Proper methylation of DNA regulates which sections of DNA are active and will be used to direct metabolic activities in the body and which sections are turned off. Some people have metabolic defects in their ability to methylate normally. Problems in the normal methylation cycle may be more common for people on the autism spectrum and in some other genetic conditions like Down’s Syndrome.
The following website has a book available to read online that includes information about metabolic differences that have been found to be more common for people on the autism spectrum. Methylation differences in metabolism are discussed in Chapter 2 of the book Autism: Pathways to Recovery, by Dr. Amy Yasko. In the chapter coffee and Ritalin are described as methyl donors, and it is suggested that they might be helpful for some people for that reason. Defects in the normal ability to methylate DNA is impaired in some people which may leave their immune systems over active with autoimmune symptoms or underactive and more susceptible to actual threats. [dramyyasko.com/resources/autism-pathways-to-recovery/chapter-2/]
A book available online, thanks to the author Dr. Amy Yasko. She mentions in the opening paragraph of Chapter 1 that the U.S. population grew by 13% in the 1990s and the number of people with autism grew by 172% in the same time frame. Read more: [dramyyasko.com/resources/autism-pathways-to-recovery/chapter-1/] *She is a Ph.D. professor in genetics rather than an M.D. Medical Doctor.
In 1975 the rate of autism was 1 in 5000. Approximately one child of every 88 born in the year 2000 were found to have autism and the rate was 1 in 68 – one infant out of every 68 children born in 2002 were found to have autism. [aplus.com/a/scientist-claims-half-of-children-will-have-autism-by-2025]
There may not be a ‘cure’ for autism but there are nutritional strategies that help manage some of the more common metabolic differences if parents and health professionals are allowed to acknowledge the existence of the differences.
/Disclosure: I am not recommending coffee for children or infants. This information is provided for educational purposes and is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./
How to promote more diversity within science research is a question posed in the book “Who’s Asking? Native Science, Western Science, and Science Education,” by Douglas L. Medin and Megan Bang, (2014, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Our cultural background may impact not only what research studies are funded and performed but also which studies and which scientists are highlighted in textbooks and in science education classes. How science information is presented to students may impact whether they will be motivated to pursue further education in areas of science research.
Books and lectures that focus on researchers and history from Western science may bias the education of students from kindergarten through graduate school and may affect whether students seek further education in scientific topics. The authors of the book “Who’s Asking” present research regarding the idea that the cultural background we receive from our families and communities during our upbringing may create different viewpoints about the role humans have to play within nature. Stories from Native American cultures may place humans more within nature as a part of the greater whole. Stories from Western culture may place humans as separate from the rest of nature or even in a place of more importance than the rest of the natural world.
Within the book “Who’s Asking” (page 209-210) the authors share a list of education design principles which may help with developing a more culturally diverse science curriculum. The list had been hand written on a poster located in the researcher’s meeting room at the American Indian Center in Chicago, and I have slightly paraphrased it here:
Use local, place based instruction and include hands-on experiences;
Link program practices with community participation and try to incorporate practices which include community values, needs, language, and experiences;
Try to see humans as part of nature rather than seeing nature as an externality, apart from humans;
Organize practices around the idea that everything is related and has a role to play in the universe;
Consider phenomena from a seasonal/cyclical perspective;
Place science in an interdisciplinary or holistic perspective and invite the learner to view phenomena from multiple perspectives;
Explore and address the relationships and tensions between Native science and Western science;
And place science in social policy and community contexts that highlight the need for participation and leadership.
A more diverse curriculum may help motivate a more diverse group of students which may be just what our future needs.
We are part of nature, part of the world. Humanity may not be able to survive without the sea creatures that modify sulfur, iodine and selenium found in sea water into a form that can be used on land by humans and other land dwelling lifeforms. [1] We also may not be able to survive as a species if we didn’t have bees to pollinate our crops.
More of us need to start asking who’s going to protect the planet because it is our home, and it provides our air, our water, and our food supply.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use.
I learned of an international day for overcoming poverty, “October 17, the World Day for Overcoming Poverty,” from a free ebook “Artisans of Peace Overcoming Poverty,” by Diana Faujour Skelton, published by the non-profit organization the International Movement ATD Fourth World. One way that the country of Guatemala celebrates the World Day for Overcoming Poverty is by choosing a citizen to take part in their national White Rose of Peace ceremony. [1] The daily ceremony was begun at the end of the country’s 36 year long civil war to show the country’s hope for ongoing peace. [p 20, 29-32, Artisans of Peace Overcoming Poverty]
A white rose for peace.
