Meet Michael

Home: Los Gatos, California
Age: 3
Diagnosis: Autism
Favorites: Music, swings and slides at the park, running along the fence and hugging trees

Michael is a bright, cheerful and energetic three-year old, who at first impression appears like any other little boy of his age. He is very verbal, subject to the limitations of his disability. If you ask him just right, he can tell you his name, his age and his phone number. He knows our names and will notice you as well as say “Hi” if you look into his eyes. He has a great smile and puts his fingers in his ears if he doesn’t like what he hears. He knows a few songs, including “Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star” and “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple. He likes TV, but is always asking for “music on!”

Except for a little colic during his first three months, Michael reached every milestone on schedule, giving no cause for concern to his pediatrician or his parents. From an early age, Michael was a charmer. He would smile at everyone he met, was known as “the instigator” within his daycare class, and showed a lot of affection. Michael was twenty-months old when his little brother, Christopher, arrived. With hindsight, things were already starting to go awry. Michael never really acknowledged Christopher although he had shown great interest in Mom’s growing belly. There was no affection. His first words when he saw Christopher were “Bye-bye , baby.”, but that was about as far as it went.

As Michael reached two, the language he had acquired during his second year did not seem to explode as expected. Although he was rapidly and easily learning new words, we noticed he could not string them together into sentences. He was unable to answer questions, but instead would repeat the question back to you. Michael also remained uncoordinated, unable to do physical things that his peers seemed to have no trouble learning. He also became a fussy eater and meal times were a battle with Michael showing little interest in feeding himself. His diet was narrowly confined to bread and dairy products. He started to lose weight and developed bizarre hair that stood on end almost continuously. Looking back on his photographs, we are horrified by how sick Michael looked.

By now Michael was nearly two and a half, and after a very difficult visit to family in the UK, we realized that we needed to seek help. His pediatrician was extremely supportive and referred us to the Autism Clinic at UCSF. It was chilling to think that Michael may have autism. While we waited for our appointment we did a lot of research on the Internet, often finding diagnostic criteria convincing us that Michael was not autistic. We spent what turned out to be a very memorable and traumatic day at UCSF with Dr. Bryna Siegel and her team. There were a whole battery of assessments, tests and physical observations. The diagnosis was clear. There was no doubt that Michael had autism.

So what next? Once we had accepted the diagnosis, the most difficult thing was coming to terms with the prognosis, or lack thereof. If we did everything possible, did Michael have the potential to go to a regular school? Could he ever hold down a job, get married and live independently? “Come back in a year and then we will know more.” is all they could tell us. So we just moved into crisis mode and looked for every possible source of help and information. There’s a lot out there, but not all of it is easy to find. We learned that a good network is the best asset.

Because Michael was under three, he qualified for the excellent Early Start program. Michael started speech therapy followed by an intensive Applied Behavioral Approach (ABA) program and occupational therapy.

We had also looked at the Defeat Autism Now (DAN!) protocol which addresses various biomedical issues that affect children with autism, and decided to give it a try. Extensive biochemical analyses were performed which showed major vitamin deficiencies, high levels of heavy metals and a serious yeast infestation of his gut. Michael was put on high doses of vitamins, minerals and enzymes combined with multiple courses of anti-fungal medications.

We started a Gluten Free/Casein Free diet. For a kid who had lived on milk and toast for months, we thought he would starve. Yet removing the offending articles and working on the yeast dramatically improved his appetite. He sat and ate a bowl of Gluten Free Rice Krispies and asked for more¾ twice! The amazing thing was the effect on his hair. Within a week, it looked normal again. In preparation for some blood tests, we had to put him back on dairy for a couple of days and his hair went frizzy again overnight. He continues on his Gluten Free / Casein Free, low-sugar diet. He has gained weight, feeds himself and we are enjoying meal times again. Oh, and his hair has returned to normal as his photo shows. We still need to beat the yeast before moving onto the next step¾ chelation—a detoxification process that removes heavy metal toxins from the body.