12.  Is your child taking any medication or herbal or nutritional supplements?

Medications and herbal or nutritional supplements can cause almost any kind of reaction.  Biochemically, we are all unique individuals and can have individual idiosyncratic reactions to almost any medication or herbal or nutritional supplement.  These reactions can appear immediately, but some are delayed months or even years after the person has taken the medication or supplement.  These reactions can produce behavioral challenges.

To find out more about this, consult the Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR) or such herbal references such as Prescriptions for Nutritional Healing by Balch and Balch.  An Internet search can also be helpful.  Please be aware, however, that there is virtually no quality control on the Internet and that there are numerous websites marketing particular nutritional supplements without any convincing information that they actually are beneficial.

For a fee, you can subscribe to www.consumerlabs.com, a commercial site that tests products’ ingredients and tells you what they are.  This is a good way to find quality products and avoid faulty and/or dangerous products.

For prescription and over-the-counter medications, your pharmacist can also provide you with information on known side effects of or reasons why you should not take the medications.

There are those who believe that mercury-containing preservatives used in some vaccines can cause problems such as autism.  This has not been proved nor disproved.  The protective benefits of vaccinations have been proven and are well demonstrated. The issue lies in the preservatives put in the immunizations.  Many pediatricians are now giving immunizations without mercury-containing preservatives or only a trace amount of mercury.  This is a radical change from years ago.  You may wish to ask your pediatrician or practitioner about this prior to having your child vaccinated. 

Knowing what foods contain high levels of mercury and monitoring their intake could also be very beneficial.  Please refer to the following websites for more information on this issue.

www.safeminds.org

www.drrapp.com