Thermal Imaging. Yeah!

I know I suck and have not written a blog in a while. Not that anyone is really following it, but it is nice for me to vent and pretend that my words actually might help someone else. Bygones...

Life has been extremely hectic for me lately and among the possibility of job changes, school changes for my son with autism, an upcoming move, and the heartbreaking news of Alex S's murder (many in the autism community know what I mean), I have not been in the mood to write lately. So, now I have something good to write about, and I want to do it while it is fresh.

 

As a quick follow-up from my last post on the SSI Fail, we did end up getting SSI for the time period we were on the waiting list (and maybe for a few months more, who knows?), so it is a nice bit of funding to pay for some therapies for my son that I have not had the money to invest in of late.

 

Now that I have some money for him and my son is on summer break, I decided to try Thermal Imaging, in an effort to see what was going on in my son's body in a non-invasive way, preferably before and after we do HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) again (if we get the funding for that) to see if there are any changes in his brain. I learned about Thermal Imaging from a friend who runs a healing center that we frequent. Typically, Thermograms are the modern alternative to mammograms. I never understood why anyone would choose to do a mammogram (radiation), which cause cancer, in an effort to detect breast cancer. Radiation causes cancer! Another story of "Doctor Knows Best." I'm being sarcastic.

 

Anyway, Medical Thermal Imaging is the use of highly sensitive infrared imaging in a temperature controlled environment that reproduces images of the body without x-rays, pain or contact with the patient's skin. It is basically like taking pictures of the person and being able to see areas of inflammation, healing responses, low circulation, among other things. Before I took my son in, my husband went to have this procedure done while the rest of us were visiting my brother in Southern California for a long weekend. My husband was on pet/plant duty at home. While we were gone, his wrist, which had been troubling him on and off for a while, became immobile, and his hand swelled up like a balloon and he was extreme pain. Instead of going to Urgent Care, he went for Thermal Imaging instead, and was able to see that his wrist had two compression fractures as a result of an injury he sustained a year prior while pushing his motorcycle. I was impressed and asked my husband to ask the owner if he would be open to doing the before/after HBOT imaging I was seeking. He said yes!

 

We had done HBOT for my son last year (70 sessions total), and saw big results. Now, for those of you who read my book, The Other Side of Autism: Famous Spirits Unveil Regressive Autism's Causes and Remedies  HBOT was a recommended therapy via the spirit world for my son, and I chronicle his progress from it in the book. During my research on HBOT, I had seen SPECT scans from before and after HBOT and you could see visible differences in the brain afterwards. I guess I was looking for a non-invasive and less expensive alternative so I could have some "proof" of its benefits.   

 

We went in for the session and I filled out the paperwork, got my son in his gown and they changed the temperature in the room for optimal imaging. I was cold, but that's nothing new for me. The owner and his assistant came in (I'm not using his name to protect the innocent) and took thermal images of my son's body and head from various angles. He was very compliant and played along. At one point, they put his hands in ice water to induce a nervous system response, and took additional photos. When we were done, I got my son dressed and went into his office to look at the photos on the computer and analyze the results. I will post them in a follow-up blog.

 

I'm just going to give a teaser here, because I'm still trying to grasp it all, and because I don't have all the info yet. I will say that it was very validating from an autism mom's standpoint and also from some of the things that had been channeled from spirit in the sessions for the book about my son's issues. Basically, the images showed that he had a pattern of "Thermo-irregularity" in his whole body, meaning he was hot when he shouldn't be, like a fever state. I told him that he had an unusually high tolerance to hot and cold. He loved cold water and couldn't tell when the water in the tub was too hot. We could also visibly see on the pictures areas of inflammation (which show up white) in the brain (particularly in the temporal lobes, above the temples, and in the base of the head) which control speech and motor skills among other things. The right side was more inflamed than the left. You could actually point the curser to areas on the thermal image on the computer and see what the temperature in that area was. Fascinating!  

