Episode 260 — Don’t Hesitate, Take Bold Action NOW
Guest: Dr. Brian Hooker • Date: June 17, 2025
Episode Overview
Dr. Brian Hooker returns to the show and we explore the truth about what it really takes to help your child thrive. This episode is a rallying cry for parents to stop waiting and start acting boldly and wisely.
About Dr. Brian Hooker
Brian S. Hooker, Ph.D., is the Senior Director of Science and Research at Children’s Health Defense and co-author of the New York Times best-selling book Vax-Unvax: Let the Science Speak (with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.). He holds a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering and has authored over 70 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Hooker’s passion for vaccine safety advocacy began in 2001, shortly after his son was diagnosed with autism. Since then, he’s worked tirelessly to expose corruption within the CDC and to help parents uncover real solutions.
You’ll Discover
WHY Waiting For Permission Hurts (3:45)
HOW to Overcome Fear of Making a Mistake (6:34)
WHY Your Beliefs Shape Outcomes (11:41)
WHAT It Means To Be a Happy Little Detective (13:49)
HOW to Sharpen Your Focus & Avoid Overwhelm (23:30)
HOW Self-Care Fuels Better Decision-Making (34:47)
Referenced in This Episode
Full Transcript
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:00:00]:
There's no end to the things that have been purported to help and that parents can pursue. And so it's really, really confusing. And that alone, though, should not sideline you from being able to, you know, take action and then make really, really good choices for your children.
Len Arcuri [00:00:25]:
If you're a parent of a child with autism, you are being called to rise with love, courage and clarity. This journey isn't easy and most parents aren't equipped, but you can be. This podcast is your invitation to rise higher because how you navigate matters. I'm Len, and this is Autism Parenting Secrets, where you become the parent your child needs now. Welcome to Autism Parenting Secrets. I'm honored to welcome back Dr. Brian Hooker. You may remember him from episode 182, where we explored the science and the uncomfortable truths that many parents still haven't heard.
Len Arcuri [00:01:05]:
Brian is the Senior Director of Science and Research at Children's Health Defense and co author with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Of the must read book VAX. Let the science speak. Today, the focus shifts. We're going to talk not about studies, but about action, because momentum is growing, even within agencies like hhs. But you don't need to wait for official approval to act on what you already know is right. Brian's personal journey and unwavering clarity are exactly what parents need right now.
Len Arcuri [00:01:38]:
So if you're feeling stuck, this episode will reignite your courage. The secret this week is don't hesitate. Take bold action now. Welcome back, Brian.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:01:50]:
Thanks so much, Len. It's. It's great to be back on the show. You know, I appreciate what you're doing and, you know, we were talking before you started recording. Seeing each other at conferences is great, but it's always a whirlwind. So it's nice just to be able to have, you know, the luxury of, you know, a better part of an hour to sit down and talk. So I've really been looking forward to this.
Len Arcuri [00:02:16]:
Great. Me too. And yeah, it was great seeing you at the Autism Health Summit. And yeah, I optimistically was hoping we might be able to record while I was there. But it's funny because you show up and you're kind of a rock star when you go to these concerts, these conferences. And it's because, again, parents admire somebody who doesn't stay on the sidelines. And you have been, again, a very vocal force for the truth for a long time, helping parents to better advocate for their child. And again, so I think the mission you've been on for a while, I'm honored to join in my own unique way.
