Archive for April, 2008

Autism Awareness Month comes to a close…

28 April 2008

Autism Awareness Month draws to a close for another year…

Just because we are now at the end of April, we should be aware that for families with autism this issue will not be sidelined for the next twelve months.  For children and adults who have autism the attention April affords is welcome, not only does it raise awareness but it also coincides with increased funding in the research and development of therapies. This awareness gives hope and encouragement to children and adults who live with autism every day.  Make no mistake, Autism is not a deadly disease, it’s not a scourge for the children and adults who have it, but it is a neurological disorder that can often make living and succeeding in society more difficult. This is true more for some than others. The bottom line is this; however it affects your child, your neighbor’s child, your niece, nephew or someone you don’t even know, life can be a challenge to say the least, and right now the number of cases is increasing not decreasing as we would have hoped.  

“Autism has gone from a rare disorder to an epidemic.

In February the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report stating that one in 150 children in the United States are believed to have autism and related disorders. …The report showing this drastic increase is accompanied by a call for huge sums to be spent to conduct research and provide services for these children. One-on-one behavioral interventions have been found to be effective for many children, but the staggering cost of such therapy puts it out of reach for most families. Before billions of dollars are devoted to such therapies it would be wise to take a look at techniques that are currently being used by pioneers in this field, techniques shown to have impressive results.

One such pioneer is Mary Megson, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Virginia. She has treated thousands of autistic children in her Richmond, VA practice. Her testimony during Senate hearings on autism and vaccines provides a detailed overview of reasons for the increase, risk factors and therapies she has successfully used. She pointed out that autistic children typically come from families that have a history of these health problems:

• Night blindness in one parent

• Diabetes

• Heart attack at less than age 50

• Colon cancer

Her testimony contains scientific explanation of how these symptoms are linked to autism it can be accessed here. The following is a portion: “I am using natural lipid soluble concentrated cis form of vitamin in cod liver oil to bypass blocked G protein pathways and tune on these central retinoid receptors. In a few days most of these children regain eye contact… after two months on vitamin A treatment some of these children, when given a single dose of bethanechol… laugh, concentrate, show a sense of humor and talk after 30 minutes, as if reconnected.  Dr. Megson describes the autistic children as: “unable to relax, focus and digest their food. Instead they are in sympathetic overdrive with a constant outpouring of adrenalin and stress hormones. They are anxious, pace, have dilated pupils, high blood pressure and rapid heart rate.

These and other symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are part of this constant ‘fight or flight’ response. These children are physically ill, immuno suppressed with a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting multiple organ systems.” Reprinted from Pure Facts, the newsletter of the Feingold Association of the United States, Feingold.org

In the documentary recently aired on HBO, “Autism the Musical” one of the cast members by the name of Wyatt, who is a precious, smart, articulate young man with autism, explains that he has a plan to “beat” his autism… This show reveals a side of people with autism that I am sure many people were surprised by.  These kids are funny, articulate, and in many ways a-typical, but there are some challenges that make their life more difficult than a typically developing peer of the same age and it doesn’t make it hurt any less when their peers are mean or just don’t understand the disorder.

It important to realize that the spotlight should remain on Autism, there are so many kids out there being diagnosed, and yes the diagnosis has been expanded on, and yes, the diagnosis has changed, but it wasn’t too long ago that Autism was blamed on Mothers, or more correctly the term coined by therapists and Doctors was, “Refrigerator Mothers.” Part of the treatment was for the parents to undergo counseling to make them better parents and therefore help to recover the damage they had done to their children.  So when people give me the “expanded diagnosis or changed parameters’ argument to explain the ever increasing numbers for autism, I say yes, HELL YES, the diagnosis and the treatment protocol needed to be changed, but it would be niave to think that this alone explains the ever increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with this disorder. Regardless of why or how, if changing the parameters of what Autism is, means more children are recognized and helped by being given this diagnosis then hallelujah it needed to be done!  The fear sometimes is that along with the eye-rolling of a diagnosis the whispering of better parenting techniques is still apt to follow.  Discipline is never an answer or solution to negative behaviors such as aggression or anti-social behavior, associated with autism, better treatments and therapies are.  More understanding and education, more therapists, more treatment availability, more affordable treatments and always more research into why, how and what we are doing as a society to plunge children into the abyss of autism is needed, not semantics on what “is autism”. 

