Chiropractic Care in Individuals with Autism

Read Part 1 here

Dr. Sydney Mitton at Willow Wellness and Chiropractic Care of Doylestown in Doylestown, PA grew up understanding that alternative and complementary care was beneficial when healing the whole body. She credits her parents as having a huge role in her profession—they started her on the path when she received chiropractic care beginning at the age of 6. When we initially discussed the potential benefits of chiropractic care for my son’s overall immunity issues, Dr. Sydney also helped me understand benefits she saw for the Autism (ASD) Community through her studies and practice.

Four years ago, Dr. Sydney was nearing the end of her schooling to become a licensed chiropractor. At this time, she worked on a collaborative thesis on how chiropractic care was beneficial as a complementary intervention for individuals with autism. 

“I knew that I wanted to [treat] families and family care, but definitely more in the pediatric and pregnancy realm,” she said. “I think at that time, we were seeing changes in how Autism was actually starting to become more diagnosed…I wanted to do a study and research to understand how we (chiropractors) could help individuals who were on the spectrum.” 

The shared goal of the studies for the thesis focused on how these future chiropractors could help individuals with autism regulate in a more effective way.

How can chiropractic care help with regulation in individuals with ASD?

With 1 in 36 individuals being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Dr. Sydney strives to be as prepared as possible to help her patients as they navigate common health struggles associated with ASD. For example, gastrointestinal issues, sleep disorders, anxiety, and ADHD frequently coincide with individuals with ASD. “You have to treat these things individually but they also do tie together.” 

The importance of the Vagus Nerve

The Vagus Nerve is a current hot topic in the chiropractic world and is becoming more mainstream thanks to exposure on social media and through educational articles.

“The Vagus Nerve is a cranial nerve,” Dr. Sydney said. “It is one of the longest nerves in the body and travels from the brainstem to the gut. It is a bidirectional nerve. It is going to perceive and regulate not only the brain but also the gut.” 

This nerve not only allows your body to go into a calmer state when activated, but also shows the connection between the brain and the gut. Massage, and even activities like singing in the shower, provide stimulation to the Vagus Nerve. This leads to calm within the nervous system and helps to improve overall gut health and regulate how our nervous system perceives the world emotionally, physically, and sensorially. Gentle cranial and cervical adjustments in chiropractic care also help to stimulate the Vagus Nerve, thus providing balance within the nervous system and better regulation for those with ASD and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). 

Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic Systems

“Perceived stress” is a common term that Dr. Sydney used throughout our conversation. She references perceived stress as how our nervous system responds to stressors, or events, in our life. For example, chiropractic studies have shown that perceived stress during pregnancy and childbirth causes difficulties that are present immediately in childhood. Dr. Sydney points out that perceived stress goes right back to regulating the nervous system.

Chiropractic care centers around regulating the nervous system. 

“When your nervous system is haywire, you are not going to sleep well, you’re not going to have proper digestion, you’re not going to have great regulation of emotion, because you’re perceived stress is too dysregulated,” she said. “When your body is in a ‘fight or flight’ response, you can not sleep, you can not digest, you can not rest.” 

Chiropractic provides regulation to the nervous system in order to balance these areas and create a more regulated experience in our world. Certain parts of the spine target these different fight or flight responses in the nervous system. Dr. Sydney explains, the sympathetic (“fight or flight”) and the parasympathetic (rest and digest) systems need to be balanced within the body. Chiropractic studies have shown that neurological disorders, such as ASD, show a lack of balance within the sympathetic system and the parasympathetic system within the nervous system. Often, people with ASD are stuck in a “fight or flight” response, which leads to larger moments of dysregulation within the body. Therefore, when these systems are balanced, common ailments affecting those with ASD show dissipation and improvement.

Chiropractic and proprioceptive senses

Chiropractic also targets the regulation of proprioceptive senses (our body’s position in reference to the things that are around us) and vestibular senses (our internal balance) within the body, which are often difficult with individuals with ASD or Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Occupational Therapy is an intervention used to target the dysregulation of the proprioceptive and vestibular senses, but chiropractic can too. 

Dr. Sydney hopes that chiropractic soon becomes another form of therapy/intervention that will be used by many individuals with ASD in order to help provide coping skills and improve overall quality of life. While Dr. Sydney recognizes that chiropractic is somewhat “new,” she encourages those who are receiving chiropractic care to share their experiences. Those who are open to this form of care could take the leap and try it out based on just one recommendation. 

Chiropractic’s impact on my family

In the few months that my son, and now my daughter, have received chiropractic care, I have seen the benefits. My children have an overall stronger immunity compared with family and friends of the same age, not to mention zero EAR INFECTIONS since they started treatment. Digestion has improved for both of my children, which has an overall positive effect on regulation. Throughout the months that my son has been seeing Dr. Sydney, I have also noticed better emotional regulation, as well as his openness to try different coping skills during times of overstimulation.

If you are considering chiropractic care for Autistic Individuals, speak with your child’s care team and be willing to learn something new that could be helpful later on!