AUTISM RECOVERY: IT'S NOT JUST FOR JENNY McCARTHY

Merry Christmas from all of us at Age of Autism. Our gift to you? HOPE.

By Ronna Hochbein, OT

Tales from the Pediatric Frontlines: Once upon a time, a fantastically beautiful little girl arrived into the world. Her parents were thrilled with their firstborn child. Then, something happened. (This ain't Mary Higgins Clark. Bet you all can quote what's ahead.)

She came to the world as an emergency C-section, as the little darling was breech. She developed severe allergic colitis, had bloody stools, GERD, and everybody say it together now---:frequent sinusitis and ear infections!" With tubes!

Therapists came in droves to her aid; PT, OT and Speech and wraparound galore. Upon seeing my little friend for the first time, she wandered aimlessly, had no words. Cried to express her needs and transition tantrums were ahem, frequent. She couldn’t sit for more than ten seconds, and did not respond to her name. She responded to changes in head position with death-like fear (i.e. fight or flight response due to postural insecurity.)

Her warrior mom did not accept her daughter's fate.

The diagnosis was proclaimed at our local Children's hospital, where I am told the diet may still be a curse word. But I digress…. Her mom met me….the obsessive biomedical OT, and also contacted Talk About Curing Autism Now.

And read as much as she could get her hands on. Driving her daughter out of state, 7 hours, she began the process all too familiar to the readers of this blog. Casein free, Gluten free, supplements, HBOT and anti-fungals, anti-biotics, therapeutic listening.

Guess what? She's back.

Her return was not an overnight ordeal. Each wobbly developmental step led down the winding road to recovery. The very same hospital issuing the diagnosis retracted it. Here she is.

Comments

[Lisa Coville, OTR]

Hi Ronna. Just wanted to thank you for this entry. I, too, am a peds OT and passionate about sharing the biomedical options out there for families. In February, I will have the opportunity to share the "OT" perspective on autism to approximately 200 therapists & para professionals. Do you have any words of wisdom on how I might interject this subject matter?

Of course, I'll be speaking to the whole sensory issue that we so address. But I'm not certain how to blend that with the biomedical treatments in my lecture. How else do you see your role as an OT in this changing world of autism??

I'm interested to hear your perspective.
Thanks so much!
Wishing you an amazing 2008!

Lisa