posted Jan 8th 2026
Discover the medical side of autism and the power of faith. Shelly Wedge shares her family's journey of incredible strength and the miracles God provides in hard times.
As a parent of two children on the autism spectrum, I sometimes have to experience many hardships with them and be able to guide them through, so that they can come out on the other side because I know it is going to be for their benefit.
Our son has had many “medical challenges” with his autism. For those of you who don’t know or understand, there is a medical side of autism that very few people talk about. You always hear about the psychological side and the diagnosis of the disorder from this perspective, but what many people don’t understand is that autism has a medical component and this part of the autism is treatable. But let me tell you, this part is so incredibly hard — way harder than I ever imagined when I started on this path over 9 years ago.
I won’t get into the nitty-gritty details, but for our son, his system is severely deficient in many things and without supplementation and intervention, it makes it incredibly hard for him to physically function. He takes about 20 supplements each day. On top of this, he is also on an antibiotic one week per month to keep the candida at bay in his body, which can make him extremely irritable if it gets bad. In the past few months, he has begun this ozone blood therapy treatment. Whenever I watch him get this treatment, I am in awe of how strong he is and how much he physically has to endure. In this treatment they drain out a bunch of your blood, put it through an ozone machine to “ozinate” it and then put it back into your body. I sit with him through all his treatments and his strength is incredible. He does make a big deal when they put the needle in his arm and the nurse always tells him to sit still.
But he does not do this on his own - God has given him and I both incredible strength to deal with some of the medical things like this that he has to go through to keep him healthy. I am so grateful to God for guiding us to the right person for treatment as well as being able to physically tolerate some of these things. If he is not in a good state of mind, I have to re-schedule the treatment because you need to be able to tolerate it.
This is one of the incredible miracles that God has done for our family. God has a hand in every decision we have ever made and provided us the care that we have needed in the moment that we need it and when I say a miracle, I mean a miracle - life-saving, life changing! Without some of these medical treatments, I honestly don’t know where we would be today.
I am so grateful to God for guiding me to do the proper research, the proper people and for having the support of my spouse who has to work extremely hard in order for us to be able to afford these treatments as they are not covered.
The saying that God works mysterious ways is so true in every situation even if we cannot see it.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways, my ways declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
If anyone is feeling in despair over their situation, I encourage you to turn to God and unburden your worries and fears upon Him. I promise He will never let you down!
Shelly Wedge
Exceptional Families Coordinator
Amberlea welcomes and supports all families with exceptional needs, in particular children with autism. It is our desire to support and encourage families right where they are at. Shelly Wedge, our Exceptional Families Coordinator in her blog shares her own journey and offers insight and encouragement for families and how we can come alongside and support each other.