Special-Needs Kids Go Pharm-Free: Nutrition-Focused Tools to Help Minimize Meds and Maximize Health and Well-Being, by Judy Converse (MPH, RD, LD), is, in the main, a guidebook to special needs child nutrition and feeding.
This is a book that covers more than autism, but as most parents with autistic loved ones know, you don't usually just get "autism and no other problems." There's usually gasto-intestinal issues, food allergies, intolerance of food dyes, and sleep difficulties. This book covers all of those things. The title is a bit deceptive, in that the author doesn't necessarily think it's reasonable for every child to cut pharmaceuticals out of their lives.
However, what she does say is that many conditions which are typically treated with pharmaceuticals, like depression, inability to focus, hyperactivity, and digestive issues... can be treated more effectively with better nutrition and possibly dietary changes. Instead of treating the symptoms, you can eliminate the cause of the problem itself, which might be something like a zinc deficiency or magnesium deficiency. The end result, naturally, is a happier, healthier child.
I personally suffered from both of those deficiencies, and it seems I also have some form of allergy to dairy. And possibly gluten, but I'm studiously ignoring that right now because the idea of trying to go gluten-free is painful to contemplate. As I understand it, this is a common dread for parents of autistic people. Good news! This book has resources to help.
Actually, on the subject of nutrition and food allergies, this book has something I've never seen anywhere else: DIY infant formula. Babies can be allergic to foods, and if the mother eats those foods or the infant formula contains them, the baby can suffer those allergies. But because they're babies, they can't really communicate the specifics of their distress. My spouse's mother eventually had to cut cow milk and dairy out of her diet when breast-feeding him, because he was apparently lactose intolerant from birth.
While removing cow dairy from a diet might be complicated, at least it was just one factor. For some people on the autism spectrum, it's more than one thing. The author talks about her struggles with feeding her son, who had a lot of food allergies and eventually, despite all her efforts, could not be breast-fed. The authors talks about how to test for these sorts of things in children of all ages, as well as reasonable coping strategies for managing meals.
I say "reasonable" because high-needs people can test positive for allergies to dozens of foods, and trying to cut all of those foods out of a diet is exhausting at best. The author quite rightly points out that it can also lead to malnutrition. So she suggests (repeated throughout the book, so as to really get the point across) that you should get the tests done, and then choose the 2-4 strongest reactions to eliminate from the person's diet. The rest should be cycled, or eaten sparingly once or twice a week. This method limits the amount of exhaustion a parent faces when trying to provide meals and appropriate nutrition for their loved one.
The book also discusses specific supplements, from fish oil to amino acids to brain chemicals like GABA. There were things I'd heard of, like magnesium and zinc, and things I hadn't, like tyrosine and glutathione. Each comes with the sort of educated advice and symptoms list you would expect when visiting a specialist doctor... which is the author's credentials, of course. It's just usual to have put into a book, when this advice will typically run you hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Naturally, you shouldn't simply pick up this book and try the things in it without any form of professional guidance. While I found this book astonishingly accessible and thorough about its information, there's always interactions between pharmaceuticals and supplements. Some of those are covered in this book, but for your loved one's safety, consult a trained professional before adding things.
Overall, this was an excellent read. High quality information, significant but not overwhelming resources, written in an accessible-to-all style. While I don't agree with absolutely every recommendation in the book, the author seems quite knowledgeable and in-tune with this subject. I might consider buying a copy of this book and having it on hand to give to parents who come to the parent support group. The kinds of symptoms they complain about, including unusual things like the "white diet" where the child will only eat milk, cheese, pasta, etc, are addressed in these pages.
This is a book that covers more than autism, but as most parents with autistic loved ones know, you don't usually just get "autism and no other problems." There's usually gasto-intestinal issues, food allergies, intolerance of food dyes, and sleep difficulties. This book covers all of those things. The title is a bit deceptive, in that the author doesn't necessarily think it's reasonable for every child to cut pharmaceuticals out of their lives.
However, what she does say is that many conditions which are typically treated with pharmaceuticals, like depression, inability to focus, hyperactivity, and digestive issues... can be treated more effectively with better nutrition and possibly dietary changes. Instead of treating the symptoms, you can eliminate the cause of the problem itself, which might be something like a zinc deficiency or magnesium deficiency. The end result, naturally, is a happier, healthier child.
I personally suffered from both of those deficiencies, and it seems I also have some form of allergy to dairy. And possibly gluten, but I'm studiously ignoring that right now because the idea of trying to go gluten-free is painful to contemplate. As I understand it, this is a common dread for parents of autistic people. Good news! This book has resources to help.
Actually, on the subject of nutrition and food allergies, this book has something I've never seen anywhere else: DIY infant formula. Babies can be allergic to foods, and if the mother eats those foods or the infant formula contains them, the baby can suffer those allergies. But because they're babies, they can't really communicate the specifics of their distress. My spouse's mother eventually had to cut cow milk and dairy out of her diet when breast-feeding him, because he was apparently lactose intolerant from birth.
While removing cow dairy from a diet might be complicated, at least it was just one factor. For some people on the autism spectrum, it's more than one thing. The author talks about her struggles with feeding her son, who had a lot of food allergies and eventually, despite all her efforts, could not be breast-fed. The authors talks about how to test for these sorts of things in children of all ages, as well as reasonable coping strategies for managing meals.
I say "reasonable" because high-needs people can test positive for allergies to dozens of foods, and trying to cut all of those foods out of a diet is exhausting at best. The author quite rightly points out that it can also lead to malnutrition. So she suggests (repeated throughout the book, so as to really get the point across) that you should get the tests done, and then choose the 2-4 strongest reactions to eliminate from the person's diet. The rest should be cycled, or eaten sparingly once or twice a week. This method limits the amount of exhaustion a parent faces when trying to provide meals and appropriate nutrition for their loved one.
The book also discusses specific supplements, from fish oil to amino acids to brain chemicals like GABA. There were things I'd heard of, like magnesium and zinc, and things I hadn't, like tyrosine and glutathione. Each comes with the sort of educated advice and symptoms list you would expect when visiting a specialist doctor... which is the author's credentials, of course. It's just usual to have put into a book, when this advice will typically run you hundreds to thousands of dollars.
Naturally, you shouldn't simply pick up this book and try the things in it without any form of professional guidance. While I found this book astonishingly accessible and thorough about its information, there's always interactions between pharmaceuticals and supplements. Some of those are covered in this book, but for your loved one's safety, consult a trained professional before adding things.
Overall, this was an excellent read. High quality information, significant but not overwhelming resources, written in an accessible-to-all style. While I don't agree with absolutely every recommendation in the book, the author seems quite knowledgeable and in-tune with this subject. I might consider buying a copy of this book and having it on hand to give to parents who come to the parent support group. The kinds of symptoms they complain about, including unusual things like the "white diet" where the child will only eat milk, cheese, pasta, etc, are addressed in these pages.
Read This Book If
You're a parent of a special-needs person, especially if they're younger than 18. Seriously, this is basically essential reading. This book does cover autism but it also covers much of the rest of the alphabet soup that often plagues special-needs kids: depression, anxiety, ADHD, allergies, asthma, learning problems, epilepsy, etc. The author provides clear, accessible suggestions for complete nutrition, from covering specific supplements to which tests to ask for from your doctor. Sleep, growth patterns, allergies (including dietary allergies), and gut bacteria are covered. The resources offered are excellent. And it's the only book I've ever seen that's included a literal recipe for a hypoallergenic infant formula.
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