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Autism Screening and Treatment Protocols

Psychiatry: Autism Treatment Protocols

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Frontier Health and Wellness (FHW) offers two structured, measurement-based medication protocols for select patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These are not curative interventions and are not substitutes for educational programming, therapies, or skills-based services. They are time-limited trials with defined targets, standardized tracking, and close follow-up.


Protocols available at this time:

  • Memantine (Namenda): Off-label, subtype-targeted trial focused primarily on social responsiveness and overload-driven dysregulation in a defined clinical phenotype.

  • Leucovorin (Folinic Acid): Off-label trial most effective at targeting language/communication and related functional domains in a subset consistent with folate-transport physiology; folinic acid is not the same as OTC folic acid.

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How these protocols work at FHW:

  • Step 1: Comprehensive diagnostic assessment. ASD is established or re-confirmed, comorbidities are clarified (ADHD/anxiety/mood/sleep/medical contributors), and baseline symptom severity is documented to support measurement-based decision-making.

  • Step 2: Structured trial (only if appropriate). Patients are screened for protocol fit and enrolled only when families can commit to required monitoring, standardized tools, and clinic expectations.

  • Step 3: Open Communication. Under most circumstances, when patients are approved for one of FHW’s structured off-label trials for ASD, the referring provider will receive a referral response letter outlining the assessment findings and treatment plan.

  • Step 4: Continue only if benefit is clear. Treatment is continued, adjusted, or discontinued based on measurable change, tolerability, and functional impact.

Primary clinical targets (depending on protocol fit):

  • Social reciprocity / social engagement and social withdrawal

  • Pragmatic communication and language-related functioning (when applicable)

  • Sensory over-reactivity and overload-driven dysregulation

  • Irritability/outbursts and slow recovery after physiologic stress (subset-dependent)

  • Hyperactivity/restlessness when mechanistically linked to the above profile

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Important implementation notes for referring clinicians:

  • These protocols are offered only by Dr. E. David Hjellen at this time. If you are referring for either protocol, please direct the referral specifically to Dr. Hjellen.

  • These are off-label uses; families receive protocol-specific informed consent and education.

  • For safety and interpretability, FHW typically requires centralized, real-time medication oversight for all psychiatric medications during the active protocol window (to minimize confounded treatment effects).

  • Insurance coverage varies; some services may be out-of-pocket.

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Referral support (recommended items to send):

  • Prior evaluations supporting ASD diagnosis (if available), school/IEP documentation, speech-language/OT reports.

  • Current medication list with prior trials and adverse effects.

  • Relevant medical history (sleep disorders, seizure history, GI concerns, etc.) and any recent labs/imaging if clinically pertinent.

  • Provider referrals are not required. Access to the treatment protocols is available through both self-referral and provider referral.

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