This is anecdotal and can be explained by looking deeper behind the science of the chiropractic care plan. When parents come to me with their kiddos diagnosed with autism, sensory processing disorders, anxiety, or even undiagnosed where they are just "difficult" to soothe, it may seem like there's a lot of things that come into play (and there might as well be).
Things like diet, environmental toxins, genetic(?), birth traumas, or even past generations that may be passed down can come into play. I find that parents have done the homework and is consistently doing well where they are giving their family and kiddos the best food source for their meals, the cleanest supplements you can find, and enroll them in dance classes, gymnastics, or individualized classes or therapy (Occupational therapy, speech therapy, physical therapy, etc).
When I do a history on what's going on, I'm always impressed and glad that they are doing all the stuff and most of the time they are missing one part that ties it all together.
What is that?
It's the thing that makes other therapists go:
"Wow, Suzie did so well in her therapy this 60 minutes versus what she's been doing the past 3 years"
"My kid can sleep through the night when it took forever for them before with every sort of potion/supplement."
"It just seems like my child is so much calmer." - This is my favorite one.
Why is that and how does it work?
Studies have shown that the brain is activated leaning more towards one side when they have things that show up as clumsiness, poor coordination, unable to transition to different situations with ease, abnormal behavior patterns that don't match the situation, etc.
In a 2016 study that used EEG showed that with the chiropractic adjustment, it was noted that BOTH parts of the pre-frontal cortex (decision process making) of the brain lit up. Before I get too excited out of my chair, this is the good part:
“THIS IS SOLID SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT ADJUSTING THE SPINE CHANGES THE WAY THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX OF THE BRAIN IS PROCESSING INFORMATION FROM THE ARM. IT DEMONSTRATES WE CHANGE THE WAY THE BRAIN WORKS AND SHOWS THAT SPINAL FUNCTION IMPACTS BRAIN FUNCTION. ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE CHANGES WE OBSERVED WAS THAT THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BEHAVIOR, GOAL DIRECTED TASKS, DECISION MAKING, MEMORY AND ATTENTION, INTELLIGENCE, PROCESSING OF PAIN AND EMOTIONAL RESPONSE TO IT, AUTONOMIC FUNCTION, MOTOR CONTROL, EYE MOVEMENTS AND SPATIAL AWARENESS.”
What this means that when a child who has an overactive left brain that may lead to things like a "noisy brain syndrome", "constant fear syndrome", or "busy and/or distracted brain syndrome" like symptoms, the chiropractic adjustment changes the brain to where it lights up both of the prefrontal cortex to allow both sides of the brain communicate with each other to balance out the communication on what it is meant to do.
Adjustment = Brain Balancing
So when parents and patients ask me how long it takes for their child to get XYZ result, it's quite difficult for me to say because for this reason:
Unique home environment
Stressful situations differ
Accumulation of stressors that may arise
Unique individual make-up of each child
Past, present, and future stressors that is difficult to predict
However, what I do know is that the benefit of a care plan is customized for every child and every patient and can change depending on what stressors increased during that time or how well they're adjusting (surprises me every time) that I use my tools to assess if changes need to be made and re-adjusted.
In time, things like less tantrums, less frequent terrors, and more fun, more laughs and giggles result. I would love to promise it's a smooth ride once you get under care, but that's why I have a care plan for each of my patients to let them know whatever may change or not change, I'm there for them and their family to help them through those inconsistent times when they were progressing at their own pace.
We can force someone to heal, we can only allow the space and time for the brain to do what it needs to do. Because as science continues to grow, our brain can change (neuroplasticity) and no matter what it's never too late to start.
The brain stays ON during stressful events.
For people under care who seem to be calmer, this is what happens. When the brain is turned "ON" after the adjustment, instead of shutting down during the stressful event, it continues to stay on and the individual is able to handle the stressful situation versus completely shutting down (i.e. tantrums, terrors, etc). The more the brain can turn on and stay on in the prefrontal cortex, the better they can adapt to what comes their way in life.
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You have more questions? Great! That's why I have an upcoming webinar: "The Perfect Storm: Anxiety, Autism, ADHD & Sensory Processing" that is LIVE >>here<<
If you miss the LIVE, be sure to sign up for the next one >>HERE<< so you can ask your questions or anything else that you may need answers to.
Reference:
Lelic, D, Niazi, IK, Holt, K, Jochumsen, M, Dremstrup, K, Yielder, P, Murphy, B, Drewes, A and Haavik, H (2016), “Manipulation of dysfunctional spinal joints affects sensorimotor integration in the pre-frontal cortex: A brain source localization study,” Neural Plasticity, Volume 2016 (2016). Online. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2016/3704964/