Natural Remedies for Autism

My daughter, Ava, was diagnosed with autism in 2008. Since then, I've implemented the gluten-free casein free diet and it has made a remarkable difference in her life. I know that several autism parents shy away from this lifestyle because it seems like such a tremendous undertaking. The truth, however, is that it's not that hard to do! You learn to read the labels carefully, you learn what your child loves and hates and most of all, you see the difference. Ava and I, together, have made some of the most inedible cake you could imagine but we've also made some amazing chocolate chip cookies using tapioca and sorghum flours.

Regardless of how immediate or immense your child's results may be, I think the most important thing about this diet is the lesson that it teaches these children. I have read and spoken with so many adults on the spectrum who report the difference in how they feel after half a serving of dairy or wheat. This has struck me so profoundly because food choices are SO important for these children. One day, they will be making choices for themselves, so arming them with knowledge of why soda might make them feel funny, for example, is such a powerful gift to me. It's possible that gluten and casein may not be their sensitivities or may not be their ONLY sensitivity, but that opens the door to observe the effects of eggs, soy, etc. My daughter is now 5 and when someone offers her pizza (her FAVORITE!! ) she will politely hold her hand up and say, "No thank you. That is yucky for Ava! " :-)

The other lifesaver in our life has been cod liver oil. Not only does it serve as an excellent booster in her immune system (so many of these kids have such weak immunities), but it keeps her SO focused. I remember the first day I gave cod liver oil to Ava, I cried uncontrollably because she made willing eye contact with me! And I didn't even have to ask for it. It's pretty amazing stuff.

@Christie from Charlotte, NC. Do you put the cod liver oil in her food or just in a spoon?

Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride is a MUST READ for any parent of a child with autism..... She explains in great depth what exactly happens to make one have a sick gut and how to heal it..... She explains why a gluten and casein free diet works well for many children with autism, but not for all. There is more to it.... The gut can be healed completely so the peptides no longer leak through the gut and she explains in great detail how to do so through the GAPS diet. Allergies, asthma, eczema, etc. are all early signs of a sick gut. A MUST READ!

Great article entitled Magnesium and Autism in Dr. Mark Sircus' latest newsletter:

http://magnesiumforlife.com/medical-application/magnesium-and-autism/

Where do I get this herb?

I just want to tell you that I so apprecite your post. I cried when I read it. My daughter is 5 now and was diagnosed with autism when she was 3. My journey with autism sounds remarkably similar to yours... I also gained 65 lbs in depression weight, or perhaps it's frustration weight. I have battled with her teachers, consulted with three different DAN! Doctors, and cried myself to sleep so many times. I am curious to give rhodiola a try. Bless you and your son. All will be well. :-)

My son aged 7 was diagnosed with autism at age 5. One of the side effects of his autism is that he eats a very limited selection of food. He eats no meat, potatoes for vegetables, apples, bananas, watermelon, strawberries, avaovados and pears for fruit. Cheese once a month, a small amount of yoghurt, no milk and chocolate everything. When he has a lack of appetite he only eats chocolate or starves. He has to be given a tonic every day to encourage him to eat just one small meal a day. For this reason it is very difficult to put him on an elimination diet. We have tried the failsafe diet, but he starved himself for 3 weeks. In the end he was screaming from hunger, but would still only eat his preferences. Does anyone have some advice as to how to break through this problem? The most nutritious food he ever gets in is avocado toast (not every day) or potato chips (hot) not every day either. Does anyone know whether there is a Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy centre in Perth, Australia.

Alfred

Alfred, I used to babysit an autistic child and I remember the difficulties of trying to get him to eat anything healthy. 7 Year olds are usually finicky anyways but being autistic just makes it more difficult to get them to understand the improtance of healthy eating.

There is a hazel nut chocolate butter in the US called Nutella that tastes just like chocolate but has a little protein too. It isn't exactly "health food" since it has lots of sugar but since your son is already eating chocolate most days it might help a little. I put it on pancakes, toast, sandwiches, crackers, apples, pears, etc... Though you might want to stear clear of gluten since there is evidence that it is bad for autism. It's worth a try.

