Jackie McMillan

June 19, 2014

What’s Lyme’s Got to Do with Autism?.

Gut Dysbiosis is one of the five root causes of autism. There are no autistic spectrum individuals without some degree of digestive and malnourishment trouble, and often, dysbiosis is behind the problem. On its own — with no other root causes of autism at play — having the wrong creatures […]

May 29, 2014

If Your Body is a Temple, Food is the Brick and Mortar for Repair

There are lots of good resources out there which are now clarifying the powerful link between food and health. If our bodies don’t have the specific types of bricks and mortar they need to do maintenance and repairs, the consequences fall on our thinking, our emotions, our physical health, and […]

April 26, 2014

Do you want autistics to pay their way?

Does right livelihood hold any interest for you? I mean, helping people to find work that they are uniquely suited to, and enjoy? This is of keen interest for the adult autistics I’ve met. Because our sensory sensitivity means that unpleasant or toxic work environments are more damaging and stressful, […]

April 9, 2014

Name-Calling: Autistic Person vs. Person with Autism

Last week, someone contacted me with some concerns about my language on this website. I am quite cavalier about how I refer to the autistic state. It may seem offensive to people who are politically minded, for me to be so direct or blunt. It is not my intention to […]

April 5, 2014

Adult Groups Increase Life Skills & Employment

Are you wishing there were better opportunities for skills-building and employment training for teens and adults in the autistic spectrum? That was one of the most difficult barriers for me to break, and it’s one that there are still very few effective supports for. It’s common for us autistics — […]

March 24, 2014

Female and Autistic: Masked

When you’re studying people with ASDs from an insider’s perspective, two things become obvious demographically, very quickly. Less than 1/4 of autistic females are diagnosed and given support before age 18. There are no services or supports funded for adults over 18. Add the western medical bias of assuming that […]

March 10, 2014

Naoki’s Autism Explanations Don’t Address Causes

I just finished reading Naoki Higashida’s book, “The Reason I Jump”, as translated by David Mitchell. Naoki is both charming and highly direct, and the book is a very short read. He goes into detail about a whole host of autistic behaviours, and why he does them. The only extra […]

February 28, 2014

Qigong Massage Averages 30% Improvements

Dr. Louisa Silva is one of the few North American MDs who is actively bridging the gap between Western medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). While Western medicine is really good at diagnosis and crises such as heart replacements and broken limbs, TCM is really good at keeping people from […]

February 1, 2014

Why I don’t talk much about ABA and IBI

Travis just sent me a note, asking this: “Hi Jackie, I notice you don’t include any behavioural or other social, communication intervention in your training avtivities, They are among the most effctive for young children with ASDs in advancing their development. Is there a reason you don’t cover those? ” […]