 

Surrounding these areas of inflammation in his brain were areas (which show up in red) where the body was trying to heal it. The following pattern was true in his entire GI tract, particularly his stomach, liver, and intestines. Inflammation in the brain and the entire GI tract. No, autism is genetic, isn't it? (more sarcasm). We talked about parasites, other pathogens including Lyme, bio warfare, radiation, GMO, auto-immune reactions, vaccines, food allergies, teeth, etc.... His assistant even joined the conversation when I brought up vaccines. She has twins under a year old which she stopped vaccinating after learning the truth about what she was injecting into her babies. I commended her on her realization. I was so happy that he completely got it and wanted to help my son! He was one of the rare medical people who was into the science and the human element of healing. My son was the first person with "autism" that he has worked with and wanted to learn more. He was very impressed with all that I knew, and his assistant said that my son was lucky to have me for a mom. Sniff. He could see in the Thermal Imaging that there was a problem that could be fixed, and offered some immediate solutions that I'm going to follow up on, and together we will find other answers.

 

We also exchanged some spiritual conversations, including things from my book, and things he shared with me, which let me know we were on the same page. He suggested that in lieu of payment, we use this as a test case to help my son and see what therapies help him, (using Thermal Imaging as a testing modality), in an effort to also help others with similar issues in the future. What??? Are you kidding me??? I'm in!!! I would have stayed there all day if I didn't have to rush home for an ABA session for my son. I felt so blessed, as if a door just opened up for my son. To be continued... 

 

       

 

   

The Autism Social Security Fail

This is one subject that I didn't really think about much until recently. Now, I must vent. For those who have not read my book which this blog is based on, I have a 14-year-old son with regressive autism. He was healthy and then he wasn't. In our lovely state of Nevada and others, there is a program called Katie Beckett, which provides services for children with autism, among other things. One of the steps in order to get Katie Beckett is to first be denied from SSI (Social Security). So, since my husband started his own business two years ago and I work part-time, we have no health insurance except for a major medical plan that we pay for. After friends suggested that I apply for Katie Beckett because it would pay for speech therapy, occupational therapy, medical and dental, I thought, why not?

 

I began the process by applying for SSI, expecting to be denied. Because my husband is self-employed and our income was crap for the past two years, we had a chance in qualifying for SSI disability benefits. I had to send mounds of paperwork and even though we had autism diagnoses from a few doctors and the school district, they required me to take my son to one of "their doctors" to confirm that he has autism. No problem. They sent me a letter with the date, time and location. Now, when they said "doctor" I thought they meant Medical Doctor. Not so. They sent us to a shrink! This was my first tip off of the fail. Regressive autism is MEDICAL, not psychological. 

 

So, my son and I arrive at our appointment, and this gray-haired relic greets us, and hands me a stack of paperwork to fill out, explaining that I fill out part of it, and then I have to ask my son to answer questions to see how much he knows for the rest of it. No problem. The first page instructs that the questionnaire is for people ages 0-17. What? Are you kidding me? The same test for everyone? FAIL! These people know nothing about autism, do they?

 

After filling out my portion, I got to the sections where I had to see what my son knew. I couldn't help but laugh out loud from the waiting room. Some of the most memorable questions were "Who is the President of Japan?" "What is the monetary system of Britain?" Most people I know wouldn't pass this test! I don't even know who the President of Japan is. After leaving most of the questionnaire blank, because he didn't know the answers, Dr. Relic, who walked at a snail's pace, came out of his office to check on us. I complained about the "test" and said it didn't reflect his knowledge and ability, to which he said, "Just answer what you know he knows." Fine. Done. Are we done yet? FAIL!

 

Next, we are asked to follow Dr. Relic into his office for more fun. He proceeds to ask me about my son's history, and I honestly told him that he was a perfectly healthy baby and that he had a perfect 10 on his APGAR score at birth, met all of his developmental milestones early, and that he regressed between ages one and two and was diagnosed with autism at age 3. He looked at me like I had two heads. Then, he asked me if any of the doctors we saw suggested that he had Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. I answered "No." He condescendingly asked "Do you know what that is?" I replied "Yes, it's where a child regresses and continues to regress. Not like my son, who regressed and then progressed again with certain therapies and interventions." He wrote in his notebook.

