Neurotherapy and diet therapies help autistic child

Provided by Myrtle Beach Sun News on 3/12/2005
by Karen Garloch

CHARLOTTE, N.C. | Christiane Gram's infant son, a 41&Mac218;2-pound preemie, was 2 weeks old before she rocked him in the hospital nursery.

As she held him in her arms, she remembered the warmth of her firstborn, Haley, who curled up in a ball at her chest. Bobby arched his back and stiffened his limbs, outstretched like a startled crab.

When Bobby came home two weeks later, Christiane noticed that when she put him down for a nap, he rocked his head from side to side. Even at night, when she looked in, his head would shake in his sleep.

When Christiane asked about this, the pediatrician reassured her: Every child is different.

Bobby's differences piled up. He screamed and pitched toys across the room. He pulled out handfuls of his sister's hair. By the time he was 2, doctors had diagnosed several developmental disabilities, typical of what is now called Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The cause is unknown, and there is no cure. In recent years, diagnoses have soared, but officials aren't sure whether autism is becoming more common or there is just greater awareness. They're convinced identifying the problem early will help.

With no clear guidance, parents such as Christiane and Frank Gram of Matthews, N.C., are left to educate themselves about how to help.

Symptoms differ, and there is no single treatment for all children. The standard approach is structured education to modify behavior and teach life skills.

Many doctors prescribe drugs.

Christiane searched the Internet and found alternative approaches: dietary changes, nutritional supplements and chelation therapy.

By age 2, after intensive physical therapy, he could walk, but he started throwing tantrums.

Doctors in Georgia, where the Grams lived until the summer, diagnosed Bobby with attention-deficit (hyperactivity) disorder and sensory integration dysfunction, the brain's inability to correctly process information from the senses.

At a doctor's office, Christiane read an article about neurofeedback therapy. Days later, a flier arrived in the mail from Myra Preston, a Charlotte neurofeedback therapist.

They arrived in Preston's southeast Charlotte office in August, a month before Bobby turned 3. He was strapped into his stroller, screaming.

Preston recognized Bobby's behavior. She applied electrodes to his scalp, connecting him to a computer that beeped each time his brain responded correctly.

Five weeks later, Bobby seemed calmer and happier. Preschool teachers sent him home with smiley-face stickers instead of frowns.

Christiane continued her search. On the Internet, she found a site that recommended removing food additives and dyes from the diet.

She also learned about a conference near Cincinnati last October. Sponsored by the Great Plains Laboratory in Kansas, it was about treating autism with alternative therapies.

At the conference, she listened to biochemist William Shaw describe his ideas about why deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, excesses of heavy metals, and food allergies to wheat and dairy products could cause her child's symptoms.

Two weeks later, the Great Plains lab ran tests of Bobby's hair, blood and urine for $1,299. The results showed Bobby had toxic levels of mercury, arsenic and aluminum. He was allergic to eggs, chicken and turkey, and he was deficient in zinc, calcium and vitamin C.

Christiane followed Shaw's suggestions, changing Bobby's diet, adding the supplements.

In mid-November, four days after he started taking the pills, Bobby changed.

For the first time, he crawled into his mother's lap, wrapped his arms around her, looked straight into her eyes and kissed her on the lips.

Christiane wept.

Not long after, Bobby said the words she'd been waiting to hear for three years:

"I love you, Mommy."

Great Plains' Shaw claims to have seen many such transformations.

"The best results are obtained with the youngest children," he said. "If you get a child at 2 years old, you're much more likely to have a reversal compared to starting at 8."

Shaw knows it's controversial to suggest that the mercury from childhood vaccines could contribute to autism. Several studies have found no connection. But when metals are removed, through chelation therapy, he said he's seen symptoms improve.

Bobbie recently had chelation therapy added to his regimen, and he continues to improve.

"I'm not saying that he's perfect yet," Christiane said. "[But] he's not angry like he was. He's much happier. I just want to give him the very best start I can."


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