Autism Clinic

Does your child have any of the following?

• Mood swings
• Tantrums
• Goes off on a swing
• Red ears and cheeks
• Eczema
• Challenging behaviours

• Craves foods and non foods
• Picky eater
• Aggression
• Hyperactivity
• A bloated abdomen with pain
• Constipation
• Diarrhoea

If so you have come to the right place!

These are common features in autistic children. I am a mother of an autistic child and my son has gone through many of the above symptoms.

When Harry was little the health professionals did not know what to make of him. He had delays in various areas. He was late to sit up, he would dribble a lot, was late to crawl, stand up and walk. When I took him to play groups and Tiny Tumblers he would not participate, show curiosity or engage in play as other toddlers did. When the child development group finally formally assessed him he had delays in various areas including severe delay in speech and language, low muscle tone, learning difficulties, anxiety, lax ligaments and an unsteady gait. He was diagnosed as having global developmental delay with severe speech and language delay. They never picked up on the fact that he maybe autistic. He was around 2 years and 10 months then. We had various appointments with the pediatrician thereafter and I had started him on a gluten free and dairy free diet coupled with various nutritional supplements including probiotics. As time went on I started strongly suspecting that he may have autism. I only learnt this through reading and researching through various books on nutrition and autism. One area in common was the continuous gut distension and poor bowel function. As a baby toddler he seemed constipated and later on he had very frequent loose stools with a foul smell. Some of his foods would come out hardly digested. He also had bad breath and some localised eczema.

Many autistic children suffer from severe digestive problems. Some maybe constipated heavily without having a bowel movement for up to 5 days. This usually results in a very painful bowel movement causing extreme stress and pain to the child. These children usually buckle over the furniture to relive the pressure and pain from their abdomen. Without the correct nutritional support usually they are put on heavy doses of drugs to help keep them regular. I have seen children like this in my clinic. Some children have continuous diarrhoea but parents are not aware that some of the foods eaten may be causing these problems.

Along my journey never did the pediatrician or doctors I saw recommend a special diet for my son. When his hyperactivity and challenging behaviour were a concern, drugs were offered. The same with his seizures which had started couple of years earlier. I politely refused the drugs and worked on his diet and nutritional supplements. I have been criticised along the way for the nutritional deficiencies I may be causing my son with his special diet. All I have to say about this is my son eats a healthy and varied diet with an exclusion of some foods and food groups. This results in better digestive health, more focus, better eye contact and awareness. It also helps tremendously with issues around hyperactivity. He eats a more balanced, healthy and varied diet with abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables in comparison to the average diet a British child would follow.

He has good skin and passes his bowels regularly although he does need support in this area to keep him regular despite the high fibre diet he follows. My son is a very happy autistic child; his speech and language is coming along slowly and his comprehension in also increasing. He is nearly 9 years old and I continue to support his various bodily systems with my therapy. As I say to my clients, this is a marathon not a sprint.

My son has been on a special diet that has developed and evolved over the years. Not only does he follow a strict diet but he also takes various nutritional supplements that help supports his various bodily systems. A recent study has identified various nutritional deficiencies in autistic children in comparison to neurotypical children (1).

Another study by S Jill James has found impaired capacity for methylation and increased oxidative stress in children with autism in comparison to neurotypical children (2).

There are problems with sulphation which is one of the main detoxification pathways (3) and children on the spectrum commonly have problems tolerating foods high in phenolic compounds.

There are problems with heavy metals such as mercury (4) and lead (5) and many more.

Autism is a complex neuro-developmental disorder characterised by impairment in social interaction and language accompanied by social withdrawal and repetitive hyper-focused behaviours. The common approach to dealing with this condition is to treat it as a mental disorder and offer only behavioural therapies or management strategies.

When biomedical investigations are done it becomes apparent that there are quite often other factors involved.

Some common features in autism

My approach to autism starts with correcting any digestive disturbances or irregularities. If a child is constipated or having loose stools this needs to be addressed. Some autistic individuals have an inflamed gut and can't absorb nutrients from foods to nourish their brains and bodies. Diet is closely monitored and usually a gluten free and casein free diet is recommended. In some cases the Specific Carbohydrate Diet is recommended to help repair the gut and stop ongoing inflammation. When the gut starts to work optimally than the body can detoxify and start eliminating toxins more efficiently.

The gut flora needs to be addressed and quite often quality probiotics need to be supplemented to benefit the individual. Probiotics or in other terms healthy flora is our guarding soldiers in the digestive tract. When they become depleted we become exposed to pathogenic and opportunistic organisms taking hold and causing disease and digestive disturbances.

Detoxification needs to be addressed and supported. Many autistic children and adults have low glutathione levels, which are essential to detoxify toxins and heavy metals. As this detoxification pathway is impaired in autistic individuals they accumulate heavy metals including mercury, lead and many more. Methylation needs to be investigated to determine if it is working or if it is impaired. Quite often it is impaired in autistic individuals. Sulphation needs to be supported.

Alongside diet a healthy lifestyle is recommended. This includes buying organic whenever possible to reduce pesticide exposure. Reducing chemicals used in the house including laundry, cleaning and self care products. Replacing these with environmentally healthy options or natural products can lessen the toxic load.