Making Progress in Autism - Probiotics and more!

Thanks Alex for the following question about progress through probiotics:

My 5 yr old son is on the gf/cf/sf diet and I?m just about to order lots of supplements online. After reading your Press On! it sounded like us, however we haven?t started any probiotic yet. My son?s ?disagreeableness? (made sense to me!) is pretty bad right now, without any supplement. How long roughly was the ?rough part? for you?

Did the new line of probiotics that you mentioned come out yet?

Thanks!
Alex

Alex,

Yes, the probiotic product (and other products we use) have been released and they are fantastic! The company is Neocore Spectrum, and the website is http://www.neocorespectrum.com. The probiotic is very high-potency with 25 + Billion CFUs (colony forming units). It is gluten-free, casein-free and also free from FOS (a prebiotic in many probiotics that feeds bad bacteria). It also is formulated so that the probiotics survive the stomach acid and can actually colonize in the intestines - where they can do their job.

We also use all the products offered by Neocore Spectrum - the multivitamin/multimineral, enzymes (both chewable and capsules), omega-3 fish oil (small gelcaps), liquid antioxidant extracts (my sons LOVE the Blueberry), and the Silver Renew gel. The Silver Renew skin gel has been wonderful for us - we use it on bug bites, skin irritations, eczema, and even used it on a viral rash called Molluscum. I recently had some horrible eczema flare-ups on my arms and used the Silver Renew and saw relief within minutes, and complete resolution in only a few days.

The thing I love best about the Neocore Spectrum products is that I really feel I am getting a value for my money. For example, the multivitamin/multimineral is very complete and is reasonably priced. It is well-suited for our autistic children. (I use the products for myself too!) It is free from copper and iron, it uses many natural forms of vitamins. It also contains the active forms of folic acid, vitamin B 12, B-6 (it contains P-5-P), which the information published by the DAN! doctors and the Autism Research Institute shows that autistic children have difficulties processing these vitamins and need the more active forms. There are even bioflavonoids for extra antioxidant protection. A multi like this is truly hard to come by!
Alex, to answer your question as to how long the most difficult part lasted - I must say that it took several months of working on the yeast imbalance before I noticed that my son?s behavior and mood improved and the ?disagreeableness? began fading away.

As I mentioned, he was so toxic when we began the probiotic supplementation, that we saw his behavior worsen for the first few weeks. He even had some nights of rough sleep where he would kick and scream out at night. I now know that was the bacterial and yeast die-off. Now I know that activated charcoal pills can help alleviate some of the die-off reactions. (Make sure not to take the activated charcoal within 2 hours of eating or taking any supplements.) Also, it is important to stay away from sugar - even excessive fruit sugar (ex. we avoid dried fruit) and moldy foods. It?s also important to work on the overall health of the body - supplying the vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and nutrition that the body, and specifically the immune system needs.

It is a lot of effort, but I must say it is worth it! Tonight as I was giving my boys a bath, I was thinking back a couple of years. I was remembering how difficult it was back then to give my son a bath. He would throw a constant fit during bath time - he didn?t like the water over his head, he didn?t like the smell of the soap (which was totally unscented!), he didn?t like the towel, he didn?t want his hair dried, and on and on! By the time I got him to bed, I would be in tears! Now our bath and bedtime routines are a joy! My boys hug and kiss each other goodnight and say ?I love you!? to each other and to me! It is what I hoped, worked, and prayed for, and I am truly thankful! I pray for that same joy for you!

Blessings!