Karen Thomas didn't expect to become an autism recovery expert. She was a holistic health professional, a massage and craniosacral therapist, happily married and mother to a happy-go-lucky, vibrant two-year-old son. Then came the change.
In 1998, following a routine hospital visit where her son received the hepatitis B shot, Karen noticed her son Jacob had changed.
He became very introverted, and hyperfocused to the point where he wouldn’t hear or respond to people talking to him. Simultaneously, he became extremely oppositional and experienced profound anxiety with headaches and stomach aches that would wake him up screaming at 3 a.m.
It wasn’t till Jacob was almost 10 years old that Karen finally received diagnosis – Asperger syndrome.
Karen finally took things into her own hands, after a behavioural therapist suggested she drugged her son as a form of therapy. Karen was appalled. With her holistic background working with the brain and my craniosacral background, she knew the brain is malleable, and can change. So, she went to work.
Today—after 14 years of Karen's intense research into the many causes and triggers of autism, developing treatment protocols and working with her son on her own— Jacob is fully recovered and away at college."I spent $150,000 and thousands and thousands of hours researching. But it was worth it, because not only have I recovered my son, it has put me in a position to help others."
Know what you're dealing with
The prevalence of autism is rapidly escalating, and it's more common in boys than girls by a ratio of approximately five to one. For years it was thought to be primarily a genetic disorder passed on by the parents, but today chromosomal testing reveals that approximately 80 percent of children with ASD have a normal genome.
A growing number of brain studies show high levels of neuroinflammation and neuronal damage in people with ASD, indicating that something else is going on besides inheritance and developmental mishaps.
The science of recovery
Karen, developed her four-step program through years of research and trial and error in her quest to find solutions to her own son's symptoms. Every step is supported by scientific evidence and intended to provide a simple framework for individualized treatment strategies.
1. Heal the gut:
An elimination diet supplemented with omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics, vitamins and minerals has been shown to relieve autism symptoms (as well as gastrointestinal disorders).1 A gluten-free and casein (dairy)-free diet has also been linked to reduced symptoms of autism.2 Studies also show an association of gut dysfunction and gut dysbiosis with ASD symptoms.32. Detox from Heavy Metals:
Exposure to heavy metals such as lead and mercury have been linked to the development of autism by triggering neuroinflammation and excitotoxicity.4 Immune-related excitotoxicity—where inflammation in the brain leads to dangerously high levels of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, triggering a cascade of events that disrupts brain function—is both directly and indirectly linked to autism.5This inflammation can result from persistent infections and particularly environmental excitotoxins such as aluminum and fluoride. Dr Chris Exsley, PhD, professor of bioinorganic chemistry at Keele University in Staffordshire, UK, has conducted research suggesting that aluminum contributes to autism and that individuals with autism may be more susceptible to aluminum toxicity.
Exposure to mercury is also an established risk factor for autism. In a review of 91 studies on the topic, 74 percent found a connection between mercury and ASD.6 And the baby teeth from children with autism were found to contain more toxic lead and less of the essential nutrients zinc and manganese than teeth from children without autism.7
3. Clear coinfections:
Infection with the Lyme bacteria, borreliosis, has been linked to mental disorders including ASD and autism-like symptoms.8 New brain scanning techniques show that, indeed, brain inflammation is related to Lyme disease,9 as well as being a tell-tale sign of autism.10
4. Clear any mold exposure:
Exposure to molds and their mycotoxins has also been found to negatively impact the nervous system through immune cell activation and thus contribute to ASD.11
Global interest
Four years ago, Karen wrote and published a book on her autism recovery protocol titled Naturally Recovering Autism: The Complete Step-By-Step Resource Handbook for Parents. She also started a web-based program called Autism Moms Mentoring Program that takes parents of children with autism through a step-by-step process of recovery.Karen's four-step program follows the comprehensive yet holistic approach she took with Jacob. Today, both the book and her program are being used by parents in over 40 countries.
