Autism Treatment: A Functional Neurologic Approach.

Autism: Autism treatment a functional neurologic approach.

Is there one problem spot that can explain all the symptoms in ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders? In neurology the doctor always wants to localize the lesion (where is the problem.) This can be longitudinally (up or down) or laterally (side to side). Most of these children have sensory motor issues. That is, most have difficulty with proximal muscles (posture and coordination). Most have either an increase or decrease in sensation ( touch, sound, smell, taste, light). The doctor’s must work from the outside in. Is the problem in the receptors, peripheral nerve, spinal cord, brainstem, cerebellum, basal ganglia, thalamus, or cortex? Studies show areas such as the cortex, basal ganglia, cerebellum and amygala are typically involved. In these conditions we must determine if it is a right sided or left sided brain problem. The brain usually has specialized functions in the right and left hemisphere. Typically Autism Spectrum Disorder kids have a right brain deficiency.

“Let’s look at functions associated with the right hemisphere”.

NORMAL FUNCTIONS:
• Right Hemispheren • Nonverbal communication, math, reasoning, reading comprehension, spatial, attentio
• Control impulsive behavior, feeling your own body, proprioceptio
• Seeing the big picture (Global Coherence)
• Facial recognitio
• Social skillsn • Withdrawal behavior, stuck in any activity, may also control fear and anxietyn • Immune suppressio
• Low frequency sound and lightn • Gross motor, eyes, posture, big muscles rhythmnn“Now let’s look at symptoms associated with a deficient right hemisphere”.

RIGHT HEMISPHERE UNDER ACTIVATION CAN CAUSE:
• Poor spatial orientatio
• Inappropriate social behavio
• Miss the big picturen • Can not reflect on own mental processesn • Poor nonverbal communication skillsn • Poor attention
• Impulsivityn • Perseverative behavior and movementsn • Poor reading comprehension and pragmatic skillsn • Over active immune response (autoimmunity)
• Poor gross motor skills and developmentn • Poor math reasoningn • Anxiety

Things such as delayed speech can be a right or left hemisphere problem. Specificity is always the key. Even if it is a right cortex problem we need to determine if it is in the parietal lobe, temporal lobe etc. of the brain. Is there a dorsal or ventral stream problem? We can not just play the odds of a right brain or cerebellum issue because just as we can stimulate the correct area we can stimulate the incorrect area and worsen or inhibit the area we want to stimulate. Again specificity is the key. The best part of this approach is that it is drugless. Therefore you don’t have to deal with the side effects. The most common drugs prescribed for these conditions are methylphenidate. Let’s look at the side effects according to Drugs.com

SIDE EFFECTS OF METHYLPHENIDATE:
• Fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeatsn • Feeling like you might pass outn • Fever, sore throat, headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rashn • Aggression, restlessness, hallucinations, unusual behavior, or motor tics (muscle twitches)
• Easy bruising, purple spots on your ski
• Dangerously high blood pressure (severe headache, blurred vision, buzzing in your ears, anxiety, confusion, chest pain, shortness of breath, uneven heartbeats, seizure)
• Less serous Concerta side effects may include:
• Stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetiten • Vision problemsn • Swearing, mild skin rashn • Dizzinessn • Nervous feeling, sleep problems (insomnia)
• Weigh loss

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effects.

Our approach looks to balance brain activity so you can return to your pediatrician and reduce or eliminate these medications when appropriate.