The Myth of Autism

by Dr. Michael J. Goldberg, Elyse Goldberg, Dr. Ismael Mena

  “Eric”

  Eric was adopted at birth. He was a wonderful baby who developed normally and had great language up until nineteen months old. By his second birthday, he wasn’t responding to his name or using more than one word. He also went from being incredibly happy to distracted and difficult to manage. While my pediatrician assured me that boys develop slower, I knew something was wrong.

  The initial diagnosis of the “A” word came from a neurologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. We disagreed with him and continued our search for information. We visited numerous other medical centers, and a potential death sentence came from Kennedy Krieger at Johns Hopkins in November of 1999. After two days of testing and thousands of dollars, they told us Eric was severely mentally retarded with no capacity to learn. Part of their recommendation was for us to start searching for group homes .While we were shocked at this diagnosis, we didn’t accept it. We had seen Eric in action, a problem solver, bright and inquisitive. Instead we continued to seek out other medical advice and opportunities. We were introduced to a DAN doctor who suggested supplements and Kirkman Labs powder since Eric’s immune system was compromised and this protocol would help. Eric went crazy—impossible to reason with, compulsive, erratic. So to work through this until his immune system “evened out,” this DAN doctor prescribed increasing doses of Neurontin and starting chelation. Our life was insane. Eric never slept and was a constant aggressive mess. We knew his brain was being fried and this clearly wasn’t the right path. We were done with the DAN doctor since sessions of chelation was out of the question for us. While we continued with school, speech and language therapy, and OT, we weren’t making a lot of progress. Then, in the summer of 2002, we received a call from a friend who lives in Los Angeles. She had seen an article about Dr. G. in the Los Angeles Times. Although the journey since meeting Dr. G. in January 2003 has been long, Eric is doing amazingly well. His initial NeuroSPECT showed excess blood flow to the front temporal lobes and many hot spots. His follow-up spec three years later showed a much healthier brain! Years later, he has great language, is in a public high school walking the halls and functioning well. He is calm and focused with the help of tutors and hours of educational interventions. While our journey is far from over, Eric would never have a chance at a life without Dr. G. and his medical interventions.

  “Joshua”

  Joshua was born April 5, 1996. This was the most wonderful day of our lives. My husband and I had been married for ten years, and we were so ready for the challenges of parenthood. I had the most perfect pregnancy and was healthy the entire time. When Joshua was born, he was the most beautiful baby. My friends were so jealous because they would say he was the perfect baby. He didn’t fuss much and was so happy. When Joshua was one year old, I started a business out of my home so I could be with him. We hired a part-time nanny who spoke some English and Spanish. By Joshua’s eighteen-month wellness checkup, I remember the doctor was impressed with his speech. He had hit every milestone up to that point. I only remember Joshua getting sick one time as an infant. He had a high fever, and he was taking amoxicillin. I was out of town when my husband called and said Joshua had developed a rash over his torso. We came to believe that he was allergic to the medicine. We later discovered that he was not allergic to penicillin but possibly had contracted the roseola virus. This would later play a part in what I believe helped develop his condition.

  By two years old I noticed Joshua was no longer using the many words he had before. I took him to the pediatrician and they told me not to worry and he was probably processing two languages because the nanny spoke Spanish. By two and a half years old my next-door neighbor, who is a third grade teacher, suggested I take Joshua to be tested with the school district at age three and perhaps I could get some free speech services. I took her suggestion, and the school district psychologist reviewed Joshua over several days. At the end of their evaluation, the two women handed me and my husband a six-page report. I remember reading the report, and my head started spinning. I felt like I was going to pass out. I remember the ladies using the autism word and saying how “some” children can lead full lives and maybe get simple jobs when they are adults. They did remind me that many of these children will most likely need to be cared for the rest of their lives. I felt physically sick, and my whole world and dreams came crashing down. They gave us the standard package with services that were available and funding from RCOC. Because we had waited until Joshua was three years old, we didn’t qualify for much and were at the school district’s mercy.

  When we got home, I remember my husband wasting no time. He started talking to other parents. This ended out being the best thing ever. I find that those who lived through this sort of thing are so full of helpful knowledge about the schools. Back in 1996 this “autism” thing was such a mystery, and though the numbers were beginning to soar (one in five hundred), they were nothing like they are now. Back then you never heard of the “A” word. One parent we spoke to became at the time our guardian angel. She recommended that we not put Joshua in the school district program but develop our own in-home program. She gave us contacts with great therapists and wonderful resources. That woman, Marta, will never fully know the impact she had on our lives. Once the fog cleared up in our brains, we became research junkies. At the time the only hope we saw was in ABA training. Dr. Ivan Lovass from UCLA developed a program that he claimed “cured” this affliction. The key to this treatment was early intervention. We scrambled to try to get Joshua set up with this type of training and found many roadblocks. We faced agencies saying there were up to two-year waiting list. With CARD organization, we were 103 on their list. Out of complete desperation, my husband, Gary, faxed a letter to Dr. Lovass. We found out he was still alive and was running Lovass Institute For Early Intervention (LIFE). Our plea was desperate, and we begged them to consider taking Joshua. Our first miracle came on a Tuesday when a man named Mario contacted us and said that they had availability for an Orange County family. We went to work gathering our head therapist and hiring college students who would be willing to learn this technique. In the next two years, Joshua soared through the program. Within two weeks into the program he was starting to talk again. His progress was so unbelievable, and he seemed to master programs in record time. This treatment was extremely expensive, and my husband and I worked full-time to pay for what I call Joshua’s “Harvard” education. These two years were so hard on us financially and even harder on my marriage. It seemed the strain and total focus of our lives were so completely wrapped up in Joshua that my husband and I found ourselves strangers after fourteen years of marriage. I filed for divorce, but God had different plans.

  My real miracle: “You don’t know God is all you need until God is all you have.” That is the place our family found ourselves. Unable on our own to bridge the divide of pain that separated my husband and me, we sought out Christian counseling. God did quick work and my husband and I reconciled. In that process is when we really sought God’s direction with our son. We noticed that Joshua had plateaued in the program, and we didn’t know how much further we could go with the LIFE program. He was of kindergarten age, and we choose to delay Joshua’s enrollment for a year. We were receiving some partial funding for our in-home program, and we felt blessed for that aid. In the meantime in that summer on 2001, I had another child. I was so convinced that God was going to bring a girl in our life. I had been praying for a sister for Joshua so she can take care of him someday and I wouldn’t ever have to worry about his future. The odds of having another autistic child with a girl was so much less then with a boy that I was convinced that God would not put me through that again. Well God only gives you what you can handle, and I was having another boy! When I found out, I was devastated. Suddenly the reality that we might have to go through this again was more than I could bear. Although Joshua was doing great and was having many successes, the diagnosis is so all consuming and I realized how tired I was. For two weeks I felt a heavy fe
ar regarding this new baby coming into our life. And one morning I remember a thought coming into my mind. “Do you want to live in fear or faith?” When you live in fear you are allowing the joy of your life to be stolen from you. I remember at that moment that I was going to live by faith. We had a healthy baby Noah on August 5, 2001. At this time I started getting more insight on Joshua. He didn’t seem like a typical autistic boy. There was something more. I starting praying, “What else is it, God? What else should we do for Joshua?”

