If you are here, then you are either a parent to a child with a neuro-development disorder like Autism or ADHD. Or you are interested in biohacking and optimizing your own health. I’ve created two sections below with links to resources. Bookmark this page as I am adding to this page regularly with more links.
Biomedical Intervention
Background Story:
My son was diagnosed with ADHD at age 5. Autism and later Epilepsy at age 8. He had been on over 6 different medications commonly given to people with ADHD since he was 5 (including Ritalin, Vyvanse, Adderall, Jornay, Intuiv/Guafacine, Clonidine).
If you’ve tried any of these meds, you know the process of figuring out takes month and month of painful trial and error to get the right dosages and combinations. Some of the meds didn’t work, and the ones that did work eventually stopped working (even with higher dosages).
Additionally, he had many side effects that required additional medication (Anxiety, lack of appetite, unable to fall asleep or stay asleep, extreme ticks). What started with one med eventually turned into 3 or 4 meds to deal with side effects from the first med. My son was on anti depressants meds. Vyvanse was the one med that lasted the longest (we were on it for over a year with gradually increased dosages). Eventually Vyvanse stopped working. Doctors was ready to move him to the next level of meds: Antipsychotics.
None of the traditional therapies like ABA, Speech, OT did very much to better his behaviors and developmental delays around emotional regulation. When people unknowingly suggest I try ABA, I smile and let them know that we were on 40 hours a week of ABA, and the improvements were almost undetectable.
Our family life was deteriorating. Autism doesn’t just affect the child, it affects the whole family. We were in this together, but it felt like we were drowning together with no help in sight. We felt alone and no one around us understood the struggles we faced daily. I felt hopeless. And out of desperation, I ordered a book that someone had sent me a link to on Instagram Direct Message many months ago.
The TACA Journey Guide saved us, providing SO MANY valuable resources and knowledge that I wish I had many years ago when my son was younger. Most importantly, the book (and their website and organization) gave me Hope and action items I could run with and do something with! I am so deeply grateful.
When traditional therapies and medications failed us, that’s when I started exploring in Biomedical Interventions. Now that I know, I really wish this was the first step we took many years ago when we first got the ADHD diagnosis.
Traditional doctors do not treat the root cause, they prescribe medications (like Vyvanse) that simply covers up the symptoms without looking into why your body is creating those symptoms. Medications have side effects and is an never ending loop of moving on to larger doses and harder drugs. Traditional doctors will also tell you that there is nothing you can do to treat autism, and that our child will be suffering forever.
Biomed Doctors (commonly referred as Functional Doctors or Integrative Medicine Doctors) on the other hand looks at what might be the root causes, and treats underlying medical issues that they can detect thru various lab testings of your biology.
Treating many of the underlying biochemical issues often alleviates many symptoms associated with Autism and ADHD. Some children even loses their Autism diagnosis after biomedical treatment for several years.
I’ve since met a dozen parents who’s children either recovered from Autism and lost their diagnosis, or significantly improved (going from Non-Verbal Severe to High Functioning Autism and Verbal). Timing is crucial. Start as soon as you can. The younger the child, the higher chances of recovery vs waiting, so start biomed as soon as you can – start anywhere. I read somewhere that children over age 10 have lower chances of full recovery, but many do improve significantly and can lead healthier lives into adult hood.
Diet Changes
We started biomed in September 2019 (when my son was 9.5 yrs old) with diet changes: Gluten-Free, Casein Free, Soy Free Diet (GFCFSF). We’ve also cut out as much sugar as we can, and limiting processed foods and foods with preservatives. Essentially eating a clean, whole food diet.
The diet change was both hard and easy. Hard for a few days, but once he was on it, it was easier than I anticipated. Our whole family got on the same diet. Ryan used to be an extremely picky eater who only ate 3 things (which made me not wanting to do diet changes). But once we made the shift, he’s now more willing to try new foods and have a larger variety of things he will eat.
3 weeks was the magic mark when we saw a massive shift in behaviors and over all awareness in my son Ryan. For the first time, he asked me why I was upset (He noticed!), he asked about my day, and shared how his day went. He was more in-tuned with his emotions and others around him.
3 weeks in, he was also able to successfully stop his ADHD meds, and Anti-Depressants. For the first time in 4 years, he wanted to eat food (and started eating A LOT!). In 5 weeks, he had gained 5 pounds.
If you want to read more about the Autism Diet. Check out the TACA guide. Here’s another book if you need more reading.
——
I plan to use this space to document my son’s journey and share resources that we found helpful. <Bookmark this page and come back later. I’ll write more in this space soon>
DO These Things Next:
- Order TACA Journey Guide – Get this even if you are experienced parent to child with Autism. If you suspect your child has Autism, get it (it’ll save you time and give you guidance on where to go next).
- Order Nemechek Protocol Book – It really explains the why of autism from a biological perspective. Very quick read. In a few pages you’ll gain a lot of insight on “The why”.
- Get a MAPS Doctor – Go thru the directory and lean towards doctors who are MAPS Members. Some doctors even offer virtual consults. My son go to Dr Lisa in San Diego. I LOVE Dr Lisa and now sees her for my own health.
GFCFSF Snacks: (I Prefer Grainfree Paleo)
- Chicken Meat Sticks for Kids
- MadeGood Rice Crispy Squares
- Truwomen Protein Bars
- Bulletproof Collagen Protein Bars – Vanilla (Or get it on Amazon)
- Lock Box – I use this in the fridge and snack pantry to lock up snacks and fruits with sugar. Otherwise my kids will try to eat many in one sitting causing sugar spike.
Biohacking
As I start this journey of of biomedical intervention to help my son, I did not anticipate that my own health will be improved significantly. Through educating myself of biomed interventions, I learned about the human body and the many toxins in our environment, and hacks we can use to optimize that. The term used for healthy adults wanting to upgrade their health, energy level, emotional control and overall performance is called biohacking. Here are some tools I’m currently using:
- ☕️ Bulletproof Coffee Kit – This is what I have in the morning along with 1 or 2 scopes of grass-fed collagen protein. You can mix everything using a blender or I use this hand blender for easier cleanup. Here is the recipe and instructions on how to make it. I don’t eat until 1pm and my eating window is from 1pm to 9pm for intermittent fasting. I love it! I’m more energized than ever and my energy slows down after I eat at 1.🙈
- 😎 TrueDark Glasses – blocking out junk light going into my eyes. Better deep sleep. Healthier cells. Less tired.
