Tag Archives: autistic

Let's start with two quick stories about autistic children.

A local pediatrician brought her 10 year old daughter to see me who is autistic. After a few visits in my office she said that her daughter began to walk up and down the stairs using alternating legs. She said that before this she would walk up and down and ‘match’ her legs together on one step before going up or down to the next one.

The second story:

A woman brought her 8 year old SON to see me with Autism. He had a lot of stemming and every time I touched him, no matter how softly, he said “Ow”. The mother asked if his son was really feeling discomfort. I said that is completely subjective and he could very well be feeling pain, somewhat like someone with fibromyalgia. After several treatments, his sensory responses calmed significantly and he no longer jumped, twitched or said, “Ow."

Thoughts on treating autism:

Did you know that every autistic child I examine all present with a right cortical deficit?  This means that the pathways in certain parts of the right brain are not as strong as those on the left.  This eventually results in processing issues on both sides of the brain.  Oftentimes, children with autism also will eventually have OCD or ADHD.  Which part of the right brain is affected?  It is different in each child.  It could be the frontal cortex, parietal cortex, the mid brain, the brain stem..............that's what the exam tells me.

 

Great things have been happening in the world of chiropractic neurology. I have been treating an autistic girl every week. When I shine light into her medial right pupil, it does not constrict. A few weeks ago after treatment, I noticed that both of her pupils were constricted. The change lasted until the following treatment! I spoke with her father this weekend. He said that in the past couple of weeks, when they go for their daily walk, she no longer holds her head down. Not only is she walking with her head up (probably because she's not as sensitive to light), but also her gait is improved. Also, the previous night, she got up and got a glass and filled it with water, drank it, and turned the water off. She had never before done these things. He told me that in the past if she was thirsty in the middle of the night, she would come in their bedroom and proclaim, "I need water." Bravo for the cortex!

Dr. Merry