Naturally Recovering Autism with Karen Thomas

What is low vagal tone and why have studies linked it to people with autism spectrum disorders? Learn 5 ways you can easily stimulate the vagus nerve at home, and how it can help both you and your child to improve Digestion, Calming, and Overall Better Health. The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve in the body branching out from the brain to different areas of the body. It  not only regulate...

Overcoming Confusion and Misinformation in Meeting the Needs of Children on the Spectrum While I’m used to guiding health-minded audiences deep down the Rabbit-Hole of water topics, today’s discussion with Karen will be light on science and heavy on practicality. It aims to explain the challenging path for families who are intent on providing the safest and healthiest water for children on the Aut...

What’s easier to follow and get results faster, a zig zag or a straight line? Of course, it’s a straight line.  In our autism recovery journeys, we parents often zig zag around looking for answers from various practitioners and therapists, internet searches, and purchasing random supplements we’ve heard about, but don’t know how to use properly. Detoxification, while essential for health and recov...

Karen Thomas of Naturally Recovering Autism interviews Zen Honeycutt from  Moms Across America  on Aluminum, Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury Found in Baby Formula. Catalyzed by the FDA’s failure to regulate heavy metals in baby formula, a coalition of consumer advocacy groups commissions testing of 20 different brands. Groups urge the FDA and legislators to protect infants from toxic exposure....

It’s common in children, and adults, with autism to have speech issues. This can be a difficulty speaking clearly all the way to completely non-verbal, at any age. Many symptoms come from various toxins, pathogens and coinfections. We begin with healing the gut and diet, but there is so much more involved. In my last podcast episode We discussed the toxicity of aluminum. In studies it has been not...

How Do We Get Aluminum Exposure? Aluminum is prevalent in our society in the air, soil/food, water, cookware, and in the health care products most people use daily such as deodorants, fragrances, lotions, make-up, and so much more. It is contained in antacids, over the counter supplements, and medications. Aluminum-based adjuvants are also used in the immunotherapy of allergic conditions. Almost 7...

Nanti’s son was diagnosed with autism at twenty-eight months. For almost a decade, she searched for answers to help give him a future with more independence,  peacefulness, and a better way of life. After trying various practitioners, one after the other, that did not give her any real help or hope for his future, she persevered to find the education, guidance, and support she needed and found it...

Karen Thomas Interviews Zen Honeycutt, Founding Director of Moms Across America Diet does matter! The food we eat causes chemical reactions to take place in the body. These reactions can be healthy ones such as strong bones and immunity, or they can be unhealthy reactions such as an underlying cause for aggression and even violent behaviors, sleep disorders, hormonal disruption, gut dysbiosis, wea...

A time comes in your life when you know that in order to make changes in your life you have to do something differently. When my son had debilitating symptoms of autism that no one knew how to help me with I realized it was up to me to make a change happen for him. After that last trip to the Emergency Room it was the fuel for my fire to learn on my own. Do you have this fire burning inside of you...

Candida is very tricky to work with so you need to know many of the contributing factors and why it is so hard to get rid of. It’s never just one thing, and prsistency is key. Candida Induced Alcohol Poisoning Candida requires sugar as food. This can come in the source of any chemical that ends in “ose” such as glucose, fructose, or sucrose. Carbohydrates such as bread and pasta are also converted...

Children on the autism spectrum usually have both candida and  heavy metal toxicity . The essential candida diet where we starve out the bad bacteria by removing the bad processed carbohydrates and excess sugars that they thrive on ensures a better outcome. However, it is lesser know that mercury will slow down the removal of candida. Mercury inhibits the body’s natural ability to fight off excess...

Children on the autism spectrum almost always have an overgrowth of candida in their gut. In fact, scientists estimate that 70% of all people have an overgrowth of candida. In our intestinal system we have what are known as “good” bacteria. They work hard to keep our gut lining and our immune system in good health to fight off infection and disease. Candida, also known as yeast or fungi, is some o...