It's wonderful that he eats avocado's though. They are very healthy. If he eats mashed potatoes you might try to sneak some blended steamed cauliflower into his taters. Also add some plain yogurt instead of milk and butter. If he likes anything mashed or blended you can try to add things that won't really change the taste but will enhance the nutritional value. There is a great cook book called "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. In this book she shows how you can sneak healthy veggies and fruits into foods kids love. It might help you out. I know my kids don't have a clue that I add avocados to thier brownies or broccoli to thier spaghetti sauce:) I love it and have come up with many great recipe's of my own using the same idea.

Alfred, A Multi B-Vitamin alone at least once a day creates powerful hunger drive. But it is kinda stupid to use only vitamins when they need minerals as cofactors for enzyme production (which may be a major problem with this boy). Enzymes create and maintain the body's energy or metabolism, so any vit/min deficiency will reduce E. Find a good High potency with foods plus. At least 2 daily. If he is uncomfortable with pills, try some VitaminWater or any other nutritional "drink" or "fortified" foods or drink. When I was an adolescent, I got good lasting energy from the fortified cereal Total.

Also the vitamin-like nutrient DimethylGlycine (DMG) boost energy production as well as immunity and has been used successfully in the treatment of Autism for many decades. It may be necessary to have a health care professional monitor the DMG for dosage purposes but otherwise DMG is quite safe with anything under 2 grms daily; I traditionally use 500 mg daily.

Hope this helps and good luck.

To Alfred from Perth, here is a chocolate flavored smoothie that your child may like. It's much better than chocolate and packs much needed nutrients:

1 banana

1 apple

honey to taste

1/2 cup of chocolate soymilk (I use Silk brand) & 1/2 cup of unsweetened regular soymilk

Blend everything with a little bit of ice. It tastes just like a chocolate ice cream smoothy!! Hope he likes!

Hi Ted... If you have a moment, I would like to discuss with you the 85% incidence rate of pyroluria/kryptopyrrole/mauve factor in autistic individuals. Your intutive recommendations for anxiety and other psychiatric disorders, as well as for hair loss, all tie into the "big picture". My questions have to do with the order of treatment, as heavy metal toxicity, autoimmune disorders and gastrointestinal problems all feed off of each other.

Please also note that the treatment for pyroluria automatically results in metal purging (most notably copper). Your input would be invaluable, to both my son and the millions of autistic children in the world today.

It should be made clear however that piracetam is very much not a natural substance, and is as much a drug as related racetams such as keppra, and further departures down the racetam family tree like tylenol. Piracetam is, as far as we know, a pretty safe drug - I myself have consumed upward of 10g of piracetam in a single setting with nothing except maybe some very mild stimulant effect - but for those interested in exclusively natural solutions, piracetam is NOT it.

Piracetam increases communication across the corpus callosum (between the left and right hemispheres of the brain) and has been shown to be effective in treating a range of neurological disorders.

From Wikipedia:

There is very little data on piracetam's effect on healthy people, with most studies focusing on people with seizures, dementia, concussions, or other neurological problems. However, a two week regimen of piracetam was found to enhance verbal memory in healthy college students in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Article cont'd.

Hi, my son is ADHD and asperger's too. Could you tell me how yr daughter has changed?

Hi - I have a 23 yr. old son who has grown up with high functioning autism. I understand that Vit. D and Fish Oil would benefit him. Can anyone tell me the recommended dosage for each? Thank you.

Thanks for your information. My son has autism severe learning disabilities, and has terrible meltdowns He has Fish oils, but now going to try the evening primrose oil.

Although some children with autism may have high levels of merucry no such thing has ever been proven. Even more importantly, my own children have autism and neither one of them had a shot with mercury in it. For them, it is clearly genetic as their father and his father are clearly on the spectrum. In addition, we have tried all of the diets, supplements ect and found no help. Therapies helped. I believe there are "autisms" just like there are "cancers." They may have features in common (think lung cancer vs. skin cancer)but the treatments and outcomes can be totally different. So children with autism need to be looked at individually and not as a cohesive group.

Thank you for the information about vitamin B3. My brother is Schizophrenic, and yes nicotine is a must for him. Also, he too suffers from toe nail fungal infection. I will look into getting some b3 for him.

Thank you for posting all of these rays of hope. My 3 year old son was diagnosed with high functioning autism 6 months ago. It has been such a new world for us that has led us to feel overwhelmed and hopeless.

