The Autism Revolution:
Empowered Parents, Recovered Children!
A revolution of miraculous proportions is taking place and the general public is largely unaware it is happening. Children are RECOVERING from autism! Led by determined, empowered parents, this revolution confronts conventional medical wisdom and decades of wrong-headed thinking about autism. Instead of blindly accepting the prognosis of a "lifetime" disorder with all its implications of a bleak future, these parents are instead forging a new path for medical and educational professionals to follow. Astoundingly, they are making once unheard of progress in the health and well-being of their children with autism. Children once destined for institutions and group homes now have bright futures complete with college and career choices. I should know. My son, Daniel, is fully recovered from autism and I am one of the determined, empowered parents who pioneered his recovery.
As empowered parents we have come to realize we are the link to our child's future. We are a legion of parents who have declared WAR on autism, determined to defeat its symptoms from all fronts with diet, as well as alternative treatments and therapies. While there are no guarantees on individual outcomes for a child afflicted with autism, our efforts have paid off with our children getting well by the hundreds, if not thousands. As our children recover, we have chipped away at one of the most spurious myths surrounding the autism diagnosis: "There is no hope, and no cure." We have found the answers for our children. Now it is time to bring this same message to other parents who still don't know that they too have the ability, and the responsibility, to be the difference in their child's life.
Our mainstream medical community has ingrained the public into believing two faulty premises:
1. Autism is a lifelong condition, characterized by behavior challenges that only respond to behavioral and educational treatments.
2. The medical professionals are the "experts" and parents should blindly follow their guidance to try nothing unless it has double-blind placebo studies that prove its effectiveness with these children. These studies are years, if not decades, in the making and are inspired to produce a pharmaceutical remedy for a financial gain.
To this we say, "Nonsense! Autism is treatable; the medical answers are out there!" It is not only the "lucky few" who recover from autism or improve significantly. However, unlike many other childhood disorders, effective autism treatment lies almost entirely in the hands of parents who are willing to become proactive leaders in finding the answers for their child. These parents, who go against the grain of mainstream thought, require extraordinary stamina, unwavering dedication and unfailing belief in their child. The "autism revolution" needs to occur as much within themselves - in how they view autism and their child - as in the outer community of professionals.
Parents in the autism community have also been led to believe that progress in a child with autism can only occur within a small window of opportunity, while the child is still young. My experience as a mentor to hundreds of parents proves this assumption false. It is never too late to turn the tide of autism and start the child on the road to better health, physical and social well-being, and possible recovery. Parents need to be told this and pediatricians need to embrace the proactive parent perspective.
Recovery in children with autism has not escaped the notice of U.S. health agencies. In a move that some might label strikingly unconventional, The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recently launched a study to illuminate this once unheard of phenomenon. This 2010 study will first identify children who at one time held a full autism diagnosis and now possess medical evidence of a loss of all or most autism symptoms. The study will then look into the role parents played in the child's path toward recovery.
