Autism/My 7 yr old son.

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Expert: - 8/26/2008


Question
My son Gage is 7 yrs old and has PDD NOS. He has had OT,PT, and speech for 3 yrs and is in 1st grade at a public school. He has trouble staying on task and still has alot of echolalia so he is disturbing sometimes in class to his peers. He is having trouble with having to think for himself now. Like if he needs to come up with his own sentence or anything you have to think about instead of being taught. I don't know what else to do. I was thinking of taking him to a DAN doctor and see if a special diet or detoxing him would work. Do know if this is a good idea?

Answer
Hi Samantha,

I do not claim expertise concerning the dietary or detoxification treatment of autism or PDD. Some people do find a gluten free diet to the helpful. Food sensitivities are a problem for many people, autistic or not and it is worth exploring.

Your son's difficulties with original language are not unusual though I know they are distressing. Continued speech therapy can help with this.

I urge you to read a lot of information, both pro and con, before you decide. Here are a couple of web page links that offer still more links to articles to help you make an informed decision:

http://autism.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/u/treatmentsuserpath.htm (many links to traditional and newer treatments)

http://autism.about.com/b/2007/04/11/what-is-a-dan-defeat-autism-now-doctor.htm (a discussion of the DAN protocol)

Best wishes,
Catherine

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Catherine Ridenour

Expertise

I can answer your questions about parenting your High Functioning Autisic or Asperger`s Syndrome child. In particular, questions about family life, discipline, siblings, finding resources, and working with (sometimes opposing) the educational system are welcome.

Experience

I am the parent of an Asperger's Syndrome child who is now 22 years old. She went undiagnosed for 14 years of her life, so I have done extensive reading and Internet research into the possible cause of her difficulties. Even a short 8 years ago, A.S. was practically unheard of by the public educational system.

We fumbled our way through her childhood and early adolescence without any effective outside support. In some ways, that may have been a blessing as we were focused on her abilities rather than a label for her disability. However, I can think of many times when knowing WHY would have been comforting.

Had we known very early on, some social skills interventions might have made her life in school easier. At this point, I like her for who she is so I do not regret how things have turned out. More importantly, she likes herself.

Education/Credentials
I have a Bachelor of Science in Education.

I have worked to educate myself about Autism in general and HFA/AS in particular.

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