New Autism Cure - breakthrough treatments and cures for autism

People are diagnosed with autism at a variety of different ages. Autism diagnosis ranges from toddlers to teenagers to adults, Autism does not discriminate against the age of a person. This might not be the case when we switch focus and look at the parents’ ages. A study conducted between 1989 and 2002 of 7.5 million births in California found that the risk of a child developing Autism went up with the age of the parents.

A child’s risk of getting Autism went up 38% for each 10 year increase of a mother’s age between the ages of 20 and 40. There were also other factors taken into account including race, education, and the father’s age.

As a father’s age increased, the risk of the child developing autism went up 22% with each 10 year increase between the ages of 20 and 60.

Most believe that genetics plays a key role in the development of Autism. However, studies of parental age as a factor have mixed results. There are some studies, like the one in California, that show age may have an impact on the risk of developing Autism. Then, there are other studies that do not show any impact whatsoever. Still, there is no solid evidence that age plays a definitive role in determining the risk of a child developing autism.

Over the last 2 decades, there has been a significant spike in the number of autism cases. The reasons for this still have not been determined as there is no clear link. Though it’s just an observation, it’s not unfathomable that the overall trend of delaying pregnancy and childbirth could have something to do with the rise – and this would tie into the age speculation.

Even if the parents’ age is a factor, however, it would not have an overwhelming effect on the risk of autism development. Even in the California study, a large majority of older parents did not give birth to children who developed Autism. About 800 children born to women between ages 40-44 developed autism, while 150,000 did not. When this number is compared to the children born to mother’s aged 25-29, the risk was 84% higher.

Until there is solid evidence, there are no suggestions to give parents planning on having children.

The debate has been going on for years now: Should we or should we not legalize the use of Medical Cannabis (or marijuana)? Everyone has their own opinion on whether or not the legalization should occur. Some argue that legalizing the drug will only make it more easily obtained for recreational use. On the flip side, others say that the benefits outweigh the risks. How many benefits are there to this sometimes considered “miracle herb”? Are there even more diseases and conditions that can be treated by marijuana that haven’t been proven yet?

It has been documented that administering cannabis has been beneficial in eliminating nausea and vomiting, inducing appetite in AIDS and Chemotherapy patients, reducing eye pressure in those with Glaucoma, as well as in general pain reliving. Some individual studies have also shown medical cannabis to be beneficial in Multiple Sclerosis and depression cases.

The legality of this treatment varies by country. The issue often shows up in state elections throughout the United States. One could spend the entire day weighing the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana. What it boils down to is who and how does administering marijuana help. I discussed AIDS, Glaucoma, Cancer and Chronic Pain patients, but how about children? Or more specifically, Autistic children.

There was a letter published (via) from a mother in Florida who shared the story of her very large, autistic child who went from loving and caring son to angry and aggressive. She says in her letter that she often had to lock herself in the bathroom or else her son would attack her. They tried many different medications but nothing seemed to help. A friend of the family suggested something that the mother had never thought of; a brownie laced with marijuana. She weighed her options and decided to give it a try. As a result of giving her son marijuana, his symptoms subsided and the gentle, loving son that once was, was back again. The boy is now being given 1 marijuana brownie as well as several doses of Marinol, which contains the active ingredient in marijuana everyday. The boy’s mother says “He shows no signs of being under the influence of a drug…This has clearly saved my child’s life and my family’s life.”

Typically when such aggressive and assaultive behavior arises, medication is sought to calm the person down. Medications such as Risperdal are administered, but do have high levels of toxic effects including but not limited to rapid heart beat, muscle spasms, and severe anxiety. Granted, marijuana has its own associated side effects, but are seemingly not as severe as those of Risperdal and like medications.

Depending on where you live in the world, this may or may not be a possible route for you to explore. Because of the widely range of illegality, it’s not suggested that you try to obtain marijuana on your own and attempt to treat your child’s (or even your own) condition. It’s absolutely worth speaking to a doctor about - though since the studies and research are not nearly complete, chances are, he/she will not prescribe it. Yet.

The Center for Disease Control said on Friday that H1N1 is widespread through 48 states. People are heading to their doctor’s to obtain the vaccine to protect them from this dangerous and life threatening flu strain. While the vaccine is something that many people do not think twice about obtaining if they have the opportunity, the constant research into the vaccine is turning up risks and side effects that are causing some people are a bit more hesitant in getting the vaccine.

The FDA’s website lists mercury, squalene and formaldehyde among some of the ingredients in the swine flu H1N1 shot. Researchers have found Mercury to cause uncontrollable seizures in primates. Scientific studies have also proven mercury poisoning causes neurological damage.

Another ingredient in the H1N1 vaccine is Thimerosal. Thimerosal has powerful and damaging effects on cells of the nervous and immune systems in mammals including humans. Its effect may vary depending on the dose, the genetics of the individual, and the timing of exposure. The mercury dose from thimerosal produces acute and often deadly ethylmercury blood levels.

In addition to the ingredients which cause various reactions depending on our own chemical markup, researchers claim that the H1N1 vaccine can cause viral overload. The vaccine itself is a “dead virus.”” This means that it is inactive and waiting to be incorporated into the human genome. Once it is placed into the human body, it prompts the body to create antibodies to protect any future invasions of the same (but live) virus.

Perhaps the most dangerous part of this process is that the viral load is increased while your immune system is decreased. This can be a perfect scenario for an extreme case of auto-immune disease. There have even been some researchers that report high viral load in Autism cases.

The Center for Disease Control announced in August that 477 people in the US died from H1N1 flu including 36 children. Nearly 70% of these children had chronic high-risk medical conditions such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy or developmental delay. This emphasizes the importance of caretakers of children with chronic medical conditions consulting with their physicians about obtaining vaccinations against H1N1* (http://www.epilepsy.com/)

As the flu season continues on, the risks and benefits are still being weighed. Some people are rushing to get their vaccines; others are refusing to take the risk while the remainder of the populations wonders what the right answer is – if there even is one.

