Map to Healing Autism - Introduction
I’m a visual person. I see things. When I recollect a memory, something from my childhood, a lab test for a patient, a moment with my wife and daughter, it comes to me as a picture. So when a patient asked for a Map to Healing Autism, my first thought was, “What does that look like?”
Initially, I had a vision of a hiking trail, taking us from the base of the mountain to the top of the mountain, and looking over a horizon of recovery for our children. But then I realized, that’s not the right map. Our map has more roads, more pathways. We don’t all start from the same place, but we all want to end up at the same destination.
Our map is more like a road map of the country. Let’s say we all want to get to Disney World. I live in Connecticut and have one route, other people live to the west, other people in Canada, other may need to take a boat or a plane. So there’s not the same route for everyone. This is the perfect analogy for healing autism. It truly is a spectrum, because there are different symptoms, different physiologies, different biochemistries, different genetics, and different treatments for all our children. That’s what is making healing autism so difficult. A road for wonderful B12 shots for one family, may end up on a rocky cliff for other families.
This book has many answers. Many solutions. Which route will get you to recovery? You never know until you start your trip. I hope this book acts as a guide, and if something is a dead end for you. Don’t. Give. Up!!! Take a different road. After 15 years of working with children with autism, ADHD, developmental delays, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, and other behavioral challenges, the thing that I’ve learned is that there is not one easy solution. There are many easy solutions! We just have to find yours.
I have helped the non-verbal speak, the anxious calm, the stims be peaceful. I know recovery is possible because I’ve seen it. I’ve also been lucky to find my life’s work. It is to help our kids recover, to be the best they can be. As a parent myself, I know we want our children to grow up, enjoy life, and be able to take care of themselves when we can’t help them anymore. Let me guide you there.