We had Alex tested for heavy metal toxicity as, for whatever reason, the bodies of children on the autism spectrum have a lot of difficulty naturally getting rid of them. You don't realize how many/how much toxic metals are out there and we're exposed to every day. I found out arsenic is actually used to "treat" wooden playground equipment (did you ever wonder why termites and carpenter ants don't touch the stuff?). No one thinks about unleaded/leaded gas any further than how much it costs a gallon but think about what we breathe in as it gets spewed out the exhaust pipes of cars, trucks, etc. I could go on and on about WHERE the metals are coming from but that's another post.
Alex's levels of toxic metals were alarming. We started him on chelation... a chelating agent gets introduced into the blood stream (via IV) and the agent's molecules bond with those of things like arsenic, mercury, lead, etc. then the package gets flushed out via the liver/kidneys.
The thing with chelating is that it stirs up all sorts of nasty stuff that before had been doing just quiet but steady damage over time. It's not going out without a fight.
Alex became a nightmare to be around. Violent enough that too much time in school was spent being restrained rather than getting any learning done. He started head banging, tearing things, kicking, lots of hitting himself and others. I had to warn his sister to pay attention and "read" him... if he looked like he was going to go bonkers, then she was drop all and leave the room else she became a punching bag target. We've stopped chelating for the moment (just until we get results back from blood tests to see his levels of minerals/good metals and liver function) and put him on Abilify. He will absolutely have to finish chelating but we might be saving that fun for the summer months now I think.
Lots of autistic kids are on this for aggression issues and it has helped them. Abilify, however, is a powerful anti-psychotic. It's given to people with extreme forms of bipolar manic depression or schizophrenia. I know I shouldn't feel so but finally caving and putting him on "something" feels like I've failed him.
I would like to note that some people will immediately refer to the "danger" in chelating in reference to a case a few months back of an autistic boy dying during chelating. What most do not know is that the boy died because he was given the WRONG chelating agent that also removed massive amounts of calcium from his system resulting in cardiac arrest. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH ALEX.
The funny thing is he *loves* his DAN doctor. Even after blood draws and IV's, he follows her around until she gives him a full both-feet-off-the-ground "monkey hug."
