A Guide to Biomedical Treatment & Intervention for Autism

What is Biomedical?

The term “biomedical” is a general term that means “biological and medical.” In the field of autism therapy, the term “biomedical” is widely used to refer to a specific approach to treatment that considers the biological basis of autism and targets those biological processes as part of an individual’s medical care.

At Cortica, we believe that a biomedical approach is, without a doubt, the best way to treat autism!

What is Biomedical Treatment for Autism?

The purpose of biomedical treatment is to optimize the physiological factors that impact brain function and development. These include nutrition, metabolic status, immune function, environmental factors, and others. We know that the brain’s moment-to-moment ability to engage, focus, and learn, as well as its ability to develop and grow over time, is highly dependent on many different factors. 

Research shows that children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders have high rates of associated medical conditions, such as genetic disorders, metabolic dysfunction, nutritional deficiency, immune dysfunction, gastrointestinal disorders, and sleep disorders. A child is unlikely to make meaningful progress in even the best educational program if the physiological mechanisms for learning – at the level of the cells in the brain and their chemical environment – are not functioning well enough for learning to take place. 

The Goal of Biomedical Treatment for Autism

The goal of medical treatment is not simply functional health, but rather optimal health. For example, many typically developing children can continue to function at an adequate level even with borderline nutritional status. But research suggests that children with neurodevelopmental disorders are more vulnerable to such factors and require a higher level of optimization in order to achieve their greatest learning potential. 

 In summary, the goals are 

• to identify and treat the full range of underlying medical conditions 

• to achieve optimal health rather than functional health 

• to maximize both safety and efficacy—this requires careful consideration of all the risks and potential benefits associated with different medical tests and treatments. 

At Cortica we have a variety of autism testing and treatment options that keep a biomedical approach in mind in order to provide the best treatment and therapy options for your family.