Again, as April draws to a close, Autism doesn’t, we all need to be advocates, to question why and how, and to help those already in the grips of this epidemic.  Contact your local Autism Speaks chapter or even an organization dedicated to childhood disorders, we can all be instrumental in finding the reasons and the cures to this epidemic.

The Feingold article suggets the following options: remove synthetic additives including corn syrup, MSG, and sodium benzoate and temporarily remove salicylates; remove suspect chemical non-food products such as cleaning products and fragrances (including scented candles or air purifiers which are known to be neuro-toxins), next try to learn about both beneficial nutrients such as omega-3 essential fatty acids and how to avoid toxins in vaccines. All current understanding of diet suggests we try to reduce sugars for our children but if your child has any developmental delays or hyperactive tendancies you might try removing milk and wheat products as well, in addition to the diet changes consult with doctors who are qualified to use the DAN protocol. Consider environmental allergies, and be sure to ask either a DAN doctor or your pediatrician about parasite testing. Look into sensory integration therapy, auditory training and vision therapies.

Useful resources:

1. Autism Network for Dietary Intervention 
2. Autism Research Institute
3. Developmental Delay Resources
4. National Vaccine Information Center

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: contact Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at 303.674.1500 or email

Autism: “Children with Starving Brains” a road map to recovery?

25 April 2008

“Children with Starving Brains…”

After being given the diagnosis of Autism many parents are bewildered and devastated, once the realization sets in it can be hard to really know where to go from that diagnosis.  The CARE center in our situation handed us a folder with lots of information on autism but no real guidelines on recovering from it, there were suggestions for all kinds of interventions but no real road map on what/why/where and how. We, like many families, could have been clueless as to where to start and what might work. Luckily, or unluckily whichever way you choose to spin it, we had been working on our son’s recovery for the previous 17 months, so we felt we were ahead of the game; he had been enrolled in occupational therapies and speech therapies for the same length of time.  I had also started to clean up his food and added supplements to his diet.  Actually, getting the autism diagnosis was a shock to us as we had believed all along that he was going to receive a PDD-NOS diagnosis. It just so happened that the day we went for the evaluation he was regressing somewhat, maybe his yeast was flaring or he was just having a bad week I don’t remember exactly, anyway that day he exhibited every behavior we had seen that brought us to this point. He had no imaginative play, limited eye contact, and that week he had also regressed back to echolalia which had really been dissipating. That day saw him repeating the random sentences (even with his funny, stilted speech you could hear the inflections mimicking theirs) that the care counselors said, while for the very first time, tip toeing around the room. I, and his Early Intervention Specialist who had accompanied me to the evaluation, explained that this was not typical for him; he NEVER walked on his toes, even when he was learning to toddle, but that day he toddled around tippy toed repeating sentences to no one in particular, it struck me as odd that this was the day he chose to put it all together and do that.  

Initially when we had been given an at-risk diagnosis when he was 19 months I had jumped on the internet to find the ‘cure’ that was going to fix him (thank goodness for Google!).  I spent hours on the internet, first finding the book “The Late Talker” recommended by our Pediatrician, and then onto websites; such as the defeat autism now (DAN!) site, to reading random papers on the subject, reading excerpts from books and, most importantly to me at that time and still now: other parents accounts listing symptoms, interventions and dietary changes they had tried in their efforts to help their children.

Eventually I came across the book, Children with Starving Brains, A medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder, 2nd Edition, updated 2005. Jaquelyn McCandless, MD.    This book was first published in 2002, but updated in 2005. In the Introductory chapter the author writes: “I will explain more about ASD causation models in Chapter One to help parents understand the rationale behind the various treatments. Chapter Two discusses nutritional deficiency as a common denominator in almost all ASD children and emphasizes the importance of the gastrointestinal tract and its relationship with the immune system. Accumulation of toxins, especially heavy metals and the “autism/vaccination” controversy are discussed at length in Chapter Three on Impaired Detoxification, Toxic Accumulations, and Politics. Chapter Four is dedicated to diagnostic evaluations, including a description of laboratory tests that help guide treatment and monitor its progress. Chapters Five to Eight delineate the Biomedical Treatments for ASD that I use in my practice. These include Gastrointestinal Healing, Feeding the Starving Brain, and Chelation Therapy (Removing the Toxins) – based on the DAN! [Defeat Autism Now] Protocol – and Immunity, Autoimmunity and Viruses.” 

