Hope for Autism

Hope for Autism

It’s not catchy, but it's meaningful.

If you read my last blog, your head might be spinning.

Autism rates have exploded from 1 in 10,000 in 1970s to 1 in 36 today. The rates are even higher if you isolate boys from girls.

Something is affecting our children.

The question is what?

People want to point their fingers at one single thing, often the toxin de jour.

I am guilty of that.

But I believe it’s much more complex than that.

Why?

Because when I started working in Early Intervention, all the children with autism looked relatively the same. Poor eye contact. Hand flapping. Toe walking. Difficulty attending to tasks. Not relating to others well. Either nonverbal or echolalic. Often in their own world. It was very clear to identify.

Around 2010, kiddos with autism started looking different.

The spectrum widened and diagnostic criteria changed slightly, but that doesn’t really account for the change I began to see. If you came into the pediatric field after 2010, you may not have noticed this change. 

Diagnostic criteria widened to be more inclusive of a greater variety of neurodiversity. We now have different categories and subtypes of autism whereas we didn't before. 

Is that a good thing?

If it helps kids get access to the care and services they need to help them be successful in life, I'm ALL for it.

My point is to point out that kiddos who check the boxes 15 years ago look very different than the kiddos today. In fact, I rarely see the kiddo who presented with "classic autism" back when I started my career.

I find that interesting.

This leads me to my point.

I used to think that it was probably 1-2 things that were leading to autism back in 2007, mainly because the presentation of it in kids was very similar. 

But now, based on the explosion of kids with autism (and ADHD) and the increased variety of symptoms and challenges, I think there are many more factors at play:

1. This generation (maybe 2?) is the first generation of children born to highly toxic mothers. My generation (those who were born in the early 1980s), we weren't exposed to toxins in utero. Toxins didn't creep into our food supply until the mid-1980s and early 90s. Our parents were still eating “real” food mostly and didn’t have a need for the organic label because all food was free from pesticides. Our first foods as babies weren't sprayed with Round-Up. Since then, we've had a massive boom of biocides enter our food supply as well as we have seen the onset of genetically modifying our crops to make them resistant to biocides (which act as an antibiotic in our bodies). Research has shown that we now have glyphosate in the umbilical cords of our babies. 
2. Hundreds of thousands of chemicals have been created and put into rotation starting in the 80s. That number is actually accelerating at incredible rates now compared to the 90s. This means that babies born beginning in the 2000s have been exposed to more chemicals in their first 20 years of life than their mothers were during their first 30-40 years of life. Many (most) of these chemicals haven’t been tested for safety nor have they been tested in conjunction with each other. Scary. And yet they are in everything from our food to our water to our clothing to our furniture. These chemicals should be banned from our foods as well as our medicines. Aluminum and mercury should also be banned from vaccinations given to infants. Yes, mercury is still in the flu vaccine. Aluminum is a main player in the others. All pharmaceutical products (including acetaminophen and ibuprofen) block liver function (this is so that the liver doesn’t naturally detox the product, limiting efficacy). Think about all the times we’ve given babies, with tiny livers, Tylenol to help with teething. I'm 100% completely guilty of doing this with my babies. This blocks their natural detoxification processes. Same for when mom takes Tylenol when pregnant.

1. We have toxic water. Fluoridation has not improved dental health and it HAS decreased IQs in our children. It’s a neurotoxin, enough said.
2. We have an excess of folic acid in our supplements and prenatal vitamins; folic acid is synthetic and doesn’t actually do anything helpful in the body except clog up the folate receptors. Most kiddos with autism are not great at methylating (many have a polymorphism on the MTHFR gene/enzyme) which doesn’t allow for methylfolate to be created and cross the blood-brain barrier. Some new studies are showing that the MTHFR polymorphism is responsible for mental health/mood disorders in children.
3. Birth process: So many babies are born via C-section. And many of them are avoidable. We know that when children do not travel through the birth canal, they do not get to eat and absorb the mom’s microbiome and even stool (yes gross, but also full of good bacteria), they are more likely to have allergies and asthma in childhood. We know that they often have low levels of Bifidobacterium species, and as I stated in my last blog, have a very high incidence of gut issues (constipation, pain, bloating, gas, etc). Could there be a connection?

