likeable that he made it into the group. (as a child, my boy got the crap beat out of him for being different... . today, he is loved by all and makes friends easily) He beat out 50 other kids.....all NT. The principal was a bit concerned about his organizational skills (or lack therof) for the trip but he's going next March!

Today, my son is 14.5 and we started MB12 about 2 months ago. I notice an enormous difference in his fine motor ability and his energy levels. We are still fighting to build muscle on his low toned body and it is coming..... with plenty of hard work. He has a 75% average and there is no question that he is University bound.. He uses a lap-top to write essay type exams but that is the only special accomodations he receives. All other exams are written manually.. I am hoping that next year, he'll be able to eliminate this and that his writing speed will be faster.

I just dropped him off to summer school where he is taking a grade 9 math prep course. He's not going because he has to. He's going because his buddy's mom is making him and my boy asked to go in order to keep this other boy company..... and to improve his math skills, of course! It will take him 2 buses to get home and he's never done this route before but I'm not worried. He might even pop into the mall and check out the new video games on the way. He has his cell phone with him and he'll call if there's any trouble.

If you had asked me 5 years ago that my son would be where he is today, I would have told you..... "only in my dreams".

The key in the end was not to listen to the doctors or anyone. When I followed what mainstream said, we just went downhill further and further. When I began to research and fight back, he thrived and blossomed. A few things were key: daily therapy to work on processing, chelation, ridding the body of bacteria/yeast/ viruses, diet and finally B12 shots. He tested positive for mold recently (the really BAD kinds) and we are doing a trial of amphoceterin B to address this.

The sky is the limit. Visualize your son as being completely NT. Then inch by inch, step by step..... sometimes 2 steps forward and one step back into the dreaded recession, you heal the body and you work the mind..... it heals too!

Actually, it was much easier to heal the mind then the body. It was labour intensive and we did about 3 hours of home therapy a day for about 2 years to achieve it but today, the mind is completely healed while we continue to work that pesky body. Did you know that you can actually increase processing to bring a child who is considered MR to that of genius levels? It's amazingly tough to do but we came close. I finally got tired of the work and stopped short of genius but today my boy processes at a much higher level then myself. When we started at the age of 11, he had the processing of a 5 year old so this made a HUGE difference to his life. Along with chelation (which improves processing too, imo), working the brain daily and working the processing daily has been an enormous BIGGIE. And..... the great thing is, the results stick. We haven't done any of those exercises for

about 9 months now and every gain has held. They were really booooooring, a pain in the rear..... I dreaded them daily but did they ever work to change his abilities~!

In all of this my son has developed this amazing spirit. Today, he will admit to having some extreme depression as a youngster (neurotransmittors were all messed up.... get good labs). He learned how to look at failure in the face and to stare it down. He learned how to overcome and that if you are persistant, you can do and be anything. I never taught him this; survival did. He is a good kid who has this amazing ability to 'read' people..... something he could never really seem to do when he was little (I guess all of the bullying wised him up!) Inside his somewhat laid-back, slightly ADD-like demeanor, is a young man who is competent, capable and steady. I don't know how or really when this happened. His childhood has been tough..... unbelievably tough.....it was completely unfair.... but hopefully he'll take his lessons with him through to adulthood. In

truth, he has learned so much more about life through this experience then others can possibly imagine; he is an extremely evolved individual for having had this condition. I have met middle-aged men who were not nearly as insightful nor as wise as my boy. In the end, he is an absolute hero.

Good luck and never count your kid out. He is full of unlimited potential beyond what anyone says and what anyone knows. Just BELIEVE and push forward. Never stop.

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14.5

[Guest guest]

bless you for your response. I have had this

nagging feeling for about a year that this is

the direction we need to move in. Biomed can

only take him so far, and I have been so confused

on how to " pull him through that window " cognitively.

I have often said that biomed has reduced his

autism tremendously (he " looks " great), but his mind

has made little progress and I have been stumped

on how to address that. I have been cruising the

nacd site and it seems like it would be the perfect

fit for Ty on many levels! A good 7th Birthday present

in a few weeks,, 'cuz lord knows I am already having

angst about that approaching!

> > >

> > > I saw a post on another board, then read the paper for myself that

Augmentin has been implicated in some cases of Autism. I was interested because

this is exactly the reason I lost my 4 year old son. He regressed completely

while on Augmentin for an ear infection. The cause of the Autism from the

Augmentin producing high amounts of ammonia/urea. It affects the Small

Intestine, Brain and nervous tissue. Both my boys have ALL of that! My question

is can they still be recovered depending on the amount of damage done to the

brain or are they autistic forever? I wondered why my 4 year old seemed like a

non-responder to most interventions I have tried. Maybe he's just too brain

damaged. I am feeling very sick to my stomach right now, like I did when I

found out about the Autism in the first place! A very sad mommy in Oklahoma

> > >

> > > Rhonda Masengale

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Janice thanks for all your encouraging posts you and Marks stories keep me

motivated.Do you know if neurofeedback therapy excerises the brain as you speak

of? Thanks Caroline.

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much ! My son is 11 and really regressed suddenly; Ifelt like giving up..... but I see that beautiful spark in his eye; Iknow where he would be if we never started on this journey. I was contemplateing neurodevelpomental appoach for 2 of my children , knowing about the time investment; I am plunging in, whatever the personal cost, it is worth it. Thank you for encouraging this weary traveler.

Re: Can nerves in the brain regrow?

Janice thanks for all your encouraging posts you and Marks stories keep me motivated.Do you know if neurofeedback therapy excerises the brain as you speak of? Thanks Caroline.

Stay cool with this summer's hottest movies. Moviefone brings you trailers, celebrities, movie showtimes and tickets!

[Guest guest]

Just a thought....have you all tested for mitochondrial issues? This was a HUGE

factor for my son. I had never suspected it until something showed up on his

bloodwork. We started high doses of Carnitine and CoQ10 and he has had the

biggest developmental jump he has had in a LONG time.

> > > >

> > > > I saw a post on another board, then read the paper for myself that

Augmentin has been implicated in some cases of Autism. I was interested because

this is exactly the reason I lost my 4 year old son. He regressed completely

while on Augmentin for an ear infection. The cause of the Autism from the

Augmentin producing high amounts of ammonia/urea. It affects the Small

Intestine, Brain and nervous tissue. Both my boys have ALL of that! My question

is can they still be recovered depending on the amount of damage done to the

brain or are they autistic forever? I wondered why my 4 year old seemed like a

non-responder to most interventions I have tried. Maybe he's just too brain

damaged. I am feeling very sick to my stomach right now, like I did when I

found out about the Autism in the first place! A very sad mommy in Oklahoma

> > > >

> > > > Rhonda Masengale

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Janice Mother to Mark 14I read what you said about excerszing the brain.....Just exactly how do u do this?KristiSent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerryFrom: "amysmith_lasvegas" Date: Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:55:15 -0000To: <mb12 valtrex >Subject: Re: Can nerves in the brain regrow? Just a thought....have you all tested for mitochondrial issues? This was a HUGE factor for my son. I had never suspected it until something showed up on his bloodwork. We started high doses of Carnitine and CoQ10 and he has had the biggest developmental jump he has had in a LONG time. > > > > > > > > I saw a post on another board, then read the paper for myself that Augmentin has been implicated in some cases of Autism. I was interested because this is exactly the reason I lost my 4 year old son. He regressed completely while on Augmentin for an ear infection. The cause of the Autism from the Augmentin producing high amounts of ammonia/urea. It affects the Small Intestine, Brain and nervous tissue. Both my boys have ALL of that! My question is can they still be recovered depending on the amount of damage done to the brain or are they autistic forever? I wondered why my 4 year old seemed like a non-responder to most interventions I have tried. Maybe he's just too brain damaged. I am feeling very sick to my stomach right now, like I did when I found out about the Autism in the first place! A very sad mommy in Oklahoma > > > > > > > > Rhonda Masengale > > > > > > > > > >

[Guest guest]

I am forwarding this note to the board since I think that it would help many of you get an understanding of what sequential processing is and it's relationship to function, speech and language for our kids.....

