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Medical Articles
There are many co-occurring medical conditions common to autism. Finding and treating underlying medical issues can improve health and thereby, behavior, communication, and socialization. Combining medical treatment with targeted therapy provides the best outcome for your child.
Beginning Medical Intervention
Underlying Medical Issues in Autism
Behavior is communication. Sometimes our kids with autism are communicating their medical issues to us through their behavior. Figuring out underlying medical causes requires patience, ...
Finding a Doctor
Finding a qualified and experienced doctor, though challenging, can make all the difference in your child’s health and future. Therefore, in this article, we offer ...
Maximizing Time With Your Child’s Doctor
After you've carefully chosen a doctor and made an appointment, you may be wondering how to maximizing time with your child's doctor. This article will provide ideas ...
Lab Testing for Common Co-occurring Medical Issues in Autism
Lab testing is important because it helps doctors identify underlying medical issues as well as determine the best course for treatment. In this article, we ...
Introduction to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free, Soy-Free Diet
The gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free (GFCFSF) diet removes all sources of gluten, casein, and soy from the diet. The word “diet” is really a misnomer because ...
Top Reasons to Implement a GFCF Diet
Why does my child need a Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet? There are several reasons why parents should consider a gluten-free, casein-free diet for their child with ...
Diagnostic Criteria for ASD
Only a well-qualified, trained medical professional can issue an autism diagnosis. When determining whether or not a person has autism, professionals look to see if ...
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Standard of Care for Autism
Identification, Evaluation, and Management of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Susan L. Hyman, MD, FAAP, Susan E. Levy, MD, MPH, FAAP, Scott M. Myers, MD, ...
An Introduction to Medical Interventions for Autism
Medical interventions for autism can greatly improve your child’s outcome and quality of life. In this article, we will discuss: Why it’s important to consider a ...
I Think My Child May Have Autism: How to Get a Diagnosis
If you think your child has autism or your child is showing signs or symptoms of autism, it is important to have them screened. The sooner your ...
Autism Treatment Methods
Autism is a complex disorder that may require more than one healing modality to achieve optimal health. There are numerous treatment methods that work in ...
Autism Treatment on a Budget
We understand that treating autism is extremely expensive. In this article, we will cover budget-friendly tips to treat autism. This article will cover these topics: ...
Common Medical Issues
Medical Causes of Aggression in Autism
Several underlying medical issues, common to autism, can cause or contribute to aggressive behavior. However, when these medical issues are properly treated, challenging behaviors may ...
Anxiety in Autism
Anxiety is very common in autism. A meta-analysis showed that almost 40% of kids with autism have at least one comorbid anxiety disorder. This article will discuss symptoms, ...
Cerebral Folate Deficiency in Autism
Folate (vitamin B9) is very important to brain development. Current research is revealing that many kids with autism have low folate in their brains. This ...
Constipation and Diarrhea in Autism (The Poop Page)
Autism and gastrointestinal problems go hand-in-hand for many kids. To demonstrate, a meta-analysis of several studies published by the Journal of Pediatrics estimates that “the odds ...
Complex Gastrointestinal Issues in Autism
Complex gastrointestinal issues in autism require more complex action. When your child is still suffering despite dietary intervention, supplementation, and remedies mentioned in the Constipation and ...
Detoxification and Autism
At first glance, many would think that autism and detoxication have nothing to do with one another. However, it has been shown that kids with autism ...
Glutamate
Symptoms we often associate with autism—such as anxiety, tics, and inattention—can be caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain, specifically glutamate and GABA. ...
Lyme and Autism
Written byDarin Ingels, ND Common Symptomatology Between Lyme and Autism When speaking with children who are chronically ill, it can be difficult to understand what ...
Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Autism: Testing & Treatments
Written bySuzanne Goh, MD One of the most exciting areas of research in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is in the role of mitochondrial function. Research studies ...
PANDAS/PANS and Autism
Written byNancy Hofreuter O'Hara, MD, MPH, FAAP Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders associated with Streptococcal Infections, or PANDAS, is a common autoimmune disorder with far-reaching movement, ...
Picky Eating and Autism
Kids with autism can be extremely selective when it comes to eating. An estimated 46–89% of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have feeding problems. ASD children ...
Seizures
Written by:Richard Frye, MD Written by:Suzanne Goh, MD Written by:Rishi Malla, MD, MSc Seizures are a significant concern in autism because of their high prevalence ...
Sleep Issues in ASD
Studies show that 53% percent of children with autism have at least one frequent sleep problem. Unfortunately, typical treatments are often short-lived as they don’t always deal ...
Medical Causes of Speech Issues in Autism
This article provides information about medical causes for speech issues in autism as well as treatment options. Please note: There are two approaches to addressing ...
Yeast Overgrowth in Autism
Yeast overgrowth is a medical issue common to autism that can cause sleep disturbances, sensory issues, hyperactivity, picky eating, stimming, and more. Even more concerning, ...
Mast Cells and Autism
A mast cell is a type of white blood cell that is found in connective tissues all over the body, including under the skin, near ...
