hypothyroidism

Thyroid Dysfunction and Autism, ADHD, SPD and Other Developmental Delays

Excerpted from “Resistance to Thyroid Hormone: Implications for Neurodevelopmental Research on the Effects of Thyroid Hormone Disrupters, ” by Peter Hauser, J. Michael McMillin, and Vinod S. Bhatara, and from personal communication with Audrey McMahon The effects of thyroid hormone on the growing brain and on later cognitive functioning are well-documented.  It is clear that thyroid hormone is essential to normal behavioral and intellectual development. Thyroid hormone influences the development of synapses, dendrites and myelination of the central nervous system (CNS).  Doctors know that congenital hypothyroidism (low thyroid), if not treated, can result in mental retardation. They are only now recognizing, however, that mild to moderate impairment of thyroid function in a pregnant mother may adversely affect brain development, as well as cause subtle to severe intellectual and behavioral abnormalities, such as learning disabilities, attention deficits and possibly certain pervasive developmental disorders such as autism. Thyroid dysfunction and autism, ADHD, SPD and other developmental delays is common. Precise amounts of the…

The “R” Word: Sensory Processing Disorder Recovery

You may or may not know my personal recovery story. I have recovered my 2 sons, now ages 5 and 7, from sensory processing disorder (SPD), asthma, allergies, acid reflux and eczema with a biomedical approach, which means correcting nutritional and hormonal deficiencies, removing toxicities and correcting gut dysbiosis. Most people don’t know that sensory processing disorder recovery is possible, but my sons have recovered from it. I’m still working on failure to thrive, mitochondrial dysfunction, hypothyroidism and persistent eczema in my older son. In addition, they both had developmental delays, and my older son had severe hypotonia as a baby. I have recovered from immune dysregulation, in which I had shingles twice, the worst case of poison-ivy ever, bronchitis (which I’d never had before), constant sinus infections and constant colds that would last 3-4 weeks at a time. My older son had immune dysregulation, too, when he was younger: he would go to preschool, get sick and be out…

The “R” Word: Recovery from Sensory Processing Disorder

You may or may not know my personal recovery story of how my sons have experienced recovery from Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). I have recovered my 2 sons, now ages 5 and 7, from SPD, asthma, allergies, acid reflux and eczema with a biomedical approach, which means correcting nutritional and hormonal deficiencies, removing toxicities and correcting gut dysbiosis. I’m still working on failure to thrive, mitochondrial dysfunction, hypothyroidism and persistent eczema in my older son. In addition, they both had developmental delays, and my older son had severe hypotonia as a baby. I have recovered from immune dysregulation, in which I had shingles twice, the worst case of poison-ivy ever, bronchitis (which I’d never had before), constant sinus infections and constant colds that would last 3-4 weeks at a time. My older son had immune dysregulation, too, when he was younger: he would go to preschool, get sick and be out for at least a week at a time, then…