Last week I found two links to websites I thought would
offer insights into possible causes and treatments for autism. Unfortunately, I
was disappointed. However, the information from these links is worth sharing
because both sites reveal bias and attitudes some scientists and doctors hold
regarding autism research. Moreover, they demonstrate the limitations in providing
care for patients with autism offered by those who ascribe to these viewpoints.
In the first article, “Autism Awareness Month: All The Things That Don’t Cause Autism,” microbiologist Dr. Alex Berezow condescendingly eliminates various potential causes of autism except genetics. This article, which was published April 5, 2018, on the website for the American Council on Science and Health, of which Dr. Berezow is Senior Fellow of Biomedical Science, uses inflammatory language to prove his point. Specifically he refers to one theory as being believed by “at least one lunatic” and notes that some parents “stink” at parenting skills. [To read this article, please click here.]
Especially incensed by the theory that vaccines cause autism, he attacks Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s “study” [Dr. Berzow’s use of quotation marks, not mine] as a “sham” and calls Dr. Wakefield a “fraud.” So certain is Dr. Berezow that no link exists between vaccines and autism, he asserts, “A substantial proportion of people refuse to accept the reality that vaccines do not cause autism.” Perhaps so many people disagree because his declaration may not be “reality.”
While Dr. Berezow goes on to name various environmental factors, such as immune factors, pollution, and pesticides, he believes that their effect upon autism is marginal. Moreover, he states that pesticides are “used at safe levels in the U.S.” and that the “U.S has some of the cleanest air in the world.” Perhaps he sees toxins as less of a threat to health than many autism parents do. Apparently, Dr. Berezow has autism all figured out–-it’s “50% to 95% genetic.” That strikes me as a wide range, and I’m curious as to what the other 50% to 5% may be. Finally, he warns those who fail to heed his infallible expertise regarding genetics as the only cause of autism: “Be skeptical of claims to the contrary.”
The second website also proved to be less than helpful. The Association for Science in Autism Treatment’s (ASAT) website purports to offer medical professionals “an array of resources that will keep you apprised of the state of the science with respect to the hundreds of treatments for autism, many of which are biomedical in nature.” [For a link to this website, please click here.] Despite their motto, “Real Science, Real Hope,” there doesn’t seem to be much hope offered on this website.
In the summaries of biomedical autism treatment, only one method is listed under “What works or needs more research”: selected medications, specifically psychotropic medications, such as Risperdal, Ritalin, Prozac, and Abilify. Recommending these drugs for severe aggression, hyperactivity, and other disruptive behaviors, this website notes that these medications are effective interventions for some people with autism. Certainly, medications can be helpful with difficult behaviors found in autism, but these medications can also have negative side effects, and offering only medications as biomedical treatment gives few options to doctors and their patients.
In contrast, twelve biomedical treatments are listed as “What doesn’t work or is untested”: anti-fungal and anti-yeast medication, chelation therapy, craniosacral therapy, herbs and homeopathic treatments, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, iridology, magnets, marijuana, neurofeedback therapy, secretin, special diets, as well as vitamin and supplement therapy. These methods are likely listed because anecdotal evidence shows that parents have found these methods helpful to their children with autism. However, this website destroys the credibility of each of these treatments one by one, explaining how they are of little or no use.
For example, anti-fungal medications to treat yeast infections in the digestive system have been critical to Alex’s health and well being when he has had Candida overgrowth, evidenced by thrush infection in his mouth. When he has yeast infections, he is irritable and agitated, probably because he doesn’t feel well. Nonetheless, ASAT discounts ant-fungal medication as “untested as a treatment for autism spectrum disorders” and suggests that medical professionals warn families about potential side effects of the medication.
Additionally, we pursued chelation therapy with Alex because he had high levels of the toxins arsenic, lead, and mercury in his system. However, ASAT states: “It is doubtful that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have high levels of heavy metals or that chelating agents would be effective in reversing neurological damage from metal exposure.” Furthermore, ASAT describes chelation therapy as “implausible and unacceptably risky” because it “may cause severe side effects and even death.” They conclude that chelation therapy is an “inappropriate treatment for autism spectrum disorders.” However, allowing toxic metals to remain in the body of a child with autism can also cause severe side effects and even death. To discount the possibility that toxic levels of heavy metals exist in children with autism is to ignore a serious health issue. Doctors need at least to test for heavy metal toxicity before discounting chelation therapy.
