The biomedical autism treatment movement for autism-spectrum disorders (ASD) got its start from an organization in San Diego, CA. called the Autism Research Institute, founded by the late Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. (1928-2006). Dr. Rimland had always felt that autism and its related disorders had its roots in biological causation (aka. biomedical) – meaning there was an underlying medical reason for a child’s autism, as opposed to the prevailing attitude that autism is just a neurodevelopment disorder.
After much study and research Dr. Rimland became an advocate for the use of high dose vitamin B6 along magnesium to support the biochemical challenges facing autistic individuals. This simple combination of nutritional supplements helped with many of the cognitive problems seen commonly in autism. In fact, in some autistic children, teenagers and adults who have tried this therapy it can work in helping to improve their eye contact and speech development, along with less hyperactivity and awareness deficits. Overtime, Dr. Rimland began to collaborate with like-minded professionals such as physicians who were also using vitamin and mineral therapies in their practices to assist the health of their chronically ill patients, some of whom were on the autism-spectrum. From these early efforts in biomedical autism treatment, the Defeat Autism Now organization was born.
From their original meetings in Dallas, Texas in 1995 has sprung forth a highly respected group of clinicians, researchers, and other health care professionals dedicated to researching and treating the various medical problems commonly seen in autistic individuals. Some of these issues include autoimmune disorders, digestive imbalances including inflammatory bowel disease, yeast and bacteria issues, metabolic disorders including detoxification and methylation deficits, heavy metal toxicity, and more. All of these fall under the biomedical autism treatment “umbrella.”
The Defeat Autism Now organization is to be commended for their dedication to helping unveil the health challenges of many autistic individuals, and for being champions in the face of unrelenting criticism from the traditional medical community. If it were not for Dr. Rimland and the other dedicated physicians and scientists who followed Dr. Rimland’s lead, the biomedical autism treatment movement would never have taken hold – and we would still be in the dark ages of autism treatment and research.
One of the unique events that takes place is something called the Defeat Autism Now conference. This conference is held twice yearly -once on the east coast and once on the west coast of the United States. These conferences are an incredible resource of information for parents and doctors seeking answers to the biomedical issues facing autism-spectrum individuals. The concepts of good diet, proper immune and digestive function, and the promotion of health and vitality are nothing new to the world of natural medicine, but the Defeat Autism Now group has been able to bridge this gap between the old paradigm of drug therapy and institutionalization, and ways to support the health and well-being of autistic individuals more naturally.
It is this biomedical autism treatment organization – which I am proud to be part of – that has been able to bring these health issues to the forefront of the autism epidemic which we now face. The traditional medical view that there is “nothing that can be done to help autistic individuals” is totally false and misleading. The Defeat Autism Now organization, through their research and treatment guidelines has proven immensely successful for many individuals. All that is required is for parents and/or physicians to open their minds and be willing to explore what biomedical autism treatment and intervention has to offer. Go here to find out about the next Defeat Autism Now conference.
Don’t let ANYONE tell you there is nothing you can do to help your child. Autism really is treatable! Start your child down the road to recovery from autism. Biomedical Autism treatments and therapies have resulted in many, many children improving – even losing their autism-spectrum disorder diagnosis. For more information and a free ebook on biomedical autism treatment go to http://www.AutismActionPlan.org