Natural Alternatives For Kids With ADD

"Inflammatory foods and bowel infections have to be addressed first for these kids," explains Judy Converse, RD, author of "Special-Needs Kids Go Pharm-Free: Nutrition Focused Tools To Help Minimize Meds and Maximize Health and Well-Being."

 Judy Converse, MPH, RD, LD, author of "Special-Needs
Kids Go Pharm-Free: Nutrition Focused Tools To Help Minimize Meds and Maximize Health and Well-Being" discusses how as a registered dietician specializing in nutrition care she helps special needs babies and children with asthma, allergies, ADD depression, and other challenging medical conditions.

Commitmentnow.com: What are some natural alternatives for children suffering with ADD and ADHD? What do you recommend that will help them get through a day at school?

Judy: Inflammatory foods and bowel infections have to be addressed first for these kids. If these problems are active, they will interfere even if your child is using a medication for attention.

Why push upstream? Children may do a lot better with the right medication, once the nutrition problems are off the table.

Or, they may not need the medication at all. Iron status
is important here, as is normal protein assimilation, adequate calories all day, and fish oils can be a stand out too.
 
Many special needs kids have trouble eating at school. I work with families to come up with feasible, nutritious lunch and snack options.

I also suggest accommodations be made if possible, like giving more time for eating, or giving a quieter space for eating besides a busy loud cafeteria, a setting that many special needs children struggle to navigate.
 
Commitmentnow.com: What are some of the vitamins and foods that will help a child with autism? 

Judy: Kids with autism are simply human children, so they need the exact same vitamins and nutrients as any other child.

The problem is they often have terrible impairments in gut
function, extreme self-imposed diet restrictions, and painful bowel problems – which can easily conspire to change the functional nutrition status of a child.

Emerging research and overwhelming anecdotes from providers and parents show that they often don’t digest and
absorb food normally.

This injures them developmentally by leaving the brain bereft of key nutrients, and by allowing more potential toxins into the brain.

Supplementing essential nutrients and avoiding foods that are problematic for them can be successful.  How that is
done needs to be individualized for each child; there is no one diet or supplement plan that I have seen work for all kids with autism.

Therapeutic diets have been life savers for children with epilepsy and PKU; autism is likely similar in this regard.

Resistance to this in the medical community is puzzling, but parents encounter it all the time. It is not without
precedent that developmental injuries have a nutrition component.
 
Commitmentnow.com: What do you recommend parents do if their pediatrician is pressuring them to put their child on medication, but they are having doubts?

Judy: Your pediatrician probably wants to help – if he doesn’t want to help, why continue? I encourage parents to consider which is worse: No care, or care from a doctor that can’t help
your child?

If your child isn’t progressing or getting better, then perhaps your doctor is not doing a good job. Find another provider you like better. Ask lots of questions. If you aren’t confident in a recommended course, be honest, and say you’d like more information.

I am delighted when my clients’ pediatricians take time to consider new territory, read, and explore. They are pressed for time and don’t study nutrition beyond a cursory level, but
some are willing to learn. If it just isn’t clicking with your doctor, you may need other options.

I put a chapter in the book on how to work with professionals in pediatric complementary medicine, if you find you are really unhappy with your conventional pediatric care provider.
 
Commitmentnow.com: Can good nutrition truly lessen the need for pharmaceuticals in special needs kids?

Judy Converse, MPH, RD, LD: Well, nutrition is the foundation underneath everything for babies and kids - from normal immune response, to fighting infection, to learning, growth, behavior, and development – it has enormous impacts on all these.  Humans evolved without pharmaceuticals until
recently. So, yes, of course good nutrition can lessen the need for medications.

I didn’t discover this! This has been understood for over a century in the western medical sense, and for millennia in other cultures. It’s not new.

Nutrition is an evidence-based science and practice that has been around a long time. You need degrees and a license to practice nutrition in 45 states. The problem is that here in the US, we have a health care system that does not engage this modality very well. It gets overlooked.
 
And yes, it can change the need for pharmaceuticals. Both restoring normal nutrition, and using specific therapeutic nutrition tools, can shift a child’s presentation enough to change whether or not they need a medication, whether they need less medication, or even which medication they use.

