Will Osteopathic Help Autism?

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Dear all,

My son is 2.5 years old, and having learning developmental delay issues, according to his ABA therapist, he always in his own world and have some focusing issue. I am not sure if he is autism, we sent him to hospital for assessment last year at his 16 months, as the therapist mentioned it is too early for diagnose. The second assessment will be on Sept this year.

He has attended pre-school early this year, and recently the pre school teacher shared with us there was a children in the school has similar focusing issue, and their parent brought him to Osteopathic Treatment, which the doctor will do some head massage to the child, and after 5 sessions, teacher saw the improvement on him.

I am considering if i should give it a try and like to ask everyone have experience on such treatment?

Thanks.
David

Osteopathy is a system of medical practice based on the idea that diseases are due chiefly to loss of structural integrity which can be restored by manipulation of the parts supplemented by therapeutic measures (as use of drugs or surgery).

First, Autism is not a disease; it is not communicable, and it cannot be cured.

Second, Osteopathy is little more than Chiropractic with a medical degree.

Third, any decent masseuse can make a person feel better (with or without the "happy ending"), but only if that person has no aversion to being touched.

I tried Osteopathy for a few years, gave up, and went back to using real doctors.

I'm a chiropractor. We do a lot of these alternative therapies. Its not exactly right to say that osteopaths are the same thing with a medical degree. We have different specialties. Most osteopaths don't do manipulation (massage, basically) anymore. So its interesting that you've found one that does.

First off, neither chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation cure autism. If someone tell you this, run away! They are part of a movement that is full of false treatments that may cause harm to your son.

Secondly, alternative methods can be used to relieve painful symptoms and make a person feel good. When your child is feeling good, he might be more available for learning. It's an individual choice for your family. I know you are making a lot of choices about where to put your resources. Osteopathic help should not come before the basic necessities of life, or before making sure your kid has OT, for example. But it does have value and you might want to think about it.

The manipulation of your friend's son's head sounds like cranial-sacral therapy. And yes, that does feel good. And it is calming. And its pretty much risk free - they aren't going to harm your child. I need to repeat though, this isn't going to cure your child's autism. Calmer is good, but it doesn't mean the child isn't autistic.

Often some osteopaths and chiropractors will try to fill your child's body with lots of supplements in the name of increasing his brain power. Please don't go along with this. This is more likely than not to cause long term problems. On the other hand, one or two well placed supplements can do a world of good. For example, smelling lavender has been shown to be calming and many parents use this in their bed time routines. Children with bowl issues sometimes benefit from supplementing with b vitamins because they aren't absorbing them well on their own. There are lots of little examples like this. Just remember to keep it simple and stop anything that isn't working. Your child should NEVER be kept on a supplement that is doing him harm. This idea of a "cure reaction" is overused and the source of a lot of BS these days. If a supplement gives your kid a rash, or a headache, or a belly ache, stop the supplement. And while I'm on the subject of harmful supplements, please stay away from that chlorine stuff that is becoming so popular. Its a fad and its not good for your child. It used to be in the not-really-useful but harmless catagory because the prescribed dose was so low. Some practitioners have started using it in WAY higher concentrations and that's not good. We have no idea how this might be harming kids because it hasn't been tested. Its also a source of this idea that having a rash when you take a supplement is a good thing. Its not.

*bowel disease, not bowl. lol

i think alot of different kinds of toys will help

Depends on the country where the osteopath is practicing. Since the OP is in Singapore, that osteopath would only practice physical manipulation.

As far as I'm concerned, I've had better luck with osteopaths than with MD's. My experience has been that a D.O. Will spend as much time as possible with a patient to discuss his or her condition and explore the options for treatment. If it weren't for an osteopath treating me for pneumonia almost 58 1/2 years ago, I'd be pushing up daisies (something my brothers and my relatives on both sides of the family wished would have happened.)

Different types of massage are part of my routine psychical therapy. And my dad massages my head and neck to help me relax, which helps me focus better. My main care has always been from a MD pediatrician that works with kids with autism.

Thanks for all the advice, just call them to check again, they are using chiropractic treatment, and will this help on improve the focusing issue?

My aim is to help my boy to:
1) Out of his own world.
2) be able to communication

I not sure if chiropractic can help

And also, anyone heard about "cranial sacral therapy", is this effective for kids?

I answered this already. It is safe. It is calming. It will not cure your kid's autism. It could help him develop skills, because like all human beings, autistics learn best when they are calm and happy.

I really suggest that you stop trying to get him "out of his world." Yikes! Listen to the violence of that statement. The idea is to be able to form a better relationship with him, so that he is able to join us more in our world. If you continue to treat autism like an enemy to be defeated, in 20 years, your kid will be the next grown man on these boards complaining about how his probably well meaning parents exposed him to a bunch of abusive therapies.

And just remember - you just asked for him to "be able to communication." None of us are perfect. We all have the need for others to reach into OUR world and be with us the way we want. That's why its bad form to point out your grammatical error, but good form to recognize your request that you be able to connect with and understand your son. Treat your son like you would want to be treated. He is communicating with you. To understand that he is, you need to get beyond looking for communication in a specific way (words.) Once that happens, you'll be able to gently encourage him towards using words to communicate. The vast majority of autistic kids become adults who speak, a much smaller number become adults who type. The number of autistics who never learn how to communicate through symbols
at all is tiny.

Osteopathy is not evidence based medicine and ABA is traumatizing to former patients. It will make your child very nervous and fidgety as an adult.