Autism Supplements Treatment - Brain Chemistry Imbalances

Brain chemical support is a target therapy for many psychiatric or neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Multiple Sclerosis, as well as Bipolar Depression or Schizophrenia. Autism treatment is no different. In autism, including those with various spectrum issues such as attention deficit, sensory processing and/or speech language delay or pervasive development disorder supplement treatment can help improve an individual's ability to function more optimally.

The following list of supplements I have as autism treatments for years in my practice to help support healthy brain chemistry. This is not imply that these following supplements are the only things available for brain chemistry support, but these often show nice benefits with respects to improved attention, focusing, and overall cognitive skills. Each supplement is unique and often they work synergistically to provide optimal results:

Nutritional Lithium - micro-mineral involved in supporting brain health. Nutritional Lithium has been used for states of brain stress, cognitive problems, aggressive behavior, irritability, mood instability. Lithium also helps protect the brain against various toxins. Typical dose is 500 to 1000mcg daily.

5-HTP - Amino acid that helps support serotonin production. Serotonin is necessary for mood control, helps with states of depression, and sense of well being. Serotonin is also supportive for melatonin production which is involved in promoting sleep. Typical dose is 50 to 100mg daily.

Methylcobalamin (methyl-B12) - Methyl-B12 is useful for focusing, attention and general awareness issues in autism. It can assist with speech and language problems as well. It is also helpful in other neurological disorders too. Typical dose is 1000 to 2000mg daily. Can come in various forms such as nasal spray, subcutaneous injections and oral liquid.

Vitamin B6 - A member of the B-vitamin family that is helpful for general cognitive awareness, better attention, improved mood and biochemical support throughout the body. Should be used along with magnesium to prevent against hyperactivity. Typical dose is 4 to 8 mg per pound of vitamin B6 in conjunction with 2 to 4mg per pound body weight of magnesium.

Autism really is treatable! Biomedical Autism treatments and therapies have resulted in many, many children improving, or even even losing their autism-spectrum disorder diagnosis. For lots more free biomedical autism intervention information and videos from Dr. Woeller, go to http://www.AutismRecoveryTreatment.com.

Dr. Kurt Woeller is an biomedical autism Intervention specialist, with a private practice in Southern California for over 10 years. He has helped children recover from autism, ADD, ADHD, and other disorders, and has the information you need to help your child. Download his free ebook at http://www.AutismActionPlan.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Kurt_Woeller

Secrets Of The Autistic Brain - Brain Scans Reveal There Is More To Autism Than Meets The Eye

It is clear that the autistic population is increasing exponentially in various forms ranging from Asperger's Syndrome through to profound classical autism. What is not clear is why. Recent studies on the brain function of autistic people have given new clues and insight into this remarkable diagnosis and the people who bear it.

RESEARCH ON THE AUTISTIC BRAIN:

Science is beginning to uncover specific gene variations, which appear to be related to -- if not responsible for -- the incidence of autism, or the risk of it manifesting in any person (this is not new and there is plenty of research on this topic)

Brain scans reveal that children with the "gene variant" appear to have more nerve cell connections in the frontal lobe, but fewer between this area and the rest of the brain, according to Science Translational Medicine

Similarly, studies conducted at the University of California in LA used functional magnetic resonance imaging to establish that children carrying the "gene variant" had differences within the connections in the frontal lobe of the brain, as well as differences between this area and the rest of the brain.

Scientists at the University of California in LA are beginning to believe that the brain of the autistic is actually wired differently (Autism brain secrets revealed by scan; BBC News Health; 3 November 2010):

• As per Dr Ashley Scott-Van Zeeland, who headed up the research project, "The front of the brain appears to talk mostly to itself -- it doesn't communicate as much with other parts of the brain and lacks long-range connections to the back of the brain,"
• "In children with the version of the gene not linked to autism risk, the pathways were linked more strongly to the left side of the brain. In those with the "risk variant", the pathways were different, linking the lobe strongly to both sides of the brain."

WHAT DOES THE FRONTAL LOBE AREA DO?

It is beginning to seem clear that there is a significant difference in frontal lobe activity for the autistic person (or those carrying the "gene variant", whether diagnosed as autistic or not). So, what is this area of the brain and what part does it play in our lives?

Many say that the frontal lobe area is what makes us human. It is that part of the brain which is more highly developed in humans than most of the rest of animal life on our planet.

Here is a brief list of responsibilities thought to be associated with this particular part of the brain

• Attentiveness of focus on a single task
• Concentration
• Intention and purposeful behavior
• Decision making
• Problem solving
• Abstract reasoning
• Elaboration of thought
• Control of behavior
• Consciousness
• Working memory
• Judgment
• Logic
• Organization
• Socialization
• Sympathy and empathy
• Higher cognitive functions
• Thought to play a part in our spatial orientation

Emotions are generated deep inside the brain, but the frontal lobes "manage" the emotions and help us to rationalize and make conscious, intentional choices about our behavior. Research also indicates that there is increased activity in the frontal lobe during meditation (studies performed on Tibetan monks). Many believe this part of the brain appears to be the seat of our essence and nature

SOME SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE TO THE FRONTAL LOBE AREA:

To illustrate further the connection between autism spectrum and the frontal lobe area, the following is a list of some of the symptoms of damage to this part of the brain:

• Perseveration (obsessive or repetitive behavior)
• Less empathetic
• Less sympathetic
• Unable to read social cues
• Inappropriate social judgments and responses
• Unable to detect when another is trying to deceive them
• Little spontaneous facial expression
• Less flexibility of thought
• Less behavioral spontaneity
• Difficulty in interpreting feedback from the environment
• Impaired associated learning (using external cues to help guide behavior)
• Lack of inhibition (inappropriate behavior)

This is not a comprehensive list of symptoms. In fact, profound damage to this area of the brain can lead to significant personality changes in the subject.

