Mystery of Autism Quote Selection

Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and
Pervasive Developmental Disorder:
A Mother’s Story of Research & Recovery

If I reported every single quote that struck me from this book, I think I would be in violation of copyright laws! There was so much to learn, and the writing was so engaging that it pulled me into the learning process right with the author, like I was playing detective alongside her. And I suppose I have felt like a detective in the recent past, so maybe that was part of it.

As in all of my reading, I had moments where I was struck by how little I know. It is a healthy, humbling experience. I love the feeling of sitting at someone’s feet, absorbing all their wisdom, but trying to also sift out anything that might be harmful or wrong.

Some of the quotes in this book were simply shocking to me. These are the quotes I decided to share, the ones that challenged how I viewed autism, or other neurological issues. All quotes are directly from the book, but I will try to make a note of the original source if the book was quoting someone else. I’ll also add some headings to separate the quotes.

• Is autism a biological drug trip?
  

  In reading about autism I have come across several characteristics of autistic children that are strikingly similar to those of people “tripping” on LSD or mushrooms:

  • Extreme self-absorbency
  • Insecurity and need for familiarity
  • Staring at an object at length
  • Self-stimulatory behavior
  • Postural insecurity
  • Sensory overstimulation
  • Inappropriate laughter and irrational fears
  • Paranoia and difficulty with eye contact
  • Bizarre preoccupations
  • Difficulty communicating
  • Unusual responses to food
  • Abnormal serotonin levels

  Watching my son move about the living room, I see an eerie connection. I remember a sort of overwhelming pseudodizziness, a sense of overstimulation that made me feel like I had to shut down for a few moments, so I would lie, facedown on the carpet for a few moments, until I felt better. I see Miles doing the same thing and I really think I understand why. {p 43-44}

• Is there any connection between autism and schizophrenia?
  

  I also heard a talk by Dr. William Cade, who was looking at urinary peptides in his lab at the University of Florida, with similar findings to those of Paul Shattock and Kalle Reichelt. He had originally discovered these substances in the urine of people with schizophrenia, and then later, in those with autism. When his schizophrenic patients implemented the gluten-free, dairy-free diet, many of them experienced a spontaneous remission.{p. 115}

  [snip]

  “Wait, I just had a thought,” I said excitedly. “What if the age of onset determines the ultimate diagnosis? Like, if a whole family has the predisposition, some kind of ‘global immune dysfunction syndrome,’ and a virus or something is the trigger, then a one-year-old ends up with autism, a seven-year-old gets ADHD, and an adult gets chronic fatigue?”

  There were murmurs of assent, and then I amended my thought. “On the other hand, I may be oversimplifying. I think that the autistic kids are being much further impaired by the problem. Maybe autism is the ultimate disease state. Like, if whatever caused autism happened to an adult, they would probably get…” I thought hard for a moment and then was struck by the answer. “Schizophrenia.” {p. 119}

• Is Down’s Syndrome improved by diet restriction?
  

  I let out a low whistle. “Wow. This is amazing. I have never seen values like these before!…0.574, wait, here’s one at 0.622. This is incredible. There are at least thirty foods like this. Does this child have autism?”

  “No…Down’s syndrome.”

  I couldn’t believe my ears. Everyone knew that Down’s was caused by an extra chromosome in the twenty-first pair of chromosomes in their DNA.

  “Down’s syndrome? That seems impossible. I thought Down’s was purely genetic.”

  “Well, yes, the occurrence is genetic. But the disease may be immunological, and treatable, to some degree. In this patient, at least, I believe that there is something that I can do to help.”

  A few minutes later I met the little boy and his mother, and observed that although the child was verbal and was actually doing quite well, he showed some overt signs of allergy, like itchy skin and dark circles under his eyes. His mother had long suspected that some foods made it harder for him to function and was quite willing to try restricting his diet. She told me that after speaking with a friend whose Down’s child had been helped with vitamins and diet she had decided to give it a try. Dr. Kopelson had recently put her son on a vitamin supplementation program that seemed to be helping.

  Whether this particular child’s immune problems were coincidental to his Down’s syndrome or whether the two were related was unclear. Dr. Rimland later sent me a videotape about the late Dr. Henry Turel, who put Down’s children on megadoses of multivitamins and found that the musculoskeletal and other outward features of the disease improved as much as did the subjects’ mental functioning. If this was true, did it mean that there was some critical metabolic dysfunction and that early treatment could mean a reversal of symptoms? I just didn’t have enough information to judge. {p. 137-138}

This is enough for today. If the last third has anything more that rocks my schemas, I’ll be sure and add another quote collection.

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Read More:
Mystery of Autism Review
Quote Selection Two