From Nonverbal to Conversational: How Genetic Testing Transformed an Autistic Child's Life

I'm Bobbie. I'm a mom and also a functional nutrition practitioner located out of Texas. My son was diagnosed early on, at the age of four with autism. We dealt with a lot of health issues early on, lots of doctors visits. And when we were introduced to MaxGen, it was an eye-opening experience. We were able to find a lot of information in his genetics that really changed the trajectory of his life. He went from being almost nonverbal to actually holding a conversation, within about three to four months of the changes. Not ideal time span for everybody but for him it really did change quickly. Now that he's 13, he talks everybody's ears off, he's an amazing kid. He's totally different than what we projected what his life may have been. And I really do put a lot of credit into learning that information from the testing to utilize in his day-to-day. Supplement protocols, diet, things like that. Really, if you're on the fence at getting tested I would say do it. I was introduced to MaxGen through a mutual friend. She knew that we had gone through a lot of lab work, a lot of doctor's visits, a lot of hospital visits. She basically said, "What else do you have to lose at this point? What have you done? Have you done genetic testing? Do you think maybe that might be an option?" Thinking that over, we came to the conclusion it was an easy test, it was a cheek swab. He had so much lab work and blood drawn that I figured, what could hurt at this point? There was really nothing that stopped me from doing it. I believe at the time we were just kind of at the bottom of our barrel. I trusted the source that referred me to the testing. Overall the process was really simple, was really quick. It was very to the point. There was no real questions about what we needed to do, what was involved in process from start to finish. At the time, we were seeing a few practitioners that really gave us some hope in finding information through that avenue. It made me feel confident that it was quick, it was easy and then the results that we ended up getting was actually really informational and helped us with the journey for him. I think, like most people, I asked a few of those normal questions: is the information going to go anywhere? Is the data going to go anywhere? I was assured that no it was a completely private company which ultimately was the decision-maker. We'd heard stories about other companies that were questionable. So, their stance and their belief and their privacy policies, hands-down pretty much secured the decision to do the testing for him. I think I had a little bit of an advantage because I also work a little bit in the functional space. I was kind of a new practitioner at the time but I'm big on science and a lot of the information was really interesting. I have family that is in healthcare so I think I had a little bit of a leg up. But overall, the report itself was really easy to follow, easy to understand, easy to really take that information and do some deeper research. So I felt comfortable with the results. Previous to taking the test and starting a new direction with his health journey, he was actually on the verge of being nonverbal at the time. He was still saying a few words but he was always sick, we were losing verbal skills and he was essentially kind of being lost in the shuffle. Once we got the testing done, the results back, it gave us a new direction - information that we didn't have before. We changed his diet fully, we changed his supplement protocol, we got him involved in some other therapies that were very beneficial to him - all based on what his genetics was telling us he was predisposition to. About three to four months after that he actually started holding conversations with us. it completely changed the trajectory of his life. He just turned 13. He talks your ear off, he loves history and science and played team sports for the first time a couple seasons ago. We never thought he would have that opportunity. And we really do put a lot of the changes that he went through, on the information we were able to gather from the testing. I've recommended this testing to so many people over the years, mainly because the information that you get is invaluable. It is all about your predispositions. It doesn't mean it's a life sentence to these genetics, it just helps you understand that you can be proactive with your health rather than reactive.