Childhood Developmental Concerns

What is wrong with my child?

Many parents are convinced that “something just isn’t right” with their child. They can’t say exactly what but they notice that they are overly impulsive, irritable, have difficulty focusing, sleeping or just don’t seem to be developing the same as other kids (sometimes even when compared to their siblings). These same parents are often frustrated to find that their family doctors or pediatricians have no answers or tell the parents that there is nothing wrong. Many times parents of such children are even intimidated about approaching their pediatrician with these concerns, as they “would know where to start”.

Very often developmentally delayed children may not even match the specific criteria for ADD or other such conditions. Attention deficit disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Asperger's syndrome, and autism, may be viewed as points on a spectrum of developmental disabilities. These points share many features in common and many suspect that they may share many common causes. Many children do not receive a formal diagnosis for one of these conditions simply because the nature of their dysfunction does not meet the criteria for one of these named conditions. The fact that they have concerning issues is undeniable in the eyes of their parents.

Alterations in the normal development of a child has the potential to cause a wide variety of cognitive, behavioral and functional problems including:

• Language deficits (poor listening comprehension, poor verbal expression, poor reading comprehension)
• Poor organizational skills
• Poor memory and inability to follow a sequence of instructions
• Poor fine and gross motor skills (often manifesting as “slowness to learn” certain skills)
• Poor balance (often manifesting as apparent “clumsiness”)

Developmental disabilities are most often a result of understimulation not over-stimulation, as many believe. Our approach to behavioral disorders of childhood is that there is not coincidence that cognitive and motor symptoms exist together in most cases. That is, we seldom find problems with attention, focus, communication and behavior without problems in coordination, balance, muscle tone, strength and/or motor skills. Furthermore, we often find these issues existing alongside problems like constipation, persistent allergies, digestive problems, adverse behaviors to food and nutritional deficiencies (problems in how food is converted into energy in the body).

The question then becomes: “Where do you start?”

care’s approach to childhood cognitive and behavioral disorders, like our approach to other health concerns, is to treat the “whole person”. We do not ‘hang our hat’ on any single therapy (as a group, our center has researched and assessed near every type of therapy presently available, including sensory based therapies, biochemical therapies, nutritional interventions, neuromuscular and vestibular rehabilitation to name a few). We believe that our services represent a well-balanced approach to these problems. Simply put, we seek to remove interferences with physiological problems (e.g. allergies, digestive and nutritional concerns), stimulate the brain and nervous system to create new connections and build new skills (with a variety of therapies - Services menu) and deal with any potential relationship issues.

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