EP. 22 | Dispelling the Intelligence Myth about Children with Autism and ADHD

When a mother's intuition sparked a quest for answers, it led to the discovery of early signs of autism in her young child. Our latest episode features an intimate discussion with this devoted mom who walked the path from uncertainty to advocacy, highlighting the life-altering power of early diagnosis and intervention. Together, we traverse the landscape of child development, spotlighting the formative years that shape a lifetime and the crucial support systems that can make all the difference. This conversation is an homage to every child's unique gifts and the celebration of diversity that enriches our world, especially for those with autism or ADHD.

Venture with us into the realm of integrative care for children with ADHD or autism, where conventional medicine and complementary treatments converge for a holistic healing strategy. As your pediatrician-host, I share my approach to unraveling the complex tapestry of a child's well-being, digging into the root causes like sleep disruptions and inflammation that can manifest as behavioral challenges. We'll discuss why addressing these foundational issues can often reduce or even eliminate the reliance on medication. If you're in search of compassionate care that embraces your child's full potential, tune in for insights and an invitation to join us on a journey toward balanced health and happiness.

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If you want to schedule an ADHD/Autism appointment for your child, you may contact Glow Pediatrics:

• Phone: 405-871-5807
• Fax: 949-695-2681
• info@glowpediatrics.com

🌐 Website: www.glowpediatrics.com
📱 Instagram: @drhokeheeko / @glowpediatrics
📧 dreko@glowpediatrics.com
👍 Facebook: Dr.HokeheEko / glowpediatrics
💼 LinkedIn: hokeheeffiongmd

And join our Glow Health Circle! Weekly coaching calls for a close-knit community of like-minded parents, to get practical strategies for your child's whole-child well-being — from brain and gut health to navigating the environment. Let's thrive together!

Transcript

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 0:25

Hello, it's Dr. Hokehe Eko, The Happy Brain Pediatrician. Hope you're doing well today. I just finished seeing my last patient, so I wanted to discuss something that got discussed today in my office with the parents. So she came in for an evaluation for her child and she told me that she thinks she herself has autism and that she does believe her child has it as well. But she said something really interesting.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 0:51

Well, a few interesting things, and the first one I wanted to talk about was how, as a first time mom, while breastfeeding her oldest child and she had him on the breast and she noticed he would never look at her while she was breastfeeding him, and so she thought that was the first clue she had that something was not right with her son. And then eventually she and her husband had to cover the baby with the cloth for him to settle down and actually feed because of the light and he wouldn't focus on the breast and he was agitated, and so that was their inkling that something might be going on with their child. And she said she absolutely sought help early. She started to talk about those things she noticed early on with her doctor and kept advocating for her child and asking and asking until he got diagnosed early and he was able to get the services he needed. And that's something that's really important for parents because often and I understand it can be a hard diagnosis to hear about your beloved child. It's often helpful to look at it from the angle of if we can get the diagnosis done early enough, then your child can get the help they need early, which is critical because the brain grows really rapidly between the ages of zero to five. Right, that's the golden period and you often will hear doctors, pediatricians saying that's when we want to do interventions for the child, for speech, for occupational therapy, if they need any help physically, with physical therapy. We want to get interventions put in place between the ages of zero and five because that's when brain growth is so rapid and it's easier to make changes then. And so she said that she absolutely sought help to get the diagnosis for her son early and that's how he was able to get changes then. And so she said that she absolutely sought help for to get the diagnosis for her son early. So, and that's how he was able to get help early. And that's an important point because it's so critical that we help as many children as we can get the help that they need early on time, so that really it's not just for the child, it's the entire family that will thrive.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 3:10

Right, when your child does better, we, the parents, we do better. I know that, as a mommy of three, if something's going on with my child I don't feel so good. If my child does better, I do better. And so and that's really why I started Glow Pediatrics, like doing the autism and ADHD evaluations because I realized in my state, in Oklahoma, there was a two-year wait list, and, knowing what I know as a pediatrician, it's so critical that we get children into the therapies and intervention that they need early right so that the child can become the best version of themselves. And so that's the first point.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 3:49

