Holistic Approach to treat Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Holistic Approach to Treat Autism and Related Disorders

There are not too many things in life more devastating than having a normal looking baby not meet normal developmental milestones and finding out that they have an incurable disorder called autism. Before 1980 only one in 2,500 children was diagnosed with autism disorder. Today the figure is closer to one in every 250 children born. The reason for this increase appears to escape the mainstream medical community. Whatever the reason, the effects are devastating to the individual with the diagnosis and to the entire family.

To date, there is no known cure for Autism. However, there exists many treatments that can improve functioning. The purpose of this article is to explain an holistic approach to treat Autism, Aspergers Disorder and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Almost all the techniques presented in this paper are based on clinical experience and scientific research. Almost all of these techniques do not have the “gold standard” of a double blind placebo controlled research study to support claims of effectiveness. Treatment for autism is relatively new and are not backed by many funding sources. We present this information for your enlightenment so that you can choose the techniques that you feel will best help your loved one or the clients you serve. Resources for further information regarding particular treatments will be given as part of this article. Hopefully, some day, most of these techniques will have double blind placebo controlled research studies to verify their effectiveness.

What are Autism?

Autism, Aspergers Disorder, Retts Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (NOS) comprise a group of mental illnesses called Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Of the four disorders Autism and Aspergers Disorder are the most common. In simple terms, children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders do not meet the normal developmental milestones at the same time as other children. Certain social skills (e.g., two way play) are often never developed. Children with Autism do not learn to speak when their same age peers do. Speech development is the main difference between Autism and Aspergers Disorder. Children with Aspergers Disorder appear to develop normally in the area of speech. Children with the diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorders often have other symptoms besides developmental delays. These disorders can manifest in very severe terms that involve constant rocking, self harm through head banging, profound mental retardation, almost non-existent social skills and displaying an inability to learn to speak. These disorders can also appear to be very benign in forms that appear to be normal except in the area of social skills. Many would perceive these high functioning individuals as being odd. What is common in all children diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorders is a lack of two way or parallel play. Concepts of sharing and allowing others to dominate the play for an extended period of time appear to be unknown to these children, even those who have the mildest forms of Autism or Aspergers disorder. Other symptoms common to children with these disorders include:

poor social skills

inability to form meaningful relationships

areas of poor academic achievement

gastro-intestinal problems (including encopresis)

food allergies, sensitivities and/or intolerances

behavioral problem

repetitive behaviors

rocking behaviors

inappropriate attachments to objects

delays of speech

unresponsiveness to verbal clues (may appear deaf yet has normal hearing)

developmental vision problems

sensitivity to loud noises or sounds at certain frequencies

refuses to learn in the way a teacher wants, has their own way of learning information

odd behaviors

behavioral outbursts, tantrums, or rages

excessive sensitivity to pain or lack of sensitivity to pain

lack of fear to situations that would normally produce fear in children of similar age

A child with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder may only have a few of the above symptoms. Others may seem to have every one of them. It is also common for children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders to have other mental health conditions as well. Common disorders that co-exist with Pervasive Developmental Disorders include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Mood Disorders and Motor Tic Disorders. Having an additional disorder may make treatment even more complicated.

Regardless of the co-existing disorders, every child diagnosed with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder is unique and should be considered as such. If you have a child with autistic symptoms, some of the following techniques may not apply to your child. For example, not all autistic children have developmental vision problems. Many of them do. Not all have gastro-intestinal problems, yet many of them do. And not all of them will be sensitive to wheat and dairy products. You will need to decide which techniques are important for your child’s particular needs. Thus parents should use only the information presented in this article that they feel will meet the individual uniqueness of their child.

For the sake of simplicity, the term autism will be used loosely in this article. In Europe, Pervasive Developmental Disorders are usually termed as autistic spectrum disorder to point out that there is a broad range of symptoms to these disorders. There is also a broad range of severity in children diagnosed with these disorders. In this paper, we will use the term autism to signify all disorders in the group of disorders called Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

What causes autism and why the increase in diagnoses?

