Neurobehavioral Disorders: Hope for better examination & metabolic awareness and enhanced outcomes

In Episode 10, We dive into the world of Neurobehavioral disorders, from Autism, ADHD, OCD, Tourettes. We touch on the difference between acquired brain injuries to developmental disorders.

Currently, up to 1/5 kids under seven have been or will be diagnosed with a neurobehavioral or developmental disorder. This number has been growing and increasing at an alarming rate with no slow down in sight.

During the scope of this podcast we discuss what are some essential tools that can be added to the neurological examination, from oxygen and fuel metrics and monitoring fatigue to primitive reflexes. We all should be born with primitive reflexes but as the brain develops and integrates properly we see the higher brain centers develop and begin to suppress these initial survival promoting reflexes. By 18 months of age these reflexes should be non-existent until a delay in development or an acquired brain injury has occurred. We discuss how these reflexes can be good baselines and gauges for where to focus your sensory therapy and which regions of the brain to drive neuroplasticity.

As we wrap up discussing how to maximize the neurological exam we morph into additional testing that can provide valuable insight into the metabolism of those suffering with neurobehavioral and developmental disorders.

Since the brain is constantly active and never slows down function, the demand for oxygen and glucose are incredibly high for the overall size and weight of this prized organ. Mastering and bolstering your traditional labs to be confident and oxygen delivery is great is the first line of testing then using again routine labs to evaluate for any inflammatory or infectious etiology is also critical. PANDA's is one presentation that can be due to an infectious cause and it is essential to capture this early and get the right team of providers in place to address these aspects to brain health.

Lastly, we discuss the importance of the "mitochondria" a key part to cell health and how well we breakdown cells that have been misguided and how well we create the energy to make all the developmental connections to hit our milestones. One of the best way to access mitochondrial and cell health is through Organic Acid Testing, aka the OATs test.

We hope you enjoy this dive into Neurobehavioral and Developmental disorders. Please share and support our mission to increase education and expand what is the standard of care.