Nonetheless, the link between frontal lobe activity and the autistic brain should be becoming quite obvious to the informed reader.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

It would be irresponsible of the author to declare any interpretation of the data as fact. One can only speculate at this point. The only obvious fact is that far more research is needed.

It seems logical to assume that more connections in the frontal lobe region would mean heightened activity and therefore heightened ability in those areas for which this part of the brain is responsible.

Indeed, it is worth pointing out that many of the strengths of the autism spectrum profile appear to be areas of frontal lobe function. Focus and concentration, logical thinking, problem solving, abstract reasoning, working memory -- very many high functioning autism spectrum people possess these abilities in varying forms to a heightened degree. Notice that these functions tend to be internal functions that require only internal communication.

Conversely, the autistic aspects that most would call weaknesses or "dysfunctional" are those capabilities for which communication with and feedback from the outside environment are crucial. This is where the wiring between the frontal lobes and the rest of the brain may be impacting performance negatively as communication is breaking down within the brain.

Recognizing that the autistic brain may be wired differently from the neurotypical brain could be the beginning of a significant improvement in our understanding of this diagnosis. It could also be the beginning of an understanding that ASD people might have superior skills in some areas and can therefore offer new insights and contributions to life on our planet.

Claim your ASD child's FREE eBook "Our Secret Club of Autism Superpowers" today! Help your Aspergers / Autism Spectrum child to become empowered and positive. Start by claiming this powerful FREE eBook at http://powertotheaspies.com/power-to-the-aspies-products/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Becca_Kline

Brain Training for Functional Disconnect Syndrome and Other Disabilities on the Autism Spectrum

We have discussed the way nerves communicate and how they decide when they are going to send impulses to other nerve cells. We know that groups of nerves collect information and fire together in pathways that stimulate distant parts of the brain. We also know that it is essential for different areas of the brain to communicate well with each other for us to be able to do the amazing complicated things we do with our brains.

The brain is divided into the left and right hemispheres. In these hemispheres the vast array of jobs that must be done are divided up and organized. Each hemisphere is also separated into special sections or lobes. These are the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes. The parietal lobe is mostly concerned with sensation of the body and locating where things happen. There is a map of the opposite side of the body inside each parietal lobe. So the left parietal lobe of the brain feels everything on the right side of the body and vice versa. The same type of thing happens for the occipital lobes sensing vision, the temporal lobes sensing hearing and the frontal lobes controlling muscle movements on the opposite side of the body. The frontal lobe is also what we call the executive center because it is responsible for making decisions and carrying out actions.

Now, imagine you are in a toy store. A train on its track is making its way around the store chugging and whistling. You turn your head to see where it is. As it comes into view you see an egg on one of the cars and you want to pick it up. It sounds like a simple thing but when you really think about it, it involves the whole brain and is quite complex. First, the ears are stimulated, changing the sound vibrations in the air to electrical impulses traveling along nerves. The impulses are sent to the temporal lobe so we can know what we are hearing and to the parietal lobe so we can know from where we are hearing it. The temporal lobes compare all the different frequencies in the sounds and their relative volumes and figure out what that whistling sound is. At the same time both parietal lobes take information from the ears and compare between the two sides which one hears the sound louder and if the volumes are changing to figure out where the sound is coming from.

The temporal and parietal lobes then send their perceptions forward to the frontal lobe so it can decide what they are, what they are doing, whether the sounds are dangerous or not and what to do about it. The frontal lobe then fires the muscles in the neck and moves the muscles in the eyes in perfect sequence to pinpoint the position of the toy train and then track its trajectory. In order to do this, it needs the occipital lobe which is now receiving visual stimulation from the eyes and forwarding it to the frontal lobe. The sound from each ear, the sight from both eyes, and the position sense in all the muscles involved must be synchronized by an internal timer so that differences in lengths of nerves and processing times do not confuse the frontal lobe like watching a movie where the sound is delayed so you see the lips moving but the words don't make sense. I haven't even started to talk about what it's going to take to judge the speed of this train, time the movement of the arm, sequence the firing of the muscles in the arm and hand, and judge and re-judge the pressure on the egg so we don't break it.

Without communication, timing and sequencing within the brain we simply can not operate smoothly in the world. As we know many of our children are experiencing functional disconnections of these different parts of their brains that we may have previously described as "sensory integration problems", clumsiness, poor eye contact, unusually high pain threshold, difficulty following directions or so many other things. The Listening Program, the Integrative Metronome, the other therapies we do in our office and the exercises we have patients do at home are intended to connect or reconnect the different areas of the brain in the proper sequence so our kids can perform the majestic complexity that we all take for granted.

Dr. Martin Rukeyser DC, is a Chiropractor who lives and practices in Port Saint Lucie, FL. He maintains a solo chiropractic office called Life Chiropractic http://www.lifechiropracticpsl.com and is also one of the co-founders of the Brain Training Center of the Treasure Coast http://www.flbraintraining.com - a practice dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with Autism, ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia, Aspergers, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Marty has long held a personal and professional interest in brain function and development and the connection between a healthy body and brain.

Dr. Rukeyser graduated Magna Cum Laude from Life University Chiropractic College in 1998. Prior to coming to Florida, he directed two clinics in a medically under-served community in in rural Mississippi. Dr. Marty, was raised in Long Island, NY and met his wife Ashley while in Mississippi. They have two sons, Ben and Jonah.