There are some diet approaches which have been distributed repeatedly for children with developmental issues such as Failure To Thrive. The Gluten Free and Feingold Diets are among the most admired for this context.
Modifying The Paradigm
I want to compliment the developers of these diets for modifying the paradigm about what might be the root of the world-wide growth in the occurrence of developmental difficulties for children. For a long time our modern medical practitioners could not believe that the things a person consumed could upset that person's developmental health. These diets are very popular in the communities involved with ASD, as well as other developmental difficulties and these diets are showing that they are dramatically affecting the futures of many of these children.
These diets work well for some children with significant improvements in a range of measurable symptoms. For other children there is less improvements. And, for others there is no improvement at all. One of the ongoing questions about these diets is why are some children dramatically helped by these diets and others are not?
Isabel and I have been working with children with developmental problems for decades. We are now concentrating in this area of re-energizing the developmental process and getting it back on track. One of our findings has been an acceptance of the relationship between sensitivities and intolerances and developmental difficulties.
Sensitivities and Intolerances
Each of us has some elements around us to which we are sensitive, or of which we have an intolerance. This is not like an allergy where we have a strong and immediate immunological response to something. This is much more like a subtle defensive response we have to some environmental factors over time.
If a person is allergic to bee stings, they have an strong and immediate response to being stung by a bee. They can have swelling or even enter life-threatening anaphylactic shock. But, consider the possibility that a person has a sensitivity to, or an intolerance of, a deodorant soap bar. They may not have a response to it until they use it for many days, and then they may develop a minor rash as the result of that sensitivity or intolerance. If you determine that this rash is a reaction to the deodorant soap bar, you can eliminate the use of it and the rash will fade away.
Developmental Problems
We recognized that children with developmental difficulties, such as Failure To Thrive, have mixed environmental factors to which they have these defensive responses. And, it is the compounding of these multiple responses which seems to be at the root of these developmental difficulties. The stacking of these defensive responses results in the body shutting down functions which are non-essential for immediate survival.
This defensive response process was developed in a less contaminated time and the body only needed this defensive response to sustain itself for a few minutes or hours while the person walked or was carried away from the environmental factors to which the body was responding. A few minutes of a conservative, defensive response was usually enough for offending thing to be out of range. So, if the body shuts down some functions not needed while getting away from the offending thing, it would not affect the long-term survival of the person.
Shutting Down The Developmental Process
The problem is that our world is much more contaminated and children with developmental difficulties are much more sensitive to contaminants than when we evolved these reaction processes. If the child has these kinds of stacking defensive reactions to something that is eaten at every meal, the defensive responses will never stop. If the child has these stacking defensive reactions to the laundry detergent or fabric softener used by the family, the child always has residue of those chemicals against the skin, so the responses will never stop. Imagine if the child has a series of these kinds of intolerances and reactions and the child's body never has an opportunity to stop having these reactions.
One of the functions commonly shut down in these stacked defensive reactions is the developmental process. If a child's defensive response includes shutting down the developmental process, and the defensive response never stops, the developmental process never gets to move the child forward toward maturation. In this case, the child does not get to develop.
Feingold and GFCF Diets
Here is where the Feingold and GFCF Diets come in to play. These diets restrict a set of environmental factors to which many children with developmental problems are responding defensively. So, the children with developmental difficulties who have an intolerance of the items restricted by the diet will show some dramatic results. The children who have an individual menu of intolerances which is aligned with the diet will benefit from it. For those children who try the diet, but whose set of intolerances are not aligned well with the restrictions of the diet, there will be little help.
For this reason we applaud the significant contributions the Gluten Free and Feingold Diets have made in our understanding of developmental difficulties. They help us all understand that the children with developmental difficulties are responding to some things in the environment and we can help these children get back on track, if we eliminate those things from the child's environment.
These diets are on the right track, but there is an assumption that some particular things in the environment are causing the developmental difficulties. The difficulty in this assumption is that the defensive reactions these children have is to their own list of offending factors (not a generic list). Their own list might not include the restricted items of the generic diet. Each child should be using a diet program which is specifically tailored to their own individual list of intolerances.
