Autism : Brief List of Where to Begin

Yes, children can recover from autism. And to varying degrees, and depending on the individual child, there can be a lessening of autistic symptoms. Most often this process will require extraordinary effort by the parents to turn over every stone in the quest to help their child. What follows is a brief list of where to begin.

1.         Begin the education process.

2.        Find an autism doctor.

3.         Read these books:

• Lewis, Lisa, PhD.   Special Diets for Special Kids. Future Horizons, 1998.
• Lewis, Lisa.   Special Diets for Special Kids Two. Future Horizons, 2001.
• Maurice, Catherine.   Let Me Hear Your Voice. Ballantine Books, 1994.
• Seroussi, Karyn.   Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Broadway Books, 2002.

4.         Educate yourself about the GF/CF diet.

5.         Become a good GF/CF cook.

6.         Educate your spouse.

7.         Attend a conference on autism.

8.         Look into biomedical treatments.

9.         Supplement, supplement, supplement.

10.         Start a behavior-therapy program.

In summary, you are about to begin an odyssey that will change your life in ways you never dreamed of. There will be days when you cry in frustration over the setbacks, and days when you dance for joy on the successes. Especially in the beginning stages, expect to take one step back for every two steps forward. This is still progress, however slow.

None of these therapies comes with a predictable rate of improvement. Many believe that you need three months to a year before you can accurately monitor the success of your efforts. You might feel that real progress has been made when, one day, your child passes some important developmental milestone―or simply when you have the overall feeling that your daily family life now has an element of normalcy.

―M.R.

For the unabridged version of this article, please see www.mothering.com/10-0-0/html/10-8-0/diagnosis-autism.shtml


See also related posts :
Autism: A gift of hope, courage and inspiration
Autism - Checking for Symptons
Light at the end of the tunnel
Autism : Brief List of Where to Begin
Autism (part 2): Signs of Autism
Raising a Child with ADHD
Autism Resources for English speakers in Hong Kong