معلومات عن هذه الحلقة
In this episode of Healing Tomorrow’s Future, MAPS Executive Director Honey Rinicella speaks with Dr. Jodie Dashore, PhD, OTD, about chronic inflammatory response syndrome (CIRS) and its potential role in children with autism—particularly those who have not responded to conventional interventions. Drawing on both her professional expertise and her deeply personal experience as the mother of a son who experienced regression, PANS/PANDAS, Lyme disease, mold exposure and severe physical complications, Dr. Dashore explains how that journey shaped her work. She also discusses findings from a retrospective study of 1,722 children with treatment-resistant autism and CIRS, highlighting the overlap among environmental exposures, neuroimmune inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, mast cell activation and symptoms often attributed solely to autism.
The conversation explores why clinicians should look beyond a child’s diagnosis to investigate multisystem symptoms and possible exposure to water-damaged environments—including homes, schools, therapy centers and other frequently visited buildings. Dr. Dashore outlines an individualized, carefully sequenced approach that begins with laboratory assessment, nutritional and gastrointestinal support, and binders before addressing inflammation and underlying infections. Her central message is that identifying and reducing a child’s inflammatory burden may provide the physiological foundation needed for more meaningful and sustained progress—making CIRS an important consideration when autism-related symptoms are accompanied by unexplained physical complaints, developmental regression or resistance to treatment.
This conversation is the first in a planned four-part podcast series with Dr. Dashore, based on her recently published four-part research series. This opening episode focuses on CIRS and its neuroimmune pathology in pediatric autism. Future episodes are planned to explore Lyme disease and autism; an entirely herbal approach to treatment; and the connections among autism, PANS and PANDAS.