Preventing Autism

with Dara Berger

“Preventing autism” is such an audacious goal! Is it possible? How can we prevent it if we don’t know what causes it? Dara Berger is a mom whose son was diagnosed as autistic before he was three years old. She was told that there was no cure or hope beyond ABA (applied behavior analysis). This was the start of her quest to find answers and help for her child, and to avoid a similar diagnosis for children she hoped to bear, down the line.

There are no simple solutions, Dara readily admits. She has done much research, interviewing a variety of doctors and autism specialists for her book “How to Prevent Autism.” She has concluded that autism is in all likelihood a disorder tied to toxic overload. To regain their health and to prevent the condition in future children takes much work.

In today’s episode, she gives ideas about where to begin. She touches on:

how dietary changes are critical for the child’s health
the importance of seeing an integrative health specialist
how autism is related to gut health
how functional medicine is making huge strides against this disorder by recognizing the volume of factors that lead to an autism diagnosis
the genetic mutations that make it difficult for the brain and gut to function properly

Today’s episode will give you an idea of how to help a child on the autistic spectrum and even how to “clean out” your own body from its toxic load, so that you may avoid the diagnosis altogether with a subsequent baby.

Notes:

Dara Berger is the author of the provocative book “How to Prevent Autism.” How could she possibly suggest that autism be prevented, when we don’t know its cause? There are certainly no simple answers, but Dara has found, through her research and studies, that autism is primarily a disorder linked to toxin overload. In today’s episode, Dara shares ideas on how to help children on the spectrum, as she did with her own son, and how to detox your own body as well, to avoid a diagnosis in subsequent pregnancies.

Highlights of this episode include:

why people find it hard to believe that children can recover from autism
the challenge of treating autism, since there is no one root cause
Dara’s story – how her son, Dillon, was diagnosed as autistic before age 3
her recommendations to “clean out” before conception
her definition of “cleaning out,” which includes eating whole, organic foods and avoiding packaged/boxed/processed foodstuffs
how to increase your awareness of what risks you have
the benefit of seeing an integrative health practitioner
signs the baby may have issues in the microbiome include eczema, reflux, constipation, etc.
how environmental susceptibility genes – issues with detoxing toxins –make it difficult for your brain or gut to function properly
why Dara interviewed a variety of doctors for her book
how autism is linked to gut health
why changing the diet is the most critical, and also the most controllable, thing you can do to treat and prevent autism
how a shift to a whole food, organic diet, and avoidance of toxic chemicals, cleaners, and cosmetics limits your exposure to toxins
the first steps Dara took to help her son heal
how mothers pass on toxins to their children in utero
what steps Dara took to prevent autism with her second-born child
And how she shored up her daughter’s health, once she was born