Chiropractic Care in Autistic Individuals 

Part One

More and more, people are looking for unique and practical ways to manage the symptoms of everyday life—stress, anxiety, aches and pains, GI issues, sinus problems, and more. One popular option has been chiropractic, which is “a licensed healthcare profession that emphasizes the body’s ability to heal itself. Treatment typically involves manual therapy, often including spinal manipulation.”

I began going to my chiropractor, Dr. Sydney Mitton at Willow Wellness and Chiropractic Care of Doylestown, after having my second child. I was experiencing intense back pain, TMJ, and even numbness in certain areas of my body. After getting into a routine of adjustments, my ailments improved a great deal and were no longer affecting my everyday life. (To be honest, I did not think chiropractic was going to improve my symptoms as much as it did. But, I even observed that it began to aid my other treatments in managing my anxiety through the early days of postpartum.)

The more I noticed how regulated my body was, and the changes that came about, the more I wondered if chiropractic would be beneficial in helping my son. As I got to know Dr. Sydney through the months (and now years), we started discussing her training in pediatric chiropractic care and the benefits for children, especially in regards to those on the Autism Spectrum. It turns out that Dr. Sydney wrote her thesis on chiropractic care in autistic individuals and was a wealth of knowledge for me and my family. I love when it’s clear that certain people are meant to be in our lives, and I found this in Dr. Sydney. 

Over the last year, my children have been constantly sick with something. (The post-COVID era seems to be categorized by an increase in both common and uncommon illnesses.) I feel like every other week, both of my kids had fevers, runny noses, a wicked cough, and ear infections. SO MANY EAR INFECTIONS! It also got to the point where common antibiotics were not working as effectively for either of my children when it came to treating ear infections.

In fact, ear infections are a frequent topic of conversation within the autism community. Various research from The National Library of Medicine and Neuroscience News show evidence that ENT problems seem to be more common in autistic individuals. So after both of my children’s 4th (yep, 4th) ear infection of the school year, I spoke with Dr. Sydney about my concern for ear issues in my autistic son, as well as my neurotypical daughter. 

While ear tubes are extremely common treatments in both neurotypical and autistic individuals, I wanted to see if there was an alternative to surgery that could help with both of my children’s ear issues. Dr. Sydney explained that misalignment can result in  the inability for our ears to drain, thus causing fluid build up and frequent ear infections. 

Dr. Sydney’s advice was for my children to come in for a consultation to see if she could help with the frequency of ear infections, and if they would be receptive and comfortable enough to receive chiropractic treatment. My daughter is very “go with the flow,” so I knew that she would most likely be excited about doing something new (and she was). Whereas, I was concerned that my son would not be receptive to this treatment.

As parents of children with autism know, touch is often avoided, especially with people who are not extremely close to the child. Dr. Sydney showed her understanding of my son’s needs with the best outlook. “Let’s see what happens. I will follow his lead and if it’s not something that works, I can help you find something that will.” She allowed my son to come observe my own chiropractic adjustments and explained everything thoroughly to him. Preparation is key when new experiences come up, so this created a level of trust in Dr. Sydney before my son’s evaluation. He knew that this was a safe space for his mom and sister, and could be a safe space for him as well.

Dr. Sydney welcomed my son with open arms and met him where he was. She created a no-pressure environment, always making sure she followed his lead. The first adjustment went extremely well, and my son even showed excitement when his appointments came around (and not just because of the lollipop he gets at the end of each session)! As a child who dislikes seeing any doctor and is extremely hesitant of new situations, I took this as a huge sign that this could be a positive, ongoing experience for him! 

At this point, my son has been receiving chiropractic care for 5 months, and my daughter has begun her own adjustments as well. The benefits that have come from Dr. Sydney’s treatments are insurmountable. We have observed:

• Zero ear infections during my son’s time in treatment (and the same since my daughter began her treatment)
• Decrease in ear pain
• General immunity health – less everyday runny noses and no illnesses, including common colds
• Improved GI and general gut health
• Improved sleep – longer hours of sleep and less overnight waking

Due to the positive changes that I have seen with my son, I thought it would be beneficial to interview Dr. Sydney on her own research with chiropractic care and autism. That way, I can share information for anyone contemplating chiropractic as complementary care to their own child’s support team.

Read part 2 here to find out more about Dr. Sydney and her experiences with individuals with autism.

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health – Chiropractic definition in the first paragraph provided by the NCCIH