“Normal nutrition” just means the state of being in good, healthy nutrition status without any particular complication or condition. Therapeutic nutrition means using a specific nutrition measure – like a special diet or a supplement – to treat a
nutrition problem.   

Commitmentnow.com: Tell us about your work as a dietitian. How do you go about helping special needs children?
  
Judy: I never planned to work in pediatrics, much less special-needs pediatrics. I was already a dietitian when my son was born in 1996.  But he had many concerns for feeding, allergy, strange stools, and neurological signs that were never covered in my training – I was completely confused by this very high needs baby, after a normal, uncomplicated pregnancy and natural delivery.

He was breast-fed, and I had never heard of an allergic baby who was breast-fed. My training had not addressed this at all.

At the time, food allergies were much less prevalent in children than they are now. But, anyone trained in human nutrition knows that a newborn’s brain is at risk if nutrients aren’t absorbed normally or adequately, and my son had several signs that this may have been happening for him.
 
I couldn’t get his pediatricians to pay much attention to this, and this shocked me. I was stunned that there was no engaging them in this.

They were totally un-curious. I knew that I could not be the only parent with a baby in this situation, and I wondered – who is helping these moms? Who is giving them guidance on this piece? It seemed nobody was.  I saw a terrible gap in pediatric care.

I simply began – first helping my own child, then responding to requests from other moms who saw his turnaround – and my practice grew from there.
 
Helping special needs kids is like helping any other kid – they’re just kids. They want to be happy, and feel good; they want to feel safe, loved, and secure, and have fun. 

Even when there are deep developmental impairments, they are all in there, with their own twinkle and desire, faint as it may sometimes be due to their heavy physical burdens. I take them through a clinically standard nutrition assessment process, with some functional nutrition assessment tools worked in.

I simply discover, sort, and prioritize their nutrition problems,
then make a care plan for how we will correct those.  The family’s effort is so important, and I work closely with them to find out how we can best implement a care plan so it will
succeed.  This process can take a couple weeks, or several months, or more – it depends on how fragile or impaired a child is to start.

Nutrition care is a process, not a magic bullet, so it takes time – especially if a child presents with long-entrenched problems.

The problems don’t go away overnight. It takes time for cells and tissue to repair, grow, and be replenished
with the nourishment they have lacked.
 
Commitmentnow.com: Do you have any interesting stories of how nutrition enabled a special needs child to get off medication? Tell us about some of your success
stories.

Judy: I’ve had the privilege of seeing many children’s lives dramatically change with nutrition care, but it never stops being exciting when things go really right.

One of my favorite cases was a teenage boy who was suicidal and on psychiatric medication that was failing. Despite
medication and counseling, he was extremely withdrawn, negative, and isolated. He was bullied and unsuccessful at school. He hadn’t engaged with his siblings or family for a long
time, hadn’t laughed or smiled in years according to his mom, and didn’t talk a lot.

He slept a lot, as clinically depressed people often do. His nutrition findings at first assessment showed problems with digestion, absorption, growth, food intake, neurotransmitter balance, and more – many things no one had ever assessed or treated. He was not growing well, or eating foods he needed. He had been bereft of normal nutrition for years.  
 
We set up a plan to clear up bowel infections with herbal tools; we replenished neurotransmitter chemistry with free amino acids, high potency B vitamins, 5-hydroxytryptophan, and an herb called rhodiola; and we created some menu changes and power shakes that he was willing to try, so he got a good total food intake.

Mom was very motivated, and interested in weaning him off his medication. We were cautious with that, and included his psychiatric MD at every step.
 
Within a couple weeks of starting this plan, he became talkative with his family, and started to smile and laugh again; his siblings were stunned. He began talking more. He gave a
Christmas gift to his mother, for the first time in years. He had a sleepover at his house.

His psychiatrist called it “the best Christmas present ever” to see the changes in this boy, and so quickly.  He went on to play varsity LaCrosse, earn a varsity letter, get better grades, and go for a job interview at the local supermarket. He got his life back, and was happy – all without medication.
 
This was a tremendous privilege for me to help this family.

People forget that children with depression, anxiety, mood swings, or conduct disorders are also children with special needs; they need supports that typical kids don’t.