It is amazing that we have a modern day epidemic and no one can agree upon the cause of the epidemic. One in 250 children is a large number of victims not to know the cause or etiology. There is little doubt that autism involves abnormal brain development. What is not known is what causes the brain to grow abnormally. Some scientist firmly believe the cause is related to the immunization vaccines. There are two main theories about how vaccines can cause the brain to grow abnormally. One view is that the mercury used as a preservative for the vaccine leads to abnormal brain development causing autism. The other theory suggests that the cause is due to a live virus within the vaccine getting into the brain causing the abnormal growth.

Those who believe it is related to mercury poisoning feel that children with autism may have a genetic predisposition to process the mercury in the body differently than the children who are not affected with the vaccine. These are children who develop normally and then after the vaccine begin to produce the first signs of autism. Thus it is the mercury that stimulates the brain to grow abnormally. Many of the symptoms of mercury poisoning are very similar to the symptoms of autism.

Vaccines may not be the only source of mercury toxicity. Every ten years the government collects blood and urine samples randomly from the general population to study the effects of environmental toxins. In the year 2000, the study discovered that a large number of women of child bearing age have enough mercury in their body (possibly from cosmetics) to be harmful to their unborn fetus. Could this be the source of mercury poisoning in addition to the vaccines?

The other theory blaming the vaccine relates to the fact that live viruses are used in the preparation of the vaccines. The theory suggests that some of these viruses are able to get into the brain of some of the children receiving the vaccine. It may be a genetic factor causing the virus to get through the brain’s natural barriers. Another factor could be some random factor that causes some vaccines to be more dangerous than others dosages of the same vaccine. What ever the factors involved it is the live virus that stimulates the brain to grow abnormally according to this theory.

Some people may speculate that the rise in the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders is due to are ability to better diagnose these disorders. They speculate that we have always had children with these disorders but have not recognized them as abnormal. The problem with this theory is that there is just too much of a dramatic increase since the 1960's to account for such high numbers. While we may be better at diagnosing children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders, this fact does not account for the tremendous amount of increase in children being affected with Autism and Aspergers Disorder. We feel that we have a true epidemic and the number of children diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder is likely to continue to increase over time.

Autism is not the only medical problem that is on the rise with children. Allergies is also on the rise. Some feel that our continual exposure to environmental toxins may account for the increase in these disorders. We feel that we should examine our increase use of plastics, batteries, cosmetics, and other products that may contribute to environmental toxins that we are constantly exposed to. Is it possible that exposure to environmental toxins could account for the increase in child health problems such as allergies, asthma and Pervasive Developmental problems? Or is the cause due to mercury used in the vaccines or is it the live virus used to make the vaccines? Could it be a combination of these factors? Could it be another factor? Much more research is needed to determine the specific cause for this modern day epidemic. However, we feel that the most probable cause relates to toxic substances found in our environment and/or vaccines that cause the brain to grow abnormally.

Just as there is no known cause of Pervasive Developmental Disorders, there is no known cure. Not even medications can cure a child with Autism or Aspergers Syndrome. The abnormal brain growth defies modern interventions. However, there are many things that can be done to increase general functioning of a child with autism. Some of these techniques or a combination of these techniques may be able to get these children very close to behaving normally. This include behaving socially normal. We feel that the key to success lies ultimately in neuro-development. The more that abnormal neuro pathways are worked with to be made normal, the more skills a child will have. The more cognitive skills a child with Pervasive Developmental Disorders have the more the child will appear normal. The following is a brief presentation on some of the treatments available for children with autism. Almost all of these treatments have an impact on neuro-development.

Nutrition

The importance of eating the right food can not be overstated. Brain development requires the right chemicals and nutrients to help dendrites branch out to connect with other nerve cells. Research has demonstrated that some of the nuero-pathways of the frontal cortex are under developed in children with autism. Good nutrition is the foundation to help dendrite development and can help in the construction of new neuro-pathways when remediation work is underway.

