Nutrition as a Support System for Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD

7/28/2019 Nutrition as a Support System for Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD

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Speakers:

Mr Clinton Power

Relationship Counsellor for Individuals and Couples

Clinical Counsellor andGestaltTherapist

www.ClintonPower.Com.Au

Founder of Australia Counselling

http://www.AustraliaCounselling.Com.Au

Ms Paula Tazzyman

Paediatric Dietician/Nutritionist

Novasel Australiahttp://www.PaulaTazzyman.Com.Au

Nutrition as a Support System for

Children Diagnosed with Autism

Spectrum Disorder and ADHD
http://clintonpower.com.au/how-i-workhttp://clintonpower.com.au/how-i-workhttp://clintonpower.com.au/how-i-workhttp://www.clintonpower.com.au/http://www.clintonpower.com.au/http://www.clintonpower.com.au/http://clintonpower.com.au/how-i-work


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Nutrition as a Support System for Children Page 2 of 21

Diagnosed with ASD and ADHD 2012 Australia Counselling & Consulting Pty Ltd

http://www.AustraliaCounselling.Com.Au [START OF VIDEO]

Clinton Power: Hello, this is Clinton Power from AustraliaCounselling.Com.Au. Were

here today with Sydney accredited practising dietician, Paula Tazzyman, who is speaking about

nutrition as a support system for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD.

Paula specialises in working with children with ADHD and those on the Autism

Spectrum. Shes worked extensively in the management ofAttention Deficit and Hyperactivity

Disorder and supported children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder for over 15 years.

Shes helped literally thousands of families improve the nutritional status of their children and

optimised their health, concentration, learning ability, and behaviour via dietary modifications.

I know Paula is very passionate about the role of nutrition and what it has in supporting

the total well-being and academic achievements of children, as well as supporting families

especially mothers in their nutritional wellness. Paula has worked in private practise since

1997.

Welcome, Paula. Its great to have you on the call today.

Paula Tazzyman: Clinton, thank you so much for this fabulous opportunity. Im really

impressed that youve taken an interest in the role of nutrition to help these children that have

had this diagnosis. Im really encouraged by your interest and letting your members know

about how important nutrition and nourishment can be for these kids.

Clinton: Thank you. Well, this is a little bit different from our usual presentation. Im

often speaking to psychotherapists and counsellors. But I think its such a great adjunct to

working with children with these issues. I first came across your Facebook page, and for


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anyone whos interested, you have a fabulous Facebook that offers an amazing amount of free

information and tips. So if youre on Facebook, you can just put in the search there Paula

Tazzyman. Thats T-A-Z-Z-Y-M-A-N, dietician and you should be able to find the Facebook and

like it.

Lets start by telling us about how did your passion for working in this area came about,

because it is quite unique.

Paula: It is certainly unique, Clinton. I think I have to thank my mother for this because

as I was a young girl, whatever ailment I had, it was always looked towards my food, what I was

eating, and how could I change what I was eating or not eating to really support whatever I was

dealing with. So I always have this philosophy of let food be your medicine and you probably

very familiar with that fantastic quote. So I live and breathe that statement.

Of course it was only natural from about age 10 I was going to be a dietician, Ive always

known that. I wanted to really make a difference at the key points in peoples lives. I thought

where would I start that? I would like to start it three months before the mother conceives.

My ideal plan is to really get the child that early at that planning phase.

I was destined to work with children because looking at the nutrition of children and

how the family unit and how parents can really support the nutrition of children was going to

be a prevention and really optimise their wellness from the word go basically. I feel a little

frustrated going in with a person 50 or 60 or 80 to try to help them then. It was really quite

imperative for me that I address that early intervention from the earliest possible time.

So I was going of course where I work is always being with children that are struggling

with their learning and their behaviour and my passion is really support those kids that need


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the most help in a natural and safe way. I think you cant get anymore natural than what the

child is eating.

Clinton: Obviously, there are huge benefits for early intervention. But what lead you

specifically to your interest in working with autism and ADHD?

