This guest blog post, about how compounding pharmacies can be a tremendous resource for families raising children with ASD, comes from Ashley Dick, who is a practicing compounding pharmacist and co-owner of PharmaCare Compounding Solutions in Tennessee.
Helping the Medicine Go Down: Addressing the special needs of ASD patients
By Ashley Dick, PharmD
For the parents of a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the many difficulties that come with caring for their child can cause significant stress and frustration, to the point of being overwhelming. Often amplifying these feelings is the fact that the very characteristics of the condition make it exceedingly difficult to treat the symptoms or simply help the child to feel better. Because of the extreme sensory and dietary issues experienced by many ASD patients, traditional forms of medication or nutritional supplements are either difficult or impossible to administer, but there is a solution through pharmacy compounding.

What if you discovered you were dying of cancer? I expect you’d seek the best doctors you could find to help you wage a war for your life. You’d likely end up on a variety of medications and treatments, costing you thousands and thousands of dollars…and you’d still probably fear for your health and livelihood. Now, what if I told you that you could reverse the progression of that cancer (or heart disease, diabetes, auto immune disorder, bone disease or stroke) by radically overhauling your diet? Would you be surprised? Would you make those necessary changes all while wondering why your doctor never shared this information and option with you?
The filmmakers of the thought-provoking and potentially life-changing documentary “Forks Over Knives,” which opens in theaters tomorrow, examine this concept – that basic changes to the Western Diet prove to be a much more effective “treatment” for many modern diseases and ailments than standard surgeries/treatments/prescription medications.

Jacob had a seizure last night.
He was lying next to me in my bed, after sneaking in at some early hour after I had fallen asleep. I didn't even realize he was there until I felt his body convulsing next to mine.
It took me a moment to figure out what was going on. By the time it was over only 45 seconds had passed. He didn't seem to wake up from the seizure, and slept peacefully by my side the rest of the night.

Each of us has a laundry list of things we say we will never do. Amazing how time, experience and circumstance can change your opinion on interventions and therapies you once believed to be of no value. When my son Jacob was first diagnosed with autism almost twelve years ago, I searched high and low for answers, options and opportunities that would improve his ability to communicate and function.