  That night the woman who I said was our guardian angel called me. I had not talked to her for two years and she called because she heard about Joshua’s great success. She wanted me to talk to a mother about starting an in-home program. Then in almost an afterthought, she mentioned I should call this lady because her son was “healed.” I was shocked and got the phone number. I did not know at the time that call would change our lives forever! This lady told me to stop what I was doing and go see Dr. Goldberg. I had heard of Dr. Goldberg and didn’t know what to expect. She was so insistent, and when we were on the phone her son came on the line asking about a Hot Wheels car he was looking for. I asked if that was her son and she said yes. He sounded so natural, so normal, so alive. I wanted that for my son and I made the appointment. When we got to the doctors, Dr. Goldberg made so much sense, and we did all the blood work needed. When we got the results, Joshua’s blood work was very clear. He had the second highest HHV6 (human herpes virus six) count that the doctor had seen. On future research, I believe the virus grew in Joshua from that roseola virus when he was younger. I later found out he was not allergic to penicillin. The HHV6 is found in roseola, and it definitely was a contributing factor. When I asked the doctor what he thought Joshua had, he described it as NIDS (neuroimmune dysfunction syndrome). He said it was like a type of “brain virus.” The virus hides in the brain and masquerades itself like various afflictions (autism, ADD/ADHD, and chronic fatigue syndrome). We put Joshua on the NIDS protocol, and within sixty days he was unrecognizable. The progress was so amazing that I went back to the school district and insisted that we put Joshua in kindergarten! We believe in the treatment so much we gave back the district $27,000 they approved to help with our home program! They were so shocked by his progress, and I explained to them our findings. Because the district had no time to find an aide for Joshua in the class, they agreed to hire Joshua’s two head therapists. From that moment on, Joshua has thrived. He has never set foot in a special-needs class and has had only minimal shadowing and aides in his classes. The IEPs that started out as a battlefield became a venue to discuss Joshua’s great progress. My IEPs ended up being praise reports more than anything else! Joshua continued to be one of the brightest students in every class he has ever been in. During the elementary years we focused on social skills and containing emotions. Each year we saw more and more victory in his life. In fifth grade, Joshua really came into his own. He got the lead in the school play, and it skyrocketed his confidence and popularity. He was a straight A student, and the teachers really enjoy his positive attitude.

  In sixth grade we were pretty apprehensive about putting him in our public school. It is really large. We completely went without any aide or shadow and cut the umbilical cord. This was a risky move because once you discontinue services, you can’t get them back. We had faith in Joshua. Now, Joshua is graduating from the eighth grade in a few weeks, and we could not be prouder of him. He still struggles to keep his allergies in check and with his HHV6 numbers, but with each passing day Joshua is getting healthier. In the three years of junior high he has surpassed everyone’s expectations with amazing grades (102 As and 4 Bs). Joshua has developed amazing guitarplaying skills and written and has recorded his first album, Autosanity. He will be attending Tesoro High School and has many exciting challenges ahead. His goals are to attend MIT and become an engineer so he can design roller coasters. I believe my son has a bright and successful future and I know that his treatment with Dr. Goldberg has saved his life. Not from death, but from a handicapped life, a debilitating life. He is only fourteen years old!

  “Joel”

  Joel was born a healthy baby. He reached all milestones within the normal range. I noticed changes in his behavior at about eighteen months. He talked less, had screaming tantrums at night and day. Joel no longer ate well and wouldn’t stay dressed. The saddest part was Joel would bite himself and leave bruises on himself along with biting his parents.

  Our local doctor said this was nothing to worry about, just a little delayed. Joel’s dad finally agreed to formal testing when Joel turned five. School district’s evaluation: Joel was functioning at eighteen months to two years, four months. Diagnosis: pervasive developmental delay. He was enrolled in a special education class, regional center program, and speech therapy. We supplemented with private speech classes and tutoring and seminars. Helping Joel was the focus of our entire lives, but none of it seemed to help. After all that Joel wasn’t potty trained and barely talked. I heard about Dr. Goldberg from a parent at school. Joel started treatment with Dr. Goldberg at five and a half years old. Joel responded well to medication and dietary changes. Joel improved right away. Joel would respond when talked to, potty trained, took fewer naps during the day, and ate better. Joel then began to go through normal states of child development. He enjoyed being read to and enjoyed playing with kids a couple of years younger then himself.

  We then tried regular school and speech therapy for the next two years. Joel was failing and lost confidence. Joel was set up to fail at school. Dr. Silton explained about stress and anxiety in Joel. She recommended we stop fighting with the school district, which doesn’t know to how to help Joel. She then said to concentrate on getting Joel to relax and learn.

  I found a retired teacher to tutor Joel plus speech at school. Joel calmed down and developed some confidence. He really enjoyed reading, math, and music. Next Joel was treated by an ENT specialist who helped with allergies and sinus problems. Joel’s focus and attention and sleeping all night improved once again.

  All this time Joel was seen by Dr. Goldberg every six to eight weeks, adjusting medications and diet. The last year that Joel required speech therapy was when he was ten years old. I would wait outside the classroom and once heard our special education director talking to Joel’s speech pathologist. I heard her say, “I know this kid has this diagnosis, but I just don’t see it.” The speech pathologist replied, “I don’t see it, either.”