DAN! protocol

I took this from a blog I came across today. It is a great description of what we’re doing with Rowan. Down below there is a man mentioned named Dr. Bernie Rimland.  He has passed away, but we will be taking Rowan to his center in Lynchburg, VA as soon as we can to see how they can help with his treatment. The person “Avander” is the writers’ son.

The DAN Protocol

Avander is a patient with a world reknown pediatric practice located in Ponte Vedra, Florida. Both of the doctors there are parents of recovered and recovering autistic children and, as board certified pediatricians, have worked tirelessly in the fight against autism to bring recovery to other parents of children suffering with this disease. We (Avander’s parents) made a call to their office so many years ago and were placed on a two year waiting list (which was well worth the wait). Finally, one day when our son was 5 years old, we received the phone call that would change Avander’s life forever. It was his turn to meet Dr. B and be introduced to the DAN protocol.

The DAN protocol is the preferred biomedical treatment option for children with autism today. Based upon the pioneering research and studies by people like Bernard Rimland, PhD., Karyn Seroussi, Lisa Lewis, Dr. Jeffrey Bradstreet, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Dr. Julie Buckley, Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, and Dr. James A. Neubrander, and countless families desperate to find something to help their children, a treatment plan comprised of a multifaceted biomedical approach to autism was born in a time when all that was available to children such as Avander was a lifetime locked away in an institution, or if you were independantly wealthy, the possibility of private ABA therapy at home. With the development of the DAN protocol, hundreds more families began to have hope that some day their children would not only recover (as is the best case scenario in regards to therapies like ABA), but would be completely healed (or “recovered” as is the popular term) as the purpose of biomedical treatment is to attack and correct the underlying cause of an individual child’s neurological (and thus systemic) damage. Doctors who practice said protocol are referred to as “DAN doctors” and are ideally (in my opinion) board certified pediatricians who have completed additional training in regards to the DAN protocol by attending DAN conferences that are held annually. Please note: not all DAN practitioners are board certified pediatricians. Like anything in life, there are professionals, and then there are quacks. For the sake of my child’s health and safety (and as a former pre-med student… not that that means anything here… I simply say this to mean that it has taught me great respect for the licensed medical professional), I’d much rather travel the 4 hours it takes to get to Ponte Vedra so that my child may receive quality care from a bona fide pediatrician as opposed to (for example) the holistic guy down the street who has absolutely no training whatsoever in biochemistry, (or chemistry for that matter, microbiology, or heaven forbid, pediatrics), or the local nutritionist or whomever just because they’ll charge me less, are local, and happened to have attended a DAN conference or two. This is my son’s life we’re talking about… I should think a 4 hour drive in that respect really isn’t too much to ask!

The DAN protocol is most well-known for its emphasis on maintaining a gluten – free and casein – free diet (gluten is a protein found in grassy grains such as wheat, barley, and rye; casein is one of the proteins found in milk), chelation for the removal of heavy metals (eg. mercury and lead), megavitamin therapy and supplements such as B12 shots to stimulate speech, and CLO (cod liver oil), hyperbaric oxygen therapy (essentially to repair damaged brain cells and encourage new cell growth), and the use of antifungals and probiotics to heal gut issues.

For more information, please click the following links:
http://autism.about.com/od/alternativetreatmens/f/dandoc.htm
http://autism.asu.edu/Additional/Summarybiomed07.pdf
http://www.autismwebsite.com/practitioners/us_lc.htm

Please feel free to leave any questions you may have in the comments section of this blog. That way everyone gets a chance to see it and its respective answer. Also, it is my hope that the information you find here will encourage you to commit to pray daily for healing of Avander and any child you know that has autism. And pray for their families, too. Please remember DAN doctors in your prayers as well as they are also in the forefront of this battle for the future of our children.

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