Mom in the 'Burbs

Read Part 1 of this series HERE.

Right now we are 4 days post-bath number one. As to my knowledge I’ve seen no detox symptoms. More than likely that’s because it was a weak bath. But before I jump right into our experience I want to talk a little bit about what I’ve learned about Bentonite Clay Baths.

     

Powdered Bentonite Clay

Bentonite Clay is made from weathered volcanic ash and is naturally electro-magnetically charged. There are many uses for Bentonite Clay such as in waterproofing, construction, adhesives, make up and pyrotechnics but I’ll be talking about what I’ve learned about it’s uses medically for detoxification.

Bentonite Clay is electromagnetically charged “living clay”. It’s basically a magnet. (Source) The skin is the largest organ; toxins are excreted through the pores of the skin so using a clay bath to draw out and absorb the toxic chemicals is one of the fastest, safest and easiest ways to detox heavily metals from the system. Oral Chelation can places a lot of strain on the body during the process so the baths are looked at as a simple method for achieving the same result.

Looking for a good clay is extremely important, especially when dealing with children and moreso children with Autism. You want to make this effort worth your time so buy quality materials and consider that you’re dealing with a child.

1. A clay without additives is best. Herbal and “natural” additives don’t sound like a bad thing but when you’re talking about detox you really will want to steer clear of anything that might inhibit the process of the clay.

2. Look for a company that sells a quality clay designed for children. We use Kids Clear Cleansing Clay Baths. Besides being pure, clean, and no additives it is SAFE to ingest. I don’t know about you but my kid still drinks bath water. This specific clay is 100% safe to drink. It can even be used as a GI tract cleanse too but I won’t get into that.

3. Easy clean up is a plus also. If you can find a clay that can be washed down the drain versus needing a strainer in your bath tub, go for it. It will just make your life easier. And cleaner.

Rules to Follow:

• Do NOT take a bath prior to ingesting oral medications. The bath WILL draw out the chemical compounds from the medicines and render it useless. This stuff isn’t child’s play, y’all!
• Do NOT stir the clay into the bath water with a metal utensil or store in a metal container. It will inactivate the charge of the ions.
• Do follow the directions given with the clay you purchase. Each clay is different, mined from different locations and has different uses based on the minerals in the clay so make sure you know what you are buying and how to properly use the clay to get the most benefits.
• Do encourage your child to lie in the bath water for the full time recommended OR pour the bath water over the child’s shoulders and torso as they sit in the bath water. You want as much of the body exposed to the clay as possible.
• Do conclude each bath with some kind of electrolyte replacer. Gatorade is not an adequate electrolyte drink contrary to common thought. Pure coconut water is an excellent choice. Read up on it HERE.

UPDATE: We are actually 3 baths in. I started writing this and had so many interruptions that I never was able to finish. Here’s what I’ve noticed so far.

Bath 1/Observation week 1: Over the first 7 days after the bath I noticed no detox symptoms. We did a very weak bath to start off with and planned to stair step to a full amount bath over a few weeks. He stayed in the bath for the full 8 minutes which is max for his age.

Bath 2/Observation week 2: This bath was a stronger mixed bath and was roughly 3/4 max dose for his age. He stayed in the bath again for the max time. At the end of week 1 Luke had accidental exposures to artificial coloring and HFCS. He hadn’t had an exposure (at least of this magnitude) in months. The 2nd week was a rough week. He was stimming in ways he hadn’t stimulated in months and some behaviors were exhibited that weren’t his best. :I personally feel: that the rough week was due to the artificial chemicals in his system.

Bath 3/Observation week 3: Max amount and time in the bath were used for the week 3 bath. I had planned on going much slower to reach full dose but with the accidental exposure plus a dramatic increase in certain behaviors, stimming, and general attitude I felt like we needed to reach a detox point sooner. We are in the middle of week 3 and I’m still seeing that same increased level of stimming, tiredness, ease to upset, etc. It’s been another rough week. :I believe: this week is a heavy detox week. I don’t feel at this point the artificial chemicals are causing him to react this way right now. The detoxing process is an ugly one and I feel we are just starting to get there. I’ve had to start doing a big sensory diet with Luke again when I see him start stimming and seeking.

More updates coming soon on Lukes detox from heavy metals and toxins.

