•
We are currently treating a six-year-old child whose chief complaint upon his first visit was lack of muscle tone, poor vision difficulty processing language. He also has some issues with focus and impulse control. Not all, but many of the techniques and treatments used in functional neurology and hemispheric integration therapy require patient cooperation. That is, many times the patient must mimic movements or patterns. Eye movements and exercises are also frequently used. That is to say that some of the techniques can be done to the patient or for the patient while others have to be done by the patient. This mom clearly loves her child and is trying to get the most out of the treatment sessions each and every time. Originally, the child was fascinated with fish. Therefore mom brought it stickers with fish on them and even created colorful fish drawings and cut outs in order to increase the child’s focus on the particular task at hand. After about an month of treatment the child suddenly switched from fish to dogs. The next day, mom came in with dog stickers as well as home made stickers of the child’s pet dog. This has made a great difference with this child attention and focus. The child is happier, I am happier, and mom is happier. I always say that no one knows your child as well as you do. No one knows when to be firm with the child and how firm to be like you do. And no one knows what will motivate the child like you do. These insider tips from mom and this collaborative effort only benefit the child and increase the chances of a better end result. This is something that as a doctor treating children with autism spectrum disorders is tremendously appreciated. From my point of view, nothing is more valuable than an involved and in tune parent.
•
Intestinal hyper permeability syndrome or as it is commonly known Leaky gut syndrome is something that is very commonly found in children on the autism spectrum. I have previously addressed how to tests for leaky gut syndrome and here I will briefly touch on one of the important components in treating a leaky gut syndrome. Dealing with leaky gut involves removing any dysbiosis (growth of bad bacteria,, parasites or yeast ) in the intestinal tract , controlling blood sugar levels, and taking specific supplementation to repair lining. Stress is a factor which can also influence your attempts to repair the lining of your gut. One of the most important parts of a program to repair intestinal hyper permeability is to remove irritants. This is done through the elimination diet. Here is a nice link giving you the basics of the elimination diet. This information is not from in autism web site but the basics of the diet are the same. http://www.curezone.org/faq/q.asp?a=4,99,699&q=54
•
Autism spectrum disorders affect every part of our being. It is our very children that are affected and what is there that is more precious to us than our children. It involves our entire lives. I have seen a lot of single moms in my office dealing with one or several children who are on the autism spectrum. I have seen parents that have been able to stay together dealing with one or more children on the autism spectrum. I am always in awe of those with children on the spectrum, how they cope and sometimes embrace with the situation. I find that parents with autistic children are a model for the rest of us and the definition of true unconditional love. Couples that have managed to stay together definitely have something that they could teach the rest of us. The statistics for divorce among parents with children on the autism spectrum are not encouraging. This is another aspect of life with a child with autism doesn’t seem to get enough attention. Yet, a divorce will affect the lives of the parents and the child, not just with regard to financial resources but clearly emotionally as well. Here is a post from a blog where they discuss some strategies for working together as a parental team.
http://autismisnottheboss.com/category/engaging-your-husband-spouse/
•
A major part of Hemispheric Integration Therapy and the functional neurology approach to the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders deals with the term “Functional Disconnect Syndrome.” A Functional Disconnect Syndrome is a situation where connections between neuronal pools do not work at a level synchronized enough for normal behavioral and executive function of the human brain to take place. This may result in difficulty with language, social skills and learning among others. Allow me to attempt to clarify that in plain English. The disconnect refers to different areas of the brain not being connected in the sense that the areas do not communicate well with each other. This suboptimal communication relates to the fact that “the wires are there, they just are not working well. That is to say, if the wires between brain circuits were cut, then we would have a physical disconnect syndrome as there would be a literal disconnection. In this case, the wire are there, connected but they are not functioning well. This under functioning causes poor communication between the areas as though there were some physical damage when in reality there is not. It is for this reason that if we perform an MRI of the brain of a patient with Autism Spectrum Disorder it seems relatively normal. That is, there is no tumor, infection or vascular accident for example present to explain the child’s symptoms. Think about it, if the child did have a tumor, then his diagnosis would be “brain tumor” or “mini stroke” not autism. You would have a concrete answer for his symptoms. Something that you could see and touch and get your hands around.
