According to this research, heavy TV indulgence before the age of three is associated with an increase in autism. The paper suggests that TV could be a trigger for those with a genetic predisposition toward the condition.

My guess would be that this is a chicken and the egg equation - do the kids watch a lot of TV because they are autistic, or does watching the TV trigger the autism. My guess would be the former.

Ozma has been suggesting that I should post about my experiences to being on the GFCF diet for a while. I have been GFCF for just over two years, and I can honestly say that it has been one of the best decisions of my entire life (it falls just after deciding to ask Ozma to marry me!)

About two or three years after Dorothy started the diet, Ozma started pointing out the physiological symptoms that were gone in her that I still had (horrible bloating, migraines, ‘foggy’ days, and more). After several years of gentle suggestions, I decided to try the diet. I decided to give it a try for six months, and planned on having a pizza, cake & ice cream party for my birthday to see if the diet really made a difference for me. I went totally GFCFSF (Gluten Free, Casein/Dairy Free, and Sugar Free) (more…)

I think this is such a cool idea! Anyone who has dragged a bewildered autistic child through the security at an airport will appreciate the beauty of this idea. If you are planning a roadtrip with the holidays approaching, I have some ideas for GFCF snacks/meals on the run that you might be interested in here.

This article grabbed me because autistic persons have much the same problem. I know many people who have “autistic” traits, but they are walking around, living their regular lives and don’t need pharmaceuticals. I am also not a fan of labeling because it gets in the way of treatment. I generally refer to my daughters condition as autism. She is specifically diagnosed with Asperger’s. I have found though, that doctors/teachers tend to minimize the autistic aspects of her illness, and focus on her social problems, since “social problems” is the approved definition of Asperger’s. I have to remind them that she is sick, that she has sensory problems. For more on my take on this see here.

This kind of thing makes me crazy. The drug company even admits that it does nothing to treat the disease, and yet they are marketing this thing to treat autism. When our daughter was first diagnosed with Asperger’s we dilligently did everything the neurologist told us to do. She suggested putting her on paxil. It seemed to take the edge off her, but it really only masked her symptoms. It didn’t do anything for her pain, her stomach, or her sleeplessness. After a while it stopped working altogether. The doctor put her on a never ending cycle of ratcheting up her dosages and going to different flavors of Prozac. It never did much of anything. The best thing we ever did was to stop drugging her and start getting to some of the roots of her problems. Some of the roots included the GFCF diet for her stomach, anti-inflammatories for her pain, and melatonin for her sleeplessness. The best thing we ever did was to visit Dr. Bradstreet. I can’t sing his praises enough.