Maria Rickert Hong received her training as a Certified Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she was trained in more than 100 dietary theories. She is also a mom who has recovered her sons from sensory processing disorder, allergies, asthma and acid reflux as well as recovered herself from heavy-metal poisoning, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, pancreatic insufficiency, insomnia, systemic Candida and immune disregulation.
Gut dysbiosis — this topic is the motherlode. It’s one of the two core (in my opinion) reasons for the explosion of chronic childhood illnesses we see today.
First, let’s discuss the numbers behind this epidemic: How many kids did you know when you were growing up that had autism, ADHD, acid reflux, allergies, asthma, developmental delays and/or mental health issues? I knew of only ONE child with any one of these in the whole time I went to school from elementary school to high school. Now that I am a mom, I can tell you that it’s the rare child who does NOT have any chronic illnesses. The statistics for today’s kids are staggering:
- 1 in 6 African-American children has asthma; 1 of every 8 children has it
- 1 in 5 children has allergic eczema
- 2-3 out of every 5 children have hay fever
- 1 in 3 children has a food intolerance; 1 in 12 under the age of 4 has a true food allergy
- 1 in 80 children has celiac disease
- 1 in 10 children is diagnosed with ADHD
- 1 in 57 boys has autism; 1 in every 91 children has it
- 1 in 30 kids has severe mood dysregulation, such as bipolar disorder
- 1 of every 30 kids has depression
- 1 in 100 children has obsessive/compulsive disorder
Having any one of these conditions is “the new normal”, as one of our previous bloggers wrote in her October 2009, “The New Autism Numbers”.
And guess what? All of these illnesses are related. At their core, each and every one of these children with these illnesses has gut dysbiosis. Beth Lambert and Victoria Kobliner, our non-profit’s founders, wrote about it in their recent book, “A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illnesses in America’s Children”. Dr. Kenneth Bock and Cameron Stauth also wrote about it in their book, “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders”. I highly recommend both of these books, and I regularly lend them out to parents of chronically ill children. I find that Beth Lambert’s book is better for explaining why this epidemic is happening while Dr. Bock’s book is better at explaining what to do if your child has a chronic illness.
Here’s a tip: even if your child doesn’t have one of the “4-A disorders” but does have developmental delays, sensory processing disorder, chronic ear infections, digestive problems and/or mental health issues, he or she can still benefit from these books because, as I said, at their root, these kids have gut dysbiosis.
So what is gut dysbiosis? It’s where the balance of flora in the intestine is tipped towards having more “bad” bacteria, yeasts and parasites than “good”. Many things can cause gut dysbiosis, among them:
- Inheriting it from your mother because she had gut dysbiosis when she gave birth to you.
- Inheriting it from your mother because she received antibiotics while she was in labor with you.
- Taking antibiotics.
- Taking birth-control pills.
- Taking cortisone or other anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Drinking chlorinated water.
- Using anti-bacterial soap or sanitizer.
- Eating added sugar or even sweeteners such as honey.
- Eating processed foods such as breads, cereals, crackers, cookies, pastries, cakes and candy because they essentially break down into sugar and/or have high levels of added sugar.
- Eating too many fruits.
- Eating too much high-glycemic fruit such as tropical fruits (bananas, mangos, pineapples, etc.) and dried fruits. Dried fruits, like raisins and dates, have very high concentrations of sugar.
- Eating vinegar and vinegar-brined foods.
- Eating non-organic meats from animals that have been given antibiotics (remember, you eat what they eat).
The simplest way for me to think of gut dysbiosis is that it generally is caused by chronic and/or systemic yeast (usually candida albicans) overgrowth. Yeast loves to eat sugar, so anything that breaks down too easily into sugar feeds the yeast and can cause it to grow to an unhealthy proportion. Also, anything that kills off bacteria (such as antibiotics, chlorinated water and anti-inflammatory drugs) causes collateral damage by killing all the “good” bacteria, too.
Why is gut dysbiosis such a bad thing? It causes immune dysfunction. Did you know that 70% of your immune system is actually in your gut? If your gut isn’t working properly, neither is your immune system. All of those pounds of flora, good and bad, in your gut are communicating with the immune-system cells in your gut and telling them whether or not to turn on certain genetic switches. If you have the wrong kind of flora (bad bacteria, yeast overgrowth or parasitic invasion) telling your genes what to do, you’re going to end up in bad health. It’s like having your kids hang out with the wrong crowd; you know they’re going to end up in trouble. Dysbiosis can lead to a weakened immune system, which can make your body more hospitable to parasites and infectious invasion.
I should mention here that, in its proper proportion, candida albicans is actually a helpful yeast because it aids in digestion and the absorption of nutrients. It’s just that when it grows out of control that it can cause problems such as ear and sinus infections, yeast infections, fatigue, brain fog, and mood swings. It can also cause a leaky gut because the yeast overgrowth props open the walls of the intestine, letting out undigested food. This creates inflammation throughout the body in the form of allergies, arthritis and other autoimmune diseases, fatigue and brain fog. In the case of children (and adults!) with autism and ADHD, the undigested proteins gluten and casein travel through the bloodstream into the brain and cause a morphine-like effect. That’s why when foods containing them (wheat, barley, rye, gluten-contaminated oats, and dairy) are removed from their diets, many children are able to focus and communicate more clearly; it’s almost as if they were on drugs before. People with asthma, allergies, eczema, and other auto-immune diseases might also reduce inflammation throughout their bodies by removing gluten- and casein-containing foods. Some people have allergic reactions to other foods, such as corn, soy and eggs, and do well by trying an elimination/challenge diet to see if symptoms improve.
Gut dysbiosis can also cause mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and obsessive/compulsive disorder. This may not make much sense to you until you understand that a lot of serotonin (the neurotransmitter that makes you feel happy) is produced in the gut. So, again, when the gut’s function is impaired, such as by gut dysbiosis, it’s going to affect whether or not you feel good. Vicki Kobliner, co-author of “A Compromised Generation” and a registered dietitian, recommends a trial period of cutting out gluten completely for those with mental health issues to see if its avoidance helps.
To save you the trouble of looking up the symptoms of gut dysbiosis on our website, “http://www.epidemicanswers.org/“, I’ve swiped the list and pasted it here for your perusal. See if you or your children have any of these symptoms:
Signs of gut dysbiosis:
- One or two red cheeks after eating
- Red or hot ears after eating
- Chronic runny nose or cough
- Chronic mouth breathing
- Recurrent ear infections
- Chronic or recurrent sinus infections
- Chronic or recurrent strep infections
- Periodic Fever Syndrome
- Patches of red, dry, scaly skin (eczema) on face, hands, elbows, knees or other parts of the skin
- Frequent diaper rashes in babies, especially red rings around the anus or redness of the vaginal area
- Cradle cap or excessive scaling and dandruff on the scalp
- Thinning hair or hairloss
- Cavities and excessive tartar, or bad breath despite proper dental hygiene
- Frequent day-time accidents in an already potty-trained child
- Nighttime bedwetting well into the grade school years
- Nocturia, frequent waking to go to the bathroom
- Dark circles or bags surrounding the eyes, “droopy” eyes
- Excessive drooling in children too old to drool
- Colic, excessive crying or irritability in babies
- Frequent temper tantrums (multiple times a day)
- Frequent crying, sadness, anger (multiple times a day)
- Esophageal reflux, babies who chronically ‘spit up’ or regurgitate after eating
- White coating on the tongue
- Chronic thrush infections
- Unusual fingernail or toenail formation
- Frequent loose stools, diarrhea
- Undigested food found routinely in stools
- Constipation, infrequent stooling, (only going once every few days, or straining with a bowel movement)
- Excessive gas, flatulence
- Chronically discolored stools: white, yellow, or black.
