Caio Abujadi (photo) is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, where he has lived for 10 years. Born into a Spiritist family in the city of Campinas, he is the current president of Associação Caminho Azul (Blue Path Association), an organisation that helps families dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In this interview, he speaks about psychiatry and autism.  

How did you become a Spiritist?

Those who came before us, including Allan Kardec and Chico Xavier, said that a true Spiritist should have qualities and virtues that are still difficult for me to reach. I think I am on a journey to get there and I will be very honoured one day when Our Master Jesus accepts me as part of that exclusive group. I was born into a family of Spiritists. They were brought up with the same principles  I have, thanks to my beloved grandmother, who was introduced to Spiritism as a young woman, after suffering from psychiatric problems.

Where did your interest in psychiatry come from?

The truth is I have had to deal with psychiatric problems in my family since I was born. Almost everyone in my family suffers from a range of psychiatric problems, including me. My father is a surgeon and I always wished to pursue the same career. But I found Psychiatry three months before finishing my Medicine course and it was love at first sight. That was the last attachment I had to do before getting my degree. While all my colleagues ran away from the psychiatric wards, I felt at home there. Everyone noticed how natural my rapport with patients was and pointed out that I was obtaining very good results. My classmates said that I had to continue in that area and that’s what I have done, with an open heart.

Based on your medical experience, what can you tell us about autism?

The different types of autism, which we, the specialists, prefer to call Autism Spectrum Disorder, are part of a highly complex problem of neurodevelopment that involves alterations in multiple clinical systems. They include the neuroimmune endocrine system, the osteo molecular system and the connection system, generating very typical psychiatric symptoms that can present in different forms. Science already knows that it is an innate form of bioenergetic intracellular derangement that has different intensities. It reacts to the stimuli of the environment either in a positive or a negative way. These are individuals who are highly sensitive to their surroundings and who need a positive environment to achieve clinical stability and even to develop and progress. In some cases they achieve much more than we can expect or explain.

Taking into account the different levels of autism and the recent medical developments in this area, how should we consider this issue in the light of Spiritism?

All the knowledge we have wasn’t dictated by any Spirit. It is, rather, the result of the interpretation we have given to the books written through the mediumship of Chico Xavier and by Allan Kardec. We know that we are going through an era of planetary transition and there will be huge transformations in our genes. Science has discovered an important increase in the number of mutations, which we are still trying to understand. The genetic alterations of autism have a particular characteristic: they mount up from generation to generation. In 30% of cases we can observe genetic alterations. The other 70% suffer from derangements in the coordination between the process of production of proteins and mitochondrial energy inside the cell. That generates more excited brains and more hyperactive immunological systems. We can observe other developments, which are less frequent, but not less important. André Luiz, in “Evolução em Dois Mundos” (Evolution in Two Worlds) explains clearly that in order to achieve the intracellular harmonisation of this system of high energetic potential, extremely balanced minds, from a moral perspective, are required. And that’s something very difficult to find among us, the current inhabitants of this planet. As the time of change has come, nothing will stop the evolution of this bioenergetic relation between body and spirit. And some of us will enter this process before the others. There is a dual purpose here: they may adapt quicker to the new reality, which might take more than one incarnation, and they will also train society to work in a more harmonic, fraternal and cooperative manner. That is the only way we will be able to see good clinical progress on autism. In the words and the wisdom of Chico Xavier, they must be raised with much more love than we are used to – love  in all its expressions and forms.

Based on your professional experience, what advice would you give to the distressed parents of children diagnosed with autism?

First of all, don’t get distressed. Even though you may have forgotten the commitment you made before reincarnating this time, most of you have accepted this challenge with a great deal of love in your hearts, for Christ and with Christ. We must walk with you, side by side, helping to improve your quality of life and to harmonise the ambience around you. The potential you and your children have is endless, but we need to show temperance, patience and much love. We are all spirits and our missions concerning this condition have only begun. So it isn’t really about defeating a condition. This is about preparing a new era of happiness and harmony for us all. Don’t lose heart or motivation, even during difficult times. Christ never abandons its pupils and the Father watches us and guides us from very close. Let’s support one another, educating ourselves and loving, always. There won’t be happiness in this world unless each one of us makes an effort. You are already making such a big effort. If you manage to control your thoughts, to have positive thoughts, which is certainly hard, you will be helping the whole humanity in the first hours of a new day.