We saw the neurologist today, not impressed. She wanted to do an MRI with contrast. I said no. She began telling me how she thinks it's silly that the media is making a fuss over the contrast recently because they've known about the kidney problems it can cause for years. Okay, so that is supposed to make me feel better? Brandon is chelating with DMPS and DMSA, I told her - wonder if she knows chelation is pretty rough on the kidneys already? She went on to say that she would test him to ensure his renal function was okay before they did it and I just drowned out her babbling with thoughts of "no" in my head. She mentioned that they could see the brain better which would be important due to the concern of focal epilepsy.
Hmmm, thinking out loud here...focal epilepsy, like in one spot, yes? Obviously certain parts of the brain control certain muscles, I know this because I have researched and studied it. I wonder why they just can't look up the part of the brain that controls batting eyelids and a scrunched up right side of the face? What are they going to do when they find "the spot"? Brain surgery???
Anyway, I came home and researched all about contrast and apparently there are some contrasting views on it! I read about quite a few adults with side effects, to the dye or whatever is in it. Reinforced my mommy instinct. Our nurse practioner said this would happen, that they would say they needed to do it with contrast to see it better, but that we should not get it because they use the heavy metal vanadium (?) for it! I found this one article that said the benefits of the contrast MRI outweigh the risks of not having one, HA! Have certainly heard that one before! Where do these doctors get off anyway, exposing us and our children to risks like this so that they can see something? It doesn't make sense to me, it seems very arrogant and inconsiderate.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Aluminum: The Untold Story
Aluminum Poisoning: The Untold Story
I find it surprising that the subject of aluminum toxicity in children has not gotten more attention. About a year ago, I decided to do a personal investigation into the reasons my children developed so differently. Why did my first child regress after the MMR vaccine and improve without treatment and why did my second son fail to progress specifically in the area of language development? Born in 1997 and 2002, the two boys had completely different sets of vaccinations; the earlier set had DTP with whole-cell pertussis and several other thimerosal-containing vaccines, and the latter set had DTaP (with acellular pertussis), additional aluminum, and minimal thimerosal. I hypothesized that the difference in the fate of my younger child, who is much more severe, must lie in the additional aluminum.
With that in mind, I hit the books reading everything I could about aluminum. What I found scared me, made me angry, and in a way, was unbelievable. My research centered on aluminum’s effect on speech. In researching this, I came across several studies on Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease and Dialysis Dementia patients that caught my attention. These reports confirmed that as aluminum levels rose, people lost not only memory, but motor planning, control and speech. Speech disorder was the result of impaired memory and motor planning and control. These characteristics are all important in indentifying the aluminum-toxic child.
Beginning with memory, we find that the process requires an uninterrupted network of neurons firing in the brain to be able to pass information back and forth. What is interesting about memory is that it is intricately intertwined throughout the human speech process. One of my second child’s chief problems in speech was the inability to build on the language he had. He seemed to learn new words, but forget words he already knew. I was greatly disturbed when someone suggested this might be due to seizure activity. Being told your child may be having seizures is scary to any parent and it is tempting to dismiss if your child is not having violent shaking episodes followed by unconsciousness.
However, as with so many areas that concern the subject of autism, there are lesser forms of these conditions that cannot be dismissed when searching for pathology. It broke my heart to find numerous studies of monkeys being made epileptic by injection of alumina gel (aluminum hydroxide). These studies dated back to the 1950s . I was stunned and found it completely absurd, if not criminal, that the cause of epilepsy is known and yet our children are still being injected with the culprit. The monkeys were test subjects for seizure drugs. I suppose someone forgot to mention the epilepsy when they decided to use aluminum hydroxide as a vaccine adjuvant.
Part of speech development is also motor planning, and this is where it gets interesting. The aluminum-toxic kids, in my opinion, are different from the mercury-toxic kids in that they understand and comprehend speech well, but have difficulty forming it. The French neurologist, Broca, discovered an area in the frontal lobe of the brain that is involved in the motor processes needed for speech formation. Injury to this area is called “Broca’s Aphasia”. If you look into what aluminum does to the frontal lobe in hemodialysis (HD), you are able to make the connection. Here is just one quote from an abstract, “Our results suggest that dialysis-related hypotension plays a role in progressive frontal lobe atrophy in HD patients.” . There are several reports of speech disorders as a result of dialysis; hence the term “Dialysis Dementia” is widely used.
