Pranic Healing and Autism

Autistic children crave inner balance. Energy-based medicines and healing arts can help bring a deep-level sense of ease within. What are energy medicines and healing arts? They are a variety of activities that help remove blocked energy (which cause stagnation and dis-ease), from the body and its immediate space. This process allows the 11 human systems to work in greater harmony. Yoga, Tai chi, Reiki, Qi Gong, acupuncture, massage, and sound therapy are just a few examples.

For almost ten years, I've been practicing Reiki with our 13-year-old autistic son, Justin. In Reiki, the practitioner "fills" the body with high-vibrating, healing energy by merely placing hands on, or hovering hands over, the patient. This process naturally displaces the lower-vibrating energies from the body. Imagine pouring a gallon of blue-colored water into a glass of yellow-colored water. Following a short period of green, the water will become entirely blue. This is one example of how Reiki works.

Last Spring, I learned a new technique called Pranic Healing. It is similar to Reiki since it re-energizes the body's main Chakra System (Central Nervous System). However, it is unique from Reiki because the focus is on first "sweeping" blocked energies away, then restoring it with new energy. In Pranic Healing, the "purging" process (as in the green-colored water), is shortened since the practitioner cleans first, then fills. Healing time is thus shorter and the patient feels instantly refreshed. Here I am, sweeping Justin...

Both methods still come quite in handy. While Justin was feeling terribly frustrated over a drawing activity, I performed a Reiki treatment by placing my hands on his diaphragm area, called the Solar Plexus. At first, he gave up on the drawing completely, leaving to play with his Hotwheels (the "green water" period). Fifteen minutes later, he voluntarily came back, feeling renewed and he completed the drawing with uncanny improvement...

On the other hand, Pranic healing has helped both Justin and our typical son when feeling overloaded after school or after a draining experience with friends. The sweeping removes any negative energies they've dragged along, and the energizing that follows is like pressing the reset button.

While it requires quite a time commitment and a ton of patience, we have been so pleased with the cumulative effects of an energy routine- increased organization, awareness of surroundings, ability to focus for longer periods, self-confidence, overall clarity in communication, and best of all, deep, restful sleep through the night. At long last!

ULTRA-MOIST GFCF STRAWBERRY CAKE

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND DUMBER I felt so very sorry for the one gluten-free kid in my entire little elementary school. I felt a woeful despair for his deprivation from all things baked and cringed over the solitary gluten-free cupcake that he brought to school for birthday parties. Poor thing.

Fast forward 23 years, and my first child was diagnosed with allergies to wheat, rice, barley, rye, egg, milk, soy, peanut and tree nuts (he has recently outgrown the rice allergy). Also having an intolerance to gluten, he was not able to eat oats because of its gluten-like protein. Following years of botched baking, I seriously wanted that elementary kid's gluten-free cupcake recipe.

What does the one-fourth, ultra-moist strawberry cake pictured above have to do with this? Free from traditional ingredients to make it rise and stick together, it defies the law of gravity, challenges the moisture migration theory and confounds the minds of gluten loyalists who postulate that gluten-free eaters must be in a state of woeful despair. In other words, it's moist, it's delicious and chances are, our little elementary friend was glad he never had food to spare.

Here's the recipe

ULTRA-MOIST GFCF STRAWBERRY CAKE

1/2 cup light buckwheat flour (from www.ployes.com)
1/2 cup Superfine brown rice flour (by Authentic Foods)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 frozen strawberries, thawed, drained and cut into small pieces
1/4 cup corn or canola oil
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir until blended. Add the wet ingredients, including strawberries and stir with a rubber spatula until blended. Pour the batter into an 8-inch square baking dish. Bake 20-25 minutes. The cake should be bouncy when pressed on the center. Remove from oven and place the pan over a cooling rack. Cool completely and frost with GFCF Strawberry Frosting or Strawberry Glaze from The Autism Cookbook Paperback, pages 209-210

CRISPY, GOOEY BROWNIE RECIPE

HOW DOES A MOTHER who has a child with multiple food allergies and intolerances feel when she finds a new, palatable recipe for her child? Imagine finding a fifty dollar bill in a second-hand jacket....or close your eyes tightly and think of something very good, like a unicorn.

I'm dying to share this new, very palatable, very good brownie recipe with you. What makes it so palatable and new? I learned of the vegan flax egg which gives the brownie a crunchy exterior and perfectly-gooey, yet consistent interior. Never much of a fan of the egg replacer powder, this vegan egg has ticked me pink. Here's the recipe.

BROWNIE RECIPE

2 vegan eggs: (2 tablespoons flax meal, 6 tablespoons water, stir and set aside 15 min)
1/2 cup light buckwheat flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup palm oil shortening
1 cup evaporated cane juice
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract


Prepare the egg. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temp. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Stir and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the shortening, cane juice and vanilla. Blend on low speed with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add egg and stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture is gooey. Add flour mixture and stir with the rubber spatula until creamy. Spread evenly into an 8-inch baking dish. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until top is crusty and dry to the touch. Allow to cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.

-Recommended light buckwheat flour: Bouchard Family Farms light buckwheat flour- www.ployes.com

REIKI- What's Old is New Again

DO YOU HATE IT when you're feeling sad and someone innately reaches out to hug or touch you? Whether or not you are a touchy-feely person, that touch can help. The person is using his or her instinct of human touch to try to heal you.

IN MY HEART I've always known that there was something natural and complementary that I could do to help my autistic son with anxiety, sensory overload and sleepless nights. Years ago, I became attuned as a Reiki healer in order to help him in these areas. At first, the improvements were gradual and subtle, but with patience and consistent practice, my son has experienced what I call, "a cumulative breakthrough."

WHAT IS REIKI?
Reiki is an ancient form of energy medicine (also called healing art). It began in India, was adopted in the Far East and has become increasingly popular in the West. In a Reiki treatment, energy is transferred from one person to the other. It is energizing and relaxing at the same time.

At our core, we are a network of electrical impulses, firing off from the central nervous system (CNS). The electricity is fueled by energy, which has ebbs and flows, depending on environmental stressors. In alignment with the CNS, energy flows in a cycle from the base of the torso to the crown of the head- a system called "Chakras." Chakras have seven main segments that relate to different areas of our physical health and emotions. When energy flows smoothly, we experience ease, comfort and vitality. When energy does not flow smoothly, it becomes blocked and we experience lethargy, disease and distress.



Energy moves about freely from person to person, object to person, and so on. Physical proximity and physical touch results in a more direct transfer of energy. Ever experience a mood lift when in the presence of highly-enthusiastic or loving people? That's energy at work, or what we have come to know as "catching the vibes."

A Reiki practitioner will place his or her hands over each of the seven Chakras, delivering a "zap," of energy, if you will, to the patient. Some patients feel a light buzz of energy, others feel a warm tingle. Others feel nothing, but fall into a deep sleep, and awaken feeling extremely revitalized.

While the use of hands and the Chakra system is customary, it isn't always necessary. As mentioned earlier energy moves freely about, whether or not we are intending to give or receive it. Hands, however, have exponential number of nerve endings, which make for superior energy conductors. Also, the human body is covered with "meridians," also known as "pressure points," that are directly tied to the CNS. A touch to the finger tips sends messages to relieve sinuses. A touch to the forehead sends messages to clear emotional stress. However, the chakra system is a more direct line to those same points, making the hands/Chakra method most effective.

FIVE WAYS REIKI HAS HELPED OUR AUTISTIC SON

I'm always ticked to pieces when my son and I share an ever-fleeting bonding moment. By the end of the session, he feels good and thinks I'm Queen Mother. So, that's "way" number one.
Here are "Ways" two through five:
2. Decreased anxiety. Heart rate slows significantly after a ten minute treatment
3. Deep relaxation. Helps to settle down and decompress before bedtime.
4. Increased energy. Reiki practitioners can "move" energy with hand movements and positions that bring about an "increase" and awakening.
5. Improved visual perception. This photo shows Justin's attempt at drawing the model before and after a brief Reiki treatment. <

Whether you hug someone, shake their hand or use Reiki, human touch has the undoubted power to heal.

