Theory on Autism

Hi,

I have a Theory.

For me I believe when we are born the brain runs a programme in each of us that makes us learn to walk, communicate, and socialise etc. What if something we consume blocks that process? Remove what is causing the block too late and the brain has formed too far the wrong way. Remove it early enough and the brain will revert back to the original programme and develop the correct way.

There is no consistent study that shows all autism is caused by something in our DNA.

Parents with no family history of autism have children with autism.

Children with autism often have bad guts. Why is it not more logical that something we consume causes the bad gut and therefore impacts on that programme of development rather than the less logical explanation that something in the brain is causing something to occur in the gut.

Just wanted to introduce the idea and see what people think.

Parents
  • Please. This is not about whether Autistic people are good or bad or right or wrong. I need help because I believe that I understand what is going on so let me begin to explain.

    The brain runs an automatic programme that shapes the phyiscial wiring of the brain. This happens in all babies.

    The problem is that in Autistic Children actually their programme is interrupted by both *** and Dairy Milk. 

    The reason that the results of diet change are inconclusive is becuase of timing. The key here is, that it is not changing the diet that will fix things but rather when you change the diet. It is all about timing.

    So if you change the diet after the brain is physcially wired for example in a 4 year old then it will not make a difference in the outcome apart from the symptoms associated with the gut will be corrected i.e wind, constipation etc.

    If you change the diet early then you allow the programme of brain development to resume and then you can limit the affects of autistic behaviours because the brain will begin to develop normally.

    People think early intervention i.e speech therapy and aba is at play but often people make dietary changes too ie they provide gluten and dairy free diets to their young ones.

    Studies are inconclusive because people are making diet changes at different ages and often too late. The studies focus on observing a diet change in autistic chidren of different ages.

    To prove my theory you have to make the changes to the diet of toddlers exhibiting symptoms no later than 15 months of age. Then you will see marked improvements in their joint attention skills, eye contact and general engagement. You will see a transition of interest away from objects to people.

    I can prove my theroy if toddlers present typcial red flags i.e lack of eye contact, flapping and parents are willing to make the diet change no later than 15 months. I believe in this case that all children will improve and not remain on the autistic spectrum at all.

    The toddlers would all have to be given the same diet and all at the same age. As the toddlers will no longer be having milk they would need to be provided with a balanced diet and vitamins. 

  • What evidence do you have that leads you to the conclusion that dietary changes would have the effect you describe? 

    What is it about children's diets, what foods and what is it the foods contain, that you see as causing the child to remain (or develop further down the path?) of autism?

    If I've understood the above correctly, what was it that made the child START down the path of autism? Was that, the starting point, a predisposition to Autism (as in a genetic or gestational cause)? 

    Finally, what is the alternative diet that you are proposing? 

    P.S. I do not know what you mean by *** and Dairy Milk. Please explain.   

  • Ok. In a nutshell my son appeared normal in that he exhbited no symptoms apart from gut issues. He then developed but very slowly and then appeared to regress. We saw specialists, he had a hearing test to check his hearing and he had speech therapy but things were getting worse not better and this made no sense. We were losing him. He would ignore us and walk past us like we did not exist. He also exhibited the traditional autistic behaviours like tip toeing, flapping and anger tantrums. My wife was very upset and I felt helpless. I researched and decided to change his diet at the age of 14 months not expecting much to happen and he transformed. The changes were observed by the speech therapists and are documented. We are talking about dramatic changes. He began to make sounds. He began to look at people instead of looking at objects. Instead of sitting alone he began to sit with people. He looked at people instead of through them. He responded to his name. It was like he awoke from a coma. That is how dramatic the changes were. The flapping went, tip toeing etc. People do not believe the level of transformation that took place. It was impossible. This happened over a period of just 5 weeks.

