Your Child Has Been Given An Autism Diagnosis. Now What?
Diagnosis is a powerful word. Emotions come heavily attached to it, from relief and empowerment to fear, anger, anxiety and anywhere in between.
It can come after a long period of uncertainty and dismay watching your child change, often from a well developing baby to a regressing toddler. So what can you do?
Below is an outline of ways you can begin to help straight away, but as always for more information please book in a free 15 minute chat to discuss further.
One of the most important things i’d like to say is that there is plenty you can do! You are not in a helpless situation. There are many ways you can begin to help your child recover from autism.
How do we know this? Because through a developing awareness of autism and its causes, significant research is available to show you that a number of aggravating factors can be addressed:
These include:
Poor nutrition (including during pregnancy) and depleted vital minerals and omegas
Poor gut function due to leaky gut and systemic inflammation. Gut function is one link to autism that doctors and scientists are agreeing on!
Depleted natural gut bacteria required for health due to use of antibiotics
Environmental toxin accumulation such as pesticides from our foods
Use of household chemicals
Accumulation of hormone disruptors such as plastics (BPA)
Heavy metal toxicity
Exposure to viruses like Streptococcus
Exposure to household mould
Exposure to medications even through the placenta during pregnancy
The cumulative effect of excessive vaccination
Trauma
This list is not exhaustive, but all point to potentially overwhelming a vulnerable neurological and endocrine system of a baby that influences everything from behaviour to brain function. If your child is unable to release chemicals/toxins effectively from its body due to a compromised gut (or MTHFR gene mutation*) then the body and brain become inflamed and your child experiences the typical neurological symptoms seen in autism.
Why some children are more susceptible than others to being affected by autism is uncertain but we can focus on steps you can take right now.
Look around your home. Are there any unnecessary chemicals being used? For example: plug-in air fresheners and air freshener sprays. Highly scented and toxic chemical cleaners. Can you swap to all natural cleaners? There are too many potentials to list here but as you look around each room just mentally note whether something can be contributing to an overload of chemicals (whether breathed in or ingested) and see if you can replace with something natural or not use at all! Removing chemicals, cleaning products, toxic body products, cookware (are you using aluminium pans?) and plastics will help to lessen the toxic exposure for your child.
Diet. This topic is massive! It requires a whole conversation in itself (I will cover it soon but it features heavily in my work with children). However to just briefly touch on the subject, remember that nutrition and gut health are cornerstones to health and for your child to recover it requires the utmost consideration.
To start, avoid the following:
Sugar free drinks are laden with artificial sweeteners
Aspartame and any artificial sweeteners. These are known neurotoxins
Artificial food colourings are chemicals that the body does not recognise and causes an immune response
Table salt. This salt is just a single lab made chemical known as sodium chloride. Instead use Sea salt, Himalayan salt or Rock salt which will provide vital trace minerals
Wheat/Gluten. This is the cause of some of the most uncomfortable gut symptoms due to its rough molecular structure. It can exacerbate ‘leaky gut’, which in turn means these molecules end up passing through the gut wall and can contribute to systemic inflammation, including in the brain and when non-organic, it is one of the most pesticide laden crops which causes damage to a developing nervous system. It is advisable to exclude gluten completely from your child’s diet whilst you are trying to heal their gut. Some organic versions can be reintroduced after time but watch for reaction.
Dairy. Again like gluten, dairy molecules can cause inflammatory responses in the body. Some children are more affected than others but those with autism should eliminate whilst aiming to repair the gut function.
Excessive sugar. This is a tough one for any parent. We want to treat our children, but for gut repair and autism recovery, limited sugar will help to reduce inflammation, will stop feeding bad gut bacteria and parasites and will prevent blood sugar spikes and the resulting emotional rollercoaster. If we can teach children very early on in life to find natural sweetness in foods like fruits then you will be helping them for their entire adult life! Smoothies are a wonderful way to get fruits and sweetness into your child and are also an opportunity to sneak in other beneficial ingredients like veg and oils.
As well as using a wide variety of fresh ingredients, vegetables and fruits, do include:
Extra virgin olive oil. Using high polyphenic extra virgin olive oil is shown to reduce inflammation and acts as an anti viral/bacterial agent. Supplying an excellent source of omega 3 and 6 in perfect ratio, these oils can begin to repair nerve sheath damage in the brain which often leads to an increase in cognitive behaviour in children with ASD
Prebiotic foods such as onion and garlic. There are more but go gently if your child is constipated as prebiotics can feed good and bad bacteria and can cause excess gas build up if the stools are not moving regularly. This ‘toxic gas’ and bacterial by-products can cause an aggravation in nervous system disorders.
Foods to assist methylation. This process removes chemical and toxic build up in your body but is often compromised in children with autism through MTHFR gene mutation. *This is an excellent article regarding the issue and foods to include “click here to read”
You can hide a whole lot of goodness into a smoothie! Or even freeze it and make your own ice lollies!!
When it comes to diet and nutrition, parents report food is often an issue with their child. Change is difficult for many children with autism and finding ways to include these foods is a challenge. I recommend joining a group where parents share recipes and tricks to help their child receive the nutrients they need. I particularly recommend this Facebook group that has fantastic resources on nutrition for children with ASD.
3. Homeopathy.
For many years homeopathy has been developing quickly and dramatically in order to rise to the challenge of autism and now stands as formidable tool in the recovery of children with ASD and related disorders. Using newer detoxification techniques, combined with classical homeopathic approaches, provides an astonishing removal of toxic load whilst also correcting behavioural difficulties, delayed development, poor speech and neurological dysfunction. I have cited many successful cases in my practice here and offer a free 15 minute chat to anyone interested. Briefly:
Homeopathic remedies provide your child with clear instruction to begin detoxifying layer by layer
Remedies can calm a stressed nervous system and remove tics and neurological misfiring
Remedies can clear pathways to enable speech to return
Remedies can assist the body in the removal of heavy metal, counteract toxic build up of excessive vaccination, medications and environmental chemicals
Remedies can provide organ support
Remedies can recover poor eye contact
Remedies can stop aggressive behaviour
Remedies can bring your child back into engaging with their world and others
Remedies can offer a natural treatment for common ailments during children’s lives
Homeopathic remedies are natural, non toxic and safe for all ages and provide an extraordinary service to children with autism.
I also recommend as a start, reading Autism Beyond Despair by Tinus Smits M.D in order to demonstrate the role of homeopathy in recovering your child from autism.
I offer a worldwide online clinic and have dedicated my homeopathic study of over 14 years to the reversal of autism in children. We are constantly learning and gaining knowledge in this field I am always inspired by the stories of recovery from parents who have stayed with homeopathic treatment.
Homeopathy is not a quick fix nor a magic pill. It is a well documented system of medicine working with your child’s body in order for it to recover. For more details please do contact me here.