Tremendo wrote his first words today on the easel. I marveled at this since in the past he only wanted to write three letters: L, M, and X. Of course I had to video tape it when he started doing it again on the small chalkboard.
Today after I video taped him writing he [...]
Stanley Greenspan passed on April 27th, 2010, following stroke complications.
I hope that the ICDL can keep his legacy moving forward. Rest in peace, Dr. Greenspan. You will be missed.
© copyright 2010 www.renegade-scholar.com Stanley Greenspan, Father of Floortime, Dies at 68
20 year old Clay Marzo has Autism and a career in Professional Surfing. Watch the video for a nice bio.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/autistic-surfer-clay-marzo-masters-waves-struggles-land/story?id=10477337
© copyright 2010 www.renegade-scholar.com Clay Marzo: Autistic Surfer
Enzymes for Autism and Other Neurological Conditions (Updated Third Edition) by Karen DeFelice is a guide to understanding how digestive enzymes work and how to use them to treat a wide array of neurological and physical and ailments. (**Note: I read the first edition.**) DeFelice presents case studies, anecdotal evidence and technical explanations as evidence of how digestive enzymes can be used to treat autism, sensory dysfunction, migraines, ADHD, food intolerances and chemical sensitivity, bowel dysfunctions and even viruses and cancer. DeFelice, a mother of two with a research/science background, also shares her own journey away from chronic migraines to better health with enzymes. In the book’s three appendices you’ll find a guide to buying enzymes, a detailed analysis of the book’s data and a frequently asked questions section. If you are considering enzyme therapy, this book is a must read.
DeFelice’s point of view is that since science has uncovered various biological aspects to autism and related conditions, it is worth looking into treatments that address the individual’s biology. She also provides clear explanations of how the digestive and the immune systems work, making it easier to understand how food intolerances happen and how enzymes may help. She proposes that faulty digestion is at the root of many sensory and behavioral problems and makes a clear distinction between a food allergy (IgE antibody response) and a food sensitivity (IgG antibody response) when she discusses the immune system. An IgG antibody response is triggered when undigested food particles pass into the bloodstream.
The immune system reacts to these unknown particles by sending in the IgG antibodies to deal with them. IgG antibody reactions can be just as serious as the histamine reactions, although maybe not as obviously connected to a particular food or chemical. Symptoms of IgG reactions usually show up as changes in behavior rather than histamine reactions. People refer to these as food intolerances or sensitivities instead of true allergies.
… As long as your body processes out the food or chemicals quicker than [they build] up, there is no reaction. p. 61
DeFelice also goes into detail about how enzymes heal the gut through the breaking down of food particles, and help clear out environmental toxins by latching onto them and leaving the body. This relieves some of the burden on the liver and immune system.
Digestive enzymes also relieve burdens placed on the pancreas, whose job is to create digestive enzymes to break down foods that don’t have natural enzymes left. When we eat a diet full of cooked and processed foods, we get very few of the natural enzymes from those foods. This means our bodies must produce the enzymes needed to digest the cooked food. Our bodies secrete digestive enzymes mainly from the pancreas and a few other locations in the digestive tract. The more digestive enzymes our bodies need to produce, the greater the stress is on the pancreas. Because the body needs to create these digestive enzymes, it uses precursors and raw materials that could be used for other functions. p. 88
According to the book’s data, many parents saw marked improvements in their children’s behavior in addition to relief from physical reactions to “problem foods” as well. Improvements were seen in over 31 areas such as increased language, improved sleep, even improved transitioning when changing activities.
After repeatedly seeing Enzymes for Autism at my Occupational Therapist’s office, I decided to pick it up when I noticed that Sweet Coco seemed to have problems with eating dairy. He would get a serious red rash as well as have eczema patches on the insides of his elbow. He would wake in the middle of the night scratching his itchy skin. I mostly thought of using enzymes as a “just in case” tool for if/when he came into accidental contact with it. I was intrigued to learn that while some people do use them in this way, many people use the enzymes as a way to help digest “problem foods” without a negative reaction and thereby eliminate the need for a restrictive diet. It also hadn’t occurred to me that digestive enzymes are useful in removing toxins and metals from the body as well.
DeFelice addresses the concerns of those who view “problem foods” as poison because of the reactions they may cause in those who have trouble digesting them:
“With a[n] injured or malfunctioning digestive system, any food could be called ‘poison’. The view is that it is better to fix the faulty system, not focus entirely on eliminating foods. An example is the widely acknowledged point that gluten and casein proteins are not hazardous as proteins, nor are they harmful when completely broken down. The proteins are only problematic when digestion happens to be faulty, and the intermediate peptides happen to form, and happen to pass into the bloodstream, and happen to cause an unwanted reaction of some type. They are not even harmful to all people with autism.” p. 260
Ingrid @ July 17, 2010
Holly Robinson Peete wrote an article called Shifting Focus: 8 Facts About Autism the Media Is Not Covering that is rather informative for those who don’t have direct experience with autism. I learned a few things too. Here’s the list:
1. Autism is unaffordable
2. Parental guilt
3. Puberty plus autism can be a volatile mix
4. Minority children are diagnosed with autism years later than other children
5. Autism can be tough on a marriage
6. Autism’s effect on siblings
7. Adults living with autism
8. Autism advocates who actually have autism
Ingrid @ July 8, 2010
Here are some interesting clips for people who love to work with Lego. My kids were fascinated when we watched it. Nathan Sawaya gets $60,000 for some of his sculptures. He’s really talented. He sums it up with, “I see the world in little squares.”
Ingrid @ July 4, 2010