Good nutrition will help almost anyone to feel and function better. We all could do well with eating a variety of foods and taking supplemental vitamins. This is especially true for autistic children. While some children with autism will eat anything put before them, many are picky eaters. Many have a very limited amount of food that they are willing to eat. However, some will eat just about anything that is placed before them. Good nutrition is important for any child, especially for the child with autism disorder. Mothers can often compensate by adding multivitamins to their children’s diets. Children who do not swallow pills or refuses chewable multivitamins can obtain vitamins through concentrated sprays.

In general, the recommendations for autistic children are to increase their consumption of omega 3 fatty acids (e.g., cod liver oil, walnuts), vitamin D and natural (cis) forms of vitamin A. Additional supplements include Choline (use under supervision), DMG (Glconic from DaVinci Labs), Magnesium plus calcium, Vitamin B complex plus niacinamide and niacin and pantothenic acid, Vitamin B6 and Vitamin C. When considering the addition of vitamin supplements, use wisdom. Educate yourself about supplementation. Be careful not to over supplement a child. Try to understand how the supplement is supposed to work and know the correct amount of supplementation to get the desired response. More information about supplementation and how it can be applied to Pervasive Developmental Disorders can be obtained in the book “Prescription for Nutritional Healing”. Several Internet sites also have great recommendations and nutritional plans. We recommend www.parentsofallergicchildren.org. Nutritional plans are helpful because many children with autsim and Aspergers syndrom often have sensitivities to certain foods which impair functioning.

Nutrition can also be useful to help detoxify children from toxic chemicals. Foods that are believed to help with the detoxification process are raw potatoes, asparagus, carrots, garlic, beets, dandelion greens, parsley and watermelon. It is recommended for everyone to drink lots of water to help flush out toxic materials from the body. Steamy baths and saunas are also helpful in helping the body to release toxins. The study of nutrition is also helpful in knowing how to deal with foods that may irritate or aggravate the immune system.

Some autistic children may have sensitivity to certain foods. Common irritants are foods that contain lactose or gluten. Many children with autism are lactose and gluten intolerant. If you have an autistic child that has intestinal problems, chances are that gluten and/or casein are contributing to these problems. Homeopathic specialists have a method to determine if your child is allergic to certain foods. Their findings can be backed up by two types of medical allergy testing. We recommend the provocation/neutralization method of allergy testing and the Elisa/ACT LRA Tests. For more information about the Elisa/ACT LRA tests please visit the following website: www.parentsofallergicchildren.org/elisa_act_test.htm

Toxicity assessment

Again, the most probable cause of autism is a combination of toxic substances that were in the child’s body during crucial neuro-developmental periods of that person’s life. Some children may still have these toxic substances within their body. The body naturally attempts to rid itself of toxic chemicals over time. Some believe that some toxic chemicals are difficult to excrete and need assistance. It is believed that once these toxic chemicals (e.g., heavy metals) are out of the body, over all functioning may improve. Getting rid of all the toxic chemicals will not cure the child. The resulting neurological damage needs to be addressed. Additional efforts are needed to treat the child as explained in other sections of this article. These efforts have a higher chance of succeeding if the body is currently free of toxic substance. The first step in this process is to detect harmful substances within the body.

One way to test for the presence of heavy metals within the body is through hair analysis. The body releases heavy metals very slowly so the likelihood of finding any in the urine or blood is very minute. However, the hair collects body excretions over time. If a body has heavy metal toxicity, evidence of this should be found in the hair. Thus hair analysis is viewed as a valid measure for long term toxicity while blood and urine samples are not.

Hair analysis has been criticized by some as being to unreliable. A study reported sending the same hair to several labs and received different results from each lab. If someone is inclined to do hair analysis, we highly recommend the Great Smokey Mountain Laboratory in Tennessee. They are regarded as the best laboratory to do hair analysis. To have a hair analysis performed, contact a willing doctor. You can also order a testing kit from the Laboratory by visiting their web site at http://www.gsdl.com. Hair analysis can also be used as an outcome measure to determine the effectiveness of detoxification methods. In addition, some children seem to collect toxic substances easier than other children. It may be wise to obtain a hair analysis on a yearly basis.

