Newbie with child with Autism

[McRibby]

Hello, I have been living the APOE life style for about 4 years. It seems autsim and AD are essentially the same disease process, just onset at a different time. My son has recovered from autism by treating lyme, going gluten/dairy free, looking at methylation, etc. So, that brings me here. I originally was searching for my 83 year old mother but in the process found out that I am a 4/3. When I look at the promethease report my data in the category of AD looks more green than red and that i have a lot of protective genes in addition to the 3/4. is this the case with many of you? it is my third risk factor category but many others look more bleak than this one. i'm trying to figure out how to translate it all. I am so glad to have found this group! thanks!

[ccfield]

Welcome McRibby!

First, your son's recovery from autism via lifestyle/treating Lyme is fascinating and inspiring. It speaks directly to those of us who are implementing preventive lifestyle changes, that they really do have an impact.

There are many on this site with much more knowledge than I, but I do know that there are many risk factors for AD other than the gene and also that there are other genes that can be protective for AD. I imagine that is the case for many here.

If you haven't done so already, you will want to read the site Primer written by physician member Stavia. It is an excellent source of information on all things ApoE4. It does sound like you may be far along in your prevention journey as you mention that you've been living the ApoE lifestyle for 4 years (kudos to you!).

Another good source of information is the site Wiki and the Search feature, both accessed by clicking the three vertical dots at the top of the page on the right.

I know that others will pop in here and provide more information, and if you have any questions about the site, please feel free to reach out to me. You can send me a private message by clicking on the envelope icon at the top of the page.

We are so glad you found your way here.

- Carrie

[Solos]

" It seems autism and AD are essentially the same disease process, just onset at a different time."

There are definitely seem to be many similarities --at least in what causes them. That's why I am here. This is my first post. Like McRibby, I have a child with autism, and in researching that I found that many of the things that looked like they would be helpful to treat autism were also useful in treating Alzheimers. That's why I read Dr. Bredesen's book recently, and the book lead me to this forum.

Bredesen's ReCODE Protocol is very similar in many ways to much of what the autism community is doing as "biomed" (that's what they call what they are doing). We found this general approach, especially targeting inflammation/oxidative stress with supplements like carosine, zinc, NAC, Longvida curcumin, ALA, to be highly successful.

The ADD (autism) "biomed" community is also really into what they call the GFCF diet. GFCF is short for "gluten-free, casein-free". This is something I never got on board with myself. So I was intrigued that Dr. Bredesen was also embracing this--and it's something I need to look more into...

I will check the links provided above. Thanks.

[NF52]

Welcome Solos and McRibby,
Children on the autism spectrum teach first their families and then all those who choose to listen and observe carefully that they have depths which many of us only rarely approach. I knew children who could hear trains long before others could, who could construct and remember patterns of blocks in ways that any engineer would admire, who knew the names of dozens of dinosaurs at the age of 4 and could "read" books about them from memory, who would seek hugs from trustworthy adults, and bear pain without a tear. As Temple Grandin says, we ought to celebrate the strengths of people on the autism spectrum, and help them find work-arounds for their areas of sensitivity in navigating a "neurotypical" world.
That does sound a lot like navigating with ApoE 4, rare genetic allele that appears to confer many strengths and some risks.
While I don't necessarily see Alzheimer's and autism as coming from the same genetic "stream", I think they teach us how to see beauty in diversity, and how to persevere in seeking solutions when others assume that "this is all there is".
Please continue to explore the site, and share with us your insights, questions and sources of joy!

[Karengo]

Welcome to our online community Solos! We're glad you're here having followed the trail from Bredersen's book to discover this site in your quest for answers and how to address your child's autism. Thank you for sharing part of your story with us. I can only imagine the challenges you've been navigating through. You're right that the treatment protocol proposed by Bredersen for AD is similar to the treatment of autism. It seems that there is a shift in the health and wellness towards making connections with health being more than taking medicine or having surgery. It's about looking at the lifestyle factors we can do something about to make changes that will help shift us towards improving our health. Factors like changing diet to reduce inflammation, supplementation to support healthy functions of the body's systems, as well as incorporating movement and exercise, and enjoying social connections. Having a strong support system helps too. And that's what brings us here to support each other and share information.

Please have a look at our Primer created by physician member Stavia. Feel free to wander and explore the site and post any questions that arise. If you would like to look for topics on the site, you can use Wiki to help you with your search which you can find on the top right hand side of the page where you'll see 3 stacked dots.

