My daughter was diagnosed with autism when she was 20 months old. Since that day our lives changed dramatically and I commenced on a non-stop search for anything that could help her. I was frustrated that the treatments for autism are varied and there is little agreement amongst “experts” on the causes or the best course of action. I tried everything that I thought was harmless (GFCF diet, various therapy approaches, DAN doctors and homeopathic medicine). When I switched my daughter to macrobiotic diet, I saw significant and dramatic improvements in her behavior.
Preparing and serving macrobiotic meals was a time demanding process. Planning menus, buying ingredients, cooking, and training my child to eat new food was challenging and seemed impossible at first. But I found that it only took 2 weeks of persistent and patient "training" to get her to eat EVERYTHING on her new diet. Quite remarkably, two weeks after she was on the macrobiotic diet, I started seeing improvements!
I remember vividly the moment when she first looked at me. It occurred quite naturally and without me prompting her in any way. She kept her eyes on me for what seemed like an eternity. Earlier that same day, she was playing in our neighbor's backyard and looked back to see if I was watching her as she climbed the slide. This kind of connection that most parents take for granted was a fundamental shift in her life (and mine.) I will never forget those moments. Other aspects of her social development began to emerge quickly, such as joint attention and response to praise. She would even turn my head towards her and tell me, "Look at my eyes" when she wanted my complete focus on her.
My daughter is now six. She is a happy, sweet, loving, interactive and friendly kid. She attends a mainstream school where her teachers describe her as a leader, and someone who not only responds well in social situations, but will comfort others and help to resolve conflicts. She very social, has many friends, and is an absolute joy to be around. After being diagnosed with autism, I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams that she would be doing this well. I am a passionate advocate of the power of macrobiotics as a method of improving the lives of children diagnosed with autism. Macrobiotic diet is not expensive, and in my experience, the results are unmatched to anything else I tried. The diet does take time and patience, especially in the beginning. The possible outcome, however, is worth all that tremendous effort.
I recently started a non-for profit organization, Macrobiotic Autism Treatment. The organization exists to improve the lives of other autistic children and their families. You can find a detailed account of our experience on the website.
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http://www.macrobioticautismtreatment.org