Tomatis works auditory tonal processig and we did this step too using a home based program called "The Listening Program". Auditory tonal processing helps the child acurately interpret the sounds coming into his ear and helps to strengthen this neuronal pathway. It is important.

But it doesn't help sequential processing or the ability to "remember".

Okay.... so let me give my little lecture on processing to try to help you to understand how it works. Like all of this stuff, it's easier to understand when you're looking at it from the rear view mirror and you've left it behind! Oh joy, right?

We think in bits, just like a computer. The more 'bits' we can take in and hold in our mind at once, the more information we absorb and utilize. So, if we can only hold a small 'bit' of information in our mind, we will be unable to understand or process what is going on around us. But if we work our memory and our ability to hold more and more 'bits' at once, we can process more of our environment and 'collect' information about the world around us.

There are two methods by which most of the information is collected in our brain: through our eyes and through our ears. I believe that it is estimated that 80% of the kids with issues struggle with severe auditory processing problems. They are not properly taking in information with their ears, holding it to 'remember' what is said or to know what to do or to even process high enough to enable speech. Same thing with the eyes. We must be able to 'recognize' and remember what we have seen in order to progress. If we have issues in taking information through both our visual processes AND our auditory processes, then you will definately see a child who will get the diagnosis of severe MR. They are unable to take information in, store it, and remember it long enough to produce an adequate response. Every response will be a reaction to the moment rather then a stored memory of events.

Did this make any sense?

Because my son was verbal and because he was older, we were able to use digit spans to increase his processing. So, let me introduce you to how digit spans work. When they measure processing during IQ testing in grade school, the process is a very easy one. They basically give your child a random set of numbers to remember, either visually or verbally. The number of individual 'digits' the child remembers is a measure of their digit span. So..... 8 3 1 0 6 2 4 7 Most grown adults have a minimum digit span of 7; that is they can remember 7 digits (a telephone number) for easy recall, either verbally or visually. If you have a digit span of 8.... you've got enough to go to college (that's what I am). If you've got a digit span of 9, then you're probably doing extremely well at school. If you've got a digit span of 10 (Mark has this now)..... then learning will come easy to you. If you've got a digit span of 12 or more, then you're a genius and are really able to think outside the box. Doing auditory reverse digit spans (the child has to give the digit spans back to you in reverse order) is a measurement of working memory.

We need a base level of auditory processing to obtain speech. The rule of thumb is as follows: a normally developing child gets increases one digit every year of life up until the age of 7. So a one year old will have a digit span of 1. He generally verbalizes in single words. NO! Mamma, Dada, juice, etc. A two year old gets another digit and his language increases.... they begin to speak in couplets... want juice, no mommy, bad doggy. A three year old gets another digit and learns defiance! At NACD, they call this the "knock'em, block'em threes" because any child processing at this level despite their chronological age completely RESISTS therapy and it's probably the toughest stage to work with.....resulting in a lot of tearful moms! At this level, the child still speaks in couplets with the odd phrase thrown in. At a digit span of 4, the child can generally speak in phrases. At a digit span of 5 and there are disjointed attempts at sentences.

This was where we started at the age of 11. Because Mark's very low tone, part of his problem was also an oral motor issue and thus everyone confused his poor articulation and his poor language as one entitity. It wasn't. They were very separate entities and require very separate treatment to get whole speech. If you have a child who processes well but still cannot speak, then you need to address the low muscle tone and overall coordination of the mouth, tonge, vellum, throat and air flow. Often, poor auditory sequential processing is mistaken for ADD because the result is the same.... an inability to attend and to follow instructions.

When we got Mark up to a digit span of 6, his sentences became smoother. He stopped saying "What?" "HUH?" all of the time and could follow longer instructions. When we got him up to a digit span of 7, he started to be able to tell stories and his dry wit slowly began to emerge. This was very cool. Hidden away in my child was an awesome sense of humour that I didn't get to see until he was 12! A digit span of 8 produced an even keener wit. A digit span of 9 and 10 helped with function and grades and overall ability to compensate for his physical lack. Mark needs higher processing to be at the same level as other kids I think. His physical body is a major issue for him; poor muscle tone throughout, poor visual motor skills, poor hand coordination that really still does plague him..... but he compensates with his ability to think his way through situations now. He's smarter then the others now and can strategize his way through most problems that his body might give him.

So.... after we got a digit span of 8..... we had normal language fluency but TERRIBLE articulation. He still spoke as though he had a mouthful of marbles. We did about a year of oral motor therapy after that and today it is much, much better..... well, it's not perfect but who cares? After we got the language from increased processing, no one has really cared about his articulation. It presents itself as a minor affectation of speech. Slowly it fades. For a long time, it got worse with dietary infractions and this made a big difference to the 'slushy' sound. I tend to use Mark as a poison control barometer. Speech sounds like slush after eating..... hmmmmm..... must be poison in it! Sure enough, look to the item and there is some type of weird chemical every single time. High Fructose Corn syrup and MSG are the two WORST items for clear speech, imo. We don't need 'special' diets anymore but continue to fight high bacteria levels from a biomedical standpoint. Thus we continue to work the labs.

So, what do the gang do for the kids who have no words? Well, I don't know the complete program because we started late in the game. But I do know that they begin with one step commands and LOTS of them..... They give a lot of simple 'command' type of exercises designed to increase memory. They make you do these types of exercises as often as possible with the child.

Another item I should mention..... While Mark's auditory processing was functioning at the 5 year old level at age 11..... everything about him was 5 years old. He played better with the little kids, he spoke like a 5 year old, he followed instructions like a 5 year old and really did have the maturity of a 5 year old. As his processing was increased, so did his maturity. There was always a gap between attaining the new digit span level and this translating into skill. This is because a new wealth of knowledge becomes assimilated and that utilized over time..... takes about a month or two to see the benefits begin to emerge.

Our blessing. Our blessing was that while Marks ears were basically shot..... he had been compensating visually all along. The poor kid was using everything he could gleen from his environment to try to cope in this world of ours. This is pretty COMMON amongst our kids. They have hyper-peripheral vision which enables them to decode words easily and so you should work reading skills with your children even if they are non verbal. It is another method NaCD uses to teach some older non-verbal kids to speak.

I digress....

Thus, while eye contact was the pits, while his visual motor systems were atrocious, his visual memory was AMAAAAAAZING! He started out with NACD with a visual digit span of 9. This was and remains his gift. We increased his visual processing to a 10 and left it there. NOW..... mainstream folks called him hyperlexic because he could read and decode material at a very young age. When we caught up his auditory processing (reading comprehension is an auditory skill)..... they said that his hyperlexia had 'resolved' itself. (yeah, right! They don't know how much work I did!) At the end of grade 6, Mark tested out at the college level of reading comprehension....and thus was considered 'gifted'. Remember, hidden amongst the trauma of our children is a gift or two so keep an eye out for it so you can help them use it to their best advantage. As we worked auditory skills, I never prepared Mark orally for tests at school..... everything was written work and he retained it like CRAZY! He is also a very good writer due to the many books he read..... this gift has only begun to emerge in the last year.

So.... that is my last little 'processing' lecture for today. I hope some may benefit from this and that it provides a missing piece of the puzzle. It was a HUGE piece of our puzzle.

