We treat

Childhood Development / Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders consist of an array of different conditions, including genetic disorders, autism spectrum disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome, ADD, ADHD, cerebral palsy developmental of specific skills or sets of information.  They may involve dysfunction in attention, memory, perception, language, problem-solving or social interactions, disabilities, learning disorders, intellectual disability, dyslexia, etc.  These conditions can interfere with the acquisition, retention (SP?) or application.

For those disorders, it’s critical and imperative to have a group effort; otherwise, we are unwilling to take your child on as a patient.  Without a group effort (everybody on board), these cases invariably fail.

How to get started?

  • Fill out the paperwork. This typically take about 1 hour
    1. Welcome Form
    2. Child Neurotransmitter Assessment Form
    3. Brain Region Localization Form
    4. Brain Function Assessment Form
    5. Metabolic Assessment Form
  • Bring any blood work that’s less than 1 year old
  • Bring us any imaging reports (MRI’s, etc)
  • Schedule 1 hour with the chiropractic assistant (Houda), to do a (QEEG), in which we can measure and isolate the different frequencies of the brain that are mis-firing and exactly what areas of the brain are involved. This is a $200 cost.
  • After we have all the results, we schedule a 30-minute report of findings visit with Dr. McKenzie, which costs $84. This is when we discuss treatment options for your child.

Types of Neuro developmental Disorders

Prenatal – occur during fetal developmental

  • Strongly influenced by the maternal health, genetics and pregnancy (ex: autism, dyslexia)

Postnatal – occur after birth due to lack of neuro development

  • Often related to poor diet and poor brain stimulation (ex: ADHD, Motor impairment)
Neurodevelopment: Windows of opportunity to improve the brain.

The most crucial time for the brain to become healthy is conception to age 2.  This is where the brain architecture develops.

First phase – Neuron migration 1st and 2nd trimester (Maternal health is crucial)

Second phase – Synaptic density and synaptic pruning – up to age 2

The gray matter development of the brain is completed by 10 years old.  This is the second most critical window of time to make long-lasting improvements to the brain.

The white matter development of brain is completed by age 20.  This is the third most important critical time.  At this point neurodevelopment is completed.

After age 20, we can create neural plasticity.  The can try to re-integrate information in the brain.

As you can see, earlier is better! The clock is ticking!

Neurodevelopmental Progression

Primitive reflexes – reflexes that we are born with, that should go away as we develop into adults.

Gross motor skills – movements of large muscles

Posture and balance

Fine motor skills – movements of small muscles

Language – receptive and expressive communication, speech and non-verbal communication.

Cognition – reason, memory and interaction with others.

Social, emotional and behavior skills – attachment, self-regulation and interaction with others.

Usually in this progression, we find the problems of neurodevelopmental delay is it exists; thus, we have to create the strategies to improve the functions of the areas involved.