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Dasha and Kaitlin Fox

Submitted By: Kim Davis on 02/21/2013

Big Leap Forward Treating Autism with Integrative Medicine

Dasha FoxDasha is like many other three-year-old children her age--she loves dressing up as a princess and dancing with her family like a character in the movies. When Dasha was diagnosed with autism, her mother, Kaitlin Fox, was a bit overwhelmed as she searched for the answers to help her daughter. After several wrong turns , Kaitlin finally discovered integrative medicine and today Dasha is a happy, contented child.

"I knew early on that I wanted to try an integrative medicine approach," shared Kaitlin. "Before Dasha even started receiving any services for her autism (besides speech therapy), I put her on a gluten free, casein-free diet. We saw immediate improvements. However, it was extremely difficult to find the right doctor to manage her integrative medicine needs. When we heard of Dr. Sanford Newmark at UCSF Medical Center, we knew we found the right care for Dasha. I am so forever grateful that we have access to such a fantastic group of doctors who have cared for my daughter so well. I cannot emphasize how much this decision has shaped her care and future."

Important Benefits

Kaitlin is now a strong advocate for integrative medicine to treat autism.

It’s so difficult to pick one just one integrative medicine benefit since we began treatment for Dasha because this care has helped her in so many ways. So I will pick the top two methods we have tried that have rendered the most results. After testing it was determined that Dasha had an overgrowth of yeast in her gut that might be affecting her behavior. We decided to try using Nystatin (in addition to probiotics) to control her gut atmosphere. The results were astounding. Even without telling anyone, her therapists were commenting non-stop about how much better her behavior was and how much more able she was to make progress in her programs.
Sometime after beginning Nystatin, we started giving Dasha Methyl B12 shots since testing showKaitlin and Dasha Foxed she had a significant deficiency in B vitamins. After beginning this shot Dasha began connecting and speaking in short sentences, when she had only spoken in short one-word demands before. Her interest in the social world increased so noticeably that her occupational therapist called me to ask if we had started doing anything differently. She was shocked at how well she was connecting and communicating.
Every chance I get refer other parents with autistic children to go see Dr. Newmark and try this approach. I appreciate that he is safe and practical, while willing to be creative in his treatment for Dasha. I think all parents of autistic children should have a doctor like him and this kind of support.
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