Chiroblog

Children who receive an autism diagnosis can have very different strengths, challenges, sensory experiences, communication styles, motor abilities, medical histories, and support needs. When we look at autism as one thing, we risk overlooking the unique factors that may be influencing each child’s development and daily function. Some kiddos with autism are minimally speaking or unreliably speaking and need significant daily help.  Others with autism are very high functioning and excel at school.  That makes the autism diagnosis very confusing, because it is not one presentation. 

For parents bringing their child with autism to a pediatric chiropractor, this perspective is especially important. Rather than focusing only on a diagnosis, a child-centered approach looks at the whole person. Some children may struggle more with sensory processing, others with motor planning, body awareness, sleep, regulation, coordination, or tension throughout the nervous system. Understanding these individual differences can help brain-based pediatric chiropractors create care plans that are tailored to the child's specific needs rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all model.

At our office, we recognize that every child with autism has a unique story and a unique nervous system. The goal is not to "treat autism", but to better understand the individual child standing in front of us. We are especially concerned with where the child is on what Dr Rubin calls the Polyvagal Scale.  Are they in ‘freeze mode’, where the child is less responsive to others?  That calls for a certain style of chiropractic adjustments.  Are they in ‘fight/flight mode’, tantruming or running around the office bumping into things and/or people?  That requires a completely different style of chiropractic care.  Or are they in ‘friend mode’, which allows us to work with them with another variety of chiropractic possibilities? 

By taking the time to listen to parents, evaluate each child's strengths and challenges, and support optimal nervous system function, we can work together to help children become more comfortable, connected, adaptable, and engaged with the world around them. This individualized way of thinking reflects the growing recognition that autism is a broad and diverse spectrum, not a single path shared by everyone.

The overall key is this: build trust.  Many children come to our office in overload.  They are stressed out by school, other health providers, multiple therapists. We must give them grace to be themselves, even if they are having a tantrum.  We create a judgment-free zone, where they get to be whoever they are right now in a place that allows them that freedom.  That is how we can eventually, over time, using the power of neuroplasticity, watch them calm down because their vagus nerve is finally in a place of regulation. 

References:

Dr. Dana Johnson’s excellent blog:

https://drdanajohnson.substack.com/p/autism-is-not-one-thing-it-has-never?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=5930063&post_id=216617846&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1zi7bu&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Dr Rubin's article on Polyvagal Theory and Autism   https://bit.ly/3UinHWu