Paula: I think its an area of paediatrics thats a little forgotten by most people. And its

something that I had this genuine interest and passion and really wanted to see how can I as a

dietician, help the mums to help the children by looking at their nutrition. So I started and did

extra research and kept abreast of what was happening in the literature and how could I best

help the children. Its just I guess me wanting to help kids that need the most help. I think

thats really the bottom line.

Clinton: Yes. My understanding of ASD and ADHD often it is about a cluster of

symptoms. But maybe as a starting point, give us your working definition of what is the

symptomology that may indicate that a child is suffering from some of those issues?

Paula: Yeah, certainly these developmental disorders, they started as neurological. So

theyre brain-based disorder. And we dont ADHD who get the typical inattention, so

concentration issues, their impulsivity issues, so those kids that fidget and they cant sit still,

and their hyperactivity. So there are kind of a three clusters that go with ADHD.

With ASD, when you have it, the autism will have the communication issues, the

language is delayed. A lot of my clients are non-verbal so theres no language. Then you have

issues with their social interaction, their ability to function socially with other kids to

communicate and express love and affection towards their family. And then you have this

lively, quirky, restricted, rigid, tight behaviour that would be very unique to each child.


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So you have a cluster of different symptoms and certainly a lot of overlap with ADHD

and ASD as and there might be other learning difficulties. Depression and anxiety is probably

really is of interest to your members. There are a lot of mental health issues going on in the

background for a lot of the children as well as the mums that have to support this diagnosis.

Clinton: So autism is a spectrum disorderobviously, theres a whole range of intensity

I guess of the different symptoms. But is that the case with ADHD? Is that also considered a

spectrum disorder?

Paula: Certainly, there could be. The inattentive subtype, the hyperactive subtype, and

that might change over time. In some instances, the child may hopefully grow out of it. But a

lot of the cases they would become a young adult with the same symptoms that will just carry

them through.

I think thats an area weve forgotten how and I do see some adults with ADHD and how

some children that are now adults that are still my clients, because Ive been doing this for 15

years. Some of my clients are in their early 20s now. Thats certainly still dealing with their

symptoms and how to manage the best way they can.

Clinton: Im guessing that many people arent aware of the ro le of nutrition and how it

may play out in autism or ADHD. So how important is it and why is it important to attend to

nutrition in children?

Paula: Well, thats basically a good question Clinton. Its imperative that all of us that

are helping these kids, be it the child care centres, the other educators in childs life, the

doctors, therapists, paediatricians, that we dont forget that nutrition is one of the pillar of

wellness. Obviously, we have sleep and exercise and uncharted many of it valuable essentials.


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But certainly, ifthe diet isnt rightthats going to have repercussions as to how the brain

will function, and just to really give you, in essence, basic examples that would quite relevant to

your members. If we think about the child maybe need help with concentration and behaviour

and they come to me and I identified this child has a low iron levelpotentially they might go

to a doctor get that confirmedif their body doesnt have enough iron, the brain cant make

the neurotransmitter, dopamine.

And you know dopamine is what the brain needs to focus, concentrate, for the child to

be able to learn at their best. So that child is iron depleted is going to affect their learning. We

know that low iron levels will affect hyperactivity. The child will be tired, the child will be

irritable. All of these clusters are going to make the symptoms worse. We can just fix the iron

and these things will certainly be supported and potentially repaired.

And for you guys, with anxiety and depression, often very simple things, get your

vitamin D checked because thats so linked to depression. Often my children, you know theyre

very indoors kids, so theyre very pale skin, theyre not getting vitamin D from the sunshine, it

will manifest in lower moods.

The same goes if you dont have enough zinc, you dont make serotonin. Serotonin is a

feel good chemical to help us battle with our mood and support our mood. If you dont have

enough zinc, thats going to have repercussion on mood. So basic key nutrient deficits will have

massive impact on how well that child is functioning in the areas of learning, behaviour,

concentration, and mental health.

