Biomedical Interventions get to the cause of a medical problem.

Let's consider "Patient A" who has eczema. Mainstream medicine would prescribe a cream to apply to the skin. This cream might cure the symptom of eczema but would not address the underlying cause. The biomedical approach would look at why the eczema was there in the first place and the answer might be an allergy to milk--treatment would be the removal of milk. Further treatment would try to discover and address the initial cause(s) for the milk allergy.

Let's consider "Patient B" who has severe PMS. Mainstream medicine might put this patient on the birth control pill to address hormone imbalance. The biomedical approach would be to find out why this person has a hormone imbalance in the first place. The biomedical investigation might look at the adrenal glands which support hormone production and see if this patient is suffering from adrenal stress. Treatment would be to support the adrenal glands with a variety of approaches and reduce various stressors.

If we then consider "Patient C" who has autism and refuses to eat, the problem might earn the label "autistic behaviour" and be dismissed or at best addressed through behavioural therapies. This child may have a problem with insufficient stomach acid to digest food or be low in zinc or have bowel loading -- all three conditions can lower appetite significantly. Treatment would be individual to the child (supplement zinc for example, in a child low in zinc) and would not dismiss a medical problem as "autism".

There are dozens of possible biomedical interventions for autism. Although there are common elements and trends in medical conditions that can help inform investigations, each child with autism is unique and will have different requirements, at different levels, and at different times.

The information that follows is intended to be an introduction to some of the most common interventions that have proved successful for our children. These treatments are presented under seven general categories: Dietary Interventions, Correcting Nutritional Deficiencies, Treating the Gut, Detoxifying, Treating the Immune System, Treating the Brain and Energy Medicine.

Treating Autism does not, indeed cannot, actively recommend any form of treatment but believes that parents should be as informed as possible. Below, we have provided much information about Interventions that many parents use; however, this is just a start, and we strongly recommend that parents seek advice from doctors and supplement that with opinions and experiences from other parents (on Yahoo groups, for example, or join one of our many parent support groups) and from the wealth of literature now available.

We encourage you not to be afraid, but to be informed, cautious and thoughtful. Also do bear in mind that what works for one child may not for another. Don't be tempted to try the "latest thing" -- it might not be what your child needs; instead, focus on your individual child and his or her individual needs.