I frequently wean children of drugs for asthma, reflux, constipation, poor growth pattern, or attention/focus  problems.

I’ve worked children with autism away from that diagnosis too, and helped kids keep school placements they were about to lose, due to conduct disorders. That is also very rewarding. But to see how this young man blossomed was very special.
 
Commitmentnow.com: How do you go about helping special needs babies?

Judy: I help babies with the same process – by assessing, sorting, and prioritizing their nutrition problems. Babies are easier because they respond so quickly and because there are not years of variables in the mix – I’m just looking at a few months of life plus the gestational time, to sort out what’s what.

It’s easy to change food for a baby, even when mom is
exclusively breastfeeding, to help them tolerate and absorb their diet better. There are many formula options, many ways to support a nursing mom, many safe ways to use gentle
herbs, and even cases where the right medication at the right time is a huge help.

This is where I enjoy working with a baby’s MD team too.
 
Commitmentnow.com: Why is setting up healthy intestinal function from birth so important--and how can that be done? 

Judy: Research is just emerging on how crucial healthy intestinal function is for establishing healthy immune function.

The GI tract acts like a switchboard between a newborn’s pristine sterile body fresh from the womb, and the outside world; whatever the baby swallows during
birth will begin immediately signaling the immune system through the gut, to catalogue what is self and what is not-self, what is healthy and safe, and what the immune system
should eradicate.

If all goes well, mom’s healthy bacteria from a vaginal delivery are swallowed by the baby on the way out. The baby’s immune system recognizes these bacteria as “self” because they travel with the baby out of the mother’s body.

These help the baby digest those first feedings, manufacture important vitamins, and protect the baby’s gut
wall from invasive or dangerous pathogens.
 
I’ve often seen in practice what research is beginning to describe – that babies who miss this step of colonizing the gut with helpful bacteria have more trouble with feeding, reflux,
allergies, inflammation, and asthma later on.

C-section birth, early exposure to antibiotics, time in the NICU - those are circumstances with potential to interrupt that first window of colonization for the gut at birth, and then problems seem to ensue.  
 
We use antibiotics often in newborns, and it can be life saving. But leaving the baby’s gut void of healthy bacteria is proving to be dangerous too, and this is what oral antibiotics do –
they wipe out the good stuff.

You can repair that in many cases by choosing the right pro-
biotic for a baby. There is promising data on this for premies with necrotizing enterocolitis, a condition in which their intestinal tissue begins to shrink and die – this is very life
threatening.

Probiotics can mitigate this. I use probiotics often for all ages in my practice, and these need to be chosen thoughtfully.  There are specific probiotic strains and blends
for specific tasks, and the research on this is just getting started.

Some research is indicating that these can help prevent allergies and asthma later on. They seem critical for the
immune system to learn to regulate itself properly.
 
Besides using antibiotics a lot, another way we tinker with this delicate immune interface is by vaccinating so early. I wonder if the immune system is simply too immature to catalogue
that information without unintended effects.

For instance, children get hepatitis B shots at
birth in the US. This vaccine is made from a type of yeast that is genetically programmed to make a facsimile of hepatitis B virus.

Yeast is not an unusual resident of a human gut, so it
was assumed that it would be benign to inject into newborns – but no study has ever been done to see what happens to newborn babies when they are injected with yeast - not to
mention yeast plus viral DNA plus preservatives in a vaccine, plus antibiotics if the bab is exposed to those around the same time.

Some post market data on this has been published,
but it is has flaws– that is another conversation. But I’ve observed that many children in my practice with special needs don’t seem to be able to keep yeast under control, especially if
they got this shot around the time of exposure to antibiotics, or near circumstances that altered normal gut colonization.

The antibiotics wipe out helpful bacteria, while the shot
imprints the immune system with injected yeast. It’s almost as if the immune system “learns” in these cases that yeast is preferable to any extent, and beneficial bacteria are bad.

Some of these children even have antibodies to helpful bacteria, like Bifido and Lactobacillus strains – that means their immune systems are rejecting these bacteria and treating them like invasive pathogens instead of necessary helpers.

Meanwhile, out-of-control yeast has many negative impacts on feeding, eating pattern, behavior, stooling, and immune
function.

