Looking for DAN Dr. Recommendations, Nutritional Therapy for Autism

I recommend Dr. Elahi in Plano. She's amazing, and doesn't try to sell you on supplements. Her # is ###-###-####

I am a little shocked at some of the responses you've gotten just by asking about a doctor. First of all, I don't use Dr. Rao but I know ALOT of people who do and there is nothing shady about him. He is knowledgeable and can help you with your testing and supplement needs. I would recommend him based on all the people I know who use him and like him. Besides, there aren't many other choices in this area. Which is why his office is so busy. You will wait a while for your appointment and then once you get there you will probably wait a while to see him. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go.

One other doctor not mentioned here is Dr. Bain in Frisco. She can also test your child and works closely with a nutritionist. She isn't a DAN doctor but she is knowledgeable about all of it.

And don't listen to people who try to convince you not to keep trying things for your child. What works for one doesn't necessarily work for all. But how do you know until you try. I wish you the best.

Hi S.,
We are going to Dr. Rao and the end of June for a workup for my 5 yr old son. He is on the spectrum -sensory processing disorder/adhd/possibly Aspergers. We have gone the Dev. Ped. route - it was kind of helpful as we did begin ABA therapy and Occupational therapy and I've begun my "education" about the spectrum and promising treatments.

You may want to check out a resource that has been helpful to me and you will get LOTS of feedback on dr. Rao and biomedical intervention. Try going to the Yahoo Group for Dallas/Ft. Worth Mothers Actively Fighting to Eradicate Autism. It has been helpful to me getting lots of feedback, and now, after a few months, we have made the decision to see Rao. Good luck - to find this yahoo group try this link http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/DFW-MAFEA/ ...otherwise search for the group I mentioned above at the Search function of Yahoo Groups

S.,

To answer you questions about gluten free diets---there is a LOT of online information. I would start with www.glutenfreemommy.com . Her recipes are excellent and reliable. She has a LOT of links down the righthand side of the screen. Check them out as often as time allows. I am doing gluten free with my son, so feel free to email me privately.

DAN doctors---yes, it is tricky to trust someone running tests AND selling the supplements. You may want to try to find a Dr. to run the tests and then buy your supplements elsewhere. I do NOT sell supplements, but can direct you to some of the good places to find them. At the least, you could compare prices, etc. Again, if you'd like me to help, email me privately.

www.parentswithpurpose.com

I think that Dr. Rao is very knowledgeable but his office is overwhelmed with all his patients. I too waited about two & 1/2 hours for every appointment, regardless of how many people were in the lobby. My blood work was supposedly lost by the lab, but I got my test results the next day @ home (after lab work had been drawn again and billed to the insurance company twice). I got back in much later (it does take a couple of months to get in) to review the results & after another two hour wait I didn't even get to see him. His assistant promised to mail me a "packet" of instructions which I have yet to receive and it has been several months. The staff doesn't seem to have an accurate assessment of what will be covered by your Insurance and you need to be vigilant in following up to get what you need. I didn't get a "shady" feel from them, just that they are overwhelmed and unable to effectively manage their current patient needs. Overall, though he is very knowledgeable and pleasant.

You should visit www.autismspot.com. The website is a great resource.

I have worked with a lots of mom with Autistic children who have had great resault with Nutritional Food Supplement developed by a Nutritional scientist. I will be happy to connect you with other moms and give you details on the supplements.

Let me know.

A.

Have you tried Acai juice?? Jenny McCarthy and many others have said that it was instrumental in curing her child's Autism along with a gluten free diet. Acai comes from the Amazon Rain forest, and is the most powerful superfood known to man. If you are interested in trying some please check out my website, mymonavie.com/bjhiller for more information, as well as my contact info. You will find all of the nutritional information there. In two 2 oz. servings of juice one can get the equivalent of 13 servings of fruits and vegetables along with every essential amino acid and omega 3 fatty acids. It is easy to get my 3 year old to drink it because it tastes good, (unlike wheatgrass juice) is approved for pregnant and lactating women, and has no caffeine or stimulants, just nutrients. My husband and I decided to try it for our health, now we just want to share the benefits with everyone.

