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Behavioral Improvement in my son

@Up north.

Thanks for a reply.

Please review Posts #12 and #31.

I'd like you to describe specific behavior that your son exhibited prior to the diet
and how it changed afterward. Examples.
 
tree said:
@Up north.

Thanks for a reply.

Please review Posts #12 and #31.

I'd like you to describe specific behavior that your son exhibited prior to the diet
and how it changed afterward. Examples.
Click to expand...

I dont mean to be rude...but after the beating I took here today...I dont have it in me to write the 3 pages of information to do your question justice....

you're asking a big question....there is so much more to tell...but to summarize...

then: various ages ....
repetitive pacing back and forth...(looking back)especially after meals heavy in MSG
after meals he would spin in the floor or run in circles...
incomprehensible speech...only family could understand him
half of his face frozen as if he had a stroke
school told me teaching him to read would be abuse...
was given very basic work to do in school...3 to 4 years behind his peers....

now:
no pacing, spinning,
face clear of all twitches...ect...
speech 90% clear...can communicate very well...and is starting to tell jokes and tease...
October 2018 the teacher moved him in with the regular students for math(teacher knew nothing of the diet) my son jumped a few grade levels in 30 days for math......he is getting 70s in math but he is doing grade level math(HUGE)
Reading has rocketed forward since September...the hope is in 2020 he will be at grade level on all subjects....reading writing math...etc...well see...


small things..... like movies they have seen 50 times....they are watching them again like its the 1st time...


I have different kids......
 
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Fino said:
Aww, none of the specific questions were answered. :(

Is capitalization of a word indication of its importance? Usually Wikipedia is used as an example of a bad source, not a trusted source.
Not that the quoted material is necessarily inaccurate.

But I don't think that even explains what a neurotransmitter is so if most of us didn't know one was then we still don't! :eek: Perhaps one day I shall be less ignorant, but today is not that day.

I wish someone had the same claims but was also articulate and thorough.
Maybe you could list the foods he eats?
Then anyone who'd like to try can just copy.
That seems like what someone would do if they intended to help.

That's so random that now it's been said you don't like the current legal system. :D
Click to expand...

About Us nourishedblessing

free recipes...they have a facebook page also with lots of free info...thats just a mom that put up a web site to help....not selling anything...so be polite...
 
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Out of curiosity what was the diet beforehand?

I'm no expert on nutrition but the site you linked appears to be promoting healthy eating (lots of veg, remove processed foods etc.) and whatever about adults, children's behaviour is often heavily influenced by what they eat (or don't eat)
 
The thing is, people who have eaten a 'whole food' diet their whole lives still have autism. I am one of them. It wouldn't surprise me if someone who has had a junk diet shows some types of improvements in health and well-being when their diet improves, and perhaps that includes feelings of sickness which when reduced or eliminated can result in a happier and more comfortable child who has less need to act out. Even if that is what is happening in your children, that doesn't make it a 'cure' for autism. I am quite willing to believe that you are well intentioned in your sharing. I believe that generally most people are well intentioned.
 
Irresponsible post. Something is off here. Hopeful optimism? Essential oils? Disrespectful and premature, to a group whose GENETIC condition almost makes life difficult and confusing. Your wording shows ignorance. No thank you.
 
I have a serious chemical sensitivity to MSG. When I ingest it everything looks flat and like a cartoon, colors are very bright and everything seems funny. I act very crazy and am unable to be serious. I am a danger to myself and usually have sense enough to know I should not drive. I know immediately if I have eaten it.
I have been MSG free (except for accidents) for about 33 years, and I am still autistic.
I can easily identify with the symptoms you are describing, but a chemical sensitivity is not autism.
It seems to me very possible that your son was misdiagnosed.
 
It doesn't even make logical sense, as far as I can tell. Would facial expressions suddenly be easier to decipher? Would I suddenly understand metaphorical language more readily? Certain things don't make any sense to cure, do they?
 
techteach said:
It seems to me very possible that your son was misdiagnosed.
Click to expand...
If his son is still autistic, it sounds like dad dealt effectively with a co-morbid food allergy.
full
 
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The OP seems to be primarily concerned about MSG in the diet. I don’t think many would disagree that MSG in food is bad news. While the symptoms typically associated with MSG aren’t the same as those for autism, they could be aggravating. For instance, I certainly find it harder to be ‘normal’ when I have a raging headache simply because I don’t have the same concentration.
Taking MSG out of the diet (or at least minimising it) is a good idea whether you’re autie or nortie.
However, just as eating MSG doesn’t cause autism, neither is removing it a ‘cure’.
 
It's good to know that not eating MSG might be one of the factors that helps me "pass" or "mask" (so well, my psychiatrist wouldn't take my "I think I am autistic" admission, seriously). I am reaping the benefits of a ketonic diet, as I was a vegetarian for most of my life and it wasn't the best diet for my health. I remember eating a bag of cheese flavoured corn chips in early, very early pregnancy, with my (so "developmentally delayed" he has a plethora of services) autistic son, I remember they made me very jittery. Maybe they affected foetal development? Anyway, I will inform his supported accommodation staff (he is nearly 26 now) to avoid anything that has MSG in it, just to err on the side of caution, as his behaviour can flare into troublesome at times.

