hope, health and healing autism biennial congress march 2007 vancouver, british columbia baxter...
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Hope, Health Hope, Health and Healingand Healing
Autism Biennial Congress March 2007
Vancouver , British Columbia
Baxter Berle’s journey through and recovery from autism
Disclaimer:
I am not a medical
professional(Although I look really
smart…!)
I am a mom
This is the guy we’re talking about!
Baxter Baxter Wilde Wilde BerleBerle
Born on
May 26, 1999
C-Section
Apgars 9/9
A series of pictures to
show Baxter’s
regressive autism
Baxter was one month oldAnd completely healthy
Jolly
Aware
Focused
Connected
3 Months
Happy joyful baby!
As an infant Baxter met all his developmental
milestones
Rolled over at 5 ½months
Sat at 6 ½months
Crawled at 8-9 months
Walked at 13 months
More than ten words at 1 year
MilestonesMilestones
6 months
7 MONTHS - CONTINUED NORMAL (HAPPY!) GROWTH
9 months
SO cute!
But though red cheeks and ears were already
appearing…
Shortly after
routine vaccinations at a year old this is
who he became…
Incessant drooling…
Constant anxiety
Oblivion to others…. even brand new baby brother
Sound Sensitivi
ty
Anxiety
Stressed out
Tactile defensiveness
Vestibular uncertainty
Decline after MMR and Chicken Decline after MMR and Chicken Pox-1yr. OldPox-1yr. Old
Lost ALL language
Cried/whined nearly all the time
Couldn’t be calmed
Hated any kind of transition/change
Refused all eye contact
Ate copious amounts of wheat/dairy based foods
Became increasingly intolerant of noise/textures/clothes
Drooled constantly
Incessant out-of-control (yellow-liquid-eating-his skin) diarrhea approx. 30 times a day) which lasted for more than 2 years
WE BEGAN A FRANTIC SEARCH FOR ANSWERS TO
GASTROINTESTINAL DISTRESS AND
DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS.
A Genetic specialist was one of the first places we went due
to my being adopted.
We suspected Fragile X but test
results were negative (as well as
others)
Next, we sought out the “best” pediatric G.I. Specialist in Los Angeles only to be
informed that,
“….some kids just have loose stools. Sorry. I can’t help
you.”
Thousands of hours on the internet
Countless doctors
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
CRAVINGS FOR PASTA, BAGELS, PANCAKES, CREAM CHEESE AND BUTTER.
GIVEN THE GUT TRAUMA WE FOCUSED FIRST ON DIETARY
INTERVENTION.
Gluten Free/Casein Free Diet (GFCF)
Withdrawl of all wheat (gluten) products
Withdrawl of all dairy (casein) products
Soy products too?
IgG Food Sensitivity Test
Cold Turkey?
Keep a journal!!!
Changing your child’s diet to
GF/CF is one of the safest biomedical
interventions that could benefit him
Constant screaming
Begging for food
Eventually a noticeable improvement in temperament and expressive language
(detox approx 2 weeks)
Resource:
www.gfcfdiet.comwww.gfcfdiet.com
During and after….
Prior to these dietary changes Speech Therapy had no
effect. The GFCF diet facilitated
more productive sessions.
The Diagnosis
This was a H U G EH U G E turning point for me. Up to this point I had been profoundly sad.
Now I became profoundly angry.angry. How
DARE anyone predict my child’s capability. This ironically worked hugely in our favor.
THE DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISM WAS THE DARKEST DAY IN A VERY DARK
TIME. WE WERE TOLD:Bax was 23 months behind in Language and 20 months behind Socially
Bax would likely never speak
Bax would likely never be toilet-trained
We should pursue an academic program where Bax would be placed exclusively with severely challenged children
His symptoms could get worse
There is no cure for Autism
Therapy begins….2 hours one-on-one Speech therapy
2 hours one-on-one Occupational therapy
25 hours of pre-school
10 hours of DTT/ABA
1 hour MyGym
2 hours Behavioral therapy
2 hours Floortime therapy
We found the DAN! (Defeat Autism
Now!) Network of doctors and
started Baxter down the path of
biomedical intervention
Find a DAN! Doctor in your area
(or one that understands biomedical interventions for
autism)
http://www.autismwebsite.com/ari-
lists/danus.html
Initial Testing performed on Baxter
Hair Elements Toxic
Urine Toxic Metals
Urine Essential
Fecal Metals
CBC/Chem panel
ION panel
OAT profile
Stool Analysis
IgG Food Sensitivity
Thyroid
Supplement Protocol Prescribed by our DAN! doctors
Probiotics (min. of 150 billion organisms /day)
S-Boulardii (natural yeast fighter)
Customized Amino Acids
Epsom salts
Minerals
Vitamins A, E and C
Body Bio Balance oil
Cod Liver Oil & Evening Primrose oil
Folapro
Enzymes
Glutathione
Authia cream
Colostrum
DMG
Methyl B12
Iron
Phoscol (for elevated kidney/liver enzymes)
Antibiotics/antifungal to treat severe gut issues (only as needed)
Go “low and slow”
Allow AT LEAST 3-5 days before adding a new one
Rotate probiotics if you have a “gut-kid”
Listen to your doctor but also trust YOUR instincts
More thoughts on Supplements
Persistent gut problems (diarrhea) forced me to revisit dietary issues. I
did not realize that GFCF was not facilitating healing of his gut.
