supplements for children with autism

[thisisyesterday]

I know I've seen people on here mention supplements that have helped their autistic children and I just wondered what you would recommend and why?

I've been googling but mostly coming up with people just trying to sell miraculous cures for autism
someone DP knows has a daughter with classic autism who, it would appear, makes a marked improvement each time she is on anti-biotics for anything which seems to back up those people who feel that it's somehow related to some kind of auto-immune/underlying health issue type thing

i am quite confused by it all right now but intend to do more reading up on this! but in the meantime thought i'd find out about supplements too :)

Eskimo. Omega 3, 6 & 9. I do believe it was beneficial to my children.

Also removing gluten from their diet has really helped them.

No evidence whatsoever.

hecate, am just reading now about the GFCF diet actually

i am maybe looking for answers and solutions when there are none, but anything is worth a try isn't it?

It certainly is. I can't point you to any evidence at all. I can only say that it is only since coming off gluten that my youngest son started interacting - talking. Of course, it may be coincidence, it's just the sequence that I observed.

after coming off gluten my children came out of nappies (now there IS a lot of research on autism and bowel problems!) and my eldest son has a soiling problem which seemed slightly less frequent on the fish oils and gluten free diet.

My youngest son went from exclusively echolalic to actually talking. on his terms, but hey, I'll take anything

I have no way of knowing whether these things would have happened anyway. All I can say is they didn't happen before.

I can tell you exactly why removing gluten from my sons diet helped him - it stopped him having a sore tummy all the time.

And removing dairy stopped him feeling sick all the time.

If your child has any kind of tummy or bowel problems you should try gluten and dairy free, combined with a good probiotic to help heal his gut.

Basically odds are very high your ASD chikd has some kind of leaky gut, and gluten free with a probiotic is a good place to start to heal it.

After being GF for 6 months DS is now no longer constipated.

Then he also needs omega (high in EPA and low in DHA) - vegepa is the best, plus zinc, magnesium and a normal multivitamin with c and b in it.

While your child has leaky gut, he is probably a fussy eater, but also the stuff he is eating isn't being absorbed properly.

You also need to cut out artificial sweeteners. Aspartame is pure poison. And cut down on enums, additives and sugar.

I have recently read about an autistic child that was helped by antibiotics.
cogentbenger.com/autism/interviews/finegold-interview/

That interview is very interesting.

Similar theory to the GAPS diet - which you really should read as well.

Controversial Therpaies for Developmental Disabilities: Fads, fashion and science in professional practice

Well worth the £40 before you are parted from your mony by people promising you miracle cures.
Gives you the facts on AIT, SIT, vitamin 'therapy' Snoezelen, 'Gentle Teaching' Fast for Word and all the other hocus pocus unscrupulous people will try and persuade you is worth a shot.

Moondog - If this is all bullshit and hocus pocus how do you explain the amazing results my 2 children have had?

How do you explain the difference between the before and after audiograms? For both children?

How do you explain the fact that cutting out gluten stopped DS having a sore tummy?

I think you're really rude. All the OP asked about was vitamins. of course vitamins are going to help if you're deficient - and won't help if you're not. The question is really only 'what vitamins is a child with ASD likely to be deficient in'

How do you know your child is not deficient in vitamins?

The last lot of scientific research 'proving' GF didn't work you listed on here was absolute rubbish. You pointed to two totally flawed scientific experiments. Is the science in this book any better?

I think you should accept that this stuff does work. And if your child has one of the developmental delay syndromes (which I don't think she does) you are letting her down by not looking past behaviourism.

I've just read (via look inside) the chapter on AIT. And absolutely no where does it back up any claim that AIT doesnt work. There is nothing scientific or professional about that chapter. Very scary that you think it's a good book.

fwiw ds1 is dairy free (allergic) and has vitamin supplement and fish oils. IMHO he's much more 'muddled' and not as clear thinking when they're forgotten, in effect a blind test because we never intentionally miss them. Nothing scientific, Paed just started it initially because he was anaemic and then as there appeared to be improvements and some issues were resolved with his digestion, we discussed keeping them longer term.

Loads of interesting articles here about diet and vitamins and autism.

Hi if I was u I would look at the autism society web side for uk.

Just like u I to was using google and all I got was miracle cures for asd!! But after talking to my ds doctors he told me to look at the asd web side where there is all the info about pro and cons for supplements and diet changes for children who is on the asd.

Just remember that every child is different what works for 1 my not work for someone else! Before starting anything talk 2 ur sons doctor as this is a big step and something u can without a professional!!

I did start all the supplements and diet changes but didn't see any changes so stopped. My ds is not on anything and he have started 2 talk and be more social on his own!!

Hop this help!!

I know you do your very best for your children Indigo and I applaud and admire you for it.
If you feel that what you spend your own money and own time doing with your own children works for them and you, that is great and you have every right to do so and trumpet what you feel where and when you like.