If your memory is scrambled and your frontal lobe is damaged, speech is very difficult if not impossible. There are several effects aluminum has on the body that may be responsible for this damage. One of the well-known facts about aluminum is that it takes the place of iron on transferrin receptors and down-regulates surface transferrin receptors. It has been suggested that lack of iron homeostasis may cause mutations in transferrin receptor 2 (TFR2) which result in an increased storage of iron as a defense mechanism. The reaction of the body supplanting iron with aluminum would explain the decrease in healthy red blood cells (iron deficiency anemia) and perhaps also the decrease in platelets (thrombocytopenia) some of our children have or did have. I believe my son’s anemia caused pica, the eating of non-food items, which contributed to him becoming lead poisoned and infected by parasites at an early age as well.
Hemochromatosis, or iron overload, causes a buildup of iron in the liver and other organs. Interestingly, aluminum is often found where iron should be (in the lungs, for example) and iron is found in excess in other places. In 2003, William Walsh, PhD., of the Pfeiffer Treatment Center reported, “Iron free radicals (ions) represent the primary oxidative stress in the brain of most humans. Autism involves oxidative stress during early brain development. In theory, elevated iron in the brain could result in autism. A genetic inability to regulate iron might be causative in 1/3 of autism cases.” A study of iron deficiency anemia in Japan states, “the results of this study suggests that iron-deficiency anaemia may affect child development especially speech development.”
In Kent Heckenlively’s Age of Autism piece, “A Tale of Autistic Blood” , he explained and showed a video of the interesting features of blood taken from kids with autism. I was very intrigued by that article because I recall my son’s blood being very hard to draw. I found that aluminum has an affect on the sodium-potassium pump involved in regulating cell volume. Magnesium is required to stabilize the pump. If magnesium is not available, the body can use aluminum in its place. Aluminum increases the activity of the pump and is able to disrupt Ca2+ homeostasis by causing a decrease of intracellular calcium and an increase of extracellular calcium. This causes cell shrinkage. One study states, “We observed that aluminum induces lipid peroxidation and aggregation of human blood platelets.” Platelet aggregation is also an occurrence among dialysis patients.
Can it be coincidence that some children with autism have so many biomarkers in common with aluminum-related illnesses? So why don’t all kids get aluminum-poisoning symptoms from vaccination and other sources? The effects of aluminum are cumulative; some kids are more at risk than others because of their family history. In my son’s case, the risk factors were: I was exposed to aluminum-containing products my whole life; I received several mercury and aluminum-containing vaccinations; I have a family history of thyroid disorders and always had low blood pressure; I have been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia in the past; I took aluminum-containing antacids during my pregnancy with him; and his father is a welder and often came home from work dirty with metal residue. Some diseases related to aluminum-toxicity and hemochromatosis are: Celiac Disease, Diabetes Mellitis, Macrophagic Myofaciitis, and Down’s Syndrome.
I don’t believe anyone goes undamaged from injected aluminum; the symptoms only become evident when extensive damage is done. I patiently wait for the day when a sequel to the journal article, “Autism, a Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning” comes out. I would call it, “Autism, Also a Novel Form of Aluminum Poisoning”, because that is exactly what I believe my younger son’s autism is.
Elizabeth is the mom of a 7 year old boy with autism and an advocate for truth and treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders.
I find it surprising that the subject of aluminum toxicity in children has not gotten more attention. About a year ago, I decided to do a personal investigation into the reasons my children developed so differently. Why did my first child regress after the MMR vaccine and improve without treatment and why did my second son fail to progress specifically in the area of language development? Born in 1997 and 2002, the two boys had completely different sets of vaccinations; the earlier set had DTP with whole-cell pertussis and several other thimerosal-containing vaccines, and the latter set had DTaP (with acellular pertussis), additional aluminum, and minimal thimerosal. I hypothesized that the difference in the fate of my younger child, who is much more severe, must lie in the additional aluminum.
