A new study indicates a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E may lead to speech improvements in autistic children with verbal disorders. Verbal apraxia is a speech disorder common in autism; an estimated 50 per cent of children with autism have apraxia. Furthermore, thousands of non-autistic children are reported to have apraxia.
Apraxia is a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements. It is a disorder of motor planning which may be acquired or developmental, but may not be caused by incoordination, sensory loss, or failure to comprehend simple commands (which can be tested by asking the person to recognize the correct movement from a series). Apraxia should not be confused with aphasia, an inability to produce and/or comprehend language, or abulia, the lack of desire to carry out an action.
Apraxia is a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements. It is a disorder of motor planning which may be acquired or developmental, but may not be caused by incoordination, sensory loss, or failure to comprehend simple commands (which can be tested by asking the person to recognize the correct movement from a series). Apraxia should not be confused with aphasia, an inability to produce and/or comprehend language, or abulia, the lack of desire to carry out an action.
According to new research published in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, daily supplements of omega-3 and vitamin E were associated with improvements in numerous aspects of function and behaviour associated with autism. The researchers recruited families with an autistic child. Following supplementation with omega-3 and vitamin E, 181 families (97 per cent) reported “dramatic improvements in a number of areas”, said the researchers. These included speech, behaviour, eye contact, and other sensory issues.
“We characterize a novel apraxia phenotype that responds to polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E,” wrote the researchers.
The sub-type that may be responsive to this type of nutritional intervention is characterized by autism, sensory issues, low muscle tone, food allergy, coordination problems, and impaired gastrointestinal function. Antidotal evidence had previously shown that omega-3 can help children with apraxia and those known as ‘late talkers’. The researchers discovered that they symptoms presented by children with apraxia mirror those of vitamin E deficiency. According to the research team, “The addition of high dose vitamin E with omega-3 fatty acids is the breakthrough.”
Source: Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
July/August 2009, Volume 15, Number 4, Pages 34-43
"Syndrome of allergy, apraxia, and malabsorption: Characterisation of a neurodevelopmental phenotype that responds to omega-3 and vitamin E supplementation"
Authors: C.R. Morris, M.C. Agin
“We characterize a novel apraxia phenotype that responds to polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E,” wrote the researchers.
The sub-type that may be responsive to this type of nutritional intervention is characterized by autism, sensory issues, low muscle tone, food allergy, coordination problems, and impaired gastrointestinal function. Antidotal evidence had previously shown that omega-3 can help children with apraxia and those known as ‘late talkers’. The researchers discovered that they symptoms presented by children with apraxia mirror those of vitamin E deficiency. According to the research team, “The addition of high dose vitamin E with omega-3 fatty acids is the breakthrough.”
Source: Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine
July/August 2009, Volume 15, Number 4, Pages 34-43
"Syndrome of allergy, apraxia, and malabsorption: Characterisation of a neurodevelopmental phenotype that responds to omega-3 and vitamin E supplementation"
Authors: C.R. Morris, M.C. Agin
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