Supplements for children with ASD

[JustBeachy]

Has anyone got any advice or can point me in the direction of some evidence based resources i can read about supplements that can help concentration etc for children with ASD. My DS is 5 and is finding it difficult to focus at school, he has ABA and a 1 to 1 but I was wondering if there is anything we can try to help hiom concentrate more like Omega oils, vitamin B or zinc...but there is such alot of hysteria online both for and against a million supplements i thought i'd ask the real experts in here your opinions instead

Thanks in advance

Hiya-I give my DS (5) ASD and dyspraxia omega 3 (eskimo oil-no additives and high EPA to DHA ratio) and extra zinc/magnesium/vit Bs.
Zinc definately helped the chewing of inedible objects (there is a scientific basis to this) and extra magnesium calmed him down. He had verbal dyspraxia and that seemed to improve with the fish oil. I know that there is a body of people who think its all nonsense and for the NT child I would agree (I dont supplement by NT DD) but for me there were definate positive changes albeit subtle with supplementation. I actually stopped the zinc for 2 weeks and the chewing returened-restarted it and it disappeared-mybe not a scientifically robust trial but good enough evidence for me!!!!

By the way we initially tried omega 3 and 6 oils (Eye Q) and they made DS more hyper so a bit of trial and error required.

HTH

I give my ASD son Omega 3 and found it noticeably helped his stress levels. I was surprised to be able to notice the difference, but we really can.

I use BOOTs liquid brand (can't remember it's name) after trying several - but this is the one he likes the taste of the most.

I definitely think you should give Omega 3 a go.

I give my ds Abidec which is multi-vit with omega 3. Definitely makes a difference, calmer and better concentration. We ran out and noticed the difference within a couple of days

Thanks guys - I got some Eye Q strawberry capsules and vanilla liquid. He ate the 6 tablets they recommend today (six! ) but nearly gagged so not too sure if he will take them tomorrow

I also got some vitabiotics kids multivits that have zinc and all the vits in them.

I'll give them a go for a few months (though 6 tabs each day for the eye-Q for 3 months is going to be alot of tablets!!)

Any further advice gratefully received.

have a look at www.treatingautism.org.uk - loads of good stuff on there. also do have a look at gluten free casein free diet - hard work but helpful

oops!! sorry wrong website should be co.uk not org

www.treatingautism.co.uk

After resisting and getting very confused for a long while, I have started supplementing with the Eskimo Oil, magnesium, Zinc and B6 (glad we're all doing similar, makes me feel reassured!!).....haven't noticed vast diff yet, but only been doing it a while......I just felt I wanted to do as much as poss to help......these vits are probably the ones to start with if you want to give them a go

Thanks everyone - i'll check out that site. Glad i'm not the only one who is confused! I did gluten/casein free for 3 months when he was 3 and didn't notice any difference so I don't think it's an issue for him. I'm amazed he ate the vits today tbh so hopefully won't be too much drama to try this out until xmas or so to see what happens

Do you use seperate magnesium/zinc/B6 or is a multivit with all those in OK??

I've been giving DS1 the IQ chewables for several months now and while I can't say there's been a lot of difference, he did start being able to dress himself in the mornings (he's 6.5). I wouldn't be able to say if any further improvement could be attributed to the fish oil capsules, since he stated on Strattera for his ADHD a couple of weeks ago (which has made an amazing difference, already, in some areas!)

What I have found brilliant is the haliborange multivitamins with probiotics he's also been taking. That's purely for the reason that we can only keep the oral thrush he gets from his steroid inhaler for asthma under control when he's taking it.

And we make the most of the boots 3 for 2 for these things.

I use a multi vit/multi mineral supplement made by Kirkmans (get on line).It has good amounts of zinc and magnesium as well as the B vits-turns his wee bright yellow so be warned! As I said it has taken a bit of juggling to get to what works for us but this combination does seem to have a positive effect.
HTH

As suspected DS will not take the capsules or the liquid Eye Q today. Vitamin fine as it is crunchy, the fish oil stuff - No Way! So how can I get him to take it??? Any bright ideas? He doesn't like yoghurt or ice-cream. He likes ice lollies but the oil won't mix with fruit juice to freeze. He likes chocolate cake - can I bake some with the vanilla fish oil in?
TBH I can see his point it is quite gross - how do you get anyone to eat this stuff!!!!!