Have you watched your loved one struggle with connecting with others? Maybe they have trouble understanding social cues, or forming friendships. Autism spectrum disorder can make it hard to build relationships, succeed in school, and be independent, even after a lot of therapy.
There’s research into a non-invasive approach that works on the brain parts involved in ASD. It could help with things like social skills and planning, and potentially improve overall quality of life. It’s an area of active development.
The Autism Struggle: When You’ve Tried Everything
You might have spent a lot of time and money on things like applied behavior analysis, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and social skills training. You’ve seen some improvement, but the core difficulties seem to stick. Perhaps you’ve considered medications like risperidone or aripiprazole to manage irritability, but worried about side effects like weight gain, problems with blood sugar, diabetes risk, or hormonal changes.
Or maybe you’ve tried different medications for anxiety, ADHD, or mood issues that often come with autism, but the relief was limited, and the side effects frustrating. You’ve tried everything – therapy, the interventions, the medication – but something still feels out of reach.
Here’s why: Autism isn’t just a behavioral issue we can “train away.” It’s not a simple chemical imbalance that medication can fix either. At its heart, ASD involves problems with how different parts of the brain connect and work.
This includes reduced connections in a specific part of the brain called the right temporoparietal junction, unusual activity in the prefrontal cortex, and disrupted communication between areas that handle social thinking.
These differences cause social communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors, problems with planning and organization, sensitivity to sensory input, and challenges managing emotions – all of which characterize the autism experience. Therapy helps with coping strategies, but it doesn’t address the underlying electrical and connection problems in the brain’s social and executive functions.
What is TMS Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive, evidence-based brain stimulation technology that uses precisely targeted magnetic pulses to modulate and strengthen the neural circuits responsible for social communication, emotional regulation, executive function, and behavioral control.
While TMS is FDA-cleared for major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, its use for autism spectrum disorder represents a promising and actively researched application, with emerging clinical evidence demonstrating improvements in core ASD symptoms.
For individuals with autism, TMS specifically targets brain regions implicated in ASD, including the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ)—which shows consistent differences in activation between those with and without autism and demonstrates reduced functional connectivity in ASD—as well as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and other areas of the social brain network.
By delivering calibrated magnetic pulses to these underconnected or dysregulated regions, TMS helps normalize brain activity, enhance functional connectivity between social processing regions, improve gamma oscillations (brain wave patterns associated with cognitive function), and strengthen the neural pathways responsible for social cognition, emotional regulation, and executive control.
Research demonstrates that TMS therapy for autism can improve social communication, reduce repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, enhance social cognitive performance including face processing and emotion recognition, decrease errors in executive function tasks, improve emotional regulation, reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms, and enhance overall quality of life.
A comprehensive meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials found significant, moderate effects on repetitive behaviors, social behavior, and executive function performance. Importantly, low-frequency TMS appears to be safe in individuals with ASD when administered properly, with improvements becoming more significant with increasing number of sessions.
Why Our Autism Support Program is Different
We at SeeBeyond Medicine focus on optimizing your brain, not just treating symptoms. Traditional autism care often focuses on behavioral therapies and medication for related issues. These approaches can help with learned behaviors, but they don’t really address the changes in how your brain connects.
We understand that autism is more than just a difficulty with social interaction. It’s linked to changes in brain connections caused by things like neurotransmitter imbalances, inflammation, nutritional gaps, mitochondrial problems, and sensory processing differences. These things aren’t usually addressed in standard autism treatment.
That’s why we created our Enhanced TMS Protocol. It’s a thorough, functional medicine approach designed to improve all aspects of your neurological health. Our goal is to help you connect more easily with others, reduce repetitive behaviors, and improve your overall daily life.
Our Enhanced TMS Protocol includes four integrated components:
1. Neurotransmitter Testing (Pre & Post-Treatment)
Before starting TMS for autism, we do lab tests to see what your levels of certain brain chemicals are like. We look at GABA, glutamate, serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These chemicals affect how you interact with others, manage your emotions, process sensory information, and control your behavior. These tests give us real information, so we don’t have to guess. After TMS, we do another test to see how these brain chemicals have changed. This shows us the actual changes happening in your brain.
