ATT helps individuals with autism and their family by assisting them to access the medical and educational provisions they need and deserve. With regard to the biomedical input, we use state of the art biomedical testing, covering the areas of immune, digestive, nutritional and metabolic functions, also looking for possible toxic and oxidative stress issues (our full range of lab testing can be found here, complemented by behavioural, clinical and developmental evaluation of the children. Our findings are flagged to the child's GP, seeking when possible the involvement of the NHS in the intervention and assessment process. Findings are presented to parents drawing their attention to relevant publications to explain the possible linkage between these abnormalities and the child’s behaviour. A summary of some of our findings can be found here.

Because the child's educational, social and emotional environments also play a part in his/her ability to function and flourish, we also assist individuals with access to the best possible expertise and support on a day-to-day basis, in their home and school environments. We visit children and adults in their school, home and hospital placements, providing independent recommendations on how best to assist with their autism and needs. The full range of intervention with which we can assist are presented here.

We view individuals as a whole and we have also added a range of add on services that include assisting in their expression, visual, musical and through creative writing as well as with the input of a chiropractor Emma Gillet. We are constantly evolving and eager to assist parents to obtain easier access to services and information they need.

Last but not least, we are developing various research projects in areas we feel are relevant to autism. For example, what drives self-injurious behaviour in children with autism and how could this be corrected with an intervention. How can we monitor and demonstrate the outcome of an intervention in measuring pre-and post-intervention autism parameters? Or on the education side, how can we assist non-verbal children to communicate with a portable communication device they could learn to use functionally and that could speak for them or assist their expressive skills with images. A summary of our current research can be found here.

Our charity works in partnership with Caudwell Children who assist with funding families with both ATT Educational and Biomedical inputs. We are also part of the coalition for Scotland Disabled Children (fSDC) set up to secure rights and justice for disabled children and young people. We receive additional funding from individual benefactors and a range of organisations and trusts.

ATT provides an independent and reliable opinion that complements a medical and educational system that is at the moment not sufficiently well equipped to deal with today's autism. Please visit our site for further information on what we do. You might also wish to consult our series of FAQs to get more information on specific questions you might have.

FAQ

How much do your services cost?

Details of the cost of our services, laboratory tests etc. can be found here

What are your training and expertise?

ATT employs a Research Scientist, Dr. Lorene Amet who has expertise in neurobiology, genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology and also in a range of educational interventions and assessments in autism. ATT also employs an ABA consultant, Risca Solomon who is particularly adept in working with children with severe communication issues and oral dyspraxia, see an example of her work here. We also employ a dietician, Marion Bowels who has over 20 years of experience in nutrition, in autism, ADHD, allergy, asthma and related conditions. Medical expertise and supervision is provided by several medical doctors, Dr. Magdalena Cubala-Kurcharska who has been working for several years exclusively in autism, Dr. Tom Gilhooly developing joint research in autism, Dr. Gilhooly’s main expertise is in MS/ Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (which are conditions with overlapping features with autism). Dr. Philippe Raymond (Researching Chronic cold bacterial infection in Autism), Dr. Cem Kinacci who has specialised in Brain Imaging in Autism (SPECT and MRI scans), also treating children biomedically. ATT is also in contact with a wider range of medical experts in Europe and in the USA, a full list of advisors can be found here. ATT also collaborate with other research scientists and medical experts, such as Prof. L. Montagnier, Nobel Prize Medicine 2008.

Finally, ATT also works with a Music Therapist, Mike Nolan and Chiropractor Emma Gillet.

The president of ATT, Bill Welsh has a long track record of campaigning to raise awareness of autism and co-morbid medical issues. The day to day business of the Trust is in the hands of a small, dedicated team, supported by a clinic administrator Huda Taynaz and volunteer staff who provide a range of additional skills. This team works to the Board of Director/Trustees, who are responsible for the production and supervision of the annual business plan and who meet as a Board on a monthly basis.

Can you predict if my child will benefit from the intervention?

There are currently no markers of any type that can assist in predicting the outcomes of an intervention. However, what we find is a range of abnormalities, with regard to gut function, immune and nutritional issues, and based on our experience and of others, we endeavour to correct these abnormalities and in turn assist with the child’s development and function. Issues of learning and behaviour are also dealt with including complementary educational approaches. In our experience, it does not take very long to know if a child will respond to the core of biomedical interventions. We advise that the non-responder children are assisted in other ways if a biomedical approach does not bring sufficient improvement, for example at school, with their learning and socialisation skills. Our approach to autism is comprehensive.

How do you monitor the progress of my child?

