To jypsy -

"I had some further thoughts on whether perhaps "remission" might be a more accurate description (or at least "my word" for what you are talking about), in the way Relapsing Remitting MS can have relapses "triggered", and an analogy of alcoholics being "in recovery" or "recovering" but never "recovered", just a trigger (drink) away from alcoholic..."

Jypsy, I am going to wager a guess here and say that no, its not the same thing as being in remission. Because while some have seen that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, the rest of us are still trudging towards it. I have personally emailed some parents of recovered kids just to find out where their kids are at. Most say their kids are on a few supplements (few means literally a few probably under 10 a day and things like CLO, multivitamin and B-12, some probiotics). They eat better food, organic, and they keep their homes green. All these families live better, they have seen the light and moved on. After this there is no going back to "the way things were." Its well nigh impossible I would think. Some do need to be gfcf, or SCD. There are families that allow their kids the occasional pizza with enzymes.

That said, one or two families have said that their "recovered" kids regress on exposure to toxins, say chemicals at school BUT these families are not done yet. They are still doing treatments and they have not stopped. The decision to stop is again a personal one, these treatments cost an arm and a leg and this is mostly not covered by insurance. That might help explain why parents are on here and on other blogs to spread the word (because come to think of it, there's really nothing in this for us) that prevention of vaccine injury is the best cure of all.

rileysmom
"You're too busy being sarcastic to understand what I'm trying to say."
No, I'm not being at all sarcastic. I'm sorry you're reading me that way.
"Why is it people like you come here and feel free to cut those of us that have hope in their child down?"
Where have I done that?
"But why would you say such things?"
What things??
"What is your personal gain in sqealching the dreams of parents for their children? "
How am I doing that?
"If you don't believe what Jenny McCarthy has to say and you truly believe your child was "born" autistic than this may not be the group for you to come to."
I never said anything about not believing Ms. McCarthy.
If we go back to my last message, and the religious analogy, should a Jew never talk to a Christian? Are we enemies because of our beliefs?
I never said anything about your son or anyone else's. I said *my* children were born autistic. How is that statement any less valid than your statement "I know my son was vaccine injured"?
I would ask you to please read what I wrote, not read *into* what I wrote, or just totally ignore me. Your accusations are unjustified & unnecessary.

As I just said "For now, thank you for the time you've taken in your attempts to answer my questions."

I don't need to be personally attacked or accused of things I never said or did. I'm sorry we couldn't just discuss.

ObjectiveAutismDad
"No one said "...myelin is being repaired...", except you."

Quite right. I'm sorry, my mistake. What was said was that demyelination was stopped. I think I was thinking that with demyelination in a child's brain that child would be affected, as I am and others with MS are. Therefor "recovery" would mean healing those spots. No one said that kids with loss of myelin can "recover" (or that "all kids" can recover). I apologize again for putting words in anyone's mouth.

Managing Editor
I was referring more to the posters/commenters than the readers. Obviously I am a reader. I don't understand your religious analogy. I would say that I am happy in my beliefs and have no interest in converting you (all) or in being converted. We have very different beliefs. As I have stated, I came here seaking to understand the words and meanings being used by those who share your beliefs. It seems we share the same words ("cure", "recovering", "recovered", "neurotypical") but they don't have the same meanings. I don't think anyone would (should?) condemn a Jew asking for understanding of Christianity's lingo or visa versa. I don't think having different beliefs makes people enemies.

"If you like us and can learn from what you read and have positive comments to add, you're welcome here."
I don't dislike you (all), if I gain the understanding I came looking for I will have learned, if I'm at all out of line, please don't hesitate to take it up with me directly. Have I been negative or baiting? I don't believe I have.

ObjectiveAutismDad
Comparing autism rates that predate autism entry into the DSM with ASD rates today is comparing apples to sheep. I will indeed spare you further comment :)

Autism mom
If I stop the meds, I have more seizures. I take seizure meds to try to prevent seizures.
"Whether you would like to call it cure or recovery is immaterial" -- I think this is getting to the heart of why I'm here. You seem to be saying the words are not important. As I've stated, I came seeking to understand the words and the meaning you folks have given them.
"What is pertinent is the quality of life of the individual - physically, mentally, emotionally." Absolutely! So, what you may call "cured" or "recovered" I might call "happy, healthy, well adjusted, autistic"
Again, I'm not interested in *judging* words, I'm here to *understand* them and their use.
I'm also well aware of the prevalence of MS in the Northern Hemisphere (I'm on PEI, not in NS) and the various theories, treatments etc etc. Thank you. I have lived with MS for almost 30 years. There's also a proportionally large number of teachers with MS, as compared to other professions and it affects far more women than men (just a couple of factoids...I'm a woman but not, professionally, a teacher)

I had some further thoughts on whether perhaps "remission" might be a more accurate description (or at least "my word" for what you are talking about), in the way Relapsing Remitting MS can have relapses "triggered", and an analogy of alcoholics being "in recovery" or "recovering" but never "recovered", just a trigger (drink) away from alcoholic... but I'm not quite articulate enough at the moment to flesh out these thoughts. If I ever do, and you are interested, I'll share them.
For now, thank you for the time you've taken in your attempts to answer my questions.

