What can chiropractic care do for my child?
It is our belief that all children need chiropractic care. Kids with ADHD, Asperger’s, Autism, Sensory Processing Disorders, Tourette’s, Tics, (among other issues) can be helped. By administering gentle adjustments, the nervous system is cleared of interference, allowing the child to function at their fullest potential in all aspects of their lives. Children with developmental or behavioral issues are no different! Our approach is to use very light touch to give the body a chance to remove this interference – known to chiropractors as subluxation – without over-stimulating your child. Modifications can always be made in chiropractic to tailor your child’s treatment to suit their individual condition.
Special attention is often paid to the cranium in these children. The individual bones that make up the cranium are not fused at birth and are especially moveable in younger children. Due to the intimate relationship between these bones and the brain, we have had great success in influencing nervous system function by softly contacting a child’s head. Overtime, parents often may note a more symmetrical appearance of the face and head in addition to improved coordination and overall focus and vitality.
Functional Neurology
We know these children have plenty of energy and love to share. By using concepts of functional neurology, it’s our pleasure to help them express themselves by working with their brain to establish more effective connections between the left and right sides of the cortex. If we consider the brain to be like a computer with a dual core processor, both “cores” must by functioning at the same level for optimum performance of the computer. If one side is slower, the whole system functions differently. The brain is much the same way. We use various exercises and stimulation of the senses to bring both sides of the brain up to the same level of functioning to allow for an overall “faster” system. One activity, known as “cross-crawl” exercises, involves alternating movements to stimulate opposite sides of the brain simultaneously. As your child masters these skills, counting and letters are said with the motions in order to stimulate other areas of the brain to further improve integrated function. These exercises can be done easily at home in order to allow your child to make steady progress. Retained primitive reflexes will also be tested for and if found, special remediation exercises will be given.
Diet
There are many ways diet can affect a child’s development. Certain foods, such as dairy, gluten, and processed sugars, can lead to inflammation of the entire system. The health effects resulting from this inflammation are constantly being discovered, but are being linked to conditions such as autism, allergies, ADHD, and a variety of other conditions. Now more than ever, easy alternatives are available to make a diet transition not only possible, but enjoyable. Try exchanging one inflammatory element for a healthier option for a couple of weeks and you’ll be amazed at the changes! We have plenty of resources available for you, should you conclude that diet modification is the right step for your child, and we are happy to offer support and recipe ideas.