http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/printpage/0,5481,6021827,00.html

Autism in children breakthrough

By Louise Pemble

22feb03

A group of children are baffling medical authorities who say they

can't exist â€" autistic children who are getting better through

special diets, nutritional supplements and medicine.

They are being treated by a handful of Australian doctors who are

defying standard medical practice by approaching autism as a physical

disorder, rather than just a behavioural one.These treatments don't

work for every child â€" and many are unproven by the gold standard

of clinical trials â€" but some parents claim they are seeing

tangible improvements in their children's autistic behaviour. They

tell of "awakenings" in their children, such as a non-verbal five-

year-old suddenly talking and responding to toilet-training.Anecdotes

like this sound "interesting", says Dr Lawrence Bartak, president of

Autism Victoria and former president of the Autism Council of

Australia.But he says this type of treatment is "crying out" for more

research, to test if the interventions â€" or some other factor â€"

are contributing to improvements in the child's behaviour.Autism

affects one-in-500 to one-in-1000 Australian children. Their parents

are told there is no known cause or cure. The only proven treatment

is behavioural therapy, but it can take years to train an autistic

child to overcome symptoms like rigidity to routines, poor

understanding of others and speech delay.Research from the US and

Britain has recently been hinting at physical links to autism, such

as gut disorders.British researcher and gastroenterologist Dr Andrew

Wakefield has found such a high rate of intestinal dysfunction in

autistic children that he calls this a "unique disease process" of

autism. In a colonoscopy study of 110 autistic children he found only

three did not show signs of intestinal disorders.Now Harvard

University is working on a medical protocol for treating autism

following its research into the gut. Using 500 gastrointestinal

endoscopies with biopsies, Harvard researchers found more than half

of autistic children studied had treatable gut disorders including

from esophagitis, gastritis and enterocolitis (inflamed gut and

bowel).These findings have excited scientists and parents, because

they suggest that if the gut is healed, the autism may also

improve.But this gut-brain link has yet to be conclusively proved

and, until a causal link is found, debate will continue to rage over

whether gut disorders cause autism or whether they are a side

effect.Although unfamiliar with the Harvard study, Bartak says any

reliable and replicated research showing a higher incidence of gut

problems in autistic children would be "very interesting"."It would

suggest that there may be some form of congenital abnormality that

produces an abnormal gut and is then doing something abnormal to

their brain as well," he says.Sunderland University in Britain has

come up with a detailed protocol for treating autism biomedically

(ie, treating symptoms in the body).The Sunderland protocol

advocates:Introducing the child to a dairy-free and gluten-free

diet;Testing for other food allergies and eliminating offending

foods;Testing for vitamin and mineral deficiencies and supplement as

needed (commonly zinc, calcium, magnesium, vitamins A, C and some B

vitamins);Testing stools for parasitic organisms such as yeasts or

bacteria.The child is then given treatments to address deficiencies

and heal damage to the gut so they can better absorb

nutrients.Protocol co-author Paul Shattock admits some of these

interventions are untested and anecdotal. But at last year's Autism

Congress in Melbourne, he recommended that parents start by

introducing the dairy-free diet for three weeks to see if their

child's behaviour improved.Sydney pediatrician Dr Antony Underwood

has put this form of treatment to the test â€" with encouraging

results.Underwood claims that a few of his patients now appear to

have recovered from autism. They are attending standard schools,

making friends and communicating at levels typical for their age.And

while most don't reach full recovery, he has seen improvements in

most of the 80 or so autistic children attending his North Shore

surgery."I see a small group who are fully recovered from autism, a

middle group who are improving and a small group who show no

response," he says.Underwood says he cannot tell from the start

whether a child will respond to biomedical intervention, but

generally younger patients do better, especially if treatment starts

between 2½ and 3½ years of age.He says autistic children often have

very high copper levels, multiple food allergies and yeast

infestations of the gut that respond well to elimination diets and

anti-fungal medications.If blood or hair tests reveal mineral

deficiencies (zinc is usually low), they also show improvement when

given mineral supplements. Add omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and this is