There are several ways to do this - Ideally we want to establish a rigorous baseline of function and behaviour at the start of the intervention programme, using a battery of tests, for example: ADOS and also through receptive language evaluations and assessments of cognitive skills) (more here). These assessments are standardised and the measures are reliable.

Do you work with adults with autism?

Yes.

Do you treat children with ADHD or presenting with a wider developmental and behavioural presentation?

Yes.

What level of success do you have in autism?

This has not yet been well determined, mostly because until recently the assessments tools discussed here have not been in place. The GF/CF diet seems to bring positive outcomes in 80% of the children. We will shortly update you more on the outcomes of our retrospective study conducted on our children (full case load) here. More to follow.

Are there any side effects?

Potentially yes, though these are all temporary and reversible. For this reason, only one new supplement is introduced at any one time. Any doubt, or any negative change would lead to a re-evaluation

How controversial are your treatments?

Autism has traditionally been regarded as ‘mainly’ or even ‘solely’ genetic in origin and this may well be the case for some autistics. However, we believe that today there is a growing consensus that many autistic children, and adults, have underlying physiological problems that likely manifest themselves as autistic symptoms. Our comprehensive testing actually confirms this stance. Notwithstanding there will be some, including those in the autism community who will view our approach as ‘controversial. It should be noted that ATT was set up by parents of autistic children.

Can you make diagnosis of autism?

Yes, our staff at ATT is trained to make a diagnosis of autism using the ADOS standardised assessment. Additional diagnosis tools will be available shortly- Please contact us for more information.

Do you provide other form of evaluation of the child’s development and skills?

Yes, we aim to provide a range of behavioural and developmental evaluations, please visit this section for more information on the tools available currently and updates on developments.

What is the nature of your biomedical intervention?

The interventions are based on corrections of biomedical abnormalities along 5 main axis: nutrition, gut health, immune system, oxidative stress injury and toxin overload. The reasons for addressing these issues are explained here -the rationales are based on numerous peer-reviewed scientific and medical publications that have outlined the abnormalities found in autism (see selection of key papers and abstracts). The protocols of intervention however have not yet been rigorously evaluated in clinical trials; however, some aspects of interventions, such as the gluten-free casein-free diet and Omega-3 supplementations have been shown in an RCT design to be beneficial in some studies. The issues of validation of intervention protocols is important to us, because we need to be able to make recommendations of best practice that are based on reliable findings, these interventions if found valid should be made available to individuals as soon as possible and we believe they should be provided on the NHS rather than on a private basis. Today’s autism challenges the traditional views of autism and the reality we, and other like minded scientist and medical doctors see.

Where do you recommend purchasing supplements?

There are a few companies that are devoted to developing supplements of sufficient quality for use with children with autism and to facilitate the parent’s selections, based on the child’s individual need, we can advise you what to select. We have even assisted you in accessing them via our shop. We are also open to other supplements and companies and will consider what you also would like to evaluate.

What services do you provide?

In short we assist with diagnosis, biomedical testing, to represent and express your medical needs and concerns to the NHS, to implement a biomedical intervention, to assist in selecting the right type of educational and behavioural support for your child as well as to evaluate the school and placement setting your child is in. A fuller description of our services can be found here.

Which laboratory tests do you use?

We use a range of laboratories, from the NHS, University settings, and private sector which we have selected for the insight they give us into the child’s biomedical make up and for the quality of their standards. We do regard these as the best available current options, however, as with the supplements, we will continue to evolve in our evaluation of them and possibilities of alternative and complementary options.

Where can we discuss with other parents our intervention?

ATT currently has not created any network that would facilitate communication amongst parents, partly because such networks already exist, for example, Yahoo group Autism Biomedical Europe (and related yahoo platforms, and partly because we do not have the resources to ensure that quality information is being exchanged. We have however set up a Facebook account to facilitate the sharing of information we would like to bring to the attention of our parents, a Youtube channel as well as a Vimeo to share and flag videos of interest to our community.

Which group of charities are you connected with?

We are aware of most charities working to support adults and children with autism and others not solely related to autism which can assist with their life quality. ATT is part of ‘For Scotland’s Disabled Children’ (FSDC) coalition, a charity working to secure rights and justice for disabled children, young people and their families in Scotland.

What is your position on heavy metal issues?

The role played by heavy metals in autism has received some interest in the USA and in the UK and EU, however, we treat this issue as one out of many potential issues the child with autism may have. Whilst we want to consider it, and would assist families to address a heavy metal burden, our approach remains balanced and rational. Our laboratory findings need to be complemented by other lab work to confirm the issues of heavy metals and to assist with prioritisation of intervention.

What is your position on vaccine issues?

ATT’s focus is on intervention, and research that will make a positive difference to the autistic person’s life and we do not cover issues of vaccination.