References
1 Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig, 2013; 64: 1-12
2 Nutr Neurosci, 2010; 13: 87-100
3 Front Nutr. 2018; 5: 40
4 Environ Res, 2018; 116: 234-50
5 Surg Neurol Int, 2018; 9: 74
6 J Trace Elem Med Biol, 2016; 37: 8-24
7 Nat Commun, 2017; 8: 15493
8 Healthcare (Basel), 2018; 6. pii: E104
9 J Neuroinflammation, 2018; 15: 346
10 Nat Commun, 2014; 5: 5748
11 Clin Ther, 2018; 40: 903-17
After developing Parkinson's disease and searching out a natural cure, international best-selling author John Gray of Mars/Venus fame made an astonishing connection between the condition, his childhood, and his stratospheric success.
One night while watching TV, John's wife Bonnie looked over at him with alarm. "John, your head is shaking," she said. Gray was shocked. He'd had no idea his head was moving, but once he did, he couldn't do anything to stop it. "I would focus my mind, my head would involuntarily shake back and forth, and I was powerless to control it," he said.
Over the next few days, he realized the tremors were getting worse. A few days later, his doctor finally put a label on his symptoms. Early stages of Parkinson.
Gray learnt that the treatments available through his doctor would only grant temporary relief, and over time his body would come to depend on it and need more. This sort of 'treatment' was not acceptable, so Gray embarked on his own search for a cure. He came across the work of Dr William Hitt, who treats patients with a variety of 'brain' conditions. Gray was impressed to learn that patients of every variety, including those addicted to cocaine, were coming off their drugs without side-effects.
At Hitt’s clinic, John received an intravenous (IV) infusion of a number of amino acids and nutritional supplements, which enabled his body to make enough dopamine. Within nine days, all his symptoms had disappeared.
When he returned home, Bonnie noticed that it wasn't just the shaking that had stopped. John was less distracted and restless when she talked to him, and more relaxed and present, more interested in their relationship and the family.
John himself noticed an even bigger change - life felt a good deal easier than it had been before. He had more energy, less distraction, more discipline. His life felt orderly and organized.
"Then it dawned on me. Most of my life, I had ADHD [attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder] and didn't know it. I just thought life was hard. I had no idea that life could be so much easier; I simply concluded my problems were my problems and I had to just push through them every day. I had no idea that I was experiencing many of the common symptoms of ADHD."
As John began researching the causes of ADHD, he discovered a common link between Parkinson's disease, ADHD and other mental conditions: a down-regulation of dopamine.
An even bigger light-bulb moment came when he realized that the brain-killer common to all these conditions was hyperstimulation in its various forms: too much sugar; too many loud, brightly coloured video games; too many street and prescription drugs; and, in his own case, too much stratospheric success.
In 1992, Gray had published his international mega-hit Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, which went on to hold the record as the best-selling hard-cover non-fiction book of all time. For some six years, it topped best-seller charts around the world.
"Our family would be having Sunday brunch and listing something good that happened to each of us that week. And when it came to my turn, every week for six years I'd reply, 'Well, I'm still number 1 on The New York Times best-seller list.'
"I had international celebrity status, I had my own private jet, I was fêted wherever I went; I had the high lifestyle and stimulation of mega-success and, in a sense, nothing else was giving me pleasure."
All this attention proved to be overwhelming. At the end of those six years, he developed his first signs of Parkinson's..
Dr Hitt's treatment for Gray would last for three months before he'd have to return for another series of treatments. But after several visits to the Mexican clinic, John decided to formulate his own oral supplement programme, which eventually included brain rebuilders like undenatured whey protein and other amino acids that help the body produce its own dopamine. He takes these supplements in a morning shake and hasn't suffered from tremors for 12 years.
In the process of healing himself and observing how it improved his own relationships, Gray, the relationship expert, began to recognize the enormous effect of our modern overstimulated world on men and women and also on their relationships .Increasingly, the line between his clients' relationships and their health became blurred.
He went on to spend some of the proceeds from his books on a major health centre at his ranch in California, enlisting complimentary doctors and naturopaths to research natural and inexpensive solutions for the health of his clients. After 12 years he closed his health centres to focus on educating the public about what they learned. He now counsels those who come to him for marital issues about their health as well. In his latest book on relationships-Staying Focused in a Hyper World-he suggests various natural supplements and treatments to heal the brain of ADHD, restore memory and improve brain performance
Having flown in a cosmic orbit for many years, Mars has never been happier, now that both feet are firmly planted back on Earth. "This," John says of his latest work about health and its connection to relationships, "is what I live for."
