Thursday, August 18, 2011

Solving the Autism Problem


Article Body:



There is no one therapy that does it all. And,



to complicate it further, like most "mental"



problems", it's not simple to diagnose. In the



younger ages, it's easily confused with mental



retardation, or brain damage.





What are the known causes of autism? Perhaps the



best known today is the usage of mercury (



thimeroserol) in infant and childhood vaccines.



Only in the past few years was this practice



discontinued. So, we've literally poisoned



millions of children with good intent!



Protecting them from dangerous childhood diseases



has caused much worse problems.





Another well known cause of autism is food



sensitivity and allergy. Virtually every known



mental problem may be caused by a normally



harmless allergen - a simple food that has been "



recognized" by that person's immune system as "



dangerous".





This seems to be caused by what is called "leaky



gut syndrome". A major theory in this cause is



that the malnourishment of the mother prior to



birth and during initial feeding after birth



opens the entrances from the gut too much in the



attempt to obtain more needed vitamins and



minerals and enzymes, etc.





This larger "leaky gut opening" allows larger "



particles" thru the gut walls into the portal



vein. Instead of digested single amino acids, or



simple combinations of a few amino acids, longer



chains of amino acids are allowed thru. These



larger than "normal" collections of amino acids



may then be recognized by the immune system as



possible viruses, bacteria, or even parasites.



This particular collection of amino acids is now



a distinct allergen to that person, even though



it is actually harmless.





There are possibly many other minor causes and/or



combinations of causes. We know very little



about the evolution of our immune system, and how



allergy/sensitivity is developed.





What can we do to "normalize" autistic children?



What are the answers that we already know?





The Mercury Toxicity Problem<



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As a former orthomolecular psychologist, mineral



toxicity is well known to me. I've seen several



schizophrenic patients "cured" that suffered from



copper toxicity in particular.





The first step is diagnosis of this problem. Is



mineral toxicity involved? There are several



different ways to diagnose mineral toxicity. In



my opinion the best way is a mineral hair



analysis. Most MD's prefer a 24 hour urine



collection. Actual blood tests and urine and



saliva tests are not reliable.





It seems that all toxic minerals are stopped from



getting into the brain by the filtering and



storage facility of the liver. A large amount of



mercury getting to the brain would be very



dangerous, so the liver stops it and stores it,



and then gradually releases as small an amount



back into the bloodstream so that it can be



excreted. Hair is an excretion route, and an



inch or so of hair tells a "history" of mineral



excretion over a period of weeks. While hair



analysis isn't very accurate insofar as amount in



the body, it's very accurate as to what's been



excreted over time.





A hair analysis would be my first step towards



solving the autism problem.





Supposing that the hair analysis came back



showing large amounts of mercury. What to do



next? The answer is some form of chelation.





Chelation means "to grab onto". There are



several drugs that do this for minerals. In the



blood stream, these drugs (EDTA and others)



literally grab onto minerals, and allow them to



exit the body thru the kidney/urine excretion



system. This usually involves going to a



chelation clinic, sitting for an hour or so with



a needle in the arm. It's not that uncomfortable,



although a small child might find it so. This



procedure is done several times over a period of



several weeks.





. One problem with this is that because the



chelation agent (drug) "claws onto" all minerals



in the blood stream, it takes out essential



minerals as well as the toxic ones. So, it



becomes very necessary to supplement the minerals



our bodies need for everyday use. In effect,



taking all out, good and bad, and putting back



the good.





It's also not cheap, as it involves "doctor time".







I successfully used a cheap and effective



alternate in my practice. Vitamin C. Vitamin C



combines with minerals in the bloodstream



metabolically to form a mineral "Ascorbate"



combination that is also water soluble and passes



out thru the same kidney/urine exit.





There are several advantages to using Vitamin C



instead of drugs. It is a natural antibiotic



that kills both viruses and bacteria in the



bloodstream. So, people who use it will be



healthier than most, AND they'll be getting rid



of toxic minerals at the same time.



The same thing happens as does with drugs. Since



vitamin C combines with ALL minerals, we are



taking out the essential ones along with the



toxic ones. So, all the essential ones must be



supplemented daily.





Few people realize the truth about vitamin C



today, in spite of the work done by Linus Pauling,



a true genius. The "spin" by nutritionists and



MD's and the RDA has us taking very insufficient



amounts of vitamin C for daily use. Did you know



that the veterinarian RDA for a 150 pound ape is



4000 mg (4 grams) per day? We humans and other



primates such as that ape handle vitamin C



exactly the same. The RDA is under 100 mg (0.1



gram).





