What Is DAN!?, What Can I Expect At My DAN! Appointment? and other Frequently Asked Questions
As a parent, making the decision to see a DAN! doctor is a difficult task. Surely, you will search the internet until the wee hours of the morning trying to figure out where you can find a DAN! doctor, what’s going to happen in your appointment, and the benefits of the DAN! protocol over currently mainstream Autism treatments. This week, we hope to shine a little light on the DAN! protocol, DAN! doctors, and what you can expect at your DAN! appointment.
It becomes more and more evident with research that a biochemical disruption has, at the very least, a small connection to Autism. A great deal of specialists, researchers, and parents of Autism believe that it has quite a large impact on the developmental disorder that is currently affecting 1 in every 110 children in the USA.
Where Can I Find a DAN! Doctor?
A simple internet search will bring up many lists of DAN doctors. (We like this list for US doctors and this one for international doctors) It may be somewhat difficult to get a recommendation from your family doctor depending on his or her personal views on the DAN! protocol and the DAN practice in general. Be prepared to hear reasons why you shouldn’t see a DAN! doctor. Listen to the reasons, but also take a look at the reasons why it may be a good move for your child. After all, isn’t that what it boils down to? What’s best for your child?
What is a DAN! Doctor? What makes them different than a regular pediatrician or family doctor?
If you’re a parent, then you probably just “knew” something was going on inside your child’s body. As parents its just nature to realize if something is wrong. Maybe you made an appointment at your family doctor. If that was the case, you may have walked out with a suggestion to go through a battery of tests. Or, you may have walked out with a prescription for a psychiatric medication that would help calm the symptoms.
Some Autism families decide to use psychiatric drugs prescribed by their family doctor to control Autism symptoms, but these drugs do not balance the biochemical levels. However, with the biochemical connection, some parents decide to choose an alternative medication doctor who can target the specialized biochemical imbalance. These doctors, called “Defeat Autism Now” or DAN! doctors are credentialed doctors who go through DAN! training and develop skills to treat Autism using alternative forms of medical treatments (or DAN! protocol) which explores treatments beyond psychiatric drugs.
DAN! Protocol? What is that?
The Defeat Autism Now! Protocol is a series of alternative medicine solutions for Autism. There are several avenues that a DAN! Doctor may explore, but traditionally, the following plan may be enforced.
-Dietary intervention: Omission of Gluten (Wheat) and Casein (Dairy) products from your child’s diet. Additionally omitting junk foods that have refined sugar.
-Vitamin and Mineral Supplements - To balance out the dietary changes, replacement minerals and vitamins that the body may lack will be supplemented. Some of the vitamins and minerals commonly supplemented: Magnesium, Calcium, Vitamin D, Vitamin B5.
-Chelation - the removal of heavy metals which have proven to be very destructive to the Autistic body
-Treatment of intestinal bacteria
What can I expect at my DAN! Doctor Appointment?
A large determining factor of what to expect depends on the doctor. Many parents report a friendly and helpful physician who is just as interested in the road to a cure as you are. Their focus isn’t so much on treating the symptoms of Autism so much as healing the damaged, Autistic body. With this approach, symptom improvement often comes naturally.
Your child will more than likely go through a battery of testing mostly revolving around the state of their internal body. A test for hidden food allergies will be conducted to be sure that any dietary changes that are made as part of your child’s treatment plan are beneficial and not more damaging to them.
You should leave with your questions answered and a customized treatment plan for your child’s needs. If you have questions, ask, ask, ask. Remember, these doctors chose to be DAN! doctors. They believe in this treatment method, and want to see your child healthy.
Tags: DAN!, DAN! doctor, DAN! FAQ, Defeat Autism Now, Diet
June 29th, 2010 at 7:08 am
my son is 5 years and 4 months old. he can understand commands. but cannot answer questions like what did you eat or what did you do at school etc. he is taking axepta 10mg 2 times a day. will he be able to talk normally as he grows up. this was told to me by our pediatrician that he will become normal as he grows.
June 29th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
I want to make the analysis of DNA to my child. But I dont’live in America.
Here in my country it’s impossible to make it. The reason that I’m doing this Analyse is because I want to know which foods damage my child. Now he is 6 years old and he has to make a vacine.
I don’t want to make it to him, because I’m afraid that he has many metals in his body.
please tell me if I’m right and if the analysis of DNA explains the metals that are in the body of my child. Or otherwise tell me what should I do to make sure that my child does’n need to make this vacine.
Or tell me what analyses should I do, because till now I’havent’done none.
this is the reason that I dont’ apply the diet to my child, because I’don know which food to eleminate without doing any analyse.
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:22 am
Hi Figo, I had answered (see previous question at blog about biofilm) your question on heavy metal testing. To do the diet therapy, you need to at least run Gluten/Casein peptides test or IgG ELISA food allergt testing. Call us if you need help.
July 3rd, 2010 at 10:27 am
Hi Stephen, Axepta is used to control behaviour of ADD. Does your son has it? Also, it works on the chemicals in the brain called “amines”. Why don’t you have your son assess for any oral/mouth/tongue issues on speech by a speech therapy, how is his hearing???, do a Comprehensive Stool Analysis or even Organic Acid testing. Let me know if you need help.
July 14th, 2010 at 1:47 am
I am Hashmukh Pandya from Anjar Kachchh (Gujarat State ) India wants to know about your fees for the autism treatment,
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:10 am
Hi Hashmukh, if you are one of my clients then you could hired me for consultative services from $150 plus the cost of the tests/supplements.