2 years of blissful life with my munchkin and now this absurd diagnosis of him being a kid on the Autism spectrum!
Well..if this sounds even a bit familiar to you, then this one is for YOU!
Diagnosis of Autism spectrum often comes across as a dilusional revelation to any parent, especially so, if the child begins to show the signs of regression. In most of the cases, it takes the parents quite a while to overcome the initial denial and acceptance of the diagnosis and by the time they approach the professionals, they are either distraught or filled with subdued anger. Frankly, both the states are not ideal for a progressive journey of the child.
No matter how disappointing the diagnosis may sound to you but it is important for the parents to realise that acceptance is the only way forward and sooner they accept, better the journey ahead would be. Studies have shown that early intervention in autism have a more positive long-term impact on symptoms and later skills.
The primary reason behind early intervention showing better outcomes is a simple phenomenon of Neuroplasticity. It has been found that the neuronal tissue, including the brain, is still modifiable (forming &/or deleting connections between neurons) till the age of 3-4 years!
Early intervention makes use of this amazing capacity of the young brain to help it grow in what seems to us, the right way.
The nervous system is a wonderful network and has several amazing processes going in that make us work the way we do in our everyday life. One way in which we learn how to respond to any stimuli is Acquired or learned behaviour. A very simple example of the same is our hands folding into “Namaste” when we see someone!
By virtue of this phenomenon, the responses can be made to learn to our little super heroes on the spectrum, thus helping them in a typically challenging areas of social deficit in case of ASD.
Both of these phenomenon can be further enhanced by supporting them with right nutrition and specific functional nutrients that enhance these capabilities of the young brain.
Right nutrition becomes paramount for the management of Autism as the enhanced sensitivities to several food items, picky eating and impaired gut health make the child fall off the radar of an optimum nutritional status, reflecting in the form of deficiencies, GI issues, aggravated symptoms, inappropriate weight & height etc. Getting in touch with a qualified Dietician Nutritionist with experience of having worked with people on the autism spectrum would be the ideal way to go forward.
ASD is a complex spectrum and so is it’s management, including the nutrition intervention. Like Temple Grandin has famously said that “when you have met with a child on the autism spectrum, you have met just one child with autism”.
So, your child is unique and so are his needs. Therefore, relying on generalized knowledge of your peer group, parent group, friends, family advises or internet, may not be the right thing to do for your child.
Reach out to a professional with a unique mindset of getting the best, evidence based & practical advise for your child and not just any fancy trending fallacy and see how your child blooms to his best capability.
At Nutrospect, our nutrition programs specifically designed for ASD focus upon these functional efficacies of the nutrients to support the best possible outcomes of any intervention taken up for the child.
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Great day ahead!
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