I had an epiphany – this was the first place I had found a list of how/why/which/ and when, the almost “how-to-guide” on recovering from autism.  Much of what I was reading in this book made so much sense to me.  It was – finally – a road map for us to use to help our son; best of all there are many suggestions on how parents can start the recovery process through diet and supplements themselves.

Dr. McCandless became interested in the treatments for ASD disorders after her Granddaughter was diagnosed with Autism in 1996.   This book is basically a handbook on treatment options and possible illnesses related to the autism diagnosis.  When we realized our son had developmental, sleep and gastrointestinal issues, we started to look outside of medical interventions to help find both the cause and the best treatment for his puzzling symptoms.  All his illnesses seemed to be separate but in my mind there was no doubt that something bigger was going on.  Looking at the whole picture: excessive tantrums, lack of eye contact, lack of interaction, speech and cognitive delays, sleep problems and gastrointestinal issues, it occurred to me that they might all be linked together. If we could just get to the underlying cause we could maybe resolve many of these issues altogether, I still believe this today, more than ever.  At any given time my son is on - an iron supplement for his periodic limb movement sleep disorder, pro and prebiotics for his gastrointestinal problems, black walnut to treat his parasite (we have moved beyond MD prescribed drugs that couldn’t resolve the parasite issue), Nystatin for a yeast problem, Taurine to help his moods and hyperactive tendencies, and more, the list goes on and on, each morning we line up the plethora of vitamin and mineral supplements, one of which, Brainchild Nutritionals, is targeted for children on the spectrum, and off we go about our day.

We have utilized the care and dedication of Developmental Pediatricians, General Pediatricians, DAN!  Doctors, Chiropractic care, Naturopaths and Homeopaths. Finally, we have met an amazing homeopath (thanks to another parent) who has taken my son beyond that which we had ever hoped, and its happening in a very short time. 

I firmly believe, every problem in life has a solution and there was a big problem looming ahead of us at one time, I am forever grateful that we began researching options for treatments. In our sons case, the use of the gluten free/casein free diet, the Feingold plan and some other key natural options, together with early intervention (which I believe is also key to his recovery) have been effective in helping him reach for his true potential. Our interventions both speech/OT and herbal/medical have been many; some have been pointless (one being pharmaceutical parasite treatments, parasites are notoriously hard to resolve) and some have worked amazingly well (his current homeopath). So we consider him well on the way to reaching that potential we know is possible. There are still areas we need to work with, after all the parasites are still there, causing untold problems in his gut, and he still has some speech and social delays but we can now say with confidence that he is well on his well to being a “typical” kindergartner. 

The question still remains: How did we even get here? The parasite is where I believe his problems started, it’s my thoughts that the ingestion of that bug caused a domino effect on his physiology, and the more we added to the gastrointestinal stress he was under from the parasite the further my son stepped into the autism diagnosis.  His gut was more and more overloaded and he became intolerant even to basic foods.  Had we realized the parasite was there, wreaking havoc, I feel sure if we could have cleaned that up before completing his onslaught of vaccines, we would have been giving him a chance to be a ‘typical’ toddler, instead of a kid being dragged from one intervention session to another, from one Doctor to the next, from one treatment … and the story goes on.

Dr. McCandless writes in Vaccination News

“As a clinician, my current belief which guides my practice with these children is that any child given the HepB vaccination at birth and subsequent boosters along with DPT has received unacceptable levels of neurotoxin in the form of the ethyl mercury in the thimerosal preservative used in the vaccine. In any child with a genetic immune susceptibility (probably about one in six) this sets off a series of events that injure the brain-gut-immune system. By the time they are ready to receive the MMR vaccination, their immune system is so impaired in a great number of these children that the triple vaccine cannot be handled by the now dysfunctional immune system and they begin their obvious descent into the autistic spectrum disorder.”

