How Craniosacral Therapy Helped My Autistic Son's Anxiety

Let me tell you a story about my journey with craniosacral therapy, and how it not only helped my autistic son, but helped me when I didn’t even recognize that I needed help.

I had no idea what craniosacral therapy was or how it could help but I was willing to give it a try. The practitioner explained that it was a way of working with the body using light touch which supports your body’s innate ability to balance, restore and heal itself. The first thought I had was that my son is never going to let you touch him in a million years, so how is this going to work?

She just sat down and let him be himself. He ran back and forth, stimming and giggling to himself as if she wasn’t there. I felt the energy in the room change; I can’t explain it, but it seemed calmer.

After 20 minutes or so, Joe stopped running and climbed onto the bed like he knew what to do. It’s the strangest feeling in the world to witness something you cannot physically see! We had weekly sessions after that for about six weeks, and every week he would do the same, stim and run and then eventually calm down.

I started noticing changes in him almost immediately. The most obvious change was that he was less anxious. This meant I could get him to do different things with less of a struggle. He started being able to control his emotions better. He still has meltdowns, but he can bring himself out of them. I see the range of emotion before my eyes — anger, grief, acceptance all in about five minutes.

He used to only eat ham sandwiches (minus the ham) at school but now eats a variety of foods, even bean wraps. We now have conversations about his day, what he did, what he ate, etc. — it’s amazing. I remember the first day it happened. I picked Joe up from school, asking him lots of questions and anticipating his “no more” response, but that day was different. That day he answered me. I continued to ask questions, trying to stop the tears rolling down my face. It was one of the happiest times of my life!

Therapy hasn’t just helped Joe, it has helped me see that if I believe something can happen, it will. As parents, we are often so afraid of what might happen that we let our fear take over, and this has an impact on our bodies too. Letting go of that fear in the sessions calmed my inner turmoil and allowed me to shift my mindset. It’s made a massive difference.

We still go for therapy once a month. It is making a real difference to Joe. He has finally landed and I couldn’t be more proud!