    1. All foods containing Gluten and Dairy were removed. As a subistitue we used organic coconut milk for night feeds.

    2. We gave him a multi vitamin for children and fish oils at breakfast time.

    3. No pre prepared foods.

    Diet as follows

    Organic Oats with Coconut milk at breakfast

    Blueberries, Banana 

    Fish, Potatoes, Quinoa, Chicken at meal times 

    Total of 4 meals plus cocount milk for night feeds.

    You see I believe that it is something that is present in both the milk of the mother and dairy that causes the blocking of the brain development. Looking at the make up of both if I had to point the finger at something I would say Casein but I cannot say for certain but I believe it is milk based on my experience. I do not think it is anything to do with Gluten because in my opinion the symptoms of Autism can be seen in very young babies when only milk is present in the diet. I do not think it is vaccinaiton based for the same reason.

    You see the reason there is no patterns in the research being conducted is because researchers are lost. They are looking in the wrong places because their defintion of autism is wrong. Autism is a disturbed delveopmental programme caused directly by something we consume but that does not effect all people becuase of genetics. It is not genetics that makes you Autistic.

    You see I believe you could have an allergy to Milk but you will not be Autistic. 

    It is only Autistic people that react specifically to Milk in this way. It interferes with that crucial development of the brain early on.

    Now it is important to understand that changing the diet after this critcal age once the brain is formed will not have the reversal effect. You have to do it early on but the child must have a balanced diet to compensate for the lack of nutrients they will not get from Milk. 

Reply
  • Ok. In a nutshell my son appeared normal in that he exhbited no symptoms apart from gut issues. He then developed but very slowly and then appeared to regress. We saw specialists, he had a hearing test to check his hearing and he had speech therapy but things were getting worse not better and this made no sense. We were losing him. He would ignore us and walk past us like we did not exist. He also exhibited the traditional autistic behaviours like tip toeing, flapping and anger tantrums. My wife was very upset and I felt helpless. I researched and decided to change his diet at the age of 14 months not expecting much to happen and he transformed. The changes were observed by the speech therapists and are documented. We are talking about dramatic changes. He began to make sounds. He began to look at people instead of looking at objects. Instead of sitting alone he began to sit with people. He looked at people instead of through them. He responded to his name. It was like he awoke from a coma. That is how dramatic the changes were. The flapping went, tip toeing etc. People do not believe the level of transformation that took place. It was impossible. This happened over a period of just 5 weeks.

    1. All foods containing Gluten and Dairy were removed. As a subistitue we used organic coconut milk for night feeds.

    2. We gave him a multi vitamin for children and fish oils at breakfast time.

    3. No pre prepared foods.

    Diet as follows

    Organic Oats with Coconut milk at breakfast

    Blueberries, Banana 

    Fish, Potatoes, Quinoa, Chicken at meal times 

    Total of 4 meals plus cocount milk for night feeds.

    You see I believe that it is something that is present in both the milk of the mother and dairy that causes the blocking of the brain development. Looking at the make up of both if I had to point the finger at something I would say Casein but I cannot say for certain but I believe it is milk based on my experience. I do not think it is anything to do with Gluten because in my opinion the symptoms of Autism can be seen in very young babies when only milk is present in the diet. I do not think it is vaccinaiton based for the same reason.

    You see the reason there is no patterns in the research being conducted is because researchers are lost. They are looking in the wrong places because their defintion of autism is wrong. Autism is a disturbed delveopmental programme caused directly by something we consume but that does not effect all people becuase of genetics. It is not genetics that makes you Autistic.

    You see I believe you could have an allergy to Milk but you will not be Autistic. 

    It is only Autistic people that react specifically to Milk in this way. It interferes with that crucial development of the brain early on.

    Now it is important to understand that changing the diet after this critcal age once the brain is formed will not have the reversal effect. You have to do it early on but the child must have a balanced diet to compensate for the lack of nutrients they will not get from Milk. 

Children
  • community.autism.org.uk/.../62243

    Good Fortune to "NAS36357", and, since the Post is so long, I Post a Link directly to *that Post*, rather than Quote parts of it...!

    I really hate to Post this, since I might gain replies telling me off, or something... yet now, that which you last state has attracted interest from myself also. I have another Thread, which is similar yet quite unrelated... correct me if I am wrong, yet you are discussing, here, one possible "cause", with good evidence to support this...?

    (I Post here, because I think that your argument IS valid. Had you Posted that experience in the first place, this Thread would have taken a very different turn, yet straight to the point?...)

    For my own part, I suggest that what you have found is a sort of "internal anchor" for Autism to develop... that is, here, something in "Milks" which allow Autistic effects to thrive. Your evidence shows this, and it is highly intriguing. My only counter is that, if "Milks" alone caused "Autism", then *everyone* would have it; Thus I say that you are correct, yet it is rather something in the environment (external factors, both old and modern) which continues to cause it... just like any other developments such as short-sightedness, Asthma, or Gluten-Intolerance... it is an individual thing.

    "Milk" (or similar) + ?External Factor? = Autism Increases.

    ...I hope anyone properly understands this Post and, if not, then please do not hate me too much...?

  • While I can agree with Former Memberand @Evan, in that personally I too feel fine nowadays with how I am, I also feel sympathy with those trying to cope with some of the more difficult aspects of lower-spectrum diagnoses. To that end, and as a parent myself, I can understand the want / need that's out there to seek a 'cure' or at least limiting of some of the more severe effects of ASD. Research at the moment does seem to be primarily focused upon coping with or limiting the effects of lower-functioning ASD. 

    As for why I personally am interested in looking into possible causes, it's purely because it's interesting. Why not? I've looked into the effects upon the human body of space travel but I'm not planning on travelling into space at any time! I'm not seeking a 'cure' for being me either.

    It seems there have been some studies done into diet and various other environmental causes of ASD, none conclusive as yet. 

    (2014) -  Impact of Maternal Diet on Human Milk Composition and Neurological Development of Infants - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24500153/ re. fatty acids implicated in infant neurological development (DHA, AA, Linoleic Acid) and the link with the levels of Casein in cows milk as compared to human milk (twice the level in cows milk).

    also https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4882692 re. Glutamine and it's role in providing Ketoglutaric Acid which appears to have a dual role as both a neurotransmitter and is involved in the development of intestinal cells. I thought this was interesting because it shows a dual link to the brain and the gut, from this one amino acid alone (so how many others may be implicated dual-ly like this?), and relates to the link between ASD and gut problems which i've seen mentioned many times around here!

    (2010) -  dryhman.com/blog/2010/12/09/breakthrough-discovery-on-the-causes-of-autism/    which discusses a similar case to that of your son but the child involved was 6-years old at the time of the diet changes and he apparently now shown no signs of ASD.     

  • This does sound interesting, I hadn't seriously considered any causes other than purely genetic because that appears to be where mainstream ASD research is heading. 

    So something (a genetic predisposition or something [generally thought to be high levels of testosterone] the fetus is exposed to) causes ASD but it isn't 'activated' until exposure to, possibly, casein? 

    Before being able to properly discuss this I'd need to do some research of my own to understand exactly what effects / constituents milk has. Have you attempted to present your thoughts about this to someone more qualified in food science / chemistry? 

    I'd also need to know more about studies taking account of environmental factors, as I'm sure there must be some, and which specific aspects of diet have previously been considered as contributing to ASD - if indeed any have. Have you accessed any such studies?

    How long did you stick to the diet you listed for your son? Did it consist of anything else? What age is he now and does he now consume milk and / or dairy products? Am I correct in assuming that he now shows no signs of ASD whatsoever?

    Sorry if these questions are too personal, you do not have to answer them of course but it would be of use in assessing the effectiveness of such a diet change if I knew the answers. Of course, I am neither a food scientist nor a chemist but I am interested and would like to look into this in more depth. (It would of course be more useful to you if you were able to contact a professional but it's an interesting theory and one I'd like to find out more about.)