As parents, we all look forward to enjoying our toddlers, screaming tantrums and all, what you don’t expect is a spacey vacant child, a child who ignores your basic requests, a child who doesn’t want to be held, interact with you or even respond to his name.  We parents live for the interaction, the reciprocal emotions from our children and when that isn’t forthcoming it is both confusing and heart breaking.  I distinctly remember the very first time our son showed true, spontaneous affection (previously we needed to force hugs on this kid, you’d hug he’d squirm and wriggle until you released) this particular time he was two years and two months old, we had recently moved to a new house, in a new state and the transition was difficult to say the least.  We had finally got his bedroom and beloved crib back together and I think he was beginning to feel settled again, I was sat on the floor talking with my husband in the corner of the room, my son toddled over, reached around my neck very briefly and then toddled away, my husband and I looked at each other in astonishment. It took many more months for him to repeat that spontaneous interaction but I had seen it, and we knew it was just a matter of time before we could make it come back. Now, at 4 years old, finally, our son is affectionate (most of the time, when he forgets he is a 4 year old boy!!), it’s a joy to both feel and see him emerging from his little cocoon, the other night he told me “Mummy you rock my world, you are the most beautiful princess ever!” and that night I really felt I might be.

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at 303.674.1500 or email

MSG – harmless or another on the long list of additives to avoid?

21 April 2008

COULD IT BE MSG?

MSG – is yet one more food additive that causes controversy and another additive that seems to be increasingly hard to avoid, read more at msgmyth where complaints of  MSG sensitivity are documented from people like you and I.

These sensitivities cause such problems as:

• Numbness, paralysis, mouth lesions, sores, swelling of extremities, diarrhea, mitral valve prolapse, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and gas, ADD, behavioral problems, migraines, ADHD & autism symptoms, and fibromyalgia. 

• Just a few of the symptoms from the exhaustive list at MSG Myth. 

What is MSG?  To find out I went to the FDA website and searched on “MSG” and found  it is as follows: A substance “Made by a fermentation process using starch, beet sugar, cane sugar, or molasses, MSG is sold as a white crystal substance that resembles salt and sugar.” Sounds quite innocuous really doesn’t it? MSG is mostly used as a flavor enhancer in food products.

The only reason these chemicals, additives and dyes are in our food is because we allow them to be, we choose to eat these pre-packaged, frozen or off the shelf products to make our life easier, and we are paying the ultimate price for our laziness. When are we going to wake up wake up and realize that food that lasts for 6 months or longer, just isn’t good for us?  Until we stop buying it companies will not change their product. It’s quite obvious really when we think about it, the fresher the food the more nutrients, vitamins and minerals it provides us. The alternative health care industry might not be quite so profitable if we went back to eating a healthy and sensible diet. Americans spend $1.7 billion on vitamins every year!  We would rather spend billions of dollars and risk no effects or worse bad side effect’s from these vitamins, than we would eat a healthy diet.

Currently about 20 million Americans have type 2 diabetes, worse yet, this disease is no longer found just in adults, it is now affecting thousands of children too.  Obesity is a big factor in this disease, in addition to being a sedentary population we enjoy eating a diet high in fats and sugars, which obviously leads to the obesity. The fatter the population gets, and the less they do, the worse the problem gets!

Pre-packaged food helps feed not only our hunger but also our obsession for fast, easy food products, sadly these “foods”are also loaded with chemicals such as MSG, sodium and other nasty artery clogging ingredients that do a real number on our bodies.  American’s have bought into the fast food, pre-packaged craze whole heartedly, and we don’t even get out of our cars to walk off the calories we are eating.  Drive-through banking, eating and even dry-cleaning, are available in every town across America, are we just plain lazy as a nation or do we choose to blame this behaviour on being busy? We can come up with a million reasons why we don’t exercise, eat right, or take care of ourselves. 

Why do we really choose to buy pre-packaged and pre-made foods? My guess is that this saves us the bother of shopping and cooking every day.  It’s terrible to believe we are so busy working or attending extra-curricular-activities to take care of ourselves. Seriously if it means your child misses basket-ball practice, soccer, a dance, or a wealth of other after school activities because you choose to go home and make a decent nutrition dense meal – how can that be bad? If you choose to leave the office by 6pm to get home to make yourself a healthy meal of fresh cooked produce how is that bad?  Aren’t our priorities all wrong?  Shouldn’t we put family and health before sports and work?  Going to work or school at 7am only to return home to a fast food dinner or a high fat sodium soaked entree is ridiculous. We all know that work and school leave you stressed out, too tired to cook, it seems that there is no time left to take care of you during the week?  Why do we feel this is the ultimate way to live? Do we really prefer a new car over a healthy heart, a cheerleading medal over a healthy brain?  The goal for all of us should be to move toward a healthier lifestyle, exercise, good healthy organic fruits and vegetables, and more fresh produce.  Maybe this is the only way, and the best way that we will be able to remove all these chemicals from our food, we can choose to not purchase the pre-packaged product but instead buy the more nutritious and natural fare. 

