Natural care eases autism

By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEWTON FALLS -- A few months ago, Brandon Bishop made little eye contact, had limited speech, showed difficulty following simple instructions, exhibited obsessive behavior and threw tantrums.
"He would sit with a piece of string and wind it around things for hours," Cindy Bishop said of her 4-year-old son, who was recently diagnosed with autism. "His language regressed at 18 months."
However, a change in his diet -- combined with occupational and speech therapy -- changed all that.
Bishop and her husband, Brian, removed foods that contain gluten from their son's diet and replaced them with rice, soy milk and other substitutes. As a result, the Bishops noticed that within a few weeks, Brandon's behavior was calmer, his speech comprehension improved and many of his fears diminished.
"He started talking about things he never understood before, like emotions," and sat still to get his hair cut, Cindy Bishop explained.
The Stow couple were among several people who attended Wednesday's lecture, "Natural Therapies for Autism," at Healthy Treasures health food store. Dr. Ted Suzelis, a naturopathic physician, discussed several natural treatments he said help children diagnosed with autism, many of whom are also more susceptible to other ailments, such as liver and immune dysfunctions, digestive problems, metabolic abnormalities and intestinal hyperpermeability, a condition in which the large intestine allows large, undigested molecules into the bloodstream.
Dr. Suzelis noted that autism affected about four children per 10,000 births in the late 1980s, but that it has increased about 1,000 percent in the United States over the past 15 years.
Autism disorder
Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that interferes with the ability to communicate with and relate to others, impairs social skills, and affects how language and sensory information is processed. The disorder affects about four times as many boys as girls.
Up to 80 percent of children with autism improve when placed on a gluten- and casein-free diet -- one of the first steps in reducing symptoms -- Dr. Suzelis said. The casein protein is common in dairy products; gluten is found in rye, wheat, oats and other grains. Various food additives, such as dyes, artificial sweeteners and colorings, also should be removed from the diet and replaced with more natural nutrients, such as vitamins B3 and B6, magnesium, calcium and zinc, he added.
Natural treatments
Dr. Suzelis also recommended homeopathy, a nontoxic treatment in which certain vitamins and minerals are given in small doses, allowing the body to heal itself.
Another natural therapy available for treating children with autism is chelation, in which mercury, aluminum, lead and other heavy metals are pulled out of the bloodstream. However, Dr. Suzelis stressed, that method should be used as a last resort, since chelation can also remove needed minerals from the body.
He said that he looks at patients' overall level of functioning, such as digestive and sleep patterns, during their first visits and that he uses various herbs and other natural treatments specific to the person and ailment.
"I'm healing the body so it can heal itself," he said. "I'm not treating a specific disease."
XDr. Suzelis' next lecture will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Treat Yourself Center for Holistic Health, 3837 Starr Centre Drive, Canfield. For more information about Dr. Suzelis, log on to his Web site at www.ohionaturopathic.com.