Sensitivity and Intolerance Testing Is The Key To Success
We have developed an approach for testing each of our client children for their own specific menu of sensitivities and intolerances. This gives the parents a precise menu of things to eliminate from the child's environment. So, instead of a generic diet program which may (or may not) have the items a specific child needs to avoid, we give each parent a precise list of things their child needs to avoid.
Much More Than A Diet Plan
Our testing approach involves anything that the child eats, breathes, and touches. This involves more than what the child eats and drinks. It includes testing the child's reactions to meds, household chemicals, and everything in the child's environment. Our thorough testing technique will help you design an appropriate plan to eliminate all of the offending environmental factors from your child's environment.
What Happens When The Child Stops These Defensive Responses?
There are many different developmental difficulties in children. Each of them have their own set of symptoms which are identified as the set of signals of that particular diagnosis. Many children have so many symptoms that they have many diagnoses, because their own set of symptoms cross boundaries from one diagnosis to another.
Because of this symptomatic and diagnostic complexity, we cannot predict which symptoms a child will develop out of first as a result of being in an environment free of their offending factors. But, our experience is clear that when children enter and stay in an environment free of their offending environmental factors, their developmental process restarts and their developmental process begins to move them forward through their missed or next developmental stages. You know this approach is working when you see your child start moving through developmental steps.
We encourage our clients to establish a developmental baseline of their child with our free Developmental Checklist before they start working with us. We encourage them to use this same checklist, monthly, to keep track of their child's developmental progress as they continue working with us.
By tracking the child's developmental movement, parents can see that their child has re-engaged the developmental process. This movement means that the child is developing past the symptoms which were the basis of the child's diagnosis.
Sensitivity and Intolerance Re-Testing For The Long Term
After some months of developmental progress using our process, we encourage parents to re-evaluate their child. Many of the offending environmental factors will have stopped producing defensive reactions, and the child can slowly bring those things back into the environment. Many other things will still produce the defensive reactions and they will need to stay on the restricted list for this child. Which items can be brought back and which items need to stay restricted is individual for each child.
It Is Time For Your Child To Re-Engage The Developmental Process
If your child has developmental difficulties such as Failure To Thrive, it is time to get that blocked developmental process re-engaged and encouraged to get back on track. With our proprietary testing process, you can take control of this problem and get your child back on track.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Getting A Handle On Failure To Thrive In Children
Failure To Thrive is a delay in physical growth and weight gain which can lead to slow-downs in the developmental process and maturation.
Failure To Thrive is a diagnosis given to infants who are consistently underweight or who do not show weight gain for unclear reasons. There may be many causes. Many causes involve environmental and social factors which interact to keep the infant from having the nutrition the infant needs. There are times when medical disorders prevent a infant from developing normally. Another major contributing factor is the child's own intolerances.
When There Are Environmental And Social Issues
Many environmental and social factors can be involved in Failure To Thrive. Parental neglect or abuse, parental emotional health difficulties, and disfunctional family situations in which routine, nutritious meals are not provided, may all interupt a child's appetite and intake of food. The amount of money a family has available for food and the nutritional value of the food they provide also affects development. Also, inadequate intake of food may be a symptom of inadequate parenting and stimulation from the environment.
When The Issues Are Medical Problems
Sometimes Failure To Thrive Syndrome is brought on by a medical problem in the infant. The problem can be as simple as difficulty drinking, chewing, or swallowing (as a child might have with a cleft lip or cleft palate). Medical issues, such as gastroesophageal reflux, narrowing of the esophagus, or poor intestinal absorption, may also affect a child's ability to obtain nutrition from food. And, other medical problems such as infections, tumors, hormonal or metabolic disorders (such as diabetes or cystic fibrosis), cardiac problems, kidney diseases, genetic disorders, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are other physical reasons for Failure To Thrive.
If The Issues Are Based In Intolerances and Sensitivities
And, sometimes child and infant Failure To Thrive is brought on by the infant's body responding to normal things in the environment as if those normal things were toxic. This is a sensitivity to or intolerance of some things in the environment which the child's body thinks is toxic.
This response to this "toxic attack" could include shutting down the infant's normal developmental process as a temporary protective tactic until the "attack" goes away. But, because these things in the environment are not toxic to others, the family and the medical professionals do not know to eliminate these "toxic" factors from the infant's environment. In this case this temporary protective defensive reaction continues without stopping. This means that the infant's own defenses interrupts the infant's normal development on an ongoing basis, because of the child's intolerances.