Clinton: I have to confess as well. Im probably one of those people thats always been

cynical about the role of supplementation whether its vitamins or minerals. So Im interested


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to know how compelling is the research backing up what youre saying that for example can be

very closely linked with depression.

Paula: Absolutely, iron is certainly linked, and theres strong evidence that iron is linked

to the inability for the brain to make dopamine and that will manifest in behaviour,

hyperactivity. And thats certainly been documented. It was a big French study three years ago

that really highlighted this. The role of zinc in mental health is well documented. The role of

vitamin D in mental health, thats well documented.

So certainly if people want to look at the evidence and the signs, its certainly there.

And Im always hearing theres not enough evidence. But you know what, if you dont want to

see the evidence, you wont see the evidence. But there is, and there is a lot of evidence to

support the role of nutrition in the management of these conditions.

Clinton: So Im imagining there have been specific studies with children suffering from

these disorders as well?

Paula: Yeah, one that whether you guys might have read it, in the very prestigious

Lancet Medical Journal, well just take one example with ADHD that had a 100 children

between the ages of 4 and 8 that have an ADHD diagnosis. They were randomised and 50 of

them ended up having a lot of chemical diet. So these children were very careful with their

additives in their diet, the artificial chemicals, as well as the natural chemicals. The other 50

just went on the merry way and ate what they wanted. They went on this study for five weeks.

So what do you think happened after the 5 weeks?

Clinton: Well, Im imagining there was some compelling evidence starting to emerge

[Interposing]


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Paula: Certainly is! That means out of those 50 children on the low chemical diet, 32 no

longer reported ADHD symptoms. So 64% 2 out of every 3 children will gain some benefits in

the management of ADHD. Just by tweaking the diet and getting rid of the colours, the

preservatives, the additives, and some natural components to the diet as well.

Thats a massive support system in 2 out of every 3 children we may not need to pursue

any further intervention such as stimulate medication or maybe a support system to the

medication. We cant dispute evidence like that, but people just dont want to see it.

Clinton: Thats a fantastic result, and certainly with so much medication of children

particularly with ADHD, certainly something to investigate. So youve talked about iron, what

are the other main nutritional concerns that you see are facing children with autism and ADHD?

Paula: If we look at Autism first, I think probably the thing that I deal with pretty much

on the daily basis when a child comes to me on a Spectrum, is that these children are we know

that theyre very, very difficult children to feed. Despite the mums, parents best efforts to give

the best diet possible. These childrens diets are very, very limited.

Thats very much driven by a sensory integration issue where they may have issues with

the texture of food, the colour of food, the temperature, the smell, theyre so sensitive that if

the food is not given to them in a way that they can cope with they just wont to eat it. And

over time the diet become very, very limited, and that of course will have manifestations for

the total balance of the diet and nutrient deficits that will come to that. So I deal with that on a

daily basis, trying to optimise how we can best support the diet taking into consideration these

issues.


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Then kids on the spectrum have digestion issues, constipation, diarrhoea, bloating,

theyre not absorbing their nutrients, theyre very uncomfortable in their gut, theres a lot of

gut pain. And you guys, you and your members will know that theres a real connection

between the gut and the brainthat brain-gut connectionthe healthier the gut, the healthier

the brain. So if I can help the parents fix the gut, then were going to get much better

management of their ASD symptoms.

We know kids on the spectrum dont detox. They tend to accumulate heavy metals and

toxins. We can prevent them from coming into the body in the first place and then support the

detoxification pathways, it can do a lot of good. Kids on the spectrum and kids with ADHD, by

and large are very, very sensitive. And we know artificial colours, preservatives, have certain

issues, and the natural components in that food.

So that would be the salicylates, the amines[ph], and the glutamates. A lot of people

dont know about this, but certainly natural chemicals in children can also be problematic. So

that kind of help and theyre trying to look up their potential from nutrient deficiencies and get

in the parents to spoke to a doctor and address that and try to repair if theres deficiency it

gets repaired effectively.