 

I could tell he did not like what I was saying. He had his idea of what autism was, a genetic psychological condition, not poisoning healthy children into "autism." I did not censor myself at all with his questions. I told him what I thought happened to my son, that we don't have a "regular" doctor anymore, that my child was basically poisoned, had numerous infections, and was brain damaged after birth. Again, scribbling in the notebook and looking at me like I had two heads ensued. He asked me who our physician was. I didn't answer him and after pressing me, I told him it was none of his business who I chose to treat my family. More scribbles. He said, "You don't trust the medical or mental health professionals, do you?" I answered, "No, they are part of what damaged my son, why would I?" More scribbles. He had to shuffle off to sharpen his pencil after that one. FAIL!

 

Then the real fun began. Dr. Relic asked my son to come and sit on the opposite side of his desk and without addressing him by name, blurts out "Count to ten." My son was tuning us out during our discussion and really didn't know Dr. Relic was talking to him. After he didn't answer, and Dr. Relic wrote something on his paperwork, I said, "You need to say his name first, so he knows you're talking to him directly." He replied, "I have to do it a certain way." "Say the alphabet." Again, my son didn't know he was speaking to him and didn't respond. I said "He knows both of those things, you're not asking it the right way." He was getting annoyed with me, so I finally realized that the goal was to get him to say my son has autism and get on with the process. I crossed my arms and stared out the window and let him do it "his way." My son was super stimmy and whiny, which was probably a good thing, but it was a glaring example to me of what is so messed up with the current system, and I truly feel that is a huge injustice to our sick kids. FAIL! 

 

I tried to find a happy place and focus on the goal, not trying to prove something to someone who clearly had no interest in my first-hand knowledge of what happened to my child. He was the expert, after all, and was so proud to show me a framed study that he took part in with autistic adults learning new skills after doing a certain something or another. I feigned interest while in my head thought, "Our kids are so screwed." FAIL!

 

I cried when I got home thinking this is the system that is set up to determine eligibility for disability benefits for "autism." On one hand, with that questionnaire and the subsequent "testing" done, many people who shouldn't qualify will, taking money away from those who need it most, and children that were damaged by vaccines and other environmental insults will be lumped into a category that they don't belong in and get the same benefits, which amounts to pretty much nothing. After receiving a letter in the mail saying that my son qualified medically for SSI (based on Dr. Relic's assessment), we had to see if he qualified financially for it, based on our income.

 

My mom, who is retired, gets Social Security benefits. She does not have to prove her earnings on a monthly basis to determine how much she receives each month. She can't earn a certain amount more in a year, or she's penalized, but she gets the same amount each month. For a child with a disability, you have to show them your income each month to determine if you are still eligible. But, they base it on last year's earnings, and self-employed is different than employed, yadda, yadda, yadda. There are so many rules and exceptions, it makes no sense.

 

In my opinion, if a child has regressive autism, a disease caused in part by the government's mandated vaccine schedule, the child should receive some sort of compensation for the rest of their lives, regardless of the parent's income! The way it stands now, you have to be basically living in poverty to qualify, and they make you jump through hoop after hoop, after hoop, hoping you'll just give up, and then....you get a measly maximum of $700-some dollars a month (depending on your income that month). According to the SSI representative I spoke with, ours will be around $500 a month, if we qualify. This doesn't even pay for organic food for one person for a month! FAIL!

 

Evidently, they haven't seen the latest statistics that it costs $60,000 a year on average to treat children with (medical) autism. Between many hours of ABA therapy, speech therapy, special diets, lab testing, doctors visits, HBOT, AIT, etc., etc., etc...This is why we are in the predicament we are in to begin with!! Paying for everything out of pocket because autism was excluded from insurance benefits when we had it. To top it all off, while discussing our financial status with the afore mentioned SSI representative, she suggested that I just kick back and not work much so that we still qualify for SSI, because we are on the cusp of qualifying, but that if I made too much, it could disqualify us. So, being a college graduate, I'm supposed to just kick back and not earn a good income with potential health care benefits (which is another FAIL! story) for my family in order to receive $500 a month? FAIL!

