Natural, nutritional etc. approaches to Special Needs issues

[Pen]

I'm not sure how to ask this, but: What are you doing for various special needs of your children that are non pharmaceutical approaches that seem to help whatever special need it may be? I am interested in both trigger avoidance, and in things to do. For example there was recently a thread on fish oil for ADHD. What else are you doing/avoiding for what else special needs situations?

[SaraSeashell]

Just asked similar elsewhere...tagging along to "hear" these replies.

[merry gardens]

We avoid food dyes, use fish oil supplements, and we eat regular snacks & meals together as a family. We try to eat somewhat healthy. As a general principle, I limit high fructose corn syrup, sodas, sugary breakfast foods, fast foods, and those types of things. I pay attention to fats and try for more omega 3 and fewer omega 6. We buy good cuts of meat and use free range eggs for the omega threes and that type of thing. If you're looking into fish oils, you might like this book, which goes into much more detail on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/The-Ultimate-Omega-3-Diet-Inflammation/dp/0071469869/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338239429&sr=1-2

 

Based on reading other threads here, I've tried giving half a cup of coffee or a cup of tea for the caffeine in the am. (I think that caffeine helps them focus a bit better, but honestly I've gotten out of that practice.)

[Crimson Wife]

We are seeing an integrative neurodevelopmental pediatrician to help youngest DD with her autistic symptoms. She is gluten- and casein-free and I try to avoid most soy (though her dr. said that soy lecithin and soybean oil are okay), HFCS, nitrates & nitrites, etc. She is taking Coromega for omega 3's, Klaire Labs Vitaspectrum multi, Inner Eco non-dairy coconut kefir for probiotics, acetyl-L-carnitine, DMG, and Coenzyme Q10. She'll be starting methyl B12 shots soon.

 

A couple of books I like that discuss biomedical treatments for ASD are Dr. Bob Sears' The Autism Book and Dr. Kenneth Bock's Healing the New Childhood Epidemics.

[Guest]

We do not have any official diagnoses here but I have implemented some natural approaches for what I have been seeing, possible Asperger's, definite sensory issues, reactive hypoglycemia and Hashimoto's Thyroiditis (this runs in both families). We are casein free (although I am considering adding Greek style yogurt, but not sure yet), gluten free, and take fish oil, vitamin D, probiotics, multivitamin, calcium (some, if we have not had enough for the day). We also avoid dyes, preservatives etc. For the reactive hypoglycemia (that runs in my family and several members of my family have passed out in public places, while I have known the signs for a long time now and would usually grab a bottle of orange juice), I recently read about adding high-protein snacks and that is what we have started implementing since last week.

 

ETA: So far Adrian has shown signs of reactive hypoglycemia from my two boys, but since we implemented the high protein snacks Malcolm's temper tantrums have reduced drastically also.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Guest

[TippyCanoe]

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[Guest]

This may be totally not what you are looking for, because it's not related to diet but other things.

 

For my dd's anxiety, SPD, and enormous inhibitions, for several years now we've done informal animal therapy. She doesn't do hippotherapy formally, but she does ride, and everyone at the school knows the relationship/bonding with the horse is far more important to us than riding skills or competition. When she connects strongly with a horse, she says she can "tell it anything," so she will chat and chat, standing there with its head on her shoulder, or walking it about the property. The feeling of working with the horse is also really important for her emotionally.

 

We also have dogs. Dd has been responsible for their training -- she's really good. This has given her at least one small arena in which she is totally comfortable being assertive. She also loves to cuddle and to have one or more dogs pressing against her while she sits and works, or reads in bed at night.

 

I think both sets of animals (horses not ours, but she gets to ride and work with them) have lessened her anxiety -- except when her favorite horse was sold, plunging her into a huge, long depression... that's the dark side.

 

I'd love to have her be with a working dog for anxiety purposes when she's an adult, but I'm still in the very early stages of thinking that through. She's not visibly disabled, so I don't know how it would go over in many environments.

 

It's interesting that the Orion School, one of the very few schools specifically for spectrum/NLD high schoolers, includes dog training classes as an integral part of its program. Each and every kid must work with a dog for an extended period of time, I think six months to a year, training it and bonding with it. You can read about this at www.orionacademy.org

 

Thank you for posting this! I don't know about the OP but this is something I am really glad I read :). I can see this for both my boys and especially Malcolm, my animal lover. It is one of the main reasons why we have been looking to move out of the city and further up north. This is something I will definitely be keeping in mind.

[rafiki]

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[NovelMama]

I'm new around here, so forgive me if this has already been mentioned elsewhere, but I know a lot of people who have done the GAPS diet and seen *amazing* improvements in things like anxiety, allergies, ADHD, and autism/Asperger's. There's a book called The GAPS diet that lays it all out. It's pretty intense and takes a lot of dedication to stick with, but when you see the results it's worth it! A friend of mine did it - her dd and her both were allergic to a LOT of stuff, and my friend was suffering from secondary infertility. Within just two months of starting the diet she was pregnant (baby due next month!), and now her dd's list of food she has to avoid is much, much shorter.

[BlueTaelon]

This may be totally not what you are looking for, because it's not related to diet but other things.

 

For my dd's anxiety, SPD, and enormous inhibitions, for several years now we've done informal animal therapy. She doesn't do hippotherapy formally, but she does ride, and everyone at the school knows the relationship/bonding with the horse is far more important to us than riding skills or competition. When she connects strongly with a horse, she says she can "tell it anything," so she will chat and chat, standing there with its head on her shoulder, or walking it about the property. The feeling of working with the horse is also really important for her emotionally.

