The Renegade Doc Comments

Autism is a disorder of epidemic proportions in our country today and takes its toll on families in serious ways.  There are various ideas about the causes of autism including genetic factors, environmental toxins (e.g., heavy metals in vaccines), poor nutrition and allergies to foods¹.  There is little evidence to point to any single factor and various interest groups either vehemently defend or deny their favorite cause depending on what best serves their interests. For example, parents who have noted ill effects from vaccines are quick to jump on this as a cause while medical and government groups, with their vested interest in vaccines, are quick to denounce this as a possibility.  In all likelihood, I doubt that any one cause will ever be determined; like most dis-eases, autism likely has multiple factors.  A quick search on the internet can generate a list of at least 25 factors that are potential causes².While the search for causes of autism continues, I would like to suggest that it is time to take a more wholistic approach, both to better understand autism and to offer more avenues for its treatment.

Psychiatrists, as outlined in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the DSM-IV³, use a multi-axis system to delineate how other aspects of a person’s life besides just their physical disorder affect their mental illness.  I suggest a similar multi-axis approach in the evaluation of autism (which could likely be used with efficacy in any and all dis-eases).

The axes I propose are not too complicated:

Spiritual
Mental
Emotional
Physical

Nor are the factors I am going to list by any means exhaustive.  Others are encouraged to add to and debate the various factors listed.  What I hope will happen is that interested parties, researchers, and parents begin to think more “globally,” more “whole body,” and thus give  those suffering from autism, both children and parents alike, not only hope but also other tools with which to find real healing.

Physical:

• Autoimmune disease directed toward brain cells, especially those responsible for cognitive and behavorial functions
• Allergy
  • to Foods, but not just wheat and gluten. Consider the other common allergens (egg, dairy, sugar, corn, yeast, chocolate) and anything that the individual may also be allergic to (determined by comprehensive laboratory testing). The “pollutants” in vaccines on which the vaccine is grown may be a culprit here.
  • to Chemicals, both in the environment (in foods, cosmetics, cleaning agents, etc.) and in medicines (again this may be the vaccine link
• Nutritional Disorders
  • Deficiencies of B Complex, Magnesium?
  • Deficiencies or dysfunction of Methyl donors?
  • Endocrine dysfunction? – thyroid, adrenal
• Leaky Gut Syndrome
• Neurodevelopment disorder either primary or as a result of allergy or toxic exposure
• Malabsorption not just in the gut but at the cellular level, perhaps of water molecules themselves which would result in a profound dehydration
• Toxins causing an electron utransferuncoupling metabolic dysfunction, not just an allergic response
  • Heavy Metals
  • Chemicals
  • Bacterial/Viral/Fungal (e.g., Candida) as a result of imbalance in the gut and nutritional state

Mental

“I’m somehow different than other kids.”
“I can’t…”

These ideas may come as a result of or result in such things as

• Cognitive disorders
• Echolalia, similar to stroke patients
• Visual disorders

Emotional

I am bad so I am unlovable.
I don’t love myself.
Other children, even my parents don’t love me.

Spiritual

Personal communication with some who spend their life looking at humans through of the “subtle” energy grid (“subtle” means hard to measure conventionally, not that it is weak or not present) has suggested that a main feature of autism is a significant, even overwhelming, FEAR of life due to stresses in the lives of parents during the pregnancy.  Fetuses certainly respond to music; it only makes sense that they would respond to trauma, fear in mother/parents, and abusive situations.  Any birth trauma above the “normal” could also be causative or additive.

Perhaps Autism as we know it is “merely” a fetal and early childhood form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Regardless of THE cause of autism, in the end it will likely be shown to be a combination of factors all interplaying to result in major dysfunction of mind, body and spirit.  By taking a wider, more wholistic view of causes a wider option of treatments and approaches becomes available.  These could include nutrition, detoxification, careful and measured chelation, various allergy therapies including those performed by Clinical Ecologists, counseling and energetic therapies including sound, color and homeopathy.  And don’t forget the parents as well; they need a similar spectrum of treatment to help them cope.  And both parents and affected children alike need LOTS of LOVE, the greatest Healer of all.

Blessings,

Dr Jon

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¹http://autism.about.com/od/whatisautism/p/autismcauses.htm
²http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_autism
³http://allpsych.com/disorders/dsm.html