As a 3.5 year old, Seth did not speak. He did not point. He had never called me "mama". He did not communicate in any form, other than screaming. Tantrums. Screaming. All day, every day. He didn't know how to play with toys. All he did was spin the wheels on cars/bikes/strollers all day long. We would go for walks in the stroller, and he wouldn't enjoy the outdoors, he would look down at the wheels the entire time. We couldn't go out in public and we couldn't have play dates. We were at the end of our rope.
Then, we found our naturopath. By nothing short of heavenly intervention, we found an amazing woman who is recovering autistic children every day. She started Seth on supplements, homeopathic remedies, and told me to cut out all wheat and dairy from his diet. She explained to us that these children are toxic. This world full of pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, toxins, unhealthy food, artificial colors, etc., and is producing children that exhibit the same symptoms of truly autistic children. What do I mean by truly autistic? Someone who has a true neurological disorder. 1 in 94 children in the United States does not have a true neurological disorder. 1 in 94 children has heavy metal poisoning. Growing up, by the time I reached school aged, I had 10 vaccines. Kids now are getting 36 by the time they enter school. You do the math. If you look at the symptoms of mercury toxicity and the symptoms of autism they are almost word for word. For Seth, his 15 month (MMR) vaccines are the straw that broke his back. My diet pre conception and during pregnancy, environmental toxins, emotional trauma, pitocin during labor and formula feeding are all the things, I believe, led to his collapse after the MMR vaccine.
We followed our naturopaths orders and little by little, Seth came back. He started to wake up to the world around him. He started playing. He started talking.
We radically changed our lives. We went from eating whatever looked good at our local mainstream grocery store to eating vegetables from a farmer's market and meat from local, grass fed animals. I threw out all of our Tide laundry detergent, our window cleaners, our children's tylenol, all of it. If it was conventional, it was in the garbage can. Conventional is what made Seth sick. If you had told me 6 years ago that I would have a baby in my bedroom, have chicken feet in my freezer for broth, and be contemplating homeschooling, I would have laughed in your face. But, when your child is sick, you will do anything to make them better.
Seth is so much better. He makes eye contact, he laughs, he plays, he communicates. He attends a preschool in the mornings where none of the teachers have any idea he use to be "autistic". But, I don't think I can say he's 100% recovered. He still screams. He still tantrums. He still has a lot of sensory issues. I've been doing what I do best (researching) and I think it is time for us to take another step forward in Seth's healing journey. Making this publicly known, will help me to stay focused and committed to what we are doing.
We tested a few different diets with our naturopath (Gut and Psychology Syndrome, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, Body Ecology Diet, and Gluten/Casein Free diet) and The Body Ecology Diet won with flying colors for Seth. Seth doesn't eat "bad" food right now - but I think he's become addicted to starches/sugars. Over the past couple years, he has slowly weaned his approved food list down just beans, rice, buckwheat pancakes, homemade muffins, and bananas. Right now, he gags whenever he put any other type of food in his mouth. We don't know where to start with that. I know what to feed him, I just don't know how to get it in his stomach. I am crossing my fingers that as we introduce young coconut kefir (body ecology diet protocols) that his cravings for the starches will diminish and he might want to eat other foods. (Any tips are humbly appreciated when it comes to feeding sensory-stricken autistic kids)
I believe that this diet could be the last piece of the puzzle for Seth. Energy healing, homeopathy, supplements, and taking out allergenic foods are the things that have helped the most. Another radical diet change, I know, can be the final step to Seth's recovery.
I am making my menu plans, and figuring this all out. The craziness of the holidays are upon us, and I might not be in the right state of mind to fully start until January. But, in the mean time, I will be preparing.
It's game time.
Looking for some more answers?
Nourish-ed
Autism Treatment and The Body Ecology Diet
"AUTISM YESTERDAY" Autism is Reversible from JB Handley on Vimeo.
