Shawn Wilson has been searching for answers and treatment options for his seven-year-old nonverbal, autistic child since his child’s birth. According to the dedicated father, Christopher Wilson, his son was diagnosed as an infant.
While many families struggle to even get a diagnosis, the Wilson family immediately knew Christopher was suffering as soon as he was born. Christopher’s autism is so profound that doctors initially believed the infant was blind at birth. After looking further into Christopher’s symptoms, it was determined that he was displaying several signs of autism and was diagnosed shortly after being born.
While researching new treatments, Shawn came across online stories about Leucovorin. Leucovorin is a type of calcium tablet that’s typically taken as a medication to offset the harmful effects of cancer treatments. This generic medication works in the body the same way folic acid does.
Just recently, there have been reports that Leucovorin might help improve nonverbal symptoms associated with autism. This theory stems from the fact that there have been studies linking cerebral folate deficiency (CFD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Since CFD is the result of the body not absorbing folate properly, it’s believed that a folate supplement could potentially help ease the symptoms of the deficiency. Since leucovorin can act in the body in the same way as folic acid, there have been theories that it could improve nonverbal symptoms in ASD individuals.
This theory is being put to the test, and Christopher Wilson is one of the first children in Nevada to start undergoing treatment with Leucovorin for his nonverbal symptoms. So far, he’s been receiving treatment for about 30 days under the care of a local pediatric neurologist. According to past studies on the drug, it can typically take anywhere from four to six months of using the drug before it starts improving brain folate levels. So far, Wilson says that his family has not seen any major improvements, but they continue to remain hopeful.
It’s important for families to consider this fact about leucovorin because many online stories are pushing claims that the drug results in life-changing improvements within days of taking it. These claims, for the most part, seem to be unfounded. That said, researchers will continue to analyze the impact of leucovorin on individuals with ASD and seek out the root cause of speech delays.
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