With that in mind, I hit the books reading everything I could about aluminum. What I found scared me, made me angry, and in a way, was unbelievable. My research centered on aluminum’s effect on speech. In researching this, I came across several studies on Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, Parkinson’s Disease and Dialysis Dementia patients that caught my attention. These reports confirmed that as aluminum levels rose, people lost not only memory, but motor planning, control and speech. Speech disorder was the result of impaired memory and motor planning and control. These characteristics are all important in indentifying the aluminum-toxic child.
Beginning with memory, we find that the process requires an uninterrupted network of neurons firing in the brain to be able to pass information back and forth. What is interesting about memory is that it is intricately intertwined throughout the human speech process. One of my second child’s chief problems in speech was the inability to build on the language he had. He seemed to learn new words, but forget words he already knew. I was greatly disturbed when someone suggested this might be due to seizure activity. Being told your child may be having seizures is scary to any parent and it is tempting to dismiss if your child is not having violent shaking episodes followed by unconsciousness.
However, as with so many areas that concern the subject of autism, there are lesser forms of these conditions that cannot be dismissed when searching for pathology. It broke my heart to find numerous studies of monkeys being made epileptic by injection of alumina gel (aluminum hydroxide). These studies dated back to the 1950s . I was stunned and found it completely absurd, if not criminal, that the cause of epilepsy is known and yet our children are still being injected with the culprit. The monkeys were test subjects for seizure drugs. I suppose someone forgot to mention the epilepsy when they decided to use aluminum hydroxide as a vaccine adjuvant.
Part of speech development is also motor planning, and this is where it gets interesting. The aluminum-toxic kids, in my opinion, are different from the mercury-toxic kids in that they understand and comprehend speech well, but have difficulty forming it. The French neurologist, Broca, discovered an area in the frontal lobe of the brain that is involved in the motor processes needed for speech formation. Injury to this area is called “Broca’s Aphasia”. If you look into what aluminum does to the frontal lobe in hemodialysis (HD), you are able to make the connection. Here is just one quote from an abstract, “Our results suggest that dialysis-related hypotension plays a role in progressive frontal lobe atrophy in HD patients.” . There are several reports of speech disorders as a result of dialysis; hence the term “Dialysis Dementia” is widely used.
If your memory is scrambled and your frontal lobe is damaged, speech is very difficult if not impossible. There are several effects aluminum has on the body that may be responsible for this damage. One of the well-known facts about aluminum is that it takes the place of iron on transferrin receptors and down-regulates surface transferrin receptors. It has been suggested that lack of iron homeostasis may cause mutations in transferrin receptor 2 (TFR2) which result in an increased storage of iron as a defense mechanism. The reaction of the body supplanting iron with aluminum would explain the decrease in healthy red blood cells (iron deficiency anemia) and perhaps also the decrease in platelets (thrombocytopenia) some of our children have or did have. I believe my son’s anemia caused pica, the eating of non-food items, which contributed to him becoming lead poisoned and infected by parasites at an early age as well.
Hemochromatosis, or iron overload, causes a buildup of iron in the liver and other organs. Interestingly, aluminum is often found where iron should be (in the lungs, for example) and iron is found in excess in other places. In 2003, William Walsh, PhD., of the Pfeiffer Treatment Center reported, “Iron free radicals (ions) represent the primary oxidative stress in the brain of most humans. Autism involves oxidative stress during early brain development. In theory, elevated iron in the brain could result in autism. A genetic inability to regulate iron might be causative in 1/3 of autism cases.” A study of iron deficiency anemia in Japan states, “the results of this study suggests that iron-deficiency anaemia may affect child development especially speech development.”
In Kent Heckenlively’s Age of Autism piece, “A Tale of Autistic Blood” , he explained and showed a video of the interesting features of blood taken from kids with autism. I was very intrigued by that article because I recall my son’s blood being very hard to draw. I found that aluminum has an affect on the sodium-potassium pump involved in regulating cell volume. Magnesium is required to stabilize the pump. If magnesium is not available, the body can use aluminum in its place. Aluminum increases the activity of the pump and is able to disrupt Ca2+ homeostasis by causing a decrease of intracellular calcium and an increase of extracellular calcium. This causes cell shrinkage. One study states, “We observed that aluminum induces lipid peroxidation and aggregation of human blood platelets.” Platelet aggregation is also an occurrence among dialysis patients.
