About the Practice
Adrian Abascal, LAC MSAOM DIPLOM
My professional life has been centered on children for more than two decades; as an educator, childcare provider, martial arts instructor, parent, and clinician.
My path into medicine began through injury. As a young adult involved in martial arts, I experienced injuries that did not respond well to conventional approaches. Treatment with traditional East Asian medicine changed the course of my recovery and led me to pursue formal medical training.
After the 2008 recession economic fallout ultimately closed my martial arts schools, I returned to school and completed postgraduate medical training at Texas Health and Science University. Around the same time, my wife and I began building childcare programs, daycares, and educational environments serving families throughout Central Texas. Working with children—both in health and education—has remained the central focus of my professional life.
Training and Credentials
I am a Texas-licensed acupuncturist, licensed in 2017, following ten semesters of postgraduate medical education at Texas Health and Science University. My training included thousands of hours of supervised clinical practice and the treatment of hundreds of patients before entering independent practice.
I hold national board certification and Clean Needle Technique certification, and have practiced in both private and group clinical settings. My early clinical work focused on orthopedic and sports-related injuries, which later expanded into a broader whole-body approach to recovery and pediatric care.
I am also the author of The Rapid Recovery Resource: An All-Natural Guide for Athletes, Coaches, and Hobbyists Who Get Hurt and Get Sore, written to help parents, coaches, and active individuals better understand injury recovery and the role of whole-body health in healing. The book reflects my early clinical focus on orthopedic and sports-related injuries and continues to inform my work with active children and adolescents.
Approach to Care
This practice is built around the understanding that children are not simply small adults, and that health cannot always be separated into isolated symptoms. Care begins with the whole child, their development, environment, and daily life, not only the condition being treated.
I believe that children should have an appropriate voice in their own care. This perspective has been shaped in part by the work of Dr. Emmi Pikler, whose work emphasized respect for child development and autonomy. Clinically, my work is also informed by modern physicians and clinicians such as Dr. Steve Hodges MD, known for his work in pediatric bladder and bowel dysfunction and bed-wetting, and Dr. David Miller, MD, LAc, whose work bridges conventional and East Asian approaches to autism and ADHD.
When working with children, I begin with the understanding that each child represents future potential. I often ask a simple question: if this child were to grow up to become someone who meaningfully shaped the world—an Albert Einstein, a Jane Goodall, or simply the fullest version of themselves—how would that change the way we care for them today?
That perspective shapes the level of attention, patience, and respect given during care.
Health in children cannot always be separated into isolated symptoms. A broken bone heals more effectively when sleep, nutrition, and stress are addressed. A child with anxiety may improve when digestion or sleep improves. Rather than focusing only on a diagnosis, care begins with understanding the whole child and the environment they live in.
Children are spoken to directly and given a voice in their care whenever appropriate. Parents remain active partners in treatment, helping support changes that occur between visits, because healing does not happen in the office alone. It happens during sleep, through daily routines, and in the small decisions made at home.
Methods and Scope
Care is much more than just acupuncture but non-needle techniques such as shonishin, gua sha, and cupping, botanical medicine, and primarily guidance related to nutrition, lifestyle, and recovery which can be recommended in remote consultations.
I do not prescribe pharmaceutical medications or perform surgery. Conventional medicine plays an important and valuable role in modern healthcare, and this practice works alongside primary care physicians and specialists when appropriate.
Some conditions are better served by other providers. Food allergies, cancer, terminal illness, and serious traumatic injuries requiring immediate medical intervention are referred to appropriate specialists. When orthopedic injuries are involved, imaging and diagnosis through a primary care physician or specialist are required prior to treatment.
Families and Philosophy
Children deserve thoughtful care regardless of the medical decisions made by adults around them. Families arrive with different beliefs and different concerns, particularly around medications or vaccinations. My role is not to replace conventional medicine, but to support children and families in making informed decisions and to help reduce stress around those decisions whenever possible.
This practice is intended for families seeking time, explanation, and a careful approach to pediatric health.
Practice Information
I work with children from pregnancy of the mom through adolescence and serve families in the South Austin and Central Texas area.