Until next time,

Lukes Physical Therapist bought him the book Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees one day a few weeks ago. She read it to him during a home therapy session when he became distracted. It proved to be a little change of pace for him that he needed right then. It’s about dancing and moving so it seemed appropriate in that regard for the physical therapist to bring.

As she read it to him I listened from the other room, her grandmotherly voice carrying the words so sing-songly. She made the words come to life for him. She read on further and the words became real for me too. It began to touch me.

The story is about a giraffe who, obviously, can’t dance. He goes to a big jungle dance and tries to bust a move but gets laughed off the dance floor. He feels terrible and alone but then finds his own style listening to himself and “dancing to his own beat”.

As the mom of a child who clearly dances to his own beat, I saw this story as an alliteration of his life and hopefully an inspiration to other parents and kids with Autism. At least it was for me. My boy is smart, funny, talented, witty, sneaky, kind, loving… He’s SO amazing but you can’t compare him to the other kids at the jungle dance.. his kind of music isn’t playing.

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein

It’s just honestly a simple kids book but every time I read this to Luke I start to choke up by page 10 and am in a full blown-barely controled-hysterics by page 12. It’s a precious story.

Here’s a video someone has made and posted to youtube. Despite the ridiculous music and voices at times, I still cry. Now that I think about it the silly music and voices are probably a lot better than my constant sniffles and sobs while trying my squeak out the words.  (Watch the video in the link below)

Giraffes Can’t Dance

Until next time,

Our journey to detoxification has been a long one involving many things I would’ve considered bizarre and peculiar a few years ago. Many kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders lack the ability to detox their systems from typical environmental pollutants and chemicals they are exposed to on a daily basis. Not only do environmental toxins muddy these children’s systems but the vaccinations we inject our kids with contain chemicals and harsh preservatives as well. Susceptible genes, environmental toxins and overloading the system by vaccination often become the trifecta that sets off Autism.

When Luke was 2.5 years old we were desperate parents who were watching our little boy fall deeper and deeper into Autism. We read Dr. Sear’s The Autism Book and quickly made the decision to begin a gluten free diet with him. We saw instant, drastic changes in him after a week of detox. Soon after that we began seeing Dr. Betsy Hendricks who is Arkansas’ own sort of Dr. Sears. We did extensive genetic and biological testing and found many food allergies, environmental allergies and some extreme heavy metal buildup in his system and severe depletion of vital minerals and vitamins. She sent us test results and a plan of action for his supplements and a complete diet overhaul guide.

Instead of going off the deep end and making all these changes at once I knew deep down these changes had to be permanent for Luke and even though doing a 100% change was what he needed I knew that in reality I would struggle completely with wrapping my mind around the new changes that needed to be made. I took the route of making one change at a time. Looking back I now know that was an excellent choice for Luke because I could see results for each new supplement, diet change, etc. It helped let me know that what I was doing was making a difference in him.

Besides going gluten free the other big results have come from adding Biotin to his diet at just over 3 years old and removing all artificial colors and flavors at almost 4 years old. The changes from detoxing artificial dyes was truly, hands down, the biggest positive change in him. He became so much more “normal acting” over the weeks and months following the elimination. Within 3 weeks we began to notice changes like imaginative play and by 3 months post elimination he began sleeping, which is unheard of for him. His ADD symptoms are slowly going away too and he is stimming much less. His communication is just taking off in leaps and bounds.

Many people think eating foods without artificial colors and flavors is too daunting and it can’t be done. I’m here to tell you, yes it can be. It’s not that hard and its far healthier. It does require more effort to buy and prepare foods but the rewards is far greater than the struggle. 

All my reading and layman’s research has lead me to readings on serious detoxing and Bentonite Clay.

“Autism and mercury poisoning has recently been linked as a possible cause of autism due to the large quantity of mercury found during urine testing of autistic children.  Since one of the biggest benefits of a clay bath is the removal of heavy metals such as mercury and lead through the pores of one’s skin, there is definite hope that clay baths can play an increasingly bigger role in treating autistic patients. In the recent past, autistic children who have been taking clay baths on a regular basis for some time, have reported amazing improvement.” (source)

The next post in this series will cover more about what is Bentonite Clay, how it works and what you can look for in a good clay. I will be giving Luke his first Bentonite Clay detox bath tonight and will be observing him for a week for signs of detox. Since we are doing a 10 set of detox baths I plan on reporting back weekly between baths to update any progress seen.

Stay tuned for our exciting journey on healing Autism for my sweet boy!!!!!

Until then,