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I hope you all have heard about what is going on in Arkansas with Zakhquery Price. If you have not, here is some background information and some action steps you can take. I have written previously about Autism and higher rates of encounters with the law but nothing makes the point like a real boy and a real situation. Please do not just read the story, read it and take at least one action step.
The information below was provided to me by Rachela on the Autism Speaks Forum
Senators:
Lincoln, Blanche L. – (D – AR) Class III
355 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4843
Web Form: lincoln.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Pryor, Mark L. – (D – AR) Class II
255 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2353
Web Form: pryor.senate.gov/contact/
Governor:
<a href=”http://governor.arkansas.gov/contacts.html”>http://governor.arkansas.gov/contacts.html</a>
Also your state’s reps…
Congress:
Representative Marion Berry (D – 01) 202-225-4076 202-225-5602 <a href=”http://www.house.gov/berry/zipauth.shtml”>http://www.house.gov/berry/zipauth.shtml</a>
Representative Vic Snyder (D – 02) 202-225-2506 202-225-5903 <a href=”http://www.house.gov/snyder/contact-form.shtml”>http://www.house.gov/snyder/contact-form.shtml</a>
Representative John Boozman (R – 03) 202-225-4301 202-225-5713 <a href=”https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml”>https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml</a>
Representative Mike Ross (D – 04) 202-225-3772 202-225-1314 <a href=”http://ross.house.gov/?sectionid=77″>http://ross.house.gov/?sectionid=77</a>§iontree=7677
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This is a link regarding a new therapy to help kids with ASD with socialization sent to me by one of our U.K. members. This doctor is doing the therapy in Greece but I think if you look at the concept it might want to discuss with your doctor to see how you might be able to apply and/or implement this type of technique. This might be something to show your IEP teachers or perhaps if you home school implement there. http://www.neoskosmos.com/news/en/Greek-program-autistic-children
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Here is a short article describing the common medications used for attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactive disorder. The article is a nice 101 regarding the medications used, their effects as well as side effects. Remember that autism spectrum disorders is a spectrum with ADD at the beginning of the spectrum and severe autism on the far end of the spectrum. Also recall, that there is much of mixing and matching of signs and symptoms with regard to the various conditions on the spectrum. That is to say, that there are those with Asperger’s syndrome that have attention and hyperactivity issues and those with autism or sensory integration disorder with compulsive issues as an example. Therefore many of those on the spectrum whether they have a primary diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactive disorder or Tourettes Syndrome are many times on medications for hyperactivity and can benefit from the information in this article. This is also a nice website for you to peruse regarding ADD and ADHD. http://adhdadd.org/?p=64
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In the Autism community the amount of mercury in vaccines as thimerosal has always been a big issue. Now with the advent of the H1N1 parents are very concerned and cautious. I know this Flu season we have gotten more questions about vaccine than ever. We have questions regarding both the MMR and H1N1. Whether you believe that mercury toxicity is at the root of the dramatic rise in autism spectrum disorders or perhaps just another factor to consider or not important at all, it is always good to be informed. This link will to you to the latest information on vaccines and mercury content. http://www.hitautism.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/thi-table-Oct2009.pdf
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One of our members in The Netherlands contacted me regarding his development of a Picture Exchange Communication System type application software for Windows. The application is in Dutch, English and French. The application is free but he ask for donations and help with creating new pictos. For those of you with speech or communication issues I think this is worth you all checking this out. As always, I hope someone out there finds this helpful and that it makes their life a little bit easier. He is the link. Happy New year to you all!
www.pictoselector.eu
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Avoiding allergies and immune reactions such as IgG food sensitivities can be a big part of helping children on the autism spectrum improve. As always, this assumes that you have found a problem in this area. We all know how varied not only are the children but are the triggers to their conditions. In any event, I have been asked by several parents who do have children with issues relating mostly to IgG food sensitivities about food labels and how to really interpret them. What they really mean. We all know that many times gluten-free may not necessarily be truly gluten free. So here is the page from the FDA explaining what they mean with regard to food allergies and labels. It is also a nice place to begin and further navigate the site if you have other interests.
http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm079311.htm
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I came across this article entitled 10 myths about autism which I thought was interesting and informative and so I pass it along to you. Anytime an article like this is written it helps increase awareness and educate the general public regarding much misinformation and ignorance that commonly passes as autism information. Anytime we can shift the misconceptions toward more factual information it helps all of us whether parent, patient or practitioner. These small steps toward providing more accurate information will eventually change public perception and perhaps influence some legislation and funding for autism spectrum disorders.
