Dr. Layton addressed a lot of things, but one point that resonated with me came toward the end, when he characterized his DAN practice as a combination of both the art and science of medicine. He acknowledged that his work evolves frequently, saying that he has discarded some of the approaches he was using a few years ago and may find new, better practices tomorrow. I've been on the biomedical path for -- gulp -- six years now, and in that time I have acquired a true appreciation of the flexibility and openness to new ideas required of a DAN practitioner. While many mainstream doctors can fall back on the same approaches to medicine year in and year out (whether or not they should is an argument for another day), a good DAN doctor cannot. They have to adapt to the issues our kids are presenting today.
I also appreciated his candor -- he was quite honest in saying that biomedical approaches lead to recovery for some, improvement for others, and few effects for some kids. He also said something I and many other parents have expressed before -- that in our shoes, he would use the DAN protocol on his own children, because he'd want to look back and know he'd tried every possibility. I'm the mother of a slow responder, and while I have faith in the biomedical approach, I often call it an emerging field. I'm thrilled at the number of kids who are already benefiting from biomedical treatments and remain hopeful that our slow responders will catch up in time. I appreciate that Dr. Layton and others like him are willing to practice the art of medicine, because it is that adaptability that will keep DAN moving forward.
As will I. Pretty sure it's time to go and administer some more probiotics.
-- Alison Hamilton
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