I’ve met many kids who need to stay on strong herbal or even prescription antifungal medications, just to eat, grow, and function more normally.  
 
Humans depend on helpful gut bacteria, but our current medical model has no standards in place for this. We have a phobic view of bacteria and viruses, when in fact they may be
crucial to our existence in ways we don’t understand.

So to answer your question – how to set up healthy intestinal function from birth - It may help kids grow up healthier to use fewer vaccines and antibiotics, not more, and to use them later, not right near birth.

Parents and doctors are conditioned to be terrified of this possibility; getting good research done on this
is a challenge, because of our zeal for eradicating infectious disease.
 
Commitmentnow.com: What are your thoughts on babies who suffer from reflux and seem to have trouble with traditional formulas?
 
Judy: Reflux medications became incredibly popular for babies in the last 10-15 years, even though many of these were created only for adults. I think they are over-prescribed, and
often don’t solve the problem. In fact, I’ve witnessed that they often worsen it.

The medicine may briefly improve symptoms, but babies should not be left on these for months at a time
because they will impair how nutrients are absorbed.
 
There are mechanical issues your pediatrician can rule out, to see if your baby’s esophagus is closing normally where it meets the stomach.

I discuss in the book how to talk to your doctor about whether a medication is truly needed too. But the nutrition problems are not too difficult to fix. When reflux is plaguing a baby, as a nutritionist, I have two questions: Is she tolerating the feeding? And, is there yeast overgrowth with lack of good bacteria in the gut?
 
A milk protein allergy or intolerance can worsen reflux, and about half of babies don’t tolerate cow’s milk protein.

Soy can also be hard for babies to digest, and, infant soy
formulas are often made with genetically modified (“GMO”) soy beans – some data show that GMO food triggers even more allergy. Parents can avoid that by using organic formula
for their babies, if they want to use soy.
 
Switching to something that the baby can more easily digest can often make reflux vanish. I have used specialized hypoallergenic commercial formulas often, like Neocate or semi- elemental products.

I’ve also created a goat milk infant formula recipe that works well for many babies – this was great in my son’s case too. If the baby is breast fed, improvements can ensue if mom limits trigger proteins, and I guide moms on how to do that safely so that they are not left with depleting diets. There are very gentle digestive herbs made for babies that work well too.
 
If there are signs of a yeast problem, like history of thrush, bloating, ringworm spots or diaper rash, or lots of Candida in a stool culture, reflux will often go away once this is treated.
Restoring helpful gut bacteria helps too.
 
Commitmentnow.com: What are some natural solutions for children with sleep problems?

Judy: Melatonin is a stand out here and is very safe. I discuss the clinical review on this in the book.

Magnesium replenishment is helpful – this is a calming mineral often poor in children’s diets.

Another simple oversight I often encounter is that children go to bed hungry, and this will make them wakeful.

Many parents I meet are afraid of giving their kids
fats and healthy carbs.  But babies and kids need these, and enough of them during the day can help kids sleep well at night.

Ruling out GI distress is important – signs and strategies
for this are discussed in the book too, because babies and many kid with special needs can’ verbalize if they are in pain.

There are some amino acids that are useful for calming and
sleep, plus a good array of safe herbs and even essential oils that have sleep-inducing effects on the brain.

The caveat is to use these with some guidance, especially if you have a child using any psychotropic medications. Don’t mix those medications with these tools without checking with your health care provider first.
 
Commitmentnow.com: What are some natural alternatives for teenagers who are depressed?

Judy: Lots of options, and in these cases, it’s a win-win to include your child’s mental health professional in the process. They don’t study nutrition, and may not be familiar with these
tools, so be patient with them and learn together.

As was true in the case I described earlier, there is rarely a single nutrition piece that does the trick.

The boy who I helped in the example described here – we worked through a few layers to get his body functioning more
healthfully so he could have more typical neurotransmitter chemistry.

Other tools:  Omega 3 fatty acids are good performers, but many families try these at ineffective doses or in the
wrong combination. If you tried them and saw no benefit, it’s worth revisiting omega 3’s with professional guidance, to get a strategy that may click.