Below, I have cut and paste a story Mark wrote this past year at school in grade 8. He received no assistance from me in this story.... it's all him. Remember, this child had an IQ of about 77 in grade 2 and was considered mentally handicapped. They didn't even want to let him into the regular special ed program. I had to fight tooth and nail to get him in THAT (almost had to pull a Sally Field re Forest Gump!). If he can overcome, any child can overcome. At the age of 11, he couldn't string a sentence together. Who says that older children can't beat the odds? They can!

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14

The Lockout

It was winter time again, but it had snowed harder than any winter before. There was so much snow that my school looked as white as a cloud. I went into school and everyone was dressed in heavy parkas and wore their scarves wrapped tightly around their necks. I was opening my locker when my friend came up to me and asked, “Don’t you think this is Edmonton’s worst blizzard ever, Jake?”

“Yeah, my bus ride took about an hour,” I agreed.

My first three periods seemed to pass by in minutes. At lunch , Max and Connor suggested we have a huge snowball fight. It felt colder than dry ice, but since I was wearing my jacket, mitts, and everything else, I decided to stay out and play.

It was a lively game, with Max and I fighting against and Connor. quickly constructed a gigantic mound of glistening white snowballs and passed them to Connor who tried to pound us with them. Max and I made small lightly packed snowballs and threw them alone. At first, and Connor’s strategy was beating ours as the large snowballs pounded us severely. I thought I saw an opening to hit , so I ran swiftly, trying to catch him off guard. Suddenly, turned towards me laughing and Max commanded in the background: “Jake, look out!” I looked behind me and there was Connor armed with an enormous pile of snow. He threw it and the watery mixture hit my face. It was so cold that I shivered violently. As the icy droplets from the huge slush ball slid down my neck, I suddenly wanted vengeance.

Connor skulked towards Max to pelt him with his small gleaming weapon. He chucked it, but Max dodged swiftly and countered with the snowball he was holding in his hand. He slammed it against Connor with a big splash. was left defenseless when Connor tried, but failed miserably, to hit Max. It gave me an opening to strike with my three weapons of tightly packed snow. Before I could attack, , with frosty white hair peaking out of his cap and shivering blue lips yelled, “I surrender!”

Looking like frosty snowmen ourselves, everyone decided to go back inside, so we went towards the heavy door. I tried to open it, but it was frozen shut and we could see ice encrusting the hinges.

“Let’s try the other doors. They’re probably open,” Max said optimistically.

We tried every single door but they were all either locked or frozen shut. was the first one to panic, screaming,

“We are doomed! Tomorrow our bodies will be on the news, and some bald headed newscaster will be talking about our dead frozen corpses!”

Thinking intelligently, Connor suggested, “Do any of you take the bus home from school?”

Everyone said no, but right then, I remembered my cell phone in my pocket, so I took it out, but its batteries had died and you could see its metal covered with small white particles from the blistering cold.

“The ETS doesn’t look like its running. We’re going to die out here!” cried.

Just then Max collapsed in the snow, seeming not to breathe at all.

“Max, are you all right? Max, Max!” screamed.

Max remained motionless. I suddenly had had enough. I ran and found a heavy piece of ice and threw it at the school window. It broke, and I was just barely tall enough to climb through the shattered casement.

“, Connor, please help me carry Max into the school!” and Connor tried but didn’t seem to be strong enough to bring Max in.

Suddenly Max spoke very faintly and whispered, “Guys, its okay. You go in, it’s okay.”

found enough strength to lift Max up and he shoved him in through the window. He and Connor climbed in, embracing the warmth.

was right --- we did get to go on the news, not as fatalities but as four survivors who worked together to overcome the odds.

[Guest guest]

I have never tried neurofeedback but hear that it helps some kids with ADD. I

would think that this is a 'later' therapy.... more of a fine tuning item rather

then a 'biggie'.

I know that at NACD they have used Play Attention for kids who were at the later

stages of recovering from autism. I mean.... kids who you can't tell have

autism anymore.... know what I mean? There are just a few ADD problems left.

Those are the kids that I have met who have done this therapy successfully but

that is just in the realm of my personal experience and that is pretty

" limited " ... to my own child predominantly.

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14

>

> Janice thanks for all your encouraging posts you and Marks stories keep me

motivated.Do you know if neurofeedback therapy excerises the brain as you speak

of? Thanks Caroline.

>

[Guest guest]

Janice,

Did you see my post regarding whether deep pressure will eventually help extreme

sensory seeking? One of my boys regularly seeks out what he can destroy and

bend into oblivion. Today he found my glasses and bent them into a pretzel!

Dana

merlinmarkrooney wrote:

> I have never tried neurofeedback but hear that it helps some kids with

ADD. I would think that this is a 'later' therapy.... more of a fine tuning

item rather then a 'biggie'.

> I know that at NACD they have used Play Attention for kids who were at the

later stages of recovering from autism. I mean.... kids who you can't tell have

autism anymore.... know what I mean? There are just a few ADD problems left.

Those are the kids that I have met who have done this therapy successfully but

that is just in the realm of my personal experience and that is pretty

" limited " ... to my own child predominantly.

> Janice

> Mother of Mark, 14

>

>>

>> Janice thanks for all your encouraging posts you and Marks stories keep me

motivated.Do you know if neurofeedback therapy excerises the brain as you speak

of? Thanks Caroline.

>>

>

[Guest guest]

,

One thing that you can do with your son.... today... since he is 7 is to really

work his body physically. Make sure that he gets between 20 to 40 minutes of

good aerobic physical exercise each and every single day. Run Forest RUN!!!

Our kids don't seem to oxygenate properly and the brain is a bit starved in this

area. Running increases blood flow to the brain.

Running does amazing things.... It boosts the immune system and helps the body

become strong. The stronger the body, the better the detoxification processes

become, the easier the child can get rid of the yeasts, metals, parasites and

other 'nasties' that have invaded. You can't tell this on a child who is 7 but

until we worked running and sauna.... Mark's body wouldn't sweat. It was very

strange to see him play sports with all of the other 13 year olds dripping with

yucky sweat and he would be bone dry.... not even a drop on the brow! The

immune systems of our kids are an absolute disaster and we need to strengthen it

from every angle we can find. Running is a vital component in this.

Mark was so weak when we started our running program that he didn't want to do

it. Back then I drove him to and from school every day and finally I would just

dump him out of the car with a cell phone and make him run the last 1/2 mile

home to our house! Yes, I am mean but now he participates in cross country meets

and has a lot of fun doing it. I also feel that this... in conjuction with SRT

treatments (a form of NAET), chelation and bacteria/yeast fighting has allowed

him to go off of the special diets that he used to need so desparately for

normal function.

Running has complimented biomedical work by working the natural detoxification

systems.

The cross pattern activity boosts the neurological processes. Think 70 year old

jogger and how mentally agile they are versus their sedentary peers. Running

does this at every age and with every body that is ailing. Working the body

works the overall health and works the mind.

So.... get on your jogging shoes and go for a spin around the block. Start with

brisk walking if you must but start.... Build the body up and tolerance for all

of the 'crap' in our environment will increase.

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14

>

> bless you for your response. I have had this

> nagging feeling for about a year that this is

> the direction we need to move in. Biomed can

> only take him so far, and I have been so confused

> on how to " pull him through that window " cognitively.

> I have often said that biomed has reduced his

> autism tremendously (he " looks " great), but his mind

> has made little progress and I have been stumped

> on how to address that. I have been cruising the

> nacd site and it seems like it would be the perfect

> fit for Ty on many levels! A good 7th Birthday present

> in a few weeks,, 'cuz lord knows I am already having

> angst about that approaching!

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sorry Dana I missed that one...

You're not going to like my answer here... (:

The deep pressure will help with him being 'able' to be more gentle with items

that he uses. It will help with his sense of touch so that he can discriminate

how much pressure that he is using. Also, deep pressure tends to help the child

be stronger.... YIKES.... with his hands. We always did it just before hand

writing work.

