Search | Your Experience at Developmental Spectrums |
 Dr. Mielke's goal for the Developmental Spectrums clinic is to provide the kinds of services and medical expertise that she wishes had existed in the bay area when her own son was first diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. At that time, she had to take her son all the way to Oregon to find a doctor trained in the biomedical treatment of autism. Dr. Mielke not only knows about treating autism from extensive studying, attending specialized conferences, and experience with her patients - she also lives it “24/7” at home. She says, “I never ask my patients to do anything with their kids that I haven’t been able to do myself.” Her personal experience is invaluable in not only understanding what families are going through, but in being able to help decipher the sometimes baffling symptoms that autistic children have.
This Document is meant to help answer the following questions:
 What is the general sequence of events?
A general description follows here, it includes information about becoming a new patient , your first appointment with Dr. Mielke, testing and follow-up appointments . More detailed information is given to parents when an appointment is made and the treatment process is initiated. Additional information is also available in the "Patient Resources" section of this web site.
The first appointment is two hours long, and a lot of information is exchanged during that time. Be prepared to take notes, as Dr. Mielke will be giving treatment advice from the very start. Both parents are encouraged to be present for this first appointment if possible. The more prepared the parents are in advance, the easier it will be to understand what the treatments are, and why we are doing them. Before the first appointment, it is strongly recommended that parents read:
Keeping your child happy during the first appointment
At the end of the first appointment Dr. Mielke will give you a complete list of the initial supplements your child will need. These may be obtained at Developmental Spectrums directly at the time of your appointment, or can be purchased individually from the manufacturers, or sometimes at other supplement retailers. Dr. Mielke always wants to get the medical tests done before you start the new supplements, so that we can get a medical baseline for your child.
After the lab samples are drawn and shipped off, you will be starting the new supplements, and you will be working on your child’s diet, sometimes eliminating foods containing gluten and casein that may be causing reactions in them, and trying to get them to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. Often, by the second appointment, the child has already made a great deal of progress just by these initial interventions alone.
Following-up Follow-up appointments after that are approximately every 2-3 months, or can be more often depending on need, and some of them can be done over the phone if that is more convenient. Overall, most patients experience significant gradual improvement in their autism symptoms when their medical issues are addressed. The child is healthier and happier, and functions mentally at a higher level, acquiring new skills at a much faster rate. There is no greater gift than to see a child recover from the jaws of autism to the greatest extent possible, and that is the gift that we hope to give to you. |
When you call for an appointment, the New Patient Coordinator will take some initial information from you over the phone, answer any questions you may have, and schedule the first appointment. There is usually a several-month waiting list for new appointments. You will be sent a new patient packet, with forms for you to complete and return as soon as possible. We will ask you basic identifying information, as well as questions about your child’s medical history. Along with your completed forms, you should send us copies of any recent medical testing that has been done on your child. A recent picture of your child is also very helpful for their chart.
all the information contained in this website, and, 
at least one of these books: "Children with Starving Brains," by Dr. Jacqueline McCandless; or "Healing the New Childhood Epidemics" by Kenneth Bock; or "Changing the Course of Autism" by Bryan Jepson and others.
If your child has a favorite toy or video, please bring it along. Since the first appointment is two hours long, bring a snack for your child to eat and drink as well. Bring extra diapers if your child isn’t potty trained. We will be meeting in a child-friendly playroom with toys and a TV/VCR/DVD player, but it can still be difficult to keep a child happy in a single room for that long. If your child is really hyper and unable to play with toys or watch a video, you may need to bring along an extra adult to help watch the child while Dr. Mielke talks with the parents. There is a park just a block away if it is necessary to take the child outside for a while. Normally, Dr. Mielke will be observing your child’s behavior in the playroom while gathering information from you.
The samples for some of the tests, such as urine, stool and hair, will be collected by you at home, and shipped off directly to the lab. For the blood tests, we recommend that you schedule an appointment to come to the Developmental Spectrums lab for the blood draw. Our phlebotomists are experienced at drawing blood on our sometimes difficult kids with ASDs, and are familiar with the complicated processing requirements of our tests. If sedation is necessary for the blood draw, that can be arranged. The initial tests require several tubes of blood. If a child weighs less than 40 pounds, we divide the labs into two blood draws. Be aware that, collectively, a typical set of initial tests can cost over $2000, some of which may be covered by insurance, but usually not all. If that is an impossible amount of money for a family, Dr. Mielke tries to get as much useful information as possible from less testing. We have helpful information sheets on how to survive the blood draw with the least possible trauma, and how to do the paperwork required on the test kits.
After we get the lab results back - which takes about two months - you will have your second two-hour appointment with Dr. Mielke. At that time, she will review all the results with you, and give you a very detailed overview of what is going on with your child medically. It is a good idea to tape record this session, and again to take lots of notes, because it is easy to get overwhelmed by all of the information. At this second appointment, based on your child’s individual lab results, Dr. Mielke will recommend additional supplements and medications that may be necessary to treat them. Only after your child is strong and healthy enough from correcting nutritional deficiencies, viral infections, and GI problems, among other things, will we discuss the subjects of detoxification, hyperbaric oxygen treatments, and other interventions which are usually necessary for the maximal recovery of a child on the autistic spectrum. Each child’s treatment plan is individualized for his or her particular needs.