There are also individual amino acids and certain herbs that can be effective. There is a good array of them to choose from,
and they will have varying effects, just as medications do for depression.

Don’t mix these with drugs, at least not without careful professional guidance.

A yeast problem can impact mood, as can vitamin D depletion, and even a low body mass index – being too thin for
your height – can change mood chemistry, especially for boys.

I blend functional and classic clinical nutrition assessment strategies to sort these problems out.
 
Commitmentnow.com: What have you discovered through your work with children and teenagers suffering with depression as to their nutritional needs? 

Judy: I’ve found consistently that there was a nutrition component that nobody assessed or treated. It was overlooked. Since mental health professionals and psychiatric MDs do not study nutrition or nutritional biochemistry, this is understandable, but tragic.
 
Commitmentnow.com: If a child is suffering with anxiety, what are some natural alternatives that can be used instead of medication? 

Judy: I tick through a nutrition checklist when children present with anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorder.

First I rule out the usual concerns for growth, adequate food intake, and bowel infections – children may manifest with anxiety when their intakes are chronically marginal, if their protein intakes are poor, or if they can’t digest protein very
well. If that’s the case, giving them free amino acids – the components of protein – can help them produce more normal neurotransmitter chemistry.

Then I look at whether there are undetected inflammatory responses to foods.

Gluten sensitivity in particular has been
linked in some research with mood and anxiety problems.

Another important piece: A history of strep infections is suspect for a condition called PANDAS, or “pediatric
autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection”.

This is a challenging scenario in which children can have medication-resistant anxiety or obsessive
compulsive disorder.

But it’s not hopeless; some nutrition supports can be helpful. I also will consider a nutraceutical approach for kids with anxiety because there are many tools to ponder, from certain amino acids to inositol to ample B group co-factors, to simply restoring normal digestion and absorption, and giving more nourishing foods.
 

Commitmentnow.com: What steps can they take to get the nutritional needs of their child met? 

Judy: Ask for a referral for a nutrition assessment. Registered dietitians do this, not doctors, and this may be covered by health insurers, with the right diagnosis coding from your doctor.

Naturopathic doctors may also be able to help. Who ever does this for your child should include a review of your child’s food intake and growth history.

Be wary of a provider whose only strategy is to order a lot of lab tests. These are popular in the functional medicine and
autism communities, but lab data alone can’t describe a child’s nutrition status, and can’t guide a complete care plan.
 
Commitmentnow.com: If a child has severe outbursts and behavioral problems, mood swings, anger issues, can nutrition help?

Judy: Yes, nutrition can help. It’s a process of elimination, as always.

Inflammatory foods can trigger behavior problems, as can yeast infections in a child’s intestine. Both these problems
can be relatively asymptomatic except for the “behavior”, and this is where some lab work can help.

You may not see thrush or ringworm (yeast rash) spots on a child, hives, or clear signs of allergy.

But physical signs do often accompany volatile behavior, and give me clues to the nutrition piece: Stuff like intense carbohydrate cravings, a narrow and rigid appetite, constipation or large painful stools, loose irritable stools, bloating, sensory defensiveness, anxiety, dark circles under eyes, or frightening mood swings that change with
food.

Those signs can indicate anything from inflammation, excessive yeast or other potentially toxic bowel bacteria, to poor protein digestion or poor status for iron or other
minerals. 

Disruptive bowel flora like yeast or Clostridia excrete chemicals that can enter the brain; these chemicals have been linked to dramatic behavioral effects and even seizures.

Correcting bowel flora can make a tremendous difference. Add some therapeutic doses of certain supplements, and you may see even more improvement – tools like inositol,
carnosine, taurine, magnesium – there are many options from the functional nutrient universe that are hopeful. 

To Purchase Special-Needs Kids Go Pharm-Free" click here.

To Purchase "Special Needs Kids Eat Right: Strategies To Help Kids On The Autism Spectrum Focus, Learn, and Thrive" click here.

About the Author:  Judy Converse, MPH, RD, LD, is the author of Special-Needs Kids Eat Right. A licensed registered dietitian specializing in nutrition care for children with special needs, she lives with her husband and son in Colorado. Visit her at NutritionCare.net and
Pharm-FreeBabiesandKids.com.