"The Scientist"has published interesting new research connecting the neurotransmittor Serotonin to aspects of Autism.

While the research appears to have been done with a view to promoting Prozac as a treatment for autism, I  find it valuable because it is another example of the importance of homeostasis in the brain, a state which is encouraged by the presence of sufficient Omega 3 fatty acids, in particular DHA.   This is apparently true of the developing brain as well as the ageing brain.

Prozac for Autism

The Vitamin lady writes about ADD and Autism

Lipid Homeostasis .... in the development of Alzheimer's Disease

We have just recently found out many, many toys contain lead in levels that pose a threat to children.  But how long has this been going on undetected?

Just possibly while it IS a toxic metal that has caused the horrifying increase in autistic symptomology, it is not only mercury, but LEAD that is to blame.

Warning:  lead poisoning or autism?

For the first time that I can remember, a major and respected Medical group is recommending a non-drug approach to childhood disorders FIRST!

"In a comprehensive review, the American Psychological Association urged in August that for childhood mental disorders, ''in most cases,'' non drug treatment ''be considered first,'' including techniques that focus on parents' skills, as well as enlisting teachers' help. "

This is truly a hopeful sign, leading, one hopes, to more children being given the help they actually need to perform, rather than being trained from childhood to think of a pill as the answer to all problems.

The New York Times article "Parenting as therapy for child's mental disorders"

For all of us who are bemused by the explosion of "brain disease" among our children, this article by the Health Ranger is a must-read.  Quite apart from that, if you are not already familiar with his website, I am proud to be the one who introduces you to it. Tell him the Vitamin Lady sent you! 

Neurologist Dr. Fred Baughman talks about the fraud of ADHD and the poisoning of U.S. children

My article on ADD/ADHD - because there is no doubt that many children could use dietary help to control their behavior.

Vaxa's Attend - a homeopathic approach to restlessness

I posted this in August last year:

I don't know why, but we have not heard much about this study in the mainstream press .....

"In a small but startling preliminary new study, Texas researchers have found that after just three months, every one of a dozen children treated for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with the drug methylphenidate experienced a threefold increase in levels of chromosome abnormalities—occurrences associated with increased risks of cancer and other adverse health effects.

The researchers say that to their knowledge this is the first study addressing the potential chromosome-breaking effects associated with treatment of children with methylphenidate, the generic name for a group of drugs that includes Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate CD and others."

Continue reading"

Now we have a new study from the CDC intimating that app. 3000 visits to Emergency rooms are caused by these same drugs each year, many of them resulting in hospitalization.

A report on the is study here

I ask myself. what has to happen before Doctors stop handing out these drugs right and left? (I almost said "like candy"...)

Consider that first of all, this disorder has no true objective diagnosis; and second, many of the children who are put on Ritalin are in any event not diagnosed. This is not to say ADD/ADHD does not exist: but my position is that while many children ARE misdiagnosed, where the condition does exist, before possibly damaging drugs are used, other less dangerous, more supportive and natural methods should be used.

Read my article on ADD/ADHD here

Read about raising healthy children here

THE AUTISM COMMUNITY CALLS FOR PARENTS TO SHOW THEIR POWER. 

An opportunity to bring the problem of Autistic Children before both the Government and the Medical Community.

Details of the Rally in Washington DC October 7th and 8th 2005 here.
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Which Mother, reading this news, would elect to medicate their child  with a drug that may lead to cancer, rather than put up with a condition which is mostly behavioralin its manifestation?

The report says more study is needed, but I do not need to see more than  "all 12 children in the study" were affected to know what my decision would be! The thought of what the consequences of this could be in years to come, if it proves true, is horrifying.

Does Ritalin increase cancer risk in children

A new  study, published in Medical Hypotheses, (2005 64, 312–315) examines 206 children under the age of 3 diagnosed with autism, and comes up with a connection between ear infections and the antibiotics prescribed for them..

This is such sad information.  As a wholistic nutritionist, I have been warning parents for 20 years that ear infections are not visited on their children  from above, but are almost always an avoidable consequence of improper nutrition.  Read my article here.