What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disorder characterized by impairments in sensory, language, social, emotional and behavior areas. It is a “spectrum disorder,” with manifestations ranging from mild to severe.

What Your Doctor May Tell You About Autism

Traditional practitioners believe that autism is a mystery. They may say that, “We have little knowledge of possible causes, and that treatments should address impairments in the processing of touch, movement, audition and vision, speech, language, and behavior. Accompanying physical issues such as allergies, breathing problems, gastrointestinal issues, and others are unrelated to the diagnosis.”

Another Way to Think About Autism

Autism spectrum disorder is a multi-system developmental disorder caused by an accumulation of environmental stressors turning on a genetically susceptible predisposition to the condition. Just like a bridge that collapses when a heavily laden truck crosses it, the body collapses into autism as the multiple triggers add up. Depending upon the triggers, different systems are affected in each individual, related to his/her bioindividuality.

Autism can be related to:

• Visual processing
• Auditory processing
• Sensory processing
• Retained primitive reflexes
• Food sensitivities and intolerances
• A neurotransmitter imbalance
• Environmental toxins such as lead
• Gut dysbiosis
• Immune dysregulation

The good news is that you can heal the symptoms of autism by rebalancing the body and bringing it back to health. This requires removing the possible triggers from the external and internal environment, and adding necessary nutrients through food and supplementation.

Autism, ADD/ADHD and SPD Comorbidities

Knowledgeable practitioners have found that roughly 30-50% of children with autism, ADD/ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) also have PANS PANDAS. These are newer diagnoses that your child’s pediatrician or psychiatrist may not be aware of. They are disorders that are loosely defined as a sudden onset of acute anxiety and mood variability accompanied by OCD (Obsessive  Compulsive Disorder) and/or tics.

PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. With PANDAS, the onset of symptoms is typically preceded by streptococcal -A infection (“strep throat”). However, in some cases, children may not have presented with a full-blown, acute strep throat infection.

PANDAS is included in the larger umbrella of PANS, Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. PANS includes not only PANDAS, but also diagnoses such as Lyme disease, OCD and ODD. In addition, it is very common for younger siblings of children diagnosed with autism, ADD/ADHD or Sensory Processing Disorder to be diagnosed themselves with PANS and PANDAS.

If this is the case, consider that your older child may have PANS PANDAS as well. In many cases, these children have both a PANDAS diagnosis as well as that of Lyme disease.

Autoimmune Encephalitis

Another way to think of PANS PANDAS, as well as any neurodevelopmental disorder such as autism, ADD/ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder and even learning disabilities, is that these disorders may fall under the larger umbrella of autoimmune encephalitis (AE). This is a disorder in which the immune system attacks the brain, impairing function.

Encephalitis is inflammation and swelling of the brain, often due to infection, which in many of these cases causes an autoimmune attack on the microglia cells of the brain. A child with this type of damage may typically never have or may lose motor skills and/or the ability to speak, similar to an adult who has had a stroke.

Encephalitis is a common symptom of this type of damage, and it often shows up as an increase in the child’s head-circumference percentile, especially in the first year of life. The prestigious science journal Nature pointed this out by stating that “brain volume overgrowth was linked to the emergence and severity of autistic social deficits.”

Anti-NDMA Receptor Encephalitis

The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (also known as the NMDA receptor), is a glutamate receptor found in nerve cells.  It is activated when the amino acids glutamate and glycine bind to it. NMDA receptors have been implicated by a number of studies to be strongly involved with excitotoxicity, the process by which nerve cells are damaged or killed by excessive stimulation by neurotransmitters such as glutamate. Excitoxicity can cause encephalopathy and seizures.

Glutamate and its analogs are found in processed foods not only as MSG (monosodium glutatmate), but also in chemical food additives such as:

• Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
• Soy protein isolate
• Yeast extract
• Gelatin
• Barley malt
• Bouillon
• Natural flavoring
• Artificial flavoring
• Soy sauce

Even natural foods such as tomatoes, bone broth and seaweed may naturally have high levels of glutamate. Strep also increases glutamate in the brain.