Another treatment method ASAT discourages is special diets, such as the gluten-free and casein-free diet, based upon two studies that “found no evidence of benefit from the gluten-free, casein-free diet.” Furthermore, ASAT states, “There is a risk that removing gluten and casein from an individual’s diet will lead to inadequate nutrition…” Consequently, ASAT recommends, “Professionals should present diets as untested as a treatment for autism spectrum disorders…”This stance fails to recognize that many children with autism have allergies or sensitivities to glutens found in grains and caseins found in milk products and benefit from removing these foods from their diets. Certainly, people with autism should be tested for gluten and casein intolerance before dismissing special diets as treatment for autism. Moreover, the study I cited in last week’s blog entry indicates that special diets prove quite beneficial for people with autism; apparently, ASAT has not yet read that extensive research report.
Similarly, that same research report cites the value of vitamin and mineral supplements, yet ASAT does not recommend nutritional supplements to treat autism. Specifically, they describe vitamin B6, magnesium, and omega 3 fatty acids as “ineffective in changing behavior.” Additionally, they note that vitamin B12 and carnitine show “little evidence of positive effects on behavior.” Perhaps they need to do more extensive research before discounting the value of nutritional supplements instead of relying on only a few studies. In addition, people with autism should be tested for nutritional deficiencies before determining they will not benefit from vitamin, mineral, essential fatty acid, and amino acid supplements.
Essentially, ASAT offers only one biomedical treatment––psychotropic medications––while dismissing several other treatments that may, indeed, be helpful to patients with autism. By encouraging medical professionals not to recommend these treatments to their patients with autism, families may miss out on methods that would help their children with autism. Until a definitive cause of autism can be established (and unlike Dr. Berezow, not everyone is convinced genetics is the only cause), patients with autism should have a variety of treatments available to address their various medical and nutritional needs. The availability of simple tests to assess medical conditions commonly found in autism, such as yeast overgrowth, heavy metal toxicity, food allergies, and vitamin deficiencies, makes diagnosing these issues easy. However, doctors must be willing to look for medical causes of behaviors found in autism and be willing to treat them with those methods ASAT discounts as “untested” or “unsupported by research.”
When people with autism have proper medical treatment and can regain their health, they are likely to feel better, behave better, and learn better. Despite the scientific training of those like Dr. Berezow and the medical professionals behind ASAT, they fail to see that medicine is an art as well as a science. Patients with autism must be treated as individuals whose needs should be evaluated and addressed. Ignoring medical problems not only hinders their progress, but it also impairs their quality of life. Consequently, parents must advocate for their children’s health with their children’s doctors to make certain they receive necessary treatments, seeking the healing they so desperately need, and remembering that God’s healing power is not limited by research studies.
In the first article, “Autism Awareness Month: All The Things That Don’t Cause Autism,” microbiologist Dr. Alex Berezow condescendingly eliminates various potential causes of autism except genetics. This article, which was published April 5, 2018, on the website for the American Council on Science and Health, of which Dr. Berezow is Senior Fellow of Biomedical Science, uses inflammatory language to prove his point. Specifically he refers to one theory as being believed by “at least one lunatic” and notes that some parents “stink” at parenting skills. [To read this article, please click here.]
Especially incensed by the theory that vaccines cause autism, he attacks Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s “study” [Dr. Berzow’s use of quotation marks, not mine] as a “sham” and calls Dr. Wakefield a “fraud.” So certain is Dr. Berezow that no link exists between vaccines and autism, he asserts, “A substantial proportion of people refuse to accept the reality that vaccines do not cause autism.” Perhaps so many people disagree because his declaration may not be “reality.”
While Dr. Berezow goes on to name various environmental factors, such as immune factors, pollution, and pesticides, he believes that their effect upon autism is marginal. Moreover, he states that pesticides are “used at safe levels in the U.S.” and that the “U.S has some of the cleanest air in the world.” Perhaps he sees toxins as less of a threat to health than many autism parents do. Apparently, Dr. Berezow has autism all figured out–-it’s “50% to 95% genetic.” That strikes me as a wide range, and I’m curious as to what the other 50% to 5% may be. Finally, he warns those who fail to heed his infallible expertise regarding genetics as the only cause of autism: “Be skeptical of claims to the contrary.”
The second website also proved to be less than helpful. The Association for Science in Autism Treatment’s (ASAT) website purports to offer medical professionals “an array of resources that will keep you apprised of the state of the science with respect to the hundreds of treatments for autism, many of which are biomedical in nature.” [For a link to this website, please click here.] Despite their motto, “Real Science, Real Hope,” there doesn’t seem to be much hope offered on this website.
In the summaries of biomedical autism treatment, only one method is listed under “What works or needs more research”: selected medications, specifically psychotropic medications, such as Risperdal, Ritalin, Prozac, and Abilify. Recommending these drugs for severe aggression, hyperactivity, and other disruptive behaviors, this website notes that these medications are effective interventions for some people with autism. Certainly, medications can be helpful with difficult behaviors found in autism, but these medications can also have negative side effects, and offering only medications as biomedical treatment gives few options to doctors and their patients.
