Can you believe April is already here? April is National Autism Awareness Month and we are here to talk about Autism and Cannabis! We asked several mothers across the state of Oklahoma to share their children’s journey with Autism and Cannabis. We made this a three-part series to truly highlight the stories we are sharing.
Understanding Autism
As stated by Chip and Cynthia Paul of Truemedx, “Autism is a very complicated and complex set of disorders that stem from needed genetic expression being turned off, needed genetic expressions being improperly encoded, or unneeded genetic expressions improperly turned on. By virtue of these improper genetic expressions, the autistic individual’s body, from metabolism to the highest functions, has to adapt to survive.”1 A more in-depth look shows that “severely autistic folks cannot ‘inflame’ or ‘deflame’, which means they cannot run a basic immune system. They have deficiencies in their endocannabinoid system with the two main molecules needed to run the endocannabinoid system. These deficiencies cause a ‘lack of control’ in the master regulatory system.”2
Kayden’s Story
Speaking with Mattie Badgwell, one-half of OKannaMoms, she shared a little bit of her son Kayden’s story with us. She began by saying that Cannabis has completely changed his life. Not only is administering his meds easier now, but he willingly takes his Oil. He went from 4 different medications he had to take 2-3 times a day—to now, he only takes 1-3 mls of Cannabis Oil daily. There are no harmful side effects like he used to experience from prescription medicines, so Mattie no longer has to guess if his behavior is from his Autism, or if it is a side effect from the medication. Kayden is more focused and engaging now. Since using Cannabis, Kayden has had zero regression. Whereas he used to have consistent regression in his development, and he would lose abilities and skills periodically—they haven’t experienced that since beginning the use of Cannabis. Also, they go weeks at a time without any self-harming or property destruction; his meltdowns have decreased as well. Whereas before, even on pharmaceuticals, he was having daily meltdowns where he would bite himself and throw his head into a wall.
An important thing Mattie wants everyone to know about having a child with Autism is that their Autism doesn’t define who they are and to do what you feel is best for your child. You will hear a lot of voices telling you what to do and what not to do; but those opinions are based off of that person’s experience with Autism and does not represent what is best for your child.
Eli’s Story
We also had the opportunity to speak with Sara Kimbrell, founder of Drop It Like Its Hot Meal Prep service. She stated that her son Eli had been treated like a guinea pig, trying every behavior and seizure medication out there. But then they made to switch to using only Cannabis Oil. Now he only takes the Oil daily—and only takes .25 ml daily of a 1:1 tincture (3-5mg). Sara said Eli has been seizure-free for over 2 years now. They weren’t focusing on the seizures at first, it was a focus on mood—so they did as needed—but then when they could see it making a difference, they moved to daily use of Cannabis Oil. Sara thinks over time they just noticed they hadn’t seen Eli have any seizures in a while. He was also having really bad tics that also slowed down dramatically.
I talked with Sara about her recent business venture Drop It Like Its Hot – a meal prep service focused on healthy portions and tasty meals. Not only did she start a meal prep business, she has been working out like crazy! I wondered what might be the inspiration for these lifestyle changes—she explained that it was Eli, her son. He is her why. She doesn’t have a plan B for who would raise him if she died. It lit a fire under her butt to get busy and live a healthier lifestyle, not only for herself, but for her son too. She wanted to set a positive example for him. Eli is 15 and used to not eat that many vegetables or fruits, but she has really been encouraging it and Eli has been such a good sport about eating more fruits and veggies!
An important thing Sara wants everyone to know about having a child with Autism is that you never give up on them. Push them to try everything! Eli is 15 and he does more around the house now than her neurotypical teen did! He makes his bed, he hangs up his clothes, he rinses his dishes, and he carries out the trash. He cleans the toilet, the sink, and the vanity. He is such a help! Encourage your children to try new things. One thing she would also tell someone that has a younger child is to avoid letting them have electronics at an early age. Eli was so fascinated at about 3 or 4 years old and he is obsessed with his phone, iPad, and YouTube. Sometimes she thinks that hinders him, and sometimes she thinks it helps; but too much of one thing is probably not good.
References
OKanna Moms is a resource-based blog of two moms documenting progress with Cannabis treatment for Autism and providing resources to pediatric patients. Based in Oklahoma, Mattie Badgwell & Christa Schaefer, share their children’s journeys to provide hope and inspiration to other families across the country. To keep up with Kayden’s story, check OKannaMoms on Social Media! Check out their Facebook here, their Instagram here, and you can contact them by email here: OKannamoms@gmail.com
Adventures with Eli is a Facebook page ran by Sara Kimbrell designed to offer encouragement and support for parents and to hopefully give you an occasional smile and laugh!!
Chip and Cynthia Paul at TruemedX are here to help you and your family! Connect with them by:
Email: cynthia@gnupharma.com
Phone number: (918) 949-6699
Address: 7726 N Owasso Expy Owasso OK 74055
The mother behind The Autism Cafe shared this post to give everyone in the USA access to free autism resources. This is a list of free autism resources, available in all 50 states!
Getting Started
The TrueMedX Focus Tincture is based on the GnuPharma model of human function. With the Focus Tincture, our strategy is to intervene directly with cannabinoid resources. These resources supplement the deficiencies in the Endocannabinoid System present in Autistic and ADHD folks. The Focus Tincture is a CBD based product and is built to have minimal taste. Most severely Autistic folks had aversions to things with strong taste and this formulation seems to work best in cases where the is difficulty taking medications. The results we are seeing are improvements in negative behaviors, improvements in positive behaviors and cognitive skills. For non-autistic folks who want to experience the product, this product should create some energy and focus.
To order the FOCUS Tincture click here!
Coupon Code: hawkeye
This code is going to give you 10% off for the month of April!