Comprehensive Treatment for ASD Children: A Logical Approach

By Dr. Homero Cavazos, DC, CCCN

Discovering Autism

Treating children on the autism spectrum, as well as other neuro-cognitive/neuro-biological disorders is some of the most complex, yet rewarding work I have ever had the privilege of being a part of. As with many other providers who have devoted their professional careers to helping this special, ever-growing group of children, I was pulled into the world of autism when it touched the life of someone close to me. My neighbor and close friend’s son was diagnosed with autism. The family found themselves with a mixture of emotions and without a clear direction. I had recently attended my first Defeat Autism Now conference and I found myself driven to do everything in my power to help my friend’s son, who was 3-years old at the time, non-verbal, had no eye-contact, and was non-responsive to verbal communication.

After making dietary modifications and starting biomedical intervention, this little boy started talking within 3 months of starting his treatment. Slowly, he gained eye contact, became responsive to verbal communication, and is currently attending peer-level classes. I will never forget receiving a phone call from my friend on a Sunday night at about 9 o’clock, telling me that his once, non-verbal son had just recited the entire “Lords Prayer”, by himself. (This was, about a year into treatment.)

Now that I see hundreds of children on the spectrum, I still receive emails and phone calls of remarkable successes, but I also have many phone calls and emails that pertain to bumps-in-the-road. Every child is unique; there is no magical protocol, which all children will benefit from; therefore, we tailor each treatment plan based on clinical and laboratory findings of each, individual child.

There have been many great individuals such as Dr. Bernard Rimland, Dr. Jon Pangborn, Dr. Jeff Bradstreet, Dr. Amy Yasko, Dr. Sidney Baker, and many others who have stepped outside of the box, pushed research, and have helped educate many providers, like myself, in order for us to help children through their journey to recovery.

About Myself and Our Office

I graduated from Texas A&M University in 1999; I received my doctor of chiropractic degree, specializing in chiropractic clinical neurology (CCCN), from Parker College of Chiropractic. Chiropractic neurology is defined as the field of functional neurology that engages the internal and external environment of the individual in a structured and targeted approach to affect positive changes in the neuraxis and consequent physiology and behavior. I teach continuing education lectures through Parker College of Chiropractic on topics such as advanced laboratory analysis, functional biochemistry, and pediatric neurological rehabilitation.

BrainworX Pediatric Development Center is a multi-disciplinary practice, providing biomedical intervention, functional neurology/chiropractic care, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and nutritional services. I strongly believe children on the autism spectrum benefit greatly from having a team of providers all rowing in the same direction. With this in mind, we work very closely with our extended referral team of pediatricians, general practitioners, psychiatrists, other speech, occupational, ABA therapists, and homeopathy specialists.

At BrainworX, we have seen a greater response to speech, occupational, physical, and other active or cognitive therapies when a child’s biomedical needs are being addressed. Not all of our children utilize every one of our services; some children utilize our biomedical services and do their OT/PT/speech closer to home. Other children utilize our speech, or other active therapies, and use another doctor for their biomedical needs. It’s all about providers sharing information and doing our part (whichever it may be) to help each individual child move forward decreasing their autism symptoms and increasing their functioning capacity.

Autism, As We See It

Currently the medical community defines autism as a psychiatric disorder. The DSM-IV criteria for autism diagnosis includes impaired social interaction, impaired communication, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. In my opinion, I believe autism is a neurobiological disorder with far-reaching implications affecting sensory, motor, cognitive, and autonomic nervous system function. Some of our children have the majority of their problems in one of the following main categories, (Metabolic – Gastrointestinal – Neurological – Immunological). The majority of our patients usually fall in the overlap of these areas, as one problem usually leads to another. ie : GI problems can lead to neurologic dysfunction via the gut-brain axis of pathology [Reichelt, 2009].

The following is a table of biomarkers comparing neuro-typical & ASD children. This table identifies important biomarkers indicating deficiencies or problems in areas such as methylation, sulfuration, and/or detoxification. This study concluded an increased vulnerability to oxidative stress and a decreased capacity for methylation may contribute to the development and clinical manifestation of autism [James, 2004]. Indentifying biomarkers such as these in your child is beneficial and will help your provider create an effective treatment plan to address these vulnerabilities.

Metabolic biomarkers of increased oxidative stress and impaired methylation capacity in children with autism [James, 2004].

Many of the abnormal biomarkers, seen in the table above, may be due to genetic polymorphisms. Many children with detoxification or methylation impairment have polymorphisms in these pathways. Common polymorphisms include:

• MTHFR: Methylene- tetrahydrofolate reductase helps pull homocysteine into the methylation cycle. Supplementing with multiple forms of B-12 along with folinic acid can help bypass this mutation and restore methylation function. [Laan 2001].
• COMT: Catechol-O-methyltransferase helps break down dopamine and nor epinephrine. Imbalances in dopamine and nor epinephrine levels have been implicated in hyperactive behavior and conditions such as ADHD, as well as abnormal pain tolerances. Children with COMT (+ +), also known as a homozygous mutation in the COMT gene, may want to avoid methyl group producing supplementation such as Methyl B-12, Theanine, SAMe, and DMG. If your child expresses an increase in hyperactivity, stimming, or irritability after methyl B-12 supplementation, try the alternate forms of B-12 such as cyanocobalamin, or hydroxycobalamin. These are just two examples of genetic polymorphisms. The genetic analysis utilized in our office evaluates 30 different enzymatic gene mutations.

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