Clinton: What about sugar? Because there are certainly recently its been such a hot

debate talking about sugar-free diets. Something thats very recent on 60 Minutes it was very

controversial and Sarah Wilson and her sugar-free cooking book. So what are your thoughts

about sugar and children?

Paula: Well, we know whats evidence based Clinton is that sugar, the standard table

sugar does not does not exacerbate hyperactivity. But what comes with sugar is often the red


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colour in red cordial or jellies or lollies. So what exacerbates poor behaviour is the artificial

additives that might be there, there could be preservatives there or the natural chemicals that

may be in there. So sugar kind of gets the blame, but its not the sugar itself.

If you keep a teaspoon of sugar their teeth dont want it and the dentist wont like it.

But thats not going to exacerbate behaviour. And with Sarah Wilson, mean anybody that goes

on a sugar-free diet, to her its no soft drinks, no cakes, no biscuits, no processed foodthats

just basic healthy eating. Of course youre going to eliminate a lot of stuff that shouldnt be in

your system. So thats just a no-brainer. An I dont like alarmist headlines saying that sugar will

do this and sugar is the root of all evil, thats alarming.

Sugar in moderation certainly can enhance the flavour of other foods. And to give you

an example, I had a child that will eat porridge with a teaspoon of honey, well Im happy the

child is eating porridge. So it has to be kept in a common sensical type of attitude.

Clinton: Yeah, one of my weaknesses is the Natural Confectionery Company lolly. Are

they okay, because they say that theyre free of artificial chemicals?

Paula: Yeah, certainly they are. But some kids are still sensitive to the way that the

natural colours have been derived. Because they would be derived from things like beetroot

and carrots which are great, but if your child is sensitive to salicylates, thats not great.

Clinton: Could you just define what is salicylate is?

Paula: Yes, salicylates, amines, and glutamates are natural chemicals in most fruits and

vegetables are very rich in these natural chemicals. So as an example, if you eat an orange or a

tomato and you see a red rash around the mouth of the child, that tells me that may have

intolerance to the salicylates. Thats quite a common thing. Thats hard to get your head


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around, because it would mean not eating things like tomatoes, strawberries, broccoli, spinach,

orange juice, olive oil, all these fabulous things.

Why would there be a problem? But in some cases well do the elimination diet, which

really does strips everything out of the diet give you a very low chemical start and then you

introduce things to check whats potentially causing the problems. Its very systematic not easy

to do parents dont like it, but certainly gives you a lot of good information and it addresses the

chemicals and the artificial.

Clinton: Something Ive been reading about recently as well is the benefits of low

FODMAP diets. Does that play out here in terms of working with children?

Paula: I tend to do that more with parents and certainly when there is an irritable

bowel type situation is certainly an avenue to explore. Because that food that are not digested

properly that are exacerbating the irritable bowel type symptoms and certainly an evidence

based practice dietician puta lot of research and a PhD to put this information together for us

certainly worth exploring.

But to help the gut probiotics. I do a lot of probiotic work and pre and probiotics to

really support the gut health of these children, and ensure that they have regular bowel

movements, that theyre not in tummy pain, that theyre not bloated, theyre comfortable with

their digestion. That way we can ascertain or hope that theyre going to be absorbing the

nutrients far more effectively.

Clinton: How do probiotics work? How do they help with the digestion?

Paula: If I give you a typical example, children with Autism are plagued by ear

infections. They have this dysregulated immune system where theyre more prone to getting


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tonsillitis and ear infection. So what tends to happen there is that they get infection, they go

into antibiotics, and sometimes the long course of antibiotics and multiple courses.

Now, we know that antibiotics will kill all good and bad bacteria. So whats happening in

the gut is that you have this unbalance of their friendly bacteria and unfriendly bacteria due to

the antibiotics. So what the probiotic does is that it will actually begin to infuse the gut with the

good bacteria. It supports the gut, helps support the gut lining, it helps your digestion of the

nutrients, keeps the child regular. Thats a wonderful thingthe reflux, too much acid in the

gut. So it can do wonderful things.

