Arnie (in the
brown jacket) fixing a local pothole
Source: https://twitter.com/Schwarzenegger/status/1645886847342743552
Some actors can
act and some cannot
I recently went to see Keanu Reeves in
John Wick Chapter 4 with both of my sons. Big brother thought it was great, like a three-hour non-stop video game with Keanu Reeves laying waste to hundreds of villains. My
view was that there was almost no dialogue. I have more dialogue with Monty,
aged 19 with classic autism, than Reeves has in this film. It was rather like watching
a film with Sylvester Stallone or indeed Arnold Schwarzenegger. For Monty I think the best part was probably the popcorn.
Big brother told me that Arnie can
act, that is why he also made films like Kindergarten Cop. That apparently is acting.
There is no doubt though that Arnie is
a man of action, as well as being an action man.
I just got a link to him fixing a
local pothole. It is on his twitter
feed. Not quite sure why I received it.
I forwarded the link to Monty’s Big
Brother.
What does Dad have in common with
Arnie? We both go out and fix the
pothole outside our house – the one that nobody wants to come and fix.
In our case I brought several bucket
loads of steaming hot asphalt to fix the road. Arnie and his helpers used a few
bags of cold repair asphalt – which looks a lot less bother.
When I went twice in search of asphalt, I explained to the road crews laying asphalt with a big machine that I just
wanted a few bucket loads to repair an annoying hole in the road in front of
our house. Both times the initial story was “you can’t do that ... you cannot
fix the road yourself”. My approach, like Arnie’s, was “just watch me”. The second time one of the road crew actually
came to help. Since then the whole road
has been resurfaced, so my asphalting days are likely over.
Doom Scrolling
Even if you are not aware of the
term "doom scrolling", if you have a smartphone you are probably already doing
it.
Doom
scrolling
The
practice of obsessively checking online news for updates, especially on social
media feeds, with the expectation that the news will be bad, such that the
feeling of dread from this negative expectation fuels a compulsion to continue
looking for updates in a self-perpetuating cycle.
It is similar to the echo chamber
In news media and social media, an echo chamber
is an environment or ecosystem in which participants
encounter beliefs that amplify or reinforce their pre-existing beliefs by
communication and repetition inside a closed system and insulated from
rebuttal.
These days many people have got hooked on reading about
problems, rather than solving them. Severe autism being one such problem.
Taking
action in Autism
I recently was contacted by a Dad who has been treating his child with autism for a few years. He probably does not fix potholes like me and Arnie, but he does like to fix autism. He is doing rather well.
He read my book and contacted me. His very extensive investigation and trials
resulted in his personalized therapy.
These were his game changers:-
SSRIs
Fluvoxamine to treat
OCD and improve cognition
(Luvox)
Antifungals
Fluconazole The single most effective intervention.
(Diflucan) It just lifted
the fog.
Itraconazole
Nystatin
Antiviral
Valaciclovir (Valtrex)
Antibiotics
Rifaximin
used extensively
Bumetanide Improves cognition.
The antifungals and Rifaximin have the similar effect in
terms of more situational awareness, “presence” and ability to
interact. Bumetanide improves cognition.
Vitamins
B1 (Sulbutiamine) high doses (800mg) quickly solved the longstanding feeding problems like chewing and swallowing, the stubbornness (e.g. refusing to go through a door)
Another form of B1 has been covered in
this blog. Benfotiamine was proposed by our reader Seth in 2016 and he wrote a
guest post about it.
A researcher/clinician called Derek
Lonsdale wrote about the potential to treat autism with vitamin B1.
B6 high doses (> 150 mg a day) are essential to avoid explosive rages.
Vitamin B6 with magnesium is an old autism therapy that was made popular by the late Bernie Rimland. Rimland founded and directed two advocacy groups: the Autism Society of America (ASA) and the Autism Research Institute. He was the force behind Defeat Autism Now! (DAN).
Bupropion is transformative, but the effect unfortunately fades in 5 days.
The mechanism of action of bupropion in the treatment of depression and for other indications is unclear. However, it is thought to be related to the fact that bupropion is a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) and antagonist of several nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It is uncertain whether bupropion is a norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent.
L type calcium channel blockers helped but Nimodipine caused side effects with gum inflammation; this is a well-known possible side effect.
Fluconazole and Rifaximin are quite popular therapies in
autism and certainly tell that something is amiss in the intestines. In the US Rifaximin is very expensive and so
you will see Vancomycin used.
In Singapore one of the US-trained MAPS (autism) doctors recently got in trouble prescribing Fluconazole/ Diflucan and Vancomycin to young children with autism. The kids' pediatricians heard what he was prescribing and complained to the medical regulator.
Dr Erwin Kay Aih Boon, a general practitioner in private practice at Healthwerkz Medical Centre, had prescribed antibiotic Vancomycin and antifungal medication Fluconazole – trade name Diflucan – to children with autism.
It comes after four paediatricians in a
hospital, which was unnamed in the grounds, complained to the Singapore Medical
Council (SMC) about Dr Kay’s management of children with autism.
They said his management of the
children were “not based on evidence”, the grounds read.
“Hospital A’s paediatricians
were of the view the use of antibiotics and antifungal agents for the treatment
of children with (autism spectrum disorders) was unnecessary and had the
potential for harm,” said the committee in its grounds.
Conclusion
It is rather addictive reading the news that appears on your phone.
Making your own news, even if you choose not to share it with
the wider world, looks like a better option.
I was asked by one person who reviewed a draft of my book,
why do I not include a collection of autism treatment case studies. I explained that most people
who have been successful do not want to publicly share their results. That is a pity, but it is human nature – why take
an unnecessary risk? Even Dr Kay in Singapore gets himself into trouble,
just trying to help other people.
In spite of there being no autism treatment gazette with hundreds
of detailed case histories for parents to look through, there are nonetheless
many clues in the published research.
The key point is that therapy needs to be personalized. Antifungals, antibiotics and antivirals might do wonders for one person, but do absolutely nothing for your child.
The worst problem of all can be aggression and self-injurious behavior; vitamin B6 clearly works for some, but most people will need one of the numerous other therapies.