Autism Checklist to Start

Consider lifestyle contribution:

• Is your child getting 10 hours of sleep per night (or more if your child is under 10)?
• An hour of exercise or movement per day?
• Drinking half his body weight in ounces of water?

Make dietary changes:

Is your child craving and eating primarily a refined carbohydrate, high sugar, trans-fatty acids and fast food diet? Eliminate all processed foods, and eat a whole foods diet. Gluten- and dairy-containing foods are commonly known to produce an inability to focus when eaten.

• Eat whole foods
• Buy organic foods
• Remove all GMO foods
• Remove all fast and processed foods
• Remove all foods with:
  • Artificial colors
  • Artificial ingredients
  • Preservatives
  • Phenols
  • Salicylates
• With an elimination diet, remove potentially inflammatory foods such as:
  • Casein
  • Gluten
  • Soy
  • Corn
  • Eggs
  • Fish
  • Shellfish
  • Nuts
  • Peanuts
• Strictly limit:
  • Sugars
  • Refined salt
  • Refined carbohydrates
• Consider implementing a low glutamate diet and/or the Feingold diet

Include plenty of good quality fats, such as:

• Coconut oil
• Olive oil
• Avocados
• Wild salmon
• Organic chicken
• Organic turkey
• Grass-fed ghee
• Pasture-raised eggs
• Grass-fed beef
• Essential fatty acids from:
  • Cod liver oil
  • Hemp seeds
  • Flax seeds
  • Evening primrose oil
  • Borage oil
  • Walnut oil

Remove vegetable oils such as:

• Canola
• Corn
• Soy
• Safflower
• Sunflower

Include plenty of high-quality proteins with every meal, such as:

• Pasture-raised eggs and chicken
• Grass-fed beef
• Wild-caught fish
• Legumes
• Nuts

Heal the gut with special diets such as:

• GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) diet
• Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
• Low-glutamate diet
• Paleo diet
• GF/CF (gluten-free/casein-free) diet
• Body Ecology Diet
• Modified Atkins Diet (replaces the ketogenic diet)

Learn more about healing diets and foods.

Use digestive aids with your practitioner’s guidance:

• Betaine hydrochloric acid
• Digestive enzymes with DPP-IV for gluten and casein intolerances
• Proteolytic enzymes
• BiCarb
• Bromelain
• Papaya

Clean up your environment:

Have you identified and removed possible environmental triggers, such as mold, dust, pet dander, and electromagnetic fields (EMFs)? Have you identified and removed possible toxic exposures in the home from purchased products, such as detergents, soaps, lotions, and other cleaning and personal care products?

• Remove animals (both live and stuffed!)
• Remove carpets
• Use non-toxic cleaners
• Use non-toxic building materials
• Green your home

Ask your pediatrician to run some laboratory tests for:

• Possible food sensitivities and allergies
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) IgG, IgA, IgE and IgM
• Nutritional deficiencies in vitamins and minerals. The NutrEval by Genova Diagnostics Labs covers the following areas:
  • Malabsorption
  • Dysbiosis
  • Cellular energy
  • Mitochondrial metabolism
  • Neurotransmitter metabolism
  • Vitamin deficiencies
  • Toxin exposure
  • Detoxification need
• Bacterial and yeast overgrowth
• Gluten and casein sensitivities
• Organic acids: The organic acid test by Great Plains Laboratory for yeast overgrowth and Candida, oxalates, and other microbial infections

Add fermented foods and probiotics daily:

These will keep the gastrointestinal system and microbiome healthy and strong which in turn will keep the immune system strong.

