If you’re a parent struggling with the challenges of chronic neurological conditions in your child—ranging from autism, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder to anxiety, seizures, and OCD—then you’re likely familiar with the emotions that come along with these challenges. Such as frustration, exhaustion, and a relentless pursuit of answers. Despite navigating traditional medical avenues, searching online resources, and trying out various therapies like PT, OT, and speech, you might still feel like you’re stuck without solutions or definitive answers. 

Welcome to what we call “The Perfect Storm”. An accumulation of traumatic events, toxins, and developmental disruptions that can leave your child’s nervous system in an endless state of imbalance.  This can begin as early as during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and/or early childhood, causing your child to go off track. 

This blog is for parents who refuse to resign themselves to the status quo of chronic illness and medication dependency. It’s for those who seek genuine understanding and drug-free alternatives to support their child’s well-being. As we dive into the details of The Perfect Storm, our aim is to empower you with knowledge and actionable insights to reclaim control over your child’s health journey.

Understanding The Science of The Perfect Storm

Before discussing what we call The Perfect Storm, it’s important to understand the scale of this issue. Shockingly, statistics reveal that 1 in 4 children struggle with chronic illness. While sensory issues affect 1 in 6 kids, and Autism Spectrum Disorder affects 1 in 36 children. These numbers shine a massive light on the urgency of addressing the root causes behind these health challenges in our kids today.

One of the fundamental truths often overlooked is the interconnectedness of various health issues in children. 

Conditions like colic, constipation, eczema, and ear infections aren’t isolated incidents that children outgrow. Rather, they serve as precursors to more complex neurological conditions. This interconnectedness forms the blueprint of The Perfect Storm, a sequence of events that shapes a child’s developmental trajectory.

The Origin of The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm very often begins during pregnancy, where high levels of maternal stress can profoundly impact fetal development. As a pregnant mother, if your nervous system is stuck in a “fight or flight” sympathetic stress response, then all those stress hormones are shared with your developing baby’s nervous system.  The umbilical cord doesn’t just bring nutrients and oxygen to your baby. It also serves as the electrical “power” cord that connects your nervous system to your baby’s nervous system. 

Next is the birthing process, which only aggravates the storm. Particularly with interventions like forceps, vacuum extraction, and c-sections. All put immense pressure on your baby’s head, neck, and delicate brainstem area as they yank, twist, and pull on a brand-new infant. These procedures can subject infants to significant physical birth trauma, particularly affecting the brainstem and nervous system. 

This immediately shifts your baby’s nervous system into a sustained “fight or flight” sympathetic response. This results in subluxation and shuts down or suppresses the function of the vagus nerve and parasympathetic nervous system. Which is the system in charge of rest and digestion.

It’s crucial to understand that when your child’s nervous system becomes overstressed and imbalanced, a host of challenges arise. Their immune and digestive systems bear the brunt, leading to frequent illnesses. When this happens, unfortunately, the typical response from pediatricians often involves prescribing antibiotics and other medications. However, these medications can worsen the situation by disrupting the connection between the gut and brain. Further derailing the child’s health. 

This downward spiral can eventually manifest as asthma, allergies, ADHD, anxiety, and more. Despite each condition being treated separately, they all stem from underlying issues. Issues like subluxation, neurological dysfunction, and dysautonomia—a state where the autonomic nervous system has lost its equilibrium and functionality.

The Role of Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care in Restoring Balance

We know about this deep foundational, true root neurological cause of chronic illness in our kids. We are equipped with advanced technology that can help restore nervous system function by identifying and addressing subluxation and neurological imbalances. Using our INSiGHT Scans, customized care plans, and adjustments, the aim is to alleviate stress, activate the parasympathetic nervous system, and facilitate better brain-body communication for your child.

We never want you to feel alone in the storm, so if you’re ready to start down a new path toward understanding the true root cause and healing for your child, we want to help. 
Please reach out to RCW today! By equipping yourself with knowledge and embracing proactive measures, you can rewrite the narrative of your child’s health journey. We want to help you and your child navigate the storm and emerge stronger on the other side.

As parents, one of the most profound responsibilities we have is safeguarding the health and well-being of our family. When faced with challenges – whether physical, developmental, or emotional – our search for answers and solutions becomes all we think about. Central to this journey is the question: “When will I see the results I’m looking for?”. It’s a natural concern rooted in our love and desire to see our kids grow up healthy and thriving.

The truth is, the answer isn’t always straightforward. It depends on so many factors. Starting from your child’s struggles at birth to their current developmental stage and the severity of their current challenges. For you as a parent, the list of factors is even longer. Injuries, medications, work stress, burnout, etc. And even then, there are objective measures and test findings that can influence the timeline of improvement.

As chiropractors with extensive experience in neurology, pediatrics, and confronting tough conditions, we understand the urgency and need for clarity in yours or your child’s healing journey. We can often predict, with a fair degree of accuracy, when and how healing will occur. 

Our ability to make these predictions stems from years of working with people facing similar struggles, understanding neurology, and leveraging scientific knowledge. We take yours or your child’s story, and key neurological metrics into account to craft what we call “Your Care Plan.”

This isn’t just any plan; it’s a tailored roadmap to recovery. It’s personalized, grounded in neurology and science, and shaped by our collective experience. All providing insights into the unique healing journey. 

So let’s dive deeper into what constitutes a care plan and why it holds the answers to the burning question:. “When will I see results in care?”

Understanding the Science Behind Your Child’s Care Plan

Every single aspect of care we provide at RCW is focused on the nervous system and promoting what’s called neuroplasticity. It’s a big, nerdy word, but its essence is quite simple and important. Especially for little ones and for us as parents navigating the demands of everyday life. 

