Mom Recommended – Doctor Approved

Raising a child on the spectrum is not easy and, as you know, there is no cure for autism, so reading and believing false promises that something will cure a child with autism just makes me angry. 

Learning how to navigate their everyday needs and how to adapt to specific requirements is a different thing and, as a personal choice, I chose to always go the natural route when it came to my son’s needs, a child of 5 years old in the spectrum. 

Obviously he is picky, he doesn’t like eating veggies, he doesn’t like going outside very much and all these circumstances bring certain results that aren’t really helpful – the lack of vitamins and minerals, for example. 

So I would like to share with you a helpful guide of natural solutions I regularly use to help my child deal with these results and thrive in every possible way, ensuring his optimal health. 

Probiotics 

My son HATES yogurt. The consistency is enough to make him gag and not even incorporating different ingredients into it will make him eat yogurt. It’s a straight NOPE.

I used to freak out as I thought that was the only way I could get some probiotics into his diet! But don’t do the same as I did and try a million different ways of making him eat yogurt – opt for the simplest and easiest way instead!

Introducing an unflavoured probiotic option into another food he likes to eat/drink worked for me as my child always suffered with poor gut health, specially constipation. From the beginning, he always loved a good glass of juice with his meals, so voila! Mix a scoop into his juice and you’re good to go! No complaints of taste or texture and no changes in colour either – a life saviour! 

Herbs of Gold Children’s Probiotic 15 Billion 50g

Multivitamin

Once again, giving him a flavoured gummy sometimes doesn’t work – the texture always gets us, as it happens with a lot of children on the spectrum. Texture is an important aspect here so chewables was not an option for me most of the time, although every once in a blue moon he will try and have a chewable, only to spit it out after a minute or two. 

What made a difference for me was, once again, blending an important ingredient into something he already loves and, with no surprise, chocolate is a favourite. My son is obsessed with milk so this was an easy one for me and it works every time – blend a scoop of this powder into his daily milk for an extra boost in vitamins and minerals. It tastes amazing, even for adults, so you’ll see me having some alongside my son every day. A great immune booster and even more goodness for his gut wellbeing.  

Nutra Organics Organic Berry Immune (Immune Protection) 125g

Vitamin B

Vitamin B12 was one of the first ones I was told to try in regards to behavioural issues and lack of focus in daily tasks. Vitamin B12 is known as being one of the best natural stress relievers. It’s essential for the proper function of the adrenal glands, which produce the primary stress hormone cortisol. It also promotes the growth of new cells, maintains healthy brain function, and helps the nervous system function properly. 

This particular formula also has no taste so it’s easy to implement it into his diet and, after a while, he started accepting the drops directly into his mouth (using a safe rewarding program helped his brain to accept this into the routine). 

MTHFR Wellbeing Methyl B12 Drops 30ml

Magnesium (instead of Melatonin)

The famous melatonin – something every single person under the sun always recommended me to introduce him to as soon as we got the diagnosis. 

I won’t lie, I have tried melatonin but after a while I opted for a change after finding magnesium to be a better option for us. 

Several studies done in recent years have found that children on the autism spectrum as well as those diagnosed with ADD/ADHD or related disorders are deficient in magnesium and that magnesium supplementation can improve symptoms such as hyperactivity, restlessness, fidgeting and body rocking (sometimes a sign of stress). 

These tablets dissolve in water and have a pleasant strawberry flavour, making it easy for a child to get accustomed to. It did not take long for this to be a safe (and easier to find) alternative to melatonin for those restless days and nights!

Schuessler Tissue Salts Kidz Minerals Be Calm 100T

Omega 3

Surprise, surprise – my ASD child cannot stand the smell, taste and texture of fish but omega 3 is one of the most essential fatty acids for children with autism (or anyone as a matter of fact). If not obtained by regularly introducing fish into your diet, fish oils and capsules will do the work as well, but how to get a child to agree to have these capsules? 

I got creative with this one! I chose a strawberry flavoured fish oil and mixed the contents into a unflavoured gelatin mix (I use this one – https://gr8health.com.au/nutra-organics-natural-gelatin-gut-digestive-health-unflavoured-500g-powder) and I put the mixture into a strawberry mould. This is a fun activity to do with your child and it also gives them the ability to touch the mixture, smell it, have fun with it and trust that this is safe. My son gets particularly excited to try foods that he makes or helps make so this also gives him confidence that it is ok to try it. 

I get asked almost every week to make the ‘fun fish strawberries’! 

Nordic Naturals Children’s DHA Liquid (Strawberry) 119ml

I hope this guide helps anyone out there living and caring for a child in the spectrum and also shares a light on how we can accept neurodiversity and introduce their specific ways of viewing the world into our own little bubbles. 

REFERENCES:
https://integrative-medicine.ca/the-importance-of-magnesium-in-autism-adhd/#:~:text=Several%20studies%20done%20in%20recent,fidgeting%20and%20body%20rocking%2C%20poor

https://www.transformationsnetwork.com/post/autism-and-omega-3-how-the-brain-is-positively-impacted#:~:text=Usage%20Of%20Omega%2D3%20In,sleep%2C%20attention%2C%20and%20aggression.

https://www.angelsense.com/blog/supplements-and-vitamins-for-autism/