Alternative Treatments for Autism

Usually the first treatment mentioned for Autism is medication. This is changing. More people are open to trying alternative treatments. Medications can have terrible side effects, so more people are looking for natural products. Here are some alternative treatments used for Autism.

Nutritional
There are several diets that can be used when treating Autism. They range from eating Gluten free products to eliminating dairy from the diet. Some Autistic children have a sensitivity to certain ingredients in food. These ingredients will contribute to behavioural problems, or meltdowns when eaten.

Omega 3's
Omega 3 has been found to be helpful in treating Autism, as well as many other disorders. People using the Omega 3 have found better sleep patterns, social interaction, and over all health of their child. People wanting to try this alternative treatment can add fish oil to their children's diet. Fish oil can be found in capsule for or liquid. Some children have trouble swallowing the capsule. The liquid form can be found in a flavourless type that is mixed in a drink.

Music Therapy
Several studies have found music therapy to be very beneficial to the Autistic child. Sometimes an Autistic child will sing along with music while they will not speak. This is one way of working on the child's speech. The music can be soothing to an Autistic child. It can relax them enough to take part in an activity with other people.

Sensory Integration
Children with Autism can be very sensitive to noises, tastes, textures, and smells. Sensory integration therapy helps the child to deal with whatever it is causing them problems. It can also be used to calm a child with something like a certain smell or texture.

Speech Therapy
Speech therapy is a must for any child with Autism. Children with Autism usually misuse words. They often have a hard time understanding the meanings of words like few or many. Speech therapists can help teach gestures and communication skills to non verbal children. They can help the child to learn how to read other people's body language.

Play Therapy
Play therapy can be very useful when treating an Autistic child. Play therapy allows the child to relax and focus on things they enjoy. A therapist working with an autistic child will play on the floor with the child. They will give the child various toys and see if the child takes a liking to one of them. If the child begins to play the therapist will then try to interact with the child. After the therapist has formed a relationship with the child they might bring another child into play therapy. This can be a great way to get the Autistic child to play with other kids. Usually a therapist does the play therapy, however the parent can do the therapy after they have learned the techniques used.

These are just a few of the many alternative treatments available for Autism. Medication does not have to be a first resort. These can also be combined with medication for a better treatment plan.

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Autism - Dietary Concerns: Glutton and Casein

Autism is a disorder that must be treated with a variety of methods since there is no effective way to completely cure it. One of the ways you can help keep the symptoms of autism under control is by studying diet.

Parents of children with autism have reported that by controlling diet, they see a significant difference in their child's behaviour. Two of the main dietary concerns are glutton and casein.
Glutton is a substance found in many common food products, with wheat, rye, and oaks being the main culprits. Casein is found in dairy products, such as milk. If you or your child with autism eats many foods with these products in them, such as bread or cheese, you may be able to better control autistic behaviour by decreasing consumption of such foods.

The difficulty in digesting both glutton and casein comes from an inability to digestively handle the peptides in these substances. Since they are not broken down as in a normal body, these extra peptides are absorbed into the blood stream. Elevated levels of peptides disrupt major brain functions, contributing to the effects of autism.

By cutting foods containing glutton and casein out of you or your child's diet, you can help the body with the process of breaking down the peptides present in the body. To see if you or your child has a high absorption rate of these peptides, your doctor can administer a simple urine test.

Speak to a nutritionist or doctor before making any major changes in your diet. When you decide to cut glutton and casein from your diet, do not attempt to do this all at once. Cutting anything from your diet suddenly is unhealthy, and your body could go into withdrawal. Instead, slowly begin reducing the amounts of breads, grains, and milk products until you are eating none.

You doctor can provide you with a complete list of all the foods containing glutton and casein if you truly want to cut them all from your diet. However, it may be necessary to get the nutrients that you find in glutton and casein products in another way, such as with dietary supplements. Again, your doctor can help in this decision. Overall, maintaining a balanced diet is the healthiest thing to do.

Leaving glutton and casein products out of your or your child's diet may help control autistic behaviour, so it is an option that should be considered, but eating a healthy diet altogether is the best way to keep you and your family healthy.

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Autism and Nutritional Supplements

Autism is a terrible disorder that cripples the abilities of some parents with autistic children to reasonably discern between false hopes for cures and a research based study.

Most autistic parents have searched the internet, talked to doctors, and have read scores of literature to find help in the treatment and the cure for autism. Their searches usually end up fruitless because at this time there in no cure for autism.