 

We also have dogs. Dd has been responsible for their training -- she's really good. This has given her at least one small arena in which she is totally comfortable being assertive. She also loves to cuddle and to have one or more dogs pressing against her while she sits and works, or reads in bed at night.

 

I think both sets of animals (horses not ours, but she gets to ride and work with them) have lessened her anxiety -- except when her favorite horse was sold, plunging her into a huge, long depression... that's the dark side.

 

I'd love to have her be with a working dog for anxiety purposes when she's an adult, but I'm still in the very early stages of thinking that through. She's not visibly disabled, so I don't know how it would go over in many environments.

 

It's interesting that the Orion School, one of the very few schools specifically for spectrum/NLD high schoolers, includes dog training classes as an integral part of its program. Each and every kid must work with a dog for an extended period of time, I think six months to a year, training it and bonding with it. You can read about this at http://www.orionacademy.org

 

Your dd screams "I have pyroluria" which is an easily treated blood disorder. It's a simple urine test but drs offices usually screw it up so it's best to just pay out of pocket for it. Best money I ever spent:) anyway, serious anxiety issues is pyrolurias calling card, in adults you add in depression, when it becomes severe they often get dx with bipolar/sz. There is an awesome Facebook group at

https://www.facebook.com/groups/pyroluria/ With tons of great info. I've watched my dd be cured from bipolar 1, ADHD, severe immune deficiency, working memory and processing issues as well as visual processing issues which allowed her to gain 6 years of progress in reading this year by finding the root cause of all my dd's issues. The change has been amazing but not 1 dr ever mentioned the disorder to us even though we've seen a ton over the years, they'd never heard of it which is a shame because it causes so much suffering untreated.

[Pen]

Hi, I am OP and all replies so far ARE what sorts of things I was trying to get at. I didn't mean to limit to nutrition exclusively. I hope you'll keep em coming. I also liked the book links for where to find more perhaps. Thanks!

 

We have dogs too and I think they are very important. Actually an issue right now because we are actually down to 1 and it is getting older, I am trying to figure out what to get next.

 

Marie, what high protein snacks and how? I think my son needs to do that and I need to figure out what I can have on hand at the ready. Too much sugar or carbohydrates that probably convert to sugar cause trouble and so many snacks are just that.

[Guest]

Marie, what high protein snacks and how? I think my son needs to do that and I need to figure out what I can have on hand at the ready. Too much sugar or carbohydrates that probably convert to sugar cause trouble and so many snacks are just that.

 

Beef jerky was one of the recommendations but I have not looked for any yet. I have a feeling that they will have preservatives. We buy sausages from Walmart (without preservatives) and freeze them. I also give the boys fruit snacks with peanut butter. I make my own peanut butter dip that they love. I add a bit of raw honey (honey, I find, is a great sweetener, and it has some amazing healing properties http://www.honeyo.com/honeyhealing.shtml) and some Almond milk (that is our milk of choice since going off casein). We also buy bacon without preservatives but we do not have that too often as it does have celery juice, which is the natural form of nitrates. There is a debate on whether it is the same as the nitrates/ nitrites used in other processed meats so we are cautious with that. We are new to this though. I hope Michele chimes in with some more suggestions. She has been at it longer than we have :).

 

ETA: We also use eggs as snacks.

Edited May 29, 2012 by Guest

[synchromom]

We have found a number of things that are helpful to my dd's focus, attention and fidgeting.

 

We have implemented the Feingold diet (well, my own version from reading books and not buying the total program). Based on that we avoid food dyes and perservatives. Vitamin A Palmitate is definitely a trigger for dd. One interesting thing I have found about the diet is that once we started (at age 7) my dd was totally on board. She can definitely tell that she is calmer and feels more in control when she is eating the right things.

 

Fish oil

 

Serving protein at breakfast and getting morning exercise. It is amazing how much more difficult the day is when I give in to waffles or pancakes.

 

Sharon

[rafiki]

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[Guest]

My guys have severe food allergies, so we don't do soy protein, eggs, milk, tree nuts, or peanuts.

 

We grill, roast, or bake non processed meats in bulk.

 

We'll do as much boneless skinless chicken breast as will fit, slice it thin or cube it for mini meals (vs three larger meals and snacks).

 

We us a lot of ground turkey, very lean and inexpensive as far as proteins go. Favorites here are onion turkey burgers, meat rice (brown grinds, add to homemade pasta sauce, serve over rice), Japanese tacos (use a bed of rice for tacos instead of shells and top as usual).

 

I make my own onion soup mix and taco seasoning.

 

We use smaller portions for mini meals.

 

Lean steaks, briskets, roasts, pulled meat, etc.

 

We do three main meals and two snacks and because of this the snacks have been an issue while trying to add protein. We have been adding mostly eggs and nuts for our snacks here, since I don't want to use the sausages too often. We don't have sensitivities so we eat different nuts raw. The boys like them too. Oh, the boys love fish so I buy salmon and make salmon salad with corn chips as a snack too. I can see making chicken strips, which could be a snack on the go also, but I am stumped on what else to do. What do you use for on the go type of snacks?

 

I'm currently looking at a dehydrator to make our own jerky.

 

That's my goal too but I can't spend the money on one right now. Will be getting one in the future though!

[Guest]

My other issue is, I don't currently have a big freezer, so I can only make stuff that will be consumed same day. I could probably store one more portion but that is it. This is why I need to come up with ideas for protein type snacks on the go or small snacks. The salmon, for example, I use when one of our meals was more like a mini meal (if it was leftovers for example). Hmmm... on the hunt for some more protein snacks :auto:.