It certainly takes away bloating and constipation, helps diarrhoea, you name it. All

those horrendous things that no one wants to talk about, certainly I have a very good support

system with probiotics. So if you think you have irritable bowels in adolescents its something

that I would encourage that you look into.

Clinton: Are there any down sides for being on probiotics for a long period of time with

children?

Paula: None whatsoever. Probiotics for babies, for children, and I recommend that

pregnant moms starts probiotics at the end their last couple of weeks of pregnancy, so then

probiotics cross the placenta and get to the baby, increase their immune system, decreases the

risk of allergies in children. So totally safe to do and often we dont do enough probiotics. We

only do a very small dose or we rely on yogurt or Yakult which give you a little bit. But you may

need a bigger dose just to get the support and the benefits from them. And certainly if youre

on antibiotics you need to supplement with your probiotics at the same time.


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system that the bowel movements are regular, that all is in order in the gut because our gut

health is pivotal.

I think the last thing I would think about would be getting parents to look at the power

of nutrients. That nutrition is such a powerful tool and I think we just forgotten that we need

these nourishment to support the child. So focusing on nourishing the body and the brain to

the best of their ability, of the parents, and then this will clean things out. Lets get rid of things

that shouldnt be in our diet.

If you think back in when you were little you know what the food supply that keeps up

now is so different when you and I were little. And I dare say its not for the better. Whats

marketed to children is very processed, of little nutritional value and theres so much of it. So

because the diets have changed so much, kids are potentially missing out a lot of important

nourishment.

Clinton: Just as an aside, do foods need to be organic? Do you say that there is a

significant nutritional value in going with organic and paying the extra price?

Paula: Well, I think this is evidence based. The nutritional content can be very similar,

but what is different is your not putting pesticides, organophosphates, all of these chemicals

into the system. And I think that deserve a note, because I really like eating my blueberries and

know that they havent been hopefully sprayed.

There is something called the Top 12 Nasties. So if youre going to invest your money,

there are 12 fruits and vegetables that are the most heavily sprayed and theyre certainly worth

knowing. So then youre going to the apples, its top of the list. If youre going to buy apples


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for your children, if you want to eat the skin, buy organic. If not, peel them, wash really well to

get rid of those chemicals.

Because we did have evidence that mothers, when they are pregnant, if they have a diet

that was infused with a lot of pesticides and insecticides, that was linked to ADHD in the child

later on. So I think for pregnancy thats a very delicate nine months.

Clinton: Yes, and do you work with mothers as well as those who are newly pregnant or

just before birth?

Paula: Yes, I workand this is really an area that I love to do more work. And really try

to get at that early intervention to the 3-months before conception. And we know with autism

there is evidence that says that if a mum takes plans the pregnancy takes a multivitamin three

months before their pregnancy and one month into it, the risk of autism is much less.

But most women dont work out while pregnant till week 5 or 6 so we miss that critical

window where we can protect that brain. So Im very passionate about trying to do work with

mothers especially mothers that have had one child or first child on Spectrum or with ADHD

and want more kids to try to do the best they can for that pregnancy to really stack the odds in

favour of that baby. Theres a lot that can be done.

Clinton: Im curious to know have you worked collaboratively withobviously, youre

working with GPs, but have you worked with therapists as well who are working with these

children and parents?

Paula: I do. I work with psychologists quite a bit. Ive just embarked with a new

colleague and she does a lot of postnatal depression. So Im going to be working with her to try

and support the mental health of these mums. And we got Im hopinh the mums that are


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planning for a second baby. How we can support the mental health of that mum for the second

pregnancy and really optimise the brain of the baby in that critical developing month. Thats

certainly an area of interest.

I work a lot with day care centres, early intervention centres, and Autism advisory

services, because a lot of foundations and support groups for ASD and ADHD that are getting

me to come up present to their parents. And I just did one last month for Mission Australia.

That was massive, about 70 parents and therapists wanting to see and hear about how

nutrition can be a support system for their children.