We often speak about Autism in children since this is often when the disorder is diagnosed. Parents are much more aware of the common symptoms of Autism including short attention spans, slow speech, specific repetitive behaviors and social interaction difficulties. Parents are quick to ask their doctors as soon as these things become apparent. With the growing rate of diagnosed Autism cases, this also leads one to wonder- what happens to autistic children as they grow older? What happens when they aren’t children anymore?

Of course this question doesn’t have one answer, and needs to be researched on a case-by-case basis. Dylan and Remly Clark are two brothers, 18 and 19 respectively, who have autism. Their mother, Judy Clark is the founder of Autism Support And Programs (ASAP) which is an organization that offers support and information for people with autism.

About 8 years ago, Judy made the difficult decision to put her son Remly into a facility. His autism was particularly difficult to manage and handle, so she had no other choice than to get Remly the care that he needed and deserved. Despite her confident decision, Judy was determined to have her two sons together again somday.

As the ASPS grew, they added more staff members and were able to enhance areas of the organization to promote growth. One of the biggest additions — a group home specifically catered to those who have autism. Everything from the color scheme to the available activities were created and targeted to benefit the residents.

Rainbow Farms is a 5 acre farm and is located in Pender County, North Carolina. Each resident’s case is explored individually and a daily schedule is devised based on their specific needs. The residents have a chance to interact with not only each other, but with farm animals and horses. They staff at Rainbow Farms base their work on several principles including Individualization, Behavioral Support, Collaboration and Positive Supports.

Just opened this year, Rainbow Farms now houses both Dylan and Remly Clark. They are learning to interact with others and enjoying their time spent together. Despite their autism, Judy says she wouldn’t trade her sons or their conditions for the world. The Autism is just a part of her boys’ charm.

Canadian neurotherapist Paul Swingle will be the first to admit that his methods of treatment for Autism are often criticized. Many claim that there are no dependable studies that prove his neurotherapy sessions work.  Melanie Lewis of Harrogate, England is a firm believer in Swingle’s treatment and she says her son is proof of its effectiveness.

When Melanie’s son, Martin was three years old, she and her husband began to worry about him. His speech was delayed, he lacked coordination and was unable to focus on any one thing for too long. He soon began to have seizures and visited doctor after doctor who would simply give him more medication and send them on their way.

At 8 1/2 years old, Martin began having a different kind of seizure.  Melanie took him to several different doctors and neurologists who gave negative prognosis and their answers were to up his dosages on his medication. Melanie says, “It was a time of fairly major disillusionment in the medical system.”

Melanie, a doctor and her husband, previously a doctor, now a lawyer have always taken a “proactive” approach to their son’s condition. They tried everything from modifying his diet to horse-back riding to having him take Ritalin and anti-seizure medication. None of these things seemed to help, at least not dramatically.

It was across the world that Melanie would soon locate Paul Swingle, a psychologist from Vancouver. She says she was browsing around the internet and came across Swingle’s website. The neurotherapy that he specializes in made sense to Melanie and this convinced her to fly halfway across the world to try to find a successful treatment for her son.

Having surfaced in the 70’s, neurotherapy was introduced to treat a variety of disorder’s including attention deficit disorder, autism, epilepsy and addiction. It has also been used as treatment for stoke victims.

Swingle describes neurotherapy treatment as involving normalizing, modifying and optimizing brain functioning.  He goes on to say that “We find areas [of the brain] that are not functioning efficiently.” Then neurotherapeutic exercises are introduced to stimulate the non-functioning areas.The idea is similar to physical exercises that enhance muscles.

The first step in the neurotherapy treatment is an initial analysis which includes the measurement of brainwaves. An electroencephalograph (EEG) is used to determine which brain waves are excessive and which are under or dysfunctional. This information is then used to give feedback to the patient and they can then learn how to regulate their brain waves to achieve successful relief from symptoms.

Swingle says that “self-regulation” of brain activity can be compared to using Yoga and meditation to reach complete relaxed states, focusing on the power of the mind. He says this can mind control also be achieved using neurotherapy exercises.

What exercises are used to reach the point of regulation? Swingle explains in his book, Biofeedback for the Brain:  How Neurotherapy Effectively Treats Depression, ADHD, Autism and More that “A brain-controlled Pac-Man game is often a popular and effective reward. Using rewards of sounds and game-like computer images that provide information about successful brain regulation allows the person to learn what concentration feels like and, better yet, how to sustain that mental state.”

Melanie admits that she was a bit nervous about flying across the world to have her son take part in a treatment that she hardly knew anything about - but the changes she has seen have made her a believer.  Within 5 days, Melanie claims Martin was off of the Ritalin that he had been on since he was 2 years old. He hasn’t had any since.  Though he still does take anti-seizure medication, his dosage has been cut in half since he began neurotherapy. Melanie also reports that she has seen drastic changes in Martin’s behavior, social skills and cognitive function.

As mentioned, neurotherapy has its critics.  On QuackWatch.com, along with Facilitated Communication which we discussed a few weeks ago, Neurotherapy is listed as a method of treatment that “should be avoided. ” Although documented cases of success exist, ” a comprehensive review has concluded that none of these claims is supported by well-designed studies.”

Despite this, Melanie explains that being a parent of a child who has diagnosed disorders you will try anything to help them. Neurotherapy has worked for her son and she’s happy for this.

Neurotherapy sessions with Swingle cost about $105 per session.  It is also worth mentioning that this method is traditionally only used with high-functioning autistic children in an attempt to correct dysfunctional brain-wave patterns.