(For easier reading and flow, I have used he/him/his throughout this article. Obviously these words are interchangeable with she/her)

“That alternative treatment is unproven by medical science. Don’t waste your money. Wait until the research has been done and published in peer-reviewed medical journals.” That’s easy for you say…you don’t have to live with a child with autism day after day, and see him wasting away in the face of his hidden potential. A child who held the promise of being a normal, intelligent child, who is now trapped under the mask of autism. I am talking about the child with autism who can’t communicate. He bites his fingers, bangs his head against the wall, huddles in the corner of his bedroom covering his head with a blanket and moans, as he tries to shut out frustrating environmental sounds, sights and smells that he can’t make sense of, or internal sensations and pain that he can’t communicate. If you try to comfort him, he becomes aggressive. You don’t know what to do. You can only watch as the tears run down your face.

Being a parent of a child with autism makes you feel every emotion possible. It’s frightening, disappointing, lonely, and frustrating. You feel angry, trapped, and financially drained. But sometimes it’s humorous, enlightening and educational. And there are rare moments when you feel absolutely joyous because he shows you a skill that you never knew he had. You didn’t teach it to him. It was there all the time – trapped. But because of a so-called unproven treatment, the skill emerged. And you are one step closer to knowing your child.

Interventions can be educational, behavioural, therapeutic, psychopharmacological, and/or bio-medical. A multi-treatment approach is most likely to reap the best results over time – a long time. But who can afford all of it and where do you start? Read the rest of this entry »