Dr. McCandless' Guidelines regarding her considerations for Treatment.

FAQ regarding Guidelines for Treatment Considerations:

(1) What does your bio-medical evaluation consist of? Initial evaluation covers the review of your questionnaire, ordering of test kits, analyzing all test results, and discussion (phone or in person) regarding results and creating a treatment plan. The consultation with evaluation of tests includes preliminary steps such as prescriptions for anti-fungals or anti-virals if indicated per test results and listing of nutrients needed for shown deficiencies and preparation for chelation (or metallothionein promotion treatment) if tests indicate these are appropriate. Evaluation may include a suggestion for other specialized help in areas such as seizure disorders or endocrine disorders; these need adequate coverage throughout the treatment process, naturally.

(2) What about lab work? I require a willingness to get diagnostic testing from specialty labs that may run to around $1200 or more depending upon your child’s medical status, with no guarantee that insurance will pay for all of it or very much of it. The suggested tests and sequences are outlined in my book. I cannot use tests over six months old and from labs I do not use and know their reference ranges. I have found that treatment goes much faster with a good diagnosis; nutrient deficiencies (which all the kids have) can be addressed specifically with amazing responses. I recommend nutrients from 7-9 different neutraceutical companies which I have tried myself and on my grandchild and whose ingredients are pure and fresh; some of these provide only to health care providers. A personalized amino acid mix made up specifically for your child can be ordered from a nutrient compounding company once we get the plasma 40-amino acid test results back and that seems indicated. (Let me assure you I get no kick-back, payment, gifts, rewards, or even discounts for myself or family from laboratories or personalized compounding companies I recommend. I am using them because in the ten years I have been researching and finding ways to diagnose and treat ASD children these have provided the most reliable help for me in treatment guidance. Once I order the kits and give them the diagnosis, all financial arrangements are between you and the labs.)

(3) Do you require special diets? I highly recommend that all children under 15 (any that received the Hep B in early infancy) to be stabilized on the GF/CF (and usually soy-free too) diet with a willingness for the parents to be fierce about removing all refined sugar and most juices and fruits from their diets until we get their gut healed. I have found healing goes much faster for children utilizing this program. Autism for this epidemic group of children is turning out to basically be a gut-immune illness, and almost all of them have yeast and other gut pathogens that may be preventing their full healing. I have found in my clinical experience that chelation is often hampered by gut pathogen overgrowth, and most delays are to heal these conditions.

(4) Are you accepting new applications? For now I am unable to take any new patients. I am currently writing, teaching, and conducting research geared toward helping get the word out about bio-medical treatment for autism, and feel I can help more by these activities than continuing to take more patients. .

(5) Are you a pediatrician? No, I am certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and have primarily practiced psychiatry and anti-aging medicine including hormonal peri-menopausal replacement therapy for women. For the last 10 years, I have been primarily specializing in biomedical treatment of developmentally delayed children. It is important for you to understand that I am a specialty consultant, not your primary physician, so am not available for emergency care, routine care, vaccinations (if you still get them!) etc. but am certainly available for those issues related to my care of your child.

(6) Why do you require parents read your book before applying for treatment? In my book I have tried to give the education I no longer have time to do individually for each patient. Much time can be saved if parents are knowledgeable about this kind of treatment before they come, and the doctor’s time can be spent ordering and interpreting appropriate tests and creating treatment plans rather than taking the time to educate you about what the book was written to teach you.

(10) Can you give me a guarantee that if I do this treatment that my child will be healed? Please understand there can be no guarantee with this or any other protocol. Though most children improve, some to the point of losing their diagnosis, not all do, and we cannot know until we try. Parents whose observation of their child’s eating and bowel disorders doesn’t help them see that this approach makes sense should stay with mainstream medicine and wait for placebo, double blind university studies published in peer-reviewed journals for treatment. I remain open to advancements and improvements in treatment, and receive information about ongoing research studies constantly. This kind of treatment is new, things change continuously, and I have set myself the task to stay as up-to-the-minute on new findings as I can possibly be, willing to alter my approach as new evidence comes in. Since nothing was medically known to be done for this disorder until the last decade other than drugs for behavior control or treatment of specific medical issues such as seizures, doctors unfamiliar with this new protocol may be unwilling to cooperate with patients who want biomedical treatment for their ASD children; I encourage parents to keep looking until you find a doctor who is informed about these new options or open to learning something new.

(11) Can parents do their own treatments with your book? My book is an effort to provide as much information as possible to help parents do what they can before needing a doctor’s help, and to help them educate their doctor (if open) as to what their child needs medically for further recovery. The book is particularly aimed at parents and professionals who want to educate themselves as to the biological complexity of ASD and to help parents have some understanding of what its daunting treatment may require. There is no magic pill for this disorder; the parents have to do it. Parents can go quite a ways in beginning the treatment to help their children; at some point, to go further they will need the help of a medical professional for the fine tuning and some of the treatments requiring medical supervision.