Aggression and Hyperactivity in a Boy with Autism Spectrum Disorder Helped with Chiropractic

A case study reported in the fourth quarter issue of the Asian-Pacific Chiropractic Journal documented the case of a young boy who was helped by chiropractic with issues of aggression, hyperactivity, and poor social functioning stemming from his Autism Spectrum Disorder, (ASD).

The National Institute of Mental Health describes this condition by stating "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave. Although autism can be diagnosed at any age, it is described as a "developmental disorder" because symptoms generally appear in the first 2 years of life." The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities estimates that 1 in 36 children have ASD.

In this case, a 4-year-old boy was brought to the chiropractor by his mother. The boy had been previously diagnosed with ASD. The mother reported that her son was exhibiting aggressiveness, suffered from speech delay, had poor eye contact and was hyperactive. She also reported that her son would hit anyone who gets close to him and would also bang his head on the floor whenever he got frustrated or angry.

An age-appropriate chiropractic examination was performed. The results of the examination confirmed the presence of spinal subluxations. In simplest terms, a subluxation (a.k.a. Vertebral Subluxation) is when one or more of the bones of the spine (vertebrae) move out of position and create pressure on, or irritate spinal nerves. Spinal nerves are the nerves that come out from between each of the bones in the spine. This pressure or irritation on the nerves then causes those nerves to malfunction and interfere with the signals traveling over those nerves.

Based on the finding of subluxations, specific chiropractic care was started. After the first week of chiropractic care, the mother reported that her son was less aggressive, less hyperactive, and was no longer hitting other children or banging his head on the floor.

Within the first 6 weeks of chiropractic care, the boy's mother noted that her son was talking a lot more and had better eye contact. Over time, the boy continued to show improvements in development, speech, and socialization. The boy's teacher also commented that the boy was doing better in class.

The study authors noted that a single case of chiropractic helping a boy with ASD should not be generalized to every case of ASD. However, they comment that the growing number of reported and documented cases of chiropractic helping ASD is important. They stated "The Chiropractic evidence surrounding Autism Spectrum Disorder is currently limited to case report data. While this limits our ability to make sweeping claims as to the impact of Chiropractic care on ASD, and the highly complex and political nature of the disorder would likely make unsubstantiated claims problematic, it is of clinical value to note that numerous case reports have shown improvements in ASD-related symptomatology while under chiropractic care." They also added, "While the mechanisms behind the improvement in the patient's behavioral characteristics are yet unknown, it is possible that by removing the interference in the nervous system, the brain can communicate better with the rest of the body."