I remember hearing that folic acid helps with scripting. I also remembered hearing that TMG helped improve language and lessoned scripting. Many months ago I decided to add Folinic acid to Sophie’s regimen, it is folic acid with some with stuff to help the body process it easier.

She has been scripting much less. To be honest, I really didn’t notice how little she was scripting until I skipped supplements for a couple of days. Her scripting completely came back, constantly talking, repeating her favorite lines from TV shows.

After adding back her folinic acid and TMG, it is very minimal again. She can once again concentrate on other things instead of the unending chatter. I don’t know what is helping her more, TMG or Folinic acid. I might do some experiments soon to see which it is, I suspect the folinic acid. I will keep you updated.

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I received this email yesterday and wanted address it.

I’m sure my son has yeast issues. How much of the different components do you give? And how will I know when to move on to the next step? Thanks for your time.

I am not a doctor and urge you to seek medical advice for any of your health problems. With my rear now cover, here is what I do step by step

I would first start my child with 1/2 capsule, twice a day, of No-Fenol enzymes by Houston Enzymes . You could also use other anti-candida enzymes, but I am not sure on the dosing, just check the label. If you are already using TriEnza it already contains No-Fenol so skip this step.

After 3 days, to make sure they are tolerating the enzyme, 1/2 capsule of probiotic- twice a day. Watch closely for die off symptoms, (flu like symptoms), if they occur give 1 or 2 capsules of activated charcoal.

After 3 days, to make sure they are tolerating the probiotic, I would add 2 drops of Grapefruit seed extract twice a day. Watch closely for die off, (flu like symptoms), if they occur give 1 or 2 capsules of activated charcoal an hour or 2 after the GSE.

If there is no problem tolerating the probiotic, then I would wait a couple of weeks to add the biotin. If probiotics are not tolerated, add the biotin in it’s place.

Here is what my schedule would look like

Day 1-3

• 1/2 capsule No-Fenol 2X per day (this amount will not change)

Day 4-6

• 1/2 cap. No-Fenol 2x per day
• 1/2 cap. of probiotic 2x per day

On day 6 increase to 1 cap of probiotic 2x per day

Day 7-9

• 1/2 cap. No-Fenol 2x per day
• 1 cap. of probiotic 2x per day
• Give 2 drops of GSE 2x a day with the No-fenol. Give the probiotic 2-3 hours later.

If a lot of die off occurs, give activated charcoal and stay at this dosage a little longer.

Day 10-12

• 1/2 cap. No-Fenol 2x per day
• 1 cap. of probiotic 2x per day
• Give 2 drops of GSE 3x per day

Day 13 and on

• 1/2 cap. No-Fenol 2x per day
• 1 cap. of probiotic 2x per day 9 (you can increase this to 3x a day)
• GSE 3x per day.

Increase the amount of GSE by 1 to 2 drops every few days until you feel like the yeast is under control. At that point, you can back down to a maintenance dose of 2 drops, a couple of times a day, or stop it completely. I would keep the probiotics on board. The no-fenol is optional, but it does have benefits beyond yeast. If my child seems to do better with the no-fenol, I would keep it, if not drop it.

I have put together a amazon store with all of the products I have mentioned here.

I have not heard of a child with autism that doesn’t have a yeast problem. That being said, one could exist and if you treat yeast and there is not an overgrowth issue or your child already had a bacteria issue, you can end up with major bacteria overgrowth. Adding probiotics will help to contain the bacteria and if you are sure there is already a bacteria issue, treat for both.

How do I know if my child has a problem with yeasts?

There are lab test to check for yeast. Great Plains Labs has a test that gives an in depth look at yeast and bacteria, it is call an Organic Acids Test or OAT. There is also the spit test , though I cannot testify to it’s accuracy.

I believe the most accurate way to know if your child has yeast is to look for the symptoms. Here is the list:

• spinning
• flapping
• gas & bloating
• constipation
• hyperactivity
• spacey, inattentive, and fuzzy thinking
• yeast infections (vaginal, nail fungus, athlete’s foot, or thrush)
• irritability
• acting drunk
• inappropriate laughter
• food sensitivities
• digestive problems
• itchy areas (genitals, anus, ears)
• red ring around anus
• scaly patches on skin (ears and scalp)

I am sure there are more symptoms, but these are the ones I could think of.

How do I treat it?

This is how I treat yeast using naturals.

First start with an enzyme that will break down the hard shell of the yeast. I use No Fenol by Houston Nutraceuticals. Some other brands would be Candidase, Candex and Candizyme.