But the fact that he is seeking out Taboo items to ruin because he can....

well... that's a discipline problem in my opinion. Just like some boys enjoy

flushing every toy they can lay their little hands on down the toilet! ...until

finally the plumber gets called one time too often and Mom has a hissy fit never

to be forgotten! Another great joy for little boys is to put pennies into the

DVD or video player! Mark used to pull out the knobs from all of the TV's in

the house and scatter them to the wind! (and his little hands were ever so weak

but he somehow managed.... the rat!)

Remember.... there is a little NT naughty boy-boy hiding in every single one of

our young men. Snakes and spiders and all that goes with it! Tough to discern

which is which at times.... I know.

Every little boy... NT or ND... has enough ammo to destroy a house if allowed so

you do need to determine whether he can comprehend that he is committing a no-no

or if he is just reacting to an impulse. I know plenty of spoiled monsters who

are NT whose parents just didn't want to get the tantrum when they told a child

'no' when they were young and are now tall, bully-mouthed jerky teenagers. Our

kids have enough problems to deal with.... bad behaviour because of

no-consequence parenting is not something they need.

The key here is to determine his comprehension level and ability. Can he learn

and can he remember that he is not to touch certain items? It's useless to

discipline him if he cannot. It's necessary to discipline him if he can.

....a fine line to walk with a non-verbal boy, my friend! I don't envy your

position.

What's he processing at.... do you know? Are you doing processing exercises

using sign language or are you doing single/multi-step commands? You may be

ready to implement a time out if he is processing high enough. He probably

needs to be around a 4 for this. Who is your NACD evaluator? Ellen? I would

email them for a suggestion of disciplinary action given the processing level.

If he is not processing high enough to comprehend then I suggest you keep

anything you love and need well out of reach. Disciplining him in that case

would prove pointless and just really be kind of cruel.

Note: Dana does NACD with her non-verbal boys so she can better give you an

idea of how NACD approaches processing exercises for the non-verbal children.

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14

Wish

> Janice,

>

> Did you see my post regarding whether deep pressure will eventually help

extreme sensory seeking? One of my boys regularly seeks out what he can destroy

and bend into oblivion. Today he found my glasses and bent them into a pretzel!

>

> Dana

>

> merlinmarkrooney wrote:

> > I have never tried neurofeedback but hear that it helps some kids with

ADD. I would think that this is a 'later' therapy.... more of a fine tuning

item rather then a 'biggie'.

> > I know that at NACD they have used Play Attention for kids who were at the

later stages of recovering from autism. I mean.... kids who you can't tell have

autism anymore.... know what I mean? There are just a few ADD problems left.

Those are the kids that I have met who have done this therapy successfully but

that is just in the realm of my personal experience and that is pretty

" limited " ... to my own child predominantly.

> > Janice

> > Mother of Mark, 14

> >

> >>

> >> Janice thanks for all your encouraging posts you and Marks stories keep me

motivated.Do you know if neurofeedback therapy excerises the brain as you speak

of? Thanks Caroline.

> >>

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Can nerves in the brain regrow? Good question.

It's my understanding that the brain does respond to some medicines which can

temporarily change neurotranmitters a little.

Apparently children's neurons vs old folks' neurons have many more branches to

them (simplified).

In terms of general overall health, neurons receive their nourishment from pure

foods, pure water, pure air, wholesome words/thoughts, and so on.

In terms of overall good nutrition, here's a website which emphasizes using

fresh, whole foods as part of overall health in general. A blender doesn't cure

anything but a blender can make eating more vegetables and fruits in the form of

a smoothie easier.

http://www.vita-mix.com/

http://www.nutrition.gov/

[Guest guest]

thanks Janice.. running in TX in July sounds divine (lol!),

but I am a warrior and willing to try it! Interesting though,

he has no stamina.. swims like crazy, but can barely run..

we'll start slow with a brisk walk for the dogs and build

from there! thanks for the tip!

> >

> > bless you for your response. I have had this

> > nagging feeling for about a year that this is

> > the direction we need to move in. Biomed can

> > only take him so far, and I have been so confused

> > on how to " pull him through that window " cognitively.

> > I have often said that biomed has reduced his

> > autism tremendously (he " looks " great), but his mind

> > has made little progress and I have been stumped

> > on how to address that. I have been cruising the

> > nacd site and it seems like it would be the perfect

> > fit for Ty on many levels! A good 7th Birthday present

> > in a few weeks,, 'cuz lord knows I am already having

> > angst about that approaching!

> >

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

That lack of stamina is what we had as well. Mark is still very weak but now

wrestles 3 times a week. The other boys toss him and throw him around like a

doll! It scares me silly but he loves it and it really works his muscles.

The running truly improved his stamina in all areas and it is that lack of

stamina..... that really weak 'inside' that kind of shows me a weak immune

system. It's amazing actually how removing the metals seemed to coincide with

his ability to run longer distances. The running sort of solidified all of the

other treatments because it bolstered his body so that when troubles hit.... he

was just more physically stronger and able to fight the stuff that was going on

'inside' of him better. Thus it strengthen his immune system and his ability to

keep the bugs out.... and perhaps even helped him eliminate the 'nasties'

faster.

I do know that our kids tend to have reduced blood flow to the brain and that

running is one of the few ways (masking works and HBOT works) to actually

enlargen this artery and let more in.

I just wish we could finish it off and get his bacteria levels lower. But we're

working the program and we started late in his life with everything so I need to

be grateful rather then impatient!

But I really think that working ALL aspects of the body is very important to

dealing with this. Every which way you can attack it; you do it because it just

gives you faster and more permanent results.

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14

> > >

> > > bless you for your response. I have had this

> > > nagging feeling for about a year that this is

> > > the direction we need to move in. Biomed can

> > > only take him so far, and I have been so confused

> > > on how to " pull him through that window " cognitively.

> > > I have often said that biomed has reduced his

> > > autism tremendously (he " looks " great), but his mind

> > > has made little progress and I have been stumped

> > > on how to address that. I have been cruising the

> > > nacd site and it seems like it would be the perfect

> > > fit for Ty on many levels! A good 7th Birthday present

> > > in a few weeks,, 'cuz lord knows I am already having

> > > angst about that approaching!

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Janice,I have read through all of these posts with great interest because we are scheduled to attend a course at the Institute for Advancement of Human Potential in Philadelphia and from what I understand the NACD is run by a family member (brother or brother in law) of the gentleman who began the IAHP and the two organizations have very similar programs. Our daughter is only 16 months old, but she is severely delayed (gross motor skills are about 7 months and she is not talking yet, although she is very verbal and playful). She also has mild Cerebral Palsy with general low tone in her trunk and right side. I believe all of this stems from her circumstances in the womb, where she was severely deprived of nutritional flow and oxygen due to an extremely small and overly clotted placenta (which no one knew about till she was born). I dont believe that she has any autistic issues, but it's hard to tell because she is still so young and developmentally immature. She has PT and OT in the home through the local IEP and she also has craniosacral therapy, has had 40 HBOT sessions, and is taking a whole host of supplements to help her with brain growth.The book, What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child is the general overview of how the Institute got its start and how they believe the brain works and how their program is different from any other mainstream treatments. From what I learned in the book, they strongly emphasize patterning, visual stimulation (via flashcards, dots, and light therapy) and they also incorporate specific diet and nutritional requirements. From what you described as far as the Daily Exercises and Lessons, that is very similar to what the IAHP advocates, but since I have yet to actually take the course and have our daughter assessed, I'm not very clear on what exactly they will recommend for her. I do know they require that at least one parent is home full-time to be accepted into their program (because it is so intensive). They also require that we come back to the Institute every 6 months, for a follow-up assessment and a new take-home program for continuing development.I just wanted to ask if you had knowledge of the IAHP, if the NACD advocates them or if they are 'rival' schools of thought. Also, while your son was undergoing his assessments, did you notice any infants participating in the program?? It seems like much of the exercises require some participation from the student and other than some interactive play, our daughter wont be able to respond to questions or commands just yet.Also, if the NACD's program is very similar, it might be something for us to investigate because traveling all the way to Philadelphia is a little bit expensive for us (we live in Los Angeles) and if we are expected to check in every 6 months, Utah might be a much easier trip to make. Thanks for any info, comments you have for me. I am going to keep your name and contact info stashed in my 'file' if you don't mind, so that I can pick your brain as we get further into this program.

