At the recent FEAT-NT conference, I was chatting with one of Ethan’s doctors – Dr. Amber Brooks – about a problem that many children on the spectrum (including Ethan) face: Yeast. Since this is a topic which affects so many of our families and one that is often not very well understood, I asked Dr. Brooks if she would answer some questions to share here. Dr. Amber Brooks is a Defeat Autsim Now! (DAN) Doctor, Board Certified Pediatric Chiropractor, and Craniosacral Therapist. She owns Whole Child Wellness in Dallas, Texas, where she helps families (like mine) put all the pieces together by bridging traditional and alternative medicine for optimum pediatric wellness.

Great News! Dr. Brooks is going to start blogging here on AutismSpot regularly, so you can look forward to learning more from her about yeast (there’s so much to learn and understand) and many other important topics in the coming weeks and months.

Welcome, Dr. Brooks!

LAW: Many kids with special needs seem to have persistent yeast overgrowth which can affect them in various ways; can you share in what groups of kids you often see yeast overgrowth and what some outward symptoms of yeast overgrowth might “look like” to parents/teachers/therapists?

Dr. B: Yeast is rampant and I see it in about 75% of kids in my office. The symptoms range upon age, exposure and other underlying medical issues. Some symptoms may include bloating, gas, constipation, eczema, bed wetting, and in some cases intermittent aggression/poor behavior that is unexplained.

LAW: How can parents determine if their child has a problem with yeast and what can they do to address it if an issue is discovered?

Dr. B: Parents can have their biomedical doctor or nutritionist run stool testing to determine if yeast is present, this will also show many other things needed for treatment. Please understand not every stool test is the same so your pediatrician may not order the correct test; these are specialty tests and most functional medicine doctors know who to use for these tests. Using an experienced biomedical doctor will ensure you don’t waste time or money, not to mention collecting stool for improper tests. If yeast is present I have found it best to attack it from a variety of ways. For example, I use both prescription and natural agents in rotation. The variety helps to eliminate all the subtypes of yeast that you can bet are present. The yeast don’t travel alone, they love company. Be aware that not all prescriptions are the same and you must use a systemic yeast medication. In my experience I can tell you very few pediatricians understand or know that yeast can live in the digestive tract, SO its important we educate them at every corner. Don’t be afraid to tell them how great your kid is doing when you see the results, it brings power to the treatment and education to the forefront.

LAW: What else you would like to share with our AutismSpot readers about yeast?

Dr. B: I see and talk with parents all the time whether in my office or when I am speaking, often they say “we are going to wait to see what happens for a while,” this is playing with fire. Yeast doesn’t go away it grows and gets much worse, takes over the digestive system and causes immense inflammation that impairs them neurologically. I know most parents start with therapy when they are diagnosed and often put off medical treatments but this has been a mistake many have made with much regret. Its amazing how much better kids do in their therapies when they are addressing the medical portion too. My suggestion is to pace yourself, get testing done immediately to see what is going on and make a plan with your doctor and therapy staff. We all want your child to get better.

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Leigh Attaway Wilcox is a writer and editor for the projectLD family of companies. Leigh is Assistant Editor of the internationally acclaimed AutismSpot.com and her work can be found on many of the pLDNetworks sites. Leigh is the author of ALL BETTER: A Touch-and-Heal Book published by Piggy Toes Press in 2007. Leigh lives in North Texas with her husband and young son who loves reading, LEGOs, Mario Bros. and also happens to live with Asperger's Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder.