Who Wants More Speech?

I want my child to have more language!

This is one of the most common sentiments expressed by parents of children with autism.

So many families are told that it’s all due to autism and go for more OT, speech, and behavioral therapy.

There are adjunctive therapies such as Speech 2 Communicate, Facilitated Communication, and Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Although these can help, they are not addressing the underlying biological problems.

The key is trying to figure out the underlying root cause(s) in order to improve.

So, where do we start?

The most important factor is getting a strong history from mom and dad to find out everything from pregnancy to present to see what could be impairing speech.

Some of the most common causes are seizures, sleep apnea, cerebral folate deficiency, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, tongue-tie, retained primitive reflexes, brain chemistry imbalances, mitochondrial dysfunction, toxins, a leaky gut, and neuroinflammation.

When these metabolic abnormalities are addressed, we often see improvement in language.

Further testing may need to be done with your practitioner through brain imaging and labs to help determine the cause(s).

Many of our kids have vitamin deficiencies often due to gut malabsorption or poor diets.

How about supplements to increase speech?

Omega-3 fatty acids, methylB12, folinic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin D, magnesium, luteolin, phosphatidylcholine, sulforaphane, CoQ10, and tetrahydrobiopterin have helped many kids.

What diets can help?

Diets such as Gluten-Casein Free, Specific Carbohydrate, and Ketogenic have reduced inflammation and increased mitochondrial function to promote speech in some of our kids.

There are many options, so let’s figure out what can be affecting our kids, since each case is unique.

In the Autism Healing Program, we incorporate all of the factors that affect speech to work on improving it.

You can schedule a free discovery session to discuss how your child can improve speech at https://myhopewellness.satoriapp.com/offers/268129-discovery-session.