Margo~"be a worldchild, form a circle before we all go under"To: mb12 valtrex From: jscott@...Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 10:01:38 -0600Subject: Re: Can nerves in the brain regrow?

A little thought on this......

When my son was 3, they didn't know much about his condition and the doctors told me that he would grow out of it. He didn't, he just got worse and worse with time and grew 'into' it.

When my son was 6, they diagnosed him as borderline mentally handicapped. Nothing was to be done. OT services were denied as he was deemed 'unresponsive' to therapy. (a cool way for the system to deny funding, imo)

When my son was 9, he was considered a special education 'lifer' with not really much hope and I should consider what would be done with him as he aged. (ie. group home anyone?) The school decided that he would no longer need testing to remain in the special programming. It was just a given that he would never leave.

When my son was 11, I discovered neurodevelopmental therapy in the US ( http://www.nacd.org .....non profit and very reasonably priced btw) and flew him stateside for a program plan which we did at home (we are from Canada) and special diets..... within 10 months, his processing was age appropriate and he was mainstreamed but still noticeably 'affected'.

When my son was 13, we started chelating and he started taking the public transit on his own, flew to California on his own for an 'extreme' adventure camp 6 months after we started and his relationships with his peers became completely normal. He has TONS of friends now and OMG.... the girls are liking him too! The only friends he could make before were other kids with issues. Today, he is considered the 'cool' geeky kid.... the athelete of the nerdy brainiacs! He now hangs out with the kids who are in the 'exceptions' program in his school which requires an IQ of 135 or more and is placed in their classes...... what a big change from the low IQ kid he used to be. (he still sports a slight speech affectation but language is good) Chelation was a godsend and we are still pulling mercury 1.5 years later.

For me, the best thing about this was to see his personal happiness. I am rarely able to deny him a sleep over with 5-6 fourteen year old boys tromping through my house. The other great thing is the loss of that 'stare' that others give you when you go out. It's funny, people looking and wondering, "What's wrong with THAT boy?" became part of my existance. (I wonder if they know how transparent they are when they think that?) I really only noticed it when we stopped getting the 'look'. I still have to pinch myself. In my mind I almost cannot believe that they can't still see 'it'. The 'it' that plagues my son's body is quietly disappearing now..... only other moms with affected kids would really guess it. None of the mothers of my son's friends can tell that he has any type of condition and they know him well.

When my son was 14, he was selected to go to France with a group of kids from school. It's a difficult application process and while my boy's grades were not as good as the other applicants, he is just so darn likeable that he made it into the group. (as a child, my boy got the crap beat out of him for being different.... today, he is loved by all and makes friends easily) He beat out 50 other kids.....all NT. The principal was a bit concerned about his organizational skills (or lack therof) for the trip but he's going next March!

Today, my son is 14.5 and we started MB12 about 2 months ago. I notice an enormous difference in his fine motor ability and his energy levels. We are still fighting to build muscle on his low toned body and it is coming..... with plenty of hard work. He has a 75% average and there is no question that he is University bound. He uses a lap-top to write essay type exams but that is the only special accomodations he receives. All other exams are written manually. I am hoping that next year, he'll be able to eliminate this and that his writing speed will be faster.

I just dropped him off to summer school where he is taking a grade 9 math prep course. He's not going because he has to. He's going because his buddy's mom is making him and my boy asked to go in order to keep this other boy company..... and to improve his math skills, of course! It will take him 2 buses to get home and he's never done this route before but I'm not worried. He might even pop into the mall and check out the new video games on the way. He has his cell phone with him and he'll call if there's any trouble.

If you had asked me 5 years ago that my son would be where he is today, I would have told you..... "only in my dreams".

The key in the end was not to listen to the doctors or anyone. When I followed what mainstream said, we just went downhill further and further. When I began to research and fight back, he thrived and blossomed. A few things were key: daily therapy to work on processing, chelation, ridding the body of bacteria/yeast/viruses, diet and finally B12 shots. He tested positive for mold recently (the really BAD kinds) and we are doing a trial of amphoceterin B to address this.

The sky is the limit. Visualize your son as being completely NT. Then inch by inch, step by step..... sometimes 2 steps forward and one step back into the dreaded recession, you heal the body and you work the mind..... it heals too!

Actually, it was much easier to heal the mind then the body. It was labour intensive and we did about 3 hours of home therapy a day for about 2 years to achieve it but today, the mind is completely healed while we continue to work that pesky body. Did you know that you can actually increase processing to bring a child who is considered MR to that of genius levels? It's amazingly tough to do but we came close. I finally got tired of the work and stopped short of genius but today my boy processes at a much higher level then myself. When we started at the age of 11, he had the processing of a 5 year old so this made a HUGE difference to his life. Along with chelation (which improves processing too, imo), working the brain daily and working the processing daily has been an enormous BIGGIE. And..... the great thing is, the results stick. We haven't done any of those exercises for about 9 months now and every gain has held. They were really booooooring, a pain in the rear..... I dreaded them daily but did they ever work to change his abilities~!

In all of this my son has developed this amazing spirit. Today, he will admit to having some extreme depression as a youngster (neurotransmittors were all messed up.... get good labs). He learned how to look at failure in the face and to stare it down. He learned how to overcome and that if you are persistant, you can do and be anything. I never taught him this; survival did. He is a good kid who has this amazing ability to 'read' people..... something he could never really seem to do when he was little (I guess all of the bullying wised him up!) Inside his somewhat laid-back, slightly ADD-like demeanor, is a young man who is competent, capable and steady. I don't know how or really when this happened. His childhood has been tough..... unbelievably tough.....it was completely unfair.... but hopefully he'll take his lessons with him through to adulthood. In truth, he has learned so much more about life through this experience then others can possibly imagine; he is an extremely evolved individual for having had this condition. I have met middle-aged men who were not nearly as insightful nor as wise as my boy. In the end, he is an absolute hero.

Good luck and never count your kid out. He is full of unlimited potential beyond what anyone says and what anyone knows. Just BELIEVE and push forward. Never stop.

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14.5

[Guest guest]

I am certainly intrigued.. we have handled toxicity,

and still deal with bacteria and viral issues.

I definetly notice a change over the past year with

motor improvement (taught himself to swim, and this

year began diving to the bottom of the pool for toys!),

but still can't ride a bike and prefers snuggling in

the bed with the tv to " sport like " activity.

> > > >

> > > > bless you for your response. I have had this

> > > > nagging feeling for about a year that this is

> > > > the direction we need to move in. Biomed can

> > > > only take him so far, and I have been so confused

> > > > on how to " pull him through that window " cognitively.

> > > > I have often said that biomed has reduced his

> > > > autism tremendously (he " looks " great), but his mind

> > > > has made little progress and I have been stumped

> > > > on how to address that. I have been cruising the

> > > > nacd site and it seems like it would be the perfect

> > > > fit for Ty on many levels! A good 7th Birthday present

> > > > in a few weeks,, 'cuz lord knows I am already having

> > > > angst about that approaching!

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Margo,

Mark would be almost an older version of your child! Very low tone... very much

like mild CP. His diagnosis is Developmental Dyspraxia but it really is the

same as mild CP. But really, he had everything plus worse that the pure ASD

kids without the stimming and he was always social. I don't like labels anymore

because they don't tell you anything.

