I know, first hand, what it’s like to be a parent of a child with autism inside the whirlwind of confusion of not knowing if a food or supplement is right for your child, or how much to give to them in dosages. All people are unique too, so everyone’s needs will be different, especially a sensitive child with autism. I also know how it is to feel desperate for the right answers and support.  I’m grateful to have gone before you on this journey and to now be able to offer you the resources you need to help clarify so much of this. It is why I created this podcast and the programs I offer parents.

The first person to look to for help is yourself. You know your child best and you are his or her best advocate. No one else, not even a doctor, is with your child seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Others do not see the changes that you do. Do not be afraid to take charge. One of the first tools to learn is muscle test response or muscle testing. 

Where Did Muscle Testing Come From?

I was first introduced to muscle testing in 1987 when I began working as a chiropractor’s back office assistant. She was an Applied Kinesiology (AK) doctor. AK doctors are licensed healthcare professionals who use this technique in their practices to link weak organs and nutrition deficits in patients. I worked in that office with her for ten years. The accuracy and efficacy have no question in my mind.

The prevalence of muscle testing has grown tremendously since the early 1960’s when it was introduced by Dr. George Goodheart, a well-known Applied Kinesiologist (AK). Originally, muscle testing was referred to as Applied Kinesiology. 

In the late 1960’s, Dr. John Thie wrote the book, Touch For Health, This book advocated a drug-free approach and began a movement to use the same general principles and reflex stimulation methods as Applied Kinesiology. Dr. Thie’s book was so influential because it was written for the layperson. This meant anyone, licensed or not, could learn how to use AK at their own discretion. Today, over 80 forms of muscle testing are used. It is important to find someone you trust, but also to know that you can learn the simple principles and general uses yourself. It can easily be done by anyone.

What Is Muscle Testing?

“The basic principle of kinesiology-style muscle testing is that when there is some stress or abnormal nervous system input to a muscle, then it “weakens”. During a muscle test, a practitioner applies gentle force to one muscle or group of muscles, with a particular intent in mind. The muscle is then labeled “weak” or “strong” based on its ability to resist this force”.

Muscle test response, or muscle testing, is not testing the muscle, but the energy flowing through the reflexes of the body and the response associated with it. It is also referred to as Autonomic Response Testing. Autonomic Response Testing as it does not imply testing of any kind, but only a response instead. For the sake of clarity, I will use the term muscle testing here.

Muscle testing uses the body’s own electrical currents. If the circuitry along a pathway has too much energy or too little, the body acts as though a fuse has been blown. This tells us there is an energy imbalance, which can, or already has, caused a health problem in the body. Here we find the root cause and protocol necessary to help the patient, not just something to treat the symptoms.

The body can be tested to see if an issue is chemical, emotional, neurological, structural, or circulatory. It can be used for assessments in personal protocol. As no two people are the same, it may help to determine what the body still needs in supplementation. Be mindful of the suggested dosages of medication or supplements as the body’s needs change over time, and proper vitamin ratios are important. Too much of one vitamin can cause a deficiency in another.

The body will instantly turn weak in response to negative emotional attitudes and stress, just as it does in reaction to physical properties.

It’s not that the muscle itself is weak per-se, it’s that the body is having a negative response to something and it weakens the circuitry. Conversely, when we test the body’s response to something and it is strong, then it is accepting of that product and can even make it stronger, however if it is  a food or supplement then we must ask for the correct dosage for that person. A little bit of something may be alright, but too much of it may not be.

Muscle Testing To Assist Troubleshooting

Die off symptoms are when we see heightened or worsening symptoms during detoxification. This can be physical such as a rash or it can be behavioral such as increased stimming, worsened anger outbursts, reduced sleep, speech regression, etc. At first signs of die off reactions we want to reduce dosages or even stop for a few days until symptoms subside. Our goal is to reduce potential die off symptoms and keep them to a minimum.

Don’t hesitate to slow down and the first sign of increased symptoms. This tells you there is a die off reaction happening which is the release of toxins in the body. The symptoms tell you how your child’s body is responding to a product and if their body is able to keep up with the level of detoxification. When symptoms increase it tells us it’s too much and we need to reduce and even remove some of them until symptoms subside. This is where muscle testing can be really helpful.

Learning To Test

Muscle testing can be done in different ways. It can be done by one person testing another, with surrogates, or by a person testing themselves on the behalf of another. Surrogate and self testing is helpful for parents of children with autism because many kids on the spectrum cannot be tested directly. First we will talk about ways to test one person on another.

