Any dietary changes or supplements that have worked?

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I'm not a parent but posted here just because it seems that NT parents are both more knowledgeable and more willing to pursue treatments than older individuals with autism.

I'm very curious about the gluten free/casein free diet, as well as GAPS and other things. I had awful allergies as a child.

As for supplements, I have:

Vitamin D (12,000/iu per day)
Omega 3
L-Carnitine
Gingko Biloba
B-Complex
Magnesium
Zinc
C (1000 iu/day)
Nootropic compounds (noopept and Piracetam)

Cut out gluten and dairy. Any other suggestions?

i have found that getting the gluten out of my son's diet aided in his regaining an interest in asking and answering questions. he is more present and participatory now that he is gluten-free. for me, i find that i lose weight and my memory improves greatly when i am gluten-free.
getting the casein out of his diet has eradicated his irrational, violent tendencies. he still hits from time to time, but never with full force and there is always a "reason". before, he would just go off for no apparent reason and start kicking and hitting as hard as he could. getting him off of dairy also cleared up his night terrors.
i hope this helps. let me know if you need any advice for grocery shopping!

that's too much D3. more than 4000 IU per day is toxic.

Is anyone going to cite any valid scientific studies, or is this all going to be based on subjective testimony?

Not a parent, but from a health perspective, I have noticed this recently in dietary changes after reading Allen Carr's Lose Weight Now:

-Less bread consumed and less refined sugar has actually made me feel less dizzy and less nautious.
-When I do consume a chocolate bar, I noticed my mouth is still watering afterwards signalling I am still hungry (same goes with other forms of refined sugar). Refined sugar is going to work in a way that makes you overeat. Consider that.
-Reduced fat has made my chest hurt less (reduced acid reflux maybe), Less salt had the same effect for the most part.
-I barely eat any meat anymore and get my protein source from legumes (beans, lentils), milk (1.5 cups at breakfast), nuts, and yogurt and protein shakes after workouts. I find my body functions better with less meat consumed and less dairy as well.
-I aim to get my fruits consumed in the morning and my vegetables consumed during hte evening. I tend to use Peanut Butter with my celery and broccoli and it doesn't do much harm.

Talk with a GAPS practitioner or a nutritionist who specializes in whatever program you want to get yourself into. That's step 1. Our family nutritionist is great and she's been through our process herself. She is very knowledgeable and it's important to seek professional advice rather than try things out on your own. There are a lot of variables to consider and unless you have a degree in this field, it's best to leave it to the experts.

As I've mentioned before, GAPS has worked great for my son. We still have a long way to go and I can tell because the whole house KNOWS when he cheats off the program (meltdowns, galore!!)

Honestly, the information is out there - I'm not digging. Is my testimony subjective? Possibly.

When I took the artificial additives (colors, flavors, preservatives) out of my diet I noticed it became easier to concentrate and I was less prone to tantrums.

The OP appeared to be asking for people's experiences. If studies are what you would like to see there are plenty out there but I don't have time to point them out at the moment.

We cut out artificial food dyes. One supplement we take that's not on your list is a probiotic. This seems to help keep the digestive system operating normally. DS also takes 200 mg/ day of GABA . This has reduced his anxiety.

I'm not NT so I guess I am going to illustrate your theory by saying we have not tried anything in this regard. The only thing we do is try to limit processed foods and artificial dyes and colors, but I have not noticed any behavioral or other differences from when our son does have fast food or other processed foods. We limit these things for general health reasons and would do so even with an NT child.

Some report good results, but I think it is either kind of hit and miss or possibly a placebo effect in some cases.

I thought that was 40,000?

I got tested last year and had a "moderately severe" deficiency and that was even before I locked myself in the law library for a year to make Law Review. I didn't know what D was and just ignored the results at the time, till the effects brought back dormant autistic behaviors and caused me to fail 30 on-campus interviews.

I posted a comprehensive ABA study analyzing and grading all these "off label" treatments in the "General Autism Discussion" forum, and it was completely ignored. I then posted an article about the study which showed 1/3 of autistic kids growing out of it/being cured by age 21, and that was ignored, too.

Which is why I posted this here.



Yes, I've heard of this, too. Like an excess of candida? But it seemed like multiple probiotics might be necessary since the exact nature of the imbalance is not known. How do you deal with this problem?

Finally, has anyone used piracetam or the stronger nootropics? I'm on 100 mg/day of the strongest one, Noopept, and it seems to have improved my social functioning in many ways, but I can't be sure. I'm curious if anyone gave this to a kid and observed long-term behavioral changes.

I looked for a probiotic that appeared to have a variety of different strains however there is not a lot of choice for a kids formula. Both of my boys take Kyo-Dophillus for kids. it contains L Acidophilus, B. bifidum & B. longum. My son with ASD suffered mild-moderate digestive issues swinging back and forth between constipation and loose stools. Since we started the priobiotics, he has been more regular. My NT son has a weak immune system. I don't know if the probiotics have helped with this or not but I figure it can't hurt. We have not tried Nootropics.

I am unaware of any requests for valid scientific studies.

My daughter had a strong positive response to removing casein from her diet. She was a toddler at the time. The continual "spaced out" look that she had was gone, she was more responsive to her name, and her headbanging stopped. Funny thing was, I was just trying to get her to eat more solids and thought maybe she was filling up on too much milk. I had no idea what a casein free diet was, or that it was possibly related to autism. In total, she was casein free for 18 months. We tried her on a gluten free diet for 9 months, but to be honest, nothing much happened. Although I don't restrict her casein anymore, she self-restricts, though not to the point of total elimination. But she will do things like peel the cheese off of her pizza, so I think that perhaps she associates dairy foods with not feeling well.

I am currently experimenting with chia seeds. They have a lot of nutritional benefits and are easy to incorporate into many of the foods we eat.

You might try something like kefir soda to obtain probiotics. It has upwards of 40 strains of bacteria and yeast, and it is like having little pets on the counter top. You drain their water each day and feed them. Put the old water in a jar or bottle with an air tight lid and add something with a bit of sugar in it like a heavy juice such as blueberry or pomegranate and seal that up for 1-2 days, and it will carbonate. Then enjoy with your supper. It is kind of like Izze soda, in that it is not very sweet, but my kids love it! They even like it without the fizz. We didn't start it for trying for symptom relief or anything, just because the kefir soda is healthier than regular sodas.

Who's water do you drain? I am intrigued...