Clinton: It seems to me that its a fantastic opportunity to collaborate particularly with

therapists who are working with clients or families where this is a presenting issue that its not

something to be ignored that maybe sometimes the missing piece is also include looking at the

diet getting a dietary assessments as well as all the mental health aspects and family dynamics

that are playing out as well.

Paula: Absolutely. As I said nutrition is fundamental, and we cant forget the

importance and the benefits that can come from a well-nourished body and brain. So this is

going to make a much happier child and family unit.

Clinton: So youve been working for 15 years. Id love to hear a case study or just a

flavour of someone youve worked with and some of the changes that youve observed and

family has undergone as a result a dietary intervention.

Paula: Clinton, there are so many families. But probably one thats always has stuck

with me. I had a child that was 10 or 11, and had incredible issues with Attention Deficit


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Oppositional Defiant Disorder Aggression. And the parents are desperate. This child was on

Ritalin- you name it. They came to me as the last resort to help the child.

When I assessed the diet, it was laden with chemicals. This child being a boy being 10,

was eating a lot of bread. That bread was laden with a preservative 202, which is known to

cause aggression. He was eating a loaf of it a day. The minute we took the bread and changed

it, and basically change the bread to a bread that we know -282- the behaviour is much calmer,

hes not so angry.

In the background, we corrected the iron deficiency, we corrected a vitamin D deficit,

and we also increase the Omega 3s. We put him on a quality Omega 3 supplement. Mum rings

me up, no more medication.

Clinton: Wow! Thats extraordinary, because Im thinking so many therapists and

families would be focused on the behaviour of the child and whether its behaviour

modification or CBT strategies and that could be completely overlooked.

Paula: Absolutely. And the support was enormous this mum -the child is now 20s and

hes doing really, really well. But she will occasionally email and still so thankful for you just

guiding her to the key things that she never thought about I just pointed out to her. And thats

what makes my job so great, Clinton. Thats why I love what I do because you get to see the

benefit and how something so easy that are taken for granted is so easy and I could impart this

basic information can make such a difference to a growing child and to the family unit. Because

this family was in a state, with all the issues going on with the child.

Clinton: I think its such wonderful work youre doing, Paula. Because Ive certainly had

lots of adult clients in my private practice who quite clearly were, have been and still are


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Clinton: Wonderful! So lets tell the Australian Counselling members whats your

website where they can go to get more information?

Paula: Yes, thatswww.PaulaTazzyman.Com.Au. Facebook is a great resource. I aim to

be as generous as I can with my knowledge. I felt very responsible to have this knowledge and I

need to share it. So the posts if theyre going to Facebook page are all very relevant and we do

have a Theme of the Week. And this weeks theme was constipation. Last weeks team was

iron, so we kind of get a lot of useful information in a weeks period.

The Paula Tazzyman Dietician on Facebook is a great place to send clients just to get a

feel of who I am and what I do. And then the website will be up and running in the next couple

of days.

Clinton: Yes, and I have to say for any therapist who also wants to look at a fantastic

social media marketing strategy, go and check out Paula s Facebook page because its

incredible generosity and the advice and tips you offer. I have to just being a member of your

Facebook page for a few weeks, Ive learned so much about the nutrition and supplementation.

Ive been taking notes and Ive ordered some probiotics already. Its a great resource and thank

you so much for speaking to us today, Paula. I really appreciate your time.

Paula: Clinton, its been my absolute pleasure. Thank you for giving me this

opportunity to share my knowledge with your members.

Clinton: My pleasure. I hope we can speak again. Take care.

Paula: Id love to. Just let me know. Thanks so much.

Clinton: Bye for now.

Paula: Bye for now.
http://www.paulatazzyman.com.au/http://www.paulatazzyman.com.au/http://www.paulatazzyman.com.au/http://www.paulatazzyman.com.au/


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[END OF VIDEO]

Visit http://www.australiacounselling.com.au for more resources for therapists and

counsellors.
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Nutrition as a Support System for Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD

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