Autism treatment

[confusedthirtysomething2]

My autistic son (5) seems to have hit a regression when it comes to meal times and I’m so concerned. Prior to the summer holidays, he was eating certain vegetables, meats, and sauces for over a year. Suddenly it all stopped and now all he wants is plain foods, chocolate, and pancakes. He won’t eat bolognese anymore, just the pasta and garlic bread. He stopped eating yogurts which were always a massive favourite. He’d live off pancakes and spaghetti hoops if I let him and all he asks for is sweet stuff. I feel so bad about the amount of sugar he consumes but right now he literally won’t eat anything else.

He doesn’t enjoy the park anymore. He hasn’t used his trampoline in weeks. He complains about being tired when he has to walk. He jumps at the slightest noise. Yes, I know those are autism traits but he seemed so much happier before his world started shrinking (I know it sounds dramatic but it’s the only way I can describe it).

I’ve never been one for online snake oil treatments, but Aibu to ask if anyone has had any success with supplements or a heavy metal detox? I’m scared to mention anything to my health visitor. I also want to try Mebendazole.

Wtf?! Autism can't be treated with medication or anti metal detox's. Wtf did I just read.
I have autism myself and this whole post is so offensive.!

For what it’s worth, I don’t want to “cure” his autism (he’s perfect) but he’s always anxious and he’s malnourished because he won’t touch a vegetable. I want him to be happy! If I speak to anyone about it, they say it’s the autism and won’t entertain anything medical. I’m sorry if I offended you.

Hi OP,
ask mn to move your thread to www.mumsnet.com/talk/special_needs

Give him a multi vitamin.

If he’s gone back to school, he will be overstimulated. It will calm down, is just give him his comfort foods if he’s anxious at the moment. He maybe in a mini burnout which would account for the tiredness.

My Dd is 18 now. She was ASD and the. Diagnosed ADHD. Medication got rid of her constant exhaustion.

You want to try mebendazole? What for? Autism is not caused by a worm. What good is an anthelmintic going to do?

Autistic person here. You can't treat autism. I am going to ignore that bit at the bottom and try to help in the real way.

You can find strategies to manage the areas he struggle in. Anything thats not harmful though to himself or others and its no bother, let him be.

This sounds like skills regression. Common - I go through periods like this and it can happen in different areas. Very common in communication for skills regression, organisation etc

I understand the frustration nutritionally. I used to eat just chips and ketchup and my mum would happily allow me to have chocolate just to eat, and milk. My grandma was quite savvy slowly turning the chips to mash as I would not eat mash.

It can be actually painful for me to eat things of certain textures or have certain things touching. Things cant be cooked and cut in different ways e.g carrots - roast, fry, boil. Different shapes. Find out and chat to him about what specifically he doesn't like about each part.

One day suddenly I will stop liking stuff. I like mentally preparing for what I am going to eat too in my head for texture and to imagine it cause I look at some meals and I feel physically sick even if it was alright previously.

This!

Autistic kids can survive on very very restricted diets. If you really worry go and see a paediatrician or dietician (properly qualified).
But I would reduce stimulation and demands. Still offer foods but accept if he only goes for bland for a bit.

Has he possibly got hypermobility as well? He might not be telling you he has abdominal pain but is choosing plain foods because they help, the sugar craving for fatigue and possibly headache relief? He might not be able to express what he's feeling other than tired.

Of course it might not be and the food change could be a sensitivity issue/aversion as well.

You need to see a dietician or speak to the team that managed your sons autism diagnosis for a referral to a dietician. In the information given to you with his diagnosis there should be places you can contact for help with any changes in behaviour.

With the food, keep giving him what you know he will eat and introduce one thing he used to eat or hasn't eaten, but don't insist he eat it. Just keep offering one new thing alongside, it may take a long time for him to be interested in it.

Give him a multivitamin alongside food. Mine likes the chewy ones as they're just like a gummy sweet.

No need for any kind of "detox" or unrelated medicines.

Will he eat chewy sweets, op? Aldi do vitamin gummies which my dd loves. I'd recommend giving them a try as a short term solution.

