Brainy Kids

Autism can affect a child’s verbal and non-verbal communication with family and friends.

Your kid is the best thing that’s ever happened to you. But what happens when you’ve been told they have autism?

March is Brain Awareness Month and I thought I’d choose a topic close to my heart and that being autism. Because I once worked at a compounding pharmacy making specialized vitamins for them and saw first-hand how tough the condition is to treat-not to mention the hardships for the mums + dads.

Working in the pharmacy you will never spot the autistic child-they’re usually at home, afraid to venture out into the bright, noisy world of a pharmacy let alone a shopping centre. What you will see is a young parent, bright faced but with dark circles around searching eyes.

I don’t say this lightly but they’re almost always looking for the next silver bullet for the son/daughters eczema or fungal rash. Strange you may think..what’s a skin condition got to do with autism. Actually, your skin is the largest, external, organ of your body and it does a marvellous thing called inflammation-say what? Basically it acts like a traffic light. Signalling whatever chemical imbalance is going on inside the body. Red=Severe inflammation/allergy to toxin/compromised immunity; Orange=Mild and so forth. In autism, kids often have severe intolerances to certain foods-chicken nuggets, biscuits, chips-yet also the ones they love best! So it becomes a vicious cycle. The skin simply relays internal problems as an external alarm.

So what of these foods? Well you’ve heard the saying: You are what you eat. Food for thought. These kids can massively benefit from having a close check up of their dietary habits. Operative word being habits. As parents you can sometimes feel like treating your kids to a snack here and there or you’re in a rush and the local take-out is the quickest option. Unfortunately theses fragile tummies cop the assault and as a direct consequence, so does their brain. Memory, cognition, speech centres…these all become ‘inflammed’ and can slow down your child’s learning and development. Every child takes a different approach, but I’ve found the diet has always been the core protocol. Make it a habit not to get junk food from the supermarket for starters and not to fuel your kids on these types of foods-but let me stop there. Else you’ll think I’m preaching. I am. But it’s your responsibility =p

Start with a good doctor-by that I mean the numerous ones trained specifically in the area of Austism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Some of the pseudonyms for these experts are: holistic doctors/integrative doctors/paediatricians/biomedical doctors/naturopaths/chiropractors along with their allied professionals: nutritionists, speech therapists, cognitive therapists, dietitians, movement therapist, psychologist and of course pharmacist!

With the right guidance of a professional your child can improve. There is hope.

PS. As of writing I’m aware of the NDIS-National Disability Insurance Scheme-which includes funding for children with autism. There’s a lot of red tape to cut through but I hear the results can quite good in the end. In Sydney it will be rolling out in July 2017 so best prepare by looking at: www.ndis.gov.au