Lara Linhares has provided for CTV.ca this insight into her son Quin, and why she is convinced that hyperbaric oxygen therapy is working for her.

Quin started showing symptoms of autism when he was 15 months. I had an older son, so I was able to gage that Quin was different; it seemed his interest in the world was fading. My friend, whose child is one month younger than Quin, used to reach for things, people, dogs, while Quin sat and watched. It was not that someone turned off the switch for my son; the light just kept slowly dimming, until one day he no longer seemed to know me, or the world around him. Quin would no longer respond to his name, loud noises, a dog coming right up to his face while he was in his stroller, his eye contact was gone. He was having chronic diarrhea six to seven times a day (with non-digested food in his fecal matter) and ear infections every two months.

I diagnosed my son with autism and learned very quickly that autism is not just a neurological disorder. I got us on every waitlist there was and waited for the "official" diagnosis. While waiting (all parents with children with autism know about the virtue of patience when faced with waitlists in Ontario), I went about implementing biomedical interventions with Quin - a gluten-free diet brought back my son's eye contact, eliminated ear infections and brought solid poops (when dealing with autism, you learn the value of poop).

This road has been long -- a lifetime. I do not even remember the person I was before autism. We tried everything under the puzzle piece of autism "interventions" to help our son: DAN protocol; Yasko protocol; Specific Carbohydrate diet; Body Ecology diet; yeast specialists; vitamin B12; B6; chelation; Floor-time; thyroid specialists; acupressure; ABA; speech, therapy; private school; NAET; Neuro-modulation technique; cranial; Weston Price; homeopathic; naturopathic; chiropractor -- you name it we have tried it, and at a very high cost. Unfortunately, there is no health coverage in Ontario for autism and no tax deductions for the 38 supplements my son receives daily or the "off-label" interventions we have chosen to try in an attempt to help our son have the same opportunities as anyone considered "neuro-typical."

Today, I share my story of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy with you. My goal is maybe have another parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or friend will hear my experience and maybe it will bring back that hope and optimism. I know realistically that this might not be "the treatment" or "the magic cure" for everyone. I hope I can have one person look outside his or her personal comfort zone to a treatment that I feel is so logical and valuable. Maybe for that one person, they will finally have the joy of their 10-year-old saying, "I love you" for the first time or a hug from a child who used to cringe at your touch, or not having to give your child another enema tonight because they finally pooped on their own or they can simply go to the grocery store without a meltdown. My sole goal is hope in writing this.

Quin and I have now done 15 individual chamber HBOT (Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy) sessions. Prior to that, we had tried the larger chamber, but this experience ended up not being easily accessible, nor did Quin care for the experience. So all together we have done about 18 sessions and I am over the moon.

Quin, who usually is not a talker and will usually only respond with one word answers, is now forming sentences of five to eight words. Quin is responding appropriately to who, what, where and why questions (a concept that is usually hard for children with autism). Quin is having picture-perfect poops with no assistance. His headaches that forced him to miss school every time there was a change in weather have disappeared. He now chooses to be in the same room as the rest of his family, rather then being alone.

At last night's HBOT session, we watched Spider-Man (the love of videos, is still there but the choices of videos has expanded...Yippee for my sanity). There was a scary part in the movie coming so Quin told me, "Oh no, Mommy it is scary. You better cover your eyes." So he covered my eyes and when it was over he uncovered them and told me, "Don't worry, it is over." This morning, he insisted on doing his hair like Peter Parker in Spider-Man.

This might seem trivial for someone that does not know autism, but to me, this is huge. The feedback from his educational assistant at school as been: "I don't know what you are doing, but keep it up, we have never seen Quin responding and trying so hard in class." This was echoed loudly by his speech therapist. Today, in my son's journal, his teacher wrote the following: "Quin spoke to everyone today and today he participated in school mass (which he has not done before). He has been making a consistent effort to engage socially. He is more attentive and responding more positively to given tasks." This feedback, fills my heart.

I know that some might consider my experience a placebo effect, but there is something remarkable happening, which I have been waiting for for what seems a lifetime. HBOT has renewed my optimism and I am going to savour every new word, free kiss/hug and moment he is "there" with me, while it lasts, for however long it lasts. Since autism, we have learned to live day-by-day and not to look too far in the future. We see greatness in the smallest successes and know how to celebrate what others fail to see. I guess in that thought, we have an enlightened perspective that many others will never have.

I know treatments are expensive, whether it is ABA/IbI, HBOT, biomedical, etc. This has been a huge financial struggle for us. I thank goodness that interest rates are low, as our line of credit and credit cards are maxed. We have re-financed our house three times in five years, have never been on a vacation and thank goodness every day for overdraft. I think it is pathetic that our government has been non-existent for our children. I did get a big reality check in a big hurry about how disgusting and disorganized those "in-charge" are when it comes to care of those in need.

Things need to change. One in 150 children will be diagnosed with autism. IS ANYONE LISTENING? I invite Premier McGuinty to live in my shoes for one day and I challenge him to balance the budget of a parent of a special needs child.

For Quin, from Mom

You have shown you love me... no words needed.
You have shown me strength, in every doctor's visit.
You have shown me perfection cannot be defined.
You have shown me a child can have courage.
You have shown me that success is not measurable.
You have shown me life, the true meaning.
Most of all, you have shown me true love.
You are my heart and soul, my beautiful child.