At this point, we switched to the Specific
Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) developed by
Elaine Gotscholl.
Specific Specific Carbohydrate DietCarbohydrate Diet
•Carbohydrate Limiting
• Only allows simple sugars (monosaccharides)- such as those found in fruit, honey and some veggies and other non-sugar foods such as meats, fish, eggs and nuts.
•No rice (there go your GFCF waffles and bread…)
• No Potatoes (bye bye french fries and chips!)IgG food sensitivity is a
must!
No food for gut bug means they starve and DIE!!!!!!!!
Results
GUT HEALING!!
Bacteria and yeast dramatically reduced
Stools normalized – trophies!!
More gains in language, focus and behavior
“Scripting” – dramatically reduced
Graduated from Occupational TherapyResource: www.breakingthevisciouscycle.com
www.pecanbread.com
Lysozymes at time of Diagnosis...5X normal
Lysozymes after 6 months of SCD
Virtually
normal!
More Thoughts on SCD
Again, find legal replacements for favorite foods (for instance Bax’s favorite GFCF pancakes are now made with a variety of nutbutters instead of flour)
Try to rotate all proteins and nuts
Give the homemade goat/nut yogurt a shot!
Watch out for increased fruit intake-YEAST.
Over the course of years we would come to believe ONEONE of the causes of Baxter’s
autism could be linked to vaccinations and most specifically the preservative in them
called Thimerosal which is nearly 50% mercury by weight.
Mercury is considered by most to
be the second
most toxic substance
on the planet
The symptoms of Mercury poisoning and autism are shockingly similar
Bernard, Enyati, Redwood, RN, Binstock, PhD.
Excerpt:
"Due to the extensive parallels between autism and mercury poisoning, the likelihood of a causal relationship is great. Given that possibility, Thimerosal should be removed from all childhood vaccines and the mechanisms of mercury toxicity in autism should be thoroughly investigated."
Mercury causes a host of medical problems
GI inflammation
Chronic Yeast overgrowth
Susceptibility for viruses in the gut
Diarrhea
Constipation
Immune dysfunction
Allergies and food sensitivities
Heavy metal overload
Mineral depletion
Oxidative stress
Inflammation in the brain
MERCURY EXPOSURE IN UTERO
Mouth full of dental amalgams
Dental filling during second trimester
Ingestion of tuna fish
RhoGAM shot at 28 weeks (62.5 micrograms of Hg)
Birth to 1 year Toxic ExposureBirth to 1 year Toxic Exposure
RhoGAM shot immediately after delivery Hg goes into breast milk (62.5 mcg)
First Vaccines 2 months of age (62.5 mcg)
Acute Pyleonephritis 72 hours later
Prophylatic antibiotics (which enhances the toxcitiy of Hg and destroys gut flora)
Doctor refusal to delay 4 and 6 months shots while taking antibiotics
MMR and chicken pox vax on same day-quadruple live viral load
Thrush/Yeast infections
Repeated ear/bladder infections start (chronic antibiotic overuse)
GI Issues start (diarrhea)
3 months
Continued…Continued…
We began investigating the safety and efficacy of chelation and its various
forms
We chose Transdermal DMPS
(TD-DMPS)
for its ease of application and gentleness on the body.
Many different Forms of Chelators are now Available
(most come in a variety of forms such as oral, transdermal, IV and suppositories)
DMPS
DMSA
EDTA
ALA
TTFD
Natural chelators
We next tested Baxter with a provocative dose of oral DMSA
(against my better judgment) and it
revealed an extremely toxic burden
No mercury exposure
other than environment
al
in 2 years
Baxter started chelating in October
of 2004 using Transdermal DMPS following Day-on.. Day-off protocol
Tons of other junk came out!
Many Improvements!
Mineral levels increased
Iron levels go up
Behavior (nicer, kinder…better!)
Happy, joyous
Increased focus, reduced impulsivity
No aggression
Increased social skills/capability
7 months after starting TD-DMPS
Baxter
re-tested (Triennial) with
the School district and
lost the lost the label!!label!!
NO MORE AUTISM!!!NO MORE AUTISM!!!
This is almost 3 years to the day of receiving the label
Heavy Metals
Test the month we lost
the diagnosi
s
Pre chelation 2004
Post chelation 2005
Recent Report Card
All ExcellentsExcellents or SatisfactorySatisfactory
Normal Socialization skills!
One “gift” we are given as parents of
autistic children is that we
appreciate the little things and take nothing for
granted
Halloween 2006 -“Willy Wonka”
Thank you to all the doctors,
therapists, friends
and family that helped
me get better.
Love,
Baxter