- Floating stools, or dry stools (“rabbit pellets”)
- “Tummy aches”
- Distended “pot belly”
- Persistent toe-walking (always walking on tip-toes)
- Delays in crawling, walking, talking
- Large motor delays—difficulties completing age-appropriate physical tasks (e.g., jumping or climbing)
- Sideways glancing—looking out of the sides of the eyes instead of making direct eye contact
- Sensory-defensiveness: covering the ears from everyday sounds like vacuum cleaners or telephone rings; shielding the eyes from bright lights; sensitivity or revulsion to common smells; avoidance of certain textures like sand, wetness, certain fabrics; over sensitivity or emotional reaction to tags in clothing, seams in socks, hairbrushing; avoidance of kisses, hugs, or other forms of affection
- Sensory-seeking behaviors: always looking to “crash” into people, objects
- Pressure-seeking behavior: trying to push the belly against objects, the floor, tables
- Head-banging
- Tongue hanging out of the mouth
- Failure to thrive, growth delays
- Arm flapping
- Low muscle tone
- Extreme or abnormal fatigue
- Difficulty waking
- Excessive sweating (night or daytime) or inability to regulate temperature
- Excessive hyperactivity
- Chronically swollen lymph nodes
- Obsessive or compulsive type behaviors—constant hoarding of toys, possessions
- Lining up toys, or other repetitive behaviors
- Persistent aggressive behavior
- Persistent non-compliant or oppositional behavior
- Tics (verbal or physical)
- Recurrent urinary tract infections
- Chronic vaginal infections
- Chronic athletes foot, ring worm or other fungal skin infections
My older son had a far longer list of these symptoms than my younger one: recurrent ear infections, eczema, cradle cap, allergic shiners, frequent temper tantrums, acid reflux, constipation, a delay in walking (he was TWENTY months old!), large motor delays, sensory defensiveness, failure to thrive, low muscle tone, and extreme fatigue. My younger son had a shorter list: eczema, bloody diaper rashes, acid reflux, and a delay in walking (he was 16 months old).
I didn’t even start to realize until my older son was 4 years old and my younger son was 2 what was going on with them. The person that helped me recover them the most certainly wasn’t any of their pediatricians or allergist or gastroenterologist. It was learning from the naturopath that I had started to see to help me with my own health problems that helped me heal them. I began to understand that the simple things I was doing for myself would help them, too. Taking probiotics helped to restore the balance of the intestinal flora, while taking omega-3 supplements helped ease the inflammation.
And do you know it was the naturopath who cured both of them of their acid reflux? My older son had reflux so bad that he would projectile vomit constantly as a baby (colic, my foot!), would refuse to eat solids, and would only eat food after we sang, danced and distracted him for an hour only to have him throw it up. This went on every day until I took him to my naturopath, who tested him for food sensitivities and then told me to take him off of dairy. I was able to stop giving both of them the Prevacid that they had been taking for years after 3 days. It was only the dairy?! I could have strangled all of those doctors, especially the gastroenterologist because he subjected my younger son at the age of 12 months to a completely unnecessary (in hindsight) endoscopy in which he was put under anesthesia. And it was only the dairy! Couldn’t he at least have suggested just changing their diets? Grrrr. As you might understand by now, I am not very trusting any more of allopathic doctors. It seems as if all they have to offer is antibiotics (look where that got us), pharmaceuticals or surgery.
After subsequent visits to the naturopath, I cut out gluten from my boys’ diets. I began reading books on the subject, and I found “The Kid-Friendly ADHD & Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet” by Pamela Compart and Dana Laake to be extremely helpful and user-friendly. The kids liked the food from the recipes, too.
The book that I found to be the most helpful at explaining gut dysbiosis and how to treat it is “The Body Ecology Diet: Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity” by Donna Gates. I will warn you that the protocol she offers will put you at odds with the Standard American Diet (SAD), but it works. The SAD contains too many processed, refined, sweetened and antibiotic-laden foods and can lead to gut dysbiosis. In contrast, the Body Ecology Diet (BED) eliminates gluten, dairy, sugars and fruits (although fruit can be added in later) because they all feed the yeast. BED also teaches the principles of acid/alkaline (an alkaline diet is more healthful as it is more vegetable-based whereas the SAD is a very acidic diet, which can leave you open to infectious invasion), 80/20, food combining and eating fermented foods.
On her website, Donna Gates says: “We believe (autism) begins in the womb and that a fungal infection is playing a key role. Weakened immunity, the lack of an inner ecosystem, toxins accumulated over generations and detoxification pathways that don’t eliminate the toxins also are a factor as well. 70% of Americans have fungal infections (candida).”
Think of the kids’ menu at a typical restaurant; it’s loaded with potentially allergenic and yeast-feeding foods: cheese pizza, chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, etc. I found that the easiest way (although it’s a very time-consuming way) to eliminate yeast-feeding foods is to cook from scratch and not to eat out very much. After we’d all been eating more healthfully for a few months, the naturopath told us that once a week we could eat whatever we wanted. That way, if the boys go to a birthday party, they don’t have to feel left out.
Another way to think of these foods, especially gluten and dairy foods, as they are what most kids eat, is that they are like glue in the intestine. They literally clog it up. Remember that gluten has the word “glue” in it and that Elmer’s glue has a picture of a cow on it. It’s made from milk, and that milk becomes glue in your intestine. I’m sure you’ll be grossed out when I tell you that a clogged colon is a putrifying colon and a dysbiotic colon.
Speaking of allergenic foods, have you ever wondered why wheat, dairy, corn, soy and eggs are the top food allergens? Robyn O’Brien and Rachel Kranz explain why in their book, “An Unhealthy Truth: One Mother’s Shocking Investigation into the Dangers of America’s Food Supply—And What Every Family Can Do to Protect Itself”. Robyn used to be a food-industry analyst and was compelled to discover why her daughter had such a violent reaction after eating a typical American breakfast. She found out that the proteins in these foods have been genetically modified, and the American public has eaten these foods for at least the last two decades. Is it a coincidence that food allergies have skyrocketed in the same time frame? She thinks not! One way to protect yourself and your family from these GMO foods is by eating organic foods, which are, by definition, not allowed to be GMO.
Remembering that you eat what the animals you eat ate, anyone with gut dysbiosis (and I’m wondering if this isn’t a large majority of us) wouldn’t want to eat feed-lot animals (including farm-raised fish) because they eat GMO foods such as corn and soy and are given massive doses of antibiotics. Instead, you’d want to eat grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chickens and their eggs, and wild-caught fish. Yes, it’s more expensive in the short run, but I believe the long-term benefits to your health outweigh the upfront costs.
In a nutshell, here are the basic steps to healing gut dysbiosis:
- Eliminating dairy, gluten, sugar and refined foods
- Using food combining principles (see Body Ecology Diet)
- Taking probiotics
- Eating fermented foods, which contain naturally occurring probiotics
- Eating mineral-rich foods because candida eats your minerals: stock made from bones, sea vegetables (seaweed)
- Eating non-gluten grains
- Using anti-microbial herbs and foods: oregano, rosemary, thyme, turmeric, garlic, basil, etc.
- Eating organic, non-GMO foods
As an example, I noticed for myself that I tend to get chronic sinus infections in the spring when it is raining a lot. That’s because yeast, like mold and mildew, loves to grow where it’s wet and warm. I would constantly be making an “ahem” to try to clear the infection out of my throat, until I finally learned that I needed to cut out the sugar and refined carbs for a few weeks at least. My naturopath also told me how to clear out my sinuses by putting a little sea salt in warm water in a neti pot and by taking goldenseal as well. It works!
Maria Rickert Hong can be contacted at maria[at]epidemicanswers[dot]org
Filed under: Gut Dysbiosis, Sensory Processing Disorder | 2 Comments
Tags: Candida, food allergies, gut dysbiosis, immune dysfunction
By Vicki Kobliner, MS RD CD-N
Mention the words “nutrition” and “autism” and many people quickly but exclusively think of gluten and casein free diets (GFCF). While this diet has certainly helped to improve the symptoms of autism for many children, there is far more about nutrition and its relationship to autism that every parent should know before embarking on the complex and often expensive journey into the world of biomedical therapies. Good nutrition is the cornerstone of growth and development for all children, healthy or ill. When nutritional status is compromised it will directly affect a child’s progress, and for a child with a chronic illness like autism, the lack of critical nutrients can have far reaching effects.
Children with autism often exhibit a frustrating mix of picky eating behaviors and limited diets, bowel irregularities, food allergies or sensitivities and physical and behavioral signs of nutrient deficiencies. A vicious cycle is created which goes something like this:
- The poorly functioning digestive tract (whether from food allergies, lack of healthy bacteria or enzymes etc) causes inflammation and/or discomfort which makes a child want to eat less
- The inflammation reduces the ability to break down and absorb nutrients from food
- The limited intake reduces the amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients needed not only to help heal the inflammation, but to support brain function as well.
- As a result, inflammation is not addressed, the digestive tract remains compromised and the gulf between nutrition needs and nutrient intake grows ever wider.
To further complicate matters, children with autism frequently suffer from inefficiencies in many other biochemical processes that are nutrition dependent. As the nutrition gap grows, these pathways are further compromised. Some examples include the following:
- The immune system is commonly skewed in children on the spectrum. A normal immune system requires essential fatty acids, zinc, Vitamin C and protein, as well as many other nutrients for normal function.
- Research shows that ASD kids often have a reduced ability to detoxify from the everyday chemicals and toxins we are naturally exposed to. To perform normal detoxification reactions, the body requires a compound called glutathione, which is made from pieces of protein called amino acids. In addition, natural detoxification requires B vitamins, and minerals such as selenium.
