Monday, April 26, 2010

A Functional Approach to Childhood Developmental Disorders

A child born today has a 1/150 chance of being labeled with autism. The autistic spectrum covers a number of increasingly common childhood developmental/behavioral disorders including:

• Autism
• Asperger’s
• PDD/NOS
• ADD
• ADHD

Each of these is classified by specific qualitative behavioral impairments. While they all differ in some ways, the underlying causative factors are very similar. The VAST majority of these children have right frontal lobe deficits. The frontal lobe acts as the executive.

Frontal lobe functions
• Attention
• Focus
• Planning
• Motivation
• Personality
• Appropriate Modulation of emotions
• Appropriate modulation of Reflexes

Boys have larger right frontal lobes so they are more affected by a right sided delay which may explain the increased incidence of these conditions in males. Anything that interferes with prenatal development, the birthing process, or healthy growth and development during the first two years of life can affect how the right brain develops. During the first 16 – 18 months of development, development is largely right brain. At around this time, the emphasis switches to the left side. This is the time when a ‘regression’ may first be noticed. This imbalance between the right and left brain rarely will correct on its own.


Right Brain Left Brain

Big Picture Small Picture
Non-verbal communication Verbal communication
Large Muscle Control Small Muscle Control
EQ (emotion) IQ
Cautious and Safe Curious and Impulsive
Likes newness, novelty Likes routines
Social skills

So in a child with a right brain deficit and/or dominant left hemisphere you would see a child who may be uncoordinated, impulsive, likes routines (and is upset if disrupted), is into the details or obsessed with parts and how things work, has difficulty interpreting facial cues and has poor social skills. Some children will have verbal delay because language is heavily dependent on a foundation of non-verbal communication (understanding ones emotions, facial expression, body language etc).

This hemispheric imbalance can be addressed through specific brain based therapies. It is also important to avoid stimulating the dominant hemisphere and further accentuate the discrepancy. A thorough evaluation and understanding of these disorders is necessary for this approach to be effective.

While these conditions have a strong neurological component, there is also a complex network of GI, immune, hormone and other metabolic factors which must be unraveled. Addressing these factors through diet, lifestyle and specific supplementation can greatly improve the success of any other treatments or therapies.

To request a Case Review and Functional Assessment of your child to determine whether Brain Based Therapy and Functional Nutrition may be right for them, please call our office (814)238-0232

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