Autism Is Treatable and Even Recoverable

Everyday medical research is discovering more about the various influences that predispose a child to becoming afflicted with autism. There are excellent Autism treatments already available to help address the complex health issues facing children with autism.  Unfortunately, the mainstream media, public viewpoint, and traditional medicine lag behind in talking about and referring these therapies to parents of autistic children.

The field of biomedicine – which views autism as medical condition involving the immune, digestive, metabolic, hormone and biochemical systems – has been alive and well for over 15 years, thanks to the help of such organizations as the Autism Research Institute and the Defeat Autism Now! organization of health care practitioners. Both of these groups have championed the treatment and assessment techniques necessary to address the medical complexities of autism, different from just the standard medical care of behavior therapy or suppressive drug treatment.

In short, the biomedical approach views autism as a multi-factorial medical disorder which adversely affects the brain (as opposed to the common traditional medical view point that autism is purely just a brain disorder).  When these underlying medical conditions are treated many times the child’s autism condition either improves or goes away. 

You, as a parent or caregiver, need to know that options exist, treatments are available, and there are things you can do right now to get going in helping your child.  The most important thing is to develop an open mind, be committed to the process of biomedical intervention, and be willing to educate yourself.  Knowledge is power, and when you become empowered with the tools necessary to help your child miracles can, have, and will happen.

My biomedical approach incorporates many different facets of medicine including diagnostic testing, dietary and lifestyle modifications, nutritional supplements, and certain medications (if needed). My approach comes from the knowledge that the majority of autism-spectrum children including children suffering with attention deficit (ADD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other neuro-developmental problems are dealing with underlying biological and toxicity (i.e. chemical, heavy metal, food, infections) issues that are compromising their health.

In short, autism and its related spectrum disorders are more than just a psychological condition without hope for recovery or improvement.  In fact, physicians utilizing a biomedical approach feel that the majority of children who are treated bio-medically through diet, supplements, detoxification therapies, etc. have a significant chance of improvement -  if not a FULL RECOVERY. 
My approach stems from a biomedical viewpoint. I feel the best chance a child has at "optimizing their full potential" is to incorporate biomedical therapies along with standard therapies such as behavioral, speech, auditory processing, occupational and more.  This approach is too important to leave out of any child's treatment program no matter how old they are, or how long they have been diagnosed with ASD.  A person’s health can always be improved.

To find out if biomedical therapies would help your child you need to be willing to implement some of them, and to learn how to do so.  The amount of information related to the biomedical approach for autism can be overwhelming.  Knowing what to do first, how to prioritize testing and therapies, dietary changes, what supplements to use, etc. leaves many parents feeling frustrated.  This is understandable because much of the information that is available about biomedical therapies is not recognized by much of the medical community (but this is changing) and so most of the information needs to be obtained on your own from books, articles, support groups and the Internet. 

This lack of information available through conventional medical channels does not mean the biomedical approach has no value.  In fact, it is absolutely essential, but do not expect to get much recognition or support from closed-minded physicians or other health care providers when starting this type of autism treatment.