Read more about Reiki in the book, "Essential Reiki," by Diane Stein

CHAKRA IMAGE FROM Malay Martial Arts Silat

CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR AUTISM

Chiropractor, Dr. Peter Bauth has been doing spinal and cranial adjustments on Justin for five years now. His work has helped Justin physically and emotionally. The Central nervous system controls our health. Chiropractic adjustments help by regulating the balance of pressure on the central nervous system, applied by the spine and cranium. Below is the foreword he contributed to The Autism Cookbook


The Autism Cookbook foreword by Dr. Peter Bauth, Doctor of Chriropractic

"Health and wellness is all about addressing and correcting the cause: headaches do not result from a lack of aspirin. Indigestion is not a result from a lack of Pepcid. Depression is not a result of a lack of Wellbutrin, and autism is certainly not a condition lacking from a lack of medication. Autism has, as its origins, an imbalance of normal physiology. Addressing this aberrant physiology should be every parent’s first impulse.


"There are many ways to do this. However, with closer consideration, only a few approaches address the primary and the determining causes; the determining causes being chemical toxicity, physical traumatism, and emotional tendencies or stressors that lead to these aberrant functions; and the primary being manifestation of these stressors, brain hemispheric deficiency, nutritional deficiency, subluxation complex and heavy metal toxicity.


"For years now, clinicians and researchers have noticed positive changes in the physical and emotional health of children under chiropractic care, for example. Among the observed benefits are the improvements in children with hyperactivity, autism, anxiety, low mental stamina, lack of concentration, asthma, and discipline problems. Improvements in grades and IQ have also been recorded.



"Combine this now with the overwhelming body of evidence that shows direct connections between specific nutritional deficiencies and cognitive health and development issues, and one begins to see a positive paradigm shift emerging in healthcare and the standard treatment of these childhood conditions, such as autism- treatments that have, until recently, been largely ineffective.


"In my practice and in the practice of many colleagues, care is given based on this different paradigm of health, and the results are nothing short of extraordinary. Give information in this book a try- you have nothing to lose and so very, very much to gain."


Dr. Peter Bauth, D.C., LCP
(404)317-7715

Inversion Therapy (What the Vamps Have Known for Generations)

8 Benefits of Inversion Therapy for Autistic Kids

1. Calms before bedtime, stimulates and awakens in the morning.

2. Improves blood circulation, which helps with attention, concentration and all things brain.

3. Improves immune system.

4. Builds core muscles as many of our children are lacking muscle tone.

5. Drains adrenal glands, which promotes positve thought and mood and removes toxins.

6. Balances chakras.

7. Improves digestion and stimulates the intestines. And for the parents.....

8. Increases blood flow to the scalp, which has been proven to decrease grey hairs.

Aromatherapy

Whenever I learn of something that works, makes sense and is easy, I feel compelled to share it with the world. Despite the fact that most healing arts information that I share resonates deeply with others, I am often greeted by much skepticism. I understand why. Many believe that anything "good" has to involve a long, difficult, expensive process, especially when it comes to healing. Difficult, complex things hurt my brain after a while, so I'm in constant pursuit of simplicity; I yearn for it.

Aromatherapy is so simple. And it makes so much sense. It actually has little to do with the sensory-based enjoyment of scents and more to do with deep, subconscious effect of healing that it has on a cellular level. This has been so helpful to my son, Justin who has autism. Often plagued with anxiety, OCD and sleeplessness, I have found that aromatherapy, combined with a brief Reiki treatment helps him to ease into an almost-instant calm. Essential oils extracted from plants have unique properties which yield a range of effects. Some are rejuvenating, others are calming, others are sedating, and so on. When the molecules of the oil are inhaled, the aroma activates nerve cells inside of the brain. Right away, the limbic system receives impulses to trigger a physical response, based on the oil's property (relax, awaken, stimulate, arouse, etc).

Better yet, research has shown that essential oils have the ability to discriminate between normal and abnormal cells. This makes them a potent weapon against diseased cells, as they are able to seek out, "attack" and destroy those which are abnormal, and have no negative effect on the healthy cells.

This is one of the many natural, healing art treatments which empowers me to help my son on the spot, without delay and most importantly, on the cheap! It provides for one those ever-fleeting bonding opportunities and to my delight, he is adopting health habits that honor (not needlessly alter) his being.

Here's an excellent read to get you started... "Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art" by Kathi Keville and Mindy Green

Birthright

Justin, my seven-year-old son with autism, recently asked me to get lost. Yup, I surprised him at school, but the surprise was on me. I approached him from behind, nudged his shoulder and was very gently greeted with, "what are you doing here mom? I thought I told you not to come." Eventually I left. But not before being laughed at by a bunch of seven-year-olds. Now every time I visit, the kids rush to warn Justin that I'm heading down the hall [insert wicked witch music here].