Len Arcuri [00:02:55]:
And that conference is a beautiful place to bring people together who share that mission, that purpose. And again, I selfishly picked the concept we're going to talk about today in terms of action and really about acting. But, but especially at the conference, there were a lot of speakers and again, a lot of genuine excitement. Obviously, your co author, now head of hhs, there's a lot of reason to be optimistic. And right now we're recording this in May 2025, a lot of optimism about what's going to happen in September in terms of what HHS might come out with. And so while everyone's waiting to see how things unfold, anything in government is super crazy slow, even if you have a change agent like RFK Jr. So for people to wait until that announcement, again, that's why I think there's an urgency to doing what's right for your child. And I don't think anybody can speak to that better than you.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:03:54]:
Well, I really appreciate that. And if there's any key word, I would say with parents that are doing the best thing that they can do with a wonderful child, a wonderful, special child that has challenges and difficulties that need to be addressed, it is action. It is very easy to get waylaid, confused, unconfident, so distracted in your journey with your child. And I was born with a tendency to leap before I look. And in some ways, that's really served me well. And my wife and I are a bit opposite on that. And, you know, after 34 years of marriage, she's really tempered me, but it still does not preclude me from, you know, if I, if I look at a new modality that, you know, friends recommend or I read about or I hear about, well, nothing precludes me from leaping in and at least trying to understand what that modality is, you know, and understand it better. And there's a lot.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:05:08]:
I mean, you know, Len, you know that when you're, when you're tackling things, when you're, when you're tackling ot, pt, dyspraxia, you know, issues with the gut, issues neurologically, issues with detoxification, um, there, you know, there's no end to the things that have been purported to help and that parents can pursue. And so it's really, really confusing. And that alone, though, should not sideline you from being able to, you know, take action and then make really, really good choices for your children.
Len Arcuri [00:05:55]:
Yep, no doubt, no doubt. And while that's true, again, what's in the way of that? You know, a lot of times it's indecision. A lot of times it's overwhelmed with all the options. And the great thing is now there's a lot more options than there were when my journey with my son started, and same and yours going back even further. So there's, you know, there's a lot of things that could be at play that may kind of prevent a parent from taking action and not sitting on the sidelines. I would argue, though, at least the biggest one for me, and I hear it time and time again with my clients. So I think I have a reasonable degree of certainty on this, that one big fear that parents have is of making a mistake if they don't want the ball because they don't want the accountability. Perhaps that comes with trying something that doesn't work or trying something maybe that actually makes the situation worse.
Len Arcuri [00:06:50]:
And that's why I was desperate to find the doctor just to tell me what to do. I did not want the ball. But now, basically what I do for a living is to coach parents who want the ball how to navigate really well. So what do you say about that idea of the fear of making a mistake?
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:07:06]:
Well, the fear of making a mistake really is going to hold you back from doing the best that you can possibly do. I mean, when I'm looking at modalities and therapies, the first thing that I ask is, is it safe? Okay, so do I believe that this is. This supplement, this modality, this injection, this, you know, whatever. Do I believe that this will not harm my kid? You know, that that's really the first litmus test, and then beyond that, be willing to make mistakes with your kid. You know, I've been around for such a long time, and I've seen so many different things that I've made mistakes. I mean, I've. I've listened to people and poured pure snake oil down my son's throat. Okay.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:08:00]:
At least, you know, I did have the litmus test, that it was safe. It didn't do squat. But, you know, and then later on, you know, we found out, no, it doesn't do squat. It wasn't that the person that was. That was, you know, purporting this therapy was a charlatan. It was just that, you know, maybe it worked for one kid or maybe one kid recovered. And it was a coincidence that the coincidence, you know, that they took this particular therapeutic. But for my son, it was snake oil.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:08:28]:
And so. But making a mistake and then, you know, being able to lick your wound, so to speak, you really have to get back on the bicycle. You know, if you get burnt once, then that's okay. I mean, we have a very, very long lifespan and. And we have a lot of neuroplasticity with our kids. I mean, I'm seeing things in my son now, who is 27, that, you know, main neurologist said that he was out of the league when he was over 2. And so, you know, I think that that type of education in mind is that you do have time. And so, you know, because there's such an urgency at first to do the right thing and do the right thing with early intervention.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:09:20]:
Early. And you hear it over and over again in CDC when it was 1 in 250, they came up with the early intervention campaign. And that was great. But what did the people do that don't have an early autistic kid? You don't just throw them out. And we were in that space before we knew it, 24 months later, early intervention passed us by. So that, to me, you know, I read a book about neuroplasticity really, really early on when my son was about 3 years old. And it was one of the best things that I read because it did talk about people with neurodegenerative disorders, people with that, stroke sufferers, things like that, that were fully recovering and recovering well. And that was, you know, that was just what the doctor ordered.