Diagnosis For The Issues In Medical Problems And Environmental And Social Causes
Doctors diagnose Failure To Thrive when a infant's weight or physical development is much less than what it should be when compared with past measurements or standard height-weight charts. If the physical development is adequate, the infant may be small for his or her age but still developing normally.
To determine why a infant may be failing to grow normally, medical practitioners ask the parents specific questions about feeding, bowel habits, social, emotional, and financial stability of the family, which might affect the infant's access to food, and illnesses that the infant has had or that run in the family. The doctor examines the infant, looking for signs of conditions which might explain the infant's growth delay. The doctor makes decisions about blood and urine tests and x-rays based on this evaluation. Additional testing is performed only if the doctor believes there is an underlying medical condition.
Determining The Child's Intolerances and Sensitivities
There are some published diets (GFCF Diet and Feingold Diet) which attempt to address these intolerance issues. These diets work well for those children who are sensitive to the things which are specifically restricted by these programs. But, for the majority of children whose intolerances are affecting their growth and development, these diets are incomplete and not specifically tailored for them.
It is best to have a specialist, who knows how to perform this specific test for intolerance, work with your child to determine your child's precise list of intolerances. Those who perform this testing can include chiropractors, nutritionists, and other wellness practitioners trained for this type of evaluation.
Treatment and Prognosis For The Issues In Medical Problems And Environmental And Social Causes
The medical difficulties and environmental and social issues approach assumes there is something wrong with the infant's body or the child's social environment. These treatments are focused on a fault in the infant's nutritional processing or access.
Treatment depends on the root of the problem. If a medical disorder is found, specific interventions are performed. Otherwise, treatment depends on how far below normal the infant's weight is. Mild to moderate Failure To Thrive is treated with high-calorie nutritious feedings given on a regular schedule. Parents may be counseled about family interactions that are damaging to the child and about social and financial resources available to them. Severe Failure To Thrive is treated in the hospital where social workers, nutritionists, feeding specialists, psychiatrists, and other specialists work together to determine the most likely causes of the child's Failure To Thrive and the best approach to recovery.
Treatment For The Issues In Intolerances and Sensitivities
The interventions for the intolerances approach is to determine which things in the environment the infant is responding to and eliminates those from the infant's environment. When the infant is no longer reacting to those things in the environment, the normal process of development kicks in and growth and development can proceed normally. With this intervention, food is absorbed appropriately and growth and development starts to catch up. There are specialists in Failure To Thrive syndrome who can determine your child's intolerances and coach you in getting your child back on track.
Summary
The environmental and social approach for Failure To Thrive children assumes that something is wrong in the infant's social environment in such a way that nourishment is not available or is not accepted by the infant.
The medical difficulties approach for Failure To Thrive infants and children assumes that nourishment is not being processed and absorbed by the infant because of some medical disorder.
The intolerances approach for Failure To Thrive children assumes that the infant is having defensive responses to environmental factors and these defensive responses are shutting down the normal growth and developmental process.
Failure To Thrive is a diagnosis given to infants who are consistently underweight or who do not show weight gain for unclear reasons. There may be many causes. Many causes involve environmental and social factors which interact to keep the infant from having the nutrition the infant needs. There are times when medical disorders prevent a infant from developing normally. Another major contributing factor is the child's own intolerances.
When There Are Environmental And Social Issues
Many environmental and social factors can be involved in Failure To Thrive. Parental neglect or abuse, parental emotional health difficulties, and disfunctional family situations in which routine, nutritious meals are not provided, may all interupt a child's appetite and intake of food. The amount of money a family has available for food and the nutritional value of the food they provide also affects development. Also, inadequate intake of food may be a symptom of inadequate parenting and stimulation from the environment.
When The Issues Are Medical Problems
Sometimes Failure To Thrive Syndrome is brought on by a medical problem in the infant. The problem can be as simple as difficulty drinking, chewing, or swallowing (as a child might have with a cleft lip or cleft palate). Medical issues, such as gastroesophageal reflux, narrowing of the esophagus, or poor intestinal absorption, may also affect a child's ability to obtain nutrition from food. And, other medical problems such as infections, tumors, hormonal or metabolic disorders (