It's Not Mental: Important Links, Books, & Resources to Help Our Children

Perhaps your child is already diagnosed with a non-psychological condition affecting his or her brain (such as clinical depression, pediatric-onset bipolar, autistic-spectrum, hormonal issues, migraines, psychosis-nos, lyme disease, narcolepsy, Kleine-Levin syndrome, thyroid issues, or childhood-onset schizophrenia).

Or, you may still be in the early stages of thinking, “Something is distressing my child. The screaming, horrific nightmares, spacing out, acting like perhaps he/she is hearing voices, not sleeping or sleeping too much, and tantrums indicate that something is wrong.”). In either case, in addition to treating the more salient symptoms of the condition, we need resources to help the child’s underlying biology.

We have discussed the importance of many factors involved in ensuring our children’s mental health in spite of assault on their bodies from disease, genetics, etc. We have also discussed their exquisite vulnerability to stress, inflammation, the immune connection, and more.

There is a plethora of websites that address psychological treatments offering critical help for our children in adapting to their personalities, learning differences and “wiring”. Such treatments come in the form of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Play Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, Pragmatic Therapy, Occupational Therapy (OT & OT) and other therapies for sensory dysfunction, strategies for lowering stress (video, Kids Under Pressure, Warning Signs , What Parents Can Do ) and more. All of them are important.

Equally important is addressing nutrition, sleep, adrenal issues, hormonal issues, allergies, migraines, and every other factor possible, in order to help our child feel better.

Integrative medicine, also referred to as complementary medicine and functional medicine, is innovative in that it uses the best of modern knowledge and protocols for tailored treatment. It uses a BIOMEDICAL approach which combines the use of conventional medical treatments alongside other practices (eg. nutritional supplements, herbal remedies, life style changes including diet, exercise, sleep hygiene, and psychosocial therapies, massage, etc.) for maximum benefit.

In order to address the uniqueness of each individual and help that individual function more optimally, all facets of the person’s body and mind need to be addressed.

That is no small task. In order to accomplish this daunting task, numerous medical tests are required. Nutritional, metabolic, neurological and hormonal states must be determined. There is no getting around the need for numerous medical tests to determine what the child’s actual issues and needs are in order to meet them! Insurance seems loathe to pay for medical tests unless the problems are diagnosed.

However, doctors cannot uncover problems without running the medical tests!

To that end, I would like to supply some important links, books, and search words. I’ll be updating this occasionally!

I can't give a list of top-notch practicing integrative medical specialists and neuroendocrinologists (or psychoneuroendocrinologists / neuropsychoendocronologists) that I personally know of. Others are welcome to comment about ones they know of, or let us know of physician finders for the that they trust.

HOWEVER, I can recommend Dr. James Greenblatt at Comprehensive Psychiatric Resources - where integrative, functional medicine and nutritional biochemistry is used in "mental" health treatment.

Here is a physician finder for medical doctors who have taken an extensive course from the Institute of Functional Medicine: FM Physician Finder although we personally were disappointed with our one trial of a doctor from that list.

Consider Traditionally Known Medical Illnesses and Medications That Can Cause or Exacerbate Psychiatric Symptoms:

Note the above lists are already outdated as new causes are continually being found, such as gluten sensitivity, brain involvement from casein (dairy), SSCD genetic and epigenetic problems, and more!

Here is a lot more testing and information to consider:
(Note: Doctor recommended hormonal, metabolic, etc testing and testing for some specific disorders are in the appendix sections of the book.)

Intestinal Health
EnteroLab (IgA Testing - Intestinal malabsorption, food sensitivities (gluten, casein, soy, egg, etc), gluten/celiac-related DNA)
More about Celiac testing: http://www.bidmc.org/celiaccenter
Information about streptococcal induced tics and OCD:
- pandasnetwork.org and latitudes.org/forums (scroll down to see the PANDAS forum)
Great Plains Laboratory (Testing - Metals, Immunological, Aminos and Organics, Cholesterol and fatty acids, lithium and other minerals, vitamins, etc, casomorphin/gliadorphin urinary peptides and more!)
SpectraCell Nutritional Blood Analysis (Physician order and blood draw required)
Life Extension Foundation (Testing - Hormonal, nutritional, CBC, general health, Food Safe Allergy Blood Test (IgG) etc.)
Genova Diagnostics:
- Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA) Evaluates digestion and absorption, bacterial balance and metabolism, yeast and immune status for patients with irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, malabsorption, and other GI-related problems. Parasitology component is offered.)
- Optimal Nutritional Evaluation (ONE) ((Helps diagnose metabolic problems such as Fatty Acids Metabolism Disorder (Disorders of fatty acid oxidation). Evaluates gastrointestinal function and functional need for vitamins, minerals, and co-factors. In addition, amino acids are measured to assess digestion, absorption, metabolic impairments, and nutritional deficits. Anti-oxidant reserves and the presence of oxidative injury are analyzed.)
Celiac Information -Neurological implications and Diagnostics
Genetic Testing to consider:
VCFS (Chromosome 22q11 deletion) (article 1, article 2),
XYY (boys), Turner's (girls),
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA affecting mitochondrial functioning (info here).
Also genetic risk factors: 23andMe
Defeat Autism Now! and Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) (There is overlap in the genetics and biological underpinnings of some cases of autistic-spectrum, pediatric-onset bipolar, schizophrenia and schizoaffective)
Psychiatric Disturbance in Endocrinologic Disease (Journal Article)
Adrenal Dysfunction
Identifying hypothyroidism’s psychiatric presentations (November 2006 edition of Current Psychiatry Online)
Identifying hyperthyroidism’s psychiatric presentations (December 2006 edition of Current Psychiatry Online)
Human Growth Foundation and The Magic Foundation (Look here if your child has delayed growth or vision problems)
Diagnostic Codes for Insurance (Get insurance to pay! Let's take advantage of what the autism community learned... Insurance doesn't like paying for "mental" issues -- but our children's non-psychological problems can also be diagnosed medically)
About.com: Thyroid Disease
About Hemochromatosis & How to get tested.> (Can affect endocrine function)
Lyme Disease Information, and International Lyme And Associated Diseases Society
About Sleeping Pills
About Insomnia
More about Insomnia and Natural Strategies for Managing it
Journal Of OrthoMolecular Medicine: Therapeutic Nutrition Based Upon Biochemical Individuality
Hypothyroidism and the Role of Armour Thyroid, Seaweed, Exercise, and MoreCutting-Edge Interview with Joseph Mercola, D.O. by Mary Shomon, March 8, 2008
Hyperactivity Linked To Thyroid Hormones ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 1997)
PANDAS (Information about Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections)
Metabolic biomarkers of increased oxidative stress and impaired methylation capacity in children with autism American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 6, 1611-1617, December 2004
Service Dog Tasks for Psychiatric Disabilities International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP)
The Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation/Balanced Mind Foundation (CABF/BMF)
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)