Every new mom wants to give her child every opportunity to thrive and grow up normal, healthy, happy. What happens if something tries to get in the way of that path? If certain conditions or abnormalities render your baby “special needs,” you’re obviously concerned. You want answers. You want solutions. You want to wipe away the discomfort and pain your baby is experiencing and set them on a bright path starting in childhood and up through adulthood.
Chiropractic treatment can help alleviate some of the symptoms experienced by children with disease conditions, and ailments that put them in the category of “special needs.” Here at The Chiropractic Place for Mommy and Me in Aledo, Texas, we are not unfamiliar with serving our families pediatric chiropractic for their little ones that have been diagnosed as “special needs”. We like to say these little ones actually have superpowers and their bodies are so much more attuned to other areas of sensation than most of us are.
What Are Special Needs Children?
So first, what does “special needs” mean exactly? It’s actually a catch-all phrase for a wide range of physical, emotional, or behavioral difficulties such as such as developmental delays, medical conditions, or psychiatric and congenital conditions.
Special needs in your child’s situation might be a learning disability or a physical impairment. When a child is identified as “special needs” it usually means there is some part of their body not working the way that would be considered normal when looking at the rest of the population. These children may require special health services or special accommodations.
What puts a child in this situation? It could be the result of a traumatic birth, in utero positioning, vertebral misalignments, genetic abnormalities, brain malformation, or other injuries or conditions that can result in physical and/or mental limitations before or after birth. The vertebrae that protect the spinal cord may have lost its normal motion or position. Delicate nerve tissue may have been damaged, damage that interferes with baby’s brain … possibly the brain’s ability to control the proper functioning organs and tissues.
Special needs children include those with learning disorders or physical disorders … ADD or ADHD, dyslexia, autism, torticollis, Asperger Syndrome, Scoliosis, Cerebral Palsy, genetic conditions.
If all this seems disheartening and scary, keep in mind that special needs conditions do not always mean that your child won’t have a bright future. We have personally known several parents that were told by their child’s medical professional that they were going to have health challenges that meant profound disabilities for their future. However, those children were given this diagnosis as an infant. Now that they have grown into little children, we have been blessed to be able to see them defy all of the odds imaginable and reach milestones they were told they never would.
The Link between Special Needs and Misalignments
Here’s what we know about special needs conditions. Some result from or may contribute to imbalances in the body which can include the musculoskeletal system or nervous system.
They include:
● Torticollis
● ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) & ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
● Scoliosis ( an “S”- or “C”-shaped spinal curve)
● Spinal cord injuries
● Brain injuries
● Delays in reaching developmental milestones (for examples rolling over, sitting up, walking, and so on)
Many children are born with a misalignment of the C1 vertebra. This can be due to modern birth experiences if their little heads are pulled on as they are being delivered. There also seems to be an increase in in-utero malpositioning causing tightened muscles along their necks or hips. If these imbalances goes undetected and uncorrected, a host of problems can result later in life, including their spine and muscles developing imbalanced. This is where we can see the rise of torticollis, scoliosis, and delays in their milestones.
Many leading childhood development experts find that if a child is not able to move their hips properly, then they may have a decrease in their ability to learn how to roll over both directions, crawl, sit up on their own and walking. Neurology experts find that when you use one side of the body predominantly, that it can contribute to brain imbalances. This is one of the biggest discoveries found in the Brain Balancing center and different brain therapies. We find where the child is “one-sided,” if you will, they can be trained how to become more balanced. One of the biggest exercises to start off with is making sure the child can perform “cross-crawl” appropriately. This is a skill that is mastered throughout their first year of life with the Bauer Crawling reflex, and then to crawling on all fours. If a child has tightened muscles or restrictions within the joint movement of their hips to neck, this can influence the child’s ability to properly achieve these skills.
Rise in Special Needs Children
So it’s frustrating to witness the rising rates of autism, learning disabilities, and children being enrolled in special education programs when so much can be done to correct the situation.
Many parents of special needs children now seek many types of care, leaving no legitimate stone unturned … because their kids have challenges that directly affect and limit their ability to succeed in the world. The good news is there is help for special needs children through chiropractic care.
A Chiropractor’s Role with Special Needs
A chiropractor’s role is to find underlying problems that cause symptoms as a result of injuries and disease. Promising hope for special needs children can be found in a chiropractor’s office.
Chiropractic uses special adjustments that work to optimize a baby’s nervous system function. When baby’s nervous system is functioning properly, their bodies are better able to communicate and work better – often without medication or surgery.
Special-needs children might require a combination of treatment approaches. In addition to adjustments, we apply Craniosacral Therapy, pediatric specific myofascial release, and other sensory-motor processing work.
Results with Chiropractic Care
While many disabilities seem irreversible, you as a mother can feel optimistic. Optimizing the functioning of the nervous and muscular system can make a remarkable difference in children who have mental and/or physical difficulties.
Because chiropractic treatment corrects and aligns the spine, which is the center of the nervous system, the effects of adjustments can be felt throughout the entire body system.
Chiropractic care for those with special needs can help promote a better range of motion and blood flow, bringing healing to the muscles, soft tissues, nervous system, and digestive system. Many who receive chiropractic treatment notice reductions in muscle pain and tension, improved sleep, reduced inflammation, a greater sense of well-being, and elevated mood.
Chiropractic care for your special needs child can aid in lessening or relieving pain. Our parents report improvements in a child’s behavior, communication, and social skills. Parents are often surprised by the improvements they see in their child’s speech, amount of seizures, and by how content and relaxed their child has become – something that happens often in our care.
Most often, parents report improved bowel movements, better sleep, fewer tantrums, calmer behavior, and faster attainment of goals that were set in other therapies that are being applied … therapies such as physical, or speech therapy, and in older children we see advancements in occupational therapy.
Adjustments of specific joints can improve the nervous system and encourage the body’s natural healing abilities. With regular treatments, chiropractic can restore a properly functioning nervous system. A properly functioning nervous system can help with better gastrointestinal function, ability to focus better, and allow your child a more restful sleep.
Our clinic receives multiple referrals from other local therapists because they find the children are improving much quicker when chiropractic care is part of their health care.
Never Too Early
It is never too early to begin chiropractic. Pregnant women benefit greatly from it. Their nervous system is vital to a healthy pregnancy and delivery. Newborns also benefit from chiropractic as quickly as the first few days following birth. So when certain symptoms or behaviors first pop up, it’s best to address them right away rather than watch and wait.
Who We Are
We are Doctors Michelle Parker and Darcy Goode. Our clinic has been certified in Webster Technique and providing care to pregnant women, dads, and children since 2010. Both of us have numerous post-graduate chiropractic training in working on the muscles and bones of expecting moms and newborns by integrating craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, and pregnancy-tailored chiropractic adjustments. In addition, Dr. Parker is the only pediatric certified chiropractic by the Academy Council in Parker County. She is also an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant.
Located Near Fort Worth
The office of The Chiropractic Place for Mommy and Me is in Aledo, Texas, just 15 minutes west of downtown Fort Worth or 10 minutes east of Weatherford, Hudson Oaks, and Willow Park.
Feel free to visit our social media pages on Instagram @TheChiroPlaceforMommyandMe or Facebook @TheChiroPlace to get a feel for our atmosphere and how we work with entire families and pregnant moms, mothers, and children. We are proud to offer a family-friendly, kid-approved, and mother-oriented space to the community. Give our office a call to get you and your child’s appointment scheduled today at 682-214-0408.