Diet & nutrition

OCD is treatable
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder can be crippling for sufferers
He had taken her
to A&E, where
she had been diagnosed
with scarlet fever. Life
Common symptoms of OCD
l Contamination obsessions
(germs, bodily secretions or waste,
poisons, animals, environmental
and requests for reassurance
(example: repeatedly asking a
parent “is this okay?”)
contaminants such as tobacco or l Need to touch, tap or rub

and their families. Many health professionals think it’s simply changed completely cleansers). Often, the obsession (examples: rubbing the back of the
leads to compulsive washing or hand across a table in a certain way,
for our family”
part of autism – but it can be alleviated, says Stella Chadwick cleaning rituals; in some cases,
the symptoms cause the child
urge to touch rough surfaces)
l Intrusive images, words, music
to avoid the feared contaminant. or nonsense sounds appear in
It was the spring of 2006 and my In severe cases, even a loving the mind and do not stop
son and I had travelled to visit my parent may be a contaminant l Need to tell, ask or confess
parents for the weekend, leaving because of “exposure” to the (examples: child needs to tell parent
my daughter and husband at dirty object, and the child will every perceived mistake or sin that
home. Only a day after arriving I develop complex rituals to avoid day in school; excessive guilt)
received a call from my husband contact with the exposed parent. l Colours, numbers or words
telling me that my daughter had l Sexual or religious obsessions with special significance
woken up with a temperature of (fear that God hates them, or (examples: the colour black is
104 and was covered in a red rash. that they have done something equated with death and anything
He had taken her to A&E, where morally offensive) black triggers obsessional fears;
she had been diagnosed with l Aggressive obsessions of harm the number 3 is “lucky” and
scarlet fever. Life changed to oneself or others things have to be repeated three
completely for our family that day. l Repeating compulsions times, or 3x3x3 times)
My daughter developed anxiety, (examples: going in and out of a l Ritualized eating behaviours
OCD and irrational fears, intense doorway; switching on/off lights; (examples: eating according to a
rage and extreme sensory re-reading pages over and over) strict ritual; not being able to eat
processing difficulties. There were l Symmetry and exactness until an exact time)
some very long and dark days for obsessions (examples: books l Hoarding behaviours (obsessional
our family and it would be many must be aligned; every action concerns about losing something
years, having left a trail of must be exactly the same on the important generalize so nothing
specialists and rabbit holes behind right and left side) can be thrown away, or useless
us, before a doctor in the USA l Ordering/arranging items take on special significance
would diagnose our daughter with compulsions (example: suddenly and cannot be discarded.)
PANDAS. It stands for Paediatric placing bathroom items in a
Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric particular order and extreme Source: www.pandasppn.org. These are
Disorder Associated with anxiety if they are moved) more common OCD symptoms. For a full
description of OCD, see the International
Streptococcal infection. l Counting compulsions
OCD Foundation website (www.iocdf.org)
(examples: having to count ceiling and the Y-BOCS Symptom Checklist, which
Wrongly diagnosed tiles, books or words spoken) includes a comprehensive list of 67 types of
Since that time, we have seen l Checking compulsions obsessions and compulsions.
hundreds of children coming to our
clinics wrongly diagnosed with
behavioural disorders; in fact, thoughts and behaviours, impulses repetitive hand-washing, but some
these children have an immune or obsessions, or compulsions with children suffer from extreme OCD
system issue that is affecting their the tendency to perform acts in a and anxiety around perceived
brain. It is now understood that habitual or stereotyped manner. contamination, and around
streptococcal infection is only one Typically, OCD behaviours are everyday activities such as eating
of the infections that can cause first observed in late childhood or and drinking.
these symptoms and the wider early adolescence. In children with With children who don’t have an
umbrella term, PANS, is now more autism, the onset tends to be a lot autism diagnosis, a sudden
commonly used. It stands for earlier, manifesting before the age change in personality can be much
Paediatric Acute-onset of three. Drugs used to reduce easier to identify. A child with
Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, and it these symptoms work in only 40 autism, on the other hand, may
covers a number of potential per cent of cases. The remaining develop OCD fairly abruptly, but it
pathogenic triggers. PANS PANDAS 60 per cent don’t respond and are can be dismissed as ‘part of the
UK (www.panspandasuk.org) is the left to try and cope. condition’. When we start digging
best resource for finding out more. Many children with autism don’t into the health of these children,
One of the key features of these get a separate diagnosis of OCD, though, we find there are key
conditions is Obsessive- as the compulsions are seen as similarities in the biochemistry of
Compulsive Disorder (OCD), part of ‘autism’. Many professionals both groups of children, regardless
characterised by repetitive assume OCD is mainly about of whether or not there is an autism

