Spectrum Perspectives

Lisa's son has the typical story, multiple ear infections and a regression and gut issues. When he was in a school that used strict ABA he was injured after being held down for over 3 hours. He now has PTSD and needed to go through trauma therapy. She now is starting the Spectrum Tech Trade School and Village to help you adults fund employment. She says "Don't listen to anyone who says your kid can't do anything!"

Andrew is a Child Development Specialist who has been working in the field of Autism for over 30 years. We discuss the past, present and future of teaching methods and therapies typically used, including the use of ABA Therapy. Andrew says we need to take a look at the “System”, what works and what doesn’t, be open to change and ways to improve the way things are being done.

In Part 2 of our interview, Cindy and Amanda discuss how the diagnosis of autism has changed over time. We have heard people use the words “Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3”, and Mild, Moderate, Severe and Profound Autism. But now it all seems to be under the same umbrella term of “autism”, and we no longer can use the word “Asperger’s Syndrome”. Amanda believes too much attention is paid publicly to mild, high functioning autism, and not enough to those who are severe like her son, and it could hurt him in the long run. She says the term is so broad now that it’s meaningless. 

Amanda is the mom of a 5 year old son with Autism. She says Nick had almost 50 words when he turned 2, and within months he regressed to only saying 5 words. He also began to lose his receptive understanding of language as well. Most of his speech is called “Scripting”, where he repeats lines he hears on TV or music lyrics. So even though he can speak, he doesn’t really understand what he is saying. She says that autism just not just affect the individual, it affects the whole family, and parents should not be silenced by the ⁠#actually⁠ autistic community.

Dr. Mark is a Naturopathic Doctor runs the Functional Medical Institute in Tulsa, OK. They look for the upstream causes of illness by looking at their genetics, diet, sleep, stress and movement. Their mission statement is to provide a pathway to healing by making lifestyle changes, rather than just treating symptoms. He is also an author and movie producer. We discuss the changes to our bodies over the years that could possibly be causing Autism.

Dr. Mark is a Naturopathic Doctor runs the Functional Medical Institute in Tulsa, OK. They look for the upstream causes of illness by looking at their genetics, diet, sleep, stress and movement. Their mission statement is to provide a pathway to healing by making lifestyle changes, rather than just treating symptoms. He is also an author and movie producer. We discuss the changes to our bodies over the years that could possibly be causing Autism.

As a doctor, Dr. Abend was surprised to find that when he tried to take his own son to other doctors, they refused to see him because he was autistic. So, when he started a Special Needs sports clinic in his town, he began to invite medical students to help out in order to integrate them into being comfortable with kids with Special Needs. He also started the “Autism Think Tank” where doctors from around the world can get together virtually to discuss a patient to figure out proper medications and diagnosis for autistic patients. Next, he he’s working on a program to help out in the emergency rooms.

This episode was recorded in 2022. Sadly, Paul's son passed away from a seizure in 2024.

As a doctor, Dr. Abend was surprised to find that when he tried to take his own son to other doctors, they refused to see him because he was autistic. So, when he started a Special Needs sports clinic in his town, he began to invite medical students to help out in order to integrate them into being comfortable with kids with Special Needs. He also started the “Autism Think Tank” where doctors from around the world can get together virtually to discuss a patient to figure out proper medications and diagnosis for autistic patients. Next, he he’s working on a program to help out in the emergency rooms. 

Kate continues to talk about her life as a mom of 4 including her autistic son Cooper. We talk about being in the public eye on social media and her new book coming out this week called “Forever Boy”.

Kate Swensen is a mom of 4 from Minnesota and is well known on Facebook and Instagram for her blog about her son called “Finding Cooper’s Voice”. Cooper was diagnosed with Autism at 4 years old. After school didn’t work out for him she pulled him out, moved to a new home, and put a lot of money on credit card sending him to private therapies. When Covid hit, his therapy center decided to not take kids like him anymore. Listen to find out what life is like now.