Support group for parents of children with autism

Sunday April 24, 2011
Empowering parents
By MARISSA BAGSHAW

A support group for parents of children with autism and related neuro-developmental disorders will hold a meeting in Melaka for the first time.

AUTISM resources in Malaysia are ever growing. KL Biomed is a support network for parents of children with autism, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), apraxia, behavioural disorders, speech delay, and related neuro-developmental disorders in Malaysia and neighbouring countries.

It advocates complementary and alternative healthcare treatments for children affected by autism, and hopes to empower parents to seek effective treatments for their children.
You can sign up for the KL Biomed Health Forum at http://health.groups.yahoo. group/klbiomed if you are a parent involved in the care and treatment of of a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, PDD-NOS, ADHD, Aspergers, apraxia, and other related behavioural and neuro-developmental disorders.

KL Biomed provides support and practical advice for families doing biomedical intervention and holistic treatments, including naturopathy, homeopathy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, cranial-sacral therapy, neurofeedback, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and many other alternatives to mainstream drug treatment.

Biomedical intervention are non-drug treatments consisting of dietary interventions, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, essential fatty acids and amino acids.

It provides integrative treatment by addressing the root causes of autism, such as vitamin deficiency, allergies, food intolerance, oxidative stress, inflammation, gastrointestinal issues, malabsorption, maldigestion, chronic infections, metabolic disorders, mitochondria disorders, heavy metal toxicity and many more.

For more information on biomedical intervention, please visit www.autism.com. You can also sign up for the KL Biomed Health Forum at http://health.groups.yahoo.group/klbiomed if you are a parent involved in the care and treatment of of a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, PDD-NOS, ADHD, Aspergers, apraxia, and other related behavioural and neuro-developmental disorders.

All parents interested in biomedical, dietary, alternative, and holistic interventions are encouraged to sign up to this forum. Here, you can post questions or share information, and other parents will reply and share their experience.

This way, everyone benefits by learning from the collective experience of the group, rather than just relying on one source of information.

KL Biomed started as a small group of parents interested in exploring biomedical treatments based on the protocol and research by the Autism Research Institute (www.autism.com).

We held our first support group meeting sitting on the floor of my tiny living room. We would take turns holding the meeting in each other’s homes, or wherever we could find.

Little did we know that the group would grow to have so many members today.

Though the number of members have grown, everytime we meet, old and new parents tend to form bonds and friendships quickly.

Though initially set up as a source of educational information, many of our members have made good friends and have found support, companionship, and empathy in each other.

KL Biomed parents are also fondly refered to as Warrior Mums and Super Dads.

They are passionate, resourceful and committed in improving their child’s health. Initially started as a Kuala Lumpur-based support group, it has grown to include members from all over Malaysia and neighbouring countries. Our children range from 1.5 year-old toddlers to 26-year-old adults.

Apart from support group meetings, we have an online KL Biomed Health Forum. Please sign up at http://health.groups.yahoo.group/klbiomed.

We are always working towards creating a more dynamic format online with the latest events, more resources, and new updates on medical information.

We also have parent mentor programmes, connecting families with other parents whose children face similar health issues, or according to location.

A parent mentor is a parent of a child with autism or related disorder who has at least a year’s experience with biomedical and alternative treatments.

A parent mentor provides support and practical advice on a volunteer basis.

KL Biomed holds a support group meet in the Klang Valley every two months.

Here, parents can meet and network with other parents, as well as discuss specific agendas and topics of interest.

This year, the KL Biomed Support Group is attempting to extend its reach to other towns and cities in the country.

There’s an upcoming KL Biomed Support group meet in Melaka. Please see below for details:

Date: Saturday April 30, 2011

Time: 7.30pm – 9.30pm

Fee: RM10.00 per person (payment in cash, to be paid on the day of the event)

Venue: Mahkota Medical Centre, No. 3, Mahkota Melaka, Jalan Merdeka, 75000 Melaka

Please RSVP by Thursday 28th April 2011. Kindly RSVP by email toAutismResourcesMelaka@yahoo.com . Alternatively RSVP by SMS with Mdm Ng (019-6699285) or Ms Tracy (012-3623268). Please include your name(s), email, and phone number.

Thank you to Madam Ng Kek Kuan (Director of Autism Resources, Advisor to Persatuan Autisma Melaka Tengah and former President) for organising this meeting and bringing the support group to Melaka and families in nearby cities. A big appreciation to Mahkota Medical Centre for supporting our Autism Awareness campaigns.

We can’t promise you Onde-Onde/ Buah Melaka, but we do promise hope, support and encouragement.

See you soon,

Marissa & Rafidah