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“I am very angry and filled with rage. I cannot express my anger, but I feel it. This anger permeates into every part of my being. It helps me to stay alive. It gives me energy to exist. It seems to be functioning to protect me. It is like a person standing over me and protecting me. It feels as if the rage has torn me apart and allows one part of myself to take care of the parts that cannot take care of themselves. My anger and rage are being put to work to function in a way that is helping me inside. This anger and rage is inside waiting to come out. It cannot come out now because it has an important job to do, but when it does it will fill a very large room.”

What is this autistic boy telling us? We can break up his message into two parts:

1) The dissociation experienced by autistic individuals and
2) How emotions such as rage and anger function within the autistic individual.

He seems to be telling us that he can feel his anger and rage, but more importantly cannot express it. From his vantage point, these emotions seem to be functioning as an internal protective mode. They protect the weaker parts of him that cannot protect themselves. It is like they are “people” protecting him.

In some regards this can make sense. The autistic individual has not had a completed attachment and thus is left in a dissociated unconscious state (lowest functioning autistic child). This changes as the child develops. Thus he can become more conscious and less dissociated and then we would call him high functioning or with Asperger’s. Eventually he may not be identified as being on the autism spectrum at all.

It is important to note that from the perspective of an Incomplete Attachment the child is functioning in a normal state of dissociation. Parts of the self are not conscious to or available to the person to use in their communications with others. It is the state that the ASD individual lives. Bromberg (1994)* believes all individuals begin life made up of multiple self-states. Our wholeness develops through a relationship with another person. Because the autistic person lacks an attachment, he remains in a non-whole state. Thus the individual has different parts of himself that have not integrated.
Risperdal autism
In this situation, this autistic boy not only is in a normal state of dissociation, but also as he lives in this state of dissociation and as he develops, he learns to adapt to the situation and parts of himself (in this case his rage and anger) become internal methods to handle and cope with his situation.

I believe that as he develops a significant relationship with a person who understands his predicament, together they can forge an attachment that will help him to become less dissociated. He will be able to communicate his rage and anger and other emotions as he becomes less dissociated. As this occurs, he will be able to communicate the feelings that up to this point have only been internalized.

It is important to note that some autistic individuals are filled with rage and anger and that as they do develop we see more of the explosive anger coming out. Some individuals seem to be filled with inordinate amounts of anger. I think of this from three perspectives:

1) the excessive anger might be due to his rage at not having had a direct outlet for these emotions. In other words, he had to live without access to his emotions so he is filled with anger that has never previously seen the light of day,

2) when anger is dissociated the child does not have control over his emotions. Until his angry feelings are understood, they will come out as intermittent explosive acts of rage and

3) he probably has lots of angry feelings towards others that may not have helped him to express his anger.

This may not seem logical, but I would imagine the autistic child looks to the caregivers and others to know how to solve his dilemma and when this does not happen in a reasonable time, his anger may grow. When he finally has access to his emotions, there is what I think of as a lot of residual anger to deal with. Thus it would be important that when working with autistic individuals from a ‘relational perspective’, it would be important to expect this build up anger to come forward. This will be a positive move for the autistic individual, but caregivers and others may not know how to manage their own feelings when they are bombarded with these angry emotions.

Teaching children with Autism can be one of the most rewarding tasks and one of the most frustrating. Particularly since what may work for one child may not work for the next. To teach children with autism parents have to be prepared on many different fronts and prepared to act quickly.

Some days a child with Autism may be able to be in any situation a parent might find themselves in. They might be able to go grocery shopping or to the mall. On other days they might not be able to. There have been days when going to a store started out good and quickly deteriorated. Being prepared to change tasks was critical on those days.

Keeping your child engaged in what you are doing is effective in teaching children with Autism. Letting them hold the bag for the fruit or hand you an item keeps them focused on you and the task. This gives them less time to become distracted.

Parents can further enrich the situation by talking about the type of fruit or the color of the fruit. Some children with Autism can read but do not seem to understand what the words mean. Telling them to get the jar that says peanut butter can help drive home the concept those words mean something.

Another effective tip is to let an older child with Autism hold the money. If you are in line at the store or to pay a bill you and your child can practice counting out the money or even recognizing the bills and the coins.

Of course choosing the time of day you shop or pay bills is important as well. Going during the rush hours might be convenient for us. That is usually not the right time we will be most effective at teaching children with Autism.

Autism causes are a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors that researchers have yet to fully understand. Studies of identical and fraternal twins reveal that genetics play an important role in autism.

A Brief Description of Autism

Defining autism is difficult, as the disorder covers a wide range of symptoms and severity can range from mild to debilitating. A neurological disorder, it causes impairment in social interaction and communication. A person with autism may have restricted interests or engage in abnormal, repetitive behavior. Depending on the severity of symptoms, it causes mild to debilitating impairment.

Autism is part of a group of related disorders collectively called autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The autism spectrum, as its name implies, describes a range of symptoms, rather than specific disorders. Other ASDs include Asperger’s syndrome, Retts syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder, as well as pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified.

Genetic Autism Causes

Most cases have no known cause, but the tendency for disorders of the autism spectrum to run in families suggests a genetic component. Families with one autistic child have a 3 to 8 percent chance that their other children will be autistic.

Twin studies demonstrate the importance of genetics in establishing causes. If one identical twin has autism, studies reveal a 30 percent chance that the other twin is also autistic.

In addition to twin studies, autism research reveals that families of autistic children have a much higher rate of communication defects, impaired social skills or restricted interests, all of which are hallmarks of classic autism and fall within the autism spectrum.

Despite the strong evidence for genetic causes, parents of autistic children are rarely autistic themselves, although they may display personality traits suggestive of autism. Genetics alone, then, does not necessarily account for autism.

Environmental Catalysts and Autism Genetics

Many researchers believe that the potential for autism lies in genetics, but environmental factors are required to “trigger” the disease.

Over time, a number of environmental causes have been identified that may act as catalysts for autism, including:

• bacterial meningitis;
• cytomegalovirus;
• developmental brain disorders;
• fragile X syndrome;
• lead encephalopathy;
• rubella;
• some metabolic disorders;
• toxoplasmosis;
• tuberous sclerosis.

These disorders are not considered definitive causes. Most children who experience these conditions do not develop autism. However these conditions may interact with existing genetic factors, resulting in autism.

Vaccination and Disproven Autism Causes

Some suggested causes have proven false. The early theory that a distant or uncaring mother causes autism has long been disproven.

More recently, an argument was made that the mercury preservative used in vaccinations caused autism. Despite significant research, no link between vaccination and autism has ever been found.

Genetics, Autism and the Future

Most researchers doubt that causes can be traced to a single gene. Instead, they believe that a number of different genes contribute to the development of autism. Some autism experts have even speculated that in the future, what we now label autism will be recognized as a group of similar, but separate diseases.

It may take years to unravel the roles genetics and environment play in autism, but the goal is attainable. Understanding autism causes will help the search for effective treatments and better therapies for autism.

If you are at all familiar with autism, then you are probably aware of the recent movement, popularized in the press by celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy, that believes that autism, a brain development disorder that can interfere with and even prevent many types of social interactions and communications as well as making traditional learning difficult, can in fact be treated and cured. Previously, most experts had believed that autism was largely incurable, and that the best-case scenario would be for parents of autistic children to simply treat those children to cope in the real world to the best of their abilities if possible. If not, then often these children, once adults, would end up in assisted living and adult care facilities.

Fortunately, with the advent of a variety of new research arenas in the area of autism and other developmental conditions, this no longer has to be the case. And, not surprisingly, omega 3 fatty acids are playing a major role in this groundbreaking research. Omega 3 fatty acids are found in fish oil, and they are vital to your body’s daily functions. However, it is nearly impossible to get the amounts of omega 3 that your body needs on a daily basis from diet (even healthy diet) alone, which means that nearly the entire population is operating on some level of omega 3 deficiency.

While for most people, this deficiency may manifest itself as a lack of focus, unnecessary levels of stress or, later in life, coronary complications, for people with developmental issues, this shortage of omega 3 can make life much more difficult than it should be. As a result, adding an appropriate amount of omega 3 to an autistic child’s diet can actually work wonders on behavior and practical life. Studies indicate that the addition of omega 3 to autistic children’s diets can result in improved sleep, better cognition, hardier health, and even a dramatic increase in eye contact, which can be extremely difficult for autistic children.

Of course, as with any pediatric treatment, you should never start giving your child dietary supplements of any kind, whether they are autistic or not. Make sure that your supplement is made from pure salmon oil, which is less likely to contain heavy metals like mercury, and that it is tested for purity and certified by organizations like the World Health Organization or representatives from the American College of Toxicology.

Will you ever be able to forget how you felt the day when you heard that the diagnosis for your child was autism? No doubt your heart sank and you immediately went into protective mode where you wanted to learn all you could about autism and treatment of the disease as well. As you read to the end of this article you will learn that there is hope and that you and your child can deal with this and go on to live happy lives.

While there is no known cure for autism, parents who struggle to raise an autistic child or children can find ways to manage and cope with their situation. You are probably so concerned with your child’s ability to interact with others and to develop the social skills necessary to live a happy and fulfilling life. I understand that and want to help you find ways to do that here.

The good news for you is that natural treatments are available for your autistic child which include herbal and homeopathic remedies which do not have the side effects typically experienced from using prescription drugs. As a parent you want to address your child’s autism and treatment immediately while reducing any negative side effects if possible. The earlier the treatment begins the better chance your child has of leading a normal life.

Non-drug treatments for autism include physiotherapy, occupational therapy, sensory therapy, social integration therapy, behavior modification therapy, speech therapy, play therapy and even music therapy.

Another focus in the treatment of autism is the diet that your child consumes. There are certain supplements that you will want to have your child take as well as you want to make sure your child follows a balanced diet avoiding what has been shown in research done so far to negatively affect autistic children and that is dairy products and products with gluten in them.

Treatment for autism is primarily focused on managing the symptoms of this condition. What this means is that you treat the child with the hope of lessening the symptoms so that you improve their quality of life and help them to live as normally as possible.

As the parent of an autistic child, just know that it’s not the end of the world and there are natural treatments you can implement for your child to help them cope and develop into adults who can function normally in society and life. Do your research and get the natural treatments you have access to for your child rather than exposing them to possibly toxic drugs.

A helpful diet for many kids, teens and adults on the Autism spectrum is the low oxalate diet (LOD). The vulvodynia foundation was the first organization to use this diet. Women with vulvodynia suffer from pain and inflammation from the accumulation of oxalates in their vaginal tissue.

Another group that has found the low oxalate diet useful is those suffering from kidney stones. We also see children on the Autism spectrum who have a problem with high accumulation of oxalates in their bodies and can benefit from a low oxalate diet. Oxalates are organic compounds found in various foods like spinach and almonds. Oxalates are commonly seen in green veggies, some fruits and nuts.

A good resource for low oxalate foods is lowoxalate.info. That website is run by an independent researcher named Susan Owens who has given the Autism community much information on oxalates. Accumulation of oxalates in susceptible adults can lead to kidney stones. Beginning a low oxalate diet can be a helpful first step to resolving them.

When you have oxalate formation in the body and look at them under a microscope, they appear as jagged, pointy edged crystals. These jagged, pointy crystals can accumulate in any tissue of the body such as the kidneys, nervous system, joints, muscle tissue, etc. and can be very irritating and painful.

The children who tend to have high oxalates can be irritable, aggravated, show aggression or other negative behaviors, can have poor sleep and coordination, all as a result of these painful crystals.

Starting your child on a low oxalate diet can help with those behaviors as the oxalate load in the body is reduced and so is that pain and discomfort. Digestive inflammation can also be helped through the use of the low oxalate diet.

The gluten and casein free diet (GFCF) and the specific carbohydrate diet (SCD) are also very beneficial diets for children with Autism but it can get confusing as to which is the best for your child. If you have your child on a gluten and casein free diet and haven’t seen a lot of results, this could be a good addition.

The low oxalate diet can also be helpful for those whose child is on the specific carbohydrate diet and who still see unresolved bowel issues, aggression, agitation, poor sleep, poor coordination and self injurious behavior.

High oxalates can also cause poor mineral absorption and utilization since they bind with minerals, causing your child’s blood work to show lower levels of minerals.
Autism really is treatable! Biomedical Autism treatments and therapies have resulted in many, many children improving, or even even losing their autism-spectrum disorder diagnosis.