To jypsy -

"....a subject I'm rather intimate with having had MS more than half my life..."

On the topic of MS and living in Nova Scotia, you may or may not have come across this:

http://www.industryinet.com/~ruby/light_full_spectrum.html

"Research by Reuven Sandyk, MD, who practises medicine in Connecticut, shows that long-term deprivation from sunlight exposure increases the risk of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease through depressed secretion of the hormone melatonin by the brain's pineal gland. This appears to explain the south-north gradient in the incidence of MS: the farther from the equator, the more common it is. [99] All the MS patients he tested had extremely low melatonin levels and their pineal glands were calcified, or hardened."

If you read the site you will find a reference to melatonin reduction that relates to zinc deficiency, both of which nearly all kids on the autism spectrum need. Sometimes the line between genetics and the environment becomes blurred but that's no excuse for not trying to treat, or at the very least, to make it better to see where it takes you.

jypsy,

I obviously can't speak for everyone here -- and neither can anyone else. But I don't think there are very many people here, and not in the scientific community either that would think that autism is a strictly genetic connection. You can't go from an incidence on the order of 2-3 in 10,000 to less than 1 in 150 in a generation and expect that it's genetics only. That's not rational. And for those who would raise the better diagnosis response to that statement: spare me, that argument has been so debunked as to be ridiculous.

I think the same is true of the vaccines vs environment as a whole. There is certainly more than one way to get exposed to heavy metals: airborne mercury, dental fillings, too much of the wrong fish at the wrong time, etc.

jypsy,

No one said "...myelin is being repaired...", except you. I think the point that was being made is that the when the damage is no longer being done, the brain can "recover" by establishing other pathways (as has been established by brain research). It's well established that heavy metals damage myelin. If you can remove the heavy metals (and whatever else might be damaging the myelin) then the damage won't continue to expand.

That said, some stem cell research seems to indicate that myelin can be "repaired" in effect by allowing the development of new healthy brain cells.

Jyspy, here's our charter at Age of Autism. You can read the full piece at "From our Editor" (Dan Olmsted) on the left sidebar.

Welcome to The Age of Autism, the the nation's first daily Web newspaper for the environmental-biomedical community – those who believe autism is an environmentally induced illness, that it is treatable, and that children can recover...

@ jypsy -

"My children are not vaccine injured. My children are autistic and have been autistic from birth. I am not, and never said I was "interested in recovery". If only those "interested in recovery" are welcome here, I will take my leave."

Let me ask you this jypsy. Did your children get the Hep B shot at birth? If they did then being "autistic from birth" holds no water. You really have no way to tell whether they were autistic at birth or not.

Also, have you been vaccinated in your lifetime? Were you autistic from birth as well?

Were your parent/s autistic from birth?

There are tipping points to defects in methylation, sulphation, immune problems, gut issues. Someone, somewhere, somehow, tipped over. What the parents on here have found that the vaccine explosion has had a huge role to play in triggering the disorder. We can see before/ after scenarios as clearly as day and night, well most of us. Others have found their kids slipping away after each round of shots. I remember clear reaction after the shots in my son too. Others don't recall clear declines. It varies.

The only point to be made here is that you can recover the brain, nervous system, immune system, gut issues or at least make the kids better (there are a few tough nuts that have not seen any gains as well) if you have the stomach for it. As Deb in IL suggested, you can go to an Autism conference. The DAN! conference has a free webcast that you can register for and watch past presentations if you like. There is really nothing to hide and there is no big secret.

And the other place to learn would be Amy Yasko's group www.ch3nutrigenomics.com, its what helped me wrap my brain around my son's disorder. Before that I didn't know what the heck was happening with my son. It might be a good idea to run some SNPs to see what you find by way of your and your kids' genetics. See what's going on with your methylation perhaps. We got important clues at our end that made a huge difference for us.

Oh and on recovery vs cure, some people take seizure meds for seizures. Half of America is on Rx medication for chronic disease. Well our supplements and our special diets are our "meds," if you will. We, at our end, don't quite understand what the hullabaloo is about. That you can alter the diet and take supplements instead somehow seems to be a bad thing, that Jenny McCarthy ought to be bashed for being "dangerous." Now that's just weird to us :).

Jypsy,
Point taken. However, I'd like to point out to you that the people on this site that post on a regular basis are GOOD people and deserve to know if they are wasting their PRECIOUS time answering questions from you, when they could be RECOVERING their child. If you're not serious about recovery or helping you or your children than don't waste anyones time.
When I see someone posting on a hate site about Jenny's intentions for her child what do you expect people to think of you? Jenny doesn't always speak for me but God knows I take it with a grain of salt because at the least she has the balls to go on TV and speak for EVERY vaccine injured child...that includes yours. If you don't like what she has to say then turn the channel. WOW that would be soooo simple now wouldn't it?

