FEATURED NEWLY DIAGNOSED TRACK PRESENTATION: Forty Years of Autism: Defining the road of hope and healing

Forty years ago I met a magical little boy at the Kaplan Foundation school for children with autism in Orangevale, California. The director, Karen Kaplan, developmental pediatrician Dr. Annette Cartarxo, and I began a journey to discover what was definitively wrong and what would alter the course of this all-encompassing illness. What we discovered is that the only way to make a significant change was to dive deeply into the cellular maelstrom and probe every possible aspect that could be holding the child in its grip. Every child tested had abnormal lipid metabolism with signature very-long-chain fatty acids, which we now can link to epigenetic (toxic) insult that alters gene expression. The (genetic) instruction set has become garbled, and the wrong proteins and lipids are produced, which may disrupt every system of the body, especially the mainframe brain and the "second" brain. The "brain on fire" must be approached wholly; there is no magic bullet or panacea--autism is not a single disorder. Each person must be approached individually for correction of the underlying epigenetic insult. And the way back entails a multitude of processes to clear the abnormalities from a cellular to panoramic perspective.  After many years we have found there is a fast track. We isolate the measurable parameters representing cellular and organelle dysfunction through analysis of red cell fatty acids, epigenetic, and biometabolic markers.  We call it Membrane Medicine.  Bioactive lipids and a membrane stabilizing diet play a pivotal role in optimizing the body and brain. However, just as important is the parent who would go to the ends of the earth to help their child, which is a beautiful characteristic of every parent of a hurt child. Helping a child does not have to be complicated and overwhelming; there are strategies that are comfortable for every family. That magical little boy and thousands of children whom I met thereafter taught me that autism is not to be feared and can be boldly approached to release its bonds.