So if you find you have a nagging headache after eating certain foods, or nausea, bloating even diarrhea you may be reacting to MSG or some other nasty additive. Learn to read labels carefully, specifically for MSG as it has many other names and is often hidden in your food. 

1. Look for Glutamate, glutamic acid, gelatin, monosodium glutamate, calcium caseinate, textured protein, monopotassium glutamate, sodium caseinate, yeast nutrient, yeast extract, yeast food, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed corn gluten, natrium glutamate.
2. Be suspicious of foods with carrogeenan, maltodextrin, malt extract, natural pork flavoring, citric acid, malt flavoring, bouillion and broth, natural chicken flavoring, soy protein isolate, stock, barley malt, soy sauce extract, why protein concentrate, pectin, soy protein, why protein, protease, soy protein concentrate, why protein isolate, protese enzymes, anything protein fortified, flavor(s) & flavoring(s) (including Natural), anything enzyme modified, anything fermented, enzymes anything, and seasoning. 

Reading personal stories of people’s reactions to MSG has been eye opening, and is one additive that I will certainly be more wary of in the future. We should remember when we find ourselves too busy, or stuck late at work with no time to relax and eat a real dinner: No one’s epitaph ever read “beloved employee of …” Take care of yourself, eat healthy, be fit!

For more information on removing additives from your life, and getting healthy and fit, speak to Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan.
Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call 303.674.1500 or email office@fontanachiro.com

Safer to drink and carry.

18 April 2008

I just read that Nalgene are planning on discontinuing the use of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in its plastic containers.  Bisphenol A has become controversial because it mimics estrogen and thus could induce hormonal responses. What is Estrogen?  According to sources compiled from Wikipedia and the FDA websites: there was research done in the 1930’s regarding the synthetic compound, the experiments then were conducted on ovariectomized rats! The term estrogen refers to a group of steroid compounds, and are named for their importance in the menstrual cycle (this hormone functions as the primary female sex hormone, in males the same hormone is testosterone). Do we really want to mess with this hormone inside our bodies, if Bisphenol A mimics estrogen what might that mean to our physiology?  Will our bodies become confused with the raised levels of estrogen, and what is the cancer risk associated with adding to the levels of estrogen in our body? Across the internet multiple references to increased estrogen and cancer are evident. Don’t assume just by avoiding plastic we can avoid the artificial hormone. Plastic isn’t the only form of synthetic estrogen. Amazingly there are some shampoos currently marketed which have estrogens and placental extracts in them; others contain phytoestrogens. Some products containing these extracts and marketed to African-Americans resulted in case reports of minor children developing breasts after exposure to the shampoos.

However, the FDA  has decided that not all topically-applied hormone-containing drug products for over the counter use are bad. The FDA seems to say that the general negative opinions some of us have regarding its use is inconsequential, although there is growing evidence to suggest otherwise. Just as a side note on estrogens again from Wikipedia: “The “first orally effective estrogen”, Emmenin, derived from the late-pregnancy urine of Canadian women, was introduced in 1930 by Collip and Ayerst Laboratories.” This information sure would have got me lined up to try it – I don’t think.

Anyway back to Nalgene.  We have written on this topic before , about plastic water bottles and the effects not just on the human body but also on the environment, and I see many, many people who switched to the Nalgene bottles because the deem them safer than the lighter plastic bottles. The MSN health the article reads: “Across the border, retailers throughout Canada have been releasing plans to remove BPA-containing sports and baby bottles from their shelves. On Wednesday, Wal-Mart Canada announced that it would immediately stop selling baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, food containers, and water bottles that contain BPA. Many of these retail changes followed an anonymous media leak earlier this week that Health Canada would declare BPA to be toxic.” It also reiterates in this article that the US, although its realized by other countries that these toxins can cause early puberty and other developmental issues, will not be making any decisions to ban these chemicals!

