Keep in mind : Non-speaking does not mean non-thinking!
Rancho Santa Fe Rotarian Paulette Britton, the Director of the Autism Legacy Fund (ALF), searches for therapies for those whose lives are limited by Autism. ALF is a project of the San Diego based autism non-profit, BIANCA - Be Involved. Act Now. Champion Autism. Rotarian Britton created the ALF and partnered with BIANCA to help her son, Sam, who has Autism.
When Sam was born, Paulette and her husband already had one daughter, Madison. Sam started reacting and communicating on a similar pattern to Madison. Then, he slowly began to change but his pediatrician did not find anything amiss. Fortunately, a family friend who was a military doctor told Paulette about Autism. She carried this information to Sam’s pediatrician who started testing Sam. Sam stopped eating, walking and talking. He withdrew from human touch and screamed for hours without sleep. When he started wandering off, the family moved from Rancho Santa Fe to a gated community in Fallbrook.
Although Autism cases continue to rise, there is hope. According to Dr. Robert Naviax, MD PHD at USCD, doctors safely administered the African sleeping sickness drug, Suramin, to Autistic children who subsequently displayed measurable, but short-term improvement. Studies continue along with a specialized blood test for predicting Autism. Another area improving covers the gut-brain connection. Dr. James Adams, a researcher at Arizona State University, has found a way to relive some of the stomach problems that impact the brain’s activity. He completed Microbiota Transfer Therapy study — essentially introducing cleaner fecal matter into the digestive system. At the start of the study, 83% participants were rated as “severe” autism. At the end of the study, only 17% were severe; 39% were mild/moderate and 44% were below the cutoff for mild autism!
Rotarian Britton will continue to research solutions for Sam like non-verbal tools. Assistive technology allows for a typed dialogue on an iPad using Proloquo4text. An autistic girl can type out a message, “Thank you so much. I love my iPad. Great is thy faithfulness.” An autistic man can tell his mother the he dreams of reading Facebook to her. More solutions are coming.
To learn more, read the recent article in the Village News. For specific information about the Autism blood test, check out the UCSD News Center.