Hope, Health Hope, Health and Healingand 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 Baxter Wilde Wilde BerleBerle

Born on

May 26, 1999

C-Section

Apgars 9/9

A series of pictures to

show Baxter’s

regressive autism

Baxter was one month oldAnd completely healthy

Jolly

Aware

Focused

Connected

3 Months

Happy joyful baby!

As an infant Baxter met all his developmental

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

MilestonesMilestones

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 Sensitivi

ty

Anxiety

Stressed out

Tactile defensiveness

Vestibular uncertainty

Decline after MMR and Chicken Decline after MMR and Chicken Pox-1yr. OldPox-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) diarrhea approx. 30 times a day) which lasted for more than 2 years

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

others)

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

Constant screaming

Begging for food

Eventually a noticeable improvement in temperament and expressive language

(detox approx 2 weeks)

Resource:

www.gfcfdiet.comwww.gfcfdiet.com

During and after….

Prior to these dietary changes Speech Therapy had no

effect. The GFCF diet facilitated

more productive sessions.

The Diagnosis

This was a H U G EH U G E turning point for me. Up to this point I had been profoundly sad.

Now I became profoundly angry.angry. How

DARE anyone predict my child’s capability. This ironically worked hugely in our favor.

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/ari-

lists/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)

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

More thoughts on Supplements

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

Elaine Gotscholl.

Specific Specific Carbohydrate DietCarbohydrate 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 DIE!!!!!!!!

Results

GUT HEALING!!

Bacteria and yeast dramatically reduced

Stools normalized – trophies!!

More gains in language, focus and behavior

“Scripting” – dramatically reduced

Graduated from Occupational TherapyResource: 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 ONEONE of the causes of Baxter’s

autism could be linked to vaccinations and most specifically the preservative in them

called Thimerosal which is nearly 50% mercury by weight.

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

Inflammation in the brain

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 ExposureBirth 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

MMR and chicken pox vax on same day-quadruple live viral load

Thrush/Yeast infections

Repeated ear/bladder infections start (chronic antibiotic overuse)

GI Issues start (diarrhea)

3 months

Continued…Continued…

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 environment

al

in 2 years

Baxter started chelating in October

of 2004 using Transdermal DMPS following Day-on.. Day-off 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

lost the lost the label!!label!!

NO MORE AUTISM!!!NO MORE AUTISM!!!

This is almost 3 years to the day of receiving the label

Heavy Metals

Test the month we lost

the diagnosi

s

Pre chelation 2004

Post chelation 2005

Recent Report Card

All ExcellentsExcellents or SatisfactorySatisfactory

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

Halloween 2006 -“Willy Wonka”

Thank you to all the doctors,

therapists, friends

and family that helped

me get better.

Love,

Baxter