I prefer to work on symptoms like low muscle tone (that tells me something),

yeast, bacteria, auditory tonal processing, sequential processing.... these

definitions give us something to understand and to work with.

Mark's DAN says that his labs say " ASD " and his physicality says mild CP because

of the global low muscle tone. Which is right? It's all right and there is a

little bit of both in one child!

You know.... if you have your daughters cord blood, Duke University does stem

cell transplants for CP kids with GREAT success.... pretty much 100% recovery

from the news stories I have watched. It's amazing and if you have the blood,

you should get on the list. Because you have a CP diagnosis, you're elegible.

Yes, I actually learned about NACD via Glen Doman's book. I chose NACD over the

Institutes because I didn't feel able to design my own exercises. NACD provides

me with a complete program while at the Institutes, you do your own. There was

no way I could do this. I needed the structure and the support that NACD

provided. The two organizations are completely separate by the way. While the

basic premise of treatment is the same, they are not affiliated in any way,

shape or form. I do kind of get the feeling that there might be a rivalry there

but am unsure. I LOVED Glen Domans book and literally read it cover to cover in

one sitting. It gave me such a wonderful understanding of all of this.

I think that it's wonderful that you are starting so young with your daughter.

I know of another beautiful little girl who started when she was 3 at NACD with

the same condition.... she is still nonverbal but learned how to walk this year

which is amazing for her! She is so very tiny.

Get ready to build an overhead ladder! That's how little Eva learned how to

walk. They had to build a short overhead ladder and she learned to knee walk

which brought her forth to walking! Little Eva also responded extremely well to

HBOT.

If your daughter does not crawl, they will definately have you build a ramp for

her to slide down and get her limbs moving using gravitational pull. I know

that this works very well.

I do know of a few people who switched over from the Institutes to NACD because

of the structured exercises that are given. They felt that they did not get

enough at the Institutes. Now, that said.... there are probably plenty who have

gone the other way too!

For kids with 'major' issues just as CP and Downs Syndrome.... the younger you

start, the better the prognosis. Period. They get those DS kids reading at the

age of 3, if you can believe that! For some reason, many DS kids have an

ability to read quite young. NACD has one boy with Downs going to colleg this

year so that's quite a testament. Again, the younger you start, the better the

prognosis.

Gotta run,

Time for Tai Kwondo!

Janice

Mother of Mark, 14

>

>

> Janice,

> I have read through all of these posts with great interest because we are

scheduled to attend a course at the Institute for Advancement of Human Potential

in Philadelphia and from what I understand the NACD is run by a family member

(brother or brother in law) of the gentleman who began the IAHP and the two

organizations have very similar programs.

>

> Our daughter is only 16 months old, but she is severely delayed (gross motor

skills are about 7 months and she is not talking yet, although she is very

verbal and playful). She also has mild Cerebral Palsy with general low tone in

her trunk and right side. I believe all of this stems from her circumstances in

the womb, where she was severely deprived of nutritional flow and oxygen due to

an extremely small and overly clotted placenta (which no one knew about till she

was born). I dont believe that she has any autistic issues, but it's hard to

tell because she is still so young and developmentally immature.

> She has PT and OT in the home through the local IEP and she also has

craniosacral therapy, has had 40 HBOT sessions, and is taking a whole host of

supplements to help her with brain growth.

>

> The book, What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child is the general overview of

how the Institute got its start and how they believe the brain works and how

their program is different from any other mainstream treatments. From what I

learned in the book, they strongly emphasize patterning, visual stimulation (via

flashcards, dots, and light therapy) and they also incorporate specific diet and

nutritional requirements.

>

> From what you described as far as the Daily Exercises and Lessons, that is

very similar to what the IAHP advocates, but since I have yet to actually take

the course and have our daughter assessed, I'm not very clear on what exactly

they will recommend for her. I do know they require that at least one parent is

home full-time to be accepted into their program (because it is so intensive).

They also require that we come back to the Institute every 6 months, for a

follow-up assessment and a new take-home program for continuing development.

>

> I just wanted to ask if you had knowledge of the IAHP, if the NACD advocates

them or if they are 'rival' schools of thought. Also, while your son was

undergoing his assessments, did you notice any infants participating in the

program?? It seems like much of the exercises require some participation from

the student and other than some interactive play, our daughter wont be able to

respond to questions or commands just yet.

>

> Also, if the NACD's program is very similar, it might be something for us to

investigate because traveling all the way to Philadelphia is a little bit

expensive for us (we live in Los Angeles) and if we are expected to check in

every 6 months, Utah might be a much easier trip to make.

>

> Thanks for any info, comments you have for me. I am going to keep your name

and contact info stashed in my 'file' if you don't mind, so that I can pick your

brain as we get further into this program.

>

>

> Margo~

>

> " be a worldchild, form a circle

> before we all go under "

>

>

>

>

> To: mb12 valtrex

> From: jscott@...

> Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 10:01:38 -0600

> Subject: Re: Can nerves in the brain regrow?

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> A little thought on this......

>

> When my son was 3, they didn't know much about his

> condition and the doctors told me that he would grow out of it. He didn't,

> he just got worse and worse with time and grew 'into' it.

>

> When my son was 6, they diagnosed him as borderline

> mentally handicapped. Nothing was to be done. OT services were

> denied as he was deemed 'unresponsive' to therapy. (a cool way for the

> system to deny funding, imo)

>

> When my son was 9, he was considered a special

> education 'lifer' with not really much hope and I should consider what would

be

> done with him as he aged. (ie. group home anyone?) The school

> decided that he would no longer need testing to remain in the special

> programming. It was just a given that he would never leave.

>

> When my son was 11, I discovered neurodevelopmental

> therapy in the US ( http://www.nacd.org .....non profit and very

> reasonably priced btw) and flew him stateside for a program plan which we did

at

> home (we are from Canada) and special diets..... within 10 months, his

> processing was age appropriate and he was mainstreamed but still noticeably

> 'affected'.

>

> When my son was 13, we started chelating and he

> started taking the public transit on his own, flew to California on his own

for

> an 'extreme' adventure camp 6 months after we started and his relationships

with

> his peers became completely normal. He has TONS of friends now and

> OMG.... the girls are liking him too! The only friends he could make

> before were other kids with issues. Today, he is considered the 'cool'

> geeky kid.... the athelete of the nerdy brainiacs! He now hangs out with

> the kids who are in the 'exceptions' program in his school which requires

> an IQ of 135 or more and is placed in their classes...... what a big change

from

> the low IQ kid he used to be. (he still sports a slight speech

> affectation but language is good) Chelation was a godsend and we are still

> pulling mercury 1.5 years later.

>

> For me, the best thing about this was to see his

> personal happiness. I am rarely able to deny him a sleep over with 5-6

> fourteen year old boys tromping through my house. The other great thing is

> the loss of that 'stare' that others give you when you go out. It's funny,

> people looking and wondering, " What's wrong with THAT boy? " became part of

> my existance. (I wonder if they know how transparent they are when they

> think that?) I really only noticed it when we stopped getting the

> 'look'. I still have to pinch myself. In my mind I almost cannot

> believe that they can't still see 'it'. The 'it' that plagues my son's

> body is quietly disappearing now..... only other moms with affected kids would

> really guess it. None of the mothers of my son's friends can tell that he

> has any type of condition and they know him well.

>

> When my son was 14, he was selected to go to France

> with a group of kids from school. It's a difficult application process and

> while my boy's grades were not as good as the other applicants, he is just so

> darn likeable that he made it into the group. (as a child, my boy got

> the crap beat out of him for being different.... today, he is

> loved by all and makes friends easily) He beat out 50 other

> kids.....all NT. The principal was a bit concerned about his

> organizational skills (or lack therof) for the trip but he's going next

> March!

