I advise based on a biomedical model to promote autism recovery.
Recovery means different things to different people. The degree of recovery will vary depending upon the individual. Some children recover to the point of needing no additional supports, while others will always need a degree of support.
Recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time and dedication. The good news is that there is potential to see amazing results every step of the way. Autism is a puzzle and every piece we put into place gets us closer to realizing the whole picture.
Some recovery indicators are:
Language development and use
Age-appropriate attention span
Age-appropriate learning skills
Age-appropriate self-care skills
Toilet training mastery
Development of imagination
Interest in people, toys, and peer relationship
Reduction in or elimination of:
Rigid need for routine
Hyper/ Hypo sensitivities
What Does "Recovered" Mean?
We hear and see the word “recovered” a lot in discussions on bio-medical therapies, Autism, chelation and developmental disorders. For clarification purposes I’d like to explain what recovered means to me.
“NT” is an abbreviation used to refer to children who are “neurotypical” or developing normally in all the ways a child is expected to develop. An NT child has NO developmental, behavioral, or health issues at all. They do not require any therapies or educational supports and are in mainstream classrooms.
NT children do not have mood disorders, speech problems, or allergies. They do not have OCD, attention or motor planning problems, social issues, auditory processing problems, apraxia.....nothing. NT means no issues at all! An NT child is the perfect picture of health and normal development.
“Recovered” means they do not have any issues, but they used too. It means chelation is complete, they do not need special supplements or special diets and they don't have any developmental or behavioral problems. They can go to regular school with other children and do not require special services.
This means they don't get yeast or hay fever or have gluten allergies. They can eat red Popsicles, chocolate milk, and cheese pizza and nothing happens! No rash, no hyperactivity, no diarrhea. NT is what our children should have been if they were not poisoned. NT and Recovered are what we want them to be.
A child who has any issues like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Anxiety, Social skills issues, Pervasive Developmental Delay, or any label should not be referred to as "NT" or “Recovered” There is no shame in labels. A label is a tool you use to express the fact that your child was poisoned. It simply means there is work to be done.