• Hoffman N
• Russell D

• Autistic Disorder
• Pediatrics
• Subluxation
• Torque Release Technique

Clinical Features: A 3½ year old female child with reduced social interaction and language skills and learning difficulties presented for chiropractic care. The child had been diagnosed with autism 1 year earlier.

Intervention and Outcome: The child received full spine adjustments where indicated to reduce vertebral subluxation, using the Torque Release Technique protocol and Integrator™ instrument. Strong verbal and physical apprehension to initial care was observed, however no signs of this were present after 5 visits, along with further improvements in social interactions, language skills and increased symmetry in surface EMG and thermal scanning over the 10 weeks of care.

Conclusion: The subjective and objective improvements observed by both practitioner and parents following chiropractic care indicate a link between subluxation and autistic behavioral patterns. Comparable studies have been undertaken previously with similar findings, however further study needs to be conducted to determine the exact relationship between chiropractic care and behavioral changes in autistic children.

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