We have generally been a non junk food, non processed food family though, so I don't think MSG has ever been any kind of a regular consumption thing. Still, I'm appreciative of the heads up warning about it though @Up north. So thank you, I'd never come across the "Reid diet" and I'm always interested in nutritional science and potentially helpful info to manage the symptoms of the down side of our condition.
Myself and my son have aleays gravitated to a high fibre-high high vegetable diet and enjoy eating like that already so this is just further confirmation that that is a good tendency.
Thank you for sharing @Up north. ! :-)
 
Up north. said:
If anyone has intelligent questions to ask...i`m willing to answer those
Click to expand...

I don't think people should be unkind to you, but I do understand why feelings run high when claims such as yours are made. I would be most grateful if you would address some of the intelligent questions already asked and maybe a few more so that we can better understand what you are trying to tell us.
Please understand that very few of us wish to be "cured" of autism, because such a cure would rob us of our identity, but what you perceive as autism is unlikely to be the same as what we know it to be from lived experience. Some elaboration on your part is therefore essential if we are to enjoy a fruitful discourse on the subject you introduced.

What metric was used to rate the perceived improvement? How does the subject of your experiment with diet feel about the experience?

In addition to those questions already asked...

Can you point us to any peer reviewed studies of the efficacy of this diet (I have found none so far)?
Have there been any negative effects from it (e.g. significant increase in fibre intake can exacerbate GI problems)?

Many of the changes you have already mentioned do not relate to autism, but do point to intellectual disabilities or brain injury. Whilst ID can be a co-occurring condition with autism, it is not part of autism. The descriptions so far suggest a severe food allergy (not necessarily, but possible to be MSG) has been addressed by a healthy and exclusionary diet.

And one last one.
You mention your hesitancy to use the word "normal"...
What is "normal" to you?
 
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I frequently eat cheese, tomatoes, soy sauce, broccoli and peas. These are some of my favourite foods. :)
My world famous pizzamuffins are to die for. ;)

I have not noticed any of the popularly known symptoms of excessive glutamate despite eating at least one of these foods every day.
I'm not sure there's anything healthy about removing glutamate from your diet entirely.
 
Kyou Nukui said:
I'm not sure there's anything healthy about removing glutamate from your diet entirely.
Click to expand...

I would think that is true, e.g. we can't live without salt either but it's generally agreed that many of us consume unhealthy amounts.

Avoiding processed foods and balance appear to be the most important things about any healthy diet.
 
Looks like I've been pretty much eating a Reid diet my whole life due to having health conscious parents and my personal food preferences... I'm still autistic.

Up north. said:
then: various ages ....
repetitive pacing back and forth...(looking back)especially after meals heavy in MSG
after meals he would spin in the floor or run in circles...
incomprehensible speech...only family could understand him
half of his face frozen as if he had a stroke
school told me teaching him to read would be abuse...
was given very basic work to do in school...3 to 4 years behind his peers....
Click to expand...
Of these 'symptoms' only the stimming (pacing and spinning) are really indicative of autism... more specifically stimming is indicative of autistic methods of self-regulating stress and emotions, so reduction in stimming is a result of reduced stress. The other things you mentioned sound more like intellectual disability (which can be co-morbid with ASD) or brain damage.

Sounds like you have removed a food allergy, which is great, and that having a healthy diet is being generally beneficial to both of your children, which is also great and to be expected. But I would advise against assuming that these positive changes are a sign that your sons autism has been "cured", as it will probably result in disappointment on your part when it becomes clear that he is in fact still autistic, and may put pressure on him to mask his autistic traits in order to please you, which will most likely result in mental health issues in the long term. Or it could be that he was misdiagnosed to begin with due to food allergies/poor nutrition, in which case nothing to worry about.
 
(Dons the biology cape)

Firstly - autism is a genetic developmental condition, so can't be 'cured'. Its co-morbid symptoms of depression and anxiety can be addressed however.

Glutamate is the amino acid we're interested in today. It's a neurotransmitter, one of the most common in the brain. When glutamate receptors are inhibited, it is known to reduce cortisol - aka, reduce stress. Ketamine is an inhibitor of glutamate receptors, which is why ketamine is currently being studied as a fast way to alleviate depression and anxiety.

Cutting glutamate out of your diet entirely would be borderline impossible. Avoiding foodstuffs with added glutamate - for example, MSG - sounds fairly reasonable. But it is probably easier and more productive overall to find out what is causing the stress and eliminate it. After all, a limited diet will cause problems of its own. Glutamate is also not an essential amino acid, meaning your body is going to create more of it regardless.

Again, we are talking about stress and reducing cortisol - not curing autism, which ain't gonna happen.
 
Oh yes, and while MSG has been a perennial bogeyman for many years - there's no evidence it's harmful. It's widely used in Asian cookery with zero observed consequences. As I said, your body absolutely will make its own glutamate anyhow.
 
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