My son is almost 3 and since his diagnosis at 2 he's been on a gluten/dairy free diet and takes children's DHA supplement everyday. We double the recommended dose of the DHA. His behaviors for the most part are those of any normal 2/3 year old being frustrated because he can't communicate with us. I know nothing of Bio med, but we get most of my sons food from Whole Foods - mac n cheese, pizza, fish sticks, chicken nuggets, broccoli bites etc. They are great

I have no problem with giving a child supplements or vitamins because if they are a picky eater they are most likely not getting what they need, however if you have a self Injourous child with aggression not vitamin, mineral or diet change is going to help.

Most often the aggression is caused by lack of communication or coping skills that only therapy is going to help. Then you would add meds to take the edge off. People may disagree with this but spending a lot of money on things that do not work and wasting time while you could be helping is not good either

Despite the testing, ultimately biomed is the same as med - a lot of trial and error. The double blind studies may find efficacy (more controlled studies on certain supplements / approaches such as melatonin than meds prescribed by a psychiatrist who is also just doing trial and error) but unfortunately, no clear bio-markers to identify which subset of kid it might help. For example IVIG/steroids help 10% of kids but no definitive test - that is risky / expensive so it is not an approach taken as trial and error. mB12 may help as much as third of the kids but again no bio marker but given safe and inexpensive, almost all DANs would try this first. If your child has a mito dysfunction or seizures, this should absolutely be addressed and DAN is more likely to refer to other specialist after preliminary testing. If you have genetic and metabolic causes that can be tested and addressed, it makes sense to address these. For example SLOS is a one form of ASD can be significantly reduced by just supplementing cholesterol. Our son doesn't have SLOS but his cholesterol is similar to kids with SLOS (extremely low) - so we supplement cholesterol and see efficacy from it. There are at least half a dozen other types of autism which can be tested and alleviated with medical and biomed approaches. The challenge is no standard of care other than refer to ABA and hope for the best. The DAN approach to standardize approaches / protocols haven't been successful either and hopefully MAPS approach is better. As with everything, I wouldn't just bet on a single approach whether ABA or biomed or some other intervention. Each child is unique and may respond differently.

First thing that I would recommend is read a couple of introductory biomed books such as "the autism book" by dr sears. We borrowed it from the library. You don't need to see a DAN doctor just to do trial of diet and supplements. One can always see a naturopath familiar with DAN protocols as that is much cheaper and can order basic tests and prescribe Mb12 shots as well. But after the basics, one does ultimately need to see a DAN for more advanced testing and approaches that require prescription meds. Ideally find one that takes insurance. As for costs, that is up to you. Can do all of the testing at once or over time and who you consult with. I think minimum would be $2K a year. There are lots of boards as well such as autismweb for specific advice / suggestions and research.

We had thousands of dollars in testing done and it provided no answers or solutions. If you need your child to be on meds a neurologist and a psychiatrist are the way to go. Homeopathic treatments work sometimes but only for certain things. No severely autistic child is going to benefit much from anything other than proven therapies and a lot of time.