Moving on - whats next?
That's really up to you!
We understand this all is overwhelming right now; it's a perfectly normal reaction, but YOU CAN DO IT! We are here to help, as are many other parents, carers and supportive professionals out here in cyber-land.
You are about to study for the Autism Journey Degree, you'll wish you learned more in chemistry classes at school, and you'll defintely learn to surf the internet, efficiently and effectively.
There is no official qualification or graduation ceremony at the end of this 'course', actually there isn't even an end, new treatments and research studies are being developed all the time!
Your reward is improving the health of your child, which will impact on their behaviours, which after all, is all a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder really means.
Thats a diagnosis affecting 1 in 110 children in the UK (NAS Survey September 2005) - if it were any other diagnosis there would be public outrage, research and dedicated treatment clincs on the NHS by now. We have to help ourselves until the powers that be, finally see the light.
"All truth passes through three stages: first it is ridiculed, second it
is violently opposed, and third it is accepted as self-evident"
- Arthur Schopenhauer, 19th Century Philosopher
We have already have studies defining the medical issues these kids commonly have, we just need the right people to read them and act on the information. More is currently at data collection stage and even more is yet to be commissioned and funded. All these parents seeing remarkable improvements in thier children can't be wrong. Many have documented evidence to prove it! We don't do this to keep ourselves amused - we do it because it works, when you work out the key for your individual child.
Some naysayers claim sites like this raise false hope, but life without hope, isn't really living...... is it?
Autism IS Treatable!
Not all of our children will 'recover' but that shouldn't stop us trying to give our kids the best chance in life, making sure they are healthy, not in any pain and have the best quality of life we can give them. Read the Stories of Hope page for inspiration and please contact us if you are willing to share details of your child's journey.
(Whilst the focus of this site is biomedical interventions, that does not mean that we don't feel sensory and educational interventions are just as important, because we do, you need to cover all angles to get the best from the various modalities)
A Practitioner and laboratory investigations can help focus treatments, however, they will be guided by you and your observations before, during and after interventions, so remember that Log!
Many parents try dietary interventions as a next step (in addition to those in the Clean Up the Diet section). We provide an overview of some popular 'diets' in the intervention section and have an extensive list under Dietary Resources on the Links page. Removing one or more major food groups should not be taken lightly. Do your homework to ensure your child is not missing vital nutrients from food restrictions.
As help is currently unavailable on the NHS*, funding appointments, testing and supplementation is a concern for most families. Many set aside DLA payments to help cover costs. Companies like HSA will part fund appointments with various practitioners covered by the scheme. You can take positive steps even on a tight budget.
My real aim of sharing ideas on this suggested framework is to empower you. You need to understand this stuff even if you are working with world famous practitioners, to help them, to help you, to help your child. Not the nitty gritty biochemistry, but why a particular approach is suggested, what adjustments and reaction's you might see, possible side-effects, how to judge effectiveness. Much of this will come slowly over time. Go at your own pace, never be afraid to ask questions!
Don't expect to read things once and understand it all, keep at it, focus on an intervention that appears promising for your child, eventually it all starts making sense and you'll find yourself one day, sharing with another parent and thinking afterwards, gosh - I've finally got it!
The on-line video resources are particularly helpful for aiding understanding so be sure to check out the Free Video's section on the Links page.
A reminder, just in case you had forgotten:-
THIS IS A MARATHON NOT A SPRINT!
And folks that run marathons have to remember to pace themselves!
Good luck!
Mandi Rodwell
Proud mum of Tom, Joe and Sam
Running this marathon for 5 years now!
* We are not aware of any at this stage - if you are, please contact us. We do know of several who are pursuing applications for funding and sharing experiences.