This is heart breaking news for the parents and sometimes it will send them down the road of the unconventional methods that promise the moon but only delivers more bills and the eventual realisation that the methods did not help.

One of the most notorious claims that are made today, that have duped millions into believing it, is that nutritional supplements can cure autism. Some companies have taken the symptoms of autism like severe gastrointestinal problems and have spun tales that, just by adding nutritional supplements to the diet of the autistic child, the child will regain their cognitive skills and will be able to function normally. This is not true. All you will get when giving your child nutritional supplements is a healthier autistic child.

There is no miracle cure and these companies are out for the cash and not for the cure. America’s Food and Drug Administration has issued a statement that warns: “Parents of autistic children can be desperate and provide easy targets for unproven therapies. Marketers of dietary supplements for autistic children contend that their products promote more complete food digestion, thereby preventing neuro-toxic molecules that contribute to autism. This is a false and unsupported claim.”

There has been no founded research that backs these claims nor has any medical organisation or association given even a hint of support. Even the Autistic Association of America has down played nutritional supplements as a therapy.

Educated parents in the scientific community, who have autistic children, have raised a formal complaint with the Food and Drug Administration. On the grounds that they believe the agency should not make a statement against nutritional supplements until the people who believe in them, marketers and parents alike have a say.

The same group of parents have asked that a forum be open to discuss home based research and the discoveries parents have made by changing the diet of their children. Without proven documented research the success of these parents cannot really be taken seriously by the scientific community. The parents group believe that is that if there is success, the Food and Drug Administration may be swayed by the various pharmaceutical companies not to act of the information unless there is formal research.

The research that has been done on the subject is very limited. After a review of three research studies, all three seem to have a slant toward the nutritional supplement industry. The words were written in a defensive tone that pushed the supplements but gave very few actual clinical trial results.

The data gathering method used was mostly parental surveys. There were no laboratory or scientific method guidelines that could give statistical data when correlated with a control group. Used in a qualitative model, the opinions of parents and their observations were made as the focus ,instead of using a group model which would give statistical and proven evidence of any improvements of the autistic child.

If these supplements were to work, they would alleviate some symptoms of autism but it would not be a cure. It could be easily understood why parents see improvement. If their son or daughter shows even a minute improvement, in their mind the treatment works.

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Autism & It's Myths

As with all disorders that people do not understand, myths and claims are made out of ignorance and becomes a part of urban legend that confuses the public and puts misinformation out there that could detrimental to the parent looking for an answer to their dilemma.

Autism is a disease with an unknown cause and an unknown cure. This mysterious mental disorder is something for parents to be frightened about and the myths that pop up on the internet or in conversation do not help the placate the emotions of the parent who is facing life with an autistic child.

One of the myths of autism is that autism is caused by an uncaring or distant parent. This is an awful presumption that is grossly incorrect. Autism is a neurological brain disorder that makes the child have anti-social or poor social habits.

The environment or relationship between mother and child has nothing to do with the cause of the disease. The relationship with a distant mother may only the hinder the timeliness of a diagnosis because she was therefore unable to detect the symptoms, but the assumption that the relationship is the cause of the disease is false.

Another myth that has circulated is that autistic children and the mentally retarded are the same thing. Amazing feats of memorisation or counting has been seen in very few autistic children. Most autistic children fixate on a subject or a genre and become experts in it, but others have no abilities at all. The fixation may be root of the myth and the very few that exhibit these incredible mental powers are often exploited and have been shown to wide audiences.

The Tom Cruise movie ‘Rain Man’ centred on a autistic adult with counting prowess and this could be where the public passes on this myth.

A myth brought on by marketers and promoters of nutritional supplements is the idea that special diets and nutritional supplements can cure autism. This may be great if you are a parent that is desperately searching for something that will help their child, but the only thing a special diet or nutritional supplement will do for the child is to make them a healthier autistic child. The autism will still be there, but as with every human, the nutritional supplements and diet will only make the autistic child healthy and not cure the neurological imbalance the exists.

Another sad myth is that children with autism will never have the comfort of human relationships. This is completely false. Autistic children just communicate differently than others. They may feel love and hate but they cannot display the emotion as the rest of society would expect it to be shared.

Autistic adults have fell in love, gotten married and even have had a series of successful relationships as single adults. Autistic couples are common with high functioning autism and they more than any one else understands the pain of not being able to communicate the emotion they are feeling.

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