Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    A Parent's Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder
    A Parent's Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder
    A Parent's Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder
    Ebook85 pages1 hour

    A Parent's Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder

    By Melinda Sharma

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Autism is a complex, heterogeneous condition whose incidence is skyrocketing. It is becoming increasingly clear that a subset of children diagnosed with autism suffer from treatable physical illness. Although autism is diagnosed based on a constellation of behavioral symptoms, when underlying physical illnesses are identified and treated properly, children can reach their maximum potential and are even losing their diagnosis altogether. Presently, parents are given resources limited to education, speech and behavioral therapies, but may not realize that their child's brain cannot function if their body is burdened with illness. The few practitioners who understand autism as a chronic illness are overwhelmed, and often have long waiting lists. In this book, Dr. Sharma reviews the importance of understanding the basics of the immune system so that parents can more rapidly access appropriate treatments for their child. For example, how do you know if your child's immune system is healthy, or impaired? What laboratory tests might be important to diagnose poor immune health and the presence of stealth infections? What should you ask your doctor if your child suddenly develops anxiety, obsessions, compulsions, or tics? In simple terms, Dr. Sharma breaks down the complexities of microbiology and immunology and provides critical information that it may otherwise take years for parents to collect. Her perspective as immunologist, holistic nutrition consultant and parent of a recovering child is unique, and her hope is contagious. The most important advice is to never give up on your child, at any age!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMelinda Sharma
    Release dateApr 12, 2016
    ISBN9781310171925
    A Parent's Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder
    Author

    Melinda Sharma

    Dr. Melinda (Borrello) Sharma is an immunologist and holistic nutrition consultant. She is a published author and inventor whose work has appeared in Immunology Today, Nature Medicine, the Journal of Immunology and many other prominent scientific journals and books. She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards from the National Institutes of Health. However, her most important achievement is being a mother who struggled to reach her child severely affected with immune dysfunction that was labeled “autism”. By scouring the earth to find practitioners who look beyond the autism label to treat physical illness, Dr. Sharma has opened the door to recovery for her own child and later, others. In 2012, she established Autism Spectrum GPS, LLC, to assist other parents and prevent them from having to travel the difficult road that her family did to healing. She encourages her large Facebook following with inspirational posts to give them tangible hope for each day.

    Related to A Parent's Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Related ebooks

    Wellness For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      5 Factors Raise Hospitalization Risk for Kids With Autism

      Jun 3, 2017

      A new study identifies which factors put young people with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at high risk of being hospitalized for inpatient psychiatric care—including factors both related and unrelated to ASD itself. Children or teens with autism s

      3 min read

    • Article

      Andrew Yang Puts Autism In The Spotlight, But Policy Questions Linger

      Jan 3, 2020

      Yang has a son on the autism spectrum and has been talking openly about the disability. But critics say his proposals lack policy heft and specificity.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Researchers Develop AI-based Intervention For Kids With Autism

      Feb 26, 2020

      A new AI-based intervention could help children with #autism gain the social skills they need to better communicate with their family and peers.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Acceptance Needed For Those With ASD

      Apr 3, 2021

      APRIL marks Autism Awareness Month and director for Action in Autism, Kirsten Miller, said while awareness is needed, respect and acceptance of those with neurological differences is also needed. “Autistic people have called for neurotypical people t

      2 min read

    • Article

      Speech Deficits Don’t Explain Tantrums in Kids With Autism

      May 3, 2017

      Speech or language impairments may not be the cause of more frequent tantrums in children with autism, a new study suggests. Children with autism experience more tantrums than children without, and speech and language problems often take the blame fo

      2 min read

    • Article

      Top 5 Books By Autistic Authors

      Jun 28, 2021

      The Wainwright Prize-winning book by talented teenager McAnulty is a poetic love letter to the natural world and a shining example of an autistic person being their best autistic self. A series of beautiful missives to the weird women of history whos

      1 min read

    • Article

      Therapy Is Making Kids Ill

      Mar 28, 2024

      IF YOU DON’T HAVE WORDS TO EXPRESS a thought, can you even think it? The idea that language shapes cognition is known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, after American linguist Edward Sapir and his student Benjamin Whorf, and almost a century after it wa

      5 min read

    • Article

      Coping with ASPERGER’S

      Jan 25, 2023

      Advice from our Woman’s Weekly doctor Asperger’s syndrome (also now included in a condition called autistic spectrum disorder) is commoner than previously thought, affecting over one in 100 of the UK population. Historically, more men were diagnose

