When sIx-year-old Charlie first came to Brainstorm Health, he had limited, repetitive language and little ability to regulate his emotions. He struggled at school, and his family found his behaviours at home challenging. With a holistic approach, Kirsty guided Charlie and his family through his Brainstorm Health Programme, and a year on, Charlie is happy and thriving, with much-improved speech, social interaction and emotional regulation.
Hi Kirsty, Tell me a bit about your patient and the symptoms he first came to you with
Charlie is a six-year-old boy with an autism diagnosis. When Charlie’s family first started working with me, Charlie was making poor eye contact. He was speech delayed and was ‘scripting’ (repeating lines from films/TV). He struggled to regulate his emotions - he had frequent meltdowns and often made high-pitched screams. He was also a picky eater.
How were these symptoms impacting Charlie’s and his family’s lives?
Charlie’s symptoms were affecting both his school and his home life severely. With an older sibling and a new baby in the house, his mum was utterly stressed by his challenging behaviours.
What were your initial steps in helping them?
As a starting point, I recommended a strict gluten-free and dairy-free diet. This diet is usually temporary and helps to down-regulate inflammation. More often than not, it leads to a reduction in behavioural dysregulation and improved speech. Epsom salt baths were recommended for relaxation and to support liver function. Again, we often see a positive impact on behaviours and sleep with regular Epsom salts baths.
I recommended washing all vegetables and fruit in water and apple cider vinegar before eating. This helps remove chemicals, reducing the toxic load on the body and lowering oxidative stress and inflammation.
I started Charlie on specific remedies to open the detoxification pathways and regulate his nervous system. We introduced bioavailable magnesium glycinate for further nervous system and adrenal support and a food-based children’s multivitamin.
What lab tests did you do? What did the tests reveal, and how did that shape your therapeutic approach?
I ordered a full blood count with additional nutrient markers, stool and urine analysis, a KPU test, a hair toxic and essential minerals analysis, a food intolerance blood spot test and a genetic panel.
These tests revealed a high toxic load and compromised detoxification capacity. Charlie was deficient in nutrients, including minerals and essential fatty acids. He had high levels of oxidative stress, elevated pyrroles, amino acid imbalance, yeast overgrowth, and a significant immune response to some foods. The genetic test revealed predispositions to difficulties transporting and absorbing some essential nutrients and metabolising neurotransmitters, which directly influence mood and behaviour.
In the next phase of Charlie’s plan, we removed the foods in his diet that were triggering an immune response. We worked on healing his gut and further supported detoxification. We added supplements to replenish depleted nutrients, especially those essential for neurotransmitter metabolism and balance.
How long did it take before seeing positive changes in symptoms?
Within four months of Charlie’s first consultation, the feedback from his school was that he was playing with other children, showing empathy, trying to make conversation and using more words.
Charlie’s Mum reported that he was much happier and calmer, and his eye contact had increased. He was scripting much less and wanted to play with his older brother.
He was sleeping through the night and waking happy in the morning. He had stopped the high-pitched screaming.
After another four months, the improvements were even more significant:
The family had been away on holiday. Charlie had coped well, and the family noticed significant positive changes in him. From being a picky eater, he was now eating a large variety of foods, especially at breakfast time. Tantrums were much reduced, and he was managing his emotions better.
Charlie’s speech continued to improve. He was asking for more things at school, and he had moved from one-word responses to complex sentences, such as 'rain' to 'I think it's going to rain. We should go inside.’
Charlie’s Independence and compliance had also really improved. For example, he would no longer tantrum when asked to change into his school clothes.
How long have you been working together now?
I have worked with Charlie and his family for over a year.
What has been the most significant ‘breakthrough’ moment on Charlie’s journey?
Addressing Charlie’s overall gut health and dealing with yeast overgrowth was pivotal. When I received this comment from his Mum, I knew we had turned a corner: ‘When we go out to the supermarket now, Charlie is just like a regular boy, and we can enjoy the experience.’
How is Charlie doing now?
Charlie continues to do well. When circumstances didn’t allow the family to stick to this plan, he started to show sensitivities to a number of foods and increased screen time which affected his behaviour. He is back on track and looking forward to another fun summer abroad with his family.
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*Names have been changed to protect the patient's identity
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