Autism, Aspergers, PDD/NOS, ADD/ADHD

[wohneli]

So great that your son is making a recovery! My wife an I believe that almost every illness/disorder/disease can be traced to some dietary issue/deficiency. This is just another affirmation of our beliefs. Great work in helping to heal your son!!!

 

[Amyable]

Quote:
Amen. A doctor's favorite tool is a pill. With all the prescription ads in the media, I believe that it is the medical community's goal to have every man, woman and child medicated in some way.

Congrats on healing your son!! The long hard road is worth it and others need to hear these stories to learn about other options. The doctors won't do it, so it's up to the parents. Bravo to you for standing up for your beautiful boy.

My oldest brother is on the autism spectrum; my parents never had him evaluated officially, they refused to have him labeled like that. No psychiatrist was needed to tell us what we could already see: stims, echolalia, poor social skills. He gets time with an SE teacher at school, and diet makes a difference. He's very high functioning now at 13. Some of the stuff this kid can do makes my head spin! His mind is like a steel trap. Complex math, football stats, anything to do with memorization is a breeze, and he taught himself to read at age 3. These kids are amazing. What the heck is 'normal' anyway?

 

[crazy hen quartet]

Cara, diet changes can be HUGE! I know people who have seen massive changes just from going GF/CF. Google it, there is so much out there on it you wouldn't believe it. There are also yahoo groups for sharing recipes and ideas.

Definitely give it a try! It is a bit overwhelming at first, but once you figure it out and know where to shop for what it is pretty easy. You will possibly have to make the whole family change to make it easier on yourself.

Good luck!

 

[Wifezilla]

Hi Cara, I do get my D3 at Vitamin Cottage. 2000IU drops for about $14. A bottle lasts for quite a while.

If you are dealing with seizures, you might want to check this out...
"Before the invention of seizure medicine, a ketogenic diet (one high in fat and low in carbohydrates) was the only available treatment for people with epilepsy. As medicines were developed, it fell out of favor. But even the array of modern medicines doesn't work for all patients and the Atkins-like ketogenic diet is back in the spotlight.

"A modified version of the high protein Atkins diet is becoming widely used among those dissatisfied with traditional epilepsy medication, according to Dr. Eric Kossoff, a pediatric neurologist at Hopkins. The modified version does not place caps on calories or fluids.

For a study published in January, Kossoff and other researchers took 30 epileptic adults and prescribed a diet loaded with meat, oil, and eggs. Before the protein boost, the patients had an average of 10 seizures per week. After months of tracking, about half of the patients significantly reduced the frequency of their seizures. A follow-up study is under way." (full story)"
http://www.examiner.com/x-798-Denver-LowCarb-Examiner~y2008m10d24-Low-Carb-Diet-Help-Epileptics

GF/CF has helped some people but it made no difference for my son. Eliminating excess carbohydrates has helped, but not much...mainly because he is already 19. Had I known about vitamin D, fish oil and the dangers of refined carbs when he was a baby, his life might be VERY different now.

 

[BeardedChick]

Quote:
Thanks - I asked DH if he'd be open to trying it.

 

[Wifezilla]

I have a high functioning autistic friend in her 30's. She takes the D3 and she is much more able to handle sensory stuff. She still has problems, but her sensory overload periods are shorter...and she no longer burst in to flame when she goes in the sun.

(same for me!)

 

[coloradochick]

Thanks zilla, we've been kicking the Ketogenic diet around for a few years now. The doctors are now realizing how hard it would be for Colt to do since he is mobile and able to get to the kitchen and would have no idea whatsoever why he has to eat this other food than what he was eating. They say the kids that are tube fed are the most helped by it. I've actually got another appt at Childrens on Feb 12th to talk to the Dietician. They mentioned a diet called the Glycemic diet that they want to throw at us. Not sure what that entails so we'll see. But definitely will hit V Cottage this weekend. My pediatrician wants my 7 year old daughter on fish oil pills but she has such a hard time with the after taste and the actual liquid makes her throw up. Where do you do your food shopping at to get healthy food?