Come listen to John Gray speak at the Get Well Show on Saturday 14th November where he'll be talking about his book Staying Focused in a Hyper World and natural solutions for ADHD.
Get your tickets now!
In early 2004, in a football game against the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens fractured his fibula, ripped the deltoid ligament from his tibia, sprained his ankle, and "shredded" his interosseous ligament. Post-surgery he was told by his surgeon that there was no chance he would be able to play in the upcoming Super Bowl and he might never play again.
Not only did Owens play in that Super Bowl, he made nine catches totalling 122 yards and went on to play pro football for another eight years.
How was this possible? He called Carolyn McMakin.
A clinical researcher, lecturer and author as well as a chiropractor, McMakin got involved with frequency-specific microcurrent (FSM) technology after friend and fellow chiropractor, George Douglas, DC, inherited a two-channel current-producing machine built in 1922 and a 1920s-era frequency list when he bought an osteopathic practice from Harry Van Gelder in 1983. The machine and the list of frequencies languished in a drawer until Douglas stumbled upon them years later.
"At that point we had a two-channel analog microcurrent machine," says McMakin. "He looked at the list and said, 'You know, Harry's old machine had two channels. I wonder if these frequencies would work on this microcurrent machine?' I said, 'I don't know. Let's try it.' So, we started treating each other, and nothing bad happened."
"That's the wonderful thing about FSM. Once you have a tool that lets you do this stuff, a whole world of possibilities opens up."
By 1996, she started treating patients. And by the end of that year, McMakin was doing "impossible" things with chronic pain patients, alleviating nerve and muscle pain, and treating patients with fibromyalgia, myofascial pain and chronic fatigue that nobody and nothing else could fix.
She was finding repeatedly the same thing. Patients, who had been suffering from chronic pain levels for over 12 years, walking in at an average of seven, and an hour later leaving pain-free.
But McMakin knew she couldn’t rely on objective results alone – she needed scientific results to back this up.
In the blood
McMakin sent blood samples she had collected to a laboratory to see if there were differences pre and post her treatments. The samples showed major changes in levels of cytokines, small proteins produced by white blood cells that drive inflammation, including interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (which is produced during acute inflammation); CGRP, a molecule involved in pain transmission and the dilation of blood vessels; the neurotransmitters serotonin and substance P, which is involved in inflammation and pain sensation; and the anti-inflammatory hormone cortisol.
"Every pain specialist knows that substance P is produced in the spinal cord and that huge changes in substance P could only mean that the treatment did indeed affect spinal cord function," says McMakin. "The dramatic reductions in inflammatory cytokines mean that the treatment reduced inflammation, and the huge increases in serotonin and cortisol had to be the explanation for the induced euphoria."
Healing within minutes
So far, studies have shown that FSM therapy can:
A world of possibilities
McMakin says that treating a patient with microcurrents is actually the easy part of her work. Knowing what she needs to treat is the trick. She can't always go by the medical diagnosis that a patient walks in with, because diagnoses are often incorrect.
By way of example she describes a 70-year-old woman who claimed she had chronic fatigue syndrome—specifically a diagnosis of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), given at age 40 after the birth of her seventh child.
"She experienced right arm pain such that she couldn't lift the child, along with horrible body pain and weakness in her arms—a painful condition that continued, unrelenting, for 30 years," says McMakin.
"I asked her, 'Do you get sore throats, fevers or swollen glands?' She said no to all three. So I said, 'Then why did they diagnose you with ME?' And she said, 'I don't know.'" McMakin suspected she had fibromyalgia, not ME, and treated her accordingly. An hour later the woman was pain-free.
"We did one more treatment on her and that was it," says McMakin. "It wasn't hard. But the diagnosis was wrong. Nobody treated her correctly because ME is considered incurable. Which means nobody stopped to consider other possibilities. And that's the wonderful thing about FSM. Once you have a tool that lets you do this stuff, a whole world of possibilities opens up."
References
1 J Altern Complement Med, 2013; 19: 170-7
2 Top Clin Chiro, 1998; 5: 29 21, 2003
3 Proceedings of John Bowswick Burn and Wound Symposium, Maui, HI, 2003
4 J Bodyw Mov Ther, 2005; 9: 169-76
5 J Bodyw Mov Ther, 2010; 14: 272-9
6 Clin Ophthalmol, 2015; 9: 2345-53
