Autism and neurodevelopment

Advanced Neurobiological Research Unit

For patients with neurodevelopmental conditions. At DiagnoTEA® we bring together a multidisciplinary team.

Research methodology

BioTeaMap®

Neurology

Genetics

Gastrointestinal

Endocrinology

Immunology

Metabolism

Mitochondria

Nutrition

Behavior

Today’s challenge

Caught between two extremes is the child

Today, autism care faces a serious problem: misunderstandings both within overloaded health systems and among families.

A child sitting before two paths: more medication or more supplements

Care that hasn’t kept up

In overloaded health systems, many children are not investigated in depth, and care relies on outdated approaches that miss each child’s individual complexity.

Protocols based on older textbooks, with little time to keep up with new research.
A focus on managing symptoms rather than investigating causes.
Little attention to each child’s biological and metabolic individuality.

Blind faith in “natural”

Children are given supplements, protocols and experimental therapies indiscriminately, without knowing whether they actually help or cause harm.

Supplements with no medical indication or professional follow-up.
Experimental therapies and protocols without solid evidence.
Risk of side effects, and lost time and money.

No child should be sent home without being investigated through appropriate tests and referrals to other specialists.

Families need to understand that “natural” is not always harmless, and that supplements can also cause harm when used without a real investigation.

After all, how can you know whether a medication or a natural product is helping your child if nothing has been investigated?

How can you know whether your child really needs what you are giving them, or whether it is causing harm?

Our team

Professionals dedicated to advanced clinical reasoning

Wilberto Zalazar, Director of Clinical Relations at DiagnoTEA

Dr. César Antonio Jaar Perdomo, General Practitioner at DiagnoTEA

Dr. Christian Martínez, representative of NanoLab Genetics Laboratory

The problem

The science says one thing; the child is treated according to another.

Research shows that autism is multifactorial, yet in practice, for lack of time and resources, those multiple factors are rarely looked for.

What the science says

Autism is multifactorial

The World Health Organization recognizes that many factors, both genetic and environmental, contribute to autism. Research also describes immune, metabolic and mitochondrial differences in some autistic people.

What the child experiences

They are not investigated as a whole person

The problem is treated as purely behavioral: a diagnosis based on a few questions and an EEG, and a “treatment” of risperidone and behavioral therapy, without anything about their biology being investigated.

This does NOT mean we are against antipsychotics or therapies. It means we oppose treatment plans made without first investigating the child in a truly comprehensive way.

Using such a simple approach for something so complex is unacceptable in the 21st century.

Our reality

Why Latin America?

Our work is rooted in Latin America, where many families face a reality that is hard to see from the outside. Public health systems are often overloaded: consultations are short, specialists are scarce, waiting lists are long, and many advanced tests are not covered or must be paid out of pocket.

As a result, many children and adults with autism receive a behavioral diagnosis and medication, but the medical conditions that may accompany it (digestive, immune, metabolic and genetic) are rarely investigated in depth.

This is not a failure of individual doctors, many of whom work with great dedication under difficult conditions. It is a gap in time, resources and access. DiagnoTEA exists to help close that gap: we organize each case, connect families with physicians willing to investigate, and help them make the most of every consultation and every test.

What we do

DiagnoTEA does the groundwork

In an overloaded medical system, lack of time and resources often leaves intestinal, immune and metabolic complications unaddressed, and these can worsen the neurological challenges of many autistic children. Many families end up giving up, or getting lost among diets, supplements and therapies without a sound basis.

Child with brain and organs illuminated like a hologram

We connect symptoms

We look at the whole child, not just their behavior. In many cases, behavior is the symptom of a body that has not been investigated.

Based on targeted medical questions

We suggest which tests may be appropriate for your child, to review with their doctor.

Test review

Every result is read alongside the child’s history. You don’t have to wait months to understand them: we explain your results the same day you send them.

We organize the medical history

This helps families, teachers and doctors understand what the child is going through, so it is not dismissed as “just behavior.”

Our team includes independent researchers, trained mothers, partner physicians and people experienced in analyzing:

Neurology

Immunology

Gastroenterology

Cellular metabolism

Mitochondrial function

Genetics and epigenetics

Clinical nutrition

Every case is different

The investigation guides how each child is approached

DiagnoTEA is not limited to a single approach.

Natural tools

Some children will need entirely natural tools.

Medication

Others will need pharmacological treatment.

A combination of both

And many will need both.

The truth is this: no doctor, no organization and no protocol can really know what a child needs unless all of these medical areas are investigated in depth.