- Because children on the spectrum are chronically ill, their small bodies are under tremendous stress, and produce lots of the free radicals that are damaging to cells. Antioxidants such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E are critical for quenching the free radical fire.
- An emerging area of study has linked autism with mitochondrial dysfunction. The mitochondria are the energy producing engines of all cells, and not only impact muscle tone, but can also affect mood and brain function. The mitochondria need the amino acid carnitine, Coenzyme Q10, and a variety of B vitamins to do their job.
- Mood and behavior modulating neurotransmitters are built from the amino acids tryptophan and tyrosine. They require Vitamin A and D, B vitamins and other nutrients to become dopamine and serotonin.
While the GFCF diet is certainly an important consideration, a comprehensive nutritional intervention for autism is far more than a single diet that simply removes specific foods from a child’s menu. Instead, it should include all of the following components:
- Evaluation of the child’s current diet for nutritional adequacy
- A visual examination to observe physical signs of nutrient deficiencies
- A proper medical history
- Interventions to heal an impaired digestive tract, such as probiotics (good bacteria), digestive enzymes, healing foods and/or herbs to mend intestinal cells
- Identification and removal of any problem foods and recommendations for nutritionally comparable replacements
- Specific, individualized nutrition therapy.
- Menu suggestions designed to insure appropriate intake of all major nutrients (fat, carbohydrate and protein), and micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals.
- Supplement recommendations when diet alone will not meet nutritional needs.
- Recommendations and/or referrals to specialists to expand a picky eater’s diet
- Ongoing support and modifications as needed.
When faced with a dizzying array of therapies and other interventions in the struggle to improve the quality of an autistic child’s life, parents should make nutrition a priority early in the process and find a qualified dietitian/nutritionist to develop a specific plan for their child. Not only can behavioral and cognitive improvements result from dietary modification, but well nourished children will sleep better, have improved moods, and less bowel distress. They will gain much more from their other therapies and may need fewer or less intense medical interventions later. Without adequate nutrition, it is far harder to achieve these goals.
Vicki Kobliner MS RD, CD-N, is a Registered Dietitian and owner of Holcare Nutrition (www.holcarenutrition.com). She practices using a functional nutrition approach to help the body heal itself and has extensive experience using various diet modalities to help children with autism and related disorders. Vicki works with infants through adults with chronic illnesses, digestive disorders, food allergies, ADHD and autism and provides fertility and prenatal nutrition counseling. She is a contributing author to A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in Americas Children. She can be reached at vicki[at]holcarenutrition[dot]com
Filed under: Autism, Nutrition | Leave a Comment
Maria Rickert Hong received her training as a Certified Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she was trained in more than 100 dietary theories. She is also a mom who has recovered her sons from sensory processing disorder, allergies, asthma and acid reflux as well as recovered herself from heavy-metal poisoning, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, pancreatic insufficiency, insomnia, systemic Candida and immune disregulation.
Last month, I mentioned that my older son had a retained Moro reflex, which caused him to have a high level of anxiety (as witnessed in his constant crying) and increased his physical level of sensitivity and sensory issues. The book I mentioned last time, “Reflexes, Learning & Behavior” by Sally Goddard, stated that a retained Moro reflex causes surges in adrenaline and cortisol, which are known to create a physiologic “fight, flight or fright” response. The trouble was his body was constantly in this mode, and the ongoing, chronic releases of adrenaline and cortisol were wearing his body, immune system, and family (especially me, his mom, who got the brunt of it) out!
Several months before I learned about my older son having a retained Moro reflex, we moved him from his crib and into a big-boy bed (he was 3-1/2 at the time, much older than his peers, it seems, but he seemed so comforted by being in his crib). This once-heavy sleeper began waking up (and waking me up) anywhere from one to five times a night. It was like having a newborn all over again. I had been severely stressed since I began taking care of my two boys without any help six months prior, and I was now even more stressed out by the lack of sleep. I’m sure I’m not the only mom who has said, “Sleep deprivation is a form of torture”! All this is to say that I had begun researching adrenal fatigue for myself and thought that my son could benefit from my findings as well. His surges (and mine) of adrenaline and cortisol from constant sensory stress were creating a vicious cycle that he couldn’t break by himself. Going on the symptoms of adrenal fatigue, I realized that he and I both had it. We were worn out.
His adrenal fatigue stressed his body so much that he was constantly getting sick. He would go to preschool for a week and be out the whole next week because he had gotten sick. This scenario played out for the whole first year of preschool when he was 3 and got slightly better the next year after he started going to OTs because their work on neuromuscular reeducation, vestibular reeducation, and core strengthening was helping to inhibit some of his retained Moro reflex.
Other signs and symptoms of his adrenal fatigue were:
- Difficulty getting up in the morning
- Continuing fatigue not relieved by sleep
- Craving for salt or salty foods
- Lethargy (lack of energy)
- Increased effort to do everyday tasks
- Decreased ability to handle stress
- Increased time to recover from illness, injury or trauma
- Symptoms increase if meals are skipped or inadequate
- Decreased stamina
I found a great discussion of these symptoms in the book, “Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome”, by James L. Wilson. He also says that, “Chronic and recurrent bronchitis, pneumonia and other chronic lung and bronchial diseases typically have an adrenal fatigue component. This includes many cases of asthma, influenza and allergies.” My older son had constant eczema, which was worse in the winter, and later developed a life-threatening bout of asthma when he was just over 4 years old in which he was on prednisolone, Xoponex, and a nebulizer.
After learning about adrenal fatigue, I understood that there was a connection between it and low blood sugar. I, myself, have had hypoglycemia since at least my high school days, and I knew from experience that eating foods high in protein, fat and fiber helped tremendously as well as avoiding foods that are high in sugar and processed carbs. You may think most store-bought yogurt is good for your kids, but have you ever looked at the nutritional label? Most of them are loaded with sugar, and that sugar will contribute to hypoglycemia, an insatiable need for processed carbs and sugar, sensory sensitivities, and an inability to control angry outbursts.
I also began seeing a naturopath for myself when my older son just turned 4. In a later blog, I’ll talk about why I needed to do so. I believe the reasons for what I was going through and what my sons were going through are intertwined. The more I learn about what can help myself, the more I think of ways to see if those things can apply to and help my sons.
One of the first things the naturopath told me was to eliminate all processed foods. What? Our family was practically living on them! My favorite things to do were to go to Trader Joe’s and buy prepared meals and snacks and to also buy Amy’s Kitchen frozen meals; they were healthy and organic, right? I realized this was going to be very hard, and it weighed on me for almost a year: “Why me? Everybody else gets to eat them!” I felt overwhelmed, and a bit paralyzed for a while, as I’m sure a lot of moms do when they attempt to go down this path. However, the more I read up on the additives, preservatives, and chemicals used during processing but not listed on the label, the more I tended to agree.
The second thing the naturopath told me was to use only ghee (clarified butter) and coconut oil for cooking. I thought this was strange advice – what? No canola oil? No olive oil? Aren’t those healthy? So, being that I used to be a research analyst before I became a mom, I set out to do my research. I read, “Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill”, by Udo Erasmus (he’s the one who sells Udo’s Oils), and he confirmed what the naturopath had said. Turns out that cooking with unsaturated fats makes them turn rancid and leads to inflammation in the body. This is not something I wanted my family to have, so I began using ghee and coconut oil, which are saturated fats. (For a good book on the many benefits of using coconut oil, I recommend reading, “The Coconut Oil Miracle”, by Bruce Fife and Jon J. Kabara.) This advice also meshed with that found in the “Adrenal Fatigue” book I mentioned earlier. Later on, after discovering the Weston A. Price Foundation and his classic book, “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration”, I began using animal fats that I rendered: bacon fat, beef tallow, duck fat, and chicken schmaltz. These are all saturated fats as well and sure make for delicious home-cooked food! Our ancestors didn’t have the level of inflammatory diseases that we do today, and that is likely because they used saturated fats for cooking and didn’t eat processed foods.
The third thing he told me was to stop eating so many carbs; it wasn’t helping my (and my kids’) hypoglycemic issues. We would tear through boxes of cereal, our favorite snack. This meant no crackers and no chips; what were we supposed to do for snacks? Understanding this connection led me to make sure that my kids had a source of (unprocessed) protein with every meal and with many of their snacks (beef jerky, hummus, bean dips and nuts are great protein-rich snacks). I bought a dehydrator and meat slicer and began making my own beef jerky, using no added sugar but just a little freshly squeezed orange juice and honey. (The kids, and my husband, really like it.) I also began making homemade hummus, with homemade chicken broth.
