Using the SCD for autism and ADHD book

[Mirth]

Hello, \nI'm thinking of starting the SCD with my son using the approach in this book a approach? Pam Ferro seems to have treated many, many children this way. \nMy son is intolerant to salycylates which inevitably make him very talkative, intrusive, hyperactive and impulsive (at its worst aggressive). They also provoke sleep disturbance with night terrors and sleep talking and (with extreme exposure) sleep walking. These behaviours pretty much disappeared on an elimination diet but it's very restrictive and includes a lot of foods which I'm uncomfortable with for other reasons. \nHoping someone has experience...thanks in advance.

[esther]

Yes, the diet is helpful for many. The approach that Pam Ferro uses has been used successfully to help many children with these and other issues. \n\nThe idea with this diet (SCD) is to eliminate the foods that cause these problems. In many cases the foods that are allowed also can help to heal the body to potentially. In this case it would be to reduce the reactions to salicylates or eliminate them. \n\nWhen I was counselling for SCD, I would recommend SCD along with a salicylate diet for maximum immediate effect for those who were reactive to salicylates. For example If the child had bowel symptoms and salicylate sensitivities I would recommend that they start with a basic (Intro diet) diet combined with low salicylate foods. Then proceed using the stages chart (http://pecanbread.com/p/how/stages.html) and the salicylate guides. \n\nExamples: using low salicylate food like pears instead of a high salicylate food like apples. Or for those who could tolerate lower salicylate apples versus high salicylate apples. Pear juice instead of apple cider etc...\nThis is a pretty helpful salicylae chart: http://salicylatesensitivity.com/about/ ... ts/\n\nAll foods used were based on symptoms and reactions.\n\nHope this is helpful.\nS. T.

[Tirtza]

I don't know anything about Pam Ferro, but there are actually salicylates in much more than just fruits. In fact, I'm not sure how easily you can do low salicylate and SCD together! This is because many key foods of the SCD diet are high in salicylates. Honey is very high in salicylates, as well as almonds... I personally follow SCD for myself, but have gotten interested in something called the RPAH elimination diet for my son for his behavior (also termed 'failsafe' by Sue Dengate, a nutritionist and parent who has used the diet and created much support for it). RPAH is the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Australia. The RPAH standards for salicylates are the well-researched and most up-to-date. I found a pretty good list posted by Dr. Richard Coleman that he called "Salicylate Content in Foods" (I don't have the exact link right now, but you can search for it). If you want information about this diet, which is also used for autism, you can look at the failsafe website at http://fedup.com.au. That diet eliminates salicylates as well as other food chemicals such as amines and glutamates, so if you're just interested in salicylates, the list I mentioned before might be better.

[Mirth]

Hi Tirtza, \nWe'Ve done the RPAH diet under dietitian guidance. Definitely recommend it. We think it's made a marked difference to the aggressive behaviours and sleep issues - they seem to be triggered by salycylates and propionates. Unfortunately as time goes on he's actually become more sensitive to these triggers. It's led me to think that there may be an underlying gut health issue or that some of the foods he's had more off on RPAH (gluten based breads, sugar) have increased permeability/altered microbiome making him more sensitive (just a theory). Some of the Failsafe parents who've experienced salycylate sensitivities recommend GAPS or SCD and seem to find it helpful in building up tolerance to salycylates (present in soooo many otherwise 'healthy' fruits, vegetables, nuts and oils) so that's how we'Ve arrived here. I find SCD most appealing but unfortunately the probiotics and even SCD legal vitamins are very difficult to find in Australia. I've also been confused by what seems to be a difference between SCD and GAPS stages and the approach recommended in the SCD for autism and ADHD book which seems to only have the intro stage then go straight into full SCD.\nI'm probably going to follow the earlier suggestion though and start with low then mod sals from the RPAH list and hope to build it up as the gut heals....thanks for your suggestions! Keen to know how you go

[Tirtza]

I would really be curious to hear more about how you join the two diets. As you said, there are so many healthy fruits, vegetables, etc. that are high in salicylates. What type of sweetener do you plan to use? Do you plan to use honey, just in minimal amounts? Or nothing, to begin with? I would also like for my son to be able to tolerate more salicylates, but we're still relatively new into it.

[Mirth]

Hi Tirtza, \nI'm planning to swap some of the higher sals options for lower to start with e.g. Spring onions instead of regular onions, golden delicious apples. I really like the SCD for ADHD cookbook and transitional plan (very kid friendly) but it's quite high in sals so where possible I'll sub in lower sals options. I will use honey in small amounts as a sweetener - he's pretty used to relatively few sweet treats and I'll use very ripe bananas (he's OK with amines). Breakfasts he's already having eggs every second day minimum so that's reasonably easy. For the higher sals meals (which he's really looking forward to but the effects of which I'm dreading) we'll use digestive enzymes (probably NoFenol) for the first month or so (don't want to be on those indefinitely if we can avoid). In some ways I wish we'd come across SCD first but because we've done RPAH elimination diet first at least we know what the foods to be more cautious with are. Let me know how you go. Consensus seems it's a hard journey but worth it