Thankfully, BOCES had immediately helped us to register Sean in the preschool at Riverview Elementary School and that positive and caring social environment was immediately beneficial to Sean’s emerging language and social skills. Further research on the computer led us to the Defeat Autism Now! (DAN!) organization which is made up of doctors and researchers specializing in treatment of the medical issues faced by people with autism.

We found a DAN! doctor in Salt Lake City who explained to us that people with autism are genetically predisposed to autism and it takes an exposure to toxins or heavy metals, which they do not have the ability to dexotify from their bodies, to push them over their "toxic tipping point" resulting in autism. Lack of glutathione, the bodies own natural detoxifier, was an issue for Sean, as his body was not producing any of the antioxidant. It took supplementation of an oral and transdermal glutathione to get his levels up. Our DAN! doctor also started Sean on a supplementation protocol of vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes and probiotics to improve his overall health. Sean was also on diet free of casein and gluten (dairy and grains) to heal his gut issues.

Once we solved Sean’s gut and overall health issues, we began the chelation process to remove the heavy metals and toxins from his body. At the beginning of our autism journey, Sean tested positive for toxic levels of mercury, lead and arsenic. The sources of Sean’s toxins are debatable to say the least, but living in Durango we are exposed to mercury everyday from the coal burning power plants in New Mexico. The forest fires that were burning right outside our homes when Sean was 6 months old also emitted horrendous amounts of mercury into our air. I received the flu shot when I was pregnant and Sean also received flu shots when he was an infant and toddler, which still contain mercury, unless a mercury free version or the flu nasal mist is available.

Sean has progressed to the point that we are no longer under the supervision of a DAN! doctor, but continue to use an over-the-counter chelator. And still following the DAN! protocol, we continue to supplement Sean’s diet with vitamins, minerals, probiotics, liver support and whole food supplements. I also still spend hours upon hours on the computer each week researching and keeping up with ever changing and improving treatments for autism.

We send Sean’s urine to a lab periodically tto see what toxic load he is still carrying. Our first report showed extreme mercury, lead and arsenic toxicity. Our latest report showed almost no lead nor arsenic and only slight mercury toxicity. These reports are in line with what we, along with Sean’s teachers and therapists, are observing in Sean. At our last school meeting, Sean was released from Speech and Social Skills Therapy and is at grade level in all of his academics. He no longer requires an aid in his class and only needs Occupational Therapy to help him with his fine motor skills. Sean is now a pretty typical kindergartner who blends well with the rest of his classmates.

Sean still has texture and smell sensitivities which have lead to his extremely self-limited diet and we are starting to make progress in that area as well. He still gets hooked on certain "obsessions", but he will now always choose playmates and social opportunities over his "obsession du jour", which was not always the case.

We will continue to treat Sean and keep him on his supplements until we get a report from the lab that shows that we have cleaned him up of his toxins and heavy metals. At that point we plan on making one last visit to a DAN! doctor to make sure all of his detoxification systems have kicked in and that his gut is fully healed and free of yeast and bacteria. We will always be careful as to what Sean is exposed to and will probably always keep him on antioxidants and probiotics for gut health, but we feel we are very close to the end of his autism journey!

We do not give biomedical treatments all the credit for Sean’s progress. A combination of traditional behavior therapies, along with biomedical treatments, is the key to recovery from autism. We feel truly blessed for all of the wonderful teachers, therapists and counselors at Riverview Elementary Preschool, Animas Valley Elementary and SJBOCES that have worked so hard for Sean. We have been so lucky to have such hardworking, caring and knowledgable professionals in ours schools working with Sean who are sincerely concerned for his future - we would not be where we are today without them.