The Functional Neurologist and the Neurological Model to solve Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Dr Andrew Bartlett
Chiropractor
Functional Neurologist

I have been a chiropractor for 18 years and treated many children with Autism in this time. My clients have ranged from mild Asperger Syndrome to severe Autistic and all other categories in what’s known as the Autistic Spectrum. I’ve treated young children to adults with these disorders.

For the past three and a half years I have been practicing Functional Neurology which is a healing science that involves fixing brains and nervous systems without the use of drugs or surgery. Chiropractic has always been based in neurology, however with the addition of the Functional Neurological model pioneered by Professor Fred Carrick, and practiced world-wide, the treatment of clients with a wide array of neurological disorder/s can now be highly tailored to the particular regions of the brain, spinal cord, or peripheral nervous systems in a new and highly specific manner. To become a Functional Neurologist, practitioners complete two years of post-graduate study to be eligible to sit examinations and become a Diplomat of the American Chiropractic Neurology Board (the equivalent of a Fellowship in Australian educational terms.)

Functional Neurology recognises a model of brain function that revolves around a scientific concept of “Hemisphericity” or a comparison of the “Frequency of Firing” in one brain hemisphere compared to the other. The term Hemisphericity has been used in medical neurology and psychiatry for decades and in that sense it refers to the division of functions within the brain to the left or right brain hemisphere. In a normal nervous system all functions are lateralized to one side more than the other and when you put all of the functions together you get a brain that has good overall balance in the frequency of firing between the two hemispheres so that both sides work in conjunction with each other to produce a healthy functioning human being. What this means, in a nutshell is that we are really composed of two identities, two driving forces that blend together to produce us – our personality, our emotional state, our immune system function, our digestive tract function, our urinary function, our cardiovascular function and so on. When there’s balance, there’s normality, when there’s imbalance, there’s “Hemisphericity.”

With Autistic Spectrum Disorders, there is poor balance and one brain hemisphere (usually the left) dominates way too much and the more it dominates, the more it inhibits the function of the other side. The causes of this imbalanced function are many and varied, however they fit into the categories of Physical, Chemical and Mental/Emotional stress. And with Autism, the causes will probably be debated for many years to come. What’s brilliant about Functional Neurology is that the cause is not what’s important in the child or adult that already has the disorder, it’s the cure that matters and the Functional Neurologist has means to diagnose where the brain is dysfunctioning and techniques to correct it.


So Back to Brain Hemisphericity:

Generally, the left brain hemisphere is all about approaching life (in neurology it’s called approach behavior.) It sees the world in small bite sized chunks and wants to move in and consume them all. If we look at behavior, the left hemisphere moves us toward our goals, desires and wants in life piece by piece by piece. The left brain controls the fine muscles of the body – the hands, the feet, the toes. The left brain activates the immune system in such a way that it produces a barrage of protection against outside threats and if uninhibited by the right brain, against our own tissues. The left brain is also the language brain that learns how to build words letter by letter, syllable by syllable and then put them into sentences word by word. It also produces the fine motor control patterns that drive our voice box, throat and tongue to produce the spoken word. This hemisphere also contends with sequences like calculation of numbers and planning series of events that we undertake in life. Therefore, the left brain is our conscious brain where we reason about the world, analyze it and talk to ourselves via our thoughts to make a conscious construct of all that goes on around us.

The right brain hemisphere on the other hand holds the bigger picture. It’s the side that gives us Gestalt – a sense of the whole situation at hand. As such, the right hemisphere is the cautious, vigilant side of the brain, the side that says wo wo wo, let’s hold back here, let’s look at the bigger picture and then make a decision (in neurology it’s called avoidance behavior.) It keeps us safe! It controls our impulses and stops us doing things that are socially inappropriate. The right brain is in charge of moving the big muscles of the body to provide the plant and stabilization for the left hemisphere to do its fine motor work upon. The right hemisphere holds the map that allows our brain to know how we are positioned in the world. The right hemisphere is the non-verbal communicator. Rather than spoken language, it reads body language, facial expression and tonal intonations of the voice. The right side of the brain is the more emotional side, allowing us to feel our own emotions and the emotions of others. As such, this hemisphere gives us empathy toward others. It is the hemisphere that feels our organs and tissues and regulates their drive – keeping digestion under control, keeping the immune system regulated so it doesn’t attack our own tissues and keeping our heart beat regular. The right brain hates doing the same thing over and over – it likes novel experience and gets bored and suppressed with repetition. It is fair to say the right brain is the all important unconscious side of the brain.

