Neuroplasticity through Sensorimotor & Somatic Integration
Anxiety, ADHD, Depression & Behavioral Problems in Children
Non-medication sensorimotor treatments to help manage physical and neurological symptoms associated with mental health and behavioral conditions
"Nearly 20% of children and young people ages 3-17 in the United States have a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder, and suicidal behaviors among high school students increased more than 40% in the decade before 2019" -NCBI
How Physical Therapy Can Help Children with Mental Health or Behavioral Condition
Has your child been diagnosed with an recent diagnosis of ADHD, anxiety, depression, or other behavioral health condition? Do you see in your child physical signs of stress or discomfort, body tension, fatigue with exercise or play, difficulty when needing to be still, or other types of sensations (or lack there of) that are not their normal?
We specialize in helping address many of the physiological and neurological problems that can sometimes be associated with mental health and behavioral conditions. Thanks to newly emerging research in both fields of behavioral health and movement and fascial sciences, we can better understand how the body directly communicates with the autonomic nervous system and how this plays a role in helping regulating our physiological states.
As trauma-informed physical therapists, are goals are to help empower your child, show them how they can work with subconscious movement patterns in a creative and positive manner, and together help them discover the appropriate sensory tools that support their nervous system. Ultimately, providing them with perceptual shifts towards greater safety, awareness, and calmness.
How Communication Between Nervous System and Fascial Systems Are Affected By Mental Health And Behavioral Disorders
Physiological disruptions associated with mental health and behavioral disorders can lead to messy miscommunication between the autonomic nervous system and the sensory rich connective tissues that surrounds and interpenetrates the body's organs, muscles, bones, and nerves that we call the "Fascia System".
This miscommunication can ultimately lead to problems in how the nervous system functions as well as present physiological disruptions within the fascial system that affects how your child accurately feels in their body as well as their relationship with their surrounding environment. We refer to these two special types of sensing through their body as proprioception and interoception.
Proprioception is the sense of body position, movement, and force that allows us to sense where our body is in space without relying on visual input. Interoception, on the other hand, is our ability to be aware of internal sensations in their body, including heart rate, respiration, hunger, fullness, temperature, and pain, as well as emotion sensations. Both of these types of sensory feedback system are located in the skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments, viscera, and fascia.
These physical changes in proprioception and interoception are not only observable in special testing with movement and sensory, but can they also have the ability to percieve the world inside and outside of us and to feel, or not feel, the body. Some of these disruptions and miscommunications between the nervous system and fascial body can show up in your child as:
Breathing Pattern Changes
Nervous System Sensitivities
Movement Coordination/Errors
Nerve Compression/"Pinched Nerves"
Chronic Muscular Tension
Fascial Adhesions
Gut and Digestion Issues
Muscle Weakness
Difficulty using hands
Hypermobility
Left and Right Muscular Imbalances
Upper Body or Lower Body Dominance
Hearing Sensitivities and Challenges
Eye Tracking Imbalances
Endurance Fatigue
Sensation Imbalances (especially to head, neck, face, feet)
Postural Imbalances/Loss of Arch Support
Polyvagal Theory Oriented Physical Therapy
We center our rich sensory and movement based programs around a polyvagal theory approach. The polyvagal theory is a model that has helped us better explain to children and families just how the autonomic nervous system regulates our bodies' responses to internal and external cues, and how this is influenced by our evolutionary and developmental history.
We teach children how they can trust their body and nervous system in ways that let them more accurately identify these different physiological states and respond accordingly to them with appropriate movement and sensory based techniques proven to help work.
By giving each child the knowledge upfront surrounding how things are truly connected, and how their nervous system uniquely works and they have within themselves and the world around them, we find children are able to leverage their own nervous systems in ways that not only support themselves better but nourish their system to more optimal health.
What You Can Expect From Us
For every child and family, we provide an initial consultation with the parent/s ahead of time to make sure we are a good fit and are able to help with your needs. We do this at no cost.
We then provide a meet and greet where we provide your child with a comprehensive head to toe evaluation that allows us to take a look at your child's sensory and movement preferences. We may also look at other areas specifically involved with autonomic nervous system functioning that include muscle activation, reflex responses, fascial tissue health, hearing, vision, voice, as well as other sensory systems involved in processing. We are flexible with this process and are respectful with ensuring that each child is comfortable at every step :). We are in no rush and information we do not get one day can easily be gathered another.
Next, we will work with you and your child in the development of a nervous system behavioral map that helps your children understand just how their nervous system behaves while allowing them the ability to provide their own language to the dynamic shifts and state changes they experience. These maps we find very helpful and use throughout the course of our time spent together and acts as a reliable guide for the child to refer to and depend on for accurate feedback.
From here, we will work closely with your child in the exploration of various movement and sensory tools that are geared toward helping support their nervous system and condition. We do this in a fun, yet practical way that ultimately lets your child see first hand how they CAN influence their own physiological states and help better regulate and ultimately take care of their body.
ANXIETY: According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it is estimated that over 19.1% of the U.S. population suffers from having an anxiety disorder. In children, one out of eight are now thought affected and children between ages of 12-18 there is a prevalence of 25.1%. Males are more effected than females and many individuals develop symptoms before age of 21.