Speaking of broth, I began taking classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City. The first class I took was one about healing the adrenal glands taught by Andrea Beaman of “Top Chef” fame. She has cured herself of thyroid disease naturally by eating whole, seasonal foods and has written three books. I have “The Whole Truth: Eating and Recipe Guide”, and I find a lot of the recipes in there to be delicious as well as healthy. In her class, she recommends eating whole, organic, seasonal foods, of course, but also eating foods that are rich in minerals: animal organs, homemade stock made from animal bones, and sea vegetables (seaweed). She also recommends that people with adrenal fatigue not eat raw food, as this requires more energy from the body than people with adrenal fatigue have. This means even cooking your fruit. (Try sautéing it in butter and cinnamon with the lid on over low heat; it’s delicious!)
Again, what she and the naturopath advised was similar. I read up on minerals and found that magnesium, especially, can help reduce symptoms of asthma and calm the central nervous system. Another book I highly recommend is, “The Magnesium Miracle”, by Dr. Carolyn Dean. I was concerned about the amount of sugar found in most kids’ supplements, so I ultimately chose liquid magnesium drops and added them to a little (1/8 c.) fruit juice. Even though that has sugar, too, I use either freshly squeezed juices (from pears, apples or oranges) or pomegranate juice, which is very high in antioxidants. I discovered that selenium, zinc, vitamin C and vitamin D are also valuable at detoxifiying and maintaining a healthy immune system, something I was very interested in, given how often my older son would get sick.
One of the supplements the naturopath gave me was Efalex, a combination of tuna, borage, and evening primrose oils that provides a mercury-free (they’ve been distilled) source of essential fatty acids (EFAs), especially omega 3 fatty acids, of which the American diet is so deficient. EFAs calm inflammation and the central nervous system, and numerous studies have shown that they help reduce symptoms of ADHD, autism, allergies, and asthma, as these are all chronic diseases with chronic inflammation in common. The one book I recommend to my friends about this subject is “Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies: The Groundbreaking Program for the 4-A Disorders”, by Kenneth Bock, M.D. and Cameron Stauth. The information found in this book agrees with that found in “Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill.”
The “Adrenal Fatigue” book also recommended adaptogenic herbs to help calm the central nervous and adrenal systems. I confirmed with the naturopath that holy basil, ashwaganda, and licorice root (in small doses) were indeed appropriate for my sons (and myself!) for calming anxiety. For further information about this subject, you can read, “Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina and Stress Relief”, by David Winston and Steven Maimes. By this time, I had begun taking my sons to the naturopath as well, and he gave my older son a kids’ version of valerian root and passionflower drops to help him stay asleep and astragalus, another adaptogen, to boost his immune system.
Anyway, this long nutritional lecture is to say that I found all of these things to be helpful in erasing some of the symptoms of my sons’ SPD, especially my older sons’ anxiety. None of these things by itself is a magic bullet, but I believe that together they have had a profoundly beneficial effect on my family’s health. My older son still has some residual anxiety and doesn’t always sleep through the night, but he is so much better now about these issues than he was before.
In my next blog, I’ll talk about how the naturopath educated me about probiotics and gut health and why this is so important for children with SPD and other chronic illnesses such as autism, allergies, asthma, and acid reflux.
Maria Rickert Hong can be contacted at maria[at]epidemicanswers[dot]org
Filed under: Sensory Processing Disorder | 1 Comment
Tags: adaptogenic herbs, adrenal fatigue, anxiety, EFAs, hypoglycemia, magnesium, saturated fats, whole foods
Maria Rickert Hong received her training as a Certified Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she was trained in more than 100 dietary theories. She is also a mom who has recovered her sons from sensory processing disorder, allergies, asthma and acid reflux as well as recovered herself from heavy-metal poisoning, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, pancreatic insufficiency, insomnia, systemic Candida and immune disregulation.
Last month, I wrote about how my older son with sensory processing disorder (SPD) benefited greatly from going to a land-based occupational therapist (OT) for six months. I asked her what we should do about him learning to swim, given that he had such a bad experience with it when he was 2 years old. You might remember that he was so overwhelmed by the lights, sounds, the way the water felt, and his gravitational insecurity in the water that one day after class he came home and wiped down half the kitchen to relieve his stress. That’s a pretty strong reaction from a toddler.
The land-based OT recommended an aquatic OT, whom we began using initially in private sessions after his dismissal from the land-based OT. From their website (http://angelfishtherapy.com/): “Aquatic therapy takes place in the water, which is a combination of OT and PT (physical therapy), muscle strengthening, coordination, motor planning, endurance, body awareness and sensory integration.” She (the aquatic OT) didn’t give a formal, written evaluation, but, after working with my son a few times, said that he had a couple of retained reflexes that were interfering with his ability to swim. She explained that, as part of typical development, babies naturally inhibit these reflexes, but damage to the central nervous system can cause these reflexes to fail to be inhibited.
First of all, the aquatic OT said that he had a retained Moro reflex, the one in which a baby reacts involuntarily to a threat. From the book, “Reflexes, Learning and Behavior: A Window Into The Child’s Mind” by Sally Goddard (a book I highly recommend): “The Moro reflex…is essentially a ‘grasping’ reflex, analogous to the one seen in young apes who instinctively cling to their mothers.” It is also known as the “fight, fright or flight” response and “may be triggered occasionally in later life in situations of extreme danger. …It facilitates the first ‘breath of life’ at birth and helps to open the windpipe if there is threat of suffocation.” A light bulb went off in my head as I remembered the birth trauma that my son experienced. To this day, it’s not clear why the delivery team couldn’t find his heartbeat or why he went into fetal distress, but, for whatever reason, the team discovered that he had released meconium during labor. Upon delivery, the sticky meconium in his lungs prohibited him from breathing, and his lungs had to be suctioned. His one-minute Apgar score was 5, which is a fairly low reading. Maybe this trauma had caused him to retain his Moro reflex.
In any case, it now made sense why he had so much anxiety and would cry all the time about everything. His “fight or flight” response couldn’t shut off, so there was an almost constant release of adrenaline and cortisol being released because he felt so out of control and overwhelmed. Poor baby! Now I really felt guilty for yelling at him those times when his constant crying got to me; it really wasn’t something he could control! Sally Goddard writes, “If the Moro reflex fails to be inhibited at 2-4 months of life, the child will retain an exaggerated startle reaction which may result in continued hypersensitivity in one or several sensory channels, causing him to over-react to certain stimuli. Sudden noise, light, movement or alteration of position or balance – any of these – may elicit the reflex at unexpected moments, so that the child is constantly ‘on alert’ and in a heightened state of awareness. …Such a child may present a paradox – acutely sensitive, perceptive and imaginative on the one hand, but immature and over-reactive on the other. He may cope in one of two ways: by being the fearful child who ‘withdraws’ from situations, has difficulty socializing, and can neither accept nor demonstrate affection easily (yep, that was him). On the other hand, he may become the over-active, aggressive child, who is highly excitable, cannot read body language, and who needs to dominate situations.”
Sally Goddard lists the long-term effects of a retained Moro reflex:
“Vestibular related problems such as motion sickness (yes), poor balance (yes) and coordination (yes), particularly seen during ball games
Physical timidity (yes)
Oculomotor and visual-perceptual problems
Poor pupillary reaction to light, photosensitivity, difficulty with black print on white paper. The child tires easily under fluorescent lighting. (Now I knew why grocery shopping with him at a large, brightly lit grocery store stressed him out so much.)
Possible auditory confusion resulting from hypersensitivity to specific sounds. The child may have poor auditory discrimination skills, and have difficulty shutting out background noise.
Allergies and lowered immunity, e.g., asthma (yes), eczema (yes), or a history of frequent ear, nose and throat infections (yes)
Adverse reactions to drugs
Poor stamina (yes)
Dislike of change or surprise – poor adaptability (yes)
Poorly developed CO2 reflex
Reactive hypoglycemia (yes)”
She also lists possible secondary psychological symptoms:
“Free floating anxiety – ‘Angst’ (continuous anxiety seemingly unrelated to reality) (yes)
Excessive reaction to stimuli
Mood swings – labile emotions (yes)
Tense muscle tone (body armoring)
Difficulty accepting criticism, as this child finds it so difficult to change (yes)
Cycle of hyperactivity followed by excessive fatigue (yes)
Difficulty making decisions
Weak ego, low self esteem
Insecurity/Dependency (oh, yes)
Need to ‘control’ or ‘manipulate’ events” (oh, yes)
Second of all, the aquatic OT said my son also had a retained symmetric tonic neck reflex (STNR), which should emerge between 6 and 9 months of age and is typically inhibited by 9 to 11 months of age. This reflex causes the arms to bend and the legs to extend when the head is bent towards the body and causes the opposite reaction in which the legs bend and the arms straighten when the head is extended towards the back of the body. “The baby will be at the mercy of its head movement, unable to move effectively because during this period of development the position of the head decides the position of the limbs.” She also says that “children who retain the STNR rarely crawl on hands and knees” or, if they do crawl, the “may do so in an unusual fashion”. If only I had known this when my son was a baby! He slithered backwards at 8 months of age, military (army) crawled until 18 months of age, and cross-crawled for less than a month before he started to walk at 20 months of age. Sally Goddard writes that cross-crawling (“creeping”) “is one of the most important movement patterns in the prolonged process of teaching the eyes to cross the midline. In addition to looking ahead, babies also learn hand-eye coordination from the movement of the hands. …It is through creeping that the vestibular, proprioceptive and visual systems connect to operate together for the first time. Without this integration there can be a poorly developed sense of balance and poor space and depth perception.
