Health in the News - 02.Feb.02 'Harry's
not one to fish for praise' '"I've never been particularly
interested in alternative health, but after seeing how Harry reacted to tablets,
I've definitely changed my mind," [Harry's Mum] admitted. "He
is very obviously calmer and it deals with a lot of the behavioural problems.
" ' For some people, supplements and
vitamins have become a modern-day answer to all-round health, but can they exceed
the dietary need? Can they assist in the control of incurable conditions? Debbie
Watson spoke to one Ipswich family to hear its story.  Little
Harry Chittenden is an energetic child by any standards.
Six-years-old and
full of smiles, he knows what he wants, likes what he likes and has the unfaltering
admiration of his doting parents. He plays hard, works hard and with a
determination so much greater than most, this happy youngster really tries hard,
too. Yet, he is very different to his peers. While it isn't always
so easy for a stranger to spot - and while it usually brandishes him with the
labels of "naughty" and "restless" - this bright and eager
child suffers from autism. Harry lives with the lifelong developmental disability
day-in, day-out. One minute, his condition is unnoticeable. The next, it
rears its head in inexplicable tantrums, defiant silences and in frustrated relentless
screams of shear maddened annoyance. "It is a difficult disability
for anyone to get their head around, but as a parent, you can't help feeling quite
helpless when you watch your child change from one mood to another so quickly." This
is the frank admission of Harry's 27-year-old mum, Melanie. She and her husband,
Paul, have struggled to find every shred of information on their son's disorder. "We
always felt there was something unusual with Harry's development," she said. "He
was extremely lively, was having difficulties at school and showing big signs
of behavioural problems. "At his worst we've seen him hitting his head
against the wall and crying out furiously when he can't do something. It's not
a nice thing for any parent to see." Witnessing this at home is one
thing, but having to explain your child's bizarre actions in public is quite another. Melanie
has had to face this experience when out shopping in Ipswich with Harry, and her
four-year-old, Matthew. She said: "People will stare and point because
they think you have a particularly naughty child, but that's just part of his
condition. "It's something we are learning to live with, but which
strangers find odd. I either find myself explaining Harry's actions, or I just
leave them to think what they will." Harry's condition was identified
by an educational psychologist four months ago, but the youngster, of Woolverstone
Close, Ipswich, is still waiting for a full diagnosis as to what form he has.
He is one of thousands who suffer from this disability. It's thought autistic
spectrum disorders affect 500,000 families in the UK. Given this statistic,
you might imagine that information and treatments would be widely available. The
Chittenden family has not found this to be so. It has had great support from the
Stone Lodge family centre in Ipswich, but has essentially had to do all its investigation
work alone. "Everything we've found out about autism we've really had
to go out and chase for ourselves" said 31-year-old Paul. And it seems
that, even though we're still not quite as clued-up as we might be, we stand a
better chance of finding ways to help Harry." Paul and Melanie were
both determined that Harry's condition (or at least its symptoms) should not be
controlled by Ritalin. "Children with autism are often given the drug
but we'd heard .…………………………………….something
we were happy with," said Melanie. "We put Harry on an 'e-free'
diet and that has certainly helped to control some of the behavioural issues,
but we still wanted to do something else." Coincidentally, Melanie's
father read about a natural supplement which contained Omega 3 essential fish
oils and Omega 6 Evening Primrose oil. Collectively, the ingredients are said
to be a great advantage to those suffering from such a condition. While
Melanie had not considered alternative remedies she decided to try it out. The
difference was phenomenal. "I've never been particularly
interested in alternative health, but after seeing how Harry reacted to these
tablets, I've definitely changed my mind," she admitted. "He
is very obviously calmer and it deals with a lot of the behavioural problems.
He even sat through an entire school assembly when we first started him on
these and that's…………" The supplement according
to manufacturer Equazen, provides a quantity of highly-unsaturated fatty acids
(HUFAs). They claim that some children may lack fatty acids in their diet - and
therefore need an extra supply of nutrients to help their brain function. "I've
read up on the subject and I've started to realise just how poor the standard
of British diet is, compared with the rest of Europe," said Melanie. "I
believe this supplement is making a difference to my son and anything I can do
to help is a huge bonus. "I know there is still a great deal of worry
and doubt about alternative medicine, but to me, it makes sense that you try to
provide your child with the nutrients you think they may be lacking. "There
is still no cure for my son's condition, nor for the thousands of others who are
affected by some form of it - but I have it in my power to reduce his symptoms." The
National Autistic Society regularly hears from parents trying to ………
child's behavioural problems. Spokesman, David Potter, said: "There are still
no medications specifically marketed for autism because we don't actually know
the cause." State-registered dietician … Butcher said: "We
generally don't recommend supplements, simply because they are not proven. "The
problem with supplements is that some have too much of a certain nutrient and
so our essential advice to any parent is that they seek advice from a medical
expert before taking them. "Equally, we would not recommend special
diets to anyone, but we would give support to the individual who was trying to
embrace that a specific diet was a balanced one." Source: The Evening
Star IpswichBack to the News Page | 
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