Its about time that the public became informed about all the toxic chemicals being used in our everyday products, the FDA cannot be relied upon to notify you, the public, in a timely manner. It is well known that plastic has some nasty bi-products once it gets hot, and everyone seems to know that microwaving plastic is a big no-no – but put a plastic water bottle in your car on a 90 degree day and no one worries a jot.

If you still insist on using plastic, go for a bottle with a  #2, #4, or #5 on the bottom. These toxins are really unnecessary and can be detrimental to our health. If our last article failed to convince you, then I hope this one will ~ run, don’t walk, get that stainless steel bottle and use it, your body will thank you for it.

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at 303.674.1500 to schedule a consultation or email office@fontanachiro.com

* Update 04.27.08: Nalgene, Wal-Mart back away from bisphenol A

Bottle manufacturer Nalgene will stop using plastic containing bisphenol A in response to concerns from the National Toxicology Program and the Canadian health department that the chemical probably shouldn’t be sucked on by kids. Nalgene says it still believes its clear, hard plastic bottles “are safe for their intended use” but says it’s responding to customers who “indicated they preferred BPA-free alternatives.” Wal-Mart also announced it would pull all baby bottles made with BPA from its shelves by early next year.

*Update 10/15/08:

updated 5:36 p.m. ET, Mon., Oct. 13, 2008

11 Baby Product companies asked to avoid BPA’s in their products.

HARTFORD, Conn. – Attorneys general from Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware sent letters Friday to 11 companies that make baby bottles and baby formula containers, asking they no longer use the chemical bisphenol A in their manufacturing because they said it was potentially harmful to infants.

Autism in April – What’s the best way to help autistic children?

14 April 2008

The Autism Research Institute has published the results of their latest survey comparing drugs, supplements, and diets.

The survey included dozens of drugs, from Adderall to Zoloft and the tabulated results show if the child got worse, had no effect or got better.  Antifungals and seizure medicine showed mostly positive results, but ADHD medicine had more negative outcomes than positive. Most supplements showed a high percentage of improvement and generally small numbers of children whose behavior got worse.

The fewest negative effects were reported for the diets. Both the Feingold Diet and the Candida Diet helped 56%, the Gluten-Free/Casein-Free diet helped 66% and the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) helped 69%.  The SCD aids the digestive system in healing by limiting selected carbohydrates. A feature of most healing diets is the fact that they generally do not contain the synthetic additives excluded by the Feingold Diet, so children on other regimens are likely to also be on Stage two of our (Feingold) diet.

Survey results are found at form34qr

One mother has given a face and a family to the growing problem of manipulated food. Robyn O’Brien’s story has been the topic of TV interviews and articles in newspapers and amgazines. She quickly changed from a trusting consumer to an angry mother after her youngest child had a severe allergic reaction to food. Her web site offers innovative stickers, lunch bags and wristbands to help parents let others know of their child’s sensitivities.

Reprinted from Pure Facts, the newsletter of the Feingold Association of the United States, www.feingold.org

The diets mentioned above are not just for children with autism, they can help you too.  Too much yeast can make you tired, give you brain fogs, and make you more prone to viral infections. Yes these problems could all be due to too much yeast. It is also thought that gluten sensitivities now affect 1/10 people. This particular problem usually shows as constipation or diarrhea, but in severe cases it can even cause nausea or vomiting after eating a food containing gluten. Usually people discover this intolerance after suffering bouts of achy joints, tiredness, stomach problems, malaise and other symptoms similar to chronic fatigue syndrome. 

Any of these diets can be done as an elimination diet to see if it might help your health. When trying the gluten free diet for autism, it is suggested the diet be followed for a minimum of 6 months as most benefits will not be apparent until the 5th or 6th month.  Removing casein or dairy from your diet should show positive improvements within three to four weeks.

Ask Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan, if you suffering any of the above symptoms, as they can best advise you which diet or elimination to try first, they will also give advice on supplements to ensure optimum health during any yeast eradication diet or change of diet regime in general.

Make an adjustment, Stay healthy ~ Be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at 303.674.1500, or email office@fontanachiro.com

Autism – know the early signs.

