Neurodevelopmental disorders are conditions that stem from brain and nerve dysfunction. They begin in childhood during development but continue throughout life. If you have a child who has a neurodevelopmental disorder or are yourself an adult that lives with one, these conditions can profoundly impact your everyday life. If your child has a neurodevelopmental condition, it also affects their growth and maturation.
Since neurodevelopmental disorders impact the brain and the entire neurological system, they affect everywhere the nerves travel. In other words, they influence the whole body. Some common neurodevelopmental disorders include Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), specific learning disabilities (LD), communication disorders, neurodevelopmental mood disorders, and intellectual disabilities (ID).
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Perhaps one of the most well-known neurodevelopmental conditions of our time is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. It is also an increasingly common diagnosis. Nearly twice as many children have ADHD now than 30 years ago.
Children or adults with ADHD have challenges related to behavior, attention, and sensory integration. Some hallmark behaviors of ADHD include difficulty with turn-taking, fidgeting, daydreaming, forgetfulness, and carelessness. Since there are inattentive, hyperactive-impulse, and mixed forms of ADHD, the disorder can vary.
Learning Disorders
Unlike ADHD, the prevalence of specific learning disorders has remained relatively steady over the past few decades and is found in 10.3% of boys and 6.3% of girls. Learning disorders impact how individuals make sense of their environment and then use the information to improve their lives. This can make learning and working challenging.
Some common learning disorders include dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Individuals with these disorders have more difficulty reading, handwriting, and mathematics than someone with the same level of intelligence who doesn’t have a learning disorder.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD includes various conditions, including autistic disorder, Asperger syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). No matter where an individual is on the spectrum, their disorder impacts learning, behavior, interaction, and communication. Persons with ASD can have any level of intelligence and functioning.
Since emotional, social, and communication abilities are impacted, individuals on the spectrum can have a wide range of symptoms. Some individuals on the spectrum may avoid eye contact, cuddling, and changes in routine. Others may engage in behaviors such as echo-speech, repetitive hand-flapping, or rocking. Individuals with ASD each display their own behaviors and face their own set of challenges.
Intellectual Disabilities
Intellectual Disabilities or ID used to be called mental retardation. ID is almost twice as common as it was 30 years ago, affecting 1% of the population. An individual with ID functions at a lower level than someone of the same age typically functions.
Children and adults can develop ID due to various conditions, including Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, head injury, and stroke. ID is a developmental disorder because it first occurs during development, which is preborn to age 18. Individuals with ID may have difficulty solving problems, remembering, and relating to others. They may also reach developmental milestones such as talking, crawling, and walking later than others.
How Neurodevelopmental Disorder Treatment Can Help
At Vital Wellness Center, Neurodevelopmental Disorder Treatment is about improving your or your child’s entire life. We believe that you must treat neurodevelopmental disorders at their source – the nerves. While it isn’t always possible to reverse or cure most of these conditions, it is possible to improve nerve functioning and, by extension, whole body functioning.
The neurological system handles every piece of information we receive through our senses. Through sensing, processing, responding, and reflecting upon our experiences, we build our lives. When we cannot optimally complete one or more of these actions, we have a reduced quality of life.
Neurodevelopmental Disorder Treatment can enhance everyday experiences by bolstering the nerves and brain that make understanding them possible. Since the spine surrounds the body’s primary information carrier, the spinal cord, any misalignment or subluxation of the spine can interfere with nerve impulses sent between the brain and the rest of the body.
Nerve impulses aren’t just crucial to understanding the world. They are necessary for acting on the world and for promoting development. In other words, how clearly childhood senses are transmitted can change and shape the body, including the brain. Neurodevelopmental Disorder Treatment can help improve the quality of sensory information received and their experience responding to it.
Benefits of Neurodevelopmental Disorder Treatment
Vital Wellness Center provides Neurodevelopmental Disorder Treatment that is scientifically based. Some neurodevelopmental issues chiropractic care can help, as shown by recent research, include:
- Improved Visual Tracking to help ADHD and LD students read more efficiently
- Reduced jumping, rocking & hand-flapping for an ASD child with results lasting more than eight years
- Successful transition from walking on toes to a proper gait through chiropractic treatment and prescribed exercise
Neurodevelopmental Disorder Treatment addresses the underlying spinal misalignment blocking necessary nerve transmission in all of these conditions. When our chiropractor, Dr. David Foss, measures nerve function using The Insight Subluxation Station, you can see how your nerves are progressing with the same equipment used by NASA. Over time, you can also experience the difference treatment can make in the quality of your sleep, attention, energy, and overall health.
How to Get Neurodevelopmental Disorder Treatment
Dr. David Foss is an established chiropractor with experience treating individuals of all ages with neurodevelopmental disorders. Whether you or your child has ASD, LD, ID, or ADHD, Dr. Foss would be pleased to work with you. Please call, email, or directly book an appointment online with our Vital Wellness Center team today.
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