|
Introduction In my opinion, autistic children are all too often in a drug-induced state as a result of the natural opiate effect of casein and gluten on their bodies. Obviously, I do not believe that optimal learning can occur if a child was still suffering from this natural opiate state. Thus, in my opinion, a diet free of casein and gluten had to be seriously considered by parents before undertaking these exercises. Learning requires a clear mind and you simply do not have that when in a "drug induced" state. For Zachary, alleviating the natural opiate effect of casein and gluten meant he necessitated a complete diet overhaul. He was also on a diet low in phenols. Zachary had been on his casein and gluten free diet that was also low on phenols for over 20 months before I truly came to recognize his real problem in terms of partiality processing. Had I seen this "source" or issue earlier, I certainly could have started to work these issues sooner. My point here, is simply that I strongly believe a child needs to be alert and aware of his surroundings to be able to learn in an effective and efficient manner. In my opinion, modern behavior therapy falls down in that it does not first necessitate removing casein and gluten from the diet of autistic children. As such, in my opinion, therapy becomes like forcing a child to lift a 50 pound barbell... it would be nearly impossible for him to do unless physically fit... and even if the child could do it... then what...just put it back down? What was the purpose of that to a child? Why force a child to do a task he does not understand because he is in a drug-induced state. What was the purpose of doing a task that had no "meaning" to it from the child's perspective - a "meaningless task" - and then reward him for doing that "meaningless task"? In such cases, there was no purpose to it - no result of any kind other than a forced, learned response to a forced "task/reward" system. In such "meaningless" tasks there could be, ultimately, no true reduction in stress, no real "carry over" of what had been learned to other situations...so, again, why do it? A child, in my opinion, needed to understand the meaning behind the task, and for that, he needed to be thinking clearly. Once the casein and gluten's natural opiate effects had been removed, Zachary thrived! The point of my exercises was not simply to generate some kind of learned response to a "meaningless" task... it was to actually help Zachary learn to cope with his world. A "meaningless" task, one a child does not understand because he is in a drug induced state does nothing for him, and like the lifting of a 50 pound barbell - yes, in some cases, you'll encounter children who can do "the task", but once "done" if that task was meaningless to the child - then what? . I, therefore, encourage all parents to find a doctor who will help them address their child's dietary issues as I do believe this is critical for these children to achieve their true potential. Undoubtedly, children who are not on a casein and gluten free diet may also benefit from these exercises, however, I do believe that having a clear mind makes the lesson go much much further! Why give a child a 50 pound barbell to lift, an almost impossible task to do and understand when simply by removing casein and gluten, and allowing for a much clearer mind, a 2 pound barbell will work just as well in completing the task. What I am saying is that parents need to remove the obstacles they can when it comes to creating an optimal learning situation. For more on the casein and gluten free diet, I encourage all parents to read the first book I wrote: Saving Zachary: The Death And Rebirth Of A Family Coping With Autism and Kirkman Labs' Guide To Intestinal Health In Autism Spectrum Disorder. This valuable book was available for FREE either online by going to: http://www.kirkmanlabs.com or by calling the company directly at: 800-245-8282 and requesting a copy. This guide was certainly something that could be shared with doctors to help them understand the dietary issues of autism as well. This was a difficult diet to follow, but in my opinion, one that was well worth it. As such, I encourage all parents to seriously consider a casein and gluten free diet for their autistic children. There are many doctors who simply do not understand these issues with casein and gluten in the autistic but there are many who do. Parent discussion boards are great places to get referrals. I have placed a link on my website to over 330 autism parent discussion boards. By far, the best, in my opinion, are the enzyme, mercury, and diet related boards! "Other Parents" are a tremendous source of information when it comes to what can be done to help your child because this broad category of "parents" includes doctors, lawyers, chemists, biochemists, teachers, law officers, researchers, therapists, and last, but certainly not least, those valuable stay at home moms who all too often are the ones who "notice" those critical observations that can often be so key to the puzzle of autism! I encourage all parents of the autistic to consider joining a couple of message boards - you will be amazed at the amount of information available from other parents and at their willingness in helping you figure out your child, in steering you in the right direction when you just have no idea as to where to go or what to do! :o) Parent discussion groups are also great places to get referrals for doctors who are experienced in dealing with the autistic. So - to recap - the first thing, in my opinion, was to remove the drug induced state. Then, the behavior intervention could begin. I found that I could do valuable intervention in my home...and it certainly did not cost me tens of thousands to do so. I just exposed Zachary to the "in between" situation, something he gets in everyday life anyway, only now, his "exposure" to these "in between" situations would be used as "therapy" and be very focused on one particular thing - helping him cope with partiality! I would simply expose Zachary to these simple tasks - over, and over, and over again. I could do the same exercise 30, 40 even 50 times a day. This was not difficult to do at all... it simply required a little persistence on my part. This sounds like it involves a great deal of work and time, but truly, it was much simpler than it sounds, as you will see from the various exercises. For Zachary, it was just a matter of "increasing frequency of exposure" to the "not ordinary" or "in between" situation... and this was actually something that was rather easy to do. :o) |
|