Visit the atd-fourthworld site for more info about the book “Artisans of Peace Overcoming Poverty,”and to download a free copy: [e-book.atd-fourthworld] Recognizing the value of all groups within society and increasing communication between the groups has helped communities in a variety of situations and locations. This book is the first edition of a three part series.
Maybe a peach rose can also be for peace. Peace is in many colors. (Note: I happened to have this image when I first wrote this post, but later went and bought the only white rose at the florist and took images that didn’t turn out great but – peace is worth it.)
Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
George & Eve DeLange,Guatemala National Palace Of Culture.White Rose of Peace Ceremony, images and description on a travel website, Guatemala, https://delange.org/Guat1/Guat1.htm
Trigger warning: This post is about recovery from sexual assault.
Sometimes a book can speak to you like a good friend, heart to heart, soul to soul, sharing secrets you never imagined anyone else had thought or experienced. The author wrote words many years ago but may have imagined that there would be a reader in need of the wisdom learned from hard experience.
Dissociation is a way for the mind to cope with pain or fear or with other overwhelming emotions or events. Children who experience trauma may have coped by allowing their minds to dissociate or separate from feeling the physical sensations or from being mentally present during the traumatic event. Dissociation is a natural reaction to intense experiences but it can become a lesson that is too well learned, a strategy for coping that becomes too much of a habit for the rest of life. Recovering a sense of connection to self and with the world can be difficult for the survivor of childhood trauma.
Dissociation became a habit for Karla McLaren, the author of Rebuilding the Garden: Healing the Spiritual Wounds of Childhood Sexual Assault (1997). [1] She experienced ongoing sexual assault beginning at age three. The culprit was caught but the dissociation remained for the author as a feeling of being incomplete and disconnected during her youth and young adult years. The book grew from her personal discovery and exploration of an inner sanctuary that can exist within our minds whenever we care to imagine it and visit. She describes the inner sanctuary in terms of a garden with herself as the gardener. Sexual assault occurring during childhood violates boundaries and can take away an inner sense of self.
“Since the lasting wound of sexual assault occurs in a quiet spiritual center that no one ever mentions, it is very hard for assault survivors to understand why they don’t get better.” [page 5, 1]
The assault destroys the inner sanctuary but the survivor is not the ruined garden but is instead the gardener who can rebuild boundaries that protect and heal. Assault during childhood teaches the survivor that they have no boundaries and are open to invasion. Later in life the adult survivor may have problems relating well to others. Some survivors may be overly controlling of every aspect in their lives while others may seek stimulation and act out of control. Normal sexual relations may be difficult for some survivors.
“Many assault survivors become excellent puppeteers when sex is “happening” to them; they pull the right strings and make the right noises, but they are not present at all. They are off in a dream world, or up on the ceiling.” [page 57, 1]
Meditative relaxation is somewhat similar to the strategies described but the visualization exercises in the book delve more into the energy of the chakras and auras. The author describes the dissociated self in terms of being split. The visualization exercises are varied but aim to help the reader reconnect with their fragmented self and with the world around them.
“Not going anywhere in life, not living in peace, not truly knowing how to behave around people, relying on relationships for inner peace: these are just some of the characteristics of people who come to me for classes, and when I see them, they are often at the end of their ropes. People usually don’t come to psychic healers first.” [page 36, 1]
Seeking guidance from someone who self designates as a psychic healer may not be a first choice for most people but dissociation is the mind or psyche separating itself from the body’s present. The visualization strategies the author shares are designed to help restore a sense of an inner core that is always safe and to help reconnect to the world.
A lifelong habit of dissociation isn’t treatable with a pill. Anti-anxiety medications may be provided to help cope with anxiety if that is also present. Cognitive therapy, retraining the brain, is the most effective strategy used currently for treating people with dissociative disorders. But for that you would need an appointment with a therapist who believes in dissociative disorders. So in the meantime, there’s always Amazon. Finding an author who believes in the problem and believes that recovery is possible is at least a place to start even if it’s not a first choice. [1]
Gloriosa greets the day in the cheerful way, that all daisies share.
/Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./