Then use something to kill it. Grapefruit Seed Extract(GSE) is very effective. Oil of Oregano will also kill yeast along with bacteria and garlic kills yeast. I use GSE, although it is absolutely HORRIBLE tasting. You can hide it in orange juice, yogurt, chocolate ice cream, any citrus drink. Start with 1 or 2 drops- 2 or 3 times a day and slowly work up, watching for die off*.

Then Add biotin. Biotin is produced by good bacteria in the intestines. From what I can gather it helps to keep yeast from clinging to the walls of the intestines, becoming the more invasive from of candida. I would start somewhere around 200-300mcg 2 ot 3 times a day and work up. It can also cause constipation, so you may want to give it with magnesium. My daughter has taken up to 10mg (10,000mcg) a day.

Finally Give probiotics. Probiotics are the good bacteria in our digestive system. They keep the bad bacteria and yeast in check. We are trying to restore the balance of good and bad bacteria. I use pro-bio gold by Kirkman labs and Therabiotics by Klaire Labs, but the second one requires physician approval. I give 1 capsule 2 times a day, sometimes more.

Keep a low sugar diet. Sugar feeds yeast. There is a yeast diet that cuts out all food that feeds yeast. The SCD diet is also said to kill yeast because on it you only eat simple sugars so everything is easily digested, not leaving fermenting food in your system.

*While killing yeast, die off symptoms may occur. The symptoms are fatigue, brain fog, gastro-intestinal distress such as nausea, gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation, low grade fever, headache, sore throat, body itch, muscle and / or joint soreness or pain, feeling as if coming down with a flu. These are a sign that large numbers of yeast are being killed and when they die they release toxins. Activated charcoal will help by absorbing these toxins, but the best way to deal with this is by going very slow.

I have also used prescription drugs to yeast. I will discuss these in another article. Certain things will also cause yeast to flare up, like chelation and viral treatment.

Here is a page where you can buy all of these things

It part two of Supplementing for Autism, we discuss getting basic nutrition to our children. So what comes next? Do we start trying to treat specific issues, do we try supplements that we know have helped others or do we start removing heavy metals?

To share my experience with this, I first began by seeing a DAN doctor who gave me samples of 7 or 8 different supplements that were the latest greatest fads. It had nothing to do with my child’s actual symptoms. I gave each supplement for 3-7 before moving to the next. The result, none of the supplements had any positive effect and I had wasted another month.

All that being said, I do think that those supplements are worth trying, but treating actual issues first makes so much more sense to me. When I go to the doctor because I have a broken arm I expect to get a cast not something to improve my memory. Not that improving my memory wouldn’t be great, I would like that too, but lets deal with immediate problems first.

Since I don’t know your child’s issues, go to this page http://autismshare.com/symptoms.htm. It has symptoms and treatments. Take the most pressing problem and start trying out solutions. You can also check out yahoo groups. You can find a ton of information and support. Here are the ones I frequent
GF/CF Kids
MB12 Valtrex
Autism Mercury
Enzymes and Autism

Try going to the yahoo groups and ask for help for specific problems. Experienced parents will be able to guide you through trying a treatment for a specific issue, or send me an email. I am always happy to answer any questions I can. sarah at wakingsophie.com, replace at with @

Next in this series I am going to tackle supplements to treat yeast.

Part 1
Part 2

With every child being different, it is hard to say where to start with supplementation. So lets break it down a bit. There are 3 goals involved in giving supplements, to improve general health, to treat issues and to treat the underlying problems. In this series we will look at these goals, one at a time. This post will deal with general health and obtaining nutrients.

One of, if not the, greatest obstacles to most children with autism’s health is the inability to properly digest food to obtain the nutrients. To answer this problem there are a few options. One is to introduce enzymes to break down the foods, another is to give foods that are easier to digest and another strategy is to supplement the vitamins and minerals they are not getting. The most successful approach seems to be to do all three.

So which Enzymes?

I personally like Houston enzymes. I give Sophie TriEnza which is a mix of the 3 main enzymes offered by the company. One enzyme takes care of the proteins for gluten and casein, one that helps with phenols and also breaks down the hard shell of yeast making it easier to kill and one that takes care of everything else. There are plenty of other brands of enzymes people have success with. Some children will not be able to tolerate trienza so you can try the 3 enzymes from houston seperately or try a different brand. Enzyme Stuff has great info.

I personally know a woman whose child was showing autistic symptoms, not officially diagnosed, but all of the symptoms stopped after beginning houston enzymes. She now has a totally neurotypical child.

