Recommended changes from our psychologist

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Hello all,
Last time I posted a topic we were waiting to get a diagnosis. Well we got one. My amazing girl has high functioning ASD with anxiety issues. We've been seeing this great psychologist who does play therapy with her on a weekly basis. I've definitely seen a big improvement in her anxiety and her sleep.

One thing I really like about this Dr is he always tells us that we are more than welcome to ignore any suggestions that he has. He gives us info, tells us his opinion, and then tells us to apply it if/how we feel works. He also listens to us!

So today we had a "regroup" meeting to make sure we are on the same page for what we want to do for my little one. He had several recommendations after going to a seminar recently. Apparently according to this seminar many with ASD have higher than normal levels of toxicity in their brains, are dehydrated, and are more likely to be malnourished ( I would assume that's because of food issues). The biggest thing that was stressed was that children with ASD are more susceptible to toxins in the environment.

Now I'm taking this all with a grain of salt and doing my own research. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Some of the recommended changes were: have the child drink about 8oz of water every couple of hours
Regular exercise
9-10 hours of sleep if possible
Clean air either with an air purifier or house plants
Follow a diet high in protien, lots of fatty acids, whole grains, only natural fats and oils because hydrogenated oils are bad for the brain, lots of fruits and veggies (organic if possible), take supplements like chelated multivitamins, digestive enzymes, probiotics, and AFA blue green algae.
Things to avoid are aluminum (like pots and canned food...deodorants), processed meats, foods, any type of smoke (cigarette, smoked foods, grilled foods), MSGs, any fake sugars, and strong odors.

Now some of these I think sound great. Like the fish oil/ fatty acids, eating healthier ( she already eats a wide variety of foods), and I know she needs to drink more. She already gets about 9-10 hours of sleep. I'm just not sure how I feel about all of it. Opinions?

I don't know about the supplements but, overall, I agree with the sense that we may be triggering or exacerbating some ASD traits due to the increased overload of mild toxins kids are continuously exposed to. But no one knows which ones or how it all works; it just seems to be where the research is pointing, to the whole sphere of epigenetics.

So my approach has been that doing things to improve overall health is going to be a win for everyone, but when it comes to ideas at the margins ... I tend to skip those.

We are meant to eat a variety of foods prepared as "close to the earth" (ie without extractions, chemicals and additives) as possible. That is what our bodies are built for. We are also meant to move, something that modern living can make difficult. It makes some sense to me, when I wonder why ASD is suddenly a larger issue than it seemed to be in the past, to consider how we've moved away from what is natural for human beings. Yes, I believe ASD has always been here, but why is it so much more obvious in some people now?

I talk about these things with my son and he has no issues trying to improve his overall health. Changing the unique way his brain works - well, that is off the table. He loves being different.

If you said psychiatrist, I'd be hesitant to challenge it, but most of that sounds like quackery. Adequate sleep, exercise, and water are important (I make no judgement about the amounts though), so's avoiding cigarette smoke. Psychologists can be helpful, but those suggestions are way beyond their expertise. I'd suggest getting a second opinion from a psychiatrist or other medically trained professional, preferably one at a different clinic.

I agree with you that the psychologist's advice is odd, but I'm not sure what you mean when you say "those suggestions are way beyond their expertise." You don't need an MD to recommend adequate sleep or a diet change. Believe it or not, psychologists (and other researchers without MDs) study those things too - there are many different types of psychologists and some may operate in more than one area. (For example, some colleges offer a combined Medical/Clinical psychology degree.)

Health and medical psychology are real fields and the things the psychologist mentioned are topics that may be of interest to researchers. Not to mention that psychiatrists (and doctors in general) rarely do research at all - that's why people get PhDs or go MD/PhD, so I'm not sure how seeing one would help for these specific suggestions. While I agree that another opinion is warranted, I just don't understand why you believe it should be a psychiatrist or another doctor (who likely isn't going to be trained in autism or up to date on autism research - though I have no idea whether what this psychologist says is true or not) when another psychologist could very well disagree with the recommended changes. (Sorry if this come across as an attack or anything - I'm just kind of curious. I'm considering psychiatry and I'd be interested in understanding your perspective on the differences between psychologists and psychiatrists and which you believe are more suited to deal with certain topics/issues. For the most part, their jobs are extremely similar.)

