An epidemic

I heard this incredible figure last week.

According to the Mindd Foundation (link to the right) there are 1 in 120 Australian children with a gut-brain disorder, including ASD, ADD, ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia and schizophrenia. For a variety of reasons, we're in the middle of an epidemic.

And I keep meeting people with children who fit the criteria.

Today I met a lovely lady who had a very active, rather difficult three year old boy. We started to talk about it, and she mentioned a number of things that she found hard about his behaviour. I asked if she had had him screened for something like ADD, and she said that she wanted to, but that her family kept telling her nothing was wrong.

"But they're not the ones who have to live with him every day," she said. "I know deep down there's something wrong."

This is the third child I've met in two months who have symptoms similar to Bright Eyes. I asked her some questions and it sounded like a very typical case of a gut-brain disorder.

Some of the things that are easy tell-tale signs are:

- glassy stare
- difficult behaviour and lots of tantrum
- difficulty making transitions or thinking flexibly
- food intolerances or picky eating
- abnormal language development (including 'scripting' from TV shows)
- abnormal bowel movements
- difficulty toilet training

I wrote down some resources on the web for her and recommended she get an assessment and think about changing his diet right away.