So, every experience has a lesson. What I learned here was that Justin was, indeed, growing up. I found this to be very confusing, especially following years and years of micro-managing his life. I lingered at the school from preschool through first grade. I closely monitored playdates and conversations. I still obsess over each GFCF meal, snack and supplement. I shop carefully for clothing that does not irritate his senses and keep household sounds/smells to a minimum. I have F.A.Q. time with each parent who invites Justin over to play- do you have pets...will the kids be eating...any loud or sudden noises...can you help him with buttoning if he needs to use the restroom...are you familiar with the epi-pen...would you please speak slowly and give short instructions.....

To varying degrees, this is what parents do. We parent. We speak for them, advocate and do the things that kids cannot do for themselves, but with the intention for them to learn how to do it all for themselves one day. For the love of getting some rest, we hope they will, as adults, have that capacity.

I was "surfing" the other day and came across information from an autistic adult. The person was frustrated over the public advocacy taking place for autistic children. He felt the gigantic organizations and parent advocacy groups did not accurately represent the needs of autistic people. Further, he opposed any dietary intervention, saying there's nothing wrong with their bodies and all autistic people should enjoy pizza, ice cream, milk, breads, cookies, sugars and all things gluten and casein. He expressed that the bulk of public advocacy was capitalistic, and most of it somehow cast a dark, pitiful shadow over the prognosis of those with autism. Autism, he felt, should be celebrated and the world at large should move over and embrace autistic people as they are.

But a happy, successful marriage between these two entities can exist. Most advocacy groups, which have grown simply in direct correlation to the increased cases of autism, consist of parents of autistic children. These parents, like myself, want to foster independence and we're planning ahead, just like any other parent would. For now, though, as we watch our young children struggle to communicate, sleep soundly and enjoy the sounds of nature, we are compelled to do something to help them. The interventions, though, must be selected carefully. In Justin's case, biomedical changes have made him physically healthier and happier.

Truth is, Justin, as an adult, may or may not want to continue what we're doing for him. The autistic young man is right in that autistic people need opportunities to speak and act for themselves...as adults, that is. For now, it is up to us to make informed, fair decisions about our own children's needs- much of the information provided by hard work and research from advocacy groups. I really hope Justin continues the diet, spirituality and other approaches we are taking. But like that experience in the classroom, I will feel a bittersweet sense of victory if one day, he speaks for himself and decides to ditch all that stuff. It is his birthright.

"...And What Is Done With Love Is Well Done..."

I am not a Vincent Van Gogh geek, but his words are so very validating. They validate my locking Chris's Blackberry in the glovebox one Saturday resulting in a family quality time all weekend. We all do seemingly strange things sometimes, but when your intention is good, then it is well done, as Van Gogh said. Two days ago, another mom of an autistic son asked me just why I decided to speak so openly about our son's autism. She said, "We would rather keep things private to avoid social stigma - we just don't want to the world to know..."

There are a lot of things I don't want the world to know too. So, I very much respect that family's desire for privacy. But my answer to that question is one that I'd like the world to know about. Virtually everything we've learned during our journey with our son came from other parents who opened up to us, shared tips, published their stories, spoke out at support groups and, most importanly, wiped up my blubber while I cried out of control. When we first got the diagnosis of autism, a local stranger (now a great friend) heard about me through the grapevine and showed up at my door with boxes of sensory toys and literature that her autistic teenage twins had outgrown...

I think my point has been made. Autism research, advocacy and action are highly parent-driven efforts. While advocacy isn't for everyone, it is a must for us. So, instead of locking our bundle of information in the glovebox, we're dispersing it among the masses, globally. It's not ours to keep - the cycle of giving must continue to flow.

Well, I found out that Van Gogh didn't cut off his entire ear- just a portion of his earlobe. No philanthropist, but still a generous giver...

Conversation With a Wild Feline

...my latest, crazy dream involved cheering my son on as he raced in a go- cart competition. Odd thing was that his vehicle was a big, fat tootsie roll with a seat carved out. "Go," I said. "People will look at you funny and may not want to be on your team. But you will win, son, and the others will be in complete awe!" What led me to this dream was a long-ago, profoundly-esoteric encounter with a tootsie roll that left me feeling completely powerless.