Can it be coincidence that some children with autism have so many biomarkers in common with aluminum-related illnesses? So why don’t all kids get aluminum-poisoning symptoms from vaccination and other sources? The effects of aluminum are cumulative; some kids are more at risk than others because of their family history. In my son’s case, the risk factors were: I was exposed to aluminum-containing products my whole life; I received several mercury and aluminum-containing vaccinations; I have a family history of thyroid disorders and always had low blood pressure; I have been diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia in the past; I took aluminum-containing antacids during my pregnancy with him; and his father is a welder and often came home from work dirty with metal residue. Some diseases related to aluminum-toxicity and hemochromatosis are: Celiac Disease, Diabetes Mellitis, Macrophagic Myofaciitis, and Down’s Syndrome.
I don’t believe anyone goes undamaged from injected aluminum; the symptoms only become evident when extensive damage is done. I patiently wait for the day when a sequel to the journal article, “Autism, a Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning” comes out. I would call it, “Autism, Also a Novel Form of Aluminum Poisoning”, because that is exactly what I believe my younger son’s autism is.
Elizabeth is the mom of a 7 year old boy with autism and an advocate for truth and treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Aluminum: The Untold Story
Louis, Elan D., B.A., et. al. (1987). Experimental Models of Chronic Focal Epilepsy: A Critical Review of Four Models. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. Vol. 60 (255-272)
Mizumasa, Tohru, et. al. (2004). Dialysis-Related Hypotension as a Cause of Progressive Frontal Lobe Atrophy in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients: A 3-Year Prospective Study. Nephron Clinical Practice
Baratz, Robin and Andrew Herzog. (2004). The Communication Disorder in Dialysis Dementia. Bethel Israel Hospital USA.
TFR2 Mutation:
Highest concentrations of Al found in bone and lung tissue:
Gordon Research Institute on Iron:
Hokama, T. Ken, M.G. and Nosoko, N. Iron Deficiency Anaemia and Child Development. University of Ruykyus. Okinawa, Japan.
A Tale of Autistic Blood,
Al on ATPase activity and Ca:
Al neurotoxicity Ca homeostasis:
Neiva TJC, Fries DM, Monteiro HP, D'Amico EA & Chamone DAF (1997). Aluminum induces lipid peroxidation and aggregation of human blood platelets. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 30: 599-604.
Mizumasa, Tohru, et. al. (2004). Dialysis-Related Hypotension as a Cause of Progressive Frontal Lobe Atrophy in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients: A 3-Year Prospective Study. Nephron Clinical Practice
Baratz, Robin and Andrew Herzog. (2004). The Communication Disorder in Dialysis Dementia. Bethel Israel Hospital USA.
TFR2 Mutation:
Highest concentrations of Al found in bone and lung tissue:
Gordon Research Institute on Iron:
Hokama, T. Ken, M.G. and Nosoko, N. Iron Deficiency Anaemia and Child Development. University of Ruykyus. Okinawa, Japan.
A Tale of Autistic Blood,
Al on ATPase activity and Ca:
Al neurotoxicity Ca homeostasis:
Neiva TJC, Fries DM, Monteiro HP, D'Amico EA & Chamone DAF (1997). Aluminum induces lipid peroxidation and aggregation of human blood platelets. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 30: 599-604.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Finding the Truth About Vaccines, Continued
Here is only a small taste of what shocked me and convinced me about vaccines needing serious overhaul.
Here is one of the most convincing articles by Dr. Blaylock. I read quite a bit of his work, unfortunately he provides a lot of information but doesn't give suggestions on what to do about it! http://www.homeoint.org/kotok/pdfs/Blaylock.pdf
(Warning! It's long!)
Vaccines Cause SIDS
In 1985 Dr. Scheibner, a former principle research scientist for the government of Australia, and her husband electrochemical engineer Leif Karlsson invented the CotWatch breathing monitor for babies who are diagnosed "at risk" for SIDS, or "Cot Death" as it is known in Australia. Over the next three years, the couple monitored hundreds of babies and studied the event reports that their CotWatch produced. "By 1988 we knew that vaccines are killing babies," said Dr. Scheibner.