11 April 2008

Know the Signs: Early Identification Can Change Lives

Autism is treatable. Children do not “outgrow” autism, but studies show that early diagnosis and intervention lead to significantly improved outcomes. Here are some signs to look for in the children in your life:
• Lack of or delay in spoken language
• Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)
• Little or no eye contact
• Lack of interest in peer relationships
• Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play
• Persistent fixation on parts of objects

The March of Dimes has this list to help parents decide if they are actually seeing autism in their child or if it might be a normal developmental stage. Each child with autism is unique, but some common characteristics and behaviors may include (2, 3):

• Repeats words
• Doesn’t play “pretend” games
• Doesn’t point at objects or wave “bye-bye”
• Is overly active
• Has frequent temper tantrums
• Avoids eye contact
• Has difficulty starting or maintaining conversation
• Does not respond to being called by name
• Repeats actions again and again
• Focuses on single subject or activity
• Wants to be alone
• Is overly sensitive to the way things feel, sound, taste or smell
• Dislikes being held or cuddled
• Has sleep disturbances
• Lacks fear in risky situations
• Is aggressive
• Hurts himself
• Loses skills (for example, stops saying words he used to say)

Children with a mild autistic spectrum disorder called Asperger syndrome share some of the features of autism. However, children with Asperger syndrome have normal intelligence and learn to speak at the expected age.

When is autism diagnosed?    A child with autism usually does not look different from other children. The child may appear to develop normally for the first year or so of life. But during the second year of life, some children with autism begin to fall behind in social skills, fail to develop speech, or even lose skills that they had previously acquired. Autism is often diagnosed around age 3, though it can sometimes be diagnosed as early as 18 months (2).

Autsim Speaks has some excellent videos to view of children who already have the autism diagnosis.
I urge anyone and everyone to watch if they are at all concerened about thier child or are looking for help in finding assistance and resources for a child already diagnosed. If you have no real idea what autism is and what signs to look for with your child, this is a great place to start.

Other places you can go to research resources and information are as follows:

NIH

Autism Society

Talk About Curing Autism

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at 303.674.1500 or email office@fontanachiro.com

Do you know what Autism is?

7 April 2008

April is Autism Awareness Month. 

My son has autism; he is on the spectrum and also has a diagnosis of hyperactivity. He is what is considered a high functioning child; whatever that means to you, it probably means something else to another person.  For most people, their ideas about autism are based on the movie “Rain Man” – this was a movie staring Dustin Hoffman as an autistic savant and his brother played by Tom Cruise.  The movie was loosely based on a man by the name of Kim Parks who was a true savant. I urge you to click on Kim’s name to see who he really is.

What is a Savant? Autistic savant: A person with autism who is exceptionally gifted in a specialized field. That field may, for example, be mathematics. The autistic savant may be able to do rapid, complex mental calculations. Or the field may be music. The autistic savant may be able to perform an entire piece of music after hearing it only once. It is said that only 10% of people with Autism will be a Savant.

Autism is known as a Spectrum Disorder for a reason, as there is a wide range of what it means to have Autism. The definition of autism is as follows: Autism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).   Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests.  Other ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS).  Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism.  Males are four times more likely to have autism than females.

What are some common signs of autism? There are three distinctive behaviors that characterize autism.    Autistic children have difficulties with social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors or narrow, obsessive interests.  These behaviors can range in impact from mild to disabling. The hallmark feature of autism is impaired social interaction.  Parents are usually the first to notice symptoms of autism in their child.  As early as infancy, a baby with autism may be unresponsive to people or focus intently on one item to the exclusion of others for long periods of time.  A child with autism may appear to develop normally and then withdraw and become indifferent to social engagement.  Children with autism may fail to respond to their name and often avoid eye contact with other people.  They have difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they can’t understand social cues, such as tone of voice or facial expressions, and don’t watch other people’s faces for clues about appropriate behavior.  They lack empathy. 
Many children with autism engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling, or in self-abusive behavior such as biting or head-banging.  They also tend to start speaking later than other children and may refer to themselves by name instead of “I” or “me.”  Children with autism don’t know how to play interactively with other children.  Some speak in a sing-song voice about a narrow range of favorite topics, with little regard for the interests of the person to whom they are speaking.  Many children with autism have a reduced sensitivity to pain, but are abnormally sensitive to sound, touch, or other sensory stimulation.  These unusual reactions may contribute to behavioral symptoms such as a resistance to being cuddled or hugged.    Children with autism appear to have a higher than normal risk for certain co-existing conditions, including fragile X syndrome (which causes mental retardation), tuberous sclerosis (in which tumors grow on the brain), epileptic seizures, Tourette syndrome, learning disabilities, and attention deficit disorder.  For reasons that are still unclear, about 20 to 30 percent of children with autism develop epilepsy by the time they reach adulthood.  While people with schizophrenia may show some autistic-like behavior, their symptoms usually do not appear until the late teens or early adulthood.  Most people with schizophrenia also have hallucinations and delusions, which are not found in autism”

