autism/asthma & handwashing - Autism Spectrum Message Board

anthonysmom · 01-03-2006, 10:12 PM

has anyone heard of a correlation between asthma & autism?

how do I convince my son to wash his hands? Social Stories & the germ thing don't work.

thank you

BetsyAnn · 01-03-2006, 10:37 PM

There is alot of evidence to sugguest that autism is caused by a malfunctioning immune system as is asthma. So it makes sense that there would be a higher than normal percentage of persons with autism that have asthma. (However, I am not aware of any studies that show the correlation. I would be very interested to read any studies anyone can suggest.) My son has asthma and I believe that the same malfunction in his system caused both.

Interestingly after my son started taking all of these supplements for the autism, he basically became symptom free from the asthma. (That was a bonus for us. At the time I had not idea that the two problems were related.) He has only had one asthma attack in a year and a half. That also happened after he had refused to take his fish oil for several weeks. Even with the steroids he did not clear up well until I got him back on the fish oil. Before he started taking all of the supplements I spent hours everyday nebulizing him. The nebulizer is now on my shelf collecting dust.

jeffreys mom · 01-04-2006, 12:46 AM

Hi BetsyAnn;

Good to hear from you again. How is your son doing? I remember when I first came to this board in the "wondering if" my son was on the spectrum stage and you helped me get through and confirmed the importance of the Diet.

I've tried a couple of times to see if it really makes the difference, and I am soooo totally sold at this point. Thank goodness small infractions don't do permanent damage but behaviorally it's a nightmare for all for a couple of days.

My son turned three in November and lost all his Early Intervention. I wasn't satisfied with the Public school offer and am in a major dispute right now with a rejected IEP. We are paying through the nose for private ABA at the moment. This has been as devastating and stressful as the wondering stage.
Another thing I remember that you told me and I understand and agree with is that once he was diagnosed there was a sense of relief. Now I need relief with the trusting the school piece. He's high functioning so they are not offering much 1.1 which he still needs.

What has your experience been like with the school piece?

anthonysmom · 01-04-2006, 09:35 AM

betsyann,
Thank you for your information. My son's psychologist has not recommended any supplements. Other than a multivitamin, my son doesn't take any. What types of supplements do you give your child?

BetsyAnn · 01-04-2006, 11:37 AM

Jeffreysmom, it is also nice to hear from you. I am going to start a new thread on the public school system. I have alot of issues with how that works for autistic kids.

Anthonysmom, my son takes alot of supplements. We follow the DAN protocol. It has made a tremendous difference for our son. The first supplement that I would introduce would be cod liver oil. It made more notible difference than any other supplement. It help with his eye contact and speech almost immediately. It also seems to be the one that has controlled his asthma. The fish oil has anti-inflamatory properties, that is why it helps with the asthma. The other supplements combined help with the autistic sysmptoms and I am assuming they probably help with the asthma also. My son is also on the GF/Cf diet. I being casein free has also helped the asthma. I think the milk was a trigger for him. However, the casein free diet alone will not control his asthma because he has other triggers such as colds, weather changes, etc.

The list of supplements my son takes include:
cod liver oil
omega 3 fish oil
zinc
multimineral
multivitamin with high B levels
magnesium
calcium
ibedidone
folinic acid
probiotics