Neuroplasticity is all about ensuring that the body’s most critical system – the nervous system – can do what it does best. Rest, relax, heal, grow, and adapt. These five elements are the cornerstones of well-being. From the tiniest infant needing ample sleep to parents and children alike requiring resilience in our chaotic, stressful world.

When we craft a care plan, every aspect revolves around nurturing neuroplasticity. It begins with our doctors taking the time to genuinely listen to your concerns, setting goals collaboratively, and leveraging cutting-edge technology to assess the state of yours or your child’s nervous system.

We use advanced tools like the INSiGHT Scans. A remarkable set of three scans that dive deep into the central nervous system. These scans help us identify and measure stress, tension, and dysfunction that might be lurking within the autonomic nervous system. Terms like subluxation, dysautonomia, and vagus nerve dysfunction may sound daunting, but they simply point to an overstressed, fatigued, and malfunctioning nervous system. 

From there, our team constructs a precise, customized care plan tailored to your specific needs. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach: it’s a personalized roadmap designed to optimize neurological function and well-being. Our clinical care planning system integrates history, neurological examination, and INSiGHT scan findings to determine the ideal frequency and duration of care. 

At the report of findings visit, we sit down with you to review the scan and exam results, and present your personalized care plan. It’s an empowering moment – a clear action plan to guide toward health and healing. This visit marks a pivotal moment for families, offering clarity, direction, and hope.

The Incredible Power of Care Plans

The incredible miracles we witness daily at RCW all begin with a care plan. These initial changes set the stage for even greater transformations. Here’s where the beauty of chiropractic shines through: we address neurological interference and imbalance naturally without reliance on drugs. Once we restore balance to a nervous system, remarkable shifts occur: 

• Better sleep
• Improved digestive regularity
• Reduced symptoms tied to ADHD and anxiety
• Enhanced ability to manage sensory processing challenges
• Increased energy levels
• Decreased emotional and behavioral stress

Just take a look at the chart showcasing the most common responses to neurologically-focused chiropractic care. Who wouldn’t want to experience these incredible long-term benefits firsthand?

These incremental yet significant changes provide the momentum the nervous system needs to achieve major milestones and results. Such as improvements in speech, behavior at school, immune balance, developmental challenges, and beyond. 

There’s nothing more powerful than parents seeking hope, answers, and help for their children. Never cease pursuing those avenues; it’s always worthwhile. 

For your next steps, reach out to us today and connect with one of our dedicated care advocates to have all your questions addressed. Especially those concerning the timeline for neurological healing and restoration. Your healing journey starts at RCW. 

While talking about poop may bring laughter to kids and parents alike, when your child faces chronic constipation, it becomes a serious concern. Recent research suggests that approximately 25-30% of children experience constipation, impacting their overall well-being. More than a digestive issue, chronic constipation is often a symptom of an underlying problem linked to various childhood conditions. Such as autism, anxiety, sensory processing disorder, developmental delays, and ADHD.

If you have dealt with your child struggling with chronic constipation, you know the repercussions on their lives are significant. It affects their immune system, sleep, energy levels, and emotional regulation. If you have exhausted various remedies, including diet changes, prune juice, probiotics, and even Miralax, this is for you. Let’s dive into the genuine root causes of chronic constipation. Let’s go beyond nutritional imbalances, and provide drug-free options to enhance your child’s quality of life. 

A Story of Hope

Consider Lucas, who began experiencing stomach issues at the age of 4. His daily struggles with pain led his family through a maze of doctor visits, X-rays, ultrasounds, and a traumatic experience with Miralax. Despite feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, a glimmer of hope emerged when they stumbled upon a social media post mirroring their story. Skeptical yet desperate for answers, they sought help, leading to transformative changes in Lucas’s life through neurologically-focused chiropractic care.

Understanding the Science: It’s Neurological

Chronic constipation is not merely a genetic or nutritional imbalance; it’s primarily a neurological imbalance. Many parents, like yourself, have already explored diet modifications, probiotics, and supplements. All with little success in achieving relief for their children. Clinically, chronic constipation is often “neurogenic,” indicating an overactive sympathetic nervous system and dysregulated digestive muscles.

This neurological imbalance, termed subluxation and dysautonomia, triggers a fight-or-flight response, diverting energy away from the digestive tract.  When your child’s nervous system is in this protective and stressed-out state, it greatly impacts the gut and digestive system. Mainly by “conserving energy” for the skeletal muscles (to fight or flight) and taking it away from the muscles of the digestive tract. 

This is why we see chronic constipation strongly correlated with conditions like autism, ADHD, sensory challenges, and anxiety.  They all stem from that same neurological imbalance. 

Neurologically-focused chiropractic adjustments, particularly targeting your child’s vagus nerve and parasympathetic system, provide a drug-free solution to restore balance and alleviate chronic constipation. The focus of our adjustments is to stimulate and activate the parasympathetic nervous system and vagus nerve. Which in turn stimulates and activates digestive motility and relaxation for your child. 

Next Steps: Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic

So, if you are grappling with your child’s chronic constipation, understanding the neurological component is crucial. We see the difference our specialized approach here at RCW makes on a daily basis. Our goal is to activate your child’s parasympathetic nervous system. We humorously refer to this as “hitting the poop button”. Our adjustments promote digestive motility and relaxation within their nervous system.

To learn more about how this works, or get your child scheduled for a consult and exam, please reach out to RCW today! Investing in your child’s neurological well-being not only addresses chronic constipation, but opens the door to a happier, healthier future for them.