Choose which muscle you are going to test. Any muscle can be tested but the most common way to perform a muscle test is to have a person hold his or her arm straight out in front of them at about eye level. Be sure that the arm is completely straight and that the elbow is not bent at all.

Using only a few fingers on the person’s wrist say “resist,” and test his or her strength by gently pushing down. Test for strength of the muscle alone before adding any substance so that you know your base point. Also, remember that this is not a competition. A couple of your fingers will do the job. Lightly press downward on the back of the person’s wrist and pay attention to the amount of strength the muscle shows you. Then stop. There is no need to keep pressing or to push harder. The person’s initial strength is what you are looking for. This is your baseline strength point to use. If they are weakened by a product or object, the body won’t lie.

Once you have your baseline strength point, put the substance (i.e. a vitamin, a piece of food), into either of the person’s hands, on his or her body anywhere, even in the person’s pocket or sock. It works the same way. This is good when someone cannot hold an item. Be sure to retest the same muscle (in this case, the arm). If their muscle is weak where it once was strong, you know that the substance you are testing for is not good for them right now. I say “right now” because our bodies can change over time. These questions and answers are simple “yes” for strong, or “no” for weak. We ask yes and no questions.

Surrogate Muscle Testing

Surrogate testing is great for babies, young children, the very weak, someone who is completely passive, or who is even asleep. Two test people are needed for this. One acts as the surrogate and is muscle tested first. Find out the person’s strength so that you will have your baseline. He or she will then touch the person to be tested with one of his or her hands anywhere on the patient’s body.

Direct contact is best but not necessary. It is important that the person being tested is touched over an area of natural clothing, such as cotton. Polyester and some synthetic fabrics can interfere with testing.

Next, the person who is the tester will place a substance into the hand of the surrogate while he or she is touching the child. Then the surrogate is tested again. If he or she is weak now where he or she was strong before then the substance is not good for the child. This can also be used to help find appropriate dosages.

Self Muscle Testing

We don’t always have a third person who can help and we need to be able to do this ourselves as simply as possible, so my favorite way to test for myself or for another person without using a surrogate person in between is testing myself on another person’s behalf. You must be specific and use their name and hold your intention on them.

There are many ways to do this but I have made you a tutorial video of my favorite way which is called the ring-to-ring where you use the strength of your own fingers. It’s simple and easy to do. 

For a demonstration of the ring-to-ring testing please get the video at, NaturallyRecoveringAutism.com/muscle-testing.

How To Find Dosage Answers

I like to ask in the “right now” if any food or supplement is right for (child’s name). I ask “right now” because as our bodies strengthen over time with detoxification and gut cleansing, we can ingest various foods, and supplements, or use materials that we once could not. After gut cleansing or heavy metal detoxification the body is much stronger. Muscle testing is great for testing allergy related items such as various foods. Retest any food or supplement as often as you like. I suggest doing it daily.

Once you have a baseline answer of a “yes” or a “no” for the body’s acceptance of the product, then you will move on. For a ‘no’ then you should hold off on giving that product to them now and test again the next day or the next week, especially if you’re detoxifying because the body changes all the time. What is not OK right now may be alright later on. When you get a “yes” answer for something then you will want to ask for the quantity. 

For this example I will use a liquid supplement, so the question will be in drops and I will focus on the supplement. You will use the name of the person you are testing for too, so for this example I will have the child’s name be Jimmy.

Ask, “Is one drop of this product good for Jimmy right now?” If you get a “yes” then you go up by one drop and test again.

Ask, “Are two drops of this product good for Jimmy right now?” If you get another “yes” then you ask again with the next highest dosage and keep going until you get a “no” or a weak response.

For example, ask “Are three drops of this product good for Jimmy right now?” If the muscle goes weak, then it is a “no”. 

Your last “yes” answer is your answer, so in this example your answer is two drops dosage right now.

Muscle testing can be very helpful when deciding which supplements to purchase. There may be several different brands, strengths, and dosages of the same supplement from which to choose. It is easy to do a quick self muscle test right there in the store.

How To Improve Results

Occasionally there can be undefined results. This can be due to factors such as synthetic clothing interrupting the response, so wearing natural clothing fibers can help.

Stay hydrated. Dehydration for both tester and the person being tested can be a factor, so be sure to stay well-hydrated with a pure water source like the Aquatru water filters provide.

