DISABILITIES

By Daniel J. Vance

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that a minimum of one in every 500 children has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Though symptoms vary, all children with it exhibit repetitive behaviors and interests, and have deficits in social interaction and in non-verbal and verbal communication. NIMH says ASD has no known cause or cure, although some children with it seem to respond favorably to a variety of interventions.

Cheryl Howie of Cave Creek, Arizona, says that her son, Harrison, 5, has ASD.

“We believe Harrison became autistic after his 15-month shots,” said Howie, a claim echoed by many other parents of ASD children even though NIMH doesn't report any research backing such a link. “There's no way to prove it, but he suddenly stopped all his language development (after the shots). Up until then he had been saying 'mommy and daddy.' He also slowed down his walking, becoming more dependent on wanting to be carried.”

A doctor diagnosed him at age 3 with mild ASD. Howie said Harrison was extremely sensitive to touch, even disliking hugs. He lacked eye contact and wouldn't play with other children. He wasn't easily able to tolerate having his hair, fingernails and toenails cut. And he exhibited echolalia, which meant he often repeated another person's words.

One day a year later, Howie was having her car tires replaced. While at the tire store, she met the vice president of sales of a company marketing supplement and “detoxification” drink mixes that seemed to offer hope for children with ASD and others.

NIMH cautions that though some children seem to improve after various dietary interventions, not all do.

But four-year-old Harrison improved. Howie said, “When he had been accepted into the [special] preschool at 3, his teacher said he was the 'most disabled' child in her class. But only a month after Harrison began taking the [drink mixes], they recommended mainstreaming him. The change in him was amazing.”

Within a week of beginning the dietary change, Harrison had progressed from speaking extremely broken English to saying, “Hi Daddy, how was your day today?” It was the first time he had ever spoken a full sentence to his parents.

This fall Harrison will enter mainstreamed kindergarten. “He still has some autistic qualities,” said Howie, “but now he's much more social. He also has very good eye contact.”

For more, see www.danieljvance.com or www.nimh.nih.gov