From these descriptions, it’s not hard to see that a hemisphere imbalance could produce a pattern of mental, social, emotional, language, digestive, immunity and health problems. And when the imbalance is severe, the pattern of dysfunction can be severe. In other words, disorder can occur on a spectrum of severity and this explains the Spectrum of Autistic Disorders.

How does Hemisphericity fit with Autism?

Imagine a child whose left hemisphere was totally dominant to the point where the right hemisphere’s function was almost completely inhibited. How would this child behave? How would they think, talk, feel and what would be the likely effects on their health?

This class of Autistic child would approach situations and life with gusto. He or she would have no fear of danger, would not even recognise the feeling of pain very well so bumps and bruises, cuts and abrasions would be commonplace. These children move quickly toward objects and then fixate on them – manipulating them repetitively with the fine motor muscles of their hands. At the same time they articulate with words that are repetitive and often unrelated to the situation at hand. They say things that are inappropriate. They have trouble making friends as a result. In the early years, they often acquire words miraculously, reading words off a page at 18 months of age and picking up Spanish from watching Dora cartoons! It’s only later, that everyone realises the words they have picked up are not developed into applied language very well and the child has no means of understanding what their parent is trying to convey to them because they have no comprehension of the emotional tone within their parents’ voices. These children talk to themselves a lot and use repetitive phrases and words. They’re also incredibly good at acquiring numbers however they have trouble applying them to equations that have higher meaning. His or her postural muscles are probably weak and poorly coordinated so the child seems to sway around, walk funny, bump into things and rock back and forth a lot. Their art work will consist of small figures (sometimes only lines or circles, letters or numbers) without the use of colour or scenery or underlying message. Their immune system will be hyperactive so they will be unlikely to get many colds or flu’s, but they will seem puffy, rashy, snotty and hypersensitive to food with many food allergies and sensitivities.

Does this sound like your child or a child you know? This is the most common pattern of brain hemisphericity that develops in children.

So what about a child who was right brain dominant and their left hemisphere was very under active – how would this child be?

Remember, the right hemisphere creates avoidance behavior. This child will be timid, shy, and very emotional. They get depressed easily. They feel so much but they have an inability to express logically what they feel so they internalize and move up and down like a rollercoaster all day long. In a young toddler and child, this may seem normal at first and in fact, right brain dominance is much more subtle in the early years and may go undetected until the child reaches school. These kids are slower to learn to talk. They muddle up their words and their sentences and it can be hard to understand them. Reading and spelling are also difficult for this child. He or she will likely have trouble with basic math. His or her fine motor skills will not be well developed so he or she will have trouble with neat handwriting and manipulating small objects like a spoon, fork and knife or small toys and games. This child will have a low immunity and will be prone to chronic infections like recurrent colds, flu’s and ear infections. Their heart may beat irregularly too which is called arrhythmia. These kids like novelty and are not good at routine. They will be happier when life is varied and different. They are exceptional at knowing how others are feeling because they pick up so well on non-verbal cues so they can be very socially adept if they can overcome their shyness.

My Child has been diagnosed with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder or at least I suspect they have one, what can I do about it?

You may believe your child fits one of the descriptions above and you have been concerned that something is wrong. At the mild end of the spectrum is Asperger Syndrome, through Attention Deficit Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, to Autism including Autistic Savantism. Indeed, a diagnosis may have been made also. So what can be done?

Traditional treatment for these disorders identifies the child’s strengths and exercises them. Here we have a problem. The child’s strengths come from their high functioning brain hemisphere and by working on these strengths; the low functioning hemisphere gets weaker and weaker as the high functioning hemisphere dominates more and more. While treating Autistic children in this way has been done with good intentions and altruism to give him or her the best chance with the strengths they have, unfortunately over time the approach makes the condition worse.

In order to help children and adults with Autism the best measures must be taken to induce stimulation of the correct brain hemisphere. Techniques are many and varied and a lot can be done at home. Ideally, the individual with the disorder should be assessed by a Functional Neurologist. To find a functional neurologist you can visit the Australasian Academy of Functional Neurologists’ website at www.aafn.org.au where we have a directory of members. I would also highly recommend that you read Disconnected Kids by Dr Robert Melillo. This book explains Hemisphericity and its treatment and includes assessment tools that you can use for your child with descriptions, diagrams and pictures of good home care exercises and activities tailored to the particular Hemispheristic problem that you find. This book is essential reading for anyone who has children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia and other Neurological Disorders. You can find it on Amazon.com or other book retailers.

I hope this article has provided some good information and explanation to give parents and care givers a deeper understanding of Autistic disorders. While these disorders seem very complex, the Hemispheristic model provides an explanation that is eloquent and fits the picture well. There is hope with Autism, and through the help of Functional Neurology, your child stands a good chance to lead a better life right now and into the future!