Ok, so those are some of the factors that I believe have some involvement in the increasing incidence of autism. I only listed 5, but really under each of those I could write a thesis on how our babies are being affected. It’s so grotesque to me how money 100% dictates policy in our countries. So many chemicals should be banned from our foods as well as our medicines. Aluminum and mercury should be banned from vaccinations given to infants. Yes, mercury is still in the flu vaccine. Aluminum is in man of the others. All pharmaceutical products (including acetaminophen and ibuprofen) block liver function (this is so that the liver doesn’t naturally detox the product, preventing its efficacy). Think about all the times we’ve given babies, with tiny livers, Tylenol to help with teething. Or alternated Tylenol with Advil? I'm completely guilty of this in the past. This blocks babies' natural (and incredibly important) detoxification processes. Same goes for when mom takes Tylenol while pregnant.

So how do we start to heal and support our children with autism from a holistic perspective?

1. You HAVE to find a practitioner who understands the complexities and loves working with kids who have autism.
2. Look at the diet. What foods are inflammatory? The biggest culprits are dairy, gluten, soy, and eggs. Sometimes corn. You must take them out for at least 6 weeks to fully clear them from the body. The key is NOT simply replacing these items with processed foods (i.e. regular Oreos for gluten-free Oreos). Try whole foods as much as possible. Can this be challenging with a picky eater? Absolutely. So there may be other foundational pieces you need to address first. Find a pediatric nutritionist who understands the Division of Responsibility and Sensory Processing Disorder and can work with you on that first to expand your child’s food repertoire.
3. Address detoxification. As I mentioned before, kiddos with autism are poor methylators. Methylation is KEY to detoxification. Make sure they are pooping daily and then support methylation with B vitamins, particularly methyl folate, vitamin C, and others. I also love using glutathione to support the liver, our main detox organ. 
4. Address sleep. This is when the brain saves information and the body cleans house. If your child is not sleeping, they are not functioning optimally. A consistent sleep hygiene protocol can help with this as well as supplements. Some kids literally cannot shut off their nervous system at night and need external help to shut down in order to sleep. There is nothing wrong with this. 
5. Limit toxic exposures. This is KEY. Reduce pesticide exposure, remove fragrances, toss junk skin products including sunscreens, don’t cook with plastic, and filter your water from chlorine, radon, and fluoride at the minimum (distilled or reverse osmosis are the gold standards).
6. Avoid medications when possible—fevers are actually good for the body and there have been studies with therapeutic fever induction for kiddos on the spectrum that results in improved cognition. Amazing. 

This can be completely overwhelming. And it's ok to feel that way.

I've only scratched the surface of how we can support kids on the spectrum. This is important and necessary work, but it can be lengthy and exhausting. Three steps forward and 1-2 steps backward is sometimes where we live for a while. Bioindividuality makes intervention challenging sometimes, but it is also what makes our kids amazing. They are so resilient. And so are you. 

I am incredibly passionate about this topic. I have indefinite hope for our kids. I have seen amazing things happen when a functional and holistic approach is utilized:

Kids start pooping without pain (and regularly).

Stimming decreases.

Periods of glazing over or having the quiet stare have decreased.

Self-initiated and non-imitative language increases and is functional.

Sleep dramatically improves in duration and also quality. 

I continue to learn each and every day from my clients with autism and their families. I am constantly blown away by their strength, fight, and resilience. It's not easy. It's not always fun. It's a lot of hard work and a lot of figuring out how to get in supplements and foods that we know support learning, communication, behavior, and sleep. 

It is often very hard. And very, very worth it. 

If you know someone who would benefit from reading this, please share it with them. Thank you for being here,