Nikki Roxby on Autism + Sustainable Living
photographed by Stephanie Garvey
Nikki Roxby is an author, blogger and public speaker. After spending 14 years in sales and marketing as a regional director in managed assets, she decided to leave the industry to start a family. In 2010, her only child was diagnosed with Autism and since then she has been active in the autism community including presenting at Autism One, coauthoring Evolution of a Revolution: From Hope to Healing and has been filmed for an upcoming documentary. Today, her son is recovering and doing AMAZING and she spends time teaching parents what she has learned from her experience.
Today, we are so grateful to introduce Nikki to the Noble Carriage community with a new sustainable living series titled "A Few Simple Ideas".
As a mom who is recovering her child from autism, I pay close attention to the toxins we potentially expose ourselves and our kids to on a daily basis. I feed my son an organic diet, while avoiding processed foods. I avoid cosmetics and body products that contain harmful ingredients. I no longer cook with nonstick pans or aluminum. I have replaced plastic water bottles with stainless steel and glass bottles. My son wears organic pajamas, sleeps in organic bedding and the furniture in his bedroom is unfinished. Most parents are simply unaware of the alarming multitude of potentially damaging chemicals that their children are exposed to on a daily basis. And many are not worried because their kids are seemingly “healthy.”
Yes, our lives can be a hectic rush, balancing work, family, and the checkbook. Committing to greening our lives can seem cost prohibitive and overwhelming. But I have learned through extensive research that reducing toxins in our children’s lives is critically important.
We have more chemicals and toxins in our environment today than ever before. It is estimated that in the United States, we have introduced 1000 to 3000 new chemicals into our environment annually over the last thirty years with health and safety data on only 15 percent of these chemicals. (3) With too many toxins coming in and an inability to unload these toxins, infants and children are reaching their tipping points.
Some children show soft signs such as eczema, constipation, reflux and meltdowns, demonstrating that their immune system is not working properly. We question the cause and are informed by our pediatrician that this is the new norm and prescribed medication. The truth, however, is that these soft signs are not normal and we should not accept them as such.
It has become apparent that there is something beyond genetics causing our children to be sick. A frightening example is what many researchers believe to be an epidemic in autism, reported most recently by the National Health Statistics Report as one in 45 children. This number does not include PDD, asperger’s and other spectrum disorders. (4) Even more telling, a groundbreaking study out of California found that environment was 66 percent responsible for autism whereas genes were only a 34-percent factor. (5)
As the “body burden” has increased in our children, we have also seen an unprecedented rise in childhood illnesses such as asthma, autoimmune disorders, developmental disabilities and cancer. (6) (7) (8)
So, what are we to do as parents to protect our children? With harmful chemicals ubiquitous in our daily lives, it can become overwhelming even for the most environmentally conscious parents. We can begin by first changing the discussion we are having around our children’s health. Kids today are loaded with a higher toxic burden than ever before and they need us.
Our commitment in sustainable lifestyle is to bring you a few simple ideas at a time that will help you make positive changes - changes that will make a difference in your family’s overall health to last a lifetime.
TIP #1 - The Brighton Baby Book
1 comment
I’m excited to learn more about ways to get rid of the harmful toxins affecting us and especially our children! Great article Nikki Roxby!
Debbie McMaster
Leave a comment
This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.