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"Do you have a feel for what this is?" I asked. The pediatrician had been observing Tommy for the last 50 minutes and asking numerous questions.

He nodded. "Autism spectrum disorder. More specifically, pervasive developmental disorder–not otherwise specified."

I wrote it in my day-timer. "So what can we do?"

His answer included a few web sites and an antidepressant called Zoloft as a possible prescription. I wrote this down, too and Tommy and I got up and left.

Before this visit, my husband and I had been asking questions for a year, but we were constantly reassured that children developed at their own pace. Tommy wasn’t like our two other children. He spent most of his time in his own world. He had an unusually long attention span for piling his toys between his legs, then mixing them up. He flapped his hands and lined up his toys over and over again. Eye contact was rare. At best, it was a fleeting glance.

By the time Tommy was two years and 10 months old, his whole vocabulary consisted of less than 10 words. My parents questioned if he was deaf, but he would always come running when a Barney movie was turned on. To finally know that he was "autistic" was both a shock and a relief. My research began the same evening as the pediatrician appointment.

I quickly found information that described many of Tommy’s symptoms as well as many possible biological interventions. In a desperate attempt to get help for our child, my husband went to the health food store in search of some supplements. It was reaffirmed that cow’s milk was something we should consider removing from his diet. We took Tommy off cow’s milk that day. Over the next two weeks we began to notice changes. Tommy had a few more words and his stools improved. This was the beginning of an incredible journey.

As fate should have it, we came across Jonathan Alderson, an expert with the attitudinal/educational program Son-Rise. He has worked with hundreds of autistic children and their families while employed at the Options Institute in Sheffield, Massachusetts. In my first telephone conversation with him, he told me about Dr William Shaw’s book, Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD. After a few tests, the decision was made to eliminate casein (cow’s milk) and gluten (wheat, rye, oat and barley) from Tommy’s diet. We also decided to remove artificial sweeteners and colours, refined white sugar, baker’s yeast and all foods containing vinegar. This was to combat a candida yeast overgrowth.

I was overwhelmed. What was I going to feed this kid? (A must-read for anyone deciding to tackle this sort of dietary intervention is Special Diets for Special Kids by Lisa Lewis.)

With the aid of a holistic nutritionist and her team, we eventually eliminated Tommy’s food allergens and began a supplementation and detoxification regime. We still supplement his diet with vitamins, minerals, probiotics, digestive enzymes and essential fatty acids.

For detoxification, we use a formula consisting of red clover, milk thistle, dandelion, echinacea and cleavers as well as chlorophyll and vitamin C. Rebounding is an encouraged daily activity as it helps in the detoxification process. Our holistic nutritionist also recommended various homeopathic remedies. What a regimen!

Biological interventions alone have not been the miracle answer; the other essential piece of the puzzle was the attitudinal/educational program from the Options Institute called Son-Rise. It is a child-centered, home-based program based on the Option Process as described in the book and TV movie Son-Rise, by author Barry Neil Kaufman. For this we needed a team of volunteers to help. And thank God, our friends rallied to the cause.

We converted a room in our basement into Tommy’s playroom. The walls are plain and the floor is vinyl. The door to the playroom has a two-way mirror that allows us to observe Tommy and to provide feedback to volunteers working with him. The room features a mirror on the wall and toys on high shelves. The room eliminates the distractions of the outside world.

Laurie Mawlam is a financial advisor and Son-Rise Mom. She is a mentor parent for parents interested in learning about holistic intervention as it relates to autism and the Son-Rise Program.

Source: alive #227, September 2001