I heard about the gluten/casein free diet, and didn't understand how this could help Autism. In addition, the vitamins/minerals make sense. This site has helped me understand more and given me hope and motivation to do it. I am willing to try anything that is not prescription drug for my son's well being. Thanks!

Hi Hopeful in Pasadena,

You may want want to visit the autism-related Yahoo groups online, particularly the Autism Bio Medical Discussion (abmd) group. There are parents and ASD adults posting on that 'board about diet changes, medicated therapies, as well as natural ones.

I'm a member of the abmd group as well as several others, a couple specific to CA, and I do not use prescription drugs to help my son. He is high functioning and his symptoms are considered 'mild' by the psychiatrist who diagnosed it.

HTH, Sheila

Perhaps if B3 cant get to the brain due to some chemical abnormality in the digestive system.. The need to ingest the nicotine through cigarette smoke, might be some cell survival response. It might be worth finding the type of B3 they administered in the trial. If you google B3 and Schizophrenia you might find it.

Im just wondering there has been a big push to link autism with vacinations but discovered some information on the net on various studies where there was a suggestion that children born through IVF are more likely to suffer autism, gastro intestinal disorders, childhood allergies, increased sickness and hospital stays and developmental delays compared to children concieved naturally. Seeing the comments regarding milk and dairy allergies and then improvements in children when reduced, and comments made about gastro problems. Has the autism and IVF link been made by autism charities or a study done to see how many children who have autism or autism spector disorders where born through ivf?

Kaz, according to a Dutch research babies born from IVF have 50% more chance of birth deffects. They have also discovered recently that babies born from frozen embrios are heavier and bigger than other babies. I don't agree with these ways of procriation but well, I suppose everybody has to know for themselves! I don't agree with a lot of things in this world, which doesn't mean people shouldn't do them! Other problems with IVF is that we are creating a generation of infertile people. They now know that boys born from infertile fathers have a lot of chance of being infertile themselves. And the first IVF baby in Britain is a girl who needed IVF herself in order to have her child. I am not sure whether we are solving problems or making more problems..... Just think that it used to be greatly the survival of the fittest, now is everybody's survival but won't we end up creating a very weak society? And it is not only IVF........ I find it rather worrying!

Hi Kaz, There is not a lot of evidence re studies done on this subject, but it is now a big business so I don't think we will see many independent studies done on this. There are many IVF children being treated by natural therapists so I suspect there are more problems than we will ever know about. I started to take more notice after a relatives (IVF) child was diagnosed with autism. There are a lot more mild (for want of a better description) cases of autism but parents have found success with very early intervention. In Australia there is (or was, I'm not sure if it is still available) help of about $12k for continuing therapies but only for young children. This is because the earlier the intervention the better the results. Unfortunately my relative found out about this after their child was just past the cut off age. If people do go ahead with IVF they need to take as best care as they possibly can with their diet, supplements etc. Plus extra care for their baby/child particularly their gut health. There is a fantastic book called 'The NATURAL WAY TO BETTER BABIES by Francesca Naish' it is nothing short of fantastic. She also has other books and she is in Sydney.

A very simple way to get the answer would be if there was a study done where the Dr that diagnosed the child with autism answered the questions was the child was vaccinated, IVF or not vaccinated. We would then see if there were true links. A very simple study to do but one I don't think will ever happen. All the best, Maria

@Shiva.. Can you please tell me what probiotics you are giving to your son... I am searching for probiotics in India.. It will be very helpful.. Also please let me know what anti fungal medicine you are using... Thank you for your help.

We've been talking about the relationship between diet and children with autism and ADD. It is entirely possible that a specific diet could help a child with these diseases (for lack of a better term), but it definitely won't compeltely cure them. I'm studying neuropsychology, and I hope to help find some help for the parents of children with autism in the future, but for now diet will only help so much.

Dear Karyn Seroussi I am very excited to read all about your son's progress. I am starting my son's dairy & gluten free diet from today. I will let you know if hopfully I see any progress. I would be thankful to my sister who told about your letter & you for describing us your experience

Hi Karyn, that was an amazing story and one with a happy ending, something we could use more of. I am seeing a girl that has a 4 yr old boy such a sweet little guy and she thinks he is showing signs of Autism. I am trying to read all I can and offer advice and support for her and Felix. I would do anything to be able to help him get well. Where can I get a copy of your book for his mom? Thank you so much. Chris