Case study: T was adopted, and possibly vaccinated two times, once in his country of birth and once upon entry to the US. He presented with PDD.NOS (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified) when I evaluated him.

I was called into see him to perform an auditory integration training evaluation (HERE) for info- and immediately referred the mom to a DAN physician. Parents of recovered children are always tortured, fiercely loving, tenacious and dangerous. (I am one-so I know the profile well!) Dangerous, meaning they will do anything they can to help their children improve.

This child saw a great DAN! doc for info-and was doing well, but still had many deficits. Recovery is a process, just like rehab from a million other neurological illnesses.

I suggested she read about epsom salts, based on Susan Owens work in sulfation chemistry.

Here was the progress report. (Printed with parental permission.)

Hey Ronna,

I know how excited you get when you hear from parents who give you glimmers of hope that their child is on the way to recover. I just have to tell you that T had one of his best weeks at school. Don’t get me wrong…we still have issues with focus, and lack of attentiveness. But, he was in a really good mood and received smiley faces all week; his focus in computer lab Thursday was one of his best ever finished his work early so had time to play on starfall. And then, here is what I found absolutely amazing…last night he was going to the bathroom and he said his tummy hurt and he said maybe after I’m done we can go upstairs and I can take a bath with that stuff and I can lay down in the tub. I said T does the Epsom salt make you feel better he said “yes it makes my tummy feel better, can I take a bath and lay down in the tub”?

Ronna, he has NEVER asked me to take a bath and he has NEVER lain down on his back with his head in the water. He ever wants the water to cover his ears. This is fascinating. He is also asking me when he sees me doing housework hey, Mom can I help you put clothes in the washer? Mom, can I help you run the sweeper. This is just unbelievable. And, it’s only been since May 6th that I started the Epsom salt I’m still using 1 cup Epsom salt for 30 minutes each day.

Also, on another note…we had his transition meeting with Generic Area School District and the Private school he is currently attending. This was to go over the ER and all the testing they had done. It was a very interesting meeting. I think T surprised everyone with his test results. His overall early academic and language ability as his knowledge of letters and numbers related to pre-reading and pre-math skills were significantly stronger than his vocabulary skills. His standard score on the early academic and language skills composite is higher than 42% of the children in the national norm group. He scored an amazing 124 in letter and work skills which blew everyone away. He does have scattered skills which is what makes him unique. But overall, everyone at the meeting could see that this little guy has made tremendous progress and continues to make gains. I told them this isn’t any surprise, we’ve been at biomedical since he was two and we got a jump start. We have way to go but I think they all saw something in T they aren’t use to seeing and that is real hope for “recovery”! They even commented that his original diagnosis really doesn’t fit and that was PDDNOS they feel he is definitely more towards Aspergers which again doesn’t surprise us since we see his diagnosis shifting as he heals.

I guess I’m just stunned that something as simple as an Epsom salt bath could help bring on more language, change mood, stopped the licking of his hands, the uncontrollable body movements aren’t as bad, he is still a little antsy but overall we definitely have seen a change and for him to verbalize it is icing on the cake! I’ll also be interested to see what the test results are from the urine organic acid test; and the cdsa; that you recommended when we visit Dr. B Either way, if it’s a yeast issue or neurotransmitter issue the Epsom salt baths seem to be helping.

So, somebody add Sulfur to your list of research studies. Specifically targeting maybe nerve conduction and also pre and post Bruinicks Oseretsky Tests of Motor Proficiency, and I'll bet we might have some statistical significance....A geek can dream.

Ronna Hochbein, OTR/L mom, fervent DAN student

The treatment category is sponsored by Lee Silsby, the leader in quality compounded medications for autism.