>

> Today, my son is 14.5 and we started MB12 about 2

> months ago. I notice an enormous difference in his fine motor ability and

> his energy levels. We are still fighting to build muscle on his low toned

> body and it is coming..... with plenty of hard work. He has a 75% average

> and there is no question that he is University bound. He uses a lap-top to

> write essay type exams but that is the only special accomodations he

> receives. All other exams are written manually. I am hoping that

> next year, he'll be able to eliminate this and that his writing speed will be

> faster.

>

> I just dropped him off to summer school where he is

> taking a grade 9 math prep course. He's not going because he has to.

> He's going because his buddy's mom is making him and my boy asked to go in

order

> to keep this other boy company..... and to improve his math skills, of

> course! It will take him 2 buses to get home and he's never done this

> route before but I'm not worried. He might even pop into the mall and

> check out the new video games on the way. He has his cell phone with him

> and he'll call if there's any trouble.

>

> If you had asked me 5 years ago that my son would

> be where he is today, I would have told you..... " only in my

> dreams " .

>

> The key in the end was not to listen to the doctors

> or anyone. When I followed what mainstream said, we just went

> downhill further and further. When I began to research and fight back, he

> thrived and blossomed. A few things were key: daily therapy to work

> on processing, chelation, ridding the body of bacteria/yeast/viruses, diet and

> finally B12 shots. He tested positive for mold recently (the really BAD

> kinds) and we are doing a trial of amphoceterin B to address this.

>

> The sky is the limit. Visualize your son as

> being completely NT. Then inch by inch, step by step..... sometimes 2

> steps forward and one step back into the dreaded recession, you heal the body

> and you work the mind..... it heals too!

>

> Actually, it was much easier to heal the mind then

> the body. It was labour intensive and we did about 3 hours of home therapy

> a day for about 2 years to achieve it but today, the mind is completely healed

> while we continue to work that pesky body. Did you know that you can

> actually increase processing to bring a child who is considered MR to that of

> genius levels? It's amazingly tough to do but we came close. I

> finally got tired of the work and stopped short of genius but today my boy

> processes at a much higher level then myself. When we started at the age

> of 11, he had the processing of a 5 year old so this made a HUGE difference to

> his life. Along with chelation (which improves processing too, imo),

> working the brain daily and working the processing daily has been an enormous

> BIGGIE. And..... the great thing is, the results stick. We haven't

> done any of those exercises for about 9 months now and every gain has

> held. They were really booooooring, a pain in the rear..... I dreaded them

> daily but did they ever work to change his abilities~!

>

> In all of this my son has developed this amazing

> spirit. Today, he will admit to having some extreme depression as a

> youngster (neurotransmittors were all messed up.... get good labs). He

> learned how to look at failure in the face and to stare it down.

> He learned how to overcome and that if you are persistant, you can do and be

> anything. I never taught him this; survival did. He is a good kid

> who has this amazing ability to 'read' people..... something he could never

> really seem to do when he was little (I guess all of the bullying wised him

> up!) Inside his somewhat laid-back, slightly ADD-like demeanor, is a young

> man who is competent, capable and steady. I don't know how or really when

> this happened. His childhood has been tough..... unbelievably tough.....it

> was completely unfair.... but hopefully he'll take his lessons with him

> through to adulthood. In truth, he has learned so much more about life

> through this experience then others can possibly imagine; he is an extremely

> evolved individual for having had this condition. I have met middle-aged

> men who were not nearly as insightful nor as wise as my boy. In the end,

> he is an absolute hero.

>

> Good luck and never count your kid out. He is

> full of unlimited potential beyond what anyone says and what anyone knows.

Just

> BELIEVE and push forward. Never stop.

>

> Janice

> Mother of Mark, 14.5

>

[Guest guest]

----- Original Message -----

From: Ambitionn01@...

===>Ours also had Augmentin, was on it when she received one of her vaccinations, geesh if that's not a bad idea I don't know what is. But she recovered, fully. In third grade with no special accommodations ever. Does age appropriate or above work, extremely verbal and social. No difference between her and other children her age. They can recover!

Rhonda:

My children also had Augmentin. They are recovered now. I felt the same worries -- is it possible? I think that it's difficult to see such strong symptoms and imagine they can go away. But, I am here to tell you, they can. I stock-piled treatments. In that I did it all at the same time, and still do. I do diets, enzyme, mop up toxins, do liver support, kill all pathogen types, etc. Thus, it's doing all of it together, at the same time, that got us results. Improvements could not be detected if I just did some things. I am also hear to tell you that ammonia is likely in all with autism. So, it's common in them already. We used l-citrulline for ammonia with great results.

Love and prayers,

Heidi N

> I saw a post on another board, then read the paper for myself that Augmentin has been implicated in some cases of Autism. I was interested because this is exactly the reason I lost my 4 year old son. He regressed completely while on Augmentin for an ear infection. The cause of the Autism from the Augmentin producing high amounts of ammonia/urea. It affects the Small Intestine, Brain and nervous tissue. Both my boys have ALL of that! My question is can they still be recovered depending on the amount of damage done to the brain or are they autistic forever? I wondered why my 4 year old seemed like a non-responder to most interventions I have tried. Maybe he's just too brain damaged. I am feeling very sick to my stomach right now, like I did when I found out about the Autism in the first place! A very sad mommy in Oklahoma > > Rhonda Masengale

Looking for love this summer? Find it now on AOL Personals.

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Forgive me for being naive, but was is the ND approach? Is this similar to

neurofeedback?

Sandy

> > >

> > >

> > > Janice,

> > > I have read through all of these posts with great interest because we are

scheduled to attend a course at the Institute for Advancement of Human Potential

in Philadelphia and from what I understand the NACD is run by a family member

(brother or brother in law) of the gentleman who began the IAHP and the two

organizations have very similar programs.

> > >

> > > Our daughter is only 16 months old, but she is severely delayed (gross

motor skills are about 7 months and she is not talking yet, although she is very

verbal and playful). She also has mild Cerebral Palsy with general low tone in

her trunk and right side. I believe all of this stems from her circumstances in

the womb, where she was severely deprived of nutritional flow and oxygen due to

an extremely small and overly clotted placenta (which no one knew about till she

was born). I dont believe that she has any autistic issues, but it's hard to

tell because she is still so young and developmentally immature.

> > > She has PT and OT in the home through the local IEP and she also has

craniosacral therapy, has had 40 HBOT sessions, and is taking a whole host of

supplements to help her with brain growth.

> > >

> > > The book, What To Do About Your Brain Injured Child is the general

overview of how the Institute got its start and how they believe the brain works

and how their program is different from any other mainstream treatments. From

what I learned in the book, they strongly emphasize patterning, visual

stimulation (via flashcards, dots, and light therapy) and they also incorporate

specific diet and nutritional requirements.

> > >

> > > From what you described as far as the Daily Exercises and Lessons, that is

very similar to what the IAHP advocates, but since I have yet to actually take

the course and have our daughter assessed, I'm not very clear on what exactly

they will recommend for her. I do know they require that at least one parent is

home full-time to be accepted into their program (because it is so intensive).

They also require that we come back to the Institute every 6 months, for a

follow-up assessment and a new take-home program for continuing development.

> > >

> > > I just wanted to ask if you had knowledge of the IAHP, if the NACD

advocates them or if they are 'rival' schools of thought. Also, while your son

was undergoing his assessments, did you notice any infants participating in the

program?? It seems like much of the exercises require some participation from

the student and other than some interactive play, our daughter wont be able to

respond to questions or commands just yet.

> > >

> > > Also, if the NACD's program is very similar, it might be something for us

to investigate because traveling all the way to Philadelphia is a little bit

expensive for us (we live in Los Angeles) and if we are expected to check in

every 6 months, Utah might be a much easier trip to make.

