Are these symptoms co-morbidities or causes?

There has been quite some buzz in the bloggosphere around a post on the Evidence of Harm board, listing a bunch of, what has been euphemistically referred to as, ‘co-morbidities’ seen in a subgroup of autistic kiddos and whether or not these symptoms should be ignored so that their parents can ‘celebrate’ said kiddo’s ‘neurodiversity’.

I am not going to repeat the particular posting in its entirety, it’s been repeated and discussed at nauseam elsewhere. And the consensus appears to be on both sides of the ‘Great Divide’ that ignoring and not treating these physical symptoms listed is barbaric, if not criminal

I have however decided to repost the list of physical symptoms for two reasons.

One - to emphasize once again, that these symptoms are found in a not-insignificant part of the autistic pediatric population (can’t speak for the adult one). Whether or not autistic kiddos are more susceptible to these ‘co-morbidities’ is a discussion for another day.

Another interesting angle to explore (and this certainly reflects my opinion) is whether a cascade of these symptoms contributes to an altered neurological development which then can result in an ‘autism’-like presentation (aka these symptoms are not co-morbidities at all, but the actual cause or causes of a phenotype within the autism spectrum disorders – that is, autism is actually the ‘downstream’ implication of other disorders and not just something you are born with – like some people would very much like us to believe).

Suffice to say that these symptoms also occur, and some quite frequently, in the ‘neurotypical’ pediatric population, and if found in a neurotypical kiddo they are aggressively investigated by the traditional medical community and treated.

Two – Quite a few of us, when we take our autistic kiddo who presents with these symptoms to a specialist that operates within said traditional medical community, are told that these same symptoms are not a separate and treatable illness, but are part of our kiddo’s autism. And that is something I just don’t understand. Why is a certain symptom indicative of an illness in one pediatric population, but part of their ‘brain disorder’ in another? Remember, we all seemed to agree that ignoring these symptoms in an autistic kiddo would be barbaric? But that is exactly what a large part of the traditional medical community is doing!!

And this absurdity is exactly why I ended up pursuing ‘so-called biomedical or alternative treatments’ for Salamander. None of the ‘so-called legit’ specialists that I’ve taken this kiddo to was able (willing?) to look beyond the autism diagnosis and acknowledge that something else was going on here that could be/should be treated. And I am NOT alone in this experience.

So, if your kiddo, neurotypical or autistic, displays symptoms even remotely similar to any of those listed here, insist on a full medical work-up. Do not be surprised, however, if for your autistic kiddo these symptoms are all attributed to your child’s autism.

And then what’s a parent to do who is just not willing to accept this ‘cop out’?
RIIIIIGGGGHTT. [Sarcasm alert] We become ‘desperate parents with money to burn who wil do anything to make their kid normal’ by seeking our answers outside the narrow minded views of the traditional medical community.

Anyway, here’s the list. I am intimately familiar with more than half of the stuff on this list.
And really, who are the quacks here? The well educated pediatrician, the allergist, and the pediatric gastroenterologist, who all ignored the picture that the combination of my kiddo’s symptoms presented, or the DAN physicians who looked at the whole picture separate from his autistic presentation and were actually able to help Salamander?

Chronic burning diarrhea
Constipation with grapefruit-sized blockage
Intestinal diverticuli
Seizures (petit mal, grand mal, tonic, clonic)
75% under normal body weight
Lesions in lining intestinal mucosa
Esophineal esophagitis
Food texture sensivitiy and swallowing difficulty
Asthma and reactive airway disorder
Allergies to foods, fabrics, toys
Immune dysfunction
Chronic sinus infections
Chronic upper respiratory infections
Cycling viruses
PANDAS (strep)
Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
Yeast overgrowth
Kryptopyrrole overload
Phenol sensitivity
Liver and kidney stress
Precocious puberty
Thyroid malfunction
Brain lesions with demyelination