Read more »
•
In my office, we have several children that are in or approaching adolescence as well as some older adult children. Presently, our oldest adult child is thirty four. Once again I state that this subject of autism spectrum disorders is so broad and immense and touches us in so many different ways. It always seems the younger children get the attention and always seem to be the poster children. Often the adults tend to be forgotten. As one parent once told me ” Its hard to get treatment for adults. Many places won’t even accept them as patients. I think this is because they are harder to manage and are not cute.” We do accept adults with autism spectrum disorders. For this reason I found some basic information on a few web sites for those of you in this situation or approaching this situation to begin getting some help. I will write more on this subject at a later date.
http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/autism-and-adolescence.html
http://autism.about.com/od/transitioncollegejobs/a/steward.htm
•
Functional neurology and hemispheric integration therapy in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders at times uses a concept called the motor cognitive binding in the treatment of these children. This is based on the fact that balance and coordination are the number one comorbidity associated with these types of conditions. That is to say that the most common finding you see associated with autism spectrum disorders is a lack of coordination and difficulty with balance. If we look at the feed up system from the sensory receptors in the body to the brain we find out the motor system is a major input to brain stimulation. Proprioception, joint position sense and balance drive a considerable amount of electrical activity in the brain. One must know what position their body is in and where their body is in space in order to survive on this planet. Where your joints are, how fast your muscles or moving and where you are in relation to gravity are all important inputs that drive brain activity.
We know that the same pathways and circuits that smooth and coordinate movements also smooth and coordinate thoughts. This is the essence of motor cognitive binding. I like to tell people in my presentations, whether I am speaking to parents or professionals, that if you look at a child on the autism spectrum and observe how uncoordinated his movements are, this gives you a window into how uncoordinated their thoughts might be. The beauty of this concept is that it works backwards also. By smoothing and coordinating their movements ,we tend to smooth and coordinate their thoughts also. So we can use this as a window into the child’s mind in order to help him synchronized the timing and processing of sensory inputs and thoughts. This concept is partially responsible for some of the results of studies that one may read regarding the interactive metronome and improvements with regard to children with ADHD. Thus, any activity which improves coordination, rhythm, timing and targeting tend to be helpful in these cases.
This is a generality of course. Whether I am speaking to parents or professionals, I am always trying to make the point that specificity is the key with regard to helping these children. There are few generalities but each child tends to be different and unique with regard to his signs and symptoms. For this reason, when stimulating any sensory receptor in order to drive brain activity is imperative to be specific as you may inadvertently stimulate an area which can cause the child to regress or overstimulate that child and cause a regression also. Therefore, I always recommend before undertaking any type of activity involving a functional neurology approach that the patient consult with not only a doctor trained in functional neurology but also one that has experience dealing with children on the autism spectrum.
When dealing with children on the autism spectrum two common questions often come into play. They are “what does the child need to do to improve” and “what can the child do.” The second question at times can be further subdivided into “what the child can or cannot do and/or what will the child do.” Many times the children are capable of performing the exercises but are not willing to do so. This may be a matter of motivation and/or the child’s way of trying to maintain some control over the situation. Therefore, many times we use rewards in order to motivate the child to cooperate. I always say that the parents are the ones that know the child best and here is where they can be a great help. Thus, you have to find appropriate motivation for the particular child you are treating at the time. Also, the doctor must take into account that is the child advances and matures in thought. Therefore the same reward that motivated him in month one may not be enticing in month two. One particular reward that we like to use if possible with children is the Whac-a-mole game. We tend to use this toward the end of the treatment session or between activities which the child finds difficult. This game tends to be fun for the child and serves as a dual purpose of requiring some coordination, rhythm and timing. There are unlimited ways to stimulate various weakened pathways and circuits that are found in these children. The job of the doctor is to find out which path way needs to be stimulated, design a therapy to stimulate that pathway and then match it to the child’s level of function and behavior. We always like to make the therapy sessions fun so that the children do not dread coming in for therapy. This makes it pleasant for all involved. Below is a link to the Amazon site where the Whac-a-mole game can be purchased. Maybe you can use it to help motivate your child. Please remember that although this is a toy, if you’re using it for therapeutic purposes it is not a toy.
http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-40509-Whac-A-Mole-Game/dp/B0001GDP00
•
Many times I find gluten free recipes and the like on various sites related to gluten free diets or cooking but not specifically related to those on the autism spectrum. Here is a nice site with different post, options and information relating to children and celiac disease, gluten sensitive. Not specifically for autism spectrum kids but there are plenty of things you might pick up from this site. http://celiacchildren.com/rt-delightgfmag-get-back-issues-of-delight-for-a-limited-time-on-our-website-read-more-from-our-twitter-friends/