Autism – More Than Genetics
Genetics is a complex science that is constantly evolving. Researchers continue to study the relationship between genetics and autism spectrum disorders. However, what does this ...
Mold and Mycotoxins
Mold exposure can be a contributing factor to autism in some kids. This exposure can cause health concerns including allergy symptoms, fatigue, brain fog or more ...
Methyl B12 for Autism
Research has shown that Methyl B12, also known as methylcobalamin, can help relieve symptoms of autism. In the body, B12 assists with detoxification because it is ...
Hormone Regulation in Autism
When examining the behavioral symptoms of autism, it is important to consider all possible co-occurring medical conditions. Hormone regulation plays a critical part in overall ...
Excess Ammonia in Autism
Ammonia is toxic to the human body. In fact, elevated ammonia in the body can cause brain fog, difficulty thinking, strange behaviors, or even a ...
Primitive Reflex Integration
Retained primitive reflexes can keep a child from reaching their full potential. Primitive reflex integration done with daily exercises can improve core autism symptoms. Therefore, if ...
Brain Health in Autism
Supporting brain health is important for everyone but especially our kids with autism. Research has shown that people with autism have unstable vessels in the brain which ...
Immune Dysfunction in Autism
The body's immune system defends against infection and protects its own cells. However, research has shown that the immune system is not working properly in ...
Pica in Autism
Pica is the persistent eating or chewing of items that are not typically thought of as food and that do not contain significant nutritional value. ...
The Gut-Brain Connection
There is good reason the gut is referred to as a person’s second brain. Over 70% of our immune system resides in the gut. Additionally, recent studies show ...
Nutritional Deficiencies in Autism
There are numerous circumstances in which our kids diagnosed with autism have nutritional deficiencies. This can be due to restricted eating habits, malabsorption issues in ...
High-Impact Medical Interventions for Autism
There are medical treatments that are specifically impactful when treating autism symptoms, thus improving your child's quality of life. Using these interventions can help improve behaviors ...
Effective Management of Sensory Processing Disorder in Autism
Let's explore a range of therapeutic and medical interventions tailored to meet the unique needs of individuals facing sensory challenges. Understanding and treating SPD in ...
Cholesterol Abnormalities in Autism
The link between autism and cholesterol abnormalities underscores the importance of testing for and treating cholesterol problems. After all, cholesterol is needed to make sex ...
The Cell Danger Response in Autism
The cell danger response (CDR) is a chronic stress response that occurs on a cellular level involving the mitochondria. Mitochondria are responsible for producing ATP, or ...
Nervous System Dysregulation in Autism
When a child is stuck in fight or flight mode, they cannot rest, digest, or heal. As a parent of a child with autism, you're probably ...
Leucovorin for Autism
Leucovorin is best known for treating cancer patients to protect them against chemotherapy and methotrexate toxicity. However, in autism, Leucovorin is used to treat low folate ...
Additional Medical Topics
Puberty
Puberty can be daunting for any teen. Physical changes, rapidly changing hormones, new routines for hygiene, and mood swings place added stress onto our teens ...
Avoiding Toxins
Accumulating evidence establishes a clear link between exposure to pollutants and chemicals with cognitive, motor, and sensory impairments. Scientists believe this is due to epigenetics, where environmental ...
Maximizing Time With Your Child’s Doctor
After you've carefully chosen a doctor and made an appointment, you may be wondering how to maximizing time with your child's doctor. This article will provide ideas ...
Sickness: Prevention and Treatment Options
Fall and winter bring colds, coughs, flu and gastrointestinal bugs. All undesirable illnesses that we diligently try to escape. Considering our kids with autism may ...
Anesthesia and the Autistic Child
If your child is about to have surgery or needs a particular diagnostic procedure, such as a GI scope, their medical team will need to ...
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Autism
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) has long been used for patients diagnosed with autism and other co-morbid medical issues. What is HBOT? Mild HBOT is a ...
Getting Kids to Take Vitamins and Medication
Kids with autism can be the pickiest eaters on the planet. As a result, this pickiness contributes to their vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Functional medicine doctors will ...
Supporting a Healthy Pregnancy
Research tells us that if you have one child with autism, you have a 8.4 times higher risk of having a second child diagnosed with autism. At ...
Tips for Successful Blood Draws
Blood draws are a necessary part of lab work that can help identify underlying medical needs in individuals with autism. While some labs can be ...
Navigating Specialist and Hospital Visits with Autism
Individuals diagnosed with autism need a pediatrician or primary care physician (PCP) and often require specialists such as GI doctors, Neurologists, Endocrinologists, Allergists, and more.Unfortunately, the ...
Research
Folic Acid and Pregnancy in the Prevention of Autism
Written byRichard Frye, MD, PhD Autism, as we know, affects a significant proportion of our children, and the prevalence continues to rise. Unfortunately, neither the ...
Autism Medical Research
This TACA article links recent medical research to topics related to autism. This is by no means a complete list of all the pertinent research. ...
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