Once it has been determined that heavy metals or other toxic substances remain in the child’s body, the next step is to rid the body of these chemicals. One method of doing this is through chelation. Chelation is a process of administering certain substances that attempt to rid the body of toxic elements and compounds that are often stored in the body. There are several ways to do chelation. The internal method (the child ingesting the chelation substances) is known to cause side effects (e.g., gut bugs) that can at first lead to improvement and then lead to a deterioration in functioning. For more information about this method and the possible side effects, please follow this link: http://www.healing-arts.org/children/holmes.htm. A possible safer approach is administering the chelation chemicals through the skin. This is called Transdermal Chelation. Only a few doctors do this technique but it is alleged to excrete the toxic metals without as many side effects of the other approach to chelation. As explained in the section under nutrition, there are natural methods to help the body detoxify from harmful chemicals. Medical chelation is often viewed as a more effective method. For more information on Transdermal Chelation, please follow this link: http://www.drbuttar.com/about/about.asp. Dr. Amy Yasko is a pioneer in the development of a holistic program to help children and adults detoxify and strengthen their body using nutritional supplements. More information can be found at http://www.holisticheal.com.

Cognitive Development

Some children with Autism Spectrum Disorder symptoms do well in school, while many do not. This is usually because some of them have developed very well cognitively and others have not.

No brain is perfectly developed. Even normal children have areas of their brain development that can be improved. Improving cognitively in childhood always translates into a higher quality of life in adulthood.

Most people feel that intelligence is a static phenomena and does not change over the life span. We disagree with this and encourage activities that are designed to increase intellectual functioning. Research has demonstrated that within a year of the correct intervention, IQ can be raised up to 24 points, if IQ is originally below 100. It can be raised on the average of 9 points if it is already above 100. A 24 point gain in IQ can get some retarded children within normal limits of intelligence. Again, any advancement in intelligence has a positive impact for the rest of the child’s life.

Currently there is a revolution within the cognitive development field. Many professionals are becoming involved in the neuro-developmental model. Basically the model states that with the right kind of intervention, neuro-pathways can be developed in order to strengthen cognitive functioning. There are several good models to choose from and some with a history of over 40 years. Some of the better models include The Structure of Intellect (SOI), Mel Levine’s: All Kinds of Minds Institute, Pace Tutoring, and DORE. A listing of these and other neuro-developmental models with links to their Internet sites can be found at: www.yourfamilyclinic.com/ld/ldmodels.html.

Getting benefit from one of these providers requires certain commitments in both cost and time. To benefit from neuro-developmental programs one must spend ample time through out the week on training exercises. The recommended time requirement is usually between 20 minutes to an hour per day, six days a week. The total cost is usually $3,000 per child. PACE tutoring has the most intensive training requiring an hour a day, six days a week. The benefit they offer is that the program is finished in three months or 90 days. They report an average gain of four years in reading and attention skills within that 90 day time period.

Other models may take longer in the number of days but usually require less time per day. The end results from each program should be relatively similar. They all approach neuro-development slightly different so you have a broad choice of which will be most effective for your circumstance. The first step is to contact a provider of one of these neuro-developmental models. The practitioner will examine your child and let you know if they may be able to help or not. Your Family Clinic has a service to guide families in choosing the right developmental program and to assist them in any home schooling or home development they may choose to do. For more information about this service, just follow this link:http://www.yourfamilyclinic.com/ld/coach.html

Social Development

Lack of social skills is the essential component of all children with pervasive development disorders. The part of the brain devoted to the acquisition of social skills and understanding social cues are under developed in children with Autism and Aspergers Syndrom. Traditional techniques (e.g., behavior modification) have attempted to address the lack of eye contact and social problems common with children with Autism. Most of these techniques are viewed as very limited, having problems with generalization, and ineffective in solving the real problems related to social development.