As I mentioned in the first part of this article, people have a very definite idea of what a child with autism looks like, how they behave, even how they interact with other people.  Autism is a complex neurological disorder and no two children are alike, although all these children tend to share certain communalities.  Whenever it is said “he/she doesn’t look like they have autism” you have to ask the question “exactly what does autism look like?” Some children do resist all and any interaction with other people, other’s (see Kim Parks) enjoy interactions with other humans, they may not interact with the same social awareness or cues that a neuro-typical person does, but its often a misnomer to believe there is no communication or a desire to communicate. The internet is full of information on Autism, some great sites to visit are Autism Speaks, National Institute of Mental Health, and the National Autism Association.  Autism is affecting millions of children, be informed, become an advocate, help understand the challenges and abilities of these children.

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at 303.674.1500 to schedule a consultation or email office@fontanachiro.com

So you want to quit smoking?

4 April 2008

No SMOKING please.

You have finally decided to quit smoking – good choice, in fact an excellent choice but once you have decided to go to that step, make a plan, write it down, and commit to it. Studies show that its better to quit smoking with a plan and assistance than it is to do it by sheer will-power and determination.

According to Anti-Smoking.org “… Sadly, eighty percent of smokers who quit do so without being in any program – and studies show that 95% of these self-reliant quitters fail, and go right back to smoking within 12 months. It’s the same rate of recidivism as with heroin. So you may wish to consider getting some help this time around!”

A Cochrane Review study done in 1996 and updated in November, 2007, found that nicotine replacement therapies like the patch, gum or inhaler increased chances of quitting by 50% to 70%.” As these therapies can be so much more effective than just will-power alone, its suggested by most physicians that you try one or more until you find the match.
So what options are available besides white knuckling? My personal success happened with Zyban, a prescription drug marketed as Zyban or Wellbutrin (a prescription antidepressant ) that happened 8 years ago, after I had smoked for 15 years. It helped me quit forever in only 3 months. My sister also tried this drug and ended up at the emergency room with an allergic reaction that involved breathing difficulties and hives, so choose carefully. Other treatments I have tried include but not limited to, hypnosis, nicotine patches, and nicotine gum, which for me personally all failed to help me quit completely, I could stop for a while but would be back to 20-25 cigarettes a day again within three months, luckily I never had to try the prescription nicotine inhaler. I really hated fighting one addiction with a prescription drug that could have turned into another addiction, however at the point I finally managed to stub out that last cigarette I was desperate to stop. For those who have tried conventional methods and are looking for new ideas to help them keep moving forwards, look at “Ten Unusual Quit Smoking Tips” It talks about everything from cravings to coping techniques, and if you are really serious there is a PDF download of Joel Spitzer’s Quitting book.

Smoking is proven to be detrimental to your health, and we all know the smart thing to do is to never start smoking in the first place, but that isn’t a practical piece of advice for most people myself included, the thing is we start, we get addicted, we realize its terrible for our health and then we try to quit, and then we try to quit again, and then we really get serious about quitting, and then we try again. It’s a vicious cycle that many people who have tried to stop smoking have battled and lost more than once. The best advice to going the distance and finally kicking this habit seems to be: Don’t do it alone!Get help, talk about it, you can find a local meeting in your area for Nicotine Anonymous where you can find other people in the same situation that you are in. You can stop smoking, you should stop smoking.

If the health aspect isn’t enough to convince you, and the ingredients in cigarettes don’t scare you, think about this, smoking stinks, it makes your house smell, your car smell, and your clothes smell and therefore YOU smell! That do it for you?

For further information you can go to the CDC website for thier fact sheets on smoking cessation.

Make an adjustment, stay healthy ~ be happy: Call Dr. Paul or Dr. Susan at (303) 674 1500 to schedule a consultation or email office@fontanachiro.com