The focusing distance and hand-eye coordination skills used in the act of creeping are at the same distance that the child will eventually use for reading and writing. …A high percentage of children with reading difficulties omitted the stages of crawling and creeping in infancy.” You can see how critical the inhibition of this reflex through cross-crawling is to the child’s future learning ability!
Now imagine this reflex being retained in an older child: swimming is almost impossible because the top and bottom halves of the body can’t successfully coordinate, while any kind of sport, especially ball games, is a disaster because the child can’t coordinate head and eye movements. This child is typically clumsy. In addition, Sally Goddard writes that “a retained STNR was found to be present in 75% of a group of learning disabled children” and that it is also found to “be a significant factor in children with ADD and ADHD”. Imagine how many children could be taken off of Ritalin if they received proper OT at the proper age of development! As I’ve written before, though, the earlier these interventions occur, the greater the benefit to the child.
Here are the symptoms that she writes are “suggestive of a strongly residual symmetrical tonic neck reflex:
Poor posture
Tendency to ‘slump’ when sitting, particularly at a desk or table. (‘This is the child who ends the lesson almost lying on the desk in order to write.’)
Simian (ape like) walk
‘W’ leg position when sitting on the floor (my younger son does this all the time)
Poor hand-eye coordination
Messy eater
‘Clumsy child’ syndrome
Difficulties with readjustment of binocular vision (Child cannot change focus easily from blackboard to desk)
Slowness at copying tasks
Difficulty learning to swim, or unsynchronized movements when swimming above the water. (Often children with a retained STNR swim better under the water where the effect of gravity is reduced and the weight of the water keeps the body level)
Can affect attention as a result of discomfort sitting in one position”
From another of her books, “The Well Balanced Child: Movement and Early Learning”, she states some of the following effects of a retained STNR:
“Poor upper and lower body integration;
Hypotonia (predominance of floppy muscle tone);
Poor hand-eye coordination when movements toward and away from the self are required, such as catching a ball and eating;
Judging speed and timing of fast-approaching objects;
Vertical tracking
There are other retained reflexes that my sons didn’t have: palmar reflex, assymetrical tonic reflex, rooting reflex, spinal galant, and tonic labyrinth reflex. Symptoms of these can range from fidgeting, bedwetting, poor concentration, speech difficulties, poor manual dexterity, difficulty crossing the midline, poor balance and poor organization skills. If your child has any of these symptoms, it’s worth getting an evaluation from an OT.
I highly recommend two books by Athena Oden, P.T. (which were recommended to me by the aquatic OT). The first is “Ready Bodies, Learning Minds”. This book gives a more pictorial explanation of retained reflexes and their effect on a child’s ability to learn. The second book is the companion book, “Ready Bodies, Learning Minds Activity Guide”. This book has specific illustrations of testing for retained reflexes as well as activities to inhibit them. The books are a little difficult to find; you may need to go directly to the source to get them. The last time I checked, the website had been hacked, but you can call (866) 865-3781 to order them.
My older son worked with the aquatic OT for about a year for “neuromuscular reeducation” while my younger son, whose retained reflexes weren’t quite as severe, worked with another one for 4 months. Again, this therapy wasn’t cheap, but I strongly believe that this kind of intervention will pay off huge dividends in both sons’ social abilities, learning abilities, sports abilities (not that sports was the driver for receiving therapy), and, ultimately, happiness.
In my next blog, I’ll talk about the anxiety caused by the retained Moro reflex and what I’ve done that helps alleviate it.
Maria Rickert Hong can be contacted at maria[at]epidemicanswers[dot]org
Filed under: Sensory Processing Disorder | Leave a Comment
Tags: aquatic OT, retained reflex, SPD
Scared To Be In His Own Body
Maria Rickert Hong received her training as a Certified Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she was trained in more than 100 dietary theories. She is also a mom who has recovered her sons from sensory processing disorder, allergies, asthma and acid reflux as well as recovered herself from heavy-metal poisoning, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, pancreatic insufficiency, insomnia, systemic Candida and immune disregulation.
Last month, I wrote about the tipping point of how I finally came to understand that my then-3-1/2-year-old son had sensory processing disorder (SPD); this realization let me recognize the signs later on that my younger son had it as well.
My older son began seeing an occupational therapist (OT) when he was 3-1/2 years old. Before his first visit, she had me fill out two questionnaires: a sensory profile caregiver questionnaire and a foundational listening skills assessment sensory checklist. The answers I gave provided a foundation for her to plan sessions with my son. She noted that my primary reasons for seeking her services were my son’s muscle weakness, decreased ability to play with others in a physical manner, and general anxiety.
From the caregiver questionnaire, the OT concluded that my son had probable differences (scores between 1 and 2 standard deviations below the mean) in auditory, visual, vestibular and multi-sensory processing. She noted that he had a definite difference (more than 2 standard deviations below the mean) in oral sensory processing. She evaluated his modulation, which “reflects the child’s regulation of neural messages through facilitation or inhibition of various types of responses”. My son displayed a probable difference in modulation related to body position and movement and definite differences in sensory processing related to endurance/tone and in sensory input affecting emotional responses. He showed a probable difference in inattention/distractibility and definite differences in being emotionally reactive (remember all that crying?), low endurance/tone, oral sensitivity, sensory sensitivity and in being sedentary. He also exhibited definite differences in his emotional/social responses and in his behavioral outcome of sensory processing.
From the foundational listening skills assessment sensory checklist, she assessed each of his processing systems. Although my son scored in the typical performance range for tactile processing, he showed some areas of concern such as “avoids wearing shoes, prefers to be barefoot and doesn’t seen to notice when hands and face are messy” and “is very good at hiding pain”. The OT stated that my son appeared to be hypersensitive to sound in reference to him frequently responding “negatively to unexpected loud noises” and to when he stopped what he was doing in her office to acknowledge sounds he heard from outside.
The most important takeaway I got from the sensory checklist was my understanding of my son’s scoring a probable difference in vestibular processing, which is responsible for balance and the sense of movement; it is located in both inner ears. I believe this to be the crux of the matter. The OT stated that “the vestibular system is a primary organizer of sensory input in the central nervous system and integrates this information for all of the other sensory systems. It tells us where our head is in space and how fast we are moving. It also has a strong influence on the body’s muscle tone and strength as well as helping to maintain a calm, alert state.” Aha! Now it was all starting to make sense. She noted that my son’s balance was below normal limits and that he “appeared fearful of movement as witnessed on the swings and tended to keep his head in an upright position”. This is why he avoided playground equipment and spent most of his time in sedentary play. She told me that he had “gravitational insecurity” because he didn’t understand where his body was in space; he didn’t have a reference point because his internal gyroscope was out of balance. Now I understood why he got car sick so often. She also said that because of being so overwhelmed at all these stimuli that were coming at him and not being able to process them that he was scared to be in his own body. How sad!
Because his vestibular system was out of balance, so was his proprioceptive sense, otherwise known as “position sense” or “muscle sense”. It “gives information about the position of the body without using the eyes and about how much force or pressure is needed to exert to complete a task”, such as throwing a ball. The OT noted that my son moved in a “guarded” manner, suggesting that he “moved his body in a calculated manner to protect him from movements that didn’t feel safe”. This is why he felt like a little limp Raggedy Andy doll when I picked him up; his proprioceptive sense wasn’t working correctly because his vestibular system wasn’t working correctly.
The OT explained that my son’s multi-sensory processing wasn’t working correctly, either. He easily became overwhelmed at too much sensory information (lights, noises, etc.) and would shut down. She wrote that “when children feel out of control of their bodies with multi-sensory input, they may react to everyday challenges with increased emotional responses.” That described my son to a T.
