I have a 3 and 5 year old both on the spectrum. Both are on gluten and dairy free diets. I have been involved with a homeopathic doctor that turned me on to a company called Orenda. They sell natural products that can help with taking out toxins in my kids. The results are amazing. My wife and I have known about the autism for a while now and have tried anything and everything natural. I would reccomend these products to anyone. I even take the products. I would love it if anyone could give advice on the products they use. I joined the company and now distribute @ SuperfoodScience.com

Both of my children are on the severe side of the spectrum and we refuse to medicate any advice would be helpful I'm sure. Thanks

What a day!! I feel inadequate again, why can`t I just allow myself to feel like I don`t have to fix this ?

I have a grandson who is 5 years old and he has autism and hyperactivity.  His parents have not toilet trained him yet.  He is a handful now, what is he going to be 5 years from now?

My wife was watching the Doctors yesterday and she mentioned that they had a family on there that was treating their autistic child using Medical Marijuana. Apparently, they were getting some results with the drug, it was helping him focus and helped his appetite. They were making brownies out of it, so he wasn't actually smoking it. So far Medical Marijuana is legal in 14 states and is gaining steam in other states. I am just curious what everyone's view is on the subject?

 Please comment...

  As a Mother of 4 , life is already hectic right?

  My family is a bit odd, I have 2 boys 2 girls, and the two in the middle - well, one( girl age 10) has autism, and she is doing so much better! ESP with age, she makes eye contact, which she never did, socially- she is interested! She was in the Special school for autism out here in slc utah, but I couldn't afford it anymore,so we mainstreamed her. It was the Best thing for her, no more head banging, still... she has baby talk- not being able to talk until your 8 years old will do that!

ITs my son, who is 12. My question is a hard one. I really really don't want to medicate him.

He is 170 pounds 5'5 1/2 sweet boy, but his behavior is out of this world, we ( my husband and I) try to talk to him, explaine that its not okay to

pumble someone in the middle of their music lesson, he just dosn't get it. I know all about autism, but asburger's syndrom is so hard.

He is so smart, and has no friends, he lit, gets invited to 1 birthday party a year.   His energy NEVER stops.  Its almost exausting to think of his behavior- even now when he is in school.

I want to help him, and make him feel better, he cry's at the drop of a hat when you yell at him.... If you take a toy or the WII away he will get angry and throw a temper  and hit himself..... He is no threat.... but I can see it leading in this direction. Is there any news on what I can do?

My budget is limited, so- all of these great therapy's are out of my price range.

If anyone has any information please contact me.

We have chore charts and behavior charts- it works sometimes but not all the time...

Thank you for looking.

My son has high functioning autism and I am looking for advise on how to deal with the melt downs and the social aspects of the disorder.

A Marietta College student and Warren High School graduate is attempting to cover new ground in autism research, exploring an area of the disorder mostly ignored until now.

Heather Haught, 20, of Tunnel, a junior at the college, is entering the second phase of a research project aimed to form a better picture of what foods those with autism spectrum disorders prefer and how a diet can be made to cater to their needs and address eating problems associated with autism.

Often, children with autism are underweight, while many adults with autism are overweight or obese.

"I want to try to determine how we can get these people into a healthy weight range and have it be based in science," Haught said.

Haught had little background on autism when she learned a bit about it in a developmental psychology course at the college. She took that interest to assistant psychology professor Alicia Doerflinger, who had a background in the research of development of feeding behaviors, and the study was born.

The two found they would be virtual pioneers in their experiment, titled "The Effect of Food Preferences, Food Intake and Taster Status on Body Weight in Children with Autism."

"When we started to look at the literature, there was obviously not a lot of work done in that area," said Doerflinger. "Even though it's pretty well known that parents of children with autism have feeding issues on a daily basis, there didn't seem to be investigation into that in any depth. It was a little niche we could move into."

The lack of previous studies may be due to the difficulty of working with young children who are autistic or simply because with all the functionality issues related to the disorder, it may not have been a high priority, she said.  read more »

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) - Research on a new device - a version of which is now available to consumers -  that measures young children's language-learning environment and holds promise for use in the screening, assessment and treatment of  young children with autism, will be the topic of the first 2009-2010 UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Distinguished Lecturer address on Wednesday, Oct. 14.

The address will be presented by Steven Warren, a senior scientist, professor of applied behavioral science and vice provost for research and graduate studies at the University of Kansas, at 4:30 p.m. in the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute auditorium, 2850 50th St., Sacramento.

Warren is internationally recognized for his contributions to understanding language development in children and his leadership in the field of developmental disabilities. He has conducted extensive research on early communication and language-intervention approaches and has published more than 120 papers, chapters, and books on these and related topics.

Warren’s major research interests are early communication and language development and intervention and the prevention of mental retardation. His Distinguished Lecturer address focuses on his research using a new device that is an extension of the LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) system, which Warren calls a “breakthrough technology.”  read more »

(NaturalNews) According to a U.S. government survey just published, rates of autism in children have doubled since 2003. Today, an estimated 1 in 91 children are being diagnosed with autism, making this the highest rate in any population in the history of human civilization. Meanwhile, the vaccination push in America continues, specifically targeting children with not just seasonal flu vaccines (which may contain thimerosal), but also the H1N1 swine flu vaccine.

It all begs the question: Is there a link between vaccines and autism?

In defending vaccines, many doctors have blamed autism on a genetic cause. But if it's genetic, why are rates skyrocketing so quickly? The gene pool obviously isn't changing that dramatically. There's no such thing as a "genetic epidemic." If genes caused autism, the rate of autism diagnosis should be holding steady year after year. Clearly, something else is at work, causing the sharp increase in autism.  read more »

"Shocking" new autism data released in the U.S. on Monday sent reverberations across the border and renewed calls for Canadian government agencies to get a grip on autism rates in this country.

The U.S. data found the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder has continued to increase, and now affects one per cent of children in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The CDC said it went public with the findings, because they were similar to those published Monday by the Boston-based medical journal Pediatrics, which found that ASD affected one in 91 children — including 1 in 58 boys — in the U.S.

"These data affirm that a concerted and substantial national response is warranted," said the CDC in a statement.

The published Pediatrics study, done by the Health Resources and Services Administration, surveyed by telephone 78,000 parents with children aged three to 17.

Suzanne Lanthier, of Autism Speaks Canada, said the U.S. data were "shocking" and should motivate Canadian health authorities to focus their energies on dealing with autism.

"We need to start paying attention to that, and putting significant resources into finding out why this is happening," said Lanthier.

Lanthier said Canada does not have similar national data on domestic autism rates.

Autism advocacy groups in Canada have relied on the previous 1-in-150 rate released by the CDC in 2007, said Lanthier.

"Given what we have seen, there is no reason to believe that Canadian rates would be significantly different from the U.S.," said Lanthier.

Canadian studies have pegged child ASD rates in Canada at between one in 147 and one in 165.

   read more »