NLDline
Subj: WRIGHTSLAW ALERT - AUTISM
BREAKTHROUGH?
Date: 1/21/00 8:15:09 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: webmaster@wrightslaw.com (Wrightslaw/Special Ed Advocate)
Sender: owner-special-ed-advocate@wrightslaw.com
To: special-ed-advocate@wrightslaw.com
WRIGHTSLAW ALERT: AUTISM BREAKTHROUGH?
Incredible.
We first heard rumors about Dr. Mary Megson’s discovery several months ago.
Pete and Dr. Megson have been friends since she became chief pediatrician at
Children’s Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Last week, she and Pete and played
“phone tag.” On Monday, they talked about a possible breakthrough in the
prevention and treatment of autism.
Dr. Megson knew she would be swamped when word got out about her study. She was setting up
a web site to make information available to the public (link below).
THE “AUTISM EPIDEMIC”
Autism is a “developmental disorder” that devastates the lives of hundreds
of thousands of children and their families. Autism spectrum disorders have increased
dramatically in the past 20 years. In 1978, 1 in 10,000 children were affected. In 1999,
it is estimated that 1 in 300 children will be diagnosed with an
autism spectrum disorder. (Megson)
Yesterday afternoon, the FEAT newsletter alerted thousands of subscribers to the research.
(link below)
Last night, as we read Dr. Megson’s Abstract, we found ourselves overwhelmed with
emotion.
MAY I HAVE THE RED JOLLY RANCHER PLEASE?
“My earliest evidence came from a ten-year-old boy diagnosed with autism by DSM-IV
criteria (20). The patient’s parents suspect he has been reading since age four but
his inability to communicate made this unverifiable. Over an eight-year period of regular
visits I had never heard him speak. Standardized IQ tests
revealed moderate mental retardation . . .”
“. . . I started the boy on cod liver oil (5,000 IU of Vitamin A, given in 2500
IU/b.i.d.) and a gluten free diet. After one week, he began to sit farther from the
television and to notice paintings on the walls at home. He had always gone out of his way
to follow the sidewalk and driveway to meet the school bus.”
“On Vitamin A, he began to run across the grass directly from the front door to the
school bus. After three weeks, he was given a single dose of Urocholine, an alpha
muscarinic receptor agonist, to increase bile and pancreatic secretions and indirectly
stimulate hippocampal retinoid receptors . . .”
“Thirty minutes after administration of the Urocholine, the patient, who was sitting
in a chair, swung his feet over the side, pointed to a glass candy jar on my shelf and
said,” "May I have the red Jolly Rancher® please?"
“He had read the label on the candy in the clear jar. These were the first words he
had spoken in eight years, and the first proof that he could read. We took him outside and
he said, ‘The leaves, the leaves on the trees are green! I see! I see!’”
“When I asked to take his picture he looked at the camera, smiled and waved. When he
left the office I said, "See you later." He asked, "What time?"
“In this child’s case, after several weeks
of treatment with Vitamin A in CLO 3500 IU/day, the Urocholine acted like a switch.
When absorbed, he immediately became socially engaged, made excellent eye contact, hugged
his mother tightly and said, "I love you so much," looking at her face.”
“At that point we both realized that this child had a blocked pathway. The change in
language and social interaction was dramatic and immediate. Yet he reverted to the
pre-treatment state of silence when the dose wore off.”
“On lower daily doses of Urocholine (12.5 mg bid) along with the Vitamin A, his
language and social interactions have continued to progress, albeit slowly.” (from
Abstract, link below)
SOLVE ONE PROBLEM, CREATE ANOTHER PROBLEM?
As scientists devised “cures” for serious childhood illnesses using live
vaccines, did they unwittingly open the gates to other disorders?
Is the answer near? Or will subsequent research show that this was a fluke -- a collection
of coincidences? Will parents’ hopes be raised, then dashed again? Will this be a
link in the final chapter on one book about autism, and the first chapter in a new book
about the eradication of autism?
We don’t know.
We wrestled with these questions and whether we should send out an Alert. This research is
not specifically related to special education or advocacy. In the end, this research may
not prove to be a “breakthrough.”
But if it is a breakthrough and we had the power to spread the word but chose to remain
silent “doubting Thomases,” would we shortchange you?
You will have to read the Abstract for yourself. These findings have implications for many
other conditions:
“The far-reaching metabolic consequences may be enormous, with potential links to not
only autism, but dyslexia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bi-polar
disorder . . . and autoimmune disorders including muscular dystrophy and rheumatoid
arthritis.”
Live virus vaccine? A gluten free diet? Vitamin A in cod liver oil? Natural vitamins
versus synthetic vitamins? Could it be this simple?
BARBARIANS AT THE GATE?
Last night, tears hit when I read Dr. Megson’s statement:
“To quote Alfred Gilman, winner of the Nobel Prize for his discovery of G-alpha
proteins, we have been ‘barbarians at the gate’ . . .”
“These children have been devastated and we have abandoned them and their families
from healthcare and rehabilitative services and appropriate educational
opportunities.”
=================
LINKS
You can read this Abstract at the Wrightslaw site at
http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2000/News_AUTISM_Megson_00_0121.html
and at Dr. Megson’s site at
http://www.megson.com
You can learn more about FEAT and subscribe to their newsletter by going to-
http://www.feat.org
To check Wrightslaw News, go to
http://www.wrightslaw.com/mainpage_what_new.htm
======================
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Pete and Pam Wright
c/o Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
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Deltaville, VA 23043
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END