THE HEALING PROGRAM
What Parents Need to Know
What Kids Need to Do
The Healing Program consists of four essential elements, each of which includes a
number of therapeutic modalities. There is no one-size-fits-all Healing Program. It
is highly individualized, based upon clinical testing, symptoms, goals, and
reactions.
The program is synergistic. Each of the four elements reinforces the therapeutic
power of the other elements.
ELEMENT #1
NUTRITIONAL THERAPY
• Healthy foods must be eaten. This means that kids need to restrict their
diets mainly to nourishing, nutrient-dense, nonprocessed foods. Ideally, whole,
organic foods should be eaten, to increase nutrient intake and to reduce exposure
to toxins. Children must exclude tuna; avoid any meats that have been treated with
arsenic, hormones and antibiotics; and restrict foods with pesticides and
herbicides. Wholesome foods have an extraordinary ability to restore proper
metabolic function.
• Allergenic foods must be avoided. This includes foods that cause the
sometimes more subtle reactions of food sensitivities and food intolerances.
These allergenic foods can wreak neurological havoc. Allergy can be a direct or an
indirect trigger of symptoms of autism, ADHD, and asthma. It can create problems
throughout the body, and can cause serious metabolic malfunctions, including
neurological dysfunction.
• Yeast-proliferating foods must be avoided by some children, because
excess yeast, or candida, acting as a fungus in the intestines, harms digestion and
sends toxins to the body and brain. Many children improve immensely when yeast
problems are overcome. Overcoming yeast overgrowth is often one of the first
aspects of treatment.
• Foods that contain gluten and casein must be avoided by the children who
react negatively to these foods. This means no wheat, and no dairy products. In
some kids, these foods cause serious neurological and gastrointestinal
problems. Avoiding these foods can be very hard for some kids, because many
children literally become addicted to these foods, through an impaired digestive
process that creates opiate-like substances that reach the brain.
• Carbohydrates are limited for some kids, to stabilize their blood sugar, and to
improve the health of their gastrointestinal systems. Low blood sugar can trigger
and exacerbate some autistic and ADHD symptoms. This is very common.
Unfortunately, hypoglycemia is such a mundane condition, and is so common
among kids, that its power to cause problems is often overlooked.
ELEMENT #2
SUPPLEMENTATION THERAPY
• Detoxifying supplements, such as methyl-B-12, folinic acid, and
dimethylglycine, are tremendous for restoring the detoxifying process of
methylation. A nutrient called glutathione also often provides a tremendous boost
to detoxification. Because toxicity can be such an important causative factor in the 4-
A epidemics, this approach often has positive outcomes.
• Metabolism-supporting supplements – such as multivitamins, antioxidants,
and essential fatty acid supplements – kick-start the body’s repair. A vast
percentage of autistic children, and also those who suffer from the other 4-A
disorders, have notable deficiencies in particular nutrients. When these
deficiencies are resolved, kids often improve dramatically. Some kids also have
excesses of certain nutrients, however. That’s one more reason why it’s so
important to do the proper testing that helps to individualize each child’s program.
• Mitochondria enhancers, such as carnitine and coenzyme Q-10, stimulate the
proper function of the energy centers in cells. This can help to revitalize energy-
deprived cells in the body and brain, and sometimes helps reduce or overcome
autistic and ADHD symptoms. Many children who are diagnosed with the
inattentive subtype of ADHD are actually just deficient in certain basic, cell-
rejuvenating nutrients.
• Herbal supplements help kill the fungi, viruses, parasites, and bacteria that
can attack the body, and indirectly harm the nervous system. These supplements
are especially valuable for overcoming viruses, since the pharmaceutical options
against viruses are rather limited.
• Probiotics, such as acidophilus and bifidus, restore proper digestion, and
control yeast overgrowth. Almost all kids on antibiotics need to also be on
probiotics.
• Brain-supporting supplements, such as phosphatidylcholine and amino
acids, improve cognition and mood. Phosphatidylcholine is the brain’s main
carrier of thought and memory, and a deficit of it can have profoundly negative
effects on cognition. Many autistic and ADHD children are low in this nutrient, and
respond well to its administration.
ELEMENT #3
DETOXIFICATION
• Chelation therapy, an FDA-approved procedure for removing some heavy
metals, has helped trigger many recoveries by eliminating excessive mercury and
lead. It is considered controversial by many medical practitioners, but this therapy
has been generally demonstrated to be safe when performed properly, and is
believed by many integrative medical physicians to play an important role in healing,
by helping to alleviate acute metal toxicity. Many children do not begin to respond
positively to the Healing Program until they have eliminated a significant amount of
heavy metals.
• Methylation, once restored, can help rescue children from severe problems.
It can be boosted not only by supplements, but also by subcutaneous and
intravenous administration of specific substances. Kids also often improve when
we restore a similar detoxifying process known as sulfation.
• Supporting the organs of detoxification and elimination -- including the liver,
kidneys, colon, and skin – is very important, and can be achieved with
uncomplicated lifestyle techniques, such as drinking extra fluids, and sometimes
encouraging a child’s degree of sweating. As toxins exit the body, improvements in
behavior and cognition frequently occur.
ELEMENT #4
MEDICATION
Psychoactive medications, including antidepressants and neuroleptics, can help
restore imbalanced neurotransmitters, and can help a child to feel better and
behave better as the other elements of the child’s program achieve their effects.
When the other elements of the Healing Program take traction, these medications
can often be reduced or discontinued, under medical supervision.
• Antifungals, such as fluconazole, kill the yeast and other fungi that can harm
digestion, and send disruptive partial-proteins and other toxins from the gut to the
brain. Early in the history of autism treatment, factors such as yeast overgrowth
were dismissed as ancillary and unimportant, but it now seems clear that a
physical condition such as this can have indirect but powerful neurological
consequences.
• Antibiotics can help kill the bacteria lodged in the gut or elsewhere that can
impair immunity, and can trigger autoimmune responses. Some children cannot
recover until they have eliminated low-grade, subclinical, chronic infections. Certain
antibiotics also kill neurotoxic bacteria. However, antibiotics can also aggravate the
4-A disorders, if they are used improperly.
• Antivirals can help overcome the various viruses that disrupt proper
neurological, gastrointestinal, and immune function.
• Anti-inflammatories can directly fight inflammation in the brain, and can also
decrease gastrointestinal tract inflammation, which can strongly contribute to
impaired cognitive function. Anti-inflammatory medications are an excellent
complement to anti-inflammatory supplements, along with an anti-inflammatory diet.
• Highly individualized medications help various patients. These can include
drugs ranging from anticonvulsants to antihistamines. There is no single magic
medicinal bullet for any of the 4-A disorders, but a carefully chosen and monitored
medication program can be a valuable contributor to healing.
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