Autism and B12
I was asked re methylated B12 shots. Well, if your child isn’t B12 deficient what the hell are you getting him/her jabs for? Regularly taking a child to docs for needles they don’t need builds an identity of being broken/ill and seeing the world as fixating on your pathology and invading you with needles. I was diagnosed with functional B12 deficiency (inability to metabolise B12) and took oral B12 1000mcg daily. The gut needs 10mcg so this 1000mcg can flood the body with enough for at least a 10mcg uptake regardless of the metabolic disorder. Follow up blood tests over several years all showed adequate/high B12 levels due to the high dose oral B12. No needles required. Stop lining the pockets and justifying the jobs of medicos if you don’t have to. Stop getting kids needles for B12 deficiency if they don’t have it. Never take an autistic child for needles for a deficiency if there’s no medical proof that THAT PARTICULAR autistic child has these. Remember a test for functional B12 deficiency is a Methylmalonic acid test … its URINE… no needles required… people even wring out a nappy. So don’t go jabbing kids with B12 if its not proven YOUR kid needs THAT.
Excess B12 can lower B6… another essential B vitamin and as essential for stress management as B12. So if you aren’t sure of your child’s over all B vitamin levels and how they are balanced, what the hell are you doing getting them B12 shots? Some kids with autism have B12 deficiency. Eating gluten when gluten intolerant can present as B12 deficiency. B12 deficiency is also common in people with IgA deficiency but treating the B12 issue won’t solve the far wider issue of an IgA deficiency impairing the efficiency of all digestion.
Many cases of ‘severely’ autistic child I’ve seen as a consultant didn’t involve B12 deficiencies. Excess Salicylate levels, kids eating fluoride toothpaste and stripping out their gut lining, extreme learned helplessness and Dependent Personality Disorder in families who were co-dependent with it, visual/verbal/body agnosias associated with brain injury or dyspraxia which required brain gym and adaptations, kids with undiagnosed immune deficiencies whose brains weren’t firing on all cylinders but didn’t have B12 deficiency…. you get the picture. So stop grabbing one-size-fits-all autism ‘cures’ like maniacs in the last days of a department store sale. Get sensible and think holistically. Kids are not one size fits all. Nor is autism. Nor are autistic kids.
Donna Williams, BA Hons, Dip Ed.
Author, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter.
Autism consultant and public speaker.
http://www.myspace.com/nobodynowherethefilm
http://www.donnawilliams.net
http://www.aspinauts.com
interesting.. my 13 y/o has Type 1 Diabetes, and IgA deficiency (was 4 at last ck). She also has ASD traits but has not been diagnosed. She has been diagnosed with auditory ADHD and bipolar disorder. She has recently lost 14% of her body weight in a matter of months. Neither the PCP nor Endocrine doctor seemed concerned but I am. She has had bloodwork done but we never heard of any abnormal results. You seem knowledgable about how different conditions interact… any ideas? What have you experienced as symptoms of B12 deficiency? thanks Donna…..
Hi Lezlee,
IgA def is a pain. I have IgA def with IgG2 def, a vit D def (in spite of sun, diet etc), have recovered at present from the B12 def… anyway if one has the IgA it underpins a lot. Reason doc didn’t panic is possibly that IgA def isn’t treatable in mainstream (there are some things in holistic medicine may help some in the early stages, did originally help me too) and brings with it casein/gluten intolerance plus inability to fight Candida so gaining weight via carbs, casein, gluten is problematic as is salicylates as IgA also means poor detox! There’s an inflammatory state cascade can hapen in IgA def with autoimmune complications (yes, I’m in that group too 🙁 … and this can underpin the whole brain chem imbalance side through inflammation of the Blood Brain Barrier together with maldigestion associated with IgA def. You can build up the integrity of gut and BBB through L-Glutamine (requires a bit of navigation) and in an IgA def context you may reduce bipolar via omega 3s and ADHD through lowering salicylates and raising omega 3’s. I can gain weight in spite of it all but its a labyrinth. If you want to review what I know we can do a consult and see how that pans out. My consulting is here http://www.donnawilliams.net/emailconsult.0.html
warmly,
Donna
Children with intrinsic factor deficiency as a cause of B12 deficiency need the injection because they have no mechanism for B12 absorption. Without B12 shots they would eventually become ill and die.
problem is I see clients getting B12 shots with no pretesting for the deficiency… its just assumed because they have autism.
Also some with functional B12 def can respond to 1000mcg oral B12 and its worth a trial to find out if one can before presuming life long injections as the only way.
Just a couple of comments: Blood levels of b12 can be high, but the b12 can still be unavailable.
When B12 cannot be used effectively by the cells, it is returned to the blood, bound to haptocorrin, and this results in high serum levels of B12, in a form that is not useable by the cells in general, but is eventually imported by the liver. This functional B12 deficiency can cause a methylation and/or sulfation problem, very, very common in autism. Therefore, it’s a good idea to test MMA levels, even if b12 levels are “normal”.
Also, salicylate intolerance can be resolved by b12 and folates.