Welcome to Episode 220 of Autism Parenting Secrets.

Cass and I are thrilled to have Katy and Brian on the show this week.

They’re shining examples of what’s possible when parents take the lead in their transformation.

Cass and I have walked alongside many incredible moms and dads, including Katy and Brian.

Every story is unique and inspiring, but theirs, involving their twin girls, made headlines a few months ago when it was featured in a study published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine.

The study was titled: “Reversal of Autism Symptoms among Dizygotic Twins through a Personalized Lifestyle and Environmental Modification Approach: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.”

In short, these amazing twin girls diagnosed with autism made and continue to make huge strides.

It’s a heartwarming, inspiring, and incredibly important story.

And it’s deeply informative because the transformation that occurred for this family was no accident. It wasn’t luck. It was real and thoroughly documented every step of the way.

The secret this week is…

PARENT COACHING Is The CATALYST

You’ll Discover:

• An Incredible Journey of Twin Girls With Autism (5:00)
• How The Diagnosis Can Spur Action (9:46)
• An Underappreciated Skill You Need For This Journey (15:04)
• The Case For Taking The LEAD (24:02)
• The Critical 10% That Is The Difference-Maker (29:31)
• The Importance of Being ALL-IN (30:25)
• A Great Example of When To Pivot (32:22)
• The Case For Curiosity and Fun (38:21)
• What Personalized Coaching Looks Like (44:54)
• What’s Required To Get Faster Results (47:58)
• An Indispensable Resource (49:43)
• The Power of Networking & Community (51:52)

About Our Guests:

Katy and Brian are ALL-IN parents to twin girls diagnosed with Autism in September 2021, who are now thriving.  Here is their perspective, as published in the case study.

Having fraternal twin daughters diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at 20 months has given us a profound appreciation of the highly individual presentation of Autism. Despite sharing similar genes and identical conception, gestation, birth experience, and post-natal factors—as well as benefitting from consistent nurture, home environment, and family dynamics—each daughter presented an ASD diagnosis entirely uniquely. Early in our navigation, we adopted a ‘total load’ theory, understanding that there was not one ’single’ factor that catalyzed their diagnosis but the combined assault of many injuries. In accepting the very complex presentation of ASD, we also understood that there would be no singular ‘cure’ for it either. Conventional statistics have stacked the odds against the ability to recover a child from an ASD diagnosis. Our approach was therefore focused on following a nonconventional, holistic understanding of each daughter’s bio-individual needs, exploring root causes, and designing customized support. We began by choosing to pursue functional, integrative support centered around the foundational principles of diet, environment, and lifestyle. We vetted therapies that would deliver support in a naturalistic setting—primarily our home. We chose practitioners who were aligned with our belief in our daughters’ intrinsic ability to heal, given the right support. We assembled a team that welcomed our engagement and worked cooperatively with each other. We committed to being highly involved in all the interventions we explored, educating ourselves, and advocating for what we felt was best for our children. Finally, we were strategic in focusing on sequence, using labs and other evaluation tools to measure progress, and harnessing the power of innovation to map genes and address cellular health. We explored modalities, both new and old while operating from a place of patience and curiosity. Most importantly, in our experience as parents has been the desire to create and maintain a profound and loving bond with each of our daughters—and to remain parents, not practitioners. Through this approach, we have witnessed the radical recovery of one daughter—who presents today as a joyful, engaging, spirited, extremely bright 4-year-old. We remain steadfast in our support for our other daughter, whose progress has also consistently amazed us and has reminded us that recovery is possible at each person’s individual pace.

References in The Episode:

• Reversal of Autism Symptoms among Dizygotic Twins through a Personalized Lifestyle and Environmental Modification Approach: A Case Report and Review of the Literature, The Journal of Personalized Medicine, Volume 14, Issue 6
• Twins With Autism Improved ‘Dramatically’ After Parents Focused on Reducing Toxic Exposures, Children’s Health Defense, The Defender, 6/21/24
• Outsmarting Autism, Updated and Expanded: Build Healthy Foundations for Communication, Socialization, and Behavior at All Ages by Patty Lemer
• Documenting Hope
• The Documenting Hope Conference, Orlando, FL, November 15-17, 2024

Additional Resources:

• Take The Quiz: What’s YOUR Top Autism Parenting Blindspot?
• To learn more about Cass & Len, visit us at www.autismparentingsecrets.com
• Be sure to follow Cass & Len on Instagram

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