In many cases, disruptive changes to the nervous system occur when an individual experiences chronic stress and anxiety and has the potential to affect many of your body systems and create imbalance.
Body systems that are affected by chronic anxiety can include the nervous system, fascial system, muscular system, immune system, circulatory system, respiratory system, as well as many others. We look closely at each system to help develop appropriate treatments to help balance your body.
Symptoms we can help children manage: We use techniques that are designed to help rebalance the nervous system and help better manage unwanted physical and neurological symptoms often associated with anxiety. Physical and neurological symptoms we can help with include:
Body Restlessness
Fatigue & Tiredness
Fight or Flight Responses
Pins and Needles
Shaking/Tremoring
Dizziness
Hypersensitivity
Increased Heart Rates/Palpitations
Fast Breathing Rates/Shortness of Breath
Hearing Sensitivities
Tense and Tight Muscles
Sleep Imbalances
Stomach Discomfort and Pain
Bowel Problems
Throat Tightness
Cold Hands
Weight Gain
Sexual Problems
Sleeping Difficulties
"One in six children aged 2-8 have a mental, behavioral, or neurodevelopmental condition"- CDC
ADHD: According to the CDC, it is estimated that over 11% of children ages 5-17 in the U.S. population is diagosed with ADHD, with boys being more affected than girls. It is considered one of the most common mental health diagnosis in the U.S. for children with many symptoms often continuing into their adolescents and adulthood years.
Symptoms of ADHD are well defined and often include behaviors such as inattentiveness and hyperactivity and impulsiveness, or only one symptom of these behaviors.
In many cases, unintegrated reflexes as well as other sensory and motor problems are also found to be associated with these behaviors. These physical problems can be addressed in a physical therapy program that helps the child to rebalance the nervous system and better organize their sensory systems.
Symptoms we can help naturally treat: We use techniques that are designed to help directly address unintegrated reflexes, rebalance the nervous system, and provide your child with physical sensory and movement management options. Physical and neurological symptoms we can help address include:
Unintegrated reflexes
Hyperactivity
Movement Disorganization
Sensitivity
Impulsiveness
Loss of Balance
Movement Mistakes
Fidgeting/Tremoring
Difficulty Staying Focused with Activity
Difficulty Sitting
Fast Breathing Rates/Shortness of Breath
Fight or Flight Responses
Hearing Sensitivities
Tense and Tight Muscles
Stomach Discomfort and Pain
"One in six children aged 2-8 (17.4%) have a mental, behavioral, or neurodevelopmental condition"- CDC
DEPRESSION: It is estimated that over 3% of children and adolescents are being diagnosed with depression. What was once considered a adult condition is now becoming a more common behavior seen in children, even as young as two. Depression can coincide with other conditions such as ADHD and anxiety, but also can present differently from one child to the next.
Even though physical therapy is not a replacement for depression, it can help children find the appropriate tools that can deliver positive shifts and rebalancing to their nervous system, especially in areas of the brain and body identified as under-stimulated. Especially for certain children where psychotherapy or talk therapy may not be helpful, sensory and movement training can provide another pathway through the nervous system to help empower children with tools to support their symptoms and create positive change.
Symptoms we can help naturally treat: We use techniques that are designed to help directly address unintegrated reflexes, restimulate the nervous system, and provide your child with new ways to experiences physical sensory and movement. Physical and neurological symptoms we can help address include:
Unintegrated reflexes
Chronic Pain
Low Energy
Stomachaches
Fatigue and Sleep Difficulties
Hypermobility
Gut/Digestion Related Problems
Loss of Appetite
Headaches
Lack of "Feeling" of Sensations
Loss of Pleasure With Family and/or Activities
Hyperactivity and Irritability
Decreased Sensitivity
Impulsiveness
Loss of Balance
Numbness/Tingling
Auditory Sensitivities/Difficulties
"8.9% of children aged 3–17 in the United States were diagnosed with behavior problems between 2016 and 2019" -Center of Disease and Control
BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS: Behavioral problems involve a pattern of disruptive behaviors that cause problems in school, at home and in social situations. Examples of other behavioral disorders include bipolar disorders, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, conduct disorders, oppositional defiant disorders, and other psychiatric disorders.
Symptoms we can help naturally treat: We use techniques that are designed to help children understand how they can take control of their nervous system and how to create positive shifts through the use of sensory and movement based exercises. Physical and neurological symptoms we can help address include:
Hyperirritability
Difficulty With Concentration
Tense and Tight Musculature
Hyperactivity
Chronic Pain
Difficulty Breathing
Low Energy
Stomachaches
Fatigue and Sleep Difficulties
Hypermobility
Sensory Problems
Gut/Digestion Related Problems
Auditory Sensitivities/Difficulties
Physical therapy is not a replacement for mental health or psychiatric therapy, neither is it considered treatment for anxiety, ADHD, depression, or other behavioral disorders. Physical therapy CAN however help with the management of physical and neurological problems often associated with such conditions.
If your child has a mental health or behavioral diagnosis and you are wondering how physical therapy may be able to help, please contact us today. We look forward to seeing how we are able to help!
