I have spent the last few weeks entrenched in my newest
research project (research is kind of a hobby of mine) – to find more ways to
help my kids be successful, not overlooking anything I might have been reluctant
about. This was inspired by conversations with one of my sisters and
information she shared with me, for my own perusal, nothing more. My sister is
a vegetarian, and has made many diet and lifestyle changes for health reasons.
She recently began cutting out foods that contain sugar, or ingredients that
can become sugars or yeast in the gut. I had never heard of such a diet, but I
have heard of other dietary interventions for a variety of issues, some that
she and I share. She also wanted me to read the research behind the diet, as it
was shown to help with Autism.
After looking through some of the links and articles, it occurred
to me that diet and nutrition might be a puzzle piece I was missing,
considering that Liam is not growing well, eating hardly anything, and sleeping
very poorly. I’m well aware of how diet affects physical and mental
functioning, if only from personal experience. So I cross-linked to other
sites, searched out books at the library, and hunkered down (in the precious
little time I have to myself each day) to gather information.
I am a skeptic at heart. I need to read or see the science
behind things. I usually scoff at anything that has no proof, or at least
nothing tangible to back it up. So this is the purpose of my research. What I
have found however, is way more than I expected, and almost shocking that I
haven’t heard of much of it before. There’s been tons of research done in the
last 15 years that supports dietary interventions and nutrition assessments for
children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. It makes sense too, that if diet and
nutrition are so important for normal growth and physical and mental
functioning, this should be a crucial piece for treating children with ASDs.
These children (mine for example, but there are hundreds of thousands more)
regularly have problems with cognitive functions and communication, GI issues,
feeding difficulties, sensory processing problems, and fine and gross motor
issues. So why isn’t this addressed by our pediatricians?
Well, Judy Converse, MPH, RD, LD explains it quite well in
her book “Special-Needs Kids Eat Right.” (2009, Penguin Group, New York) It’s a
combination of history, holes, and controversy.
- History: Unfortunately, some remnants remain of the now defunct theory that Autism is caused by cold, unloving mothers. It was a terrible idea to begin with, but we are still having trouble ridding the world of this.
- Holes: Most doctors don’t receive any training in nutrition during their education. Why? Because of specialization. The medical field now has specialists for every system in the body, but all separately. There is no whole body practice. And, pharmaceutical companies are great marketers, so doctors are encouraged to push prescriptions, and treat symptoms, instead of getting to the root of the problem. I have this complaint all the time, that doctors don’t treat patients, they treat symptoms.
- Controversy: Finally, there’s the sacred cow of vaccines. Most don’t know the whole story, or the science that got misconstrued, so the safety of vaccines is still in hot debate. But the truth is, vaccines are safe (in my opinion), except for a subset of children who may be predisposed to react to a clustered viral exposure. I don’t feel my children were adversely affected by vaccines, but there are children out there who were.
So all this means that traditional doctors are reluctant to
venture into treatments that aren’t mainstream, especially in fields of
knowledge they are unfamiliar with, like nutrition (that is usually the domain
of licensed dietitians and nutritionists).
On Tuesday, at the boys’ physicals, I too found this out the
hard way. But I was prepared with the above knowledge, and knew which questions
to ask. The pediatrician, as expected, was reluctant to offer any information
about dietary interventions or the like. But she recognized my concerns about
Liam’s poor growth and nutrition, and referred me to a nutrition clinic that
also has a GI department. AND it’s covered by our insurance!
I do feel kind of stuck though, between the immovable rock
of traditional medicine, and the hard place of going to the other extreme,
territory I’m uncomfortable with unless I can read the science. It’s a tough
place to be when I just want my kids to be healthy, and be the best they can
be, whatever that turns out to be. This is a place many parents of ASD kids
before me have been, and more after will be. But I hope it will be easier for
them as time goes on.
Here’s hoping for progress and open minds.
- Adrienne
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