Natural Remedies for Autism
Autism and Diet

Are there natural remedies for autism? Is there anything you can do at home to make your child's and your life any easier? The popularity of using vitamin supplements, diet and other forms of alternative treatments for children with autism continues to grow. While there is little scientific data to show that these treatments are effective, parents offer a lot of anecdotal evidence that they have found big and small successes using these treatments.

Let's look at some of the options for your child. As with all alternative treatments and natural remedies for autism, you should make sure you keep your doctor aware of what treatments and diet changes you are trying with your child. When embarking on any type of restrictive diet consult a nutritionist to make sure your child continues to get the vitamins and minerals needed to thrive.

Gluten and Casein Free Diet (GFCF Diet)

Diet is used as one of the most commmon natural remedies for autism.

You may be wondering what gluten and casein are and how cutting them out of your child's diet may help. Casein is the protein found in dairy products. All dairy that comes from an animal contains casein. That means that you need to avoid milk, ice cream, cheese, butter, and even some margarines.

Gluten is the protein found in some grains, mainly wheat but it is also found in other grains including:

• wheat
• barley
• oats
• rye
• kamut
• spelt
• durum
• bulgar

These grains and all foods made with these grains contain gluten.

Digestive problems are associated with autistic spectrum disorders. These digestive problems can manifest themselves as either chronic constipation or chronic diarrhea. Either symptom can be a sign of a problem in the intestinal tract referred to as leaky gut syndrome.

Leaky gut syndrome is caused by damage done to the intestinal walls by toxins, antibiotics, parasites, infections or a poor diet. The intestinal wall becomes more permeable allowing toxins, waste products and even undigested food to leak out of the gut into the rest of the body. In theory, these toxins are then transported to the brain and impair its function.

The GFCF diet is among the most popular of the autism diets. Gluten and casein are difficult proteins for the body to digest. When they enter the body they irritate the intestinal lining and aggravate the problem. The intestines are constantly dealing with these proteins and the gut has no time to heal itself.

It generally takes about a month for the body to completely rid itself of the effects of casein and six months to rid itself of the effects of gluten. Once you've had your child on the restricted diet for about six months you can usually start re-introducing foods containing these proteins. They should only be eaten in moderation though.

casein and gluten can be difficult to eliminate from your child's diet at first because they show up in many products you don't expect to see them in. You'll have to read labels closely. Avoid all processed foods. Gluten is in just about all premade and processed foods. Eating a whole foods diet will be the easiest way to avoid these proteins. It may seem difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, you'll see a difference your whole family's health.

I am the parent of a child with an autistic spectrum disorder. My son has Asperger's syndrome and we have tried this diet to see if it would help him out. He had chronic severe constipation. He loved to eat all the food the GFCF diet required him to avoid. He loved cheese and anything that was soft and doughy. He had a very limited diet that consisted of only a few items. We started transitioning him to the diet slowly. We wanted to try out a some natural remedies for autism and thought diet was a good way to start.

We started by requiring him to eat at the dinner table with us. This was a huge deal because sitting down at the dinner table is something that was always difficult for him. We endured a few weeks of tantrums trying to make this happen, but once he got used to the idea he started eating with us with no problem.

Once we got him to start eating with us, we made a rule that he had to try whatever food we were eating. We'd continue to give him his favorite foods, but in order to get them he had to at least eat a bite of whatever everyone else was eating. This also was a difficult change for him. Again it caused lots of tantrums, gagging, and spitting food out at the dinner table, but we hung in there.

Once he'd gotten used to the idea of trying new foods, we started requiring him to eat the same food everyone else was eating at dinner. I fixed foods for the family that I knew he'd like most nights. The family suffered because we were eating the same meals again and again. Once or twice a week we'd eat something he normally didn't eat. Again we had to deal with the same type of negative dinner time behaviors, but eventually he started finding new foods that he liked and eating with the family.

We did all of this before even introducing the GFCF diet. It took us almost a full year to get him completely on the diet. I slowly fazed foods out of his diet until he was completely gluten and casein free. Did we see any results?

His problem with constipation went away within a month. We also noticed that his tantrums became less frequent and when they did occur they didn't last as long. He also became more aware of how his behavior affects others.

We had him on a strict diet for about a year. Then we slowly introduced dairy back into his diet, but we limit it to raw dairy. He still doesn't eat wheat, but he does eat oats that have been soaked overnight for breakfast sometimes. This has worked out well for us. This is the only one of the many natural remedies for autism that I've tried myself.

Vitamin B6 and Magnesium

Some people believe that taking vitamin B6 and magnesium can be used as one of the natural remedies for autism. If the child is B6 deficient it can help them have increased eye contact, increased communication skills, and fewer emotional outbursts.

Dr. Bernard Rimland of the Autism Research Institute recommends approximately 8 mg of vitamin B6 per pound of body weight each day. This should be taken with a normal dosage of magnesium. Magnesium at high doses can be toxic so never take more than the dosage recommended on the bottle. The magnesium helps lessen the likelihood of nerve problems from taking high doses of vitamin B6.

Any natural remedies for autism that involve taking high dosages of vitamins must be overseen by a medical doctor to prevent damage from taking too much.

Fish Oil

Fish oil can also be used as one of the natural remedies for autism. Children who take fish oil show increased ability to concentrate and have more normal sleep patterns.

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