Our view of Autistic Spectrum Disorders

ADHD, ADD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, OCD, Aspergers, Autism and Tourette's syndrome are labels that cover a range of learning difficulties, all caused by problems in the development of the brain. At least 1 in 5 children have learning difficulties and it is common for children to experience more than one condition, with no child presenting with exactly the same symptoms.

The underlying causes for a delay in brain maturation are:

• Problems in pregnancy e.g. in utero trauma
• Birth strain
• Pollution and toxicity e.g dentistry
• Physical injury
• Stress
• Drugs
• Genetics
• Early vaccination
• Malnutrition

This can lead to immaturity in the brain and nerve tract development, gut weakness and a suppressed immune function. The consequences of this are that digestion, absorption and elimination of foods can be problematic (causing specific nutritional deficiencies), there may be a disrupted gut function and an adverse response to foods, antibiotics, vaccines and infections. Birth trauma may have caused misalignment of the skeletal structure, causing pressure on the gut and viscera, for instance, or frequent ear infections.

By introducing a diet which the gut can support, using osteopathy to realign the the body and excluding environmental factors that are stressing the system, the body has a chance to normalise, nourish the brain and develop. For these reasons, in our opinion, these conditions are treatable.