> > >

> > > Thanks for any info, comments you have for me. I am going to keep your

name and contact info stashed in my 'file' if you don't mind, so that I can pick

your brain as we get further into this program.

> > >

> > >

> > > Margo~

> > >

> > > " be a worldchild, form a circle

> > > before we all go under "

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > To: mb12 valtrex

> > > From: jscott@

> > > Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2009 10:01:38 -0600

> > > Subject: Re: Can nerves in the brain regrow?

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > > A little thought on this......

> > >

> > > When my son was 3, they didn't know much about his

> > > condition and the doctors told me that he would grow out of it. He

didn't,

> > > he just got worse and worse with time and grew 'into' it.

> > >

> > > When my son was 6, they diagnosed him as borderline

> > > mentally handicapped. Nothing was to be done. OT services were

> > > denied as he was deemed 'unresponsive' to therapy. (a cool way for the

> > > system to deny funding, imo)

> > >

> > > When my son was 9, he was considered a special

> > > education 'lifer' with not really much hope and I should consider what

would be

> > > done with him as he aged. (ie. group home anyone?) The school

> > > decided that he would no longer need testing to remain in the special

> > > programming. It was just a given that he would never leave.

> > >

> > > When my son was 11, I discovered neurodevelopmental

> > > therapy in the US ( http://www.nacd.org .....non profit and very

> > > reasonably priced btw) and flew him stateside for a program plan which we

did at

> > > home (we are from Canada) and special diets..... within 10 months, his

> > > processing was age appropriate and he was mainstreamed but still

noticeably

> > > 'affected'.

> > >

> > > When my son was 13, we started chelating and he

> > > started taking the public transit on his own, flew to California on his

own for

> > > an 'extreme' adventure camp 6 months after we started and his

relationships with

> > > his peers became completely normal. He has TONS of friends now and

> > > OMG.... the girls are liking him too! The only friends he could make

> > > before were other kids with issues. Today, he is considered the 'cool'

> > > geeky kid.... the athelete of the nerdy brainiacs! He now hangs out with

> > > the kids who are in the 'exceptions' program in his school which requires

> > > an IQ of 135 or more and is placed in their classes...... what a big

change from

> > > the low IQ kid he used to be. (he still sports a slight speech

> > > affectation but language is good) Chelation was a godsend and we are

still

> > > pulling mercury 1.5 years later.

> > >

> > > For me, the best thing about this was to see his

> > > personal happiness. I am rarely able to deny him a sleep over with 5-6

> > > fourteen year old boys tromping through my house. The other great thing

is

> > > the loss of that 'stare' that others give you when you go out. It's

funny,

> > > people looking and wondering, " What's wrong with THAT boy? " became part of

> > > my existance. (I wonder if they know how transparent they are when they

> > > think that?) I really only noticed it when we stopped getting the

> > > 'look'. I still have to pinch myself. In my mind I almost cannot

> > > believe that they can't still see 'it'. The 'it' that plagues my son's

> > > body is quietly disappearing now..... only other moms with affected kids

would

> > > really guess it. None of the mothers of my son's friends can tell that he

> > > has any type of condition and they know him well.

> > >

> > > When my son was 14, he was selected to go to France

> > > with a group of kids from school. It's a difficult application process

and

> > > while my boy's grades were not as good as the other applicants, he is just

so

> > > darn likeable that he made it into the group. (as a child, my boy got

> > > the crap beat out of him for being different.... today, he is

> > > loved by all and makes friends easily) He beat out 50 other

> > > kids.....all NT. The principal was a bit concerned about his

> > > organizational skills (or lack therof) for the trip but he's going next

> > > March!

> > >

> > > Today, my son is 14.5 and we started MB12 about 2

> > > months ago. I notice an enormous difference in his fine motor ability and

> > > his energy levels. We are still fighting to build muscle on his low toned

> > > body and it is coming..... with plenty of hard work. He has a 75% average

> > > and there is no question that he is University bound. He uses a lap-top

to

> > > write essay type exams but that is the only special accomodations he

> > > receives. All other exams are written manually. I am hoping that

> > > next year, he'll be able to eliminate this and that his writing speed will

be

> > > faster.

> > >

> > > I just dropped him off to summer school where he is

> > > taking a grade 9 math prep course. He's not going because he has to.

> > > He's going because his buddy's mom is making him and my boy asked to go in

order

> > > to keep this other boy company..... and to improve his math skills, of

> > > course! It will take him 2 buses to get home and he's never done this

> > > route before but I'm not worried. He might even pop into the mall and

> > > check out the new video games on the way. He has his cell phone with him

> > > and he'll call if there's any trouble.

> > >

> > > If you had asked me 5 years ago that my son would

> > > be where he is today, I would have told you..... " only in my

> > > dreams " .

> > >

> > > The key in the end was not to listen to the doctors

> > > or anyone. When I followed what mainstream said, we just went

> > > downhill further and further. When I began to research and fight back, he

> > > thrived and blossomed. A few things were key: daily therapy to work

> > > on processing, chelation, ridding the body of bacteria/yeast/viruses, diet

and

> > > finally B12 shots. He tested positive for mold recently (the really BAD

> > > kinds) and we are doing a trial of amphoceterin B to address this.

> > >

> > > The sky is the limit. Visualize your son as

> > > being completely NT. Then inch by inch, step by step..... sometimes 2

> > > steps forward and one step back into the dreaded recession, you heal the

body

> > > and you work the mind..... it heals too!

> > >

> > > Actually, it was much easier to heal the mind then

> > > the body. It was labour intensive and we did about 3 hours of home

therapy

> > > a day for about 2 years to achieve it but today, the mind is completely

healed

> > > while we continue to work that pesky body. Did you know that you can

> > > actually increase processing to bring a child who is considered MR to that

of

> > > genius levels? It's amazingly tough to do but we came close. I

> > > finally got tired of the work and stopped short of genius but today my boy

> > > processes at a much higher level then myself. When we started at the age

> > > of 11, he had the processing of a 5 year old so this made a HUGE

difference to

> > > his life. Along with chelation (which improves processing too, imo),

> > > working the brain daily and working the processing daily has been an

enormous

> > > BIGGIE. And..... the great thing is, the results stick. We haven't

> > > done any of those exercises for about 9 months now and every gain has

> > > held. They were really booooooring, a pain in the rear..... I dreaded

them

> > > daily but did they ever work to change his abilities~!

> > >

> > > In all of this my son has developed this amazing

> > > spirit. Today, he will admit to having some extreme depression as a

> > > youngster (neurotransmittors were all messed up.... get good labs). He

> > > learned how to look at failure in the face and to stare it down.

> > > He learned how to overcome and that if you are persistant, you can do and

be

> > > anything. I never taught him this; survival did. He is a good kid

> > > who has this amazing ability to 'read' people..... something he could

never

> > > really seem to do when he was little (I guess all of the bullying wised

him

> > > up!) Inside his somewhat laid-back, slightly ADD-like demeanor, is a

young

> > > man who is competent, capable and steady. I don't know how or really when

> > > this happened. His childhood has been tough..... unbelievably

tough.....it

> > > was completely unfair.... but hopefully he'll take his lessons with him

> > > through to adulthood. In truth, he has learned so much more about life

> > > through this experience then others can possibly imagine; he is an

extremely

> > > evolved individual for having had this condition. I have met middle-aged

> > > men who were not nearly as insightful nor as wise as my boy. In the end,

> > > he is an absolute hero.

> > >

> > > Good luck and never count your kid out. He is

> > > full of unlimited potential beyond what anyone says and what anyone knows.

Just

> > > BELIEVE and push forward. Never stop.

> > >

> > > Janice

> > > Mother of Mark, 14.5

> > >

> >

>