Bio-medical intervention

I just wanted to add a quick update on Katlynn’s progression. She is doing quite well with ABA programs and is in fact going through them so fast they have to implement new ones every couple weeks if not sooner. Her words are coming so fast. She still needs a lot of tweaking on her language and pronunciation, but she is doing really well and getting much better at asking for what she wants. She is really into counting these days and saying her ABC’s. They are not always in order and she’s rarely completing them, but getting there and it is huge progress. She loves books and asks specifically for a certain police book every night. In fact, I have now checked out this book for 8 weeks in a row and thankfully, no one is requesting it. If someone does, I think I will have to go out and buy it for her.


I still have been torn with going down the bio-medical path with Katlynn. It is something that has been sitting in the back of my mind for 6 months now. If you are familiar with biomedical intervention and Autism, you will know what I am talking about. If you are not, then I will give you a quick course on it.
Some specialists believe children with Autism have bodies that are overwhelmed by a combination of heavy metals (mercury, lead aluminum), live viruses (particular from their vaccines), and bacteria. These toxins serve to slow or shut down normal biochemical pathways in the body and lead to the physical and mental manifestations. The ultimate goal of biomedical treatment is to remove environmental toxins from your child's body and repair the damage that has been done. There are many different routes you can take to do this. It can vary from supplements and medications to injections. It can even get a simple as changing to a GFCF (gluten-casin free) diet. Many parents with children on the spectrum swear by it, so I am contantly researching and reading up on it.

I went to a doctor (closest thing to a DAN I could get) back in Feb as asked several questions about biomedical, as I am not a pill pusher and very anti-medication if at all possible. She told me based on the blood and lab work, Katlynn didn’t seem to have any allergies to gluten or dairy/casin and everything else seemed to be very normal. I didn’t have her tested for metals because it is very expensive and from what the  Dr. told me, her odds of having a high metal count and anything lowering it to make a drastic difference was slim to none and she suggested I not fork out hundreds of dollars trying to do it since there is little known proof about metal levels in the body and autism. Dave and I decided to not do the labs for now. We figure since she is making so much progress with ABA alone, we didn’t need the added stress of medical bills on 1 income. She did recommend the most natural route which was GFCF. We had already tried it once a few months ago and it was a terrible experience. We all hated it. Katlynn was miserable for 3 weeks. Nothing changed. So we stopped it. I am not opposed to trying it again someday though. Just have to get everyone else on board to commit and follow through. If not EVERYONE in my house and those who watch Katlynn once in a while are going to stick with it…. It is pointless.

I have gotten into a few debates over bio-medical the past few months with other parents. People who have pushed it on me and when I decline have said I was selfish for not doing everything I could for my daughter. But in reality, I have more than just 1 daughter. I have 3. I also have a husband who is the sole provider. I had to think about the long term and how forking out thousands of dollars trying to cure (or recover) Katlynn was going to affect my family. Do I wish I could do more for her, of course I do. I think I have done quite well getting what I want out of my insurance company, the county and the school district. I still have a long way to go and I will continue to fight for her rights and be the sqeaky wheel. I will learn everything I can from every therapist she sees so that I can continue to help her when she isn’t doing services. I just had to draw the line somewhere. I had to make a conscious decision about what I thought was best for Katlynn.

So it is not that I am opposed to the Bio-medical intervention. It is just that I am not taking that route as of right now and she is still making tremendous progress without it. I figure I will go with the motto, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” for now.

I am still extremely greatful to the TACA organization for all the vital information they have provided to me on Autism and helping children with this condition.

So keep checking back…