There is a social development program that we believe is effective in resolving the social problems of these children. The technique that we highly recommend is called Relationship Development Intervention. This is the most comprehensive system to teach social skills. It now has scientific evidence to its effectiveness. While the evidence does not meet the gold standard, it does offer significant encouragement. According to the initial research 50 percent of the participants in RDI were able to achieve social skills to the point that they no longer met the criteria for Autism. The authors were clear to point out that these children were by no means cured of their disorder, but their social skills were so developed that they no longer met the DSM criteria as having Autism.

If the reader could only implement one suggestion from this article, RDI would be the one to implement. RDI is a pure neuro-developmental model and is the most likely to have permanent effects. There are no known side effects. In addition, in neuro-development, when goals are achieved, it is often the case that other problems clear up as well. In our opinion, it is the technique that will produced the most amount of effective treatment in the least amount of time and cost.

The techniques are relatively simple. Everyday the coach or parent or teacher spends one on one time to teach social interaction. All the procedures are explained in a book. The book maps out social development into 26 stages. The coach or parent knows which level of development the child is at and what techniques need to be taught next. Improvement in social development can be easily measured by the checklist the book offers. More information can be obtained at the RDI Internet website at http://www.rdiconnect.com. This website offers parent training seminars and support networks.

Auditory Training

Autistic children are often sensitive to information they receive through their senses. Many are overly sensitive to light, smells, tastes and textures. Some are very sensitive to the sounds they hear. Auditory Processing is another component that should be examined when working with Autistic children. Some Autistic children become upset when they are around certain noises. One theory for this is because they are sensitive to a certain range of frequencies of sound. This sensitivity causes them to become irritated whenever they hear sound within this frequency range. A technique called auditory integration is a procedure to attempt to address this problem. First the child is introduced to a wide range frequency of sound. Then a band of frequency is identified that the child is sensitive to. The child is introduced to music and other sounds that do not include the frequency area. Then with repeated exposure, the frequency is slowly introduced a little at a time. The brain is allowed to get accustomed to the offending frequency. More information on this procedure can be found at www.auditoryintegration.net/AIT_home.html

Many parents notice improvements in behaviors and cognitive abilities following this treatment. Some report that the treatment lasted a long time. Others found that when their child had a relapse in gastro-intestinal problems as a result of chelation, that their sensitivity to sound returned. More research is needed to identify which Autistic children benefit from this procedure and which do not.

Some children may be sensitive to the sound of their own chewing. These children often do not chew their food because of this sensitivity. These children may have an overly sensitive trigeminal nerve. One treatment approach is to gently massage the trigeminal nerve until it is less sensitive. The procedure is described at Handle Institute’s web site: http://www.handle.org/activity/facetap.html.

Another related concern is auditory processing problems. Some Autistic Spectrum Disorder can pass a simple hearing test yet have problem processing the information that they hear. An auditory specialist can help detect auditory processing problems. Several companies have designed programs to help develop auditory skills. These include Fastforword and Tomitis. A relatively inexpensive program designed for the home user is Earobics. You can explore their website at www.earobics.com

Near Point Vision Therapy

Just as some children have trouble processing auditory information, many children with autism do not process visual information correctly. Developmental vision is concerned with how well the eyes and muscles controlling the eyes are working together. In addition it is concerned with the process in which the information from the eyes are interpreted in the brain. Developmental vision is all about helping children see things clearly and accurately so they can learn to read and interact with their environment better.

One of the most common problems with some autistic children is convergence. Often these children will have one eye that focuses where it is supposed to and the other eye is aimed some where else. Developmental vision therapy works with the eyes through exercises designed to strengthen eye muscles and improve their coordination.

Only developmental optometrist do the examinations necessary to detect and correct developmental vision problems. Most optometrists are not developmental optometrists. Most optometrists check for 20/20 vision and a person with developmental vision problems may have perfect 20/20 vision, but still not have the visual abilities to learn to read fluently. The College of Optometrists in Vision Development (at www.covd.org/index.html) has much information on developmental optometry. To find a doctor in your area go to www.covd.org/membersearch.php.

To learn more about autism and developmental vision problems, we invite you to visit www.visionhelp.com/autism.htm.

