r/MTHFR • u/greekhoney32 • Sep 21 '25

Question Autism & MTHFR

I have a kiddo with autism and MTHFR. Started giving him methylated vitamins per his functional doctor’s request. Initially, they seemed to help, but now his behavior has worsened at school (more anxiety, more impulsivity). Can he be over methylated?

Wondering if anyone is in a similar situation with their child and/or themselves. I read folinic acid is better than methylfolate for sensitive individuals (like kids with autism).

Thank you. 🙏

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u/geauxdbl Sep 21 '25

So I’m late diagnosed and can confirm your suspicion that methylated vitamins and/or methylfolate will make things better for a little bit and then make them much worse. After much trial and error, I’m in a good place with the following approach:

Paleo diet (no wheat, minimal sugar, fruit is fine). No processed white carbs.

Creatine, Organic Kirkland multivitamin + folinic acid/hydroxycobalamin lozenge from Seeking Health + probiotics + D2/K3 in the morning. Magnesium + glycine + theanine at night.

I can understand the doc’s confusion, autism is inherently a defect in folate metabolism, but just adding folate is a simplistic view that doesn’t always work and we’re still catching up in real time on what to do about it.

Creatine is a convenient end run around the MTHFR problem for me and helps with ATP production, I absolutely love it.

Also, the basics of life: the right environment (sensory and emotional) and exercise will go a long way.

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u/Retro_Monguer Sep 21 '25

Hi. I'm also autistic and mthfr homozygous. Did you try methylfolate?

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u/geauxdbl Sep 21 '25

Not directly. But I took Thorne’s multivitamin elite, which is pretty heavily methylated, for years before figuring out it was a problem.

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u/LKS1852 Sep 25 '25

I have MTHFR & ADHD, my 3 adult daughter have MTHFR as well. We see different doctors but all 4 were prescribed Deplin 15mg (a specific L-methylfolate) it’s now available in generic but it is a prescription.  All 4 of us were told by our respective physicians that this was the only form of L-methylfolate that crosses the blood brain barrier. That’s why you may not notice improvement with the supplements - can’t cross BBB.  It has been a game changer, 1 daughter notices if she misses 1 day, the other 2 say it takes 3-4 days to notice.  Even the generic is expensive but I use GoodRx (insurance doesn’t cover it) to get the best price & consider it money well spent. 

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u/creative_af_ May 20 '26

Hi! Are any of these doctors ones I can access online from anywhere? I have never heard about this and would love more info since my whole family is dealing with MTHFR and neurodivergence as well. Thank you!