Our 11 year old son Jacob has been diagnosed with medically intractable epilepsy. (Complex Partials) He has been having seizures for about three years and is now 11 years old. We have been on three different medications starting with Lamical, Trileptal and now a Keppra /Dilantin combo without sucess.

Many parents report remarkable changes in their child with special needs, after starting supplements.  Often times, this is one piece of a larger intervention including dietary changes. However, many begin the process by adding vitamins to their child's diet. In particular, Vitamin C seems to provide substantial benefit to the vast majority of those that try it.

Hollywood star Meryl Streep was so moved by the Abrahams’ story that she decided to become involved in the fight to inform parents about the ketogenic diet.  She narrates and introduces the information video made by the Charlie Foundation which is available to parents across the world. 

Streep was close friends with movie director Jim Abrahams, who asked for her help to increase awareness of the ketogenic diet as a treatment for childhood epilepsy.  His son Charlie was successfully prescribed the diet and after a few days his seizures ceased completely.

Addressing the International Symposium on Dietary Therapy for Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders, mother and doctor Deborah Snyder reveals her first-hand experience of the ketogenic diet and its success in curing her son’s epilepsy.  She implores health professionals to recognise the efficacy of the diet in stopping seizures and aims to dispel the myth that the diet is too difficult or not worth the effort.

Doctor’s have a huge amount of power over the degree of information they choose to give parents. Some may argue that they can only give what is appropriate and to overload a parent with information causes more harm than good.

The idea of beginning a gluten free diet can be overwhelming.  I must admit my oldest child became gluten and casein free after being diagnosed with several food allergies, not because I chose to use this diet as a treatment for autism.

A complimentary follow-up to her previous podcasts about the ketogenic diet, Arlene Martell, founder of EpilepsyMoms.com, discusses the common concern that implementing the diet is “too much work” or is “too hard on parents and the child”. She welcomes guest, Dr. Deborah Snyder, author of “Keto Kid: Helping Your Child Succeed on the Ketogenic Diet”.  Although both women would admit that there is indeed dedication involved with properly following the diet, the myth that it is too hard to follow is one that they hope to dispel.

Epilepsy experts and paediatric neurologists from around the world believe the ketogenic diet should be used more regularly as a treatment plan instead of a last resort. 

Speaking at the 2008 International Symposium on Dietary Therapy for Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders, British Mum Emma Williams tells of her fight to get son Matthew on the ketogenic diet.  In an address that brought tears to the eyes of not only this brave Mum but many in the audience, she speaks of her rage at doctors refusal to take the ketogenic diet seriously and the subsequent brain damage her little boy suffered due to constant seizures.