Another culprit of unclear results can be caused by an imbalance in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. There is a simple technique you can do and you can teach to your child to balance the  hemispheres of the brain. It’s called the ‘cross crawl’ technique.

Before testing, place your hands up in the air as though you’re going to do a patty-cake with someone. Hands are shoulder height and facing forward. Look up to your right with your eyes only, chin facing forward. Then take your right hand and place it on your left thigh, bring it back up and then place your left hand on your right thigh. Do this alternating right, left, right left about ten times, then move your eyes only up and to the left and repeat the ten alternating hand to thigh motions.

This helps to balance the brain hemispheres and is good to do before muscle testing to help improve results but it’s also good to do anytime, especially times when you feel confused or clumsy.

Cause and effect by a practitioner who has the same ailment or toxic load as the patient. The clinician must be healthier than the client. If you suspect that you or your doctor have any of the same issues as your child, the responses may be affected. In return, the patient can have the same effect on the examiner. This is why no two examiners may find the same results on the same patient, unless the patient is healthy and toxin free. If the results vary with your doctor you may want to seek another for a second assessment.

This is not meant to leave you concerned regarding its use. It is very effective. If you find that your results vary, I would suggest finding a practitioner who is well educated and experienced in muscle testing. I find that I get clear results when I test my daughter, but when I test my son the results are sometimes unclear. This is likely the result of a cause and effect relationship between the two of us. I carry in my tissues some of the same issues as he does.

Holistic practitioners, such as chiropractors and acupuncturists, commonly use muscle testing as a reliable and important assessment tool, and they become proficient at it. Some doctors in mainstream medicine are beginning to take advantage of this method due to the growing knowledge of its usefulness and accuracy.

I myself, and millions of others over decades, have found muscle testing to be immensely helpful and I teach it in all of my programs. Throughout this journey, and your life, I urge you to always keep an open mind and be willing to learn new things. They can prove to be immensely helpful.

Fun With Learning

Muscle testing can take a little time before you feel confident in your results so just keep practicing it. You will get there. Practice with everyone in your family. Have fun learning how to do it. One test that I enjoy doing is asking someone (even myself) to say, “My name is (their own name),” and then I test his or her strength. The person’s strength will be strong. Then I ask them to say, “My name is (using a name other than their own),” and the person will test weak. You can do this on yourself using one of the surrogate muscle testing techniques.

You can practice on family members and on your child. Learn to test your child before going to see your practitioner and see if the answers the practitioner gets are the same as the ones you got. This is a good way to build self-confidence as a tester. This also helps you to prevent reading any information you get incorrectly when you are a novice. Practitioners who are educated in muscle testing are usually happy to help you learn. 

One Example Study

Here is an example of a study where the unknowing mind does not play a part in the outcome of the response to muscle testing. In an audience of 1,000 people, 500 envelopes were passed out holding artificial sweetener in them and another 500 contained organic vitamin C. The audience alternated the envelopes among themselves and muscle tested each other. When the envelopes were opened, they saw that those containing an artificial sweetener were the ones that made everyone go weak. The envelopes with the organic vitamin C tested strong.

Until you learn muscle testing, let symptoms be your guide

Muscle testing is a great tool to help you know when a product or food is accepted by your child’s body, and at what dosages too. Dosages change over time, up and down, as we detoxify. When we begin any new supplement we don’t want to begin with a dosage that is too high, so while you’re learning to muscle test you will begin with the lowest possible dosage of each product, and only one new one at a time, no less than 2-3 days apart from being introduced. This allows your child’s body to adjust and allows you time to watch for any symptoms to arise. Until you learn muscle testing, you will use symptoms as your guide. Don’t hesitate to slow down and reduce dosages at the first sign of increased symptoms in your child. Excessively rapid die off can send them into a spiral with the immune system overactive and worse symptoms that take even longer to reverse. 

The only way to really learn is practice, practice, practice!

To begin learning please see my demonstration of the ring-to-ring testing in my short tutorial video. Get the video here!

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Please see the studies and resources below on muscle testing:

The National Library of Medicine Institute/National Institute of Health  on the reliability and validity of manual muscle testing: a literature review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1847521/

The Accuracy of Muscle Response Testing: https://childcentremethod.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/The-accuracy-of-Muscle-Response-Testing.pdf 

Reliability and Validity of muscle testing from the national institute of health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1847521/

A force/displacement analysis of muscle testing: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11065332/

Here is an AK link that explains more on Applied Kinesiology and the use of muscle testing techniques developed by Dr. George Goodheart, who is called the father of Applied Kinesiology.