Len Arcuri [00:10:17]:
Yeah. And I'd be curious who wrote that book? Cause back then there weren't many books on neuroplasticity for sure. Right.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:10:23]:
I need to get, you know, I need to go back and get the author, because I was so thrilled I called him. He was a professor at ucla. But I'll get that if I can, you know, if I can get that for your show notes, I will. For some reason, you know, now that I'm 61, names pop out of my head. But. But yeah, it was. It was revolutionary. And it was not what we were hearing from the neurologist that we started consulting with early on.
Len Arcuri [00:10:52]:
Right. Yeah. No. By the way, was it. Was it the Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge?
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:10:58]:
No, no, That's a really good book.
Len Arcuri [00:11:00]:
But it was before that.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:11:01]:
I believe it was before that. So it had come out early, and a friend that knew, you know, of my family struggle just gave it to me. And so. But what a gift from God.
Len Arcuri [00:11:13]:
Absolutely. And I think what you just touched on with that book is what I found to be probably the most significant aspect of how parents perhaps are programmed for failure, or at least not set up for success. And it's about the beliefs they're holding. So that book radically changed your belief in what was possible. Right. Because without neuroplasticity, it's basically, okay, bad luck, there's nothing you can do. So that, that belief shift that you had was powerful. And it's the same thing from my vantage point.
Len Arcuri [00:11:48]:
The beliefs that parents holding coming into this are absolutely critical because if those remain in a certain way, that kind of is best embodied by the fixed mindset. Right. There's not much you can do. Then it doesn't matter what you try, whether it's a diet change or any other kind of intervent, not going to have the resolve to implement it well and to do it well. So that's why those beliefs, all below the surface, but incredibly powerful.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:12:17]:
Exactly, exactly. And it, it, you know, that shift in my belief system really kind of ushered in more encounters that we had with people that had, you know, what we felt were effective therapies. And it really, you know, it kind of prepped my mindset to, to be able to look, evaluate therapies. You know, if something worked and we felt like it works well and, and I was analytical, I was, I didn't really want to do multiple therapeutic interventions all at a time because it's so difficult then to know which one is working, you know, so you, you know, pick one ot, you know, pick one type of supplementation, run those together and then evaluate and see and then if it's really working and then, you know, shows promise that you continue to work. Burn the ships and keep doing it, but don't give up, but, but, you know, stage the therapies so, you know, what the heck is happening with a particular therapeutic. And then, and be a happy little detective. You know, we're told, and we're programmed so much that we're not very scientific. And the medical community's horrible at that.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:13:40]:
You know, they don't want parents to use judgment. Are you kidding? They want us to be drones. Every time you walk in to, you know, a really super mainstream allopathic practice, it's like a brave new world. And you know, remember that the Alphas and the Betas and, you know, the parents are down in the Deltas and the Epsilons and they're supposed to do what they're told. But no, I mean, we need to reprogram ourselves so we can be happy little detectives in terms of what is going on with our children, even under emergency, even under really, really dire, epic tantrum, meltdown, hole in the drywall, poop, smearing days. So, you know, you still, if you can, if you can take a step out of yourself and be a happy little detective, it's really going to serve you well.
Len Arcuri [00:14:30]:
Yeah, those are extremely true words. And that concept of a happy detective, it's a powerful one. And I would imagine that the biggest thing that might be in the way of a parent taking on that role, if you will, kind of goes back to what I was alluding to before. But it's really not only a fear of making a mistake, but it's the fear of looking foolish or. So basically it's that the preoccupation with other people's judgment of what you're doing or what you're not doing. And I had my handful of that. But I think you have had an incredible amount of what you've done, what you've put out there. There is no question people are not cheering you every step of the way.