 

It's no wonder so many people choose to be lazy and collect various Government handouts. I know people who are on disability (probably through work) but come to the gym and take my Pilates classes. So, you're supposedly disabled and can't work, but you can work out on a Pilates reformer, play golf, and run, but my son who was disabled by faulty medical practices, vaccines, GMO foods, among other things, can only qualify for a measly amount of money per month to help pay for his therapy, school, what have you? EPIC FAIL! 

 

Even though I am a very spiritual person, I'm still a human being and most importantly, a mother trying to heal her son. I still get angry at the injustice facing our kids. The way the system is set up to care for our children with "autism" is an absolute FAIL! When the other relics in the system still think that autism is a psychological condition, and that our government only gives financial assistance to those with low income (even if their child's condition is what got them there), we have a huge problem on our hands. Many of our kids cannot advocate for themselves. We have to do it for them. What happens when they are adults and have not recovered to a degree to take care of themselves? What happens when their parents are no longer here or able to care for them? Will they both be fighting for space in nursing homes? I'm predicting another...FAIL!

 

We still have not received an answer or any payments since first applying for SSI last October (six months ago), but it certainly has been eye-opening. I am interviewing for a full-time position with benefits, and do not want to be part of the Free Shit Army. My husband's income is getting better and better each month, so hopefully we won't qualify. But, if we do, we would be required to show where all of our money comes from each month, and our payout would change monthly according to that, and if we have over $2,000, we don't qualify...the list goes on and on. We were among the casualties of the housing market fail in NV and are dealing with that nightmare as well. So, like my mom, people who retire and get SSI, get the same amount each month, and don't have to show their monthly income to receive benefits, but a family with a child with autism does. FAIL!    

 

The SSI representative that I spoke with on the phone during our interview must have noticed my unhappiness with their requirements, and added that if I wanted to change their policies, I had to contact our state representatives who make the laws. Like I need another thing on my plate. I guess someone is going to have to do it at some point. But learning the truth would mean accountability on some level. Relics in the medical community and the government don't want to believe that children with regressive autism have a different condition than people born with classic autism. It would mean that they are wrong, and potentially liable. Their enormous egos would not allow that.  

 

Now that I've vented, I need to go do some yoga. Namaste.  

 

Enjoy the 33 minutes of Epic Fail Compilation, feel free to skip the pharma ad.

 

 



      

Blog Introduction

This probably should have been the first blog I wrote, but I wanted to test the waters first with the other two, and now I think I'm going to give this blog a whirl. This blog stems from one of my three books. The Other Side of Autism: Famous Spirits Unveil Regressive Autism's Causes and Remedies is a book collaboration that I did with Michael and Marti Parry from late 2010-2011. It came out in 2012. I wrote the book based on my son with regressive autism, and also did the research, editing and publishing. Michael Parry is a phenomenal medium, who channeled information from the spirit world for the book, and his wife Marti, also a medium, did the spirit art (portraits and images shown to her by spirit), as well as the cover. 

The story of how the book came to be is pretty incredible, to say the least. It can be ordered through the book's website www.theothersideofautism.com. It's a long story, but let's just say that there are lots of folks in the spirit world besides my dead relatives who are interested in what is happening to our children, causing 1 in 50 to be diagnosed with regressive autism. When we started the book project, we went into it with no expectations, and let "them" decide who was going to come through and talk to us when we began each session. We were open to whomever wanted to come forth and give us information to help us understand and help not only my son, but all children with "autism." They gave very specific information to validate who they were, which was not confirmed until after the sessions with some internet research. The fact that these spirits could tell Michael names, dates, places, etc. connected to them, and I did the research afterward and found that what they said was indeed true, led us to believe that everything else they were telling us was also true. 

