This blog is a way of sharing the information and resources that have helped me to recover my son Roo from an Autism Spectrum Disorder. What I have learned is to view our symptoms as the results of underlying biological cause, which can be identified and healed. I say "our symptoms" because I also have a neuro-immune disorder called Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.

And, of course, I am not a doctor (although I have been known to impersonate one while doing imaginative play with my son)- this is just our story and information that has been helpful or interesting to us. I hope it is helpful and interesting to you!


Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Neurological System- Relevant Symptoms, Conditions, and Disorders

The Following are symptoms and disorders of the neurological system that can occur with people who have the constellation of conditions and diagnoses that I and my family do.  The point of the list is not for us to diagnose ourselves, but rather to be aware of the possible connection between symptoms that we are having and our neurological system to help guide efforts to diagnose and treat the symptoms.  Some of these are considered controversial (in the sense that some doctors and other experts aren't convinced that they exist) so keep that in mind if discussing them with a doctor, but I included them because I have found knowledge of "controversial" things to be very helpful in getting appropriate care.

About the Brain and Neurological System:
There is still so much that is not known or well understood about the human brain and nervous system, how it works, and what can go wrong.  This leaves many people with significant neurological problems without much guidance or treatment.

NOVA "Secrets of the Mind"  (phantom limb pain, blindsight, etc)

Daniel Tammet TED talk "Different Ways of Knowing"

Anatomy Zone brain videos

What Does the Brain's Frontal Cortex Do? (Professor Robert Sapolsky Explains)

Specific Symptoms, Disorders, and Conditions:
Absence Seizure (aka Petite Mal Seizure | Epilepsy)

Anterior Cutaneous Nerve Entrapment Syndrome
This is when chronic abdominal pain is caused by a nerve that innervates the abdominal wall being pinched or compressed and causing a strong, localized pain.  Movement can make the pain worse, and lying on the back improves the pain.  ACNES occurs most often on young and middle aged women.  It is a benign situation that is normally treated with a trigger point injection of a pain med such as lidocaine along with a steroid.  If the pain persists the nerve that is causing the pain can be severed.

 
Allodynia is pain that a person feels in response to a stimulus that wouldn't normally be painful, such as a very light touch.

Alzheimer’s Disease We Might Be Totally Wrong About Alzheimer’s

Anosognosia

Aphantasia

Auditory processing disorder "Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a hearing issue that makes it hard for you to understand what people are saying.  People with APD have difficulty understanding speech even though they don’t have hearing issues. Many APD symptoms are similar to hearing loss symptoms."

Benign Fasciculation Syndrome Causes and Treatment


Cerebral Folate Deficiency 
 

Dilated pupils

Dysautonomia ("Faces of Dysautonomia" awareness video)
Common symptoms of Dysautonomia from MedicalNewsToday include:
Difficulty standing, dizziness, vertigo, fainting; fast, slow or irregular heartbeat; chest pain, low blood pressure, problems with digestion, nausea, visual disturbances, weakness, fatigue, breathing problems, anxiety, mood swings, tremors, disordered sleep, frequent urination, difficulty regulating body temperature, problems with memory and concentration, poor appetite, and sensory sensitivities (often to sound and light).

What is Executive Function and Why Do We Need it? 


Guillain-Barre Syndrome is an auto-immune disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the myelin-producing cells of the Peripheral Nervous Syndrome (PNS).  Common symptoms are numbness, weakness, and even paralysis.  If the weakness/paralysis spreads to the muscled required for breathing, the disease can be fatal.  It is treated with IV/IG which is an infusion of blood containing antibodies from donors. 

 
Intracranial Hypertension 
 
Lhermitte's sign "(also known as Lhermitte's phenomenon or the barber chair phenomenon) is the term used that describes a transient sensation of an electric shock that extends down the spine and extremities upon flexion and/or movement of the neck.  The sign is suggestive of a lesion or compression of the lower brain stem or the upper cervical spinal cord. It is a paroxysmal sensation or neuropathic pain that can develop as a result of direct or indirect demyelinating lesions in the brain and/or spinal cord and is triggered by the flexion or movement of the neck. More specifically, the neck motion activates ascending spinothalamic tracts at the cervical level that has been sensitized by the underlying process that caused the cervical spine lesion."

Myoclonus

Nystagmus epilepticus

Narcolepsy

OCD- Pure O: Thinking the Unthinkable (Extreme OCD Documentary) 

PANDAS

Papilledema "Papilledema refers to the swelling of both optic discs in your eyes due to increased intracranial pressure (intracranial hypertension)."  If the cause is intracranial hypertension, both optic discs are usually affected.  If only one is affected it is most likely the result of something else.  Papilledema can be an emergency if it is caused by dangerously high intracranial pressure. 

Prosopagnosia

Peripheral neuropathy
 
 
Types of Seizures
Seizures are usually classified as generalized or focal. 

Selective Mutism My Child Won't Talk
BBC show about 3 girls with selective mutism, includes information about therapies that helped them.


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