Gluten Free Diet And Autism: Does It Really Help?

While there is no cure for autism, patients are generally prescribed medications and parents and caretakers are often encouraged to pursue different diets and sometimes even other types of alternative treatments. And, of course the condition of an autistic patient is consistently monitored as well as assistance and a wealth of information provided, both about autism in general and the patient’s specific individual condition.

Much talk has been going on about a gluten free diet and autism and how it can help with symptoms in patients with autism. This type of dietary regimen is of course also healthy in general, so you can see why it has become so popular as it has been announced that there is a theorized link to an improvement in a patient’s condition.

It has been suggested as well that autistic patients are often restrictive regarding their own dietary choices like a preference for bland or plain food. So the question posed here by many parents, caretakers and other professionals in the medical field is whether a gluten free diet really helps a person with autism or if the autism is really just responsible for limiting a patient’s dietary regimen and food choices. It seems obvious where the thought of the gluten free diet and autism link originated, but the question about which direction it really works is the key aspect of all research going into this medical theory.

When choosing gluten free foods for a patient’s dietary regimen, the theory is that autistic patients might have allergies. Therefore, allergy testing is often performed by those trying to see if this might be an option for their autistic child. If allergies are found, well then it would make sense that the autistic patient should stay away from foods with gluten. But, does this prove that the actual symptoms of autism would see an improvement with the gluten free diet?

Gluten free diet and autism is continuing to be researched. The idea that is being further looked into is that autistic patients process the proteins and peptides in foods containing gluten in a much different way than people without autism. More information is sure to surface in the future, and if you’re considering this as an option, speak with the medical professional handling your child’s health and perhaps any other medical professionals you wish to seek advice from concerning your children’s dietary needs.

Parents Of Autistic Children Question Can Autism Be Cured

Chances are at some point every parent of an autistic child will silently wonder can autism be cured. So far, the answer to this very important question has been “no”. Although there are many advertisements for books and other items that promise to hold the key to a cure once you purchase the product, you should not be misled. Even though currently there is no scientific evidence that there is a cure for the developmental disorder, there are different treatments that can make living with Autism easier.

Therapy 

There are several types of therapy that have proven to be effective in the lives of Autistic children. Some of these therapies are:

•    Physical therapy
•    Occupational therapy
•    Speech therapy
•    Drug therapy
•    Play therapy
•    Behavioural therapy
•    Music therapy

Many other types of therapy can also be effective in treating Autism under certain circumstances. Therapy will not cure a child of Autism, but it will provide them with a way to cope with the disorder better.

Alternative And Natural Treatments

Non-western medical treatments have been discovered and developed to help children who have Autism. In many situations, herbs can be used to replace prescription medication. This is beneficial to the child because the herbs will not subject the child to the side effects that can be associated with prescription medicine.

Adding vitamins and other supplements to a child’s diet has also been shown to help deal with Autism; however, you should inform your child’s doctor of any herbs or supplements you are giving your child. Sometimes mixing certain herbs and medications together can cause an adverse reaction in children. You should also remember that you should never think can autism be cured with herbal supplements. These supplements can help with some of the symptoms, but not cure the disorder.

Nutritional Treatments

Diet modification is one of the most popular treatments that are recommended to parents of Autistic children. There may be food sensitivities in the child’s diet that should be eliminated. Typically, children who are Autistic are sensitive to:

•    Dairy
•    Gluten
•    Artificial dyes

The commonly held belief is that once these types of food are eliminated from the diet, behavioural issues will greatly reduce. If you are not sure if your child is suffering with food allergies, schedule an appointment with their doctor so they can undergo allergy testing. This way you will know if the behavioural issues that your child is exhibiting is the result of certain foods they are eating.

Although many wonder can autism be cured, different types of treatments can provide some relief of symptoms. Begin with one treatment at a time instead of trying multiple treatments at once. This way you will know if one treatment is more effective than another.

Effective Tips for Autism in the Classroom

Time in school can be a challenging situation for any child that has ASD (autism spectrum disorder), including Asperger’s syndrome. In fact, autism in the classroom can also be challenging for the parents and teachers, which often requires taking special steps. Many children suffering from ASD will develop behavioral problems because of their inability to communicate well with others at school.

Everyone Is Unique

Professionals and parents agree that it takes a tremendous amount of dedicated work to assist children suffering from autism to ensure they receive maximum benefit in their classroom experience. In addition, it takes a structured environment and the understanding that each child dealing with autism is unique. This means that all styles of learning need to be adapted to that specific child. To be successful, the parents and educators need to build a fairly broad model that encompasses the whole spectrum of all the needs the child will require.

Valuable Tips

The following valuable tips will help educators and parents cope with children that experience autism in the classroom. These include:

Strengths and Weakness – The educator should develop an effective method for assessing the strength and weakness of every child dealing with ASD. It may require discussing the aspects of the child’s condition with his or her doctor or seek out information at a local autism center. This will provide the opportunity to develop an effective IEP (individualized educational plan).

Incorporate Repetition – Another valuable tip involves using repetition. Many children need to perform the same task 50 times or more to understand the concept or the information being taught.

Provide Easy Instructions – The parents should provide every teacher and coach at school a list of easy instructions based on the specific needs of the child. This might include the teacher slowing down their instructional teachings to the child, repeating their name when interacting or whatever methods that work well to communicate directly with the child to achieve the best results.

Get Involved – Parents that become highly active with the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) or volunteer at the school’s events will better understand the challenges that the child is facing every day in the classroom.

In many situations, autism in the classroom is challenging on the teacher and/or the child. Parents should never be shy about considering a change of school venues if their son or daughter is not benefiting at the local educational facility. Some schools have access to better resources and are better equipped to handle children suffering from autism.

ADHD and Anxiety – Why Do They Occur Together?

A recent study done on children with ADHD found that two thirds of them were having anxiety or depression, too. Some of the kids were having several symptoms of anxiety, and the others were affected with the full-blown disorder. Even if you consider adults affected with ADHD, about 40% of them were affected with other mental disorders such as obsessive-compulsory-disorder, generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder. Clinical psychologists at the Harvard Medical School put this number even higher at a whopping 50%. Why do ADHD and Anxiety Co-occur? This article will try to highlight the facts on why ADHD and anxiety occur together.

The symptoms of ADHD would naturally make oneself feel anxious at all times. Be it a child or an adult, ADHD symptoms will make them feel stressful most of the time. An adult with ADHD can fail to meet a critical deadline at work and get fired. A kid can be forgetful and fail a crucial math exam. These situations will naturally cause anxiety in an adult or a kid, alike. Even the fear that you may forget something important can lead to stressful feeling and anxiety. Generally, people with untreated ADHD would naturally feel overwhelmed and act in such a way that they attract more negative situations into their lives than normal people. This is a definite formula for creating anxiety and depression in their lives.

People suffering from ADHD are usually sensitive, and this can make them more vulnerable to be affected by negative emotions and feelings, which in turn can stimulate stress and anxiety in a person. ADHD and anxiety can co-occur due to genetic reasons also. Studies done at  Massachusetts General Hospital confirms a link between these two disorders and a person’s genetics.

Anxiety could worsen the symptoms of ADHD and vice versa. We cannot think properly when we are anxious and under stress. This can aggravate the distractibility and forgetfulness, which are common symptoms of ADHD. The treatments of ADHD also can be adversely affected by anxiety. People who are anxious are fearful of trying new things for fear of them not working out. This could have a negative effect on trying out new strategies that are conducive to relieving ADHD quickly.

ADHD and other mental disorders such as anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsory disorder are co-related on a deeper level. They can cause a downward spiral in the treatments of ADHD too.