Transcript Berle presentation Vancouver 2007

Hope, Health and
Healing
Autism Biennial Congress
March 2007
Vancouver , British Columbia
Baxter Berle’s journey through and
recovery from autism
Disclaimer:
I am not a
medical
professional
(Although I look really
smart…!)
I am a mom
This is the guy we’re talking about!
Baxter
Wilde
Berle
Born on
May 26, 1999
C-Section
Apgars 9/9
A series of
pictures to
show Baxter’s
regressive
autism
Baxter was one month old
And completely healthy
3 Months
Jolly
Aware
Focused
Connected
Happy joyful baby!
As an infant Baxter met all his
developmental milestones
Milestones
Rolled over at 5 ½months
Sat at 6 ½months
Crawled at 8-9 months
Walked at 13 months
More than ten words at 1 year
6 months
7 MONTHS - CONTINUED NORMAL
(HAPPY!) GROWTH
9 months
SO cute!
But though red cheeks and
ears were already
appearing…
Shortly after
routine
vaccinations
at a year old
this is who
he became…
Incessant drooling…
Constant
anxiety
Oblivion to others…. even brand new
baby brother
Sound
Sensitivit
y
Anxiety
Stressed
Tactile defensiveness
Vestibular
Decline after MMR and Chicken Pox-1yr.
Old
Lost ALL language
Cried/whined nearly all the time
Couldn’t be calmed
Hated any kind of transition/change
Refused all eye contact
Ate copious amounts of wheat/dairy based foods
Became increasingly intolerant of noise/textures/clothes
Drooled constantly
Incessant out-of-control (yellow-liquid-eating-his skin)
WE BEGAN A FRANTIC
SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
TO GASTROINTESTINAL
DISTRESS AND
DEVELOPMENTAL
DELAYS.
A Genetic specialist was
one of the first places
we went due to my being
adopted.
We suspected Fragile X
but test results were
negative (as well as
Next, we sought out the
“best” pediatric G.I.
Specialist in Los Angeles
only to be informed that,
“….some kids just have
loose stools. Sorry. I
can’t help you.”
Thousands of
hours on the
internet
Countless doctors
CRAVINGS FOR PASTA, BAGELS, PANCAKES,
CREAM CHEESE AND BUTTER.
GIVEN THE GUT TRAUMA WE FOCUSED
FIRST ON DIETARY INTERVENTION.
Gluten Free/Casein Free Diet (GFCF)
Withdrawl of all wheat (gluten) products
Withdrawl of all dairy (casein) products
Soy products too?
IgG Food Sensitivity Test
Cold Turkey?
Keep a journal!!!
Changing your
child’s diet to GF/CF
is one of the safest
biomedical
interventions that
could benefit him
During and after….
Constant screaming
Begging for food
Eventually a noticeable
improvement in temperament and
expressive language
(detox approx 2 weeks)
Resource:
Prior to these
dietary changes
Speech Therapy
had no effect. The
GFCF diet
facilitated more
The Diagnosis
This was a H U G E turning
point for me. Up to this
point I had been profoundly
sad. Now I became
profoundly angry. How
DARE anyone predict my
child’s capability. This
ironically worked hugely in
THE DIAGNOSIS OF AUTISM WAS THE
DARKEST DAY IN A VERY DARK TIME.
WE WERE TOLD:
Bax was 23 months behind in Language
and 20 months behind Socially
Bax would likely never speak
Bax would likely never be toilet-trained
We should pursue an academic program
where Bax would be placed exclusively
with severely challenged children
His symptoms could get worse
There is no cure for Autism
Therapy begins….
2 hours one-on-one Speech therapy
2 hours one-on-one Occupational therapy
25 hours of pre-school
10 hours of DTT/ABA
1 hour MyGym
2 hours Behavioral therapy
2 hours Floortime therapy
We found the DAN!
(Defeat Autism Now!)
Network of doctors
and started Baxter
down the path of
biomedical
intervention
Find a DAN! Doctor in
your area
(or one that understands biomedical
interventions for autism)
http://www.autismwebsite.com/arilists/danus.html
Initial Testing performed on
Baxter
Hair Elements Toxic
Urine Toxic Metals
Urine Essential
Fecal Metals
CBC/Chem panel
ION panel
OAT profile
Stool Analysis
IgG Food Sensitivity
Thyroid
Supplement Protocol Prescribed by our DAN! doctors
Probiotics (min. of 150 billion organisms /day)
S-Boulardii (natural yeast fighter)
Customized Amino Acids
Epsom salts
Minerals
Vitamins A, E and C
Body Bio Balance oil
Cod Liver Oil & Evening Primrose oil
Folapro
Enzymes
Glutathione
Authia cream
Colostrum
DMG
Methyl B12
Iron
Phoscol (for elevated kidney/liver enzymes)
Antibiotics/antifungal to treat severe gut issues (only as needed)
More thoughts on Supplements
Go “low and slow”
Allow AT LEAST 3-5 days before adding a new one
Rotate probiotics if you have a “gut-kid”
Listen to your doctor but also trust YOUR instincts
Persistent gut problems
(diarrhea) forced me to revisit
dietary issues. I did not
realize that GFCF was not
facilitating healing of his gut.
At this point, we switched to
the Specific Carbohydrate
Diet (SCD) developed by
Specific Carbohydrate
Diet
•Carbohydrate Limiting
• Only allows simple sugars (monosaccharides)- such
as those found in fruit, honey and some veggies and
other non-sugar foods such as meats, fish, eggs and
nuts.
•No rice (there go your GFCF waffles and bread…)
• No Potatoes (bye bye french fries and chips!)
IgG food sensitivity is a
must!
No food for gut bug means they starve and
Results
GUT HEALING!!
Bacteria and yeast dramatically reduced
Stools normalized – trophies!!
More gains in language, focus and behavior
“Scripting” – dramatically reduced
Graduated from Occupational Therapy
Resource: www.breakingthevisciouscycle.com
www.pecanbread.com
Lysozymes at
time of
Diagnosis...5X
normal
Lysozymes
after 6
months of
SCD
Virtually
normal!
More Thoughts on
SCD
Again, find legal replacements for favorite foods (for
instance Bax’s favorite GFCF pancakes are now made with a variety of
nutbutters instead of flour)
Try to rotate all proteins and nuts
Give the homemade goat/nut yogurt a shot!
Watch out for increased fruit intake-YEAST.
Over the course of years
we would come to believe
ONE of the causes of
Baxter’s autism could be
linked to vaccinations and
most specifically the
preservative in them called
Thimerosal which is nearly
Mercury is
considered
by most to
be the
second most
toxic
substance on
the planet
The symptoms of Mercury poisoning and
autism are shockingly similar
Bernard, Enyati, Redwood, RN, Binstock, PhD.
Excerpt:
"Due to the extensive parallels between
autism and mercury poisoning, the likelihood of
a causal relationship is great. Given that
possibility, Thimerosal should be removed from
all childhood vaccines and the mechanisms of
mercury toxicity in autism should be thoroughly
investigated."
Mercury causes a host of medical
problems
GI inflammation
Chronic Yeast overgrowth
Susceptibility for viruses in the gut
Diarrhea
Constipation
Immune dysfunction
Allergies and food sensitivities
Heavy metal overload
Mineral depletion
Oxidative stress
MERCURY EXPOSURE IN
UTERO
Mouth full of dental amalgams
Dental filling during second trimester
Ingestion of tuna fish
RhoGAM shot at 28 weeks (62.5 micrograms of
Hg)
Birth to 1 year Toxic Exposure
RhoGAM shot immediately
after delivery Hg goes into
breast milk (62.5 mcg)
First Vaccines 2 months of age
(62.5 mcg)
Acute Pyleonephritis 72 hours
later
Prophylatic antibiotics (which
enhances the toxcitiy of Hg and
destroys gut flora)
Doctor refusal to delay 4 and 6
months shots while taking
antibiotics
Continued…
MMR and chicken
pox vax on same
day-quadruple live
viral load
Thrush/Yeast
infections
3 months
Repeated
ear/bladder
infections start
(chronic antibiotic
overuse)
GI Issues start
We began investigating the
safety and efficacy of
chelation and its various forms
We chose Transdermal DMPS
(TD-DMPS)
for its ease of application and
gentleness on the body.
Many different Forms of Chelators
are now Available
(most come in a variety of forms such as oral, transdermal, IV and
suppositories)
DMPS
DMSA
EDTA
ALA
TTFD
Natural chelators
We next tested Baxter with
a provocative dose of oral
DMSA
(against my better
judgment) and it revealed
an extremely toxic burden
No mercury
exposure other
than
environmental
in 2 years
Baxter started chelating
in October of 2004 using
Transdermal DMPS
following Day-on.. Dayoff protocol
Tons of other junk came out!
Many Improvements!
Mineral levels increased
Iron levels go up
Behavior (nicer, kinder…better!)
Happy, joyous
Increased focus, reduced impulsivity
No aggression
Increased social skills/capability
7 months after
starting TD-DMPS
Baxter
re-tested (Triennial)
with the School
district and
NO MORE AUTISM!!!
This is almost 3 years to the day of receiving the label
Heavy
Metals
Test the
month we
lost the
diagnosis
Pre chelation
2004
Post chelation
2005
Recent Report
Card
All Excellents
or Satisfactory
Normal Socialization skills!
One “gift” we are
given as parents of
autistic children is
that we appreciate
the little things and
take nothing for
granted
Thank you to
all the
doctors,
therapists,
friends and
family that
helped me
get better.
Love,
Halloween 2006 -“Willy Wonka”