Effective medical treatment may allow a child with autism to respond better to educational and behavioral interventions as well as to other types of therapies.
Autism is a common, chronic disease and patients with autism require a medical home. Certain health factors may make autism worse and behavior worse. The purpose of this article is to describe how doctors can manage autism as a chronic disease. The main treatments for autism are behavioral and include applied behavior analysis (ABA). Drug therapy may be useful if target symptoms are severe and do not respond to behavioral interventions.
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Please comment on this autism topic.
Responding to relationship development intervention (RDI)
Jul 28, 2011 by AnonymousThank you to all the RDI defenders. It is ridiculous to believe that there is just one tried and true therapy for kids with autsim. I believe ABA works for some kids, but it wasn't even an option for mine. We had a very well-known doctor who agreed with our decision and believed because of our son's personality, ABA might cause of problems for him. We started RDI at home about 2 years ago. We then moved into extendeder services at our home and now have him in an RDI therapeutic school 5 full days a week. WOW, what a difference! My son has made such striders. The extenders are wonderful people who really care about him and his progress. He has built peer relationships at school that I never thought was possible. RDI is not a fad. Because of the nature of the program, progress is documented on a regular basis via videos made by parents, consultants, etc. It is amazing to look back and see how far my son has come. As a parent, you feel supported and a huge part of your child's progress which is so rewarding. I urge other families to take a look at RDI and not be pushed into other therapies that they are not comfortable with. BTW, my son's RDI is covered 100% through insurance after we reach our deductible.
Using Temple Grandin as an example?
Feb 22, 2011 by AnonymousI'm not sure why this doctor is using Temple Grandin as an example of a person who excels without the GFCF diet. Temple IS on the GFCF diet. She put herself on it and finds that it has really helped her. She speaks about it in her books and in her interviews.
I also object to the oft repeated idea that being on a special diet will make it difficult to meet nutritional requirements. This is the statement of someone who knows very little about nutrition (which is usually the case with Pediatricians) because it is very easy to meet a child's nutritional requirements on the GFCF diet. There are lots of whole grains still available to them and dairy is highly over-rated. None of us "need" dairy to get calcium. It's easy to supplement and supplementation provides a form that is much easier to absorb.
Physician Cautions Against Restrictive Diets for Autism Unless Necessary
Feb 17, 2011 by AnonymousThis is in response to Dr. Jay L. Hoecker, an emeritus consultant in Mayo Clinic’s Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, suggests that parents of children with autism should be careful when starting their child on a new diet.
What terrible advice. It is not hard to do a Gluten Free Casein Free Diet and in fact is healthier than most diets people have their children on.
It is meat, vegetables, fruits, and avoiding wheat based flours, but this doesn't mean they don't eat "grains" . It is about cooking from scratch. It means no preservatives, or colored dyes.
Calcium and Vitamin D can be achieved from Almond Milk or Rice Milk.
The added comment that "Temple Grandin's Mother didn't put her on this diet is ridiculous. I know first hand that when my daughter has "gluten" she regresses in her behaviors, her ability to concentrate and her ability to talk.
It sunds like Dr. Jay is just another doctor that would rather pump kids with drugs that go the natural healing route. Simply appalling!
Responding to neurofeedback
Feb 2, 2011 by Monkey's MomWe have been using neuro feedback for our 9 year old daughter for about 5 months at this point. We also use chiropractic re-adjustments twice weekly to alleviate the pain and pressure on her spine as well as allowing the nerves to communicate properly. She now after almost four years is able to recognize pain and say it is pain instead of acting out. She has a combination of problems, along with ASD, she was severley abused and neglected prior to being placed with us as a foster child. She has probably had some in utero chemical exposure, although that was denied prior to adoption and she was born to teenage parents with a familial history of mental illness. She has been out of that environment for almost four years now and is adjusting very well.
The good news is I was able to take her to an unfamiliar major urban area, we live in the country, for a two day group tour. She was able to manage the subway, museums, city noise, a large hotel, the holidays and a very busy schedule for the entire two days without any tantrums, outbursts or behavioral issues for the entire two days and on the train ride to and from. She has also not been in the "quiet room" this year at school either.
We at this point are attempting to decrease some of her meds. It has been a little hit and miss trying to get the correct frequency and locations when we are trying to correct or address specific behaviors. When the doctor places the electrode on an area that he knows on other children will treat obsessive behaviors, it activate her frontal lobe and she becomes alomst manic prior to and after her meds wear off.
It takes really knowing your child and a good relationship with the provider as well as working very closely with her school contacts and teachers. Communication is key if this is going to work at all. If we don't communicate she doesn't get the treatment she needs and it may take several weeks to get back where she was before something was changed.
So as a parent I feel it is truly worth everything it takes to get this accomplished. Just be prepared for things to happen you didn't expect, either good or bad and find a provider that is willing to re-adjust a treatment when something goes wrong. Be patient as you may initially see results for only a few days at a time. Then understand that not every child is "wired" the same and until their is a good relationship between client and provider and an understanding of what does and doesn't work it will, be experimental for a little while.