My son, Justin (age 7) is severely allergic to several food groups and he has autism. That's how I ended up in the book business - http://www.susandelaine.com/ . In first grade, a substitute teacher gave him a miniature tootsie roll for doing a good job in class. He was 6 years old. He's a trusting kid. And you have guessed by now that he ate it. Just one. And he became deathly ill. By the time I arrived at the school, he had already had two full doses of Benadryl and was totally disrobed, shivering, itching, moaning and saved the vomitting for the car.....

...no, I didn't sue the school. Rather, I referred back to a scenario that took place a few centuries ago in my family: My great, great grandmother walked out the back door of her village in the mountains of South Korea, probably fixing to go bury some kimchee. Anyway, as she exited, she found herself face-to-face with a very large, very wild, and very hungry feline. And very mad, according to my mom. As the cat zeroed in on dinner, my great, great grandmother decided not to run and scream, not to fight and not even to become fearful. Instead, she gathered up her big skirt, squatted down near the beast and began to speak to it. "Why are you here? You don't belong. Go back to the forest where it's beautiful and serene. Here, you will only find chaos and madness."

Please do not try this, unless you are a highly-trained yogi or animal zen master. What I learned from this story was that we do posess a lot more power than we may feel comfortable facing. We are all connected and we can easily command better circumstances and future outcomes. So we have decided to set our sights on Justin's success and wellness, rather than have prolonged fits over cats and tootsie rolls. What a superior space in which to exist. ..and the very large, hungry, wild and mad feline did walk away.

Today I Bought A Noodle Maker

...doesn't sound like the kind of news that someone would rush home to "blog" about. In fact, the thing is about as low maintenance as a French Poodle (no offense, but I know one who thinks he's human).

To make some quinoa flour noodles, the machine requires molding the dough, threading and winding, winding backwards if the dough gets stuck and dusting with flour if the dough is too moist to wind through. Then there's the very precarious job of lifting the noodle ever-so-gingerly so as not to break it. By 4:00 I balled up the dough, tore it into peices and made the most delicious dumpling soup ever.

As I stood in my kitchen, grappling with the inanimate machine, I realized that the moment was a replay of events in my life from six years ago - a labor of love, later worth every frustrating moment. As a baby, our son was diagnosed with allegies to wheat, rice, barley, egg, milk, soy, peanut, tree nuts and green peas. Yup. Green peas. And later diagnosed wtih Autism. Determined to make the perfect apple bread, pancakes, pizza, chicken nuggets and pasta dishes without those ingredients, I camped out in the kitchen until the 17th loaf of whatever finally came out stuck together and at least looking edible, scribbling corrections in different color ink on a piece of scratch paper every time a failed loaf got dumped in the can. Then, re-writing the recipe and keeping it in a grey Sketchers shoebox - a box filled to capacity with recipes, feeding instructions, notes and shopping tips for my son so someone could feed the kid, just in case I died.

And so it began. About three years and five shoe boxes later (small baby shoeboxes). At the urging of friends and family who saw some value in this collection of alternative recipes, I started typing them up and collecting them in a three-ring folder- much easier for people to find stuff in case I died. Then, when my ever-so- wise sister-in-law sat me down and advised me to publish a food allergy cookbook, I finally got it and said, "Oh, okay."

My cookbooks, "Balancing the Bowl" offer delicious, family-friendly recipes ranging from sesame-ginger chicken to pizza and apple bread. Edition 1 is for those who suffer from multiple food allergies, Edition 2 is completely gluten-free and casein-free and it discusses the link between diet, autism and development - it is suitable for those wishing to use dietary intervention to treat autism. Our son's autism improved dramatically through the use of diet, detoxification and vitamin supplements... check out my books at www.susandelaine.com or http://www.balancingthebowl.com/

So, on my way back to Linens and Things to return the noodle maker, I stopped at the grocery store and discovered shelves and shelves of quinoa spaghetti, elbows, shells and whatever. A little disapointed that they didn't have the lasagna version that I was trying to make, I headed over to the customer sevice desk to inquire about it...my point being, if you can't make it, special order it.