By Li Dali, Ph.D.

When Svitlana’s son was diagnosed with autism, she had no idea how to help him. Her hopes for effective treatment and rehabilitation fell short. Her dreams that her boy would be able to study with other children, make friends and live a full life were thinning every day.

In desperation, Svitlana had her son undergo a 23&me genetic test. It helped to identify many of the baby’s health problems that no one suspected. It turned out that the his body does not absorb vitamins D and A, has a large deficiency of vitamin B12, and low ferritin. Like many people with autism, he was intolerant to gluten, casein and lactose.

Svitlana went to her son’s doctor with the test results. He ordered additional tests and, after confirming the information, developed individualized treatment protocols.

The mom was beyond happy when she saw that her baby’s condition began to improve! The combination of the latest diagnostic methods, the doctor’s professionalism and loving care made the almost impossible possible - now the boy is studying at a secondary school, has friends and hobbies.

Knowing how easy it is for parents of children with autism to lose hope, Svitlana decided to help them in any possible could. Together with a team of programmers, she developed the website https://tendna.com/autism, where anyone, regardless of their country of residence, can upload a data file of 23andMe, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritage tests to receive an individual health report for free and without registration.

The report will contain panels on autism, ADHD, epilepsy, methylation, gluten and lactose digestibility, and other data useful for parents of children with special needs. Svitlana hopes that her service will help build an individualized treatment plan for each child with autism and significantly improve their health.