SIDS occurs among babies who have suffered a physical insult to their vulnerable bodies. Scheibner and Karlsson learned that the most common physical insult suffered by SIDS babies was routine vaccinations. Printouts from their monitor illuminated patterns that indicated critical days after vaccinations.
Once they had proven to themselves the causal link between vaccines and SIDS and had appropriately analyzed and documented their findings, Scheibner and Karlsson submitted their work to the medical community for peer review. Rather than attempt to duplicate their work or alter public health policy to protect infants, the majority of the medical community's members chose to protect the interests of vaccine manufacturers.
Study of Aluminum in Vaccines
Canadian neuroscientist Chris Shaw did not set out to shake confidence in vaccination, but what he and his team found when testing Aluminum Hydroxide, the form used most often in vaccines, really upset them."No one in my lab wants to get vaccinated," he said. "This totally creeped us out. We weren't out there to poke holes in vaccines. But all of a sudden, oh my God-we've got neuron death!"
In 2001 Bernard et. al. publish their hypothesis: Autism: A Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning. It reads in part: “Exposure to mercury can cause immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions similar to traits defining or associated with autism, and the similarities extend to neuroanatomy, neurotransmitters, and biochemistry. Thimerosal, a preservative added to many vaccines, has become a major source of mercury in children who, within their first two years, may have received a quantity of mercury that exceeds safety guidelines. A review of medical literature and US government data suggests that: (i) many cases of idiopathic autism are induced by early mercury exposure from thimerosal; (ii) this type of autism represents an unrecognized mercurial syndrome; and (iii) genetic and non-genetic factors establish a predisposition whereby thimerosal’s adverse effects occur only in some children.”
In 2005, angry parents write to ABC news, who erroneously reported thimerosal was removed from vaccines, here is one letter from "Adventures in Autism" blog that stunned me:
Dear ABC News,
I am the mom of a darling 7 year-old boy with mercury poisoning, also known as autism. While I appreciate the fact that your station has done some reporting on the autism crisis in our country, [snip] you reported that thimerosal was removed from vaccines in 1999. This is NOT true.There was never a recall on mercury-containing vaccines. Many are still on the shelves at doctor’s offices. Today’s flu vaccines are full of mercury, and they are being pushed on pregnant women and infants. [snip]Just last month, I had my older son at the doctor’s office for a checkup, and was told that he needed a tetanus booster shot. Since I already have one son with mercury poisoning, I requested a mercury-free version. The doctor assured me that they ONLY use mercury-free vaccines in her practice. However, when I checked the vial that the nurse brought in, it clearly said “Contains thimerosal”. The doctor got flustered and said to the nurse “You brought in the wrong vial. That’s the one we give to the Medicaid kids.” Then she turned to me and explained that the state won’t pay for mercury-free shots. (How’s that for a follow-up story: State-funded mercury poisoning of kids!) We left the office without receiving the tetanus shot, and will never return. [snip]
Sincerely,
Sue Swanson
Alpharetta, GA
In 2008, a research study of DMSA chelation (drawing out metals/detoxing the body) was cancelled by the CDC. Here is what one doctor had to say about that:
Dr. Stoller called it "criminal" that kids with autism were not being
treated for toxicity by the medical community (this post was in
reference to the study to which you are referring).
http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/features_julieshealthclub/2008
/07/chelation-treat.html
Here is his post from Julie's Health Club (link above):
In 2006, I met with the Deputy Director of the CDC's Environmental
Health Lab, Jim Pirkle, MD, PhD. He was instrumental in getting lead
removed from gasoline. I met with him and his staff at the CDC in
Atlanta. The reason I met with him was to discuss my patients who had
high lead levels (not in their blood), but in their body tissues
which could only be measured by giving them a provocative agent, such
as DMSA.
These patients had been diagnosed with neuro-behavioral disorders and
were on medications. I should Dr. Pirkle and his staff how by using
DMSA and lowering the body's store of heavy metals these children
improved on neuro-cognitive testing. Dr. Pirkle felt this was an
important clinical development. His staff came to me after the
meeting to express their concern that it was not lead that had them
worried, but the vast amounts of mercury they were finding.
As a physician, I have to say that the foot-dragging about treating
children with impaired detoxification kinetics is criminal. The lack
of attention paid to this problem, the lack of funding, the lack of
support is due to another part of the CDC, the part of the CDC that
controls policy and receives the vast majority of funding - the
Infectious Disease division.