We agreed that she would evaluate him for six sessions and then she would write an evaluation. During these sessions, she tested his abilities such as gross motor coordination: Could he jump 2 inches off the floor? Could he walk heel-to-toe? Could he hop on one foot at a time? These were things he should’ve been able to do by the age of 3, but he still couldn’t. She also tested his fine motor coordination and noted that he used an immature grasp and was unable to draw a cross or a square, although he could draw horizontal and vertical lines and a circle.
She evaluated his physical status and noted that he had average to low muscle tone and weak upper and lower extremities. He was unable to hold the “superman” position (where you lie on your tummy and lift both your arms and legs up off the floor) and was able to make himself into a ball for only a few seconds.
We began seeing immediate results with the OT, even during the six-week evaluation period. Finally! The exercises that she would have my son do, such as swinging on different therapy swings, climbing through tunnels, balancing on one foot, walking heel-to-toe in a straight line, etc., worked on his balance and core strength and gave him strength and confidence very quickly. She also gave him exercises to do every day at home such as doing a “superman”, making himself into a ball and holding the position, rolling like a log, and standing like a statue with his eyes open and closed. She explained that any way that we could get him to move his head in other than a typical position would send information to his vestibular system by making all the fluid and hairs in his inner ears move around and would work to correct his gravitational insecurity.
Within a few weeks of therapy (one day a week), my son became happier and less fearful. He also started tackling us as if he were a football player! He had never been so physical with us before, and it made me so happy to see him acting like a typical kid his age. His teachers at preschool noticed a change, too: they couldn’t believe he was the same little boy. He had become much more outgoing and was now the same chatterbox there that he was at home. He loved show-and-tell now and was eager to tell his stories to his classmates. When he started preschool, he engaged in parallel play, and you couldn’t get him out of the sand box. By the end of the school year, he had had three months of occupational therapy, and he had moved up to associative play. He even began playing on some of the playground equipment and going on swings and slides! I had been trying to get him to do that since he was a little baby, but he had always cried and refused to do it.
Prior to having OT, my son would always prefer to be with adults, probably because we were more sedentary and predictable than little kids. After receiving OT, his increased confidence allowed him to begin making friendships with children his age. His OT and I agreed that the ultimate goal of working with her was for him to make friends. I wasn’t expecting my son to become a world-class athlete; I simply wanted him to feel more comfortable with being in his body so that he could make friends. I didn’t want to doom him to a life of being socially isolated. This was a tough, but necessary, choice for us because my husband had been recently laid off from his job. Insurance did not cover the OT sessions, and they weren’t cheap, but I became convinced after seeing such immediate results that they were well worth it. It was important to correct his imbalances while his brain and nervous system were still growing and developing; trying to correct them at a later age wouldn’t have as much of an impact.
The 
OT said that it was much easier to work with a child like him because he was a sensory avoider; it was like getting him to come out of a box. It was much harder to work with sensory seekers because it was like trying to stuff them back into a box.
My son worked with the OT for six months, at which time she dismissed him for having “strong muscles”. I can’t say enough good things about her and how much she helped my son. She recommended that he keep up his level of physical activity and said that she liked tae kwon do because of crossing the midline, which helps improve coordination. She also recommended an aquatic OT to help with his swimming, which I’ll talk about in my next blog.
Maria Rickert Hong can be contacted at maria[at]epidemicanswers[dot]org
Filed under: Sensory Processing Disorder | 1 Comment
Tags: OT, SPD
By Jennifer Elrod, mother of a toddler boy who is in the process of recovering from mild autistic symptoms, speech delay and gross motor delay
As the mother of a toddler who has developmental delays, ASD symptoms, and signs of mitochondrial dysfunction; when I look back at the year before I became pregnant, I have a list of “I wish I had dones” and “I wish I had knowns”. Many of the items on those lists can probably be dismissed. But even after weeding out the less rational fears and doubts, a few things remain. These remaining items can be dismissed on the basis of “don’t feel guilty” or “move forward”. But they can’t be dismissed on logical grounds as opposed to psychological grounds. My goal in looking back is to help somebody else. I have seen the women in the online forums asking other women what they wish they had known. This is for them. I can’t prove that any of these things contributed to Wyatt’s issues. But all of these things fall under the category of having a no-brainer risk benefit ratio. It is riskier not to take the preventive measures I wish I had taken, than it is to do these things.
Mercury Amalgam Dental Fillings
My first mistake: I got my teeth cleaned, but I didn’t have my mercury amalgam dental fillings removed. The first thing was recommended in the guides I read. The second thing was not. I have eight fillings. I have a vague memory of one of them chipping off when I was in my teens. Removing these dental fillings would have been a better use of my money than buying a crib that was never used at all during my son’s first year of life – other than as a very expensive storage area for toys and clothes. The time to get fillings removed is prior to conception. That gives the body time to get rid of the mercury that will be in circulation for a while after the removal. The removal itself will stir up more mercury temporarily. Pregnancy is not to the time to do it, but a pregnant woman can still take extra selenium, which binds with mercury.
Group B Strep
I did not learn until my third trimester that I had Group B Strep and that I would require an antibiotic IV to constantly drip into my blood throughout my thirty-six hour labor. I did not learn until Wyatt was a toddler just what the implications of my gut dysbiosis were. It meant that Wyatt, when he passed through my birth canal, got his sterile newborn gut colonized with whatever oppoprtunistic pathogens the antibiotics did not kill. They had thirty-six hours to spread and fill the emtpy niches that were left in my gut. I’m certain that Candida albicans was one of those pathogens. Other possibilities include Clostridia and other nasties that need the big guns to kill them and only flourish more when a penicillin-type antibiotic kills off their competitors in the gut.
Candida Albicans
Candida albicans, a yeast that is in everybody’s gut but that can overgrow and assume a fungal form under the right conditions, has come to light as a huge problem for both Wyatt and myself. I have learned that it is responsible for the agony I felt holding still waiting for him to fall asleep at my breast when he was a baby. He would awaken if I moved, but I felt like I had itches and restless energies in my arms and legs, and I could temporarily alleviate these feelings by moving. Sometimes after waiting for twenty minutes, I would twitch, and he would fuss, and I would have to start the process all over again. And I’d have to hold still even longer. But it didn’t even begin there. That feeling goes way back to my first trimester of pregnancy, when I would have agonizing restless leg syndrome at my desk every afternoon for a while after eating lunch. Whenever those sensations come back, I know my Candida is getting out of the control again.
Since then I have learned many things about Candida. Now I know that progesterone, which increases several-fold during the first trimester, also feeds Candida. Now I know that when Wyatt is having a yeast flare, he is wakeful at night, but after his yeast is back under control, he sleeps better than he ever did in his life. Candida is not the only factor I have learned affects his sleep, but it is up there in the top five factors. Now I know that when Wyatt is having a yeast flare, he stares into space a lot and acts nearly deaf. I look back on the days and nights of his napping and sleeping patterns of babyhood, when his best sleep habits were during his first three weeks of life, and he only got worse as he got older, and I wonder how much easier and more fun it all could have been if I had gotten my gut dysbiosis under control before I conceived him. I look back on the months of trying to teach him signs, before he could talk, and the way he would just stare blankly when I tried to prompt him. I wonder how much faster he could have learned to sign.
Healing Gut Dysbiosis
What would I have done to heal my gut and make my birth canal a more hospitable place for my infant to pass through on his way out? I would have gone on a diet such as SCD, GAPS or BED. I would have consumed yogurt, kefir and kombucha. I would have taken anti-fungals such as grapefruit seed oil or caprylic acid. I would have asked my OB/gyn for a Group B Strep test before conception. Restoring the inner ecosystem of the gut to optimal health is a subject too large for this article, but the links I have provided to the three diets I mention are a good place to begin research.
Folic Acid vs. Folinic Acid
So, what else would I have done, besides healing my gut of its dysbiosis and removing my mercury amalgam dental fillings? I would have taken folinic acid, a more bio-available form of folic acid. Not everybody’s body makes sufficient quantities of the enzyme needed to convert folic acid into its active forms. I try almost every supplement I give Wyatt before I give it to him, and now I know that I am actually mildly depressed when I do not take folinic acid. I was used to feeling that way for so long, that I did not even realize I felt that way, until I felt better. Wyatt, in turn, has fixations on lights and lacks interest in most toys, without this supplement. If it is true of both of us now that we do better on a folinic acid supplement, what was true of my body while I was pregnant and before I conceived? I suspect that the folic acid I took during that time did not do Wyatt any good. It seems to me that it is safer for women to take folinic acid rather than folic acid, because most have no clue if their bodies are unable to properly utilize folic acid.