      3 min read

    • Article

      Hands On

      Oct 10, 2018

      Words SONIA ZADRO “Touch has a memory.”~ John Keats Who doesn’t love a big warm hug, a long luxurious massage or some intimate time with a partner? But beyond making you feel good, how important is it to experience touch in your everyday life? The a

      7 min read

    • Article

      Ask The Expert: Eating Disorders

      Feb 15, 2022

      Dr Rachel Evans is a chartered psychologist specialising in eating disorder (ED) recovery How did you become a specialist in eating disorders? I did a degree in psychology and a master’s in health psychology and then developed an eating disorder. Thi

      1 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for A Parent's Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      A Parent's Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder - Melinda Sharma

      A Parent’s Guide to the Common Immune System Issues in Autism Spectrum Disorder

      by

      Melinda Sharma, PhD, CHNC

      Copyright 2016 Melinda Sharma

      Smashwords Edition

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This e-book is licensed for your personal, educational use only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy.

      This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author to bring you this important information.

      Disclaimer:

      The following information is for educational purposes only. The relationship between Melinda Sharma and the reader or her clients is that of educator-student. Melinda is a former research immunologist and a parent who used her immunology background to recognize symptoms of physical illness in her child diagnosed with autism, and then sought professional medical treatment for him. Melinda is not a physician. The information herein is not a substitute for medical supervision and advice. Any decisions you make for your child are your responsibility. The following is intended to help you to be the most informed parent possible, to find the right practitioner to treat your child, to be the best advocate for his treatment, and to be able to be conversant about immune system issues with your child’s physician. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Every child is unique, and following this advice does not guarantee any particular outcome.

      Acknowledgements:

      The author is grateful to Sanjay Sharma, MD, for his critical reading of the manuscript and for pointing out where complex immunology jargon could be further simplified. Dr. Sharma was her partner long before graduate and medical school training and long before autism came into their lives. Life has been a journey that neither would want to have walked without the love and support of the other.

      The author is also grateful to Jeff Minnichbach for his expert cover design, and to Tyler darkbloom for his scientific illustrations contained within the text.

      Table of Contents

      Disclaimer

      Acknowledgements

      Chapter 1: Introduction

      Chapter 2: A Brief History of Autism Since the 20th Century

      Chapter 3: A Journey with Paul*": A Case of Autism as a Physical Illness

      Chapter 4: Beyond Behavior

      Chapter 5: An Immunology Primer

      Chapter 6: Important Laboratory Tests and Considerations

      Chapter 7: What to do if your child has evidence of immune dysfunction

      Chapter 8: Conclusion

      Glossary

      Biography

      Chapter 1: Introduction

      Autism Acceptance or Love in Action?

      From the moment you learned you were expecting, you accepted, loved and nurtured the life you helped create.

      Your love did not change when you observed his poor eye contact, or lack of using words for communication, or his playing with toys in unusual, repetitive ways. These signs, plus the fact he showed no interest in other children concerned you enough to seek help.

      The diagnosis of autism did nothing to change your unconditional love.

      But, did you notice that there were no blood draws or medical tests involved, even if the diagnosis was made by a specially-trained MD? The diagnosis was based on a collection of behavioral symptoms and missed developmental milestones. Perhaps you observed medical issues, such as rashes, eczema, diarrhea, constipation, inability to fall asleep or sustain sleep throughout the night, allergies and more. Perhaps you observed the achievement of milestones and then a sudden regression and slide of an engaged, communicative child into a solitary world of his own. But the physical symptoms and sudden onset of changes that would get the immediate attention of a doctor if an adult walked into a medical office are routinely dismissed as, oh, that’s just a part of autism. Imagine how you would feel if a physician recommended intensive behavioral therapy to help fix your broken immune system?

      Sounds ridiculous, right? But it happens every, single day in the world of autism.

      The diagnosis of autism leads to the opening of a pot of money that provides access to therapies, educational services and accommodations. Practitioners, family and others may tell you to just accept your child’s autism. But should you accept your child being ill, even if those physical symptoms are often a part of autism? Or should you do everything in your power to seek treatment for the physical symptoms so that your child can be comfortable in his own body, unburdened by illness, and reach his maximum potential?

      The purpose of this book is to inspire and encourage you to demand answers on behalf of your child. Even if they use some words for communication, children with autism are often unable to communicate their internal experience using words like, Mommy, my tummy hurts all the time, or I have a headache every day. What they do instead is hang themselves over the arm of a sofa to try to relieve the belly ache, bang their head, or focus intensely on one toy in order to shut out the overwhelm of not being able to cope. Behaviors become their cry for help.

      The idea that you don’t accept your child or his autism if you seek treatment for physical symptoms is false, and judgmental. You know you love your child unconditionally and always have! If the diagnosis were a

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1