Attention Development

Many children with Autism have problems with attention. Attention is the ability to hold concentration over a period of time. Some children with Attention Deficit Disorder have selective attention. If the activity is stimulating (e.g., video game) they can maintain concentration for hours at a time, if the activity is not very stimulating (e.g., home work), their ability to concentrate is short. If a child is unable to sit through a television program, the child either has developmental vision problems or has almost no attention skills. Attention skills can be developed through specific exercises. It can also be obtained through medication. If medication is the chosen route, then one must realize that once the medication has worn off, the attention abilities are gone until the next dosage.

There are numerous exercises to increase attention. Some children with severe autistic characteristic will have to start with the easiest exercise which is to scratch their back. Gently scratching the child’s back with a back scratcher is often a good place to begin working on attention skills. The activity is usually soothing. It may take a while for some to be able to remain at this activity for an extended time. You should work up to 20 minute period. Twenty minutes of attention is usually the goal because many activities at school require 20 minutes of sustained attention.

The next level of attention building is being able to visually follow objects with the head held still. Often the parent has to hold the child’s head as they move a pencil or puppet in front of their face from side to side requiring that the child focus on the object at all times. Complete instructions to this exercise and similar exercises can be found at the end of a shareware article at http://www.yourfamilyclinic.com/shareware/addbehavior.html.

Another method to increase attention skills is through computer assisted programs. We feel that a game for the X box and Sony Play Station II for building attention skills is Dance Dance Revolution. It promotes a sense of timing and rhythm that has been linked to the development of concentration and attention skills. The similar game is available over the Intranet at www.flashflashrevolution.com. Interactive Metronome is a professional system developed to build attention skill. More information can be found at www.interactivemetronome.com. There are other companies that develop software that builds attention skills. Some of our favorite companies are Brain Train at www.braintrain.com and Locutur at www.learningfundamentals.com. A company that develops software to teach academic skills is Laureate Learning and can be found at www.llsys.com/parents/index.html. Attention skill exercises are usually fun and satisfying. They are satisfying because parents can see improvements within a relatively short period of time. We recommend doing attention exercises daily. After 30 days at 20 minutes a day, you should see significant gains in attention skills. If you do not, it is usually because you started off on a more advanced level than your child is prepared for. Some will need to start with back scratching and massages. Others can start at visual tracking exercises. Another cause for lack of success is that other senses (e.g., vision, hearing, touch) are not developed and are interfering with the child’s ability to concentrate. If you have started at the right level, you should get positive results. These results should encourage your child to try other exercises to build up cognitive and relationship skills.

Medications.

For children with severe attention problems, we recommend a combination of medication and attention exercises. Medications used for attention skills are the psychostimulants (e.g., Ritalin, Adderal), Welbutrin, and Strattera. You will need to see a medical professional to obtain medication. For a complete list of the medications used for psychological problems, please follow this link: www.yourfamilyclinic.com/medical/medicationlist.html.

Some children with Autism Spectrum Disorder will not require medication. Currently there are no medications that are approved by the Federal Drug Administration to treat PDD. However, medications are widely used to treat these children. Medications are often used to address particular symptoms that often are seen in children with PDD and to treat coexisting conditions such as Tourettes Syndrom, tic disorders, ADHD, psychotic behavior, epilepsy and other separate disorders. Thus a child with Autism may be on a number of different medications.

Be careful with medications. Most of the undesirable side effects will usually improve within one or two weeks. If they do not, inform your doctor. Some medications help cognitive functioning. Other medications may interfere with cognitive functioning and may even interfere with neuro-developmental activities. Work with your doctor to find the best medication or combination of medications to address your child’s symptoms yet help your child to function at an optimal level.

Currently the most popular medications for children with PDD appear to be the antipsychotic medications (e.g., Haldol, Risperdol, Olanzapine) and the anti-depressant medications (Buspar, Zoloft, Prozac). For a list of medications used to treat psychological disorders, feel free to look one of our listings at www.yourfamilyclinic.medication.medicationlist.html. To see information regarding research on children with PDD and specific medications, we recommend a visit to http://www.patientcenters.com/autism/news/med_reference.html.