In turn I, if posting as someone with a background in developmental disabilities, have an ethical duty to point out that many of the interventions touted have no evidence base whatsoever.

A 'look inside' does not equate to an evaluation of current research.
I in turn find it very scary that you place more weight on your own opinion based on a sample of 2 than you do on a comprehensive academic review of current 'therapies'collatedby some of the most important researchers in the field.

oh goodness, i didn't realise this would be such a controversial subject!

thank you all for your responses, for both sides of the "argument" (as it were).

While I am sure there are many people out there touting miracle cures (i found a lot of them online last night), I can also totally accept that there may be reasons why autistic children are deficient in certain vitamins or the flip-side of that, that being deficient in certain vitamins could lead to autistic symptoms,

DS1 has HFA, so really quite mild in the grand scheme of things but I am basically looking for ways of improving behaviour, and TBH buying a pot of vitamins isn't a huge amount of money and if it helps then it's worth doing IMO. Plus, even if any results I see are basically due to the placebo effect then that's just as good surely?

I will read all the links posted when I get some peace and quiet!

it is a controversial subject, unfortunately.

I am another poster whose children have been helped, massively, by these so-called 'quack' remedies.

I don't do anything lightly, even if it is 'just' vitamins. everything I have ever done to try to help dd1 (in particular, but also dd2) has been documented well, for my own peace of mind. I have taken specific baselines, and then measured improvements following any changes I have made.

I put dd1 onto a gf/cf diet at age 2, after extensive reading on here (and elsewhere), and having done the Sunderland test which suggested it may help.

within a month (some changes were a LOT faster) she:

had started talking properly, instead of pure echolalia.
had a proper and appropriate pain response begin to develop - she had had no idea of pain before, even quite severe pain.
had improved eye contact, and more interest in us and the world around her
slept better
had better bowel movements (although this took years to improve to the point of normality)
had increased appetite, and was more willing to try new foods (again, this increase has carried on over the years - she will, at the moment, try any new food, and is interested in trying new recipes)

tbh, the list is endless. it was not an overnight change (although some elemeents were), and she continues to improve, and benefit from the diet, some 5 years on. it has, until the last 6 months or so, always been immediately obvious when she has had a diet infringement (and I don't mean the parent effect of worrying so much that she has had colours/sweetners/shit food that behaviours are misattributed, I mean actual measurable differences in how she reacts, her anxiety goes through the roof, her bowel movements are almost instantly foul again, she loses urinary continence etc)

I would say read up about it. a lot. dig through the archives here. a book I found very interesting and useful was the Marilyn Le Breton one - she has a big list of 'symptoms' which indicate whether your child would benefit from a dietary change or not - dd1 ticke dall the boxes - and see whether you want to give it a whirl.

I am fully aware that a lot of these things have no solid scientific base - I don't need that in order to see the changes in my child, ithin my home. and tbh, I have yet ot find a mainstream doctor who is actually interested in listening to anythign I have to say wrt the differences in dd1 (I have offered in the past ot put her back on a normal diet, and then have the changes documented by them, but it was declined). again, I don't need their backing, tbh, if theya re so close minded - dd1 has made massive leaps of progress, beyond what anyone ever predicted for her, and a lot of it is because the dietary changes gave her the relief from physical symptoms, and space to be able to sort herself out.

I have also used Sensory Integration OT with dd1 to great effect - again massive changes, this time overnight. I know what the literature says, and I know what I saw with dd1.

I wouldn't disagree with any of that.

There is a very clear and helpful chapter in the book I mention which takes you step by step through designing a simple experiment in your own home to ascertain whether your intervention of choice has the desired effect.

'Chapter 16. Helping parents separate the wheat from the chaff:putting autism treaments to the test'

Approaching something so important from a rational and methodical perspective gives you the best possible chance of isolating what it is that really helps your child.

We many be on the cusp of finding out what really works and it may still be out there, undiscovered. It would be great to think that pro-active scientifically minded parents, who have much more interest in this than a random paediatrician in a busy clinic or a harrassed public sector worker.

The story of ther Odone family and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto_and_Michaela_Odone Lorenzo's Oil' is a great example.

Again

Oh gawd, there should be a tissue-box warning before going to find out about the Odone family. I just watched the trailer for Lorenzo's Oil, and now I'm completely awash. (but thanks for the link really, Moondog)

My own thoughts.
There is proven research that fish oils (mercury free) help ALL children's brain development. This has been replicated globally so either ensure your child eats oily fish several times a week or use a reputable mercury free supplement such as equizen or cod liver oil (aka granny in WW2).

For everything else gut/neuro science is in its infancy so do your own research, remember all kids are individuals and get your kid's individual levels tested THEN decide on supplementation. Be prepare to use behavioral techniques too, in order to get your child eating a core balanced diet before expecting extra supplements to do more than tweak the edges.

