Functional Neurology
Functional Neurology
My introduction to Functional Neurology started back when I first got into the ASD/ADHD world. Dr. Kharrazian, Dr. Melilo, and Dr. Scire were among the first ones that I was introduced to via podcasts, summits, and conferences. I loved hearing them speak about the connection between the brain and the body. A topic I quickly found was not talked about much within the functional health space. It seemed like many talked about the brain quite separate from the rest of the body.
Gut & Brain
The gut is often the main focus around all things health. Where the brain is imbalanced, the encouragement is often to focus on healing the gut and that will fix all neurological problems. Unfortunately, that does not always work. These doctors, that are listed above, were among the first to help introduce me to the concept that yes, sometimes that is the first approach, healing the gut. Yet, at other times you need to go straight to the brain. For many of our kiddos with any form of neurological concern, learning disability, or head trauma, we need to be looking at both the brain and gut. What a beautiful reminder of why holistic care is so beautiful.
Wonderfully Made
We are uniquely and wonderfully made. All systems in the body are going to affect other systems, and sometimes it’s simple (think foundations) while other times it really can be complicated. Such as a child with ADHD might have low dopamine, while a child with PANDAS might have high dopamine. One might have a lot of gut issues that started first, maybe infections that are triggering inflammation, while others had head trauma or injury which first started in the neck or brain region. You would not want to treat these kids the same. They have different needs and so often it is ever so slightly different in presentation.
Week Long Intensive
I have worked endlessly with both of my children on a variety of different diets, supplements, and therapies, as they needed and as I have had access to. This past summer, after much prayer, I became very confident that it was time to take my daughter to IOWA to see Dr. Josh to have a full week of intensive therapy.
I met Dr. Josh over a year ago. I have had the privilege of doing an interview with him as well. (watch here) Have loved learning from him and working with him on different clients over the past year. I have found the best approach to healing is the use of diet, supplements as well as lifestyle pieces. Some of those pieces are things such as chiropractic adjustments, lasers, oxygen therapy, and vision therapy just to name a few. These therapies are powerful when they are stacked together. A week-long intensive helps stack these multi-dimensional therapies.
Our Experience
My little one has been struggling with learning due to her diagnosis of dyslexia as well as her multiple head traumas and her history of PANDAS/PANS. I wanted to have Dr. Josh evaluate her to make sure there were no other things going on that I was missing. I wanted to see if anything else could be done to support her brain and nervous system.
After multiple tests and a full neurological exam, they concluded she had some Primitive Reflexes that were still present as well as a weakened vestibular system, and lack of visual convergence, among other things. She did a week of daily therapy sessions using many different technology options, including oxygen therapy, balancing boards, visual therapy, chiropractic adjustments, and more.
One of the most surprising things that popped up was how as they monitored her O2 levels, they were constantly dropping into the low 90s or lower. Specifically when they were working on her vestibular system or reading. They would need to pause the activity she was working on and work on her belly breathing or in some cases needed to get her on oxygen therapy. It was a great reminder of the power of monitoring things such as O2 stats. How does your body heal if it’s struggling to get good oxygen saturation?
We watched over the week that her oxygen levels start to maintain and not drop like they had at the beginning of the week. We saw her reflexes disappear. I usually have to do lymph massages on her a few times a week due to her lymph nodes around her neck being swollen. If we stay on top of it it’s not a problem. Close to the end of the week, I did a lymph massage on her neck and she had no tightness like normal and no discomfort at all as I worked her neck muscles.
Overall we had an amazing experience. I highly recommend checking out Dr. Josh’s practice and seeing if it would be a good fit for your child.
Not able to make it to IOWA Dr Josh also has some great online resources - Dr. Josh - Primitive Reflex At Home Program - use code: Gracioushealing