Children with Neurosensory Disorders

Imagine you are driving along an unfamiliar highway late at night. It is pooring rain, so much so that the lights coming at you make it extremely difficult to see each time they are coming at you. You are looking to catch a glimpse of your turnoff in time to slow down and make the turn without causing an accident for those right behind you. The television you’ve invested in the backseat for your children is playing in the background, with people singing and yelling. On top of this, your children have started fighting over a noisy toy that they are pulling back and forth, making it rattle among the shouts and squeals. Your phone rings, it’s your husband wondering if you’ve made it there alright and on time. You’re late.

Now imagine this going on INSIDE of you all the time. While trying learn in school, meet new friends, learn new life skills, clean your room, sit still, play with brothers and sisters… Children with Neurosensory Disorders live life like this on a day to day basis.

Neuro—having to do with the nervous system—essentially, the part of your body that is responsible for controlling and coordinating all functions in the human body.
Sensory—the part of the nervous system that detects information and sends it to the brain so the brain can correctly interpret it and respond appropriately to the person’s environment.

Imagine if we could help these children to “turn down the noise” so that they may appropriately learn and respond to their environment. Silence, no rain, no traffic, the television turned down, no fighting children, the road signs bigger, brighter, clearer.

All too often, we can do everything to try to help these children. We use behavior therapy to work on modifying behavior, so that they can attempt to function even with the “noise” turned up inside them. We utilize sensory integration therapy, which attempts to strengthen the sensory systems (helping the road sign to “shout louder”). Or, we modify the child’s environment so that they can appear to be functioning normally as the outside volume is “turned down.” Unfortunately, their internal environment is still in chaos.

These approaches may all be necessary and helpful, dependant on the particular child. All too often, these approaches help somewhat , but the child inevitably plateaus prior to reaching their potential. Or worse yet, begins to regress as the “noise” becomes too much to handle. The reason is because noise in never really “turned down” for them. Parents then are made of feel the only other solution is medication— Dr. Baughman was published in the Journal of American Medical Association in regards to ADHD--“Once a psychotropic drug courses though their brain, they are, for the first time, physically, neurologically, and biologically abnormal.”(1) In other words, one dose of Ritalin, Xanax, or any of the other brain altering drugs are taken, their brain is changed--forever.

So, can the internal noise be “turned down?” Fortunately, the answer is often yes. By identifying where and from what the “noise” is coming from (toxins in the environment, nutritional toxicity or deficiency, movement deficiency, decreased neurologic function), eliminating inflammation in the brain, recreating proper connections between the brain and the body, and making sure the lines of communication are functioning normally without distortion, we can turn down the internal noise.

When this happens, and we then implement Behavioral Techniques, Environmental Modification, and sensory integration therapy, the results are often exponentially improved, and one can even often see not just an improved child, but a normal functioning child, one that can function normally in today’s hectic, stress filled world. Imagine the possibilities for a future where they are no longer held from…

(1) Baughman, F., Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Journal of the American Medical Assoc. April 28, 1999

Dr. Steve Nagel, D.C., CCWP, BSN has had specialized training in children with Neurosensory Disorders, is located in Longmont, Colorado and is giving a public lecture on this topic Thursday, September 16 at 6:00. Please call 720-340-4435 to reserve your seat.