Iron Levels
I would also have had my iron levels checked before conception, and unless they were very high above the borderline, I would have taken measures to get them up. Even if they were okay, if they were only marginal, I would have found a good way to supplement. I probably would have eaten organic liver once a week or something like that, since an iron supplement would most likely have worked at cross-purposes to my other concern of healing my gut. My iron was low during my third trimester, and Wyatt’s iron levels in turn were low when he was ten months old. I gave him iron drops, only to learn later that he has mitochondrial dysfunction and that iron supplements damage the mitochondria. That’s in addition to iron feeding pathogenic forms of bacteria in the gut. While he was on the iron drops, he had frequent and incredibly smelly farts, and his bowel movements contained lots of black flecks that were metallic looking and difficult to wipe off his skin.
Genetic Counseling
Last of all, I would have gotten some genetic testing done. I strongly suspect that Wyatt has a fatty acid oxidation disorder (FOD), and this is something that can be screened for in newborns. He is not yet diagnosed, but he has all the signs of it. He has low tone and low energy that both worsen on a diet that is too high in fat and too low in carbs. FOD individuals have trouble metabolizing fat. Their bodies do not naturally make enough carnitine to overcome their genetic defect, but a carnitine supplement can help them use fat for energy and dispose of toxic fat metabolites that otherwise accumulate. FOD babies are an exception to “breast is best” — at least during their first few days of life, before the milk comes in. They do better if they get formula, in addition to colostrum, until the milk comes in. And if they receive a carnitine supplement from babyhood, they can avoid developmental delays. Genetic testing could have alerted me if both my husband and I are carriers of the recessive gene for FOD. Failing that, I could have had a newborn screening done for FOD. FODs are rare, but there are other genetic tests and genetic counseling that can be done. Some people just need to take more of certain nutrients to overcome their genetic susceptibilities, and sometimes it’s possible to test for that sort of thing. Genetic counseling is underutilized.
Chances are that if I had taken the preventive measures I just sketched out, that Wyatt might still have some issues, but they would not be as bad. As the infamous saying goes, genetics loads the gun, but environment pulls the trigger. For babies, the environment starts in their mothers’ bodies, before they are ever conceived. If you don’t do the things I recommend, it does not mean that your child will have a neurological disorder, a developmental delay, or other problem. But what can it hurt? If nothing else, you will be healthier, and you could end up with an easier baby who hits developmental milestones faster. Of course, I am only speaking from my own experience, and you should do your own research and consult with other women, to come up for the best plan for you as an individual. I am sure that I have left out things that I did not experience, but other mothers have.
Jennifer Elrod can be contacted at jennifer[at]epidemicanswers[dot]org
Filed under: Conception | 2 Comments
Tags: Candida, folic acid, Group B Strep, mercury
Maria Rickert Hong received her training as a Certified Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she was trained in more than 100 dietary theories. She is also a mom who has recovered her sons from sensory processing disorder, allergies, asthma and acid reflux as well as recovered herself from heavy-metal poisoning, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, pancreatic insufficiency, insomnia, systemic Candida and immune disregulation.
Last month, I wrote about the signs and symptoms that led me to discover that both of my sons (now aged 5-1/2 and 3-1/2) have sensory processing disorder (SPD) and that both are the sensory-avoider types. For my older son, I had a litany of signs for 3-1/2 years that told me something was wrong, despite reassurances to the contrary of his doctors. So what was the tipping point?
It all hit the fan when our nanny left to have her own baby shortly after my oldest son turned 3. Yes, I was extremely fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom with a nanny; but, looking back, I really needed the help. My older son had been used to having either me or the nanny completely to himself. All of a sudden when she left, he was forced to share me with his baby brother. So what did he do? He cried. And cried. And cried. And cried. And cried. Over EVERY little thing. The only relief I got from his clinginess and neediness was when he started preschool for a few hours a week shortly after the nanny left. Although at home he was either a chatterbox or a non-stop crier, at preschool, he kept to himself and rarely said anything. He was so quiet his teachers thought he might have a speech problem, which he definitely didn’t. Of course, once he came home, he let all of his frustration and anxiety out, as kids do, but I began to sense that the amount of his crying was far greater than that of his peers.
He was frustrated. I was frustrated. I wasn’t getting any definitive answers from anyone or anywhere. By now, we had seen a few different pediatricians, an allergist, a gastroenterologist, and even had an assessment performed by a Birth to Three agency; and all of them said the same thing: nothing was wrong with my son. But I knew there was; I just couldn’t put my finger on it. A mother knows!
I didn’t know whom to turn to for help. Help! A few months after my older son started preschool, his teachers alerted me that he cried and cried all the time one day while he was at school. It was a very dark and rainy day, and apparently my son thought that it was nighttime and that I had neglected to pick him up, which wasn’t the case. Finally, I had something more definitive and concrete to go on. I wanted to rule out any kind of physical problem, so I took him to the pediatrician. (By this time, I had switched to a doctor that wasn’t dismissive and condescending.) It turns out that my son had an ear infection. Still, I thought his reaction was excessive, and I told her so and reminded her of some of the other things I thought were unusual, such as the fact that he didn’t walk until he was 20 months old. Although she couldn’t come up with a diagnosis, she referred me to a psychiatric nurse practitioner that specializes in children’s behavioral problems, who then referred me to an occupational therapist (OT).
Before we began working with the OT, she had me fill out a sensory profile and a sensory questionnaire. Here are some of my comments from the profile and questionnaire:
Is “very good at hiding pain; past 2 ear infections were within the past 4 months, and he never complained about the pain”.
Can be “stubborn or uncooperative when asked to do something physically”.
“Intent on controlling/manipulating to keep environment predictable: a little dictator.”
“Often very inactive, unmoving or lethargic.”
“Seems to require too much sleep at odd times. Took 2 naps a day up until 18 months of age; can still take 3 hour naps at times.”
“Difficulty walking up/down flights of stairs: doesn’t alternate feet.”
“Unusual toilet habits: refuses to potty train.”
“Maintains rigid and repetitive patterns or ‘rules’; extremely long, involved and rigid bedtime routine.”
“Avoids age-appropriate participation in group gross-motor activities.”
“Cannot lift heavy objects, avoids heavy work.”
“Resists new physical challenges; says ‘I can’t’ without attempting. Even says ‘I can’t’ to things he can do. Is he lazy or tired? We don’t know.”
“Seems weaker or tires more easily than peers.”
“Swimming (group) class at 2 years of age was a disaster. He would not pay attention to the instructor because he was too distracted by lights and surroundings. He was so frustrated after a few weeks of going to class that he wiped down half the kitchen one day after class. We never went back.”
“Gym class was a disaster because he would lie on the floor and suck his fingers for most of the class.”
So guess which one of these comments gave the biggest clue as to what we were dealing with. Give up? It was “cannot lift heavy objects; avoids heavy work.” The story behind this comment was that my two sons were playing with a heavy glass blender carafe one day on the kitchen floor. My younger son, who is 21 months younger and about a year and a half old at the time, could lift it while my older one could not, despite how hard he tried.
From my answers, I began to see that my son had pretty severe sensory issues. I began to read everything I could about SPD. I found The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Processing Disorder, by Carol Kranowitz and Lucy Jane Miller to be an extremely helpful resource. Now at last I began to understand what we were dealing with and that we weren’t alone. Finally. Also, the reason that no doctor was able to help is that SPD is not an official diagnosis recognized by the DSM (“Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”), which is a reference book for mental health professionals that lists categories of mental disorders and the criteria for diagnosing them), such as autism or ADHD. From a doctor’s point of view: no diagnosis, no treatment. Which is why it took so long to get any help.
The bad news is that it took 3-1/2 years to understand that it was SPD. That’s 3-1/2 years of valuable time wasted when the brain is growing and developing at a phenomenal rate. That’s why most states have some kind of birth-to-three program because if you can catch developmental delays before a child turns 3, the child might not miss out on critical brain-development times. For example, if a child has a speech delay that is not addressed by the time the child is around 3 or even earlier, then the part of the brain that deals with language might not grow properly and some language function may be permanently lost. The good news is that now we finally had an answer. If you know what you’re dealing with, then you can get help in treating it. In my next blog, I’ll go into the specifics of the neurology of my sons’ SPD, what the OT did to help, and why it helped so much.
Maria Rickert Hong can be contacted at maria[at]epidemicanswers[dot]org
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Tags: SPD
Maria Rickert Hong received her training as a Certified Health Counselor from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she was trained in more than 100 dietary theories. She is also a mom who has recovered her sons from sensory processing disorder, allergies, asthma and acid reflux as well as recovered herself from heavy-metal poisoning, adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, pancreatic insufficiency, insomnia, systemic Candida and immune disregulation.
If I were to tell you that both of my sons have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), you might: a) ask, what is that? b) ask, how did you know that they have it? or c) not believe me unless you had met them — especially my older son — a few years ago. I believe that they are mostly recovered because of occupational therapy (OT) interventions over the course of a year and a half and because of ongoing naturopathic medicine and dietary changes. My goal here in this article is to help other parents understand what SPD is and what can be done about it.