Janet Norman-Bain aka: jypsy

http://www.autismvox.com/mccarthys-er-autism-pole/

You come to this site dripping with your sarcastic mouth and then plead that you're just your average "Janet" looking for answers. Then run over to the autsimvox site and spew disgusting things. Check out the dates on the site too. Or was that your son that made those comments about Jenny on that site? Talking about how Jenny excepted Babs apology? Yep, that washed up pus bag hag should apologize to Jenny and millions of other parents because of her self centered rudeness. She's a "has been" and she knows Jenny is in her prime so she took out her anger at not spending the "money" she's earned to help her own sister. She knows she should have done right by her sister and failed miserably so she took it out on Jenny and millions of other parents that are doing their best for their child. She owes more than Jenny an apology.
Now go back to your hate blog and stay there.

Jypsy, thanks very much for clarifying. We have many ND readers from the Autism Hub who go to great lengths to discredit us on their own blogs. It's my job as Managing Editor to look out for my readers. We are happy to answer honest questions. Autism is treatable. Children are recovering. Welcome to Age of Autism as a reader.

Best,

Kim Stagliano

"So...
he was autistic?
He is no longer autistic?
He is not cured of autism?
What is the difference (in reality, not analogy) between "recovered from autism" and "cured of autism"?"

You are exactly right. This mother went online and researched and found other families with children like her own. She found out what they were doing to save their children, what they were doing so that their children no longer were considered "autistic." They no longer were heavy metal toxic, they did not have viruses and bacteria from vaccines swimming in their veins, they no longer had an auto-immune reaction in their bodies i.e., their own cells were not attacking their bodies eating away at the myelin in their brains. What this mother did after listening to these families and getting in to see DAN! doctors was to strip away and remove the heavy metals (even though she did not actively chelate, you can remove heavy metals naturally by using anti-virals to detox viruses and heavy metals that are bound together - exactly as they come in those vaccine vials that parents want so desperately to be cleaned up), remove the viruses and bacteria that were suppressing the immune system and preventing it from shedding its toxic load. And treating the GI tract of its share of toxins by virtue of all that vile vaccine filth that had passed through it.

Please recognize that when mercury and other neurotoxins such as aluminum enter the blood stream they create an environment whereby latent infections in the DNA are triggered. Or these vaccines contain pathogens because they are unclean, nobody but nobody has looked at a vaccine such as the MMR to see what vile filth is floating in it along with the viruses it is supposed to contain. Standard medical tests are incapable of finding, identifying, and treating a child of these infections. If you can't see it, you can't treat it, and hence the child is left in a state beleaguered by these unknown pathogens. You still need to provide support to sustain this once healthy immune system, you still need to keep a keen eye on the GI tract in order that it does not get compromised and thereby have these infections gain an upper hand on the child once again. Do you understand this?

Have you begun to get an appreciation of what is meant by recovery vs cure. These are kids that have been irrevocably damaged by mainstream medicine, and are left to the parents to take care of because there is no way mainstream medicine can even begin to recognize the extent of the damage it has done. All of its practitioners need to hang their heads in shame for damaging 2-3 generations of children and in the face of all that, refusing to recognize the damage they have done. And then to come on here and to let loose frivolous statements of the kind you have done does not behove very well or sit well with parents. I think you owe us an apology, but don't bother if you truly are not in the least bit apologetic. Not everyone understands this and not everyone can be expected to understand this either.

Our commenter jypsy is a member of the neurodiversity blogging group called "Autism Hub." He included his link to his blog for us to click through. No one is outing him. He is well aware of what neurotypical means and is attempting to draw readers into a conversation. Feel free to answer him, just as he is free to comment here. But be aware of where he is coming from. And remain polite. Thank you.

Kim

"Can anyone explain what she meant when she said her son is not "cured" of autism and is "neurotypical"?"

He presents as neurotypical but needs to remain on a special diet and supplements (unsure how many) to support his body. So recovered - but not cured.

There have been a few cures though. With classical homeopathy. See www.impossiblecure.com

@ jypsy (Can anyone explain what she meant when she said her son is not "cured" of autism and is "neurotypical"?)-
Cure is the wrong verbage to use, recover is a better choice because you can recover from an injury. Cure is focusing on a disease, condition, cancer, etc. Recover is healing an injury or trauma.
Neurotypical means there are no unusual neurological problems (speaks appropriately, no spinning, no toe-walking, etc).

Can anyone explain what she meant when she said her son is not "cured" of autism and is "neurotypical"?
Thank You.

This article might be interesting, regarding environmental contribution to Autism.

Ha Ha Ha!!! I wonder if they used warm water? I did that years ago to raise money for a homeless shelter in our area and trust me THE WATER WAS FREEZING!!!
I'm so glad that Jenny did this. It shows that she does care about everyone, not just autsim. It shows she has a huge heart. I can probably bet she gave from her own pocket for the breast cancer awareness because that's the kind of person I believe her to be.