Symptoms

1. What are some clues that my child might have biomedical problems that are manifesting as autistic behaviors?

As journalist Dan Olmsted succinctly put it in a column in the summer of 2005, physical illness accompanies the symptoms of autism so frequently that not mentioning them is a tragic omission.

Emerging research supports the idea that autism is a whole-body illness. Clinicians using a Defeat Autism Now! approach focus on treating the medical aspects of the disease.

Clues for Parents Considering the Defeat Autism Now! Approach

2. My child doesn't sleep - can DAN treatments improve that?

Many autistic individuals have sleep problems. Night waking may be due to reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus. Melatonin has been very useful in helping many autistic individuals fall asleep. Other popular interventions include using 5-HTP and implementing a behavior modification program designed to induce sleep. Vigorous exercise will help a child sleep, and other sleep aids are a weighted blanket or secure-feeling mummy-type sleeping bag.

3. My child has dark circles under his eyes – what causes that?

Dark circles under the eyes are almost always one of two conditions:

Phenol Sulfotransferase Deficiency
Environmental exposure to toxins or allergenic foods

For more information, see: Dana's View, Phenol Information

4. My child is constipated, has diarrhea and/or has awful smelling BM's - can biomedical treatments fix that?

Treating digestive injury is a key aspect of a Defeat Autism Now! treatment approach. Physicians have observed that a lot of information is gathered by observing and testing stools. Color, texture, consistency, and other 'properties' can give clues to what is happening in digestion. For clues to what may be contributing to your child's digestive issues, see: TACA's "The Poop Page"

5. My adopted child has been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder. Are biomedical treatments just for biological children with Autism, or is it possible this approach might help my child, too?

Yes, it is possible. Some children have been diagnosed with RAD by reputable attachment professionals and the families have come to find out that the RAD looking behaviors were actually being caused by underlying biomedical problems.

Adopted children who had been previously diagnosed with Bi-Polar, FAS, OCD, ODD, ADD/ADHD, SPD, Tourette's, Autism, Asperger's, PDD-NOS, and a variety of other disorders have also been helped with biomedical treatments.

There is a Yahoogroups list for adoptive parents who would like to learn more about biomedical treatments: attachasd · Adoption, Attachment & Autism Spectrum

6. My child doesn't have digestive issues or any of the symptoms other parents describe - is it still worth pursuing biomedical intervention?

Yes. Some children do not exhibit symptoms but still benefit from treatment.

7. Where can I find information about the possible adverse effects of prescription drugs used for ASD?

Most commonly prescribed drugs have side effects -- ranging from minor to severe to potentially fatal. One of our goals at the Autism Research Institute (ARI) is to inform parents of the efficacy of various treatments for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). See possible adverse effects.