Talked With Dr. Hines Again

Dr. Hines did a phone consult with me on Sunday morning. We went over all of Ben's tests and she explained some things to me I didn't know and gave me some new recommendations. Even though, Ben's tests didn't show a significant level of mercury, she remains convinced that it is a major problem with him. He's very low on zinc and iron (iron deficiency alone is a cause of mental retardation) and the depletion of basic minerals isn't even allowing the mercury to come out in his urine, thus the low test scores. So we're still going to do the NDF Plus for now. As for all his food sensitivities . . . she says because he tested positive for 21 items, and that's pretty high, she says that definitely indicates a leaky gut (thought to be a cause of autism for those of you who are saying HUH?) and she is recommending another diet called the Specific Carborhydrate Diet, or SCD, which basically cuts out all grains and most starches, leaving basically protein, fruits, nuts and vegetables and some dairy. It's kind of like the Atkins diet. I've been researching it, and it seems to have a terrific track record helping all kinds of intestinal disorders, including kids with autism. But it will not be easy to do, so I'm still mulling it over. I thinks Ben has been doing well on the enzymes and a 99% gluten free, casein free diet, but sure, I'd love to shoot for the miraculous. I'm adding a probiotic to his regimen, on her recommendation. A probiotic is a dose of good bacterial cultures to help with intestinal healing. In theory, we should all take probiotics. I'm thinking about adding another enzyme to his diet, this one called No Fenol, supposedly it aids gut healing without the need to go on the SCD. I would love to find an easy way out of having to put him on the diet. I guess the good things about it all it, its short term. We should be seeing improvement in a month, if there is none, then he goes off the SCD diet. But I think I'll try the No Fenol first. On a positive note, some of you may remember I did the ATEC assesment two months ago and Ben scored a 102 on his autistic symptoms, which puts him up there in the severly affected category. Rob and I took the ATEC together ( to keep me honest ) two nights ago and Ben only scored a 62! So we've definitely seen some quantifiable improvement. Last night at dinner, he took a big bite of it (chicken with pineapple BBQ sauce and white rice, if you care) and said "Num num num num" and signed "more" before feeding himself another big bite. I think he was complimenting the meal! Tonight, I asked him if he wanted a cookie and he immediately signed "more" for it when I waited for his answer. I think he's getting the basics of communication down. Hopefully, I'll have more good news soon.