Some of you may already be aware that April is Autism Awareness Month
That month has a special place in my family as my son is Autistic. His course was a little different in that he was progressing typically until he suddenly stopped speaking and started acting differently when he was a little older than 2 and a half years old. Like so many parents before us, our lives have forever changed since that time. But we are also blessed to live in a time where there is so much more knowledge and awareness about Autism.
We are blessed to have found a wonderful school called St Timothy’s Christian Academy, which is a school for individuals with autism as well as other learning differences. There are also incredible places like Hugs Café in McKinney, Texas and Bitty and Beau’s coffee in Frisco, Texas just to give 2 examples that hire special needs individuals. On the research front, there seems to be new data coming out as well that could potentially change how we treat ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) in the future. We are currently under the care of a Pediatric Developmental Neurologist who alerted me to the latest research looking at lack of Folic Acid as a possible culprit. We did special testing on our son and found that he would benefit from treatment with Leucovorin (liquid folic acid essentially). For a little background, we already know what a vital role Folic Acid plays in the development of our brain during the 9 months we are inside our Mother’s womb. It is widely accepted with years of research and clinical experience that insufficient folic acid during pregnancy can lead to abnormal brain development and is associated with conditions such as Cerebral Palsy. This is the reason all women are on Prenatal vitamins during pregnancy and when they are trying to conceive. There is some emerging data that a significant portion of children with autism have antibodies to folic acid. There are some small studies as well that suggest improvement in function for children treated with leucovorin when compared to those that did not receive it. These studies also suggested that the earlier the treatment was started, the better the outcomes. Now, understand that this is still extremely early in the process and much larger studies and more research is needed before we know for sure. At least personally, my son seems to be making great strides in terms of communication and social skills.
If you or a family member or friend has special needs and want a doctor who will take the time you need to get all your issues addressed, understanding that you may not be able to communicate as quickly as someone else, please make an appointment to come see me and decide if I might be the right person for you.