I do not know how this problem is going to get fixed until there is a
complete rebuild of the leadership at the CDC.
K Paul Stoller, MD
International Hyperbaric Med Assoc
Posted by: Kenneth Stoller, MD | Jul 10, 2008 7:53:25 AM
If you've gotten this far, you probably know that I could go on all day about this. The fact is, they are experimenting on us. When we sign the papers, they inject our children with vaccines containing all kinds of things and it is NOT KNOWN their disposition in the body and what those ingredients are doing to us!
GREEN OUR VACCINES!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Finding the Truth About Vaccines
I have a "Green Our Vaccines" shirt that I wear occassionally. I believe in it; that is - I believe our vaccines need some major transformation. Backing up to about 2 1/2 years ago, I was in my pediatrician's office asking her if she was sure Brandon's vaccines did not have mercury and was she sure they were safe. She convinced me that it was what Brandon needed; that he would be protected from harm if I did it. What a mistake that was...
After his 4 year old vaccines, things went downhill, something was terribly wrong. Brandon had a clear speech delay from previous years, but then came terrible aggression, unpredictability, and a whirlwind that devoured our family and our peace at home. We couldn't take him anywhere. He hit people randomly at parks and ball games. He spat on a man's shoe at the post office. He was kicked out of a Casino child care for hitting and kicking children and adults. I wanted answers; we couldn't live like this - my child was on his way to the insane asylum - or would that be me - Ha!
Let's go even further back to when Eric Jr. was little. He developed on time until he was 18 months, but after his 18 month vaccinations I swore they did something to him because his speech suddenly stopped and he seemed distant from us, spinning the wheels of cars and fixating on fans above him. I had never heard of vaccines causing such a thing before, so I kept my concerns quiet. Several years later, I was on the computer and found some stories strikingly similar to my son's story which pointed at vaccines as the cause and cited evidence making the case. When we had our second child, I tried to delay vaccines a month or two each because of my paranoia. His regression happened so slowly, that I could never have pointed at vaccines for the cause. This made me think that maybe, just maybe, they were okay. Then I researched.
I researched because I wanted to help my boy. I just wanted answers - why was he this way? Did I do something wrong during pregnancy? Was there pollution in the areas we had lived? Through testing and researching, I found all kinds of answers. Brandon was anemic his first couple years, which caused pica (eating of non-food items). Not surprisingly, he had high lead in his hair test. I learned that this can cause psychotic behavior (and yes, I have accused him of being psychotic :) I also learned it could affect his speech, learning and central nervous system. Along the way, I found out ALL kinds of things about vaccines, things that scared me...things I didn't want to know. To be continued...
After his 4 year old vaccines, things went downhill, something was terribly wrong. Brandon had a clear speech delay from previous years, but then came terrible aggression, unpredictability, and a whirlwind that devoured our family and our peace at home. We couldn't take him anywhere. He hit people randomly at parks and ball games. He spat on a man's shoe at the post office. He was kicked out of a Casino child care for hitting and kicking children and adults. I wanted answers; we couldn't live like this - my child was on his way to the insane asylum - or would that be me - Ha!
Let's go even further back to when Eric Jr. was little. He developed on time until he was 18 months, but after his 18 month vaccinations I swore they did something to him because his speech suddenly stopped and he seemed distant from us, spinning the wheels of cars and fixating on fans above him. I had never heard of vaccines causing such a thing before, so I kept my concerns quiet. Several years later, I was on the computer and found some stories strikingly similar to my son's story which pointed at vaccines as the cause and cited evidence making the case. When we had our second child, I tried to delay vaccines a month or two each because of my paranoia. His regression happened so slowly, that I could never have pointed at vaccines for the cause. This made me think that maybe, just maybe, they were okay. Then I researched.
I researched because I wanted to help my boy. I just wanted answers - why was he this way? Did I do something wrong during pregnancy? Was there pollution in the areas we had lived? Through testing and researching, I found all kinds of answers. Brandon was anemic his first couple years, which caused pica (eating of non-food items). Not surprisingly, he had high lead in his hair test. I learned that this can cause psychotic behavior (and yes, I have accused him of being psychotic :) I also learned it could affect his speech, learning and central nervous system. Along the way, I found out ALL kinds of things about vaccines, things that scared me...things I didn't want to know. To be continued...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
He's coloring!