Some people feel that medication should be used first to treat children with PDD. However, we feel that medication should be used as a last resort or when other methods of treatment have failed. We feel that once a child is on medication, then the goal of treatment should be neuro-development and good nutritional practices in an effort to have the child no longer require mediation. There are some children with Autism that medication can not be avoided given our current treatment technology. In addition, people with few resources in time and money may need to rely on medication as a primary form of treatment for children with PDD.

EEG biofeedback

Another way to improve cognitive skills and overall functioning is through EEG biofeedback. EEG biofeedback measures the brain waves of the child and displays them in ways that the child can understand (e.g., through a simple video game). The child is asked to change the brain waves. As the child becomes proficient at changing and controlling their brain waves, they get improvement in cognitive functioning. Adjusting brain waves is a very safe procedure and almost anyone can benefit from doing the procedure. The procedure is relatively costly since it usually involves about 40 to 80 sessions of therapy.

There are two common approaches to this procedure. One is more expensive than the other. The most expensive method involves obtaining a “brain map” which involves gathering brain wave information from 16 to 19 sites on the head. The information is compared with reference groups and abnormal brain wave activities are listed. Recommendations for biofeedback in an effort to get the brain waves more normal is thus recommended.

The less expensive procedure forgoes the “brain map” technique and the clients symptoms guide the placement of electrodes for biofeedback or a standard placement is used. It is still debatable as to which procedure is better. However, most people who use EEG biofeedback with children with Autism and ADHD report significant results. Parents can now do EEG biofeedback in their home through a system that works with the child's video game system. For just over $600.00, EEG biofeedback is now possible within your own home. For more information, please visit www.smartbraingames.com. It has been our experience that EEG biofeedback is an excellent way to improve functioning. It will not cure the client of Autistic symptoms but it usually will improve functioning significantly. It is been our experience that EEG biofeedback is an excellent way to improve functioning. It will not cure the client of Autistic symptoms but it usually will improve functioning significantly.

Conclusion

To the parent with an autistic child, the effects of the disorder can be devastating. We have seen parents do just about anything to help their children. Of all the techniques presented above, our favorites and the ones we feel most important are social development (e.g., RDI) and neuro-development. While there is no cure for autism, efforts should focus on increasing skills. Many of the negative outcomes associated with autism can be circumvented with the proper treatment.

Parents should not rely on schools to do the neuro-development that is necessary to make significant gains. Most schools do not have the knowledge or training to do nuero-development. Remember, there are no short cuts. Medication will not develop cognitive skills. Medication can be helpful in reducing some of the symptoms. Neuro-developmental techniques require daily interventions. However, a parent should see positive results within 30 days if the correct neuro-developmental technique has been chosen.

We have had some parents report positive results from the newer type of chelation therapy. EEG biofeedback can also improve general functioning. The nutritional and medical methods are often important considerations in treating children with autism. Some children may not be able to avoid medication because of severity of their symptoms. Parents should not rely solely on medication in the treatment of their child. While there is no cure for autism, we have developed many useful and effective treatments. With the proper help, it is not unrealistic to expect children with autism to be relatively normal and achieving normal developmental and social milestones with their peers.

We feel that every parent of a child with Autism should have the following books:

The Fabric of Autism: Weaving The Threads Into A Cogent Theory by Judith Bluestone, Handle Institute (May, 2004), ISBN: 0972023518

Children With Starving Brains: A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Second Edition by Jaquelyn McCandless, M.D., Bramble Books; 2nd edition (January 1, 2003) ISBN: 188364710X

Relationship Development Intervention with Children, Adolescents and Adults: Social and Emotional Development Activities for Asperger Syndrome, Autism, PDD, and NLD by Steven E. Gutstein, Rachelle K. Sheely, Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 1st edition (January 15, 2002) ISBN: 1843107171

Autism in the School-Aged Child: Expanding Behavioral Strategies and Promoting Success by Carol Schmidt, RN, BSN and Beth Heybyrne, MA, Autism Family Press, 2004, ISBN 0-9674969-3-4

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