Len Arcuri [00:15:20]:
And so what can you say to a parent in terms of if that's something, if they're just. Let's just say, I mean, we all care to some extent what other people think. But how did you come to terms with that? Because what you put out and how you've dove in to something that, again, there's a lot of forces at play who are not thrilled with what you were revealing and what you were putting out there. What can you talk to about that preoccupation with others people, other people's judgment and other people throwing rocks at you for what you're doing or not doing?
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:15:53]:
Well, you know, one of the things that served me well and served my family well, both in the context of my research regarding vaccine injuries, as well as looking at what was best for my son and for my son's healing journey, was being able to sort of retreat and shut out all the noise and shut out the opinions. I mean, at least temporarily. I mean, you want to take the opinions of a trusted friend seriously and you want to be able to take opinions that are constructive and learn from them. But then at that point, you know, when the course of action is set and you've made your decision that this is what you're going to do, you kind of have to shut out those detractors to, to be able to think. And we're, you know, my. My wife and I are not necessarily by nature joiners. And so we knew of support groups, we acted lightly in support groups. But I do know that some of my encounters, even at conferences early on and things like that, when we were talking about our OT Modality.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:17:08]:
And at the risk of being crude, and I'll soften this. Opinions are like anuses. Everybody has one. So it is very, very easy. And I remember very distinctly somebody came up and knew who I was because I was doing research at the time, it was fairly early, and then asked me about a therapeutic intervention that I was doing for my son. And she dressed me down right there, told me how stupid I was and everything. And my brother in law was sitting with me. My brother in law has twin autistic daughters and we were both at the conference and it, it was really devastating.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:18:02]:
I don't know why in that instance, I think it might roll off of my back now, you know, some 15 years later. But, but it was devastating. And so, you know, I had to take that information and then go back and affirm. Okay, this is a therapy modality. We saw work for my son. We had already decided to burn the ships and we were digging gold. We were bearing fruit in continuing to pursue that. And my own little case study at home was really, really affirming what we were doing.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:18:41]:
I mean, autism is not one size fits all. I mean, you meet an autistic child, you've met one autistic child, and so really the parents become the best experts. And I wish the other parents and the others that may have a tendency to judge or look over the fence would take that to heart.
Len Arcuri [00:19:03]:
Right? Yeah, but it's impossible for other people who aren't experiencing this to have any real perspective, even if they're well intentioned. Oh yeah, but I think everything you just shared kind of goes back to a really, really important point, which is, and it sounds clich, cliche, but it's incredibly true. You know, the parent's intuition, their, their gut about what's right for their child matters more than anything. And it's, it's easy to discount that if you don't see yourself as an expert. But, but no, it's so true. Because as much as I wanted it and every parent I run into wants, hey, what's the sequence? What is what, what, what what? What should I do? What are those interventions? What's the right path? And as you mentioned, that is what's totally befuddling about autism. Is every child so wildly unique that sure, there may be some general approaches that would benefit any child, like, okay, let's not eat poison, let's minimize exposure to toxins and the like, sure, those can apply across the board, but what specifically is going on with your child? And what's right is the absolute Key that I'm obsessed on helping parents on Earth. And it's because there's this huge pressure from the outside world for us as parents to do what we're told right, to conform.
