In the past I haven't been a big supporter of diet specific for autism. Some of you that follow us know I have two children on the spectrum. My son received a later age diagnosis of Asperger's. Everything about autism became very confusing for me because Brandon and Shay are on different ends of the spectrum. Everything about them has been different. With Brandon I didn't have to do a massive amount of research. With Shay we do constantly and I don't even believe it's possible to be an expert on the subject of autism. It can be so individualized . What works for some doesn't for others.
In the beginning of Shay's journey when early intervention was coming to our home we had an amazing occupational therapist that had worked in the field of autism for a very long time.
She knew about dandan doctors and about using a gut healthy approach to manage autism.
She had suggested trying a gluten free diet for Shay . We tried it and one it was very expensive . Second almost everything Shay ate contained gluten so it was a huge challenge. We just didn't notice any improvement to continue.
At the time she was transitioning from purees to solid foods and Mac and Cheese was her favorite food. Really any type of pasta. Her transition to solids has taken away almost everything of nutritional value . She currently eats no fruits, veggies, and barely any meat.
When she was at home with me everyday before aba therapy she got a good amount of dairy ,fish ,and egg. At home it was easier for me to manage and prepare enough nutritional values through the day for her even with her limited choices of what she would eat.
When she started aba at first I was sending the stuff she was eating at home. They couldn't get her to eat any of it. She would push it away. The only thing they have been able to get her to eat is ramen and her new favorite texture crunchy so veggie straws or Doritos.
We have seen a huge increase in meltdowns . Several a day . We treat meltdowns with cannabis so we was having to give it more often twice a day usually and we also was having to increase the amount because of how often. We was up to 2mg per dose. At first we thought the increase in meltdowns was because she had been on the same strain for a while so we tried switching strains and it didn't help.
I immediately began doing some research again . Keeping Shay in a minimal amount of meltdowns is our highest priority. All of my research was leading to leaky gut and behaviors associated with it . I was visiting health food stores getting as much information as possible. My main concern was how many supplements can actually be taken together and be safe.
I was considering a few options at this point and the health store had a few recommendations of their own.
So we are putting a supplement regiment together . We are trying each one for a month to determine if it was beneficial or not before adding on. Are base starter is a superfood mix for kids that contains a mix of over 30 fruits and vegetables. As I'm writing this post we are on day 4 . I am adding a small amount of extra chocolate flavor she is taking to it nicely . We haven't had to give any cannabis she has been extremely happy.
