Autism: How Medical Testing Can Help

                                                                                         

Individuals with autism can and do lead normal lives with the proper medical care and treatment. The main reason it is important to perform various medical testing is to determine or pinpoint specific problems in a person with autism.

Autism is referred to a group of major developmental disorders. The patients have problems with behavior, social relationship, and communication. In most cases, autism is not diagnosed until a child reaches the age of three and begins to exhibit abnormalities in the child’s development or behavior. However, some signs of autism can be noted while the child is still in infancy, such as a noticeable lack of crying, arching away from touching, extreme fussiness, and avoiding eye contact.

The various medical testing that can provide doctors with the information they need in order to properly treat autism include food allergies, heavy metals, vitamin analysis, neurotransmitters, amino acids, Candida, fatty acid profile, and histamine levels.

In order to treat children with autism parents as well as doctors will need to determine what type of therapeutic option will work best for each child. Each child with autism is different just as each child is different. The various problems have to be dealt with properly for each child. The nervous system imbalances and immune system imbalances will need to be identified prior to developing targeted therapeutic treatment plans.

Food allergy testing will provide the physician as well as parents with the ability to know the foods that may be impairing the digestive system. Pinpointing these problems is a great help as the foods can then be avoided. Amino acids testing can aid in providing information of deficiencies in the neurotransmitter building blocks,sensitivities to chemicals, as well as nutritional imbalances.

Heavy metals in the body can cause numerous adverse effects. Learning if the child has any type of toxic material in the body such as arsenic, lead, mercury, etc… can be a help.

Vitamin analysis will provide much needed information regarding dietary deficiencies or imbalances.

Neurotransmitters testing will show imbalances in the chemistry of the brain which can impact behavior and learning.

Children with autism often have high levels of Candida in their intestines and low levels of essential fatty acids.

It is recommended that the following lab tests be done to help determine the best medical care.

• evaluation of immune function and imbalance in T-helper-1/T-helper-2 cytokines
• food allergy testing
• intestinal barrier function tests
• neurotransmitter testing
• presence of infectious agents such as viruses, fungus
• neuroimmune antibody status
• heavy metals and protection by metallothionein

Once tests results are determined, parents and physicians alike will be able to decide what treatments are best for the child to help with the symptoms so they can live a more normal life.

About the author:
For more information on autism and autism tests please visit www.IntegrativePsychiatry.net Valerie Balandra is a nurse practitioner with over twenty years of experience in holistic mental health, and is available for phone consultations at 941 371-7997.

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