For schizophrenic adults I worked with in past



years, I used 10 grams per day in split doses.



For these patients, their schizoid symptoms



seemed to disappear within two weeks or so, but



surprisingly, a six month hair analysis showed



even high levels of copper. Carl Pfeiffer, a



mentor, and a good friend, explained that the



body is now allowing more toxic material out of



storage into the bloodstream so that it can be



excreted safely. Most goes out via the kidney/



urine pathway, but also hair. To my surprise,



this increase in hair levels was actually good.







Allergy/Sensitivity Problem


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The "leaky gut syndrome" is becoming a huge



health problem, albeit unknown to most people and



even most physicians. It's a function of our



culture moving more and more away from healthful



foods containing good nutrition and moving more



and more to sweet and pre-processed foods without



good balanced nutrition.





Because we have evolved requiring certain amounts



and balances of vitamins, minerals, amino acids,



fatty acids, and enzymes derived from what we eat,



we, as a culture are not getting even close to



sufficient nutrition for good health without



taking vitamin mineral supplements. One theory



of "leaky gut syndrome" is that each generation,



being malnourished, has to find a way to get more



necessary nutrients, and allowing more amino



acids and other needed nutrients thru the walls



of the intestines, this is accomplished.





There are several possible answers to this



particular problem:





1. Giving the person with the problem digestive



enzymes. This helps the digestive system do a



better job, breaking up proteins into amino acids



easier to digest as small peptides and individual



amino acids. This solves part of the problem at



least, especially in those cases where digestive



problems are present. Of course, protease is the



most desired.





2. Avoiding those foods that are most likely the



allergens that the immune system has "decided"



are enemies. This is the basis of the milk free



and gluten free diets that are popular, and have



proved of value for some autistic cases.





3. Allergy search and solution. The only really



effective "test and cure" system is the End-



Point-Titration method. This not only finds both



allergies and sensitivities, but also provides a



neutralizing amount. Unfortunately, the costs



are prohibitive, ranging in the tens of thousands



of dollars. A free allergen test may be found at



Free



Allergy Test<.a>





4. EEG Biofeedback (aka Neurofeedback or



Neurotherapy) has long been used with ADD/ADHD



successfully. Dr von Hilsheimer in Orlando has



successfully worked with several autistic



children using this therapy. He has taken well



over 200 sessions with several patients. The



problem is that it is very expensive and uses a



lot of "doctor time".





5. A new therapy called Neuroliminal Brain Wave



Training was invented by me in 2004. It does



exactly what EEG Biofeedback does, namely change



brain wave strengths (and in the case of autism



patients, increases brain blood flow (similar to



HEG biofeedback).



Besides being as successful as EEG BF, it



actually has several other advantages for autism



cases:





a. Very affordable cost - a fraction of EEG BF,



a viable alternative to the dangerous drugs used



for the ADD-autism continuum. Mid and low income



families simply cannot afford EEG BF, leaving the



only real choice the dangerous drugs.





b. Very simple to use at home. No messing



around with wires and sticky paste or even bulky



helmets. Even the "worst" autistic kids can be



trained without problems.





c. No motivation required to simply go to sleep.



With ADD/ADHD and high functioning autistics,



motivation is a critical factor in success.





In a recent test of 9 autistic children from 3 to



11 years of age, over an eight week period, ALL



nine improved, some dramatically, and some slowly.



This is exactly what would be expected if using



EEG and HEG BF. All parents put up a $100



deposit, and if no improvement was found, they



could get that back. All preferred to keep it



and continue training.





Those are the options I see at present. Autism



is increasing as our nutrition is decreasing, and



more and more toxins are used for good reasons



that have bad effects.





If I had a child who was autistic, or even slow



to develop, what would I do?





1. Start Neuroliminal Brain Wave Training



immediately.





2. I'd do a hair analysis to see if mercury is



at toxic levels, and if so, I'd start my child on



5-10 grams of vitamin C per day.





3. I'd try a Caveman Diet for a week or so to



try to determine if common allergens such as milk



or grains are a major culprit.





4. I'd
investigate digestive enzymes for autism



on the web, and start using them.





The belt and suspender theory seems to me to be



the best way - do all that you can as soon as you



know about the problem and possible solutions.



The sooner the autistic child is started on these



programs the closer to "normal" they usually



become.





There is no magic pill. All these programs take



time. Magic pills usually aren't anyway, and all



drugs have serious side effects for some at least.



What I have outlined does not in any way.



Unfortunately, the physician's dictum "do no harm"



is no longer the case.


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