Reports of autism cases per 1,000 children grew dramatically in the US from 1996 to 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Autism and a link to Vitamin D?
Results of someone very dear to me…scored very high on a testing scale for Autism from a psychiatrist, a pediatrician and a naturopath. I have been researching Autism since I will be actively involved.
Did you know that the rate of Autism has skyrocketed in the last 20 years to include 1 in 110 children (research found for 2006) affecting 1% of children?
Autism is only one “developmental disability” that is part of the Spectrum Disorders. These children have problems with socialization, communication & behavior. Our little guy is so bright, he has almost a photographic memory and can recite things almost verbatim after he’s watched it. But when you ask him what he did today, he has no answer and has to ask what did I do? It just breaks everyone’s heart.
I was unaware that symptoms of Autism often begin to show at the time of weaning a baby. I also was unaware that autistic children have larger heads and that Autism occurs more in boys than girls. And it can’t be genetic because with identical twins just one twin may have it.
It is true there is no known cause or treatment for Autism at this point in time. But there are things that can help.
There is a theory that Vitamin D is related to this Autism Spectrum Disorder somehow and not simply from vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy or early childhood can cause the disorder. That is good news! Instead, the theory holds that an abnormality exists in the enzyme system that activates vitamin D. Also researchers now believe autism is a progressive, inflammatory disorder.
How is Autism and Vitamin D related? Read ON.
Vitamin D has anti-inflammatory properties and its ability to upregulate glutathione, the master antioxidant that also chelates (binds) and excretes heavy metals like mercury. If vitamin D stops the inflammation and cell death that occurs with Autism, the brain could then begin to develop with the addition of Vitamin D and slow the degenerative effects of Autism on the brain. Because there is some hint that Autism symptoms worsen as a child ages I personally feel that the sooner Vitamin D is started the better, if indicated. Our loved one has been taking increased doses of Vitamin D (3,000 IU daily ) and we hope this will help.
The Vitamin D Council suggests you can safely give 50 mcg (2,000 IU) of Vitamin D daily but you want to make sure you use cholecalciferol and not ergocalciferol. In fact, the U.S. government says this dose is safe for children over the age of one. But Beware of cod liver oil—do not use it because vitamin A inhibits the actions of activated vitamin D and there is a potential for low-grade vitamin A toxicity. And you want a doctor to order a 25(OH)D blood test every 2–3 months to make sure Vitamin D blood levels are between 50–80 ng/ml and kept there, summer and winter.
If there is a chance that Vitamin D can help Autism, by warding off damage to the brain done by inflammation,…it’s so worth a try.
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/newsletter-vitamin-d-and-autism/
This is very enlightening information about vit d and autism. There needs to be more research done on it to find a cure.
My nephew has autism and this is new information to me. I will look more into it.
I was found to have almost no vitamin D in my system and was prescribed an extremely high dose of vitamin D for several months. My memory was affected during that time, so I wonder if there is also a correlation between lack of vitamin D and Alzheimer’s. Hopefully much more research will be done soon.
Thank you for sharing that interesting find. We have a close friend whose young son has Autism. Anything that I can share with him that may possibly help his son, is greatly appreciated.
It’s more interesting since his blood work has come back low Vit D despite taking 2000 IU daily!
interesting i know i have a hard time absorbing vita D i have read all of sorts of stuff it can be a bad gut which seems quite common with autism,celiac dieases can stop vita D and everything from absorbing properly from what i have read.having a assement and pointing to autistic tendancies somehow with out really knowing and wanting to go vegan taking out gluten and animal products did wonders for meltdowns but still do the usaul stuff lol 🙂 i am taking a vegan oral liquid vita d and seeing what happens
Interesting article about Vitamin D and autism. I took care of an autistic child for six years. I hope an answer is found.
I think taking Vitamin D is a relatively safe option – I would check with the doctor before starting but parents of kids with autism are searching for answers/help
Maria…something has to be happening environmentally or with food changes because it is too huge a jump in a short time.
I have been a middle school teacher for 15 years. I never had autistic children in my classroom or even in my school for most of those years. However, in the last 4 years, the number of children with autism has skyrocketed (mirrors the statistics you stated above). The information you gave about Vitamin D is something to think about for sure! I also wonder how our chemically changed food might be affecting our children………
Julia, thank you for a teachers perspective! I don’t understand it all…something is changed. I think our foods have a huge impact.
wow.. Vitamin D is surely needed.. I think I need more sun!
Learning more about what we put into our bodies and how it affects us, is very important. Thanks for sharing the information on this study.
This is something new to me, thanks for sharing the info.
I had no idea of those things!