18 months ago
To say Christel and Chad King adore their first born son Levi is an understatement. Besides being loving and good natured, Levi's development was extraordinary.
"He had 18 words at 12 months old. He used to crawl over and push tapes into the VCR, which was really cute," said Christel.
But his parents say it was the very age when Levi changed drastically.
"We saw him completely disappear, I think it was 9 hours after his vaccination he developed a seizure disorder," Christel said.
His parents say Levi lost all but three words and soon began to have terrible meltdowns. He also began displaying repetitive behaviors, like lining up his toys.
"He had a wireless phone and he would sit there and spin it for 8 hours and you'd stop it because it would drive you nuts, then he would go into a melt down and bash his head against a wall, a table, anything he could get himself to just bash his head," said Christel.
Shortly before Levi turned two, he was diagnosed with severe autism. Christel said the neurologist told them Levi was probably never going to speak again, and that he would likely have to be institutionalized.
Desperate to help her son, Christel discovered a medical approach that is followed by a group of doctors known as "Defeat Autism Now" or DAN.
Autism traditionally has been considered a brain disorder. But DAN doctors believe autistic children are overwhelmed by intestinal, immune problems and environmental toxins. They recommend a variety of "biomedical" interventions to help the body heal itself.
One of the recommendations Christel tried was taking certain foods out of Levi's diet, including gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains, and casein, which is in dairy products.
"Within 24 hours of starting the diet, all of his head banging stopped," Christel said.
"The neurologist gave us no hope, this was at least hope," said Levi's father Chad.
The Kings say the remarkable results showed that Levi had problems digesting certain foods. "The proteins goes through the gut and the gut has holes in it. It's called "leaky gut" and it goes to the brain and causes an opiate effect, like opium," said Christel.
Chiropractor Jane Robertson believes autism is treatable. She is one of a handful of practitioners in Maine who have received training in DAN guidelines. She first orders a detailed blood test to see if a child is allergic to certain foods before she recommends a restricted diet. Dr. Robertson also has children submit a urine sample to see what toxins may be in their bodies. The lab she uses then recommends natural detoxification treatments. She also recommends certain vitamins and other supplements to boost the immune system.
"I personally feel that the diet isn't too hard or supplements aren't too difficult to give because the changes you see in these children are really amazing," Dr. Robertson said.
Amazing doesn't even begin to describe Levi now. Thanks to an out of state DAN doctor, years of biomedical interventions, speech and other therapies, Levi's eye contact and attention span have greatly improved. He plays and interacts with his family and is in a mainstreamed first grade classroom. Levi's mother says she'll never forget the day his words began to return. "My son came to me and said 'love you mama,' and mama had come back. That is what I had been dying for you to know, that is what I was working for to hear that word again," Christel said.
Now there's no stopping the six-year-old and his progress back to health and recovery from a devastating diagnosis.
If you would like more information on "DAN" doctors or biomedical treatments for autism, just click on the www.autism.com link to the right. That's where you can also find information on support groups.
For information on gluten or casein free diets, as well as a support group for parents and others on yahoo.com, just click on the related link.
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