Len Arcuri [00:20:23]:
And ultimately, what I learned is that the shift has to be to become obsessed as a parent with just determining what's right for your child, which might cut against what conventional wisdom is saying and what other kids with Autumn, what other parents are doing for their child. You know, it's easy to look around, wanting to make sure we're doing what other people are doing, but as you said, it's so individualistic. Parent, you are absolutely the key.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:20:53]:
Absolutely. And you can't really look over the fence and judge other parents that are on, you know, similar journeys, because, again, what's right for you may not be right for them. There's very few things that I would look at. And, you know, I recommend a lot of different modalities. As a parent, I'm not a medical practitioner, but as a parent, I know what's worked for my son. But, you know, it's important to keep it always in that context. And also, when we first got our diagnosis six months later, we encountered an integrative practitioner who was so good at just like a differential whole medical diagnosis of my son. I've never seen so much medical data, and my son was only two years old when we got all this information.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:21:42]:
And it was so great. And it was sort of a foundation of to be able to keep going and knowing what's going on in this body. And when you don't understand something and you think the practitioner is going to think you're dumb because you don't know it, ask the question anyway. I mean, it's your kid.
Len Arcuri [00:21:59]:
Yep, no doubt, no doubt. Let's shift to if you're okay with it. Let's shift just to this. You know, current time we're in right now, where there's so many possible roads to go down. If you go to a conference like the Autism Health Summit or even the Documenting Hope Conference, there's so many. It is exciting times where there's so many approaches. And again, if you're constantly trying to figure out, well, what's the right one, there is no such thing. There's a lot of different strategies.
Len Arcuri [00:22:28]:
And ultimately, it's about just kind of really getting better and better at unearthing what's at the root, what's the root cause of whatever it is that's holding my child back, you know, whether it's speech or behaviors or. Or Just overall health. And that's where the shift of kind of looking at your child and really discerning what do they uniquely need is a real, you know, that's the opportunity. That's why conferences can help you piece it together. But, but Brian, as you're, you know, as a parent and also as somebody who's out there wanting to help parents make better decisions, is there anything that you could recommend to parents in terms of how to cut through the overwhelm and to again, just to get more focused because draining your bank account and trying everything is definitely not a success strategy either. So what are your thoughts in terms of how a parent can hone their focus to meet their child where they are?
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:23:31]:
I think a lot of it does come down to knowing your child so well as it is. You are, yes, you're treating somebody with autism, but autism is huge. And there's such a level of diversity. It's a DSM 5 diagnosis. It isn't, you know, there is ICD10 code for autism, there's a medical code for autism. But, but binning that into a single digit does us no favors because there's so many different presentations. And so I think that implicitly knowing your kid inside and out from a gut perspective, from a neurological perspective, so many different things, down to tracking bowel movements, you know, frequency, quality, everything, tracking eating habits, you know, looking at, you know, specific things that we know are, can be central like gluten, dairy, soy, things like that, and being that happy little detective and then seeing what's on the horizon that you think would help. And you know, I have to tip my hat to you, Len, because you know what, what you're doing is really providing access for parents to things that they may or may not know about because it's really daunting.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:25:09]:
It's not necessarily the lack of information, but it's just sort of the, when you Google autism therapy and therapeutics, even biomedical, you take a drink from a fire hose and you don't know, you know, up from down. And so it can be very confusing. So looking at trusted individuals that have been on this journey that are achieving, you know, some level of recovery and getting to know what that recovery is, you know, it looks different for every kid. I think is so, so important. We didn't, you know, when my son was diagnosed in 1999, so we had Yahoo chat groups, you know, really, really ghetto looking chat groups that were all in, you know, courier new font and you know, on America Online, so. But we did look and see people who had recovered, you know, different levels of function for the kid that, you know, really, you know, kind of nailing what is on the horizon and, you know, being able to develop trusted individuals that can guide you. I mean, we, we had, you never know in what places, you know, your parental intuition is going to say, this is somebody that I should listen to. And it was one of the school district OTs that we had very, very, in very early intervention for my son, I think when he was 21 months old, when he went to special ed preschool.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:26:53]:
And she became such a resource. But, you know, my, my wife trusted her intuition on this person. I'll never forget her. She, she ultimately said, you know what, what we have to offer is not good. You should homeschool your child, you know, which was amazing. And she would still come to the house even we were doing that. But the, these, the trusted individual, you know, I think is so important. And when things do come up on the horizon, there's always a furor about them, there's always hyperbole about them.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:27:33]:
But, you know, it's important to be able to investigate with your critical eye, you know, as a happy little detective, and then leverage the time that we're in as well. I mean, this is a really salient time. I live in California. We have lots of resources. It seems like, especially after your kid ages out. I don't know why, but wow. When my son turned 18, there was like a flood. When my son turned 21 and then 22, there was another flood.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:28:09]:
And so because of that, we were able to take advantage of those resources. But, you know, I'll tell you, Lynn, we couldn't have done it all on our own. We had to have a network of people that we trusted.