In contrast, twelve biomedical treatments are listed as “What doesn’t work or is untested”: anti-fungal and anti-yeast medication, chelation therapy, craniosacral therapy, herbs and homeopathic treatments, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, iridology, magnets, marijuana, neurofeedback therapy, secretin, special diets, as well as vitamin and supplement therapy. These methods are likely listed because anecdotal evidence shows that parents have found these methods helpful to their children with autism. However, this website destroys the credibility of each of these treatments one by one, explaining how they are of little or no use.
For example, anti-fungal medications to treat yeast infections in the digestive system have been critical to Alex’s health and well being when he has had Candida overgrowth, evidenced by thrush infection in his mouth. When he has yeast infections, he is irritable and agitated, probably because he doesn’t feel well. Nonetheless, ASAT discounts ant-fungal medication as “untested as a treatment for autism spectrum disorders” and suggests that medical professionals warn families about potential side effects of the medication.
Additionally, we pursued chelation therapy with Alex because he had high levels of the toxins arsenic, lead, and mercury in his system. However, ASAT states: “It is doubtful that individuals with autism spectrum disorder have high levels of heavy metals or that chelating agents would be effective in reversing neurological damage from metal exposure.” Furthermore, ASAT describes chelation therapy as “implausible and unacceptably risky” because it “may cause severe side effects and even death.” They conclude that chelation therapy is an “inappropriate treatment for autism spectrum disorders.” However, allowing toxic metals to remain in the body of a child with autism can also cause severe side effects and even death. To discount the possibility that toxic levels of heavy metals exist in children with autism is to ignore a serious health issue. Doctors need at least to test for heavy metal toxicity before discounting chelation therapy.
Another treatment method ASAT discourages is special diets, such as the gluten-free and casein-free diet, based upon two studies that “found no evidence of benefit from the gluten-free, casein-free diet.” Furthermore, ASAT states, “There is a risk that removing gluten and casein from an individual’s diet will lead to inadequate nutrition…” Consequently, ASAT recommends, “Professionals should present diets as untested as a treatment for autism spectrum disorders…”This stance fails to recognize that many children with autism have allergies or sensitivities to glutens found in grains and caseins found in milk products and benefit from removing these foods from their diets. Certainly, people with autism should be tested for gluten and casein intolerance before dismissing special diets as treatment for autism. Moreover, the study I cited in last week’s blog entry indicates that special diets prove quite beneficial for people with autism; apparently, ASAT has not yet read that extensive research report.
Similarly, that same research report cites the value of vitamin and mineral supplements, yet ASAT does not recommend nutritional supplements to treat autism. Specifically, they describe vitamin B6, magnesium, and omega 3 fatty acids as “ineffective in changing behavior.” Additionally, they note that vitamin B12 and carnitine show “little evidence of positive effects on behavior.” Perhaps they need to do more extensive research before discounting the value of nutritional supplements instead of relying on only a few studies. In addition, people with autism should be tested for nutritional deficiencies before determining they will not benefit from vitamin, mineral, essential fatty acid, and amino acid supplements.
Essentially, ASAT offers only one biomedical treatment––psychotropic medications––while dismissing several other treatments that may, indeed, be helpful to patients with autism. By encouraging medical professionals not to recommend these treatments to their patients with autism, families may miss out on methods that would help their children with autism. Until a definitive cause of autism can be established (and unlike Dr. Berezow, not everyone is convinced genetics is the only cause), patients with autism should have a variety of treatments available to address their various medical and nutritional needs. The availability of simple tests to assess medical conditions commonly found in autism, such as yeast overgrowth, heavy metal toxicity, food allergies, and vitamin deficiencies, makes diagnosing these issues easy. However, doctors must be willing to look for medical causes of behaviors found in autism and be willing to treat them with those methods ASAT discounts as “untested” or “unsupported by research.”
When people with autism have proper medical treatment and can regain their health, they are likely to feel better, behave better, and learn better. Despite the scientific training of those like Dr. Berezow and the medical professionals behind ASAT, they fail to see that medicine is an art as well as a science. Patients with autism must be treated as individuals whose needs should be evaluated and addressed. Ignoring medical problems not only hinders their progress, but it also impairs their quality of life. Consequently, parents must advocate for their children’s health with their children’s doctors to make certain they receive necessary treatments, seeking the healing they so desperately need, and remembering that God’s healing power is not limited by research studies.
“Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous
signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:30
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