Warning: Lead Poisioning or Autism?
Reported December 11, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — We hear about the recalls for the toys made with lead paint. Now, we put a face on what lead poisoning can do to a child. Meet Noah Breakiron.
A hug and a kiss between Noah and his parents is a special moment for this family who has been through so much.
“He is the epitome of strength and courage. He really is,” Noahs parents Lisa and Rob say.
Problems for their son began at nine-months-old. He was often sick and out of control.
“We couldn’t go to the grocery stores, church — really anywhere due to the screaming,” Rob says.
Noah was diagnosed with autism — but then the underlying problem was discovered — lead poisoning. Noah had seven-times the upper limit of lead in his body.
“We were shocked,” Rob says.
“We were absolutely shocked. Like, lead poisoning? That can’t be right,” Lisa says.
They couldn’t pinpoint how the lead got in Noah’s body. But now, his parents believe it might have been from his toys.
“I can tell you as a toddler, he was always chewing on stuff,” Rob says.
Chelation treatments have reduced Noah’s lead levels and have made a huge impact.
“It was really powerful and amazing for us to watch. It was like a miracle right before your eyes,” Rob says.
“We have a child who is virtually indistinguishable from his peers and that’s certainly not what he was two years ago,” says Noahs pediatrician David Berger, M.D., at Wholistic Pediatrics in Tampa, Fla.
Dr. Berger says a developing brain is much more sensitive to lead exposure. He says universal testing for lead in young kids should be done. It’s a blood test doctors stopped doing routinely 10 years ago, but one he says parents should ask for.
“As a medical community, we all let our guard down when we thought the exposure wasn’t there and this can cause significant long term problems and its worthwhile checking for,” Dr. Berger says.
“With Noah’s level of lead poisoning, if that would have continued, he would have died,” Lisa says.
Today, you can’t tell that Noah’s body is in a battle to remove the lead. He just seems like a typical four-year-old — and that’s good news.
In October alone, there were 27-million lead related recalls of toys and jewelry items. Because the symptoms of autism and lead poisoning mimic each other, Noahs parents say they will never know which came first — autism or lead poisoning. But Noah is now making developmental strides beyond expectations.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
David Berger, M.D.
Pediatrician
Wholistic Pediatrics
3341 West Bearss Avenue
Tampa, FL 33618
(813) 960-3415