I know this response is long but I saw your request and decided to send this to you. It was written as a response to another group that I belong to asking about DAN Dr.s. I hope you find it helpful. As you can see I mentioned Dr. Clark in my response below and he has a nutritionists that works closly with him, Michelle, unlike Dr. Rao. Just a warning, it is expensive so be prepared. I am not wealthy or rich, barely middle class and I have put it all on credit cards, and used every bit of extra money (christmas bonus, tax return, Bush stimulus check) to pay off so that I can recharge. They will work with you. My son is 4 and he has PDD-NOS and we are about to start the diet, after we do our blood labs and get our test results back. You and I might have alot in common. I have a PDF file of GF/CF recipes that a friend sent me and I would be glad to send it your way, it has tons of good ideas in it. E-mail me at ____@____.com if you want me to send it to you. Again, I am not trying to discourage you and I hope that we can talk further. It's a long hard road and we all need friends to lean on, myself included. I look forward to chatting with you again.

This is my first time to respond but I really appreciate all of the information that you all share so I thought I would share some of my own, so sorry if this is too long. I took my 4yo PDD-NOS son to see Dr. Rao because of the circumstances listed below, insurance, DAN! and he has an autistic son that’s older. I will not go back to see him for the following reasons:

We waited like 2 months just to see him, when we got there we waited another 2 hours, in a very small waiting room, with 5 other AS kids and their parents. Some of these kids were more severe that the others which made for a very LONG 2 hour wait.
Our second appt we had to take our son, once again, a very long wait, over booked. They took lots blood from my son and they gave us a bag of test kits, of which none were covered by insurance, to take home and collect specimens, these tests cost me over $1,000, which I am still trying to pay off. They also gave us a gamut of vitamins to put him on, also not covered by insurance, without any test results, so I was confused but we did what he told us to.
Third visit, test results, YAY! I waited for another 2 hours for 30 minutes of test results, most of which I didn’t understand because he has such a heavy accent, I was trying to take notes but couldn’t make out most what he was saying. He did not like to be interrupted for questions either. So he told me we didn’t need to come off wheat, gave me an additional list of supplements, a script for Straterra and sent me home. They told me to come back in 2 months to see how the treatments were going. No one bothered to schedule me a follow up visit and to this day no one has called from his office to check on us or ask us why we have not been back in.

So I’m not trying to squash anyone’s hopes and this is just my opinion, but I was really disappointed. I thought he was a DAN! Doctor, which I thought meant no prescription meds? I had even told him previously that we did not want to medicate our son, that we thought he was too young. But he didn’t listen to me. They bussed us in and out of there like cattle and I will not waste my money or time to see him again. I really thought my test results were useless until I stumbled on Dr. Clark. He did a better job at explaining the results to me than Dr. Rao did. He used to be on the DAN! List but took himself off because he didn’t like that parents were coming in thinking he knew the miracle cure to Autism. This approach only works if you do the work, do the testing, follow the diet, take the vitamins and cut out the TV time, (I know, this one will be tough for us, but it all will and it is for the greater good). Dr. Clark is Chiropractic Neurologists, so he is no M.D. but if you can get over that he is sooooo knowledgeable. I just started my new test kits and I have much more hope than I did with Rao. Dr. Clark does not take every case that comes his way so you need to be confident that you will be able to follow the program. There was no herding and they will take the time that you need to make sure you understand everything and they are a very good source of support. He also has a nutritionists, Michelle, and she is great too. This is an all natural approach so I really feel good about his program. If I had it to do all over again I would have skipped Dr. Rao, and went straight to Dr. Clark. I tried Dr. Rao so that I would save some money, but the only way I saved money was for the office visit. My advices to all of you out there that are about to embark on this biomedical journey is do your research before you decide. You can spin your wheels shopping around to save money but it will cost you in the long run. I just spent my Christmas bonus on a new set of test kits so please learn from my mistake. I have read that Alfred Johnson is really good too but I have no personal knowledge of him, I know he does not take insurance but he is a DAN! M.D. which is really hard to find in Texas, and he also takes Care Credit, as does Dr. Clark, is it a credit card for medical needs that has really good payment plans with no interest and such. Good luck to you all and I really enjoy reading so keep sharing and we will all keep learning.

Here is a link to Dr. Clark’s site, all of you should call and order his free DVD on Autism It was amazing to me and sent chills up my spine and tears down my face. It’s not propaganda, its hope and hard work, and I believe it will help us all. Good luck and much love.

http://www.northlakechiropractor.com/

S.,
I have a son with autism and we do not ses Dr. Rao. We have chosen another path but I am a part of a yahoo group and there are MANY women who do go to Dr. Rao. They would be more than happy to share. If you are interested in joining just email me. ____@____.com
You can ask anything on there.
L.

I highly recommend reading Jenny McCarthy's book Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism. You laugh/cry through the book.

Good luck.

Hi S.,

I work in the school district with autistic children and I my middle son who is high functioning autistic. Although I have never used Dr. Rao for nutritional needs, I just wanted to share something with you:

If your child is truly autistic, a change in his diet will not make him miraculously healed.

I think it is very sad that Jenny McCarthey has claimed that her child was autistic and is now completely healed due to "his miracle diet" change because it allows parents who have autistic children to be ripped off by all of these people claiming to have the diet cure for the autistic child (the prices being charged for the "curing supplements" are ludicrous). Anyways, although changes in diet can help your child's focus and lessen agression at times, it will not heal an autistic child (this I know from experience with my own child and with other children I have worked with over the years).

Personally, I would love to have seen Jenny McCarthey's son before and after his "miraculous cure" because I'd be willing to bet that what she is considering autistic, was nothing like what you and I have experienced with our children. There may have been an imbalance in her child's diet that caused him to have autistic like symptoms but I do not for a minute believe that he was truly autistic.

Parents, be warned. Please don't allow these people to continue to "rip you off" just because Jenny McCarthey says it's true! I've seen many, many autistic children on special diets (especially since Jenny McCarthey's claim) and I have yet to see one of them miraculously "snap out" of their autism!

I'm sorry to be so blunt, I am just tired of these doctors ripping off families who are hurting....tired of seeing these doctors ripping off families who spend every penny they have because they are desperate to help their child! Your money would be much better spent in getting your child the best life skills help available so he can live the most unassisted life as possible!! Change your child's diet and make it as healthy as possible, just be very careful about these doctors who claim they can cure your child! I trust a doctor more when he says he will try to help my child be the best he can be, not when he promises a very unlikely cure!

I love autistic children and my heart goes out to their families. I know the pain of wanting every opportunity for your child possible and I also know first hand the disappointment of having such high hopes for a cure because some movie star claimed it worked on her son!

Best wishes to you all!

Hi S.,
My friend sees dr.Rao too to help her severely autistic son.Her boy was on a lot of supplements from his office, but had no results until he started taking some nutritional shakes that were recommended by a friend.
The boy improved tremendously,started having an eye contact, making lots of noises and in November said mama,the first word in his life.
His behavior changed,and my friend keeps saying that her 6 year old boy is just happy.
I will be glad to connect you with my friend so you can hear her story.You might want to start your son on those shakes too.
Let me know if you you want to do a 3 way call and an Internet appointment about these nutritional shakes that bridge the nutritional gap with a broad base of essential vitamins,minerals and micronutrients necessary to keep growing bodies healthy.
S.

S. - my 4 1/2 year old son has Aspergers - and he is a patient of Dr. Rao's. I highly reccommend him. He does not promise to cure your son or even recover him. What he does do is a very thorough work up and testing to assess the metals in his system and the nutritional defiencies your child may have due to gastro issues/ allergies to food etc. He will also determine if your child is sensative to gluten or casien. Then he will prescribe supplements accordingly, make roccomendations as far as his diet and start the chelation process if neccessary.

My only advice (contrary to some of the input from others who replied to your question) is that each child has different results to dietary changes, chelation, and supplements. I wish there was one magic remedy but there isn't. As mothers - we have to do everything possible (that's SAFE) to help recover our babies.. you don't want to leave any stone unturned.

I am not a pushy person who goes around beating people over the head with my own beleifs, but I do think as a mother of a child with Aspergers, it's my responsibility to help educate others. I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

Finally - in case you are wondering, my son has had tremendous success due to a combination of treatments. I HIGHLY recommend Behavioral Innovations ###-###-####) for ABA therapy. They literally transformed my son. The supplements have helped and we are starting the chelation process due to the TOXIC levels of mercury and aluminum (from shots) and arsenic from the water supply (we lived in El Paso when he was a baby - they have the highest levels of arsenic in their water supply in the US - I didn't know). Good luck - and keep an open mind about Dr. Rao, he's a good man and Doctor with your childs best interest at heart.

A. - Mom to Sam!
____@____.com