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, weak immunity, inability to focus, fatigue, anxiety, and much more. Please listen as Karen Thomas...

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? If you want to know how to help your child with autism to live a happier, healthier and more...

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 by the body into sugars that act as another food source for the yeast. When glucose (from sugars...

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 candida so it is imperative to not only do a proactive diet and candida protocol, but this must...

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 of the normal bacteria we all carry in our gut. The problem arises when Candida’s numbers grow too...

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?” Minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium aid in eliminating acids from the body....

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 in their bodies and levels of lead may also be elevated if there is a deficiency in iron. Proper...

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 mistakenly attack the cells and tissues of the host body. This is called autoimmunity. We must not...

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 found that more than a third of toddlers diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder outgrew the...

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 way to keep them physically active and engaged. This improves overall physical and emotional...

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 special needs. Some of the questions we address in making sure the trust is set up correctly to...

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 autism journey who could also use some inspiration. From Mary regarding her son’s autism...

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 the way as we work on the underlying root cases, but we need to reduce the amounts of these...

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, and I’ve helped hundreds of parents transition their kids to healthier diets over time. Children...

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 is an artificial sweetener that contains sucralose. The authors concluded that, after 12 weeks, the...

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 survive, and is important in brain development and its protection. It also decreases heavy metal...

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 results recovering her 21-year-old grandson, Kyle. She says it’s all thanks to the  Naturally...

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. Another study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders found that children with...

There are Some Common Causes Why Children With Autism Have Trouble Focusing, however, as we do this there are natural supplements that can assist. We will discuss both. Know I am here to help you on this journey. Natural Supplements to Help Focus and Behavior Prescription medications come with negative side effects. There are natural ways to work with focus and attention issues. Always check with your practitioner for individual dosage needs. Omega 3 fatty acids are essential to brain...

School can be stressful for children with autism, and for their parents too. Get empowered by having the right strategies to assist with better energy, clearer thinking and ability to focus, as well as calmer behaviors and better social engagement. It’s also important to know your rights. Here we cover the most vital strategies for your child’s greatest success. 1. Parent Help With School Advocacy-504 vs IEP We know that the needs of each child are very different. For this reason, you as a...

Children with autism are known to have GI problems. What is not as commonly known is how much the gut directly affects the brain and behavior, and how part of that problem comes from opiates. Yes, studies show the same opiates that come from opiate-derived drugs come from some foods when they are broken down in the gut. People on the autism spectrum have a much harder time breaking down these opioids, (also called exorphines), due to poor digestion and detoxification. For this reason, these...

Rapid detoxification Detoxification, even the initial phase when you’re changing the diet can cause some toxic “backlog” in your child’s body. You may notice some very heightened symptoms in this process. Rapid detoxification or die off can be too much for the body to handle and throw a person into mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS).  Since kids with autism have poor detoxification pathways we need to support them right away. Healing the gut is the beginning phase of everything. The gut...

The All-Important Hypothalamus The hypothalamus is the part of our brain that tells our nervous system if we should feel calm or fearful. This is commonly known as the fight or flight response. The hypothalmus is often injured in children on the autism spectrum. The hypothalamus has no protective blood-brain barrier, making it easy for toxins to enter this area and cause damage. A few known environmental toxins are mercury, aluminum, and bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in plastics such as...