Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone else has expereinced an easing of autisitc symptoms / behaviour when your child is on antiobiotics. Our son is currently on penicillium for a throat infection and in the last few days has been speaking a lot more and is a lot more energetic.
I found a few articles on the internet of parents who had similair experiences with using antiobiotics, but it does not seem to be a common approach (I guess as cant keep giving a child antiobiotics). Hence I have every reason to believe its a a barmy theory.
Our son is under assessment and has yet to be diagnoised ASD, so we dont know if this improvement is due to general development (which we really hope) or the fact he is taking the medicine. His language skills had been improving steadily before, but it got a lot faster this week.
It would be good to hear from anyone with any comparable expereinces or thoughts.
thanks
This is not barmy theory. There are many reports that people with autism often have related intestinal issues. I know that I feel much better (i.e. clear headed and functional) when my guts are working effectively and in balance. I have found that I have some food intolerances that affect me and I have cut some foods out (Apples, tomatoes, strawberries are culprits in my case*) and I feel better as a result. the antibiotics may have had an impact on intestinal transit time and this may have made him feel better and more able to function. I would look at his diet and make sure that it is properly balanced and healthy to start with. If he is eating properly (take advice on this if in any doubt) then you might look to see if there any trigger foods that upset him (increased or decreased transit time, irritability etc etc) again, you may be able to get him tested for allergies of you have a real suspicion about this.
*) I think I have a thing called pollen fruit syndrome which is a reaction to specific chemicals in these fruits.