That doesn’t heal your child, proceed to step 2

Diet

The gluten free/casein free(gf/cf) diet has caused many miraculous recovery stories. You can read some of these stories here http://www.gfcfdiet.com/Successstories.htm. Many people end up avoiding many other foods because they also cause problems for their child. The yahoo group GFCF Kids. Provides wonderful support of the diet and all other issues of biomedical treatment.

Supplementing for health

A good multivitamin, especially one designed specifically for children with autism, is a great way to help support a child’s nutritional needs. Kirkman’s labs has a very popular multi called Super Nu Thera. Super Nu Thera is formulated with very high amount of vitamin B and magnesium which enhances the effects of b vitamins. It was made for children with autism by request of the Autism Research Institute in the late 60’s.

Another popular multivitamin is made by Brain Child Nutritionals. I do not have personal experience with their products, but have heard good things. Another option is Juice Plus. This was to me by our DAN doctor.

One issue many parents experience is children with autism often have problems tolerating many different foods, vitamins, supplements and minerals. Many children will not be able to handle multivitamins. This was the case with Sophie. As an alternative, I had to buy vitamins and minerals separately and give them one at a time to make sure she could tolerate them.

When she didn’t tolerate something, the reaction would be huge melt downs. She would cry an yell and be extremely emotional. It sounds a little like die off from yeast or bacteria, but if you experience both with your child you will be able to tell the difference. This is more extreme then die off.

Buy everything in trial size or ask for free samples from the companies. If you have to go the route I did with trying one vitamin at a time, look at the ingredients of a multi and use it as a list of things to try.

One more quick note, B vitamins have been known to make children hyper, sometimes no phenol enzymes will help with that.

Now that I have all that out of the way I will start discussing the other supplements that are recommended for children with autism one at a time in this series, Supplements for Autism.

Well according to my poll what you really want to read about is supplements for autism. This week I will begin delving into this complicated topic. I will discuss the various supplements, vitamins and mineral that have been known to have an effect with some people with autism. I will tell you what I have tried, what has worked for us and what hasn’t.

Please keep in mind that all children are different and autism really is a puzzle that you have to figure out. When I first started this journey I had a DAN doctor give us a list of 8 different supplements to try. Not one of them made a difference with Sophie. Those same supplements may make a difference now because these children will change during the recovery process. Also one supplement may make a miraculous change for one child and have no effect for another.

I am not a doctor or nutritionalist. I am a mom who does a lot of research and has tried a lot of things. I will share everything that I have learned with you.

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We have been going after viruses in Sophie for about a 6 weeks now. I have been giving her Acyclovir and olive leaf extract. I picked up Virastop during the last visit to the health food store. Viruses are covered with a protein film and Virastop, formerly known as Purify, breaks up the protein leaving the virus vulnerable.
Here is a link:

I am starting it today and I am hoping she will tolerate it. When she doesn’t tolerate something she will have huge meltdowns. She will cry continually and be extremely emotional. It has been a few hours and so far so good. Here is a link about what to Enzyme stuff, you can read all about Virastop and other enzymes there.

How do you get all these yucky things into them? When you have been handed a list of a couple dozen supplements to give to your child that is a reasonable question. Here is what I do.
I mix most of the supplements together in a small cup, one you would get with over the counter medicine for dosing. I then put them in an oral syringe, they will give you those free if you ask in any pharmacy, then you squirt it in.

I would like to talk about how bad some of the supplements and prescription medicines can taste. I know how bad they taste because I don’t give something to my child without tasting it first. I suggest that all parents do this so that you can figure out how to best help you child get over the taste or feeling, meaning ear drops etc.

Not all supplements are created equal. GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) is horribly strong and bitter. I will not give this in an oral syringe if I can possibly avoid it. It is however very easy to hide in citrus drinks. I have also successfully hidden it in yogurt and chocolate soy ice cream. OOO (Oil of Oregano) is also very strong. I would try hiding this in pizza or spaghetti sauce.

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Ok here is the list:

• Super Nu Thera 1/2 tsp 2x a day
• Folinic Acid Kirkman’s brand 800mcg 1x per day
• TMG 500mg 1x per day
• Vitamin K2 (Thorne Research) 2 drops 2x per day
• CoQ10 50mg 1x per day
• Selenium 200mcg 1x per day
• Magnesium Citrate 110mg 2x per day
• Vitamin C 1100mg 2x or 3x per day
• Acetyl L-Carnitine 500mg 2x per day
• No Fenol Enzymes 1/2 tab 1x per day
• Olive Leaf Extract 20 drops 2 or 3 times per day
• Biotin - sporadically depending on yeast issues and constipation issues

I also use houston enzymes for any infractions.
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