Have You Heard of NAET for Allergies, Autism, & Chronic Illnesses? This is Worth Reading!

There is something I’ve been wanting to write about for over a month, now.  It’s a very personal account of our son’s introduction to NAET.  I cannot deny the powerful positive change the first treatment has provided.  However, I wanted to hold my breath, just in case it didn’t stick.  We are anxiously awaiting our next visit with Dr. Marilyn Chernoff and have much hope for continued improvement in our son’s allergies, immune system strength, and general wellness.

I first learned of NAET last winter.  It was a brief mention in a string of comments on a blog – I can’t remember the name.  Something about that word, “NAET,” got stuck in my brain and soon I was Googling it to learn what it was all about.  Honestly, at the time it seemed pretty over-the-top in concept.  However the treatment was based on acupressure (pressure not needles) and was non-invasive and completely holistic.  From this point, I continued reading about this innovative treatment helping many children with allergies, individuals with chronic pain, and even some children with autism.

I inhaled a study overseen by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum that compared a control group of children on the spectrum with a group, also ASD, that underwent NAET treatments for one year.  At the end of this study,  a majority of the children in the NAET group experienced substantial improvements in allergic reactions, communication, eye contact, and unresolved ailments (such as eczema, stomach pain, etc.).  More detail on this study and its innovative discoveries can be found in an article featured in a fairly recent Psychology Today article,”23 of the 30 children receiving NAET returned to regular school classes with their typical, non-autistic peers – as opposed to none of the 30 untreated children in the control group.”

The article further cites, “The children receiving NAET also demonstrated both statistically and clinically highly significant improvements in all four autism-related outcome measures:

• 64 – 82% range of decreases in the 4 ATEC tests.
• 47.4% average increase in the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) – another well respected assessment tool.
• 85% decrease in total Allergy Symptom Rating Scale (ASRS) – a tool for evaluating allergies.”

This study, and the way that this therapy captured my interest  out of left field compelled me to buy Dr. Devi Nambadripad’s books, “Living Pain Free,” and, “Say Goodbye to Allergy-Related Autism.”  Along this path, I met a wonderful lady in Louisiana who shared her son’s success story with me on several phone long phone calls.  I also exchanged emails/chats with two other mother’s whose children had experienced great improvements upon engaging in NAET therapy.  It was something I simply had to try.

My dear hubby thought I’d finally taken the crazy train out of Fresno with this “hare-brained” scheme, but I couldn’t and didn’t let it rest.  I was totally OCD on this subject and finally made the great leap of faith this past May despite my hubby’s voice of reason.  To prep my son, I created a social story that detailed the doctor we planned to visit, how the procedure would progress, and what to expect.  We watched videos together on YouTube of another child receiving NAET and talked about the process as much as he was able to communicate.

Here is a short video of my son getting ready to go meet Dr. Chernoff and try our first NAET treatment.  Dr. Chernoff confirmed many things I’d already suspected about my son’s health and immune system.  He was far too sick to receive the vaccinations he did his first year of life.  In fact, his G.I. problems at the time were listed as part of the vaccine manufacturer’s FDA mandated Contraindications – my ped should have used more caution.  (If the GI problems weren’t enough to warrant more caution, my son’s milk protein allergy should have ruled the vaccines out at that time – as many contained milk proteins – and coincidentally led to hospitalization for intestinal bleeding.  If I’d known better…well, you know how that story goes…  In any case, my son has had a myriad of challenges due to severe food allergies, vaccine reactions (involving hospitalization), and intestinal bleeding.  Dietary changes have made a huge impact in his health, but we’ve still dealt with lingering, mystery allergies – that no doctor has provided potential answers for.  They all just want us to give him Claritin, allergy shots, etc. and stop worrying about the root cause.  I am MOST concerned about the root cause and believe that Dr. Chernoff in combination with our DAN doctor, may just help us to get there.  On our first visit, we discussed my son’s medical history at great length and then she checked to see what substances he may be reacting to.  Her initial evaluation revealed that W has trouble with Vitamin C, milk proteins, eggs, corn, and other popular allergens.  She began his treatment by treating him for Brain-Body-Balance paired with Fear to alleviate some of the emotional fear he harbors due to so many negative medical experiences.  For the sake of brevity, here is the short list of improvements tracked in my daily journal within the month after NAET:

• Sleeping through the night in his bed, nightmares not waking him.
• No more need for melatonin to get to sleep and stay asleep.  Prior to NAET we were giving him 3mg of melatonin nightly.
• Improved conversation and spontaneous communication.
• Improved gross and fine motor coordination.
• Decreased sensory hypo- and hyper-sensitivity
• Improved muscle tone in legs, emergence of age-appropriate reflexes, and notice W now gets dizzy fast.
• Developed interest in Paparazzi-styled photography and videography inside the Moore house using the iPad.
• Increased patience with good waiting.
• Improved use of words and reduction of tantrums.
• Desire to be more engaged with us, requesting play together more often.  Playing more frequently in his bedroom, happily occupied with toys.
• Improved imaginary play – not dependent on scripts or “practiced” routines.
• Improved social engagement with family and friends – and their children.
• Disappearance of chronic rhinitis due to undetermined allergies.
• Introduction of arguing, bargaining, and general disagreement on potty prizes, meals, and various part of our daily routine. (His conversation has essentially leveled-up to the point that everything is a bit of a debate – but this makes my heart so happy!)
• Not as enchanted with his plastic magnetic letters and numbers – more interested in toys – and playing with them appropriately.
• Less need for a visual schedule or story strips because we’re finally able to talk through a scenario verbally, with understanding.

You can see why I’m amazed with the potential for NAET.  Now, I fully understand that this is not a treatment that will work for every child, but there’s enough potential here that some of you may wish to learn a bit more about it.  I know that I can’t technically “cure” my son’s autism.  It’s a neurological disability and it will be here throughout his entire life.  However, if I’m able to provide real relief by determining the root causes to his allergies, G.I. upset, sensory dysfunction, and even physical coordination, I don’t see any reason to stop this train right now.  This is one holistic journey that I intend to follow through.  I’ll keep sharing as we progress on this journey and hope some of this information may be helpful to another.  My son put the effects of NAET in his words best, “Dr. Marilyn Chernoff helped make my body feel better.”

I’ll close with a short video of my son having his first spontaneous and productive conversation (not scripted) the day after our treatment.  The benefits continue to surface each day and I’m very excited about our next visit, coming soon!

After the first NAET treatment our son was happy and engaged, he was more physically coordinated and aware of his body in space, almost immediately after leaving Dr. Chernoff’s office.