1. What are your primary medical specialties?
I received my chiropractic degree from Los Angeles College of Chiropractic in 1994 and started working in family wellness care in San Diego shortly thereafter. I have taken additional courses in nutrition, pregnancy, pediatrics, autism and craniosacral therapy. I became a Defeat Autism Now (DAN) doctor in 2007. I have received the Diplomate in Chiropractic Pediatrics for successful completion of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association's three hundred and sixty hour diplomate program in 2008.
2. How many autism cases have you treated?
I have seen hundreds of kids, and dozens with developmental disorders on the autistic spectrum, but even with all that experience I’ve never seen two cases the same. Each one is very unique.
3. Do you usually have a waiting list?
No. When the paperwork is complete and your deposit is in, we schedule an appointment at the soonest opportunity.
4. How long do you spend face-to-face for an initial consultation?
Usually I spend up to an hour for a new patient consultation. We discuss the child’s history, parent’s hopes and goals, what I expect to find in the exam, and my proposed course of action in the child’s case. If the doctor and parents agree we schedule a 1 hour exam for the child to be fully evaluated. Consultations are not scheduled without the completed paperwork and $150.00 deposit. The exam fee is $400.
5. What is the average length of an appointment?
Each appointment will very from 15 to 40 minutes depending on how much the child can accomplish in each visit.
6. Are your patients advised to use special diets?
None of my patients are required to do anything. However, if I feel that without making dietary changes the patient will not make progress; I will be honest and tell you. It’s important to me that the treatment program is agreed on by the child, parents and doctor before starting so there are no surprises. In my experience, many of the imbalances seen in children with autism are magnified by their past or current diet. GF/CF has shown to help many kids when done correctly but is not for everyone.
7. Do you collaborate with other specialists?
Yes! I am very happy to work with any specialist or any other member of your child’s health care team.
8. Do you collaborate on treatment and testing with other professionals?
Yes! I require that you maintain your child’s primary care provider, and I am happy to work with your child’s health care team.
9. Do you or your staff speak a language other than English?
I read and understand some Spanish and I am learning to speak Spanish in my spare time. All of my paperwork is available in Spanish. Rosa, my office manager, is bilingual and assists me in cases where my Spanish is not sufficient.
10. Do you offer phone consultations for distant patients?
Most of the therapy and treatment I do is “hands on” which is my specialty. However, I do some telephone consolation on a case by case basis.
11. Do you provide any form of after-hours support?
Yes, on a case by case basis.
12. Do you sell proprietary nutritional supplements?
All the nutritional supplements come from the highest reputable sources. I am not an exclusive distributor of anything but the products I use and carry are much stronger and more effective than most you can buy off of the shelves in a pharmacy or health food store. I use supplements from many different companies because I feel that no one company does it all. The qualities I focus on when considering a product are; what product is the company known for, what products do they do best, who does the 3rd party testing, the potency of the product, the studies done with the product and the overall cost to the patient. Because of this, I do my best to avoid products from multi-level marketing companies. No, I do not sell products at cost; I use the manufacture suggested retail price.
13. Do you take insurance?
If not, do you provide organized, coded insurance forms? No. I do not take assignment from insurance companies but I am happy to provide you with organized coded information along with a receipt for you to submit.
14. Do you bill for laboratory tests done by commercial laboratories?
We have found it easier and more cost effective for the patient to pay for the laboratory tests directly with the lab of their choice. I am always happy to make a recommendation if the patient does not have a lab of choice.
Gerken Family Chiropractic 88 E Bonita Road, Suite E, Chula Vista, CA 91910 Phone: (619) 422-3088 Email Us