52 Au t i s m | e y e I s s u e 3 4 2 0 1 9 www.autismeye.com Au t i s m | e y e I s s u e 3 4 2 0 1 9 53
 Hericor-MRL
Diet & nutrition

Enzyme Nutrition to Maintain

a Healthy Digestive System diagnosis. Both groups of children
have dysregulated immune systems
Hericor-MRL promotes a healthy digestive system and tend to have signs of underlying
infections, including streptococcal
by providing important enzyme groups: infection, CMV, EBV, HHV-6, and
Enzymes that prevent oxidative stress: Coxsackie. The herpes group of
l Laccase viruses tend to be key players, and
l Superoxide dismutase
these include chicken pox (varicella
zoster) and shingles. All of these
Enzymes that prevent cellular growth: viruses are neurotropic, meaning
l Protease they can attack nerve cells, and
they can affect brain function.
l Glucose amylase There are also significant
Enzymes that promote detoxification: markers suggestive of a
compromised immune system, with
l Peroxidase
raised CD3, lowered CD57 and
l Cytochrome P-450 raised inflammatory markers. Often,
For more information please contact:
l Cytochrome P-450 reductase the same children are prone to
Aneid UK Ltd urinary tract infections, excessive
The constituents of Hericor-MRL have been found to Spires, Suite 8, Adelaide Street, urination, conjunctivitis, mouth ulcers,
increase lipoxin A4 and neurogenic reserve in animal Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 5BB, UK. sleep issues and gut problems.
studies as well as exhibiting prebiotic properties in in vitro Tel. + 44 (0)1582 485 209 Some children drift into severe
studies. Hericor - MRL should be taken one week prior email: info@aneiduk.com OCD over a few months. The more
common triggers are illnesses such
(and during) supplementation with an Omega-3 complex. www.speechnutrients.eu
as scarlet fever or chickenpox, but
there are other triggers as well,
Aneid 2019 V1.indd 1 20/02/2019 19:58
We have seen
hundreds of
children coming to our
clinics wrongly
diagnosed with
behavioural disorders”
such as food poisoning or an intense
course of antibiotics, especially if
administered intravenously.
Sometimes the trigger can be
emotional trauma, such as a
divorce or the death of a loved one.
A study in March 2019
highlighted the potential connection
between OCD and low levels of the
antibody IgA in serum. This mirrors
what we see in clinical practice.
IgA is the first line of defence
against harmful microbes, and is
crucial for maintaining immune
Natural compounds for
treating pathogens
l Viruses respond well to: Olive leaf extract, cat’s claw,
garlic, astragalus root, ginger, elderberry, echinacea,
licorice root
l Bacteria respond well to: Garlic, berberine, plant
tannins, oregano, grapeseed extract
l Yeast respond well to: Grapefruit seed extract, orega-
no oil, caprylic acid, garlic, pau d’arco
l Parasites respond well to: Black walnut, wormwood,
garlic, cloves, thyme, fennel, cayenne, ginger, gentian,
mimosa pudica
tolerance. It is found primarily in
the gut, urogenital areas, saliva,
tears and the respiratory system.
More than half the children we
see in our clinics with OCD were
born via C-section and had at least
one course of antibiotics in the first
year of life, often straight after birth.
Given that more than 70 per cent
of our immune system is in the gut,
it is not surprising that poor “seeding”

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Diet & nutrition Advertisement feature

School life
with bacteria due to a C-section glucans. Always use these with
and the loss of microbial balance Many children caution: start with a pinch and
due to antibiotics can predispose build up slowly.
children to immune disfunction. with autism l It is also essential to use anti-

