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Dear Autism 2 Awesome Family,
I will always remember that park in Nicosia, Cyprus, because that’s where I had, as Oprah would say, my "Aha Moment". I began to notice that there were mostly fathers in the park with their children and I always wondered where the mothers were. It was also more common for fathers to play with their children in the evening. The most profound and wonderful image of a father and child sharing time together as a common event is still embedded in my mind.
I do not have many memories like that with my father and I wish that I did. I promised myself then and there that my children would have those memories with me. I asked myself whether or not I would see fathers and children sharing regular time together like this in the United States. Sadly, the answer was likely no.
Two years before my son was born, I was on a foreign assignment in Cyprus, located near Greece. The people of this beautiful Mediterranean Island enjoyed pristine air, gorgeous beaches, scenic mountain views and unmatched hospitality. It was very much like a small town in the United States. From the balcony of my second-floor apartment, I enjoyed watching families gathering in the park below. To me, life was somehow different in Cyprus, but I couldn’t put my finger on how. Coming from the United States with all of our conveniences, I first thought that Cyprus was caught in a time warp, way behind the times. I asked myself on numerous occasions, “Where are all of the things that we have in America?”, but decided “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.” I immersed myself in the culture, made friends, ate local food and visited the ancient sights on the island. As they say, life was good in Cyprus.
About two years after my "Aha Moment,” I was blessed to be the proud father of a beautiful baby boy. For the first 18 months we shared life together as we breathed the pristine air of Cyprus, took dips in the blue Mediterranean Sea, basked in the sunshine, ate non-toxic foods, and drank unpolluted water. Our son was developing as a healthy, happy, and typical child. Again, as they say, life is good in Cyprus.
After this vacation of a work assignment, we returned to the United States. It was good to be home in the country that I love. We settled into our new home in Phoenix, Arizona. Upon arriving, our son had received most of his vaccination shots. Unknowingly, all of us were being exposed to polluted air along with an overwhelming amount of toxic chemicals from the environment and food. A turbulent journey had begun.
At approximately 22 months of age, we started to notice dark circles around our son’s eyes; the pediatrician stated that it was only allergies and prescribed him antibiotics. As we were unconvinced, we chose not to give them to him. We then realized that our son’s speech was regressing: previous ly, he was speaking 25 to 30 words and was now only using 2 words. The pediatrician's only explanation was that our son was an only child and speculated that his speech would increase as he became older. We left the doctor’s office frustrated, angry, depressed and feeling a sense of hopelessness: he could not explain why our son lost his speech to begin with. From this, we can provide for you the following advice: find a good doctor. They are out there, and question everything because it will ultimately be the parents who will help their child to recover.
We noticed our son making repetitive motions, called “stemming”, such as placing toys in a straight line and just looking at them for long periods of time. The worst were the two hour temper tantrums several times a day. After another visit to the pediatrician, we contacted a psychologist to have our son tested which gave a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): a neurological disability that affects the development of social, learning, communication and motor skills. At that time we had two choices: we could follow the doctor's advice (essentially "wait it out"), or we could become proactive and heal our son ourselves. We chose the latter.
In doing our research, we found that toxins found in everyday products are linked to ASD. Did you know that in the European Union, which includes Cyprus, manufacturers of chemicals and medication must prove that chemicals and medications are safe before they can be used in the general population? It seems that here in the United States, the general population must prove that the chemicals and medications are dangerous before they are no longer manufactured. We also found links between ASD and vaccinations--we wish that we had known better.
Every 20 minutes a child is diagnosed with ASD. Studies have shown that the involvement of fathers in the treatments and therapies of their children significantly improve the child’s development. While working with our son, “Autism 2 Awesome”™ (A2A) was created. A2A is an early intervention guide for fathers, mothers, providers, teachers and caregivers to assist and speed up the development of children with ASD. During our own personal growth, instead of seeing ASD as a tragedy, we chose to look at our experiences as a profound, positive, life changing gift. We encourage all parents to be open to this view.
Our son has gone from “Autism 2 Awesome”™ and at six years of age, he has recently graduated from kindergarten and is currently outperforming most boys in his classroom. According to his teachers his ability in art is that of a 10-11 year old child. Our son has gone from barely speaking two words to telling his mother and father that he loves us. We teach this course for the well-being of children and for parents to discover their child’s full potential. We love helping people. Most of all, we love that our child now has wonderful memories of quality time spent with him and his dad.
Remember: where there is Love, there are Miracles!
K. L. Brooks
Founder and President
Autism 2 Awesome, Inc.
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