Thanks again for joining us!
Best,

[Anna]

It seems autsim and AD are essentially the same disease process, just onset at a different time.

I've heard this said about ADHD too.

When I look at the promethease report my data in the category of AD looks more green than red and that i have a lot of protective genes in addition to the 3/4. is this the case with many of you?

Mine is a mix; I wish there were more green. But I take this with a grain of salt since there are a number of genes -- that aren't specific to AD -- that play a role and are not included in the Promethease search on AD. And non-genetic influences are probably more important.

[laurie]

It seems autsim and AD are essentially the same disease process, just onset at a different time.

Thanks for your post as you are on the right track re: connection between Autism and Alzheimer's. Great news that your son has recovered from Autism. Recovery takes a lot of research and perseverance.

Research has reached a tipping point, a causal factor of Autism and Alzheimer's is the same ALUMINUM. Dr. Chris Exley has autopsied brains of people with Alzheimer's and Autism and found large levels of aluminum. This information alone doesn't prove causation but causation has been proven by several researchers. My husband Dennis N Crouse and I have been researching and writing about the connection between aluminum, Alzheimer's and Autism for the past several years. The evidence is mounting. The good news is silica rich water is effective at removing aluminum from our bodies. My mother in law who has Alzheimer's has benefited from drinking Fiji water (I have posted this in the Prevention forum). Most recently I have joined 2 facebook groups in which children with Autism have been drinking silica rich water. Many children are improving. Here is one testimonial (I have permission from the parent to share this information)

" I have become fascinated with this subject and the unbelievable simplicity of drinking a silicon rich mineral water to remove Aluminium from the body since discovering Prof Chris Exley's excellent work at the end of 2017. We have been using this on our 9 yr old son who has an ASD diagnosis and we have seen clear cognitive improvements with him after 3 months now. There have been improvements to his mood, his laughing and more happy, has more speech, asking significantly more questions (this is MASSIVE!) and more imaginative play"

Here is a link to a paper written by Dr. Exley regarding the aluminum/ autism connection. https://www.hippocraticpost.com/infecti ... nd-autism/

[KellyS]

I'm going to also jump in here and welcome both Solos and McRibby! I, too, McRibby, have a son diagnosed with moderate autism at a very young age, and with a lot of blood, sweat, tears, change of diet, a cleaning up of his gut, a change of the environment in our home (removal of all chemicals/fragrances, etc.) and a proper methylation protocol - he is about, I would say, 80% recovered... eleven years after beginning all of this. I'm kinda pooped, haha.
I have heard several times throughout the years that ASD and AD are relatively the same type of disorder; in fact, it is one of the reasons I decided to apply for the FMCA internship for this site. ASD has so many various causes and co-morbid medical conditions that go along with it, and so does AD. Different types, different causes - if you have met one child with ASD, you have met one child with ASD; the same goes for Alzheimer's. Each person's situation is so different and has to be treated as such.
I'm so glad you have found this site, it's one of the best places to be.

Much love to you,

Kelly S

[laurie]

Here is some more information to consider regarding a person with AD or a person with Autism don't always present in the same way. Aluminum interferes with over 200 bodily processes. Here is a link to a research study which discusses these processes. Here is an excerpt from the paper. Al stands for aluminum "Despite it's environmental abundance, Al is not an essential element for living organisms, and no enzymatic reaction requires Al. Al is reported to influence more than 200 biologically important reactions and to cause various adverse effects on the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) (Table 1). These include crucial reactions for brain development such as the axonal transport, neurotransmitter synthesis, synaptic transmission, phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of proteins, protein degradation, gene expression, and inflammatory responses." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056430/

[MsCindy]

I'm Cindy, I'm new on this forum. I grew up with a lot of autism in my family, and I'm an autism specialist in K-12 public schools. My whole world is saturated with autism, so I've seen a lot. One very intriguing link that my research keeps leading me to is a lack of choline in the diets of pregnant mothers (primarily due to many people not eating eggs any more apparently) that causes a severe lack of choline in the developing fetus. Some mothers and babies seem to be more prone to the deficiency and also its negative effects. Supplementing different types of choline with children is not a cure - there is no cure for severe autism. But with many kids it makes them calmer, more verbal, and more engaged. But very interestingly, choline deficiency is strongly linked to Alzheimer's in much of the newest Alzheimer's research too! So that does make a case for both running in families. My father's entire family had some level of autism spectrum disorders, and they all died of Alzheimers by age 80, so anecdotally, my family is a case study! Anyway, I'm here trying to break that pattern!