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ADD / ADHD (Expert Forum)
vitamins and supplements for autistic child
Answered by
Rebecca Resnik, PsyD - Parenting Instruction, Developmental Disabilities, Psychological Assessment
MindWell Clinical Psychology
Chantilly - VA
Questions in the Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD–ADHD) forum are answered by Rebecca Resnik, Ph.D.
vitamins and supplements for autistic child
by mammato3, Nov 23, 2008 12:59AM
My three year old son as regressive autism and is completelynon-verbal. We have tried teh GFCF diet, with no noticable difference, we also had a large number of labs performed, all of which coma back completely normal. The labs that were drawn included stool samples for parasites and fungi, heavy metals, TSH, urine porphryn, CBC, a test that measures the levels of differnt vitamins in the blood. This is the only test that came back slightly abnormal stating that my some had a slightly higher than average level of B12. From all that I have read, I understand that a large number of autisic children lack suffficient amounts of this vitamin. I am clueless as to what to do and extremely discouraged that the test results did not come back with something abnormal that is fixible. Are ther any investigational therapies that may help my son that I can discuss with his doctor? Any advise you can give me is greatly appreciated.
Doctor's Answer
by Rebecca Resnik, PsyD, Nov 23, 2008 08:16PM
, Nov 23, 2008 08:16PMTo: mammato3
Hello,
I really wish that I could tell you there was a magic herb or diet out there that has been shown to be effective against autism. The frustrating thing is that I can not. Autism is primarily a genetic disorder that may be impacted by environmental or gestational factors. The scientific community has yet to find a connection between autism and heavy metals (including thimerisol, a mercury based preservative that used to be common in vaccines), casein or gluten in the diet, infections, vitamins, or Lyme's disease. Though there are physicians out there who believe there are connections, when these factors have been subjected to rigorous research, the results have not yet supported their theories.
There is a website I can refer you to from the Association for Science in Autism Treatment http://www.asatonline.org/. This is an association of renown scientists committed to providing accurate information to people about autism. You can learn about the most current research happening all over the world. I think this website is important for every parent of a child with an autistic spectrum disorder because you have to make hard decisions about eh care and treatments you select for your child. You only have so much time, energy, and money, and you want to choose interventions that have the best chance of working. Right now applied behavior analysis (such as the LOVAAS method), intensive speech-language therapy and the DIR floortime model (www.floortime.org) are treatments that help many children.
The good news is that there has been a large increase in funding for Austim research, so there is more reason to be hopeful. It will be a great day when we at last have better news to pass along to families who have children with autistic spectrum disorders. You may also find the book Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew by Ellen Notbohm to be helpful.
Best wishes,
Rebecca Resnik
Disclaimer: This Medhelp post is written for informational purposes only. It is never intended to replace face to face medical or psychological care. This post is not intended to create a patient-clinician relationship, and is not intended to give or to rule-out a diagnosis.
I really wish that I could tell you there was a magic herb or diet out there that has been shown to be effective against autism. The frustrating thing is that I can not. Autism is primarily a genetic disorder that may be impacted by environmental or gestational factors. The scientific community has yet to find a connection between autism and heavy metals (including thimerisol, a mercury based preservative that used to be common in vaccines), casein or gluten in the diet, infections, vitamins, or Lyme's disease. Though there are physicians out there who believe there are connections, when these factors have been subjected to rigorous research, the results have not yet supported their theories.
There is a website I can refer you to from the Association for Science in Autism Treatment http://www.asatonline.org/. This is an association of renown scientists committed to providing accurate information to people about autism. You can learn about the most current research happening all over the world. I think this website is important for every parent of a child with an autistic spectrum disorder because you have to make hard decisions about eh care and treatments you select for your child. You only have so much time, energy, and money, and you want to choose interventions that have the best chance of working. Right now applied behavior analysis (such as the LOVAAS method), intensive speech-language therapy and the DIR floortime model (www.floortime.org) are treatments that help many children.
The good news is that there has been a large increase in funding for Austim research, so there is more reason to be hopeful. It will be a great day when we at last have better news to pass along to families who have children with autistic spectrum disorders. You may also find the book Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew by Ellen Notbohm to be helpful.
Best wishes,
Rebecca Resnik
Disclaimer: This Medhelp post is written for informational purposes only. It is never intended to replace face to face medical or psychological care. This post is not intended to create a patient-clinician relationship, and is not intended to give or to rule-out a diagnosis.
