The most current belief about autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is that it is a genetic brain disorder. Some doctors and researchers don’t hold to the same belief. One physician, Dr. Mark Hyman, falls into that category. In a recent article on his website he wrote that the increasing rates of autism is due to a systemic body disorder that impacts the brain. In addition, our toxic environment triggers the genes in certain people that make them susceptible to autism and ASD. Research does exist that supports this position.
The rate of autism diagnoses has increased exponentially over the last few decades from an estimated 1 child in 3,000 to just 1 in 59 kids today. Broader criteria and better detection can account for some of this increase but not all of it.
Some impressive scientific discoveries have occurred in the last 2 decades that point to the true etiology of autism that challenges the traditional beliefs. For instance, Martha Herbert, MD, a pediatric neurologist from Harvard Medical School, has shown how core abnormalities in body systems like detoxification, immunity, and gut function play a key role in causing the mood and behavioral symptoms of autism and ASD.
Dr. Hyman speaks about a 2 ½ year old boy named Sam who was diagnosed with autism at 22 months. When Dr. Hyman first saw Sam, he was a typical case of autism, and the little boy had his own “inner wordless world” of autism. Dr. Hyman described the experience as like “watching someone on a psychedelic drug trip.” The doctor proceeded to delve into his genetics and biochemistry to determine the cause of Sam’s problems.
He had very high levels of antibodies to gluten, and he was allergic to wheat, eggs, yeast, soy, and dairy for a total of 28 food items. He had a leaky gut, and his gut was very inflamed. Sam was deficient in magnesium, zinc, manganese, omega-3 fats, and vitamins A, B12, and D. His body had difficulty making energy in the mitochondria of his cells.
Sam’s amino acids were depleted, although they are completely necessary for normal brain function and detoxification. His blood showed high levels of lead and aluminium, and his hair showed very high levels of arsenic and antimony. Sam was a very toxic little boy. His levels of glutathione were low,which meant his body couldn’t function well enough to eliminate those metals. And, his genes show a key weakness in glutathione metabolism, which is the body’s main antioxidant and major detoxification method for ridding the system of metals and pesticides.
Sam had difficulty with a key biochemical function called methylation, which is necessary to make normal brain chemicals and neurotransmitters. This was discovered through low levels of homocysteine due to faulty folate metabolism and high levels of methylmalonic acid due to faulty B12 metabolism. Two of his genes were likely responsible for this condition.
Lastly, Sam had very high levels of oxidative stress, aka free radical activity, that included markers pointing to the likelihood that his brain was inflamed and under attack from free radicals.
Each child with autism has unique factors such as genetics, triggers, or causes. Typically, a constellation of factors lead to the development of autism such as toxins and deficiencies along with genetic susceptibility.
While this may seem to be a complex situation, when viewed through the lens of functional medicine, the problem becomes solvable. Functional medicine sees how everything is connected and works to address the true cause of the problems. For a child with autism, a functional medical doctor can address the biochemical and physiological issues through various steps. If you or your child has autism, please check with your own functional medical doctor. For Sam, Dr. Hyman used the following steps:
Step 1: Fix His Gut and Cool the Inflammation There
This step included a number of different tactics including:
- Taking away gluten and other food allergens
- Getting rid of his yeast with antifungals
- Killing off the toxic bacteria in his small intestine with special antibiotics
- Replenishing healthy bacteria with probiotics
- Helping him digest his food with enzymes
Step 2: Replace the Missing Nutrients to Help His Genes Work Better
For Sam, this meant:
- Added back zinc, magnesium, folate, and vitamins A, B6, B12, and D
- Supported his brain with omega-3 fats
Step 3: Detoxify and Reduce Oxidative Stress
Once his biochemistry and nutrition was tuned up, his doctor worked to help Sam detoxify and reduce oxidative stress.
Reduce inflammation, improve nutrition, heal the gut, detoxify: these are all sound basics that lead to a healthier body. The keys to functional medicine can help regardless of the condition or disease. Biology follows basic laws, which need to be followed and understood.
After following a gluten-free diet and treating his gut for 3 weeks, Sam showed dramatic and remarkable improvement. He was getting back much of his language skills and showing much more connection and relatedness in his interactions.
After 4 months, he was more focused, unstuck and verbal. After 10 months, his bowels were back to normal, he was verbally fluent, mainstreamed in school and he “lost” his diagnosis of autism. After 2 years all his abnormal tests were normal including the high metals, gut inflammation and damage to his mitochondria and free radicals.
Dr. Hyman reports that Sam now functions normally. While not every child may respond to this treatment as dramatically as Sam did, many improve using functional medical systems.