More than one in seven children suffer from developmental disorders today. But this doesn’t mean change isn’t possible. The brain is enormously malleable, or plastic, and with the right metabolic support on a consistent basis using functional Medicine, we often can improve brain function.
Common Brain Development Disorders Today Include:
- Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
- Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Asperger’s syndrome
- Autism
- Developmental coordination disorder (DCD)
- Nonverbal learning disability (NLD)
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD)
- Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD)
- Tourette’s syndrome
- Chronic allergies, asthma, eczema, digestive disorders
So What Exactly Is Functional Medicine And How Can It Help My Child?
The goal of Functional Medicine is to help each individual body thrive to its fullest potential. Shouldn’t that be what medicine is all about?
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, And not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
(World Health Organization, 1948)
The World Health Organization GOT IT in 1948. But somewhere along the road, conventional medicine forgot it. When something goes wrong with our bodies, when our kids develop a chronic condition of any sort, conventional medicine looks at what’s going on as something to attack – something to wage war against with drugs and destroy. Of course, these drugs are sometimes necessary. But in many instances they’re not:
IF…..
- IF we could figure out the ROOT CAUSE of why our kids are sick
- IF we could figure out how to Nourish, Support, Rebuild our kids bodies so that they could truly HEAL from the inside out and come out stronger and healthier than ever
- IF we could figure out how to truly help our children THRIVE.
This is the promise that Functional Medicine holds.
Functional Medicine, takes a truly individualized and tailored approach to children’s health. The Functional Medicine approach is very different from the conventional medicine approach that so many of you are used to when working with your pediatric doctor.
Functional Medicine IS The Future Of Medicine, At Least That’s What I Believe
Functional medicine is health care that is customized and tailored to the individual. No more cookie cutter take this for that! It looks at our unique genetic potential and biochemical makeup. It is how our unique individual makeup interacts with all of the environmental and lifestyle factors that we are exposed to (from environmental toxins, to the foods we eat, the water we drink, the thoughts we have that results in signs of wellness or illness
Its the the interplay and interconnectedness between the Immune system- Endocrine system-Gastrointestinal system-Genetics)- It’s What I call the BIG PICTURE
Consider Your Child
When your child is sick and suffering with a metabolic problem such as Chronic Constipation, Autism, ADD, ADHD, vaccine injury, Asthma, Eczema, or an autoimmune disease, it becomes imperative to understand how to best support that child metabolically. Functional medicine is about ROOT cause. It is about asking the most important question, “WHY”
For every child, the “Why” may be different.
Once we know the “Why” we can then chart a course to figure out what to do to restore balance and heal your child from the inside out. Optimizing your child’s health involves a combination of dietary changes, nutritional supplements, herbal medicine, and lifestyle changes. Its about rebuilding, repairing and nurturing the body back to health. Not about suppressing, forcing and manipulating the physiology as medicine does.
It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease, Then what sort of a disease a patient has!
Let’s take an example. If your child has eczema, your kids’ regular doctor will likely recommend steroid creams, which can thin and discolor the skin, and in the worst case scenario, get absorbed into your child’s body and stunt their growth orweaken their bones- And if his eczema gets worse, then you’ll be asked to move onto a stronger immunosuppressant creams that could potentially cause cancer. On top of the skin problems, you child also suffered with temper tantrums, frustrations, outbursts, loss of attention and anxiety- Think they are not connected? Think again!! These topical creams do nothing to cure the problem nor would most medications that your typical doctor might recommend.
They are only bandaids. It’s like trying to put out a fire with a water pistol- These Drugs are the wrong tool for the job.
What If we could identify what the core imbalances are in your child’s body, that is continuing to feed the fire, wouldn’t it make sense that we could then put the fire out from the ground up and prevent it from coming back!
What if we found that your Child “fire” was being caused by one or more of the following;
- A sensitivity to eggs and gluten
- Breakdown in the mucosal barriers
- An overgrowth of yeast in his/her gut
- too much of an omega 6 fatty acid
- bacterial overgrowth in the small intestines
- Poor absorption of Nutrients
- High levels of Mercury, Cadmium or Lead
- Low vitamin A,D,E, Mg, etc
- Oxidative stress
- Low levels of an Amino acid called Tyrosine
And all we needed to do to cure his/her Temper Tantrums, disorganized attention, Anger, Anxiety and unhealthy skin was to remove eggs and gluten from his/her diet for 6 months and give him/her nutritional supplements specific to his/her unique metabolic needs- based on testing.
Would you be up for giving this a try so that eventually you could get him/her off all her steroid creams, mind altering medications and avoid antibiotics? (further fuel the fire)
If you answered YES!!!, then Functional Medicine is Perfect for your child!
Metabolic Issues To Look Out For With Brain Development Disorders Include:
- Inflammatory foods (sugars and junk foods) and food intolerances
- Chemical sensitivities
- Chronic infections — bacterial, fungal, or viral
- Digestive issues and leaky gut
- Autoimmune disease (when the immune system attacks and destroys tissue in the body, which can include the brain)
- Methylation capacity
- Genetics
- Nutrient and cofactor deficiencies
- Autoimmunity
Start With The “Child Neurotransmitter and Nutrition Questionnaire”- Heres What A Screening Consult Includes?
- Dr Hagmeyer or one of his trained nutritionists, will review the Neurotransmitter Assessment Form identifying any patterns of Metabolic and Neurotransmitter dysfunction.
- 15-30 minute consult to discuss the results of the screening and discussion of “What To Do Next”
Sounds Great! How Do I get Started?
- Complete Dr Hagmeyer’s Child Nutrition and Neurotransmitter Assessment form which can be downloaded Here or if you prefer to fill it out on line you can click Here
- Be sure to Save the form to your Desktop.
- email it back to [email protected] and in the Subject line enter “Child Neurotransmitter and Nutrition Assessment Screening”
Once we receive it, Dr Hagmeyer or one of his trained nutritionists will review it and within a day or two (sometimes same day) schedule a short 10-20 minute consult to discuss the metabolic patterns and imbalances identified.
If you are looking for a more comprehensive review of your child’s health then we suggest you get started with a case review
