Use Whatever Works!
Why are we all afraid to use prescription drugs to help our children? I used to be one of those parents who only wanted to use supplements and natural remedies. But I changed my mind. Some of our children need prescription drugs rather than supplements. I am thrilled for those who have recovered their kids with only the use of supplements. But that didn’t work for us, maybe because I couldn’t get my son to take them all. There were just too many.
Now I think we should use whatever works. I now think MD’s or DO’s who use both supplements and prescriptions are the best kind of doctor. That’s why I tell the families I help to look for a functional medicine doctor or an immunologist for medical treatment. The doctor who helped my son most was not an autism specialist but a pediatrician who knew how the immune system could be helped.
For Ryan, antivirals and anti-fungal medication had a huge impact. When I first looked up the side effects, I was terrified. I soon realized that if my son was going to have a chance at a typical life, I needed to do something. I could always stop a medication if it wasn’t helping or a problem showed up on a blood test. It took time for me to learn that U-turns are allowed.
When he was in middle school, I just wanted him to hold a job at McDonalds and maybe live independently. But I wasn’t sure that was possible. Today he is an aerospace engineer at a major company. I never saw that one coming when he was still severely autistic.
Many children are able to stop these prescriptions when their immune systems start working again. As of yet, my son isn’t one of them. Ryan has been on an anti-fungal prescription since he was about 5 and an antiviral since he was 10. When Ryan tried to stop the anti-fungal medication a few years back, he said he felt a compulsion to talk to himself out loud. At 27, he still takes antivirals and anti-fungal medication along with a few others to keep his immune system working properly. However, each of our children are different and need medical treatment tailored to them.
Ryan alternates between several medicines to make sure they remain effective. When one stops working, he switches to another. A few of our pioneers, who changed the face of autism, don’t seem to understand this piece of the puzzle. They don’t give the medications at a high enough dose or for long enough to be effective. And their list of supplements is so long it is impossible to get our children to take all of them.
I long for the day when someone gives the world a “cure” for autism. But for now, we just manage it. It helps me to think of it as a treatment and not a cure. I compare it to the way a diabetic needs insulin to make their systems work properly.
The medical treatment only makes it “possible” for our children to learn. Some parents think that once treated our children will immediately start talking in full sentences. But it takes a typical kid almost three years to learn language. We can’t assume the medical treatment isn’t working. An intensive rehab program is needed to catch our children up on all they missed. Any program you choose works when the medical issues have been addressed. When medical treatment is combined with rehab, that makes the rehab programs work faster and recovery is possible for those who couldn’t recover before.
Marcia Hinds wrote ‘I Know You’re In There: winning our war against autism’. This inspirational book is the story of her son’s recovery. Ryan is now an engineer at a major aerospace company. Marcia has degrees in sociology and psychology from UCLA and is a credentialed teacher. But Marcia’s most impressive credential for writing this book is that she is Ryan’s mother and their family survived the autism diagnosis.
Preview the book on Amazon or on her website.
All profits from Marcia’s book go to spread the word that AUTISM IS TREATABLE.
Marcia is available for speaking engagements, media appearances, and interviews.
Phone: 805 497-8202
Mobile: 805 796-8213
Email: marcia@autismandtreatment.com
Media Kit: http://www.autism-and-treatment.com/media-kit/