We did 23 sessions, and were blown away not only by what was said, but by who said it. Some of the spirits were people directly connected to me (my late husband, friends, my father, grandparents), but surprisingly, as the book's subtitle implies, many famous scientists, politicians, and medical people came through in our sessions. I'm not trying to name drop, this is what actually happened, but the leader of the pack was Albert Einstein. Many of the people who came through in later sessions were connected to Albert in life, although we didn't always know it at the time of the session. Some of the more well know spirits were Marie Curie, FDR, numerous members of the Kennedy family including JFK and RFK, J. Robert Oppenheimer, George Bernard Shaw, and Martin Luther King, Jr.. Some of the lesser know spirits were Werner Heisenberg, Arthur Stanley Eddington, John von Neumann, Friedrich Dessauer, Wolfgang Pauli, and numerous other scientists that knew Albert, along with Henry David Thoreau, Sir John Hunter, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe, Edgar Cayce, and some Russian scientists. Most surprising and delightful to me was when Bernard Rimland (founder of the Autism Research Institute) showed up. He's one of my heroes. 



 

I know how crazy this sounds, but because I had been having sessions with mediums for many years after the sudden death of my first husband, I didn't question it. I had already been shown proof of life after death, which I wrote about in my first book, Widowed Too Soon, and was always guided and given advice during channeling sessions in the past. After my beloved child disappeared into the world of autism, nothing could stop me from finding the answers to heal him and learn what happened to him. He was not born with autism. I figured that dead people had a much wider vantage point, and knew things that we didn't here on Earth, and that perhaps they could help us solve the autism puzzle faster. Be careful what you wish for...   

The things I'm going to blog about are going to include many of the things that came through during the channeling sessions as some of the causes of the autism epidemic, and some of the remedies. I also want to blog about certain topics that our children face, and will face as they grow up. This is an extension of the book, if you will. I will also post updates and new information. I would also like this blog to be a meeting place for spiritually minded people, especially those who have or work with children with autism. Not the airy-fairy, my child is a crystal child and doesn't need to change kind of spirituality. The real life parents who understand that regressive autism is medical and are trying to heal their sick child, but who also believe in life after death and mediumship. I know you're out there...

xo, Laura

Autism UN-Awareness Month

It's April, which is known as Autism Awareness Month. You will see buildings "Light it up Blue" for autism awareness, blue hair, blue fingernails, puzzle pieces, etc....The problem with all this awareness is that nothing is being done to stop it. Veteran parents of children with regressive autism can tell our truths until we are "blue" in the face, warning other potential parents of the dangers that caused our own precious, once-healthy children decline in health and become "autistic," but it mostly falls on deaf ears. The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results (thanks Albert). The new autism rate is now 1 in 50!!! 1 in 31 boys. This number is going to continue to get worse every year because we have not changed what is causing regressive autism.

I like to call April "Autism UN-Awareness Month" because the majority of the people out there are unaware that regressive autism is MEDICAL, not a psychological disorder or a genetic disorder. This inaccurate label is preventing many children from ameliorating many of their "autistic" symptoms, or dare I say recovering. When addressing the reasons for the symptoms and behaviors and treating them, the child improves. Imagine that. They include but are not limited to: infections (bacterial, viral, fungal, parasites), food allergies and intolerances, numerous GI issues (inflammation, leaky gut, absorption, dysbiosis), brain damage, immune system dysfunction. We are talking about a disease process here. Let me make my definition of autism very clear...I am talking about children who were born healthy and then became sick (autistic) afterwards. Not adults with autism (not the same thing), not people with Asperger's (not the same thing), not children who had birth trauma and were damaged at birth (not the same thing). Regressive autism: children who were born healthy, then regressed and were not healthy. These differences are vital, but they all get lumped together, causing more confusion.