Len Arcuri [00:28:21]:
No, that, that, that's extremely important. Right. You can't do it alone. I mean, there's, it's so wildly individualized for your child, but the having advisors, right? So whether that's a medical practitioner, like a MAPS practitioner, who can look at what's happening with the child from a medical perspective, you don't have to use a MAPS doctor. Many parents do because they're very specialized with kids with developmental challenges. But to have a medical practitioner of some kind and to leverage the knowledge that scientists like you are putting out there studies that are being done, again, it's important to take all that in as a parent. And again, you're still the decision maker in chief. And, but you can't do that if you don't feel like you can trust yourself to discern what's right for your child.
Len Arcuri [00:29:11]:
So that's where, you know, that's why this podcast exists and Brian's on right now because the perspective of other parents can really help you determine the path for you and your child. But nothing replaces that decision making, which is why to kind of hesitate and to wait for something to happen. Right. Some announcement or some, some breakthrough therapy. The key is to take actions now. And it's about discerning what are the few things now that can help my child the most. And it's not about intervention intervention. It just might be you, the parent, changing your demeanor with how you are with your child, which could be the greatest intervention from their standpoint.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:29:55]:
Absolutely. I'm glad you mentioned that because it's so important to be able to have your clear attitude and approach your child. Laying down judgments that you might have, you know, because this is a really tough gig. It's easy to have judgments, you know, if you've had an all nighter that has been a crime scene in your house. And it's hard to drop judgments. We learned early on to be able to do that and understood that my emotional state was a huge cue for my son's emotional state. My wife's emotional state was also a huge cue for my son's emotional state. And that made it more difficult, you know, because I couldn't just phone it in.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:30:54]:
He knew, he, you know, it was like, okay, I'm just, you know, I'm gonna fake it till I make. Didn't. It didn't necessarily work. So, you know, attitudinally they're developing cues in ways because there are certain things like language that, you know, my son's a non speaker that they're not developing. So there are other senses that they're developing that may or may not be more hyper and more aware. And my son is extremely, extremely intuitive to a point that it can drive me nuts because of that. You know, taking a deep breath, maintaining clarity. I know some of it sounds like pop 80s psychology, but it really does make a difference to be able to drop some of those things off and then approach it fresh and then look at the modalities that you might not look at if you had all of this dross of judgment that's been piled on over years and years and years of being a primary caretaker of somebody who's difficult to, to take care of.
Len Arcuri [00:32:14]:
Yeah, no doubt. And your son's definitely. Well, not the only one. Right. Who has that sensing. Right. We can fake it all we want as parents, but they know they know. And so if you are really aware of that, yeah, it's a little bit disconcerting.
