There are many supplements marketed as helping with autism, and thorough scientific testing shows that many specific supplements and vitamins can have a marked effect on a child's behavior and health. However, adding any vitamin or nutrient to your child's diet is risky unless you have them tested first. Testing gives you a clear view of what your child already gets plenty of and what they're lacking, resulting in better health overall and greater improvements in autism symptoms thanks to targeted supplementation.

Potential for Overload

Using a multivitamin containing three non-vitamin supplements, CoQ10, NAC, and MSM, is one of the most widespread recommendations made regarding autism and supplementation. Unfortunately, even basic multivitamins designed for children can still contain enough iron, Vitamin E, and Vitamin A to cause liver damage or worse. Too much of a certain vitamin won't do anything helpful for your child, so it's important to balance out supplementation carefully based on their actual blood profile and dietary plan and not just on generalized recommendations.

Hidden Deficiencies

Most American children have at least one vitamin deficiency, and this is further exacerbated in children with autism due to their difficulties eating well-rounded and full meals. This means that many autistic children have specific nutritional deficiencies you can't treat with a broad spectrum multivitamin. Without knowing exactly what's deficient and how much is needed to restore the balance within the body, it's a guessing game that could have serious health consequences. Many vitamin deficiencies may also worsen the symptoms of autism, so it's very valuable to know exactly what's going on before attempting to create a more balanced nutrient profile.

Diet Balancing

Not only is it often difficult to get a child with autism to eat a broad spectrum of foods or even enough of any one food, they often suffer from digestive problems that can interfere with the proper absorption of certain vitamins. Gluten-free and casein-free diets also tend to leave these children low on calcium, which has led to higher rates of bone fractures among autistic children. The long-term effects of low calcium levels are serious, so any child on a special or restricted diet deserves regular testing to determine what their diet is lacking in and what they get plenty of already.

Targeted Treatment

Finally, targeted supplementation isn't just safer, it's also more affordable. When you know exactly which supplements and vitamins to combine for the best benefits, you know that every capsule or powder you order for your child is a worthwhile purchase.

Contact a company that sells vitamins for autism for more information and assistance. 

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