Getting Started Program
“I’ve been reading and hearing so much about treating autism. So confusing and overwhelming!! So where do we start?”
This is the program for those who are new to dietary and biomedical intervention for healing their child. This program focuses primarily on establishing a healthful diet and eliminating the most common problematic foods and substances from your child’s diet.
We begin with an in-depth assessment of your child’s eating habits (including picky eater vs problem feeder) and feeding style, food intake and nutritional requirements. An initial treatment plan is developed based on this assessment as well as their medical and developmental history and current physical and autistic symptoms. Nutrition related labs may be recommended.
Initial and periodic assessments of your child’s autistic symptoms will be conducted using standardized tools. This will enable objective evaluations of the success of dietary and/or supplementation protocols and point toward areas of greatest concern.
The typical treatment plan includes:
- “Cleaning up” of both the home environment and your child’s diet. This means identifying and eliminating potential toxins (for example, those found in household cleaning products, personal care products and environmental toxins), as well as moving toward a diet free of potentially harmful substances. The importance of purchasing organic, non GMO produce and pastured meats will be discussed. Attention will also be given to avoiding food additives and preservatives as well as “convenience” foods.
- Assess and treat bowel habits and GI problems through a functional nutrition approach.
- Address feeding issues and problems. Efforts will be made to promote an age-appropriate diet and feeding practices.
- “Food as medicine” approach. Set the stage for acceptance of new foods and establishment of a healthful, nourishing and well-balanced diet.
- Begin gluten-free casein free-diet as the foundation. The pace of this transition will be determined by your child’s readiness.
- As they progress, elimination of soy, corn and added sugar may be introduced.
- Various vitamin and mineral supplements will be recommended based on your child’s food intake.
- I anticipate that you will see very significant benefits in the “Getting Started” program! I understand that this is a very challenging process, but well worth the effort toward healing your child.
- I recommend that your child be on a strict elimination diet for at least two months before moving on to the Comprehensive Program.
Schedule A Free "Get Acquainted" Session
We offer a free “get acquainted” appointment to see if Nutrition For Autism Recovery is a good fit for your family.