Len Arcuri [00:32:29]:
But at the same time, it also, that's the call for us to step into the better versions of ourselves. And again, a lot of what a parent can do to create an environment where their child is better support, supported. Again, there's no investment needed. You can, there's so much you can do for free that doesn't require any expenditure, but it does mean actively looking at yourself and how you're presenting to the child. Because again, in that home environment, everyone's feeding off each other.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:32:58]:
Exactly, exactly. And when you have so much tied up in care, it's so easy for self care to be the first thing being sacrificed. And your own attitudinal care, your own ability to rest, your own ability to recover from trauma, whether it's emotional, physical, you know, in some cases it's legal, you know, because you're looking at different legal situations. You know, I, I didn't realize, you know, the first IEP that I went to with my son was, you know, in a culture that people routinely would bring attorneys to their iep and, and I was surprised they asked me. They said, oh, are you bringing an attorney? I'm like, what? Oh, no, I thought we were just. I was hoping it would be snacks, you know. No, I, Yeah, we have an attorney. So, you know, it was weird.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:33:59]:
I didn't realize that autism involved a lot of attorneys. Unfortunately, you know, it did, you know, for, with, without getting into brutal detail and even some of the things that are just sort of my, you know, like guardianship, you know, there's another attorney conservatorship, you know, special needs trust, things like that attorney. And so it, you know, it's daunting. It is daunting. And so self care then becomes that much more important. And again, I don't want to sound cliche and I don't want to frustrate people who are at their wit's end and they're looking at me like, ryan, okay, yeah, I'll take, you know, a weekend to a spa date and laugh at me. But I mean, grab it along the way. Grab the self care that you can along the way.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:34:55]:
If you have somebody that can watch your child and you can have, you know, an hour long coffee with a friend, you know, that's supportive, you know, that's a breath of fresh air right there. Okay? Not, you know, not so difficult, you know, a baby step.
Len Arcuri [00:35:13]:
Yeah, no, those baby steps are huge. And yes, self care, whatever it might mean for you, it might just be doing something for five minutes each day, may not be the duration that you'd like, but again, it's just about filling your tank as best you can. And I know, I know Brian can totally relate to the fact that in this journey, sometimes in a given day, there doesn't seem like there's any free time, right, because of what's happening. And a lot of what's happening can be extremely, you know, severe and chaotic. But. But again, to whatever extent, as part of your routine, you can dedicate some time to filling your cup a bit, you know, you can always increase it over time. So I think, you know, you think going back to this title of this episode, right, don't hesitate. Take bold action.
Len Arcuri [00:36:01]:
Now, that might be about self care and not necessarily your child, or it might be about playing better defense against toxins, of which Brian's book with RFK Jr. Talks significantly about things to be aware of. With respect to the schedule, there's also a whole host of other toxins, and this podcast has had many people on, you know, whether it's glyphosate, whether it's, you know, all the things that are in our food, what's in our air, water, emfs, there's a whole host of potential stressors that might be holding you and your child back. And while it might seem overwhelming, you can still at any given time, discern right now what are the few things I'm going to do now that I know will help and kind of the rest you can just forget for now and put to the side. But unless you have some focus and take action, it's real easy just to kind of just, you know, do one of the two extremes. Either sit on your hands and do nothing and just let the experts tell you what to do, or just again, drain all your resources and go in too many directions at once. And again, neither of those two extremes is going to really significantly help your child.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:37:13]:
That's such wisdom, you know, and I hope that people who are debilitated are listening to this because it is debilitating. There are instances that are so, you know, that can sort of put your body in survival mode, you know, your entire being in survival mode, especially if the diagnosis is new. And that's really difficult because you do want to take action, but it's a new world. All of a sudden you're like, yeah, oh, yeah, yeah. Rain man, the movie, blah, blah. And then all of a sudden you're like, holy whatever. Insert expletive here. And that becomes your life.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:38:02]:
And so, but it is really, it's so important, you know, to be able to take action and then, you know, be able to evaluate that action, see if there's progress, you know, understand your kid. Celebrate the fact that you understand your kid, you know, better. You know, say you get a good, really medical run up on your kid. That's something to be happy about, you know, more than you knew before. So now you know what to work on. You know, my son had so many toxins and he was really a hyper accumulator of especially metals. And we didn't really do any genetic work with him until he was about six years old. But we knew that, you know, from the tests that we could do what he was accumulating.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:38:57]:
And it wasn't just, you know, the V word, you know, it was antimony in fire retardant pajamas. Because fire retardant includes antimony trioxide, which is the. Antimony is a toxic heavy metal. Arsenic from. We lived in a community that actually had warning about high arsenic in our water. And so he was accumulating it, you know, so bottled water. There we go. You know, reverse osmosis.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:39:26]:
You know, pick your detoxification method of choice, you know, to number one, prevent the toxins from continuing to go in. And number two, getting rid of the ones that are there.
