Behavioural Intervention for Autism -
Our Experience in the UK
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Behavioural Intervention for Autism -Our Experience in the UK[Contents]
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Other therapies we have used/are usingWe have looked at other therapies and have tried some of them in addition to the behavioural therapy. The articles about Vitamin B6 which I found on the Internet seemed interesting and we knew a couple of families who had tried it. We therefore tried Nu-Thera for a while but found it difficult to get Paul to take it even though it was mixed up in raspberry jam on toast. The recommended quantity was quite large, it didn't have a pleasant taste and seemed quite gritty. There was possibly some improvement but we didn't try it for more than a couple of weeks. Otherwise I have been giving Paul a children's multi-vitamin tablet and some orange flavoured cod liver oil. It also doesn't seem to show much improvement in his behaviour but it seems sensible given his restricted diet (It is extremely difficult to get him to eat a normal diet). Again there is possibly a slight deterioration in his behaviour when these are stopped.
Gluten Free DietWe have now put Paul on a gluten free diet as a result of a urine test which seemed to show that Paul might have an intolerance to gluten. His test didn't seem to show a Casein intolerance and we found this surprising because he is so keen on yoghurts, cheese, etc. He with often raid the fridge for these! However we may eventually try a Casein Free Diet as well because many people seem to have found it effective.We found details about gluten and casein intolerance on the Internet and Paul Shattock at the University of Sunderland is currently investigating casein and gluten allergies in relation to autism. Details can be found at The Autism Research Unit, University of Sunderland. We haven't found it easy to put Paul on a Gluten Free Diet because:- 1) The gluten free bread tastes horrible and is only acceptable with something on it. Paul seems to like dairy products e.g. butter on it. 2) It is difficult not to leave gluten products within reach. On a recent camping holiday Paul grabbed a croissant and ate it before we realised what had happened. 3) You have to look very carefully at the ingredients before giving something to Paul. However there are some plus points. Paul does like strong tasting foods and so enjoys curried chicken and rice. We also found that some of the major supermarket chains were very helpful in providing details of Gluten free products. Fortunately our doctor issued a presciption and so we are able to obtain some items from the chemist e.g. bread. ResultsWe have found that Paul is more likely to respond when spoken to and seems more inclined to express his own wishes. He recently said "I want bedtime". He had never said anything remotely like this before and all the more remarkable because he always seemed to be full of life until very late in the evening and would have to be virtually forced into bed still full of life. However as the saying goes 'one swallow doesn't make a summer' and we'll have to wait and see. Conversely there seems to be more stimming in a way and Paul is now head-banging whereas previously he just used to bang an object. He used to bang hard items e.g. a book and had callouses on the back of his hand as a result but then moved on to soft toys. Now he bangs a soft toy as well as headbanging with a hand or soft toy. We have been doing the Gluten free Diet for a couple of months now but it apparently takes a long time for the gluten to be eliminated and so it will be some months before we can make a full evaluation. We had hoped that it might help with his toilet training but unfortunately there hasn't been any improvement.
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