To answer the first question, people with SPD have a problem with the wiring from their nervous system to their brain; SPD is a neurological disorder. SPD is usually more noticeable in kids; most adults have learned to compensate. There are two kinds of people with SPD: sensory seekers and sensory avoiders. Sensory seekers are the kids who are constantly seeking stimulation. They like to crash hard into things or people, or they won’t stop spinning or swinging. My sons are both sensory avoiders, so I can tell you more about that because of my personal experience. The most mundane things can overstimulate sensory avoiders. Lights are too bright, sounds are too loud, the lightest touch can hurt, food textures can bother them, and motions can make them dizzy or sick. From what I understand, many autistic children also have SPD.
So, how did I come to know that they had SPD? I’m going to focus here on my older son because he’s the one that had the most pronounced symptoms and because I had learned from him to see those symptoms in my younger son. I’m also going to tell you that not all of his symptoms were SPD symptoms but those of gut dysbiosis and immune dysregulation as Beth Lambert details in her book, A Compromised Generation. The more you know about neurological disorders such as SPD, autism, and ADD/ADHD, the more you understand that there are many comorbid symptoms that result from the same root causes. I’ll explore the root causes and how I discovered them in a later article.
Here are the major signs that I had that something was wrong:
When my older son was a baby, he would constantly projectile vomit.
His weight gain was OK until he started eating solid food around five months of age. It was incredibly hard (no, “TORTURE” is the right word here) to feed him any solid food. It got so bad that I (being a former analyst) made a spreadsheet to show the doctor that he was only eating ten cheerios and one ounce of yogurt a day. The rest of his calories came from my breast milk. Any food or breast milk I managed to get in him was typically vomited up immediately.
He didn’t crawl when he should have. Instead, he slithered backwards at eight months of age.
He would always cry when going for a ride in the car. Looking back now, I’m sure it was motion sickness; he would vomit a lot when going for a ride.
Loud or unexpected noises would make him cry. I had to remove the batteries from any toy that made noises because he would always cry when the toys made sounds.
He army crawled until he was 18 months old.
At his 18-month checkup, the pediatrician discovered that my older son had lost weight. He recommended taking him to McDonald’s and giving him Pediasure. I’ll go over why this was such bad advice in a later article.
He didn’t walk until he was 20 months old. This was extremely hard for me because he didn’t walk until three weeks before his little brother was born, and I had to carry him everywhere while I was 8+ months pregnant.
I couldn’t take him anywhere because he would get sick without fail. This scenario continued until we started seeing a naturopathic doctor when he was four years old. Trust me, the Prevacid for his acid reflux and the antibiotics for his ear infections weren’t helping at all. I’ll discuss that in a later article.
He would always sleep way more than other kids his age. At three years of age, he needed 15 hours of sleep a day; most kids get 10-12 hours at that age. People used to call me “the sleep nazi” because I was so committed to making sure that he got his naps; my life revolved around his sleep schedule. What those people didn’t know is that there was hell to pay from a relentlessly crying child if I didn’t ensure that schedule.
He was like a little limp rag doll. It was so sad to see other kids happily and busily playing and climbing while my son sat there like a lump on a log. I’ll talk about why this was so in a later article.
Even as a baby, he would cry if I put him in a swing. He refused to go on slides or merry-go-rounds. This became a real concern for me when he started preschool. I realized that if he were always to play in the sandbox while other kids played on the playground, he would never be able to make friends. I don’t think any mother would want a lifetime of social isolation for their child.
We couldn’t take him anywhere! While other kids were having fun going to birthday parties and social events, we’d try to go and then have to leave because he would cry at all the overstimulation. Even being around a lot of people would be overstimulating because of all the movement and noise.
I couldn’t even take him grocery shopping. Sure enough, halfway through the store, the bright fluorescent lights, eye-catching colors, different smells, and loud, echoey noises would get to him, and he would start crying. If I was lucky and had my husband with me, he could take him out to the car to calm down while I finished shopping. If I didn’t, we’d have to suffer through.
He was a barnacle. I felt as if he were permanently physically attached to me. It wasn’t so bad when he was younger, but after his brother was born, it was extremely difficult to deal with two small, crying children at the same time, who both wanted to be picked up and held at the same time. I would feel so guilty about neglecting his little brother, and then I would get angry because it just wasn’t right that the older one’s needs should be taking away from the little one’s. He was older, all of his peers were becoming more self-sufficient, why wasn’t he?
He had an incredible amount of anxiety. I’ll explore the reason for this and what was done to help him overcome this in a later blog. This is probably one of the more interesting and unknown aspects of neurological disorders.
He was incredibly withdrawn with his peers. He would usually open up a little more to adults over time.
It is my understanding that the earlier the intervention occurs, the better, as children’s brains are constantly growing and rewiring themselves. Intervention causes the brain to rewire itself so that the brain properly processes signals from the nervous system. My older son’s intervention began when he was 3-1/2 years old. If you were to meet him today, you would have no clue that this is the same child I’ve discussed here. He is happy; he’s social; he’s even extremely outgoing! Who knew that this was the child that was really hiding inside this damaged body? Sorry, I’m crying when I write this because this feeling of peace and recovery and health is what I so wished for ever since I was first pregnant with him — doesn’t every mom want that?
Maria Rickert Hong can be contacted at maria[at]epidemicanswers[dot]org
Filed under: Sensory Processing Disorder | 11 Comments
Tags: SPD
The New Autism Numbers
By Ashley Morgan, mother of 2 chronically ill children (Leo and Sydney)
It’s official according to the CDC and other government bodies. The rate of autism has increased no matter what. Depending on what study you look at, the numbers are below 1 in 100. Will these new numbers be the tipping that will cause change in the way we take care of our children? Will it change how we live?
Over reporting? Even Michael Kogan, lead author of the HRSA study states there are unaccounted for percentages in the rise. I didn’t get a call, did you? Doubtful Leo’s former pediatricians didn’t account for him. And how about those that say we must “proceed with caution?” What? Cautiously treat children that desperately need services? When a very small percentage get the level of services they need already?
Do we treat the statistics or do we treat what we see before us?
I was sitting at dinner the other night with new friends after Leo’s baseball game. Our first social dinner out since our move. For the day I forgot all about health: Sydney and Leo were having a good health weekend. The day was extraordinary beautiful, a perfect game day. Leo’s bun-free order didn’t even register. It was so nice! Come to think of it, it has been a break to not know almost every single child in Leo’s 5th grade like I did at our old community. That constant reminder of our New Normal.
My bubble burst as somehow the topic of the uneaten bun comes up. The mom offers that the restaurant has a gluten-free menu available upon request. I smile widely and say all the right things back. The dad joins the conversation and says they “used to think Taylor had a gluten problem, but that wasn’t it. They still don’t know what it is.” Usually this is my cue to go off about the toxic load, how we are all bearing children with GI and immune problems from the get go. But, I was tired. I was bummed. I didn’t even say something sympathetic or ask more. Not me! Did I subconsciously think our new community was immune to the New Normal?
And what is the New Normal anyway? The secret isn’t out yet, it’s not okay to openly talk about it. Doesn’t register with most parents, as they often think they are the ONLY ones with sick kids. Many parents don’t even KNOW their kids are chronically ill because their friends, their pediatricians, don’t phrase these problems as chronic illness. I’ve gone through 4 pediatricians. They all didn’t show concern when I asked them “Aren’t you concerned that all these kids are sick once a month?” Isn’t that abnormal? All 4 say the same thing, like good little soldiers courtesy of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Why think for yourself when you are protected to say and BELIEVE the party line?
Here is the new normal that I SEE EVERY DAY and I have consistently seen since Leo was born almost 11 years ago. Just this summer my good friend Janice that had a girl in Leo’s class and I sat down and looked at the lovely 4th grade class of “typical” children in our affluent public classroom. I knew all the boys and Janice knew the girls since our kids have grown up with them.
Just a handful, on average, 5 out of 22 children per class (or 20 out of 88 children) were “normal.” These 5 kids did NOT have: ADHD, ADD, an ASD, a mood disorder, an LD, Sensory Integration, chronic eczema, constipation, asthma, allergies (food, environmental), P.A.N.D.A.S., Lyme disease and/or co-infections, a behavior plan, ODD, chronic colds, bronchitis. (See more statistics about the “new normal” on Ashley’s blog here: www.hiddenrecovery.com)
About 5 out of 22 children per class. That gives you roughly 22% of health. Is it just me or does that not scare the crap out of you?
Filed under: Autism | 3 Comments
Tags: autism
