A Gentle Touch The Key To Autism?
A CBS 2 Special Report
May 19, 2004 11:00 pm US/Eastern
NEW YORK (CBS) Thousands of American children are born autistic, a developmental brain disorder that can impact social and communication skills. CBS 2's Mary Calvi reports on a controversial treatment that incorporates gentle touching.
You're looking at the most controversial treatment for autistic children. "I can feel his cerebral spinal fluids," the practitioner said while giving a very gentle massage.
With a touch no heavier than a nickel, practitioners claim this gentle massage can ease autistic symptoms, lessen temper tantrums and even improve a child's communication skills.
The alternative therapy has evolved quickly into a grassroots movement across the tri-state area.
"When a family sees a child getting better I think that's all the proof a family needs. And I'm not going to get into the proof issue because as I say, every child is different," says Dr. John Upledger.
It is called CranioSacral Therapy, or CST.
CBS 2 traveled to West Palm Beach, Florida, to interview Dr. Upledger, one of its developers. While many are critical of the therapy, those who have experienced it say it works.
"It's a devastating diagnosis to get and then you find out there's no help. So to have something where there is a possibility that it might work, you'll go for it," explains Patricia Pelham, who has an autistic son.
Two years ago, Pelham took her son Dorian to the Upledger Institute. While Dorian has always been high-functioning, she says nothing controlled his sporadic tantrums until he started CranioSacral Therapy.
"It's so subtle. But it could be that he sleeps better, or that his concentration is better. Mostly, its the lack of the autistic temper tantrums," Pelham says.
CST has been around since the 1930s but it was only recently that practitioners began using it on autistic children.
Dr. Upledger, an osteopathic physician, was one of the first and in 2001, was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the 100 innovators for his work in alternative medicine.
"When you come up with a new idea in medicine, it takes about 25 years to be accepted and this is about the 26th year," Dr. Upledger says.
Upledger believes autism is caused by fluids in the brain not circulating properly. He also believes the emotional outbursts of autistic children are caused by the membrane outgrowing the skull -- the child, in essence, is irritable.
He says his therapy gets the cerebral fluids moving and adjusts the skull bones so the child is more comfortable and stable. "Yes, the medical community does need to change their views. And science can study what we've studied and see it."
"They basically have made up a system that doesn't exist," Dr. Stephen Barrett counters.
Dr. Barrett has spent the last ten years investigating CST. He says there are no peer-reviewed studies to show this therapy works.
He calls Upledger irresponsible for selling this form of therapy to desperate parents. "Skull bones don't move. In adults, they?re stuck together. They don?t move. Secondly, there is no evidence that the fluid moves."
The traditional medical community still doesn't know what causes autism, though researchers have recently identified genes that appear more often in autistic children.
But Patricia Pelham says she doesn't need any medical textbooks to tell her what does or doesn't work.
She tells CBS 2 the proof stands beside her. "He's the proof. He's easier to live with. It's manageable now. It was out of control before. It was a nightmare. Now he's a joy to be around."