My reasoning

1. An apple 50 years ago had 5x more vitamin content than your typical supermarket offering does today.
2. Many asd children "self restrict" their diets (every expert I come across comments on how unusually varied my sons diet is). A varied diet is key to good health.
3. The typical "modern UK" diet isn't that great - things like rickets are making a come back ffs! WW2 kids had a healthier general diet despite rationing than most today.
4. Many asd kids have some sort of gut issue & the science of the lnk between gut and brain is in it's infancy.
5. Many nutrients are better absorbed by the body in whole foods rather than in pill format. The nutritional supplement industry has made so many untrue claims the EU felt the need to step in to honesty in advertising around this area. The "allergy industry" makes similar wild claims - food fads are fashion in our society.
6. A very few children have a clinically diagnosable food allergy or intolerance, (eg ceoliacs, my own child lacks the enzymes to digest dairy proteins & it's genetic, peanut allergy sufferers). For kids like this, if they survive infancy you'll know what the food offender is!
7. A few more children have a less serious food intolerance - again this can be clinically diagnosed. This is where the popularity of gluten free/cassein free diets arose - as these 2 are the most common in this category. The Sunderland protocol can help you identify if your child falls into this category.

Then

1. Look at your child's regular diet - do they get a "rainbow" of frut and veg? Do they get enough protein, are there any defieciencies in their diet (GP can do a blood test for iron, calcium, mangnesium and other main minerals). If you can hand on heart most of their food is fresh (frozen food fine, ready meals are crap!) & their diet is well balanced yet they are still short on summat then and only then move onto suppementation.

How healthy is your child's diet REALLY? Do a food diet for a month to ascertain what he consumes (as opposed to moves round the plate lol!).

1. IF and it's a big if, your child falls into groups 5 or 6 get the help of a clinical dietician to ensure your child has a healthy diet. t's very dangerous to embark on a diet without a major food group without proper clinical supervision. For group 6 - the GAPS diet or the Sunderland protocol and a doctor who understands it may sort your issues BUT that's a major committment.

My own experience

My son has a dairy protein intolerance that is genetic & I'm told by medics can't be "sorted" by GAPS etc. It caused failure to thrive befor he was 3 months old (due to the cows milk in my BM). It's there for life, but is very rare. I was lucky as it meant we were referred to a clinical dietician and from 0-4 his diet was VERY closely monitored medically. I've found my lad is very prone to anemia and often low on magnesium unless I bust a gut getting extra into him. He was a slightly aneamic newborn. I've come to the conclusion he just doesn't absorb these nutients as efficiently as most people.

Diet sorted the iron (He eats home grown spinach in industrial quantities, shop bought veg doesn't have a high enough nutrient content), however he takes mg supplements and has lots of epsom baths to sort the magnesium. The difference the extra magnesium (he has more than the recc'd RDA to get his blood levels to "normal") has been brilliant for his sleep problems & anxiety.

To ensure his diet remains healthy and balanced I've used behavioral teachniques and we have our veggie patch (kids will try new foods they've grown themselves lol!) The dairy intolerance and my loathing of tiny labels has meant he's used to old school home cooked meals.

He also cooks with me lots, and trying new recipes has therefore become fun for him and we've avoided many of the food issues I've seen in other asd kids re self-restricting diets to just beige foods etc.

I have read this with interest (not read the links yet though) and wondered how you manage to get your child to take vitamins or supplements? My dd is terribly fussy and always has been, since weaning tbh. We cant even get her to take antibiotics and in the past used to hide it in her milk, but she cottoned on to that so now we are screwed any time she's ill. Thankfully she fights it off on her own fairly quickly but the thought of getting vitamins etc into her, can't even Imagine how I would go about that.

we give vitamins and fish oil only in liquid form and hide in in orange juice. we use the eskimo fish oils and they don't task fishy and are easy to hide. at least DD does not notice anything.

we had quite a tricky time initially getting dd1 to take them. she was on a restricted diet (self-restricted), and then add in gf/cf etc, and we had a lack of yoghurt etc to hide them in.

she also had huge issues with drinking, so we couldn't put them in juice etc - she stopped drinking (before supplements) for 9 months at one point! so we were reluctant to mess around with her juice, tbh.

we made a game of using a medical syringe to squirt small amounts of water into her mouth (also helped with the re-hydration!), and then I used to crush up tablets/open up capsules/mix up liquid multivits into a foul tasting mess and use the 5ml syringe for dd1 to suck/drink out of. chocolate buttons afterwards sealed the deal

'scuse slight hijack - but Bochead, your ds and mine sound very similar...my ds1's allergy is not genetic, but many of the other details in your tale are amazingly like ours. DS1 failed to put on any weight at all from 9mo to 23mo, massive worry, blood tests, paeds, dieticians, all kinds. All due to the cows milk . Blimey. We are not alone.

Saw a thread on here a while ago about this and ended up getting a multi-vitamin supplement called BEHAVIOUR BALANCE. It is around £20 for a months' supply and started to have an effect on my son after five days or so and completely calmed him down. Google it and you will find the UK suppliers