Things to consider
If your child has debilitating OCD,
consider these issues:
l It is important to rule out
psychological reasons. Seeing an
appropriate specialist such as a
psychologist or psychiatrist is a
must for some children. If therapy
and medication do not work,
consider looking at the biochemistry
of your child using lab tests.
l If you identify underlying
pathogens you need to remove
them using pharmaceuticals or
natural compounds, or both. See
the panel on page 55 on natural
compounds for removing
pathogens. Whenever you use
anything to remove pathogens
make sure that bowels are opening
daily and that you support the liver
and gallbladder, as well as the
kidneys and lymphatic system.
don’t get a separate
diagnosis of OCD”
l Once you have removed the
pathogens, work on balancing the
immune system through gut
support, including the use of
enzymes such as Trienza by
Houston Enzymes, as well as
probiotics such as Saccharomyces
Boulardii (beneficial yeast), and
those containing Lactobaccilus
reuteri, Lactobaccilus casei and
Bifidobacterium bifidum.
Probiotic foods should ideally
feature daily in the diet, through
foods and drinks such as
sauerkraut, kefir and beet kvass.
You can find recipes on our
website, www.brainstormhealth.
co.uk. Use prebiotics such as
inulin, resistant starch and beta
inflammatories such as Enhansa
(or other curcumin extracts), PEA
(palmitoylethanolamide), or omega-
3 fatty acids.
l Always check iron levels and
vitamin D levels in children with
OCD, as sometimes by simply
correcting those levels you can see
a significant improvement.
OCD is often the result of a
disturbed underlying biochemistry
and should be investigated using
thorough case-taking and laboratory
analysis before administering long-
term psychiatric medication.
Children on the autism spectrum
are particularly vulnerable, as it
may be easy to lump all their
symptoms under the ASD diagnosis.
My daughter is now 17 and
thriving. I am acutely aware that
had we not approached things with
steely determination the outcome
could have been very different. lives are being built at this school
without labels
Stella Chadwick is the
founder of
Parents say
Brainstorm Health®
and an experienced l “He is loving every minute and has What makes TCES Group really stand
nutritional and
biomedical consultant
found his love of music at your school”
l “We were overwhelmed to see what out is its highly successful inclusive
who specialises in
working with adults
all the pupils achieved, knowing what
difficulties they have”
approach to the integration of pupils
and young children
on the autism
l “Thank you all so much for helping
Kiran learn, he has grown into an amazing
with autism into its school communities
spectrum. www. young man and we owe it to your efforts”
brainstormhealth. l “Your school is fantastic. We don’t
co.uk know where we’d be without it, there
should be more schools like this”
l “An amazing school, fantastic
teachers and staff, don’t know what we
would have done without you all!”
A local authority says
l “The foundations of positive future
through an approach to education
which is personalised to each young
person and is aimed at ensuring that
they are prepared in the widest sense
for a positive future”
Essex CC SEN team representative

With schools across London and Essex,
TCES Group provides specialist education
for pupils aged 7-19 with an autism
spectrum condition or Social, Emotional
and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.
Our unique approach ensures that
pupils with autism have access to the
same school community and group
learning experiences as pupils in
mainstream schools.
The TCES Group teaching and daily
practice of leadership, life and social
skills really pays dividends for our pupils.
Alongside this, our highly experienced
staff teams know just how to identify and
draw out each pupil’s key interests, talents
and strengths, using these to maximise
their potential, not only while at school,
but also in their life beyond school.
Pupil and parent voice
In each of our schools we strive to create
a self-aware and warm atmosphere,
based around a strong set of community
values, where pupils with autism can feel
safe and secure. At the core of this is our
belief that the key to increasing self-
esteem and success lies within our pupils
themselves. Pupils and parents alike are
empowered to fully participate in the
running of our schools and are encouraged
to maintain involvement and engagement
in every aspect of school life.
Weekly assemblies are co-facilitated
by our Student Councils, who are
empowered to take full ownership of the
task of setting a positive school culture.
Twice a week, TCES Group pupils
debate, learn and listen to one another
during a therapeutic ‘group process’
session. During these sessions autistic
and SEMH pupils sit side by side in the
school hall, both groups showing respect
for one another and fully participating.
It is incredible to witness how every
pupil in the room feels able to openly
share their experiences. These sessions
have expanded since their conception in
2014, progressing from Student Council
to small tutor groups to what is now a
whole-school group process. Local
Authority Officers have described this
whole school group approach as ‘unique’
and a ‘model of excellence.’
Specially designed rooms
Our classrooms are designed with light
and noise reduction equipment to allow
pupils a wider range of sensory adaptation
to maximise concentration and sustain
learning. Visual timetables, displays,
resources, cue cards and symbols
support pupils to develop understanding
of their own unique and special sensory
sensitivities, needs and talents.
Success for all pupils
TCES Group’s industry-leading
combination of bespoke education, health
and care ensures academic and personal
success for each pupil.
A positive, structured and safe
environment enables them to develop
skills, value their differences, be
comfortable with who they are, engage
positively with others and have fun!
Contact our referrals
team: 0845 872 5460 /
020 8543 7878
www.tces.org.uk
referrals@tcesgroup.org.uk @tcesgroup

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