Kaiden's Autism Recovery

Kaiden was born July 5, 2001, a healthy 9 pounds, 10 ounces. He scored a 9 and 10 on the APGAR. The next day he developed a small fever and jaundice. I found out later he had a HepB vaccine without my knowledge and against my request. Despite persistent thrush and yeast rashes, my son flourished. He maintained growth in the 95th percentile, began very early babbling sounds, and began sleeping through the night. Except for persistent thrush and yeast, he was the perfect happy, healthy baby.

At 9 weeks old, he had his first round of vaccines. Something intuitively made me question vaccinating him. I did some research but the internet was not yet what it is today. The day of the appointment, I talked to the doctor about it. We have an extensive history of reactions to vaccines.

The doctor assured me that the shots did not have thimerosol. But, in September 2001 I found out that they did. My son screamed basically non-stop from that moment on. He stopped sucking his thumb, stopped sleeping almost completely, screamed relentlessly, developed all over body hives and eczema, severe reflux and aspirating, and his chronic yeast and thrush worsened.

He ceased all babbling, and plummeted from the 95th percentile to below the 5th to off the chart for weight. He stopped having BMs (having only 3 in 2 months in the time right after his shots!) He developed food intolerances to nearly everything. He began headbanging as soon as he could crawl (at an early 5.5 months).

As Kaiden got older, typical and severe autistic stims (self-stimulatory behaviors) became more apparent -headbanging 50 times per day, staring into space with no blinking or reaction, licking things, lining things up, raging, etc. He had severe food intolerances, PST (phenol sulfur transferese) deficiency, leaky gut syndrome, hypotonia, and a multitude of other issues (most of which I didn't recognize until I read Karyn Seroussi's "Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and PDD" and William Shaw's "Biological Treatments for Autism and PDD."

By July of 2002 when my son turned 1 year old - he was still off the weight charts despite eating well. He had chronic eczema, all over body hives, a weepy eye, and all the other issues. I was desparate and knew he was probably autistic because of his classic behaviors. He was headbanging about 50 times per day, had never played with a toy, didn't interact with his 5 year old sister, and didn't talk. He stared at the TV for hours at a time (if I let him) without looking away, did not respond to his name, had never pointed, and basically just wandered around the house all day. Despite this, he still smiled easily on his own terms.

At his one year check up his new doctor said, "You know this all equals autism." I already knew. I went back to the bookstore and bought several books on autism. That day changed my life. I started reading that night and read three books in the next three days. It was like reading my life story. (See links for resources.)

At 13 months, he had started saying some words, calling his sister by name, etc. But by 16 months, he had stopped most of that. I could shout his name 25 times (I counted once) and he would not turn to look at me.

The turning point was homeopathy, although even then he still had issues.

Then we discovered sheep yogurt. Taking him off yeast really paid off -- after weeks of eating it with meals, we saw his appearance & behavior improving.

In October 2003 we dosed him with the DTP remedy for rhe second time. There was a dramatic change going on in him. Within 3 days he had completely potty trained himself (at 27 months). He went from never having put on a piece of clothing to completely dressing himself every day. He began talking in full sentences. His language jumped up to age appropriate. I lost track counting at 150 words. He stopped almost all stimming, and he just blossomed. With a month, he presented like a normal, happy toddler.

On Christmas, he excitedly ran downstairs and opened all his presents, enjoying every one.. .talking all the time. Just 6 months before at his 2 year birthday he had sat quietly and happily watched his sister open all his presents. At Christmas, not only did he open all of his, but he wanted to open every one else's as well!

In January 2004, at his assessment with Child Development Services, he no longer qualified for services as he was age appropriate and tested out advanced in many areas. He sleeps 11 hours per night, is incredibly happy, and a true delight.

In Feb. 2004 while driving in the car he told me all about how "bears hibernate in the winter, lions roar in the jungle, and baby kangaroos ride in their mommy's pouch." At bedtime, he would sneak out of bed and turn on his light to read books in his bed. Every day he surprises and delights us with new stories and new thoughts and ideas. His speech is extremely articulate and his inflection is heartwarming. He has also become very loving and snuggly. Whereas before he did not like his fingers, toes, and ears touched, today he will happily climb on my lap and snuggle in. One of the happiest days of my life was when he recently held my face in his hands and said, "I love you, Mommy."

We began GSE sometime in 2004 with tremendous results. This stuff is liquid gold and the whole family benefits from maintenance dosing.

I believe the homeopathy played a significant role in his recovery. It's hard to tell how much of the initial improvements were from diet or from the homeopathy but I think each played a different role. It has also worked wonders for me and our daughter.

In September 2005, Kaiden was almost completely recovered. He attended traditional preschool with no mention of autism. He has many, many friends and is extremely social. He loves striking up a conversation in the grocery store and is a happy, smiling, loving child. He is extremely well behaved and is just a delight to be with. He is learning completely on schedule and is advanced in many areas.

With the help of NAET, which was done in 2005 and 2006, he now eats a regular diet. We saw some minor issues when introducing new foods which evened out after more NAET (acupressure) and continued homeopathy. We continued to deal with yeast as well and even today maintain probiotics (Culturelle) and GSE on a semi-regular basis as needed.

I believe both the food and gut issues were due to the mercury toxicity. Thanks to homeopathy, he no longer requires the No Fenol enzyme.

As of early 2007, I consider him completely cured of autism. He has no food sensitivities or allergies and eats a normal diet. He is advanced in his classroom and scores above average in all social categories on his report cards. He has many friends, is very social, empathic, and bright.