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Parents turn to alternative treatment methods Continued from page 14 15 · Thursday, November 8, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com ful of ketchup. Bejarano struggled with the nutritional regimen until she started looking at food differently. "I started to give him food like medicine," she said. Within a couple of months, Bejarano and her husband, Antonio Herrera, saw changes in Lucas's behaviour and overall health. "He was actually coming alive," she said. The progress was also noticeable in Adrian, who also followed the same treatment plan for his PDD. In Burlington, Lizanne Rowe's son, Jack, experienced great success with biomedical treatment after he was diagnosed with autism at three and a half years. The family's first plan of action was to consult with Dr. Doherty. "We saw immediate results," said Rowe. Jack, too, was introduced to a gluten- and dairy-free diet, was provided with supplements and continues to receive methyl B12 injections, or as he calls it "his bum shot." Within a month, Jack had an explosion of language and a few months after that, began establishing eye contact with others. His tummy aches and other gastro-intestinal troubles subsided and his behaviour improved dramatically. The changes in diet and nutrition were a family affair for the Burlington clan. Now, seven-year-old Jack shies away from foods loaded with gluten. "If we say, `That has gluten,' he genuinely doesn't want it because he knows that's going to hurt his tummy," said Rowe. Methyl B12 injections, used to reactivate the biochemical pathways used to power up the brain, have also become part of Jack's routine. And if he doesn't receive his dose on time, his behaviour starts to shift. The youngster will even ask to have a "poke." He feels himself slipping away back into the fog. According to Doherty, much of the methodology used to treat autism has a direct impact on a child's quality of life. "For me, it's almost a human rights issue," she said. "If kids can't sleep, they are sick all the time, they have terrible diarrhea, they have terrible digestion, then how can we expect them to learn and assimilate informa- ERIC RIEHL / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog a message in clay: The Oakville Success Centre -- the first of its kind in Canada -- uses the Davis Autism Approach in reaching individuals with autism. Part of the program involves the modelling of white clay, as pictured above. results of the program, which are relatively unknown in Canada. "It is like watching miracles unfold before my eyes," she said. "During the first part of the program, I begin to see glimpses of the real person behind the autism mask." Working one-on-one with the autistic person, Dodge Smith said most intervention is behavioural, but this is not. "We are teaching the individual how to be oriented," she said. "At its core, (autism) is disorientation. They're in their own little world." The director teaches them how to be fully present in the world ­ here and now. They come to understand how the world works and how they fit into it. Dubbed "individuation," it allows the individual to build a perception of their senses to build a stronger awareness of self. After undergoing a 30-hour week of therapy, the individual returns two weeks later for one-on-one treatments. Usually, Dodge Smith said, it's as four-week program. She teaches sequencing, the importance of order, the ability to understand priorities. "Whatever they want in their state, this allows them to begin thinking with these concepts," said Dodge Smith, the former George Brown College Children's Centre department head with more than 40 years of experience in special education and psychology. "There's before and after, and the sequence didn't make sense before (without the Davis approach)." Modelling using white clay, Dodge Smith works with autistic people to explore the real world. It builds on a greater understanding of the world, which in turn strengthens identity and understanding. "The white clay figures we make allow them to look at the world around them," Dodge Smith explained, noting parents and caregivers are also included in the approach so they can learn to use it at home. "For them, the world is all about them. They're not able to process that other people have needs." Through social integration, she is tion so they can gain as many skills as possible?" When Bejarano considered taking an alternative approach to treat her sons, her physician cautioned her. "My doctor said, don't be doing any voodoo stuff. That voodoo stuff has saved my life," she stated. There are other alternatives to intensive behavioural intervention, the traditional approach to autism therapy. One of those choices is the Oakville Success Centre. The first of its kind in Canada, the new business provides psycho-educational therapy for people with dyslexia, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, autism and Asperger's syndrome. Cathy Dodge Smith, the centre's director, uses the Davis Autism Approach, a non-invasive gentle method designed to allow autistic individuals to participate more fully in life. The approach, she said, draws autistic individuals out of the fog and into the real world. Dodge Smith is stunned by the able to show an autistic person how the world works, how relationships work. "That's a huge block for them and they don't get it... what do you need in relationship to another." Social integration is the third step in the Davis Autism Approach and its key concepts are the foundation of human relationships. These are worked on through clay modelling and can be built on, depending on an individual's needs, she added. Dodge Smith, 68, is a certified Davis facilitator, having trained under the program's founder Ronald Davis. Davis has been working with autistic individuals for 30 years. The New Zealand man created the program and a small group of "Davis facilitators," including Smith, are teaching it around the world. She shared the positive outcomes of some of the Oakville Success Centre's clients, including a 26-yearold female who was "a mess... on drugs, booze, and her parents thought they'd be supporting her forever." After completing the program, she has held a job, is off drugs and alcohol and experienced "a total turnaround," Dodge Smith said. "She learned how to work with people, just by being here and being visible." The treatment is pricey at $3,600 per week and is not covered by any medical plans. Still, Dodge Smith stands firmly behind her work, in fact she came out of retirement to open the Oakville Success Centre. "Sometimes it takes three to four weeks, but I've never heard of any individual that didn't work out," she said. Oakville's Peter and Elaine Rose placed their nine-year-old son Larry in the program and were pleased with his success. "I honestly don't think we would be achieving the success we have so far without Cathy and the Davis Autism Approach program," Elaine said. "It played a huge part in helping my son to interact socially within his environment. He would not be in a regular class in school without it." See part four of this special series, Navigating Through the Fog, in the Nov. 15 edition of The Oakville Beaver. Biomedical approach is a grind but it often produces results Continued from page 14 Methylation, said Doherty, is hypersensitive to environmental toxicity. As a result, exposure to toxins can stimulate changes in genetic expressions. These modifications can then be passed down from one generation to the next, slowing development. "If you can identify that there is a methylation impairment, then giving a child methyl B12 injections will speed and enhance their development," said the naturopathic doctor. The biomedical approach is comprehensive and can also include drastic changes in lifestyle, such as following a gluten- and ciesin-free diet and complementing it with supplements, like fatty and essential oils. "It's a grind," acknowledged Doherty. "It's a very hard treatment." Parents, however, almost always witness results, said Doherty. "When I did do some of these biomedical treatments, I saw dramatic shifts with kids' ability to communicate," she said, adding in other cases children made great strides in becoming more aware of their surroundings and interacting with others. "There's hope. Kids are getting better; other parents are doing it; professionals are doing it," said Doherty. Many physicians, however, don't think there's any validity to these types of treatments. And, at times, the Burlington professional's approach and the theory behind it are received with some resistance. But Doherty maintains, through research, there are enough indicators to support the claim ASD is biological. So what's it going to take to shift the thinking within the medical community? "This is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but I think it takes physicians having children with autism, unfortunately," said Doherty. "I think when a physician has children with autism... it changes everything."