Inspirational Story

Truman was diagnosed with autism in 2007, just after his 3^rd birthday, which was also his first year of pre-school in an early intervention program.

But earlier, he said his first word at six months of age, “baby,” and we saw language continue to grow until right around 14 months of age.  We saw a steady decline in his social skills and he started playing with toys in odd ways.  He began ignoring us, lining up trains, dumping items from drawers and the pantry, and began to have major meltdowns.

The neurologist diagnosed Truman with high functioning autism and indicated that his overall adaptive behavior composite was in the bottom 5% compared to his peers, according to the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale.  I was sent out the door with no direction and no assistance.  I was upset and cried for about a week, then I took to the internet.

I found the TACA website and after that, we never looked back to those dark days for Truman.  I read about the GFCF diet and helpful tips for making the change with my child.  We started the diet in October of 2007.  Eight days off of wheat, Truman began saying sentences instead of just words.  When we removed dairy, he talked even more.  It was utterly amazing!  I also decided to go on the diet with him and can’t tell you how much it benefited me as well.  (It turns out my entire family on my father’s side does not have the digestive enzyme for wheat or dairy; and the ADD which I never knew I had also when away.)

I joined the TACA Yahoo group and found so much support and many friends to help me with all aspects of biomedical intervention.  This meant so much, especially because we lost all of our closest friends after Truman’s diagnosis (which I know is not unusual).  TACA has not only helped my son, but has also been such a great support for me as well.

We began Truman on a regimen of supplements, B-12 shots and trips to a DAN! (now MAPS) doctor quarterly.  With each new addition to his recovery plan, we saw growth.  We rented a soft HBOT chamber in the spring of 2009.  Truman and I did 45 hours in the chamber — what a difference this made for him!  Before, he battled with major gut issues – he either had diarrhea or was constipated for days, even with the change in diet.  But after the first round of HBOT, we saw his stools firm up, had no more diarrhea and only occasional constipation.  HBOT also improved his speech and socialization, and he began to want to interact with Dad.  Prior to HBOT, he would scream any time my husband would enter the room.  We completed a second round of HBOT five months later and saw even greater improvements.

Truman always had obsessive behavior as long as I can remember, but in late 2009, it became extreme.  We would spend our weekends going to strip malls and walking in and out of stores.  He was so obsessed with stores, restaurants and their logos; it was all he wanted to talk about.  I had read about PANDAS and wondered if he could have it.  During one MAPS doctor visit, we found that Truman had a strep infection on his bottom, and it was treated with antibiotics.  Fast forward to late 2010, and Truman had another strep infection.  This time it was a rash on his arms, legs and face; he had body strep.  The doctor we were seeing at that time did not want to prescribe antibiotics because we were working on healing his gut.  I ended up taking Truman to the regular pediatrician, who prescribed antibiotics and Fluconazole.  It took two rounds of antibiotics and using a topical Neem lotion to clear up his skin.  I immediately changed doctors and in May of 2011, Truman received his PANDAS diagnosis.  This particular doctor had not ever prescribed long-term antibiotics, instead only allowing a one-month dose.  The difference the antibiotics made for Truman were like night and day.  He began playing pretend with all of his toys.  We could tell that his brain was functioning properly – he no longer had to think for long periods of time after being asked a question.  Everything improved for him.  With the help of a PANDAS parents organization, I found a doctor locally who treats PANDAS children.  Truman has been on a small daily dose of antibiotics for a year now and it has made all the difference.  We have his liver checked twice yearly to ensure that there are no issues, and we also supplement with Milk Thistle and Alpha Lipoic Acid to aid his liver.  I also sought additional treatment options for Truman’s Lyme disease.

In 2013, Truman began to be able to swallow pills.  This has had a big impact on his daily heath since his immune system is so sensitive and vulnerable due to the PANDAS and Lyme.  I encourage parents to continue to try to have their child swallow their supplements (my son would never finish the juice we would hide them in).

Lastly, I work from home and we have wireless internet throughout our home.  I have read about the negative impact of wireless and EMF’s for our children (this goes hand-in-hand with my frequency interest).  I purchased and installed a GeoCleanse Home Harmonizer, which has done wonders for everyone’s sleep as it negates all the positive ions produced by the electronics and negative energy.

Truman continues to grow and improve with each treatment we try.  We continue to detox Truman, and he has further improved with the HBOT treatment and six months of chelation.  Currently, we are using a homeopathic method along with the B-12 shots.  He is mainstreamed for about half his day at school and we look forward to his continued growth over the next several years.  There is no doubt in our minds that he will graduate high school and go on to college pursuing his interests in computers and electronics.