What hasn't changed that's contributing to the autism epidemic? For starters, we are still mandating that all children receive an onslaught of over 30 vaccines before age 2, filled with toxins and genetically engineered foreign DNA, aborted fetal tissue, chemicals, heavy metals, antibiotics, and other nasties that were never tested for safety and efficacy. Don't believe the pharma propaganda and outright lies. There are numerous studies that show links between vaccines and autism, but you won't see them on the news. Have you seen all the pharmaceutical ads? Who do you think is paying for the programming? They're certainly not going to point the finger at themselves and take any of the blame. Blame the parents, that seems to be working! They keep deflecting and suggesting that everything else under the sun increases the risk for autism EXCEPT the elephant in the room: vaccines. Old moms and dads and grandpas, overweight moms, moms on antidepressants, living near a freeway, pollution, having a brain (okay, that last one I made up, but you get the picture.) None of the items in those "studies" were true for me, and yet I had a child who regressed into autism. People are so gullible and believe what they hear because it was on TV, or because their Doctor told them so. Critical thinking is dead, but blind faith and cognitive dissonance are alive and well.

It's not just the vaccines causing autism. There are many factors. For instance, foods that are genetically engineered to rip open the stomachs of bugs that eat it cannot be safe for an infant to eat, especially one with a compromised immune system. A child with thrush (fungal infection) and eczema has a compromised immune system. Don't even get me started on military connection here (you'll have to read my book for that). Genetic engineering again is at play, I will say that much. We need to take a hard look at what we are doing to our children. They are our future, and that future looks bleak when 2 percent of them have autism, and 1 in 6 have other developmental disorders. It is only going to get worse until we stop and make some fundamental changes and clean up their food, water and environment. Start listening to the eye witnesses, the parents, who watched and lived through what happened to their child, not the very people who are vested in the lies.    

So, Light it up Blue if it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, but unawareness is going to do absolutely nothing to help recover sick children or prevent more from children from succumbing to the same fate. I can only pray that it is not too late to unravel this mess and stop this preventable disaster from devastating more families.

XO, Laura  

GMOs and Autism

     When I first found out that my favorite blog, TMR was going to allow guest bloggers, I was beside myself with excitement! Not only because I am also a fellow Thinking Mom and a writer with three books under my belt, but because I had the pleasure of meeting some of the TMR moms at Autism One in May, 2012. I loved these kindred spirits and fully supported their mission. I had the perfect topic in mind for the guest blog I wanted to write based on a documentary I am blessed to be featured in. The topic is GMOs and autism, and the documentary is called Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of Our Lives by Jeffrey Smith, international bestselling author of Seeds of Deception and worldwide GMO expert. See it here.

     Unfortunately, TMR’s Savage beat me to the punch and did a blog about GMOs in October, 2012. She did a fantastic job explaining some of the basics and the history of GMO, but I’ve realized that there is a bigger story to tell here, specifically how GMOs can contribute to autism. So, I’m going to share my experience and knowledge on the subject as well. GMOs are another piece of the puzzle.
 

     My son with regressive autism is now 15. Like most of you, I have done endless research over the years trying to figure out what caused and how to fix the damage done to my child who was born healthy. He has made huge improvements along the way after countless interventions. Removing GMOs from his diet was certainly one of the contributing factors to those gains. For those of you who don’t know what a GMO is, let’s start with a little background.
 

     GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism, also known interchangeably as GM (Genetically Modified) or GE (Genetically Engineered). Genetically Modified or “transgenic” crops are created in a laboratory, not by hybridization or cross-breeding techniques. There is nothing natural about it, hence the nickname “Frankenfood.” Genes are moved into a plant from other species (often bacteria and viruses) to obtain a desired trait. The majority of GE crops contain one of two genetically modified traits: an insecticidal toxin from the Bt bacterium/toxin (Bacillus thuringiensis), or resistance to an herbicide (Glyphosate, commonly known as Round-up), owned by Monsatano, I mean Monsanto. In plants modified with the Bt toxin, the plant produces its own pesticide, killing insects that eat it. Bt pesticide is meant to puncture holes into the guts of the bugs that eat it. In “Roundup Ready” plants, the GE plants can be sprayed with the herbicide Glyphosate, killing all the weeds around it, but not the GE plants.    
 