My 7yo dd has quite a restrictive diet and strong food preferences, and ways of eating, but thankfully we're able to get enough different food types into her as she does eat some veg and a fair amount of fruit. As a longer term fix we're trying to encourage her to broaden things a bit by bribing her! For every thing new that she tries she gets a pound. Is your ds particularly motivated by a love of something - a tv programme, stickers, chocolate buttons or whatever? Could you see if he'll eat a spoonful of something in exchange for something else? The reward has to be pretty immediate, but worth a try.

Is this for real?

he’s malnourished because he won’t touch a vegetable.

No he isn't

I just want to clarify. I know that skill regression is common in autism as well as food aversions but my concern is that no one will look into it being something medical precisely because of his autism. If he were a neurotypical child, Mebendazole might at least be considered. He’s very agitated at the moment and all he wants is sugar. Do you know how hard it is to see your child go from eating a nutritious meal to nothing but a Yorkshire pudding and chocolate bar overnight? He used to run around with his friends at soft play and now he just wants to sit in a corner somewhere because his anxiety is through the roof. I’m not trying to cure him, I’m just miss him being happy.

As a parent to an autistic child, I'd want to rule out any physical cause for the drop in energy levels. So go to the GP.

If he is in burnout, I'd feed him what he can eat and a good quality multivitamin. And then work out how to make school and him environments easier for him.

Why would a worm treatment be offered to any child unless there was evidence of worms?

As people have said, feed him what he will eat and give him a multivitamin.

And yes, I have an autistic child who recently went through a time of refusing to eat at all. Not just restricting foods, but not eating at all and barely managing to drink. So I do know what it's like.

In other snake oil news, some people believe infesting children with whipworm ‘cures’ symptoms of autism. Bollocks and poor kids. There’s a lot of shit floating around out there unfortunately.

Many autistic children have a restricted diet
I would let him eat what he wants for now my sin is severely autistic and has aevere learning disabilities, generally he eats quite well but I never restrict anything ,if I'm eating something, and decides he wants what I'm having I give it to him.

@SilenceInside the constant sugar cravings, loss of energy, wriggling around at night, agitation. I’m not being taken seriously because of his autism. He is on multivitamins but I’m concerned it’s not enough to counteract all the processed crap he eats. Obviously I’d rather processed crap than nothing but I still feel like I’m failing him.

Do you have any support information from the autism diagnosis team to access specialist support?

Has he just started in Reception or had another significant change to his routine?

I’ve tried this address but it says - could you post it again please or give us the name to google?

Thanks

Please don't go down that route! Snake oil is always snake oil! Have an autistic DS 14 and I have tried everything that's not potentially dangerous to his health (magnesium supplements, bach drops etc etc). It just does not work. When we are desperate we can become fools so please listen to the professionals. That being said you can always try meditation, yoga, cardiac breathing, massage etc which can be calming and soothing with no negative side effect and for free (youtube tutorials).

My son likes to roll himself in his blanket like a sausage ; made him feel secure.

Overall what I have noticed is that my DS changes radically from time to another in what he likes etc and then it will be only that for a period and then he changes again. So don't be too worried about his new eating habits, they will probably not last. And also don't be too hard on yourself. You are feeding him, he's surviving and let that be enough. You can't forcefeed him all the healthy stuff you would love for him to eat so cut yourself some slack. Nobody who hasn't had the experience can understand how overwhelming and tiresome it is to have an autistic child. Plus you always feel like a bad parent but you are NOT a bad parent. You love him and you do what you can but autism is not an illness to cure, it's a difference to live with/through. Sending ❤️ to you and your child.

Yoga, and a weighted blanket. It's sensory seeking the wriggling. A anti worm tablet isn't going to fix any of this.

If you really want to help your child you need to stop looking up bat shit crazy theories and invest time into therapies & sensory items that will help him.
It's normal to only eat safe foods, most of us do it and it'll then change later on when taste buds etc change. You just need to be patient.

SNAKE OIL. It's all just to make a profit from desperate parents.