And the other thing we talked about. She shared how she had faced a lot of just people with who think that she's less than because she may seem different or she may think different, she may process things differently, but that doesn't make her any less intelligent. And she told me that, yes, she didn't have the chance to go to school, but she was, she has, she has always been a curious person, and so she kept learning on her own and learning on her own and when people talk to her, they're so amazed that she knows all these things. And it's so unfortunate that we look at people and we determine that they are of lesser value because they may not fit the mold that we have or what society considers normal right. And I mean, what does that exactly mean? What is normal Everybody? There's no perfect person, right? We all mean. What does that exactly mean? What is normal Everybody? There's no perfect person, right. We all have things that we work on. We all have things that we even will hide right From others, right, because we don't want people to know everything about us. So it's the same way.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 4:55

It's so important for us to embrace the children, embrace the adults we have in our lives that may are not like us, and isn't that the beauty of the world? That we are all not the children embrace the adults we have in our lives, that we are not like us. And isn't that the beauty of the world? That we are all not the same right, and that we can all find a commonality and a place to relate with each other. And so she was talking about her son, and that's something I stress with all my patients.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 5:17

I tell all my parents let's find the gifts that are in your children, because every child has a strength. Every child has a gift. What is that thing? They are children. I see that I may have to give the diagnosis of autism, but they hear a song one time and they can play the song. Or they hear a song one time and they can sing the song perfectly. Or they see a picture and they can paint it Like. If that's not a gift, I don't know what is. So it's so critical to look beyond the diagnosis. Or you have ADHD, or you have autism, or maybe you're less intelligent. That's not true at all. And besides, who's measuring intelligence? What's the definition? Right? Our goal as humans is to be the best version of ourselves.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 6:00

So I tell parents embrace your child, seek to find what their gifts are, boost those gifts. If your child can hear and play you can hear a song and play it then you want to invest in music classes for your child. If your child has such an artistic hand or eye, you want to invest in boosting that for that child and that, if we look at children from that angle, and even adults, if we look at ourselves from that angle, then you see that everyone is valuable, right? There's something of value in all of us, and we definitely need more people to bring value into the world more painters, more musicians and all of that. It doesn't have to fit a certain role, right? So those are the two things that I had a wonderful discussion with that patient, but those are two things I wanted to just come on here and talk about real quick and just to encourage you parents.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 6:58

I'm not minimizing any of the the distress and discomfort and, frankly, the challenges that come with having a child diagnosed with either autism or adhd, but, as I always say, there is hope. I'm here to support, find support groups, find people who understand and people who are willing to walk the journey with you and, especially, take care of yourself. You parents, please take care of yourself. Take care of yourself, find a few minutes for yourself, because ultimately, if we don't take care of ourselves, we can't really take care of our kids like we would love to, and so it's our duty to take care of ourselves, and so I hope this was helpful. I hope this encouraged parents out there to know that your child is absolutely valuable and beautiful.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 7:50

And I have some exciting news Glow Pediatrics is expanding. We are now offering virtual autism and ADHD evaluations for the states of Maryland and Georgia. So if you're in either of those states, if you're in Oklahoma, maryland, georgia and your child is on a wait list for an autism or ADHD evaluation, please reach out to us. We will be happy to serve and help you. And, even better, we provide ongoing integrative pediatric care specialized for your children with ADHD and autism.

Dr. Hokehe Eko: 8:27

And what's integrative care? That simply means I combine conventional medicine and evidence-based complementary medicine. So I look at the entire child from the inside out. What is the underlying reason your child is exhibiting these behaviors is what I look at. Are they not sleeping enough as they are got on fire or inflamed? And that's why they have the behaviors they have. And they are not sleeping because everything is connected. And so that's how I look at children. I am like a medical detective to figure out what exactly is going on with your child, so that we can address it often without medications, but we can address it and so that your child and your entire family can thrive. And so if you're looking for a medical evaluation, reach out. If you're looking for a pediatrician to provide compassionate, integrative care for your child with ADHD or autism. Reach out to us. Phone number is 405-871-5807 or we can be found at www. glowpediatrics. com. So looking forward to serving you. Have an amazing day. God's blessings, take care.