2. Calm IV Therapy
During the TMS treatment, we offer specialized IV nutrient infusions. These help calm the nervous system, boost neurotransmitter production, lessen inflammation, and improve mitochondrial function. Our Calm IV contains magnesium, a mineral that helps regulate nerve activity and supports GABA production. It also includes B vitamins, which are important for neurotransmitter synthesis and energy. These nutrients create a good environment for your brain to respond to TMS and rebuild healthy neural connections.
3. Acupuncture Sessions
We also use acupuncture as part of your treatment. It can help TMS work even better. Acupuncture can lower inflammation throughout your body, which often plays a role in brain problems. It also helps balance your nervous system, reduce feeling overloaded by sensations, and naturally increase Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, or BDNF. BDNF is a protein that helps your brain heal, adapt, and form new connections. Acupuncture supports the changes happening in your brain that lead to lasting improvements in how you communicate and manage your emotions.
4. Health Coach Brain Health Sessions
The comprehensive program includes personalized one-on-one sessions with our dedicated health coach, who will work to develop evidence-based strategies for nutrition optimization (addressing common sensory food aversions and nutritional deficiencies), sleep hygiene, stress management, sensory regulation techniques, routine establishment, and targeted supplementation. We address every lifestyle factor that influences the brain’s capacity for social connection and behavioral regulation, ensuring TMS results extend far beyond the treatment room and become integrated into daily life.
Your Partners in Healing in NY and CT
SeeBeyond Medicine offers more than just a standard treatment for autism. We work alongside families, understanding the difficulties autism spectrum disorder brings. We focus on addressing the core neurological differences, not just the outward behaviors.
Dr. Joon Lee and our clinical team provide personalized care, tailored to each individual’s autism, their strengths, their struggles, and what their family wants. We believe healing is possible by targeting brain connectivity issues. We do this using proven neurotechnology along with comprehensive functional medicine.
Our program is available at our clinics in Scarsdale, NY, and Greenwich, CT. This advanced approach serves individuals and families across Westchester County, Fairfield County, and the New York metropolitan area.
Whether it’s helping a teen with social isolation, a young adult striving for independence, or anyone dealing with the challenges of autism, we’re here to help unlock connection and potential.
Is TMS for Autism Spectrum Disorder Right for You?
TMS therapy for autism may be an ideal solution if you identify with any of the following:
- A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder with ongoing challenges in social communication, social interaction, understanding emotional cues, maintaining friendships, or engaging in reciprocal conversation
- Significant restricted and repetitive behaviors, rituals, intense special interests, or difficulty with transitions and changes in routine
- Executive dysfunction including difficulty with planning, organization, task initiation, cognitive flexibility, working memory, and impulse control that impacts academic or occupational success
- Co-occurring anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, or sensory overwhelm that interferes with daily functioning and quality of life
- Previous participation in intensive behavioral therapy (ABA, speech therapy, occupational therapy) with partial but incomplete results, and seeking interventions that address the neurological foundation of symptoms
- Concerns about the side effects and long-term metabolic risks of antipsychotic medications like risperidone or aripiprazole prescribed for irritability or aggression
- Understanding that optimal outcomes require comprehensive, root-cause care—and readiness to invest in a program that combines cutting-edge neurotechnology with functional medicine support
- Age 14 years or older (most TMS research in autism focuses on adolescents and young adults, though protocols continue to evolve)
TMS for autism is supported by emerging clinical research including controlled trials and meta-analyses demonstrating significant improvements in repetitive behaviors, social communication, executive function, and emotional regulation.
Begin Your Journey to Lasting Relief
No one has to remain isolated by social communication challenges, trapped by repetitive behaviors, or limited by executive dysfunction that autism spectrum disorder creates. There is no need to accept that “this is just how it is” or resign to a lifetime of intensive therapy with incremental gains.
At SeeBeyond Medicine, we believe that healing is always possible when you address the true neurological root cause of the condition. Autism isn’t a limitation on potential, it’s a signal that specific brain circuits need targeted support, enhanced connectivity, and comprehensive care.
Our Enhanced TMS Protocol combines cutting-edge neuroscience with compassionate, functional medicine to help unlock greater social understanding, emotional balance, executive function, and meaningful connection with others. The first step is simple: a consultation to understand the unique brain, unique strengths, and unique path to enhanced functioning.
Learn more about our foundational TMS therapy program and discover how we’re helping patients throughout Westchester and Fairfield Counties see beyond their diagnosis—and embrace greater connection and independence.
We’re actively doing Autism Support Programs in the following nearby locations:
Scarsdale, NY
Service Areas:
