Any bio-med parents out here ?

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Any parents here trying bio-med interventions for their children ? We tried the GF/CF/SF diet for 8 months and nothing changed. A friend has now strongly recommended vitamins and supplements but I am skeptical since the diet did not wok for us. Anyone here who had a child for whom the diet did not work but the supplements did ? Please help, I am beyond desperate to help my son gain speech & language.

I must confess, I was distracted by your title: I don't think of those measures as bio-med. When I hear the term bio-med, I think of things far more ... well, undesirable.

GFCF works if your unique child happens to be sensitive to gluten or casein. It isn't necessarily both. Food sensitivities can be tough to sort out, but doing so can make a difference. If your child has digestion issues, or other indications that point to food sensitivities, it is worth keeping a food log and experimenting with elimination diets. Common culprits are gluten, casein, lactose, SOY, eggs, and ??? My son, we believe, is sensitive to soy (uncooked or unprocessed soy, in particular) so we are careful not to buy breads with soy flour, energy bars, and the like.

Supplements are personal, as well. The main caution is to do some research into potential adverse effects from taking too much of the item, because you CAN overdo nutrients and vitamins, to adverse effect. As long as you don't hit those doses, it can be worth a try, and some families have reported success with various vitamins; I'm not sure of the list right now, since we aren't on that route.

The goal, of course, isn't to "cure" your child, but to help him feel his healthiest, for the simple reason that healthy children who feel good are more able to learn and function. It is true for everyone, isn't it?

We have more threads on the topic linked in the Parenting Index thread, I believe. It is a common topic, and many ASD kids are either sensitive to a number of foods, or short on certain vitamins and minerals, so sorting it out can definitely help, but there is no short cut answer here. You'll have to spend the time. No child can learn and do their best when they feel awful all day, every day; it's a simple and obvious factor.

When my son was non-verbal (2 years old) I broke open fish oil supplements and added them to his food. I think he started gaining words within two weeks. It could have been a coincidence. I figured it wouldn't hurt, might help and was good for him regardless. He still doesn't fully grasp language but he talks a lot now (4 1/2). I don't do it anymore because I'm poor and can't afford them all the time and he's so picky about food anyway there's a good chance he'd start rejecting his food if he detected fish oil in it (plus it's a pain to wash off of cups if it's hidden in a drink ).
Edit: I buy chicken nuggets now that have Omega 3s in them. He eats nuggets every single day.

We use Frutol http://www.pureformulas.com/frutol-300- ... armax.html for high dose DHA/EPA. DS will actually take it. I tried it ans it tastes pretty good. If you have a very picky eater, it might not work but if your kiddo is not too picky this is a good product. It was recommended to us by the naturopathic doctor that we see.

We use a kids multi-vitamin, but that is just because of my son being a picky eater and rather indoorsy so it makes me feel better to give him one "just in case." I do not notice any difference between when he takes them or when I forget to give them, but I have not done any kind of scientific analysis.

I have tried multiple strategies with diet that were minimally successful. Then, I tried the GAPS diet, by Dr. Natasha Cambell-McBride. It stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome. I'll open a thread on this subject because I highly recommend it. We have been on this program for a year this month and these are the improvements we've noticed in my 12 year old son who has Autism. I will list his symptoms first:

1) Chronic nightly bed-wetting - stopped completely 1 week into program
2) Meltdowns - decreased by 90% ! !!
3) Chronic nose bleeds - I can't remember the last time he had one
4) "Growing Pains" - decreased by 75%
5) Behaviours - positive feedback from school and local community members/neighbours
6) Focus - improved (said so himself)
7) Language - is able to articulate much better!! Noise-making has decreased by 75%
ETC

What I like about this program is that it's temporary. We won't need to stick to a life-long GFC/etc diet. It is a 2-3 year committment though and a lot of work. It's the only thing we've tried that I can actually say has helped. I'll open another thread and see if there's any interest.

Wow, LOTS of good feedback here. Thank you all so much.

We are doing the Fish Oil and B-complex supplements. The Bs have made him extremely hyper and quite unlike himself. But, his eye contact is so much better and he is also approaching his sister more, attempting to play with her.

Since he has NO language, his attempts go nowhere, but it is heart warming to see him go to his sister after ignoring her all along !

I will try the GAPS diet and get back to you all on the results.

Thank you again.

I forgot to mention, we are on a whole lot of supplements. We also did a hair sample and discovered high metals in both my son and I (I used to be a smoker and I suppose dying my hair didn't help either). Good luck with the program. I find my son is more open to trying new foods now. He used to be quite picky, particularly with textures.

I didn't discover my food sensitivities until I was 23, but wish I had discovered them earlier. I cut out gluten, casein, refined sugar, dried fruits, nuts, vinegar, and many other foods, and began taking dozens of supplements. I had candidiasis and leaky gut syndrome, leading to dysbiosis. My immune system had been attacking my brain and other organs for most of my life (I began noticing constipation and nausea when I was ten, but never did very much about it until I discovered the food sensitivities).

Kids should start treating this early so they have a chance to develop social skills with their peers. When I started treating the candida with the antibiotic nystatin, I immediately became more alert, within an hour of taking the first pill. I realized that before then, my brain function had been so deadened that my skull had felt like it was encased in rubber. I actually felt something like a shock of static electricity in the middle of my head, and my skull became more sensitive to touch. I was excited, but soon became frustrated because I felt like I could not identify with anyone, like I had been dropped into the world with no points of social reference. If I had taken care of the food sensitivity issues earlier, I could have had a better chance of developing socially with my peers.

I've also found that triacetyluridine (TAU) works, making me feel more relaxed and comfortable around people, although most doctors probably wouldn't want to use it (My doctor has researched it and was one of its early proponents for the treatment of autism and Aspergers). TAU can be ordered from a chemical company without a prescription, but I don't think that would be a good idea, even though it's just a form of uridine, which occurs naturally in meat.

My Aspergers has never been severe, so my history might not be the best example. I just wish that I had recognized these sensitivities earlier so I could have been able to better relate to people. I wouldn't want anyone else to miss the opportunity to tackle the problem in childhood instead of in adulthood.