It's been Brandon's best school year yet. This year, at 6 years old, I finally saw my little boy hold a crayon and color. He is even tracing letters and numbers. It amazes me how long it took to get to this point, and what was it? Diet? I attribute diet to much of my son's successes, because infractions bring on immediate regression to where he was before. It's a sad situation when your child is allergic to most of the foods in the grocery store aisles. As of now, he is gluten free, casein free, soy free, chocolate free, MSG free, and artificial color free....he eats whole foods and absolutely no junk.
In the past year, Brandon has been through just about every biomedical treatment possible. We started Andy Cutler's chelation protocol and did several rounds using ALA. At one point we added DMSA and Brandon made some amazing verbal gains although it was not well tolerated and we had to eliminate its use. He was unable to take a multivitamin, so I purchased all the vitamins separately being careful to avoid soy in the fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A and E. Halfway through the year, I decided there were too many additives in even his vitamins and took a more natural approach. It started with a vitamin B complex made by Dailyfoods which was made from whole foods. I also picked up some liquid minerals for supplementation and remineralizing water. Then I discovered Amla. This fruit from India is used in Ayurvedic medicine for rejuvenation and it was one of the most amazing supplements I ever tried. It knocked out our chronic battles with candida and gave Brandon a new lease on life with its super antioxidant kick. For a couple months Brandon was taking only calcium-magnesium-vit D powder in a capsule (or in smoothies) and amla, it was all he needed. For the past month, Brandon has not been on any supplements and is doing well in school and at home.
Our current challenge is speech and language. Brandon's speech is significantly delayed and I am working with him to improve his pronunciation and expressive language. I have been taking classes on Applied Behavior Analysis and am hoping to put what I learn to work in teaching Brandon to speak the appropriate words more clearly. I have purchased a tape recorder and have come up with some color and letter identification exercises for him where I can track his progress.
I cannot express enough how pleased I am with Brandon's school program. Mrs. Marshall, his teacher, is very competent and should be proud of her success with him. This fall, he had an aide who was outstanding, to say the least. She was very firm with him and did not let him fail. She took him to a whole new level by making him accountable and motivating him to learn. Thanks Cheryl Johnson! We have had so many blessings this year, I would just like to say "Praise God!" for all you have done for Brandon and our family!
In the past year, Brandon has been through just about every biomedical treatment possible. We started Andy Cutler's chelation protocol and did several rounds using ALA. At one point we added DMSA and Brandon made some amazing verbal gains although it was not well tolerated and we had to eliminate its use. He was unable to take a multivitamin, so I purchased all the vitamins separately being careful to avoid soy in the fat soluble vitamins such as vitamins A and E. Halfway through the year, I decided there were too many additives in even his vitamins and took a more natural approach. It started with a vitamin B complex made by Dailyfoods which was made from whole foods. I also picked up some liquid minerals for supplementation and remineralizing water. Then I discovered Amla. This fruit from India is used in Ayurvedic medicine for rejuvenation and it was one of the most amazing supplements I ever tried. It knocked out our chronic battles with candida and gave Brandon a new lease on life with its super antioxidant kick. For a couple months Brandon was taking only calcium-magnesium-vit D powder in a capsule (or in smoothies) and amla, it was all he needed. For the past month, Brandon has not been on any supplements and is doing well in school and at home.
Our current challenge is speech and language. Brandon's speech is significantly delayed and I am working with him to improve his pronunciation and expressive language. I have been taking classes on Applied Behavior Analysis and am hoping to put what I learn to work in teaching Brandon to speak the appropriate words more clearly. I have purchased a tape recorder and have come up with some color and letter identification exercises for him where I can track his progress.
I cannot express enough how pleased I am with Brandon's school program. Mrs. Marshall, his teacher, is very competent and should be proud of her success with him. This fall, he had an aide who was outstanding, to say the least. She was very firm with him and did not let him fail. She took him to a whole new level by making him accountable and motivating him to learn. Thanks Cheryl Johnson! We have had so many blessings this year, I would just like to say "Praise God!" for all you have done for Brandon and our family!
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