http://nursepractitionerschools.org/10-myths-about-autism/
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In the autism community, vaccinations are a huge issue. This is due to potential heavy metal toxicity such as those relating to mercury and/or aluminum. Thus, as a functional medicine practitioner and one who does biomedical interventions for autism spectrum disorders, many times parents present to the office wanting to have their child tested for heavy metals and perhaps even to undergo chelation. In reality, many parents want to have their child undergo chelation many times without even having tested for heavy metals. That is, they assume that since their child worsened after vaccinations, mercury and/or aluminum toxicity is the key. Using this reasoning they want to chelate immediately. However, chelation is not something that can be entered into lightly. Chelation as defined by Wikipedia “is the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. For the most common forms of heavy metal intoxication — those involving lead, arsenic or mercury — the standard of care in the USA dictates the use of dimercaptosuccinic acid DMSA” or other chelating agents depending on which metal you are trying to remove. This article is to point out some preparatory steps and contraindications to chelation. When heavy-metals are chelated from the body many minerals are also removed from the body. Therefore, a period of remineralization has to be implemented. Thus, if the patient has a leaky gut syndrome and therefore possible malabsorption, it will be difficult to remineralize the patient in order to bring him back to optimal health and not cause further damage to the patient. The removal of toxins in the body takes place through the liver, the kidneys and the skin. Therefore, in any type of detoxification procedure including heavy-metal detoxification test involving liver function and kidney function should be performed prior to engaging in chelation. There is also the question of whether the lab work is being interpreted on a functional basis or a normal basis. That is the reference ranges used to interpret some of the testing on a functional basis are usually more stringent in order to verify optimal organ function as opposed to acceptable organ function. Clearly, if you’re going to engage in a detoxification process in which you’re going to strain the organs of detoxification you would want them to be functioning optimally rather than just functioning acceptably prior to engaging in the chelation. Much of the waste and toxins are eliminated through the urine and feces. The feces are eliminated through the colon. If the patient suffers from constipation then he more than likely has an increase in absorption of toxins in the colon. Therefore, it would make little sense to increase that toxic load with chelation in a patient who is constipated. In functional medicine, we are always describing a term called “total load”. That is the total sum of all the stresses on the body. That could be things such as heavy-metals, oxidative stress, dysbiois and yeast infection as well as malabsorption and malnutrition. In the case of a child with autism we know that something decompensated the system or increased that total load beyond capacity. As such, we would not want to do anything to increase the load further by creating a greater release of toxins in the body of which it is not able to process and eliminate. Thus, even if your child has tested positive for heavy metals, chelation is not something that can be rushed into. There are other processes which should be evaluated prior to engaging in chelation. Things such as leaky gut, liver and kidney function as well as general gastrointestinal health should be evaluated. From a parent standpoint, if your child suffers from constipation I would be concerned with proceeding with chelation. If you suspect your child has the leaky gut or has tested positive for leaky gut I would also be concerned with proceeding with chelation. As always this is general information for parents and patients and I always recommend that you seek out a qualified functional medicine practitioner who should be aware of these issues prior to engaging in any type of heavy-metal detoxification and/or chelation.
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It is flu season and within the autism community there is great debate whether to vaccinate your child for H1N1. Most in the autism community are familiar with what a vaccine is how it is supposed to help protect one from viral infection as well as potential downside mercury and/or aluminum toxicity. Today I found a wonderful illustration that explains how a virus spreads from one individual to another and from one cell to another. It is basic biology yet something everyone should know, this video clip is just too good not to pass on. I hope you enjoy it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpj0emEGShQ
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Many in the Autism community are concerned with mercury toxicity especially with regard to vaccinations. In functional medicine we are always concerned with total load on the body. The concept of total load deals with the sum total of all the stressors placed on the of body, which may at some point decompensated the bodies homeostatic mechanisms. Total load on the body with regard to biomedical interventions and Autism Spectrum Disorders may relate to things such as dysbiosis and yeast infections, oxidative stress and heavy metal toxicity. With regard to a mercury toxicity, those that feel this is an issue may want to consider mercury related to dental work and having that mercury removed. This will not eliminate the mercury received from a vaccine however will decrease the potential total mercury toxicity and the potential total load on the body. Below is a link to a website which lists biological dentist. I hope this is helpful
http://www.talkinternational.com/directories/dentists-global.html