Len Arcuri [00:39:37]:
Yeah, no, that's a nice peak in terms of, like you had some data that indicated metals were an issue. It wasn't just one thing. There was a whole number of things. And again, with that data, again, you can discern, particularly if you're working with a practitioner of some kind, of what makes the most sense to help your child. And again, there's no, as Brian said, and we say all the time, there's no one size fits all. But to get some data, discern where to focus is absolutely a key success strategy. So that's great. Brian, I think with what you're doing currently as this is framing this idea of taking bold action and kind of learning and leveraging from the work of others.
Len Arcuri [00:40:20]:
I know you have your show on CHD TV called Doctors and Scientists. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I think that's a dynamite resource for a parent to be able to digest and learn and again, to discern what's relevant for their child and their family.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:40:37]:
Well, Doctors and Scientists has been a real joy. I think I started doing it, oh, two and a half years ago. And so we might. I don't think I have as many episodes as you, when you were referring to my earlier episode as 182, as I said, that's a lot. But you know, it's a weekly show. It airs the new show. Shows come out on Friday mornings at 7:00am Pacific Time at CHD TV and then, you know, then they're, they're archived. So you can, you know, once it, once it's released, then you can watch it, you know, whenever you want.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:41:13]:
But we tried to get cutting edge science and different perspectives on including what the causal factors are, what the environmental stressors are, the things that we can trace to neurodevelopmental disabilities especially. I mean, we cover other types of injuries that are more specific to vaccines. But our audience and our constituency and our background are a bunch of autism parents. So, you know, we, we tend to really, really look at that crowd. We've had maps doctors on before. I'm just getting ready to host Dr. Christian Bogner on the show very, very soon. And then scientists that have new breakthroughs as well as some things to really mix it up.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:42:16]:
I have ADHD and so I get bored easily. So I've had Leigh Allen Baker, the actress, she was America's mom on the Disney Channel show. Good Luck Charlie. And I met her at a conference. I was like, can you come on my show, please? She's been on the show now three times. So sweet. Gary Chapman, a contemporary Christian musician, and other individuals that have looked at OT modalities, PT modalities, we regulatedly feature those that have affected children as well. And there are a lot of practitioners, especially maps practitioners.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:43:02]:
Dr. Bogner has an affected son. There are many others that got into this space because of some type of personal connection. And so we've had a lot of fun with it. I would love for more people to check out the show. Regardless of where you are on the V space, we want to be able to honor that. And I want to be educated about things that I'm wrong about too.
Len Arcuri [00:43:32]:
Yeah, no, that's great. No, it's a dynamite show. And as we were talking before, conferences are a great place to go and learn. You got doctors, you got scientists and everyone and parents all under one roof, but there's not that many of them. So to be able to have a consistent resource like your show. And again, just in case anyone's wondering, you don't have to be a doctor or a scientist to watch. This is about benefiting from the perspectives that some of these people have, which again, one perspective shift, one nugget of information can make a gigantic difference in terms of your understanding of what's happening with your child and what those possible opportunities are to help. And so again, Brian, I just really appreciate you taking the time for this conversation for your show and again, just for all the work that you've been doing for so long.
Len Arcuri [00:44:22]:
So again, thank you so much for sharing your voice with our audience.
Dr. Brian Hooker [00:44:25]:
Lance, amazing pleasure. I'm honored and I am such a big fan of your work. So thank you. Thank you for letting me join you.
Len Arcuri [00:44:34]:
Your child needs you running on all cylinders now and the fastest way to rise is with personalized one on one support. Get started today. Go to elevatehowyounavigate.com.