Parents wonder, “If my child with autism is on a gluten free and casein free diet then how will they get enough calcium?” No dairy!!! Why not? A few reasons are that it’s Inflammatory, has a naturally high sugar content, and it creates opiates just like gluten does.  Yes, just like opiate drugs, so your child may be addicted to them. Then you may ask, “How do I get calcium into my child’s body?” M...

People are told by well-meaning traditional medical practitioners that if ferritin (iron) is low, then they should take iron supplements – what could be the problem with this? IRON Beware of low iron in children. It is important in brain development. There may be many causes to their fatigue, lack of ability to focus, or ADHD, and low iron may be one of them. Our children often have heavy metals i...

There are many types of viruses and they can cause many different health related neuro-developmental issues. In this podcast we will discuss many of these that relate to common symptoms of autism including speech, autoimmunity, cognition and our ability to think. Viruses and Autoimmunity  Many viruses can adversely affect the immune system, either by suppressing its function, or causing it to mist...

JAMA Pediatrics Study : October 2023 released a study, Persistence of Autism Spectrum Disorder From Early Childhood Through School Age. Findings  Of the 213 children in this cohort study, 79 (37%) had non-persistent ASD. Higher baseline adaptive functioning and female sex were associated with non-persistent ASD. Oct. 11, 2023 – According to a new study from Boston Children’s Hospital researchers f...

Studies  show that martial arts can be an effective way to build motor control through the repetition of movement in people on the autism spectrum. This helps both the motor and planning areas of the brain. It is also offers a great form of exercise in a group setting where socialization can be increased, while still allowing the individual to move at his or her own pace. Martial Arts is a great w...

Trusts and wills for children with special needs are essential to have in place now, so their future is well prepared in advance. We need to be sure our children with special needs are cared for with or without us when we are either incapable, or no longer here.   In this podcast episode I interview attorney, Blake Baxter, on the subject of trusts and estate planning for children and adults with s...

Mary is a true inspiration of a mother’s unwavering love and persistence to find the answers to give her autistic son Kevin his best life possible. Mary has gone from “being at the end of her rope” to finding triumph and success for Kevin. She says, “Consistency with the right roadmap make all the difference”. Please listen to Mary’s inspirational story, and share it with those you know on the aut...

Oxalates, salicylates, and phenols may be the culprit of new physical and/or emotional symptoms. They can trigger histamine intolerance and lead to many unwanted symptoms. A low histamine, low oxalate, low salicylate, low phenol diet along with support for detoxification, including liver support and healing the gut, and balancing candida, are all crucial. There are some enzymes that can help along...

Why is my child a picky eater and what can I do to improve his diet? I hear this question all the time. In fact, it’s one of the most common questions I get so let’s dive into some of the reasons why and what you can do about it. Diet can be tricky to transition for our picky eaters, especially those with autism, but there is hope. My own son was once a very picky eater and today he is not at all,...

Artificial sweeteners are unhealthy alternatives. For example aspartame is an  excitotoxin  which means it literally can excite brain cells to death.  Current evidence  indicates that sucralose and saccharin could influence the gut microbiota by reducing the good bacteria in the gut, and it has been linked to cancers. For instance, in one study, scientists fed Splenda to rats for 12 weeks. Splenda...

Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins and one that most people are deficient in. Be sure you supplement with vitamin D3, as it is the most bioabsorbable form. Many neurodevelopment conditions are associated with vitamin D deficiency such as depression, lack of motivation, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, muscular sclerosis, and schizophrenia. Vitamin D helps neurons grow and surv...

Sonja is grandmother to her autistic grandson, Kyle. She is getting results now because she has been proactive and persistent to find the right program that offers a complete roadmap and the support she needs. Sonja says, “We could have recovered Kyle a long time ago if we weren’t so overwhelmed.” Sonja and her daughter no longer live in overwhelm on the autism journey and are finally getting resu...

Inflammation is a crucial process for our health, but when it becomes chronic, it can lead to a host of health problems. Recent studies  have suggested that inflammation may play a role in the development of autism. A study published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation found that children with autism had higher levels of inflammatory markers in their blood than typically developing children. Anoth...