• Eat kefir yogurts
• Eat fermented vegetables
• Eat umeboshi plums (very alkalizing)
• Eat miso soup, if soy is tolerated

Some good probiotics are:

• VSL#3
• Gut Pro
• Dr. Ohirra’s Live Cultured Probiotics
• Garden of Life
• Culturelle
• Klaire Labs

Use herbs, essential oils and natural supplements with your practitioner’s guidance:

• Cod liver oil
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D3
• B complex vitamins especially pantothenic acid (B5)
• Magnesium
• Rescue Remedy
• GABA, especially PharmaGABA
• N-acetylcysteine (NAC): prevents upper respiratory infections for those prone to chronic infections
• MSM transdermal cream
• Epsom salts bath

Help your child detoxify:

• Ionic foot baths can help detox unwanted pathogens and are easy to do with children
• Infared saunas can detox heavy metals through the skin by sweating. However, this form of detoxification may not be suitable for young children who lack the ability to sweat.

Learn about retained primitive reflexes:

Most, if not all, children with neurodevelopmental disorders including learning disabilities, have retained primitive reflexes. Find a therapist that is trained in integrating primitive reflexes, which can cause imbalances in the way your child’s brain performs.

See a chiropractic neurologist at a Brain Balance Center:

The Brain Balance program can help balance the right and left brain hemispheres and make neural connections to extinguish primitive reflexes.

See a neurofeedback practitioner:

Neurofeedback is approved as a level-one intervention by the American Academy of Pediatrics for ADD and ADHD, which are learning disabilities. Even if your child doesn’t have ADD or ADHD, they may still benefit from neurofeedback. Find a practitioner that can perform a QEEG (quantitative electroencephalograph) brain map first so you can understand how your child’s brain works.

See a sensory-integration occupational therapist (OT):

These OTs address a variety of sensory issues with a child using hands-on equipment. This type of therapy calms down the nervous system to help integrate the senses and retained reflexes.

See a chiropractor:

A chiropractor can perform spinal cord adjustments, which can improve communication in the nervous system.

See a craniosacral practitioner:

Craniosacral therapy can reestablish central nervous system functioning. These practitioners use approaches rich in vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile input and may also do oral motor therapy.

See a behavioral/developmental optometrist:

A developmental optometrist can check for convergence and tracking problems with your child’s vision. He or she can correct these issues with vision therapy, lens and prisms. Doing so can improve hand-eye coordination and school performance.

See an auditory therapist:

Many children with learning disabilities have auditory processing problems that may be causing problems with focus and concentration. An auditory therapist can devise a listening program that is specific to your child’s needs. Auditory Integration Therapy (Berard) or Sound Stimulation (Tomatis) can retrain the brain, calm down the nervous system, reduce sound sensitivities.

Find a therapist doing Brain Gym:

A Brain Gym practitioner can have your child do exercises for sensorimotor coordination, self-calming and self-management.

See a homeopath or naturopath:

Homeopaths and naturopaths can diagnose and treat gastrointestinal disorders naturally so that the child’s immune, sensory, neurological and nervous systems develop without being compromised.

See a well-trained acupuncturist:

Acpuncture can help lower stress and anxiety associated with sensory processing.

See a NAET or BioSET practitioner:

Children with autism typically also have food allergies and/or food sensitivities and intolerances. NAET (Namudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique) and BioSET are two non-invasive methods of allergy elimination.

Sensory therapies and tools:

• Super brain yoga
• Rock climbing
• Gymnastics
• Weighted vests, blanket and belts
• HANDLE therapy
• Sensory Learning
• Tool Chest
• Squeeze Machine
• Music therapy
• Sensory gym
• Deep pressure brushing therapy
• Sensory tactile toys
  

Still Looking for Answers?

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• Have your child screened for services from the local public school, even if your child does not attend. The law mandates that you are entitled to free services from birth.
• Ask your doctor to run basic blood, urine, and stool tests for baselines on function. Be sure and include a test for vitamin D, which is not routine.
• Take all processed foods out of your child’s diet. Consider removing all sugars, flours (especially wheat), and dairy products, as well.
• Look into diets and therapies that heal the gut and restore microbial balance and diversity in your child’s gastrointestinal system
• Seek out a local support group for families of children with special needs.

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