This program has worked for us and some of the changes are very easy to implement. My review is kind of long, but if you're out hunting for a solution, I think more details help.
For background, we started to realize that T had an issue when he was 2 and still wasn't speaking. He was a late walker and never really crawled properly, but we didn't realize those were issues until after the fact. When we brought up the speaking issue to our GP, it was dismissed. He's a boy, he's learning 2 languages, etc. I feel like this was the first mistake. We let ourselves be reassured instead of getting on the waitlist for services. At 3 years old, our daycare worker, who was wonderful, told us that T had issues with speach, gross motor and socially connecting. He had no friends and he would just stop and stare at other kids, rather than playing with them. He did not play with toys appropriately, but he loved the blender and food processor - taking them apart and putting them back together. He would stay occupied with these things for 30 - 40 minutes, but couldn't sit at the table for more than 2 minutes. We were constantly chasing him around with food so that he'd eat. On the other hand, his eye contact was good, he was loving with lots of kisses and hugs and he didn't spin or flap his arms. We were concerned, but not overly concerned at this point. Our GP referred us to a pediatritian. The pediatritian appiontment was shocking. She reviewed T for an hour and then told us that at 3 1/2 years old, he was at a 2 year old level. She said she'd send us to a neurologist to check his brain and get blood work done to rule out genetic disorders they could test for, but she didn't have anything positive to say. She didn't explain the various services available, what an OT does vs. speach vs. gross motor vs. behavioral. We left her office lost. We were already on the speach and OT wait list (14 months and 10 months respectively in Canada). I felt the peadiatrician meeting was a call to action and hired a private speach therapist. She was amazing. She spend 90 minutes with us the first visit doing an evaluation. She was the first person to tell us that T had an attention issue. We had no idea his lack of attention wasn't normal. She taught me lots of things, but most importantly that no therapy would work unless I learned it and did it every day with him. I've applied this to the speach/OT/Gross motor people we've worked with since.
By the time T was 5, he had continued to progress, but continued to be about 2 years behind normal. He was almost on par with his younger brother. He got his first frient at 5 - a boy 2 years younger than him. Grade 1 was looming and I felt pressure to do more. He was falling into a 'grey' zone where he had most of his self-care skills, but was not normal, so funding was scarse. I went searching for new ideas and found Dr Robin Pauc and then Dr. Mellio. I liked the ideas in the book, but better yet, I liked that the program itself tested before and after and that it wasn't subjective. At this point, I felt that both my husband or I were having trouble telling where T was and what improvements he was making. I also liked that it dealt with diet and supplements as well as exercises. It felt holistic. We went to Chicago and got T tested. He was operating at a 4 y or below level. He was 5 1/2 at the time. They also told us he couldn't smell (didn't even know how), he would have trouble feeling pain or feeling anything to do with his body (something we had not noticed at all). I moved me and both my boys to Chicago for 3 months to do the program. It was a huge commitment as I had to get a leave from work as well as the expense. For 3 months we did everything the Dr told us. They tested his blood for nutriets and IgG allergies. They found a bacterial infection, low protiens, an allergy to eggs. We removed gluten and casein over the first 3 weeks. We removed eggs the 4th week. He attended class 3x a week for an hour. At week 4, I got homework to start with him and we introduced supplements. I'd already started cod liver oil and vitamin D in the spring. These had an impact - after 4 months of cod liver oil and 1 month of vitamin D, T started riding his bike - an immediate improvement in his balance/coordination. He's also had very dry skin on his hands and now that's gone away. Until then, he had been scared to ride it as he would fall off. Now he's ready for no training wheels and he's so happy. We started a good probiotic for his bacterial infection. After 3 months, his stomach has gone down by 2 inches and he's looking normal. He's started pooping normally; he was always constipated before. Week 4 was horrible with some of the worst behavioral issues we've ever had, but things got better after that. T started being able to deal with delayed gratification (e.g. eat your snack and then you can...), something he couldn't have done before. He also woke up one morning and said - I smell breakfast. You're cooking pancakes. Really cool. He drew his first picture of bear with eyes, ears, arms, legs and nose. At 10 weeks, he started to feel pain. He spent 3 days learning to watch his hands, toes and head as he'd never had to do that before. This was really surprising to me as I had no idea that he couldn't feel them very well. Overall, the diet/supplement recommendations of this program follow the DAN (Defeat Autism Now) recommendations, so we've really had the benefit of both the DAN recommendations and the exercises of Dr. Mellio.
In the end, for work reasons, we couldn't continue the program for another 3 months. The Dr would have like to have T there for 6 months of one on one and 3 months of one on two with 6 - 9 months of homework. I'm pretty sure that if we could have continued, I would have a 'normal' boy by next Christmas. Instead, we are continuing at home. We've maintained the diet and supplements. We're still active outside and doing the homework. We'll see if we can go back next summer to do antoher program. I have so much hope for my son and I feel like I have a path to follow. T is now in school and his teachers are very happy. They have only had on definat moment but it was handled easily. They want him to move to grade 1 with his peers in Jan. We are not done yet, but we're on a good path.
If I were doing it over again, I would start the GFCF diet and an omega 3 supplement and vitamin D first for at least 3 months, so I got the most out of the program. I would commit to doing the program wholeheartedly (with the caveat of you are your kids guardian, so look up everything anyone suggested first and convince yourself it's safe). If I couldn't get to the program, then I'd start simple things at home - be more active, some of the exercises in the book. Don't get overwhelmed, just be patient with you and your child and know that every bit helps. Good luck!