enough for some children to lose all signs of autistic behaviour,

Underwood says.Sydney mother Gina Taylor claims her five-year-old son

Colin (not his real name) has overcome his autism using these

interventions.Taylor says the ages between two and four were "just

appalling" for her family, as Colin's development was severely

delayed.Colin didn't respond to his name, was non-verbal, a fussy

eater and felt no pain.He had also been on several courses of

antibiotics and was about to have grommets inserted in his ear to

resolve persistent infections."Within about two months of his

treatment starting, he never needed another course of antibiotics,

his pain threshold was normal and he ate a wider diet like eggs,

vegies and meat."While these improvements were welcome, Taylor says

the big breakthrough happened a few months later."I was in a shoe

shop, carrying him as usual so he wouldn't run away, when he leaned

over and pointed to a row of shoes and named eight different

colours," she says.After two years of treatment, her son no longer

needs speech or occupational therapy, speaks normally for his age and

has just started at the local public school.Brisbane GP Gary Deed

also treats autistic patients biomedically. His Carina clinic sees

about 250 autistic children and adolescents. He says most show some

improvement if given personalised programs."We see a response to

symptoms such as digestive symptoms quite quickly in many cases. I

have had success with behavioural changes such as stimming

(repetitive movements such as flicking and rocking) and agitated self-

harming behaviours as well as withdrawal."Asked if any patient had

fully recovered, Deed responded: "I have only truly seen one." But he

says that isn't the goal for most families."Most parents accept that

they are not looking for 100 per cent recovery, but better ability to

self-manage and develop independent living skills."To get a child to

speak might be as big a milestone for one as it is to finally get

toilet-training complete in a seven- to nine-year-old, if you know

what I mean."In fact, doctors who use this approach do not advocate

its use without using other treatments such as speech and

occupational therapies and learning programs such as applied

behavioural analysis (ABA). While this makes it harder to pinpoint

which therapy is responsible for any sudden breakthrough, Underwood

says some parents who had tried many therapies without success were

turning to chelation.Underwood says chelation seems to help children

whose hair tests indicate high levels of metals such as mercury,

lead, aluminium, arsenic, and cadmium.Chelation is most commonly

carried out using agents that bind to the metals in the body. The

child then excretes the metals through their urine.Although chelation

has been linked with causing seizures in some children, Underwood

says he had seen no cases of this. But he stresses that it needs to

be done under close medical supervision and only once other therapies

have been in place for several months.The fact that some children

seem to benefit from chelation suggests they cannot excrete heavy

metals or detoxify themselves, he says.US researcher Dr William Walsh

found that 85 per cent of autistic children have a dysfunction in a

protein called metallothionein. He believes this may lead to an

accumulation of heavy metals in the body, resulting in autistic

behaviour.But deputy director of the National Centre for Immunisation

Research, associate professor Peter McIntyre, says chelation therapy

has not been thoroughly tested, so its effectiveness has yet to be

proven. "I'm aware of people who are practising certain chelation

therapies in children with various developmental problems," he

says."As far as I'm aware, none of them have engaged in any

systematic evaluation of this treatment and there's certainly no

published data to confirm that it's effective."But one Sydney mother

claims chelation was the turning point for her son, Lachlan, 5.Linda

John says Lachlan's development was normal until 12 months. By 15

months, she noticed he would no longer look at her and he was

constantly fighting ear infections.And so began the vicious cycle

that many parents of autistic children describe. Repeated courses of

antibiotics to clear up the ear infections or wipe out the micro-

flora in the bowel, leading to other health problems. Her son went

from having a healthy complexion and stools, to diarrhoea,

nightsweats, red cheeks and glazed eyes.Not even the 18 months he

spent at a Sydney school specialising in teaching autistic children

could help Lachlan â€" in fact, his autism worsened.Lachlan started

seeing Underwood, who assessed his gut disorder and started treating

him with probiotics, vitamins and minerals."I did the gluten-

free/dairy-free diet, but I never noticed it made a huge

difference."Lachlan's ear infections cleared up and his complexion

improved, but his mind "still wasn't there", she says.Although she

had dismissed chelation before â€" "it sounded like too much trouble"

â€" she had reached a plateau with his treatment and decided to try

it."The first few rounds I did, I thought he was getting a little bit

more aware, that he'd look at me more, but he still wasn't toileting,

he just didn't get it."The only way I could describe it was as if I

was speaking a different language to him."Two months into the

chelation, Lachlan came home with a note from school to say that for

the first time he had completed all the actions to an interactive

activity in class."Out of the blue they said 'pat your head' and he

did it, 'rub your tummy' and he did it, 'touch your toes' and he did

it â€" all with no prompting from anybody."It was just unbelievable,

that first feeling of 'Oh my God, something has happened here'. From

then on he just started using more and more words."The changes in

Lachlan were also noticed by a student speech therapist who teaches

Lachlan at home two or three nights a week."She couldn't keep up the

program quick enough with him," says John. "I've seen her come out of

the room with tears in her eyes saying, 'You wouldn't believe how

great he went tonight'."The next big breakthrough was toilet

training."It took me about two weeks â€" the connection just happened

â€" he was suddenly aware that that's what mummy wants me to do."Just

when she started to wonder if Lachlan had simply reached an age when

he would have improved anyway, she was invited to the school's award

night.Out of 60 pupils, Lachlan won the Encouragement Award for the

child who showed the best single improvement over the school

year."The school could see that his gains were above and beyond what

would be expected of a child with his delays, so that was

incredible."John now believes her son was highly reactive to heavy-

metal exposure, which is why he didn't show much improvement until

the chelation therapy."The biggest breakthrough has been watching the

chelation because I felt like perhaps all the other stuff I did was

groundwork and the chelation was the icing on the cake."I'll never

know what Lachlan would have been like had I not done everything, but

I don't believe I would have the good little boy I've got now."Autism

Victoria

Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children Cycle of decline in

autistic kidsMany researchers and parents around the world have noted

the following chain of events in late-onset autism (after age one).

The child is born with a genetic predisposition to environmental

toxins/food allergies which may trigger the following:

During their early years, an "insult" to their immune system, such as

a triple antigen vaccine, virus or heavy metal exposure, triggers an

abnormal immune response.

Child's immunity weakens, and she/he is given antibiotics for

frequent illnesses such as recurrent ear infections.

The antibiotics affect the healthy bowel flora leading to an

overgrowth of candida (yeast), predisposing the child to develop a

leaky gut.

The gut cannot digest certain proteins, especially gluten (from

wheat) and casein (from dairy).

These enter the bloodstream malabsorbed, affecting brain function and

behaviour.

Child loses language and becomes anti-social.

Child develops chronic diarrhoea and/or constipation and tests

positive to food allergies, mineral deficiencies and/or metal

toxicity.TREATMENT OPTIONS

Dairy and gluten-free diet.

Vitamin and mineral supplements (especially zinc, B6, magnesium).

Probiotics, eg acidophilus, to restore healthy gut flora.

Anti-fungal medicine to attack yeast overgrowth.

Essential fatty acids (eg: evening primrose oil, cod liver oil and

other fish oil to improve brain function).

Chelation to remove heavy metals from the body.

Child's need for these can be verified by hair tests (for mineral

levels and metal toxicity) stool tests (for yeast infections) and

blood tests (for food allergies and general deficiencies).

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