This story came out today…
“…researchers chose to test sulforaphane as an autism therapy.
Why study a broccoli sprout extract? According to Singh, one reason is related to a phenomenon known as the
“fever effect,” seen in some children with autism — where problems such as repetitive behavior temporarily fade when the child has a fever.
The researchers theorize that the improvement stems from the fact that fevers trigger a heat-shock response — a cascade of events designed to shield body cells from stress. In lab research, sulforaphane has been found to spark such a heat-shock response, according to the researchers….”
I’ve written before how Kyle is better behaved and “less autistic” when he has a fever (read)… And I’ve learned that lots of autism parents have noticed this in their kids…
Time Magazine even took notice and wrote an article on the Autism / Fever connection back in 2009
So, any med or supplement that can mimic the effects of fever in some autistic kids (mine being one of them) would be a huge find!
So of course I google sulforaphane and of course you can get a form of it on Amazon…
But, of course, not the form used in the study. As the CBS News article states clearly…
The extract used in this study is not commercially available, but there are sulforaphane supplements on the market. Singh noted that those supplements are not standardized, and “you wouldn’t know how much sulforaphane it would actually contain.”
So what’s an autism dad to do? Wait years for the right version to come out? Or try the version that’s out there?
I don’t usually try things lightly… but knowing that Kyle does have the “fever effect” it’s definitely tempting…
Is this something y’all would consider? Do your autistic kids show the “fever effect”?
This is definitely one of the
Things That Make You Go Hmmm…
🙂
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Could it be that kids lose energy when they have a fever? So stop stimming etc. I think it's correlation but not causation on this. :/
Wow very interesting. My kid loves green veggies but yes he has the fever effect. He is a different kid when he has a fever so calm and co-operative.
Mine gets more willing to be around us when he gets sick. Not sure if it's the fever, or just because he feels crapy. But it's terrible that I love when he gets sick because I can actually cuddle with him.
We have noticed the opposite effect with our ASD child! When he is ill and feverish, or about to become ill, his ASD behavior gets markedly worse. Very interesting...
My ASD child does the same thing, he seems to stim a lot more when he is sick and feverish.
My son did have the fever effect when he was younger. He would get fevers all of the time and my husband and I would marvel at him while he was feverish. He would talk in complete sentences. He would use eyes contact. His Stimson would just disappear. He had a high fever last week and he was acting more typical, it was just harder to recognize now that he is older. On the flip side, his doctor put him on an antibiotic for his strep and now he is hyper, loud, and more stinky than he has ever been. Anyone ever experience the antibiotic effect? I can't wait for him to be finished with it.
I know we have horrid regressions while my son was on any antibiotics. I avoid them like the plague unless they are 1000% necessary. I have mine on a daily probiotic and digestive enzyme. We saw huge progress when we started him on those. If your gut isn't healthy the rest of you isn't going to be either.
when you are unwell you are unwell een autism and hyper active kids get poorly and need to rest.....but eating broccoli can only be a good thing...especially raw....
I was hyperactive as a kid but less so when sick. Like when I had a bad cold or something.
Regarding the comment on antibiotics...our pediatrician puts our son on an antifungal along with antibiotics. The reason they get extra stimmy on antibiotics is it allows extra yeast to form. She also prescribes the kind that is only a 5 dayer. But what you do is about an hour or so after the antibiotics dosex you give them the antifungal. Both are prescriptions. And agree with the probiotics comment above.
Consider? I'm already on my way to try to find some. I would try witchcraft if I thought it would help.
Haha wait for me
Autism Daddy I found this on a reputable site but it is currently out of stock. https://www.ourkidsasd.com/products/718%7CCrucera-SGS-Thorne%20Research
Oh my gosh, I guess nobody watched the music video. Hilarious!