     GE crops are banned in 80 countries or require labeling; the U.S. and Canada are not among them. Prop 37, which was on the California ballot in November to label GMOs was mysteriously defeated, even though 90 percent of people want to know what’s in their food. That is another story. According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, the current breakdown of GE foods in the U.S. is: Soy (94%), Corn (88%), Sugar beets (95%), Canola (93%), Cottonseed (93%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), Alfalfa (recently approved), Zucchini and Yellow Squash (small amount) and Tobacco (Quest brand). Basically, these crops and everything made from these crops (corn oil, soy lecithin, high fructose corn syrup, sugar that isn’t labeled “cane sugar”, tofu, etc.) that is not certified organic (can’t have genetically engineered ingredients) probably contains GMOs. Roughly 75% of all packaged foods contain GMO ingredients. Unless you eat at organic restaurants, most items at fast food and other restaurants contain GMO ingredients. 
 

     Other sources of GMOs include dairy products from cows injected with GE hormone, food additives, enzymes, flavorings, and processing agents, including the sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet®), and rennet used to make hard cheeses, meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals that have eaten GE feed, honey and bee pollen that may have GE sources of pollen. As you can see, they are everywhere. Until GMO labeling laws are passed, The Non-GMO project is an independent labeling organization that verifies and labels non-GMO products. You can find the verified list here. 

     So, what’s the big deal about GMO’s anyway? Why are they so bad? First of all, they were never tested for safety in animal or human feeding studies before they were snuck into the food supply. Only now, after being human guinea pigs for over a decade, are we seeing the effects in livestock and humans. Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food including infertility (the seeds are engineered to not reproduce, so new seeds have to be purchased every year, and mice fed GE soy all become infertile a few generations later), immune problems, changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, allergies, auto-immune disease, and most recently, tumors.

     The first long term feeding study done on rats that ate the same GM corn that we eat in the U.S. produced startling results. Up to 50% of males and 70% of females suffered premature death, rats fed GM corn and traces of Roundup suffered severe organ damage, including liver and kidney damage, and rats that drank trace amounts of Roundup (at levels legally found in the water supply) had a 200% to 300% increase in large tumors. These are the rats from the study. See the details here.

     I first found out about a possible link between autism and GMO in Dec. 2010, while putting together my third book, The Other Side of Autism, and immediately changed our eating habits (again), and threw out everything potentially containing GMO from our kitchen in one fell swoop. This did not leave much behind. I was a total food Nazi. It was out of love and concern, but it drastically changes the foods you can eat, even for those on restricted diets. I noticed improvements in both boys as well as myself. I noticed improvements in digestion, behavior, attention, moods, and headaches by removing GMOs.
 

     Fast forward to May 2012. I was going to the Autism One conference in Chicago, and found out that Jeffrey Smith was going to be giving a presentation called “Do Genetically Engineered Foods Promote Autism” and I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say! I arrived a bit early to make sure I had the right room, and to my surprise, Mr. Smith himself was in the hallway, preparing his camera to record the presentation. I knew who he was because I had watched many of the talks he had done online about GMO and considered him a true pioneer and held him in very high regard. I summoned up the courage and introduced myself, thanked him for what he’s done and for making the connection to autism. I proceeded to tell him our GMO story and about my son with autism, and when I finished babbling, he asked me if I’d be willing to give my testimonial on video for an upcoming documentary he was finishing up. I told him that I would be honored, and after his fantastic presentation, I did my interview. It was the day after the TMR karaoke night, so I wasn’t really prepared to be in a documentary, but I’m the mom featured in the autism segment and in a few others as well. My red hair (at the time) is hard to miss. There is a picture of my son drinking his “Frankenformula” and a few other pictures of him as well. See Jeffrey Smith’s Autism One presentation here.
 

     What is the connection between GMOs and autism, you ask? There are many. The autism epidemic (regressive autism) exploded in the 1990’s. In 1994, rBGH (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone), a Genetically Engineered growth hormone, began to be injected into cows to make them produce more milk. GE corn and soy were introduced in 1996. Have you read a label of infant formula? It not only contains milk derivatives which are genetically engineered, but also soy and corn derivatives. Regressive autism is 12 times more common in formula fed infants than breastfed infants. What happens when an infant ingests Bt toxin that is meant to create holes in the digestive tracts of insects? Leaky gut anyone? The cows are also fed GE corn and alfalfa.
 