@OP: This is advice I would certainly question. Could you ask next time if he has any sources (such as articles or pamphlets from this seminar that he could give you a copy of) to back up these claims? How does he think these changes will help your daughter?

One reason I like him is that he encourages us to do our own research also. He couldn't remember the name of the Dr who was leading the seminar but he's gonna get it for me during our next meeting. He did mention the Feingold diet but said that it was a rather extreme example. Also we talked a bit about how some kids do good on a milk free or gluten free diet (my daughter has had some mild stomach issues since she was little and she's been feeling better since we removed milk recently). He always reminds us that with ASD what works for one kid/ family might not work for another.

His hope is not so much that there will be this huge difference, but a smaller one if we even choose to follow any of it. If we reduce the "junk" that her body has to process, it might help her feel better in general. We are not looking for a "fix" or "cure" for her ASD which he completely understand and supports. Really most of his recommendations are something he would bring up for any child- reduce chemical/ bad metal exposures... try to introduce a healthier diet..... improve quality of life.

The biggest one I'm iffy on is the blue green algae simply because I can't find much on it. That and collated vitamins. Oh and I love bread so that's not a really good option either

Seems like the same advice would benefit any child.

Agreed. And overall, he sounds like a nice/caring person, which is good. Different people have different stances on these types of things and I guess his is just more health based. (I just personally find it odd because it's not a belief a lot of people seem to have.)

I guess all we can say is do whatever you and your daughter are comfortable with. What kind of information are you looking for about the algae? Something like this? One google search gave me some pretty interesting results. Would this interest you?

Thank you! I had found the first one, but the second one I had not found so I will read that one also.

I don't think psychologists get any advanced training in physiology or chemistry, which would be important if they claim to be an authority on some of the things mentioned.

Thanks for the answer!
And you're right, clinical psychologists generally don't take those courses. Those that work in multiple fields or in health psychology, however, might, though I've never seen the courses be required. Even so, those courses aren't required for an understanding of the topics mentioned. I believe undergraduate courses in health and/or biology would likely cover them sufficiently.

I didn't really get the feeling the psychologist the OP mentioned was claiming to be an authority or anything though. It just sounded like he was giving information he'd learned at the seminar he attended (since he didn't bring the topic up until after he'd attended the seminar).

Supplements are generally a waste of money, unless you have a dietary deficiency for some reason. It is usually easy to meet all our nutritional needs via diet, else our species would have been in trouble before multivitamins were invented! We only need small amounts of most vitamins and minerals, and having more than that can be harmful.

The work of Paul Offitt might be informative.

There's also no need to use organic fruits and vegetables, unless you want to support their conservation work or something. I wouldn't worry about grilled foods or air pollution (unless you live somewhere with unusually dirty air).

There is some research linking aluminium and other deodorant products to breast cancer, but it is pretty fringe stuff (I know because my biochemistry teacher was one of the main propagators of the theory and usually dedicates 5 minutes a week to moaning about being overlooked), and often contains some fundamental flaws. On autism and aluminium specifically, the most commonly cited papers both have flaws: 1 2 (the second one is that clown Seneff again!)

Thank you!

It won't do a thing for autism, but it won't hurt her either.

none of these seem damaging, so i'd say to give all of them a shot; applying them one by one to assess which ones do and which don't work.

as an aside; even if these changes do not alleviate your childs symptoms, they are a good idea to keep doing anyway, they appear healthy for any child

Totally agree about aluminum but I think the statement " else our species would have been in trouble before multivitamins were invented" is unfortunate because our species was in trouble before multivitamins were invented--the rise of multivitamins happened to coincide with a number of advances in medicine.

Also, I have worked for long days for many years in windowless environments and have a chronic vitamin D deficiency despite drinking a decent amount of milk. This deficiency is quite common in the US. Likewise, women who are considering getting pregnant really do need to watch folate levels. There is plenty of hokum and snake oil in the vitamin business, but it's a mistake to rubbish the entire concept.

Be wary of anyone who talks about "organic" food, it's a meaningless marketing term so they can sell the same crap for more monies. It isn't any different from non-organic food, it just sounds better.