It’s well documented that many autistic children suffer from some form of digestive disorder. For some that manifests as constipation, diarrhea, bloating or abdominal pain. Or they may have no obvious symptoms but within their digestive tract there may be inflammation, leaky gut and food intolerances which may be linked to their behavioral problems.

Dear Friends,

Today kicks off the Helmets for Hope Campaign. The campaign is intended to bring awareness of severe forms of epilepsy, particularly those affected by atonic seizures, also known as drop attack seizures.

The campaign and Gala, scheduled for November 5th in New York is co-hosted by The American Epilepsy Outreach Foundation is working with the Lennox Gastaut Foundation.

Please view this latest Public Service Announcement as Mike Yam from ESPN News fights for our cause.

Contributed by Shirley Price

Grandparents play a major part in the lives of many children. There is a wealth of wisdom, and a ton of love that many of these children get in addition to that of their parents. It really is a two way street because as much as the children can benefit from their grandparents, we grandparents gain so much pleasure from our grandkids. Grandchildren also give us a great excuse to do things that we would never otherwise do at this stage of our lives because we think we are too old.

My parents were both lucky and very blessed. They had five very healthy children who were easily high achievers in grade school, high school, and college. It was probably a good thing for them too, because I was raised on a working dairy farm in mid-Michigan and my father worked two farms about 17 miles apart in order to provide for us and his aged parents. He would not have had the time or energy for a special needs child.

A Different Child

This groundbreaking treatment centre in Pennsylvania is providing much needed hope for children with conditions such as autism, epilepsy, learning difficulties and ADD. What makes this centre unique is the focus is on recovery, rather than attempts to simply manage and control symptoms.

If there’s one thing kids can’t wait to do when they reach their teens is pass their driving test and take to the open road. It gives them a whole new sense of freedom and independence. The keys to the car become their keys to adulthood... they can drive to work, the mall, their friends’ house or go on a road trip. It’s only natural that a teen with epilepsy may fear they won’t be able to enjoy that independence and have a driving license.

Anyone with epilepsy or who has epilepsy in the family will often tell you that the greatest support and comfort comes from talking to other people who share their own epilepsy experience. There is a growing community of people called Epilepsy Advocates who share their own stories, experience with different treatment options and offer invaluable support to other epilepsy sufferers and their families.

The parents of kids with epilepsy in this community might be interested to know that research on the effect of dietary therapy on childhood epilepsy is moving forward rapidly. The ketogenic diet, if you're not already familiar with it, is a diet that carefully controls and balances nutrients to provide low carbs, adequate protein, and high fat, in order to change the way the body uses nutrients.

A Big Year in Ketogenic Diet Research