I had a hard time with the month of April. It was “Autism Awareness” month, and my newsfeed was filled with positive, celebratory memes and videos. Muppet characters were created to represent the autism community, and various bloggers shared how awesome they thought autism was.

It was mind-boggling to see such a different picture of autism than the one experienced by those in my circle. There were no non-verbal children staring into space, no children pulling off their eyelashes or punching themselves in the face. There were no digestive disorders or grown children in diapers, no sleep disorders or seizures or excessive OCD. Autism was portrayed as a gift, a minor little shift that brought forth neurodiversity in the most amazing of ways.

People celebrated, cheered, and whooped. There were “likes” and “loves” and everything in between, and all the while, I couldn’t help but just stare at the screen in a state of confusion. I almost felt guilty for not getting so excited. I almost felt like I, too, should be joining in on the fun.

But I’ve seen a different side of autism. . . and I just couldn’t.

Raising Autism Awareness

I’ve seen the side of autism that looks nothing like the memes. I’ve seen the side that presents itself in a host of underlying medical conditions, coinciding with higher levels of heavy metals, gut dysbiosis, mitochondrial disorders, and excessive fungal overgrowth. I’ve seen the side that causes a child to feel so bad on the inside that he can’t do anything but scream and yell for hours on end. I’ve seen the side that makes a grown boy chew on everything in sight in order to have some sense of calm enough to focus. I’ve seen the side that tears at families and shreds up hopes for the future, the side that makes it difficult to survive each day, the one that leaves a child alone because no one else wants to be around him.

I’ve heard the stories of parents, heart-wrenching testimonials of children, who regressed into autism shortly after vaccination. I’ve read the studies that show significant correlations between the number of vaccines given and the cases of autism. I’ve researched the CDC cover-ups and the synergistic toxicity load of heavy metals, processed foods, glyphosphate, acetaminophen, and vaccines that can result in autism. I’ve seen the statistics go from 1 in 10,000 to roughly 1 in 48 in just my lifetime alone . . . more concentrated in our country where the recommended vaccine schedule is the most aggressive in the world.

I’ve seen the pain; I’ve lived the hurt.

And I just couldn’t celebrate it. I just couldn’t “accept” it.

The month was called to raise awareness, but in the midst of celebration and fundraising, there were a couple of things that were left out, a couple of things that could have brought forth hope and healing for the children. This is what I would have hoped we could have all been made aware of.

Autism is Medical

People need to be aware that autism isn’t simply a harmless quirk that makes some children different. Autism is just the label for the behavioral conditions we can observe. When approached from a biomedical perspective, however, we find that autism embodies a number of underlying medical conditions as well.

Children with autism are often picky eaters and have food allergies, constipation, and diarrhea due to gut dysbiosis. Many have trouble sleeping due to the inability to produce serotonin and melatonin and often have night terrors or irrational fears, stemming from deeply ingrained pathology.

Children with autism are oftentimes in “fight or flight” mode that is expressed with excessive aggression and rage. Scientific studies tell us that this is most likely due to brain inflammation. Further studies show the damaging effects of vaccines on the cranial nerves, often leading to eye convergence issues and other eye-related conditions often associated with autism.

Children with autism also usually have mitochondrial disorders that make it difficult to detoxify, leading to further chronic conditions. Some suffer from seizures; others with tics. Many also have sensory processing disorder, speech delays, ADD, and OCD.

Autism is not just “neurodiverse” behavior. The behaviors are often just the tip of the iceberg. Children with autism are medically ill and are often suffering through those illnesses.

How can we celebrate and make light of such a thing?

We need to be aware of what autism is and how we can help.

Autism is Treatable

People need to know that autism is treatable.

The current standard of care mostly denies this. Parents of children, who receive an autism diagnosis, are often told that it is incurable and can only be helped with ABA therapy. Some are told that their child will end up in an institution; others are made to believe that the child was born with the condition and nothing could have prevented it.

When parents seek the assistance of a DAN (Defeat Autism Now!) or MAPS practitioner, however, they open the door to new methods of treatment and possible recovery. With a biomedical approach, children can be tested medically for the underlying conditions that present themselves as “autism” and can have the opportunity for healing.

Some children respond well to chelation, the process of removing heavy metals from the body. Some respond well to detoxification efforts, including higher doses of Vitamin C, Epsom salt baths, and supplementation to support methylation.

Some children see gains after homeopathic treatments and antidotes to specific vaccines. Others regain their speech with simple dietary changes and supplementation with enzymes and probiotics. Some see gains with chiropractic care and others with camel’s milk. Some lose their diagnosis of autism altogether.

I have read countless testimonies of recovery online and have personally met children, who have recovered from autism. Their stories are inspiring and empowering and are the epitome of the “awareness” that this month should stand for . . . but they are often silenced.

Why We Are Not Aware

They are silenced because the industry profits from our ignorance. As long as we believe that autism simply adds to our neurodiversity as a species, we won’t be looking for a cause. As long as we believe the unproven reports that autism is not linked to vaccines, we won’t demand safety studies. As long as we continue to vaccinate pregnant women with mercury-laden vaccines, we can convince more and more people that babies are just “born” with autism. As long as we celebrate autism in and of itself, we shut the door on any type of recovery.

And this is why I cannot accept it. For every ounce of celebration that goes forth, another child is imprisoned without the opportunity for healing. With every celebration of the diagnosis, we step further and further away from finding out what’s really hurting our children.

Acceptance for Children with Autism

Autism awareness should definitely be about accepting and loving our children and helping others understand and tolerate their differences, but it should never be about accepting what has hurt them. We would never celebrate or just accept childhood cancer or immune disorders. We would share awareness so that the children could have the resources they need to be helped along the way. Autism awareness should not be any different.

I realize that not all children with autism can fully recover, but I believe we should stand by them and fight for their health, regardless of how far the journey takes us. Our children are hurting in ways that we can never fully understand, and I pray that in truth, we can help them overcome the medical challenges that they face and offer some resolution for the behavioral ones. Yes, there is an acceptance in our limitations, and we must use wisdom as we move forward, but my hope is that we can discover more and more options for healing and recovery as awareness begins to grow.

Our children with autism are not broken. They are among the strongest and most amazing warriors I have ever known. We should celebrate and cheer and whoop for them and what they have accomplished despite their challenges. We must lift them up and encourage them, embracing the beauty and purpose that they embody.

It is my hope that children with autism will be loved and welcomed into their communities–regardless of their differences. My prayer is that they will be given the same opportunities as their peers in all that they aspire to do. I pray that others will be open to understanding the challenges they face and be available to help them through their struggles. I pray that our society can wrap its arms around them and provide the means to help them succeed, offering opportunities for testing and treatments that can provide healing and restoration.

My prayer is for the children . . . but it begins with awareness. Awareness of the truth.

Are you aware?