 

[Wifezilla]

A glycemic diet is similar. If it were me, the whole family would be on a low carb diet. Low carb prevents all kinds of issues including obesity, diabetes and heart disease. NOBODY needs refined food to be healthy...and bread, pasta and breakfast cereals, and anything containing high fructose corns syrup are highly refined foods.

As for where I shop, since I shop the outer perimeter of the stores, I shop at many places. I eat a lot of meats, full fat dairy, vegetables, and low sugar fruits like berries. I shop farmer's markets during the summer and I do have a garden, so that helps. I can't afford to buy all my food at Vitamin Cottage.

 

[AngieChick]

So, this subject was opened up, and I am going to throw in a skeptic's view. Please understand that I mean no disrespect, as I am sure you meant no disrespect to those of us that are working with our own children with any of these disorders in a different way. So, here goes:

I would like to point out that as Autism is a spectrum disorder, there are those on the high and the low end. Many times diagnosis is based only on a series of questions about things such as speech delay, sensory issues, etc. I could see how if someone had an underlying issue such as a food disorder, it could show them as being on the spectrum, as this is manifested largely as a social/communication disorder and those struggling early on with health issues could also demonstrate those same symptoms. It's hard to learn the social rules if your brain function is being effected by other medical disorders. Therefor, their treatment for their underlying issues would alleviate the symptoms that gave them a diagnosis of being on the spectrum in the first place. Some forms of autism can show up on an MRI. But, that is more costly and not always done.

There have been no clinical studies on the effectiveness of chelation. The only one that was initiated in 2006 was canceled due to risk outweighing possible benefit. Therefor, it is difficult to research the effectiveness of the use of chelation as current information is compiled of mostly hearsay and/or is anecdotal. If there was a large scale study of autistic children, with comparative MRI's done both before and after treatment that would be much more reliable. Again, if a child is struggling and withdrawn because of underlying issues, treatment of those issues would look like their autism was cured, when in fact they were wrongly diagnosed as being on the spectrum to begin with. Hence the need for real, conclusive scientific research.

My family has Aspergers running thick and deep through the lines, mostly the males. We also have ADD in many members, as diagnosed through brain scans by neurologists. This is how their brains work, there is no changing that through diet. Again, if someone has a reaction to a food, it can impact brain function and give symptoms that make it look like ADD or ADHD, and of course treating that condition will erase those symptoms. Those cases are different than true ADD that is verified through brain scans. I also live in a town with a very high rate of Aspergers. This is an educated town, with an overabundance of parents who are very cautious and aware of what they feed their kids. Yet, our rate of Aspergers is above average.

I have a 12 year old son on the spectrum (Very High Functioning). He has friends, he does well in school, and he is a delight to have around. He has made tremendous progress in his social skills, organization, and flexible thinking skills. This is because we worked very hard to create an environment that would help him succeed in later life, and he has also had extensive speech therapy since 2nd grade. We have had the benefit of learning from family experiences what worked and what didn't for my adult-diagnosed relatives. He still has Aspergers, that's how his mind is wired, but he is learning to live life well in a world filled with neurotypicals. There is no quick fix for him, and his autism was not caused by anything I did or did not do other than provide him with his particular genetic roadmap.

Science really is just beginning to get hard data on many neurological issues, it's going to be exciting to see what they figure out.

 

[Msbear]

I totally agree with you in that there are very different levels of these disorders and every individual suffers from them differently. therefore treatment would be very different. What makes me upset is that so many kids are misdiagnosed or lumped into a category and medicated when these alternative methods are easy to try (Im talking about the diet) A healthy diet should be one of the first things a doctor makes certain the child is getting.

"Science really is just beginning to get hard data on many neurological issues, it's going to be exciting to see what they figure out."

I cannot agree with you more on this statement. I could extend it to include the modern western diet is also a science that we are just beginning to learn about and the data is out. Diabetes, heart disease, childhood obesity, allergies, ADHD (or other disorders that appear to mimic this as well as autism and aspergers) are all on the rise. One cannot rule out the effects these refined sugars, complex carbohydrates, perservatives, additives and everything else that was scientifically engineered just over the last 50 years maybe having on an immature immune system or the function of the brain.

So maybe it isn't an easy cure for every level of these disorders but, without a doubt, it should be a first line of attack.