     My son was formula fed, was colicky and wouldn’t tolerate it, so he was put on soy formula (soy is genetically engineered), then switched back to cow’s milk at age one (with GE bovine growth hormones). During later testing, he was allergic to milk, soy and corn. Nice. Then comes the Franken-finger foods: Cheerios, Goldfish crackers, etc., and all the juice boxes made with GMO ingredients (mostly high fructose corn syrup). It was everywhere, and we were blissfully unaware! Even if you breastfed, you were eating GMO, and as you’ll see from the study below, you weren’t safe either.   
 

     A recent study from the University of Sherbrooke, Canada has shown the presence of Bt toxin in the blood of 93 percent of pregnant women and in 80 percent of their unborn babies blood. The study has been accepted for publication in the peer reviewed journal Reproductive Toxicology. Promoters of GE crops have maintained that Bt toxin poses no danger to human health as the protein breaks down in the human gut. The presence of Bt toxin in maternal and fetal blood proves that this is untrue. The fact that Bt toxin flows through our blood supply, and that it passes through the placenta into fetuses, may help explain the rise in many disorders in the US since Bt crop varieties were first introduced, coincidentally around the same time the autism epidemic began.
 

     Additionally, because Bt toxin is transgenic, it can potentially transfer to the bacteria in our gut, thus creating Bt pesticide producing bacteria within the body. Your body now produces its own pesticide! If the rat pictures weren’t enough, that fact alone should make you clear out your kitchen cabinets as I did. GM corn is meant to produce its own pesticide. Corn is in everything, including body care and supplements. Many supplements which our kids take use soy and corn derivatives and some use GM microorganisms to produce their products. The Non-GMO project has a verified list of vitamins and supplements here.
 

     Glyphosate (Roundup) has its own dangers. It is patented as a microbiocide, meant to kill intestinal microorganisms. Cows are now dying of botulism because their beneficial gut bacteria have been altered by glyphosate. Is it possible that human gut flora is also being destroyed by GMOs and glyphosate? Gut dysbiosis anyone? Glyphosate is linked to a newly discovered fungal pathogen causing Sudden Death Syndrome in plants, as well as glyphosate resistant superweeds and superbugs, destroyed soil quality, and an 80-90% reduction of micronutrients in GE plants. It is carried by the wind and is in our air and water.     

     Additionally, a recent study published in April 2013 by Anthony Samsel and Stephanie Seneff document the effects of glyphosate as a pathway to modern disease, including autism. Specifically, glyphosate inhibits the CYP enzymes, which detoxify xenobiotics. Glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins. There is a great video with Dr, Seneff and Jeffrey Smith including the new information regarding glyphosate and autism which can be seen here. There is also a two-part video with Dr. Samsel interviewed by the incredible Zen Honeycutt of Moms Across America that can be viewed here. The GMO/glyphosate link to "autism" is undeniable.
 

     It is imperative that our immune-compromised children eat a non-GMO diet. This is the biggest food issue to not only our children, but to life on this planet. How can they get well if they keep eating it? So, how do you avoid GMOs?

 

• Buy organic. Certified organic products cannot intentionally include any GMO ingredients.
• Look for the Non-GMO Project Seals. Visit: www.nonGMOproject.org for more information on their third-party verification program. They independently verify per individual product, not for an entire brand.
• Avoid risky ingredients: Avoid products made with ingredients that might be derived from GMOs. A complete list of Non-GMO products available can be found by visiting www.nonGMOShoppingGuide.com. There are also apps available for the iPhone, free at the iTunes store.

Please, check out the award winning, PBS broadcast documentary Genetic Roulette for the whole story on GMO's. See the trailer here. You can also read more about my fascinating journey on how I first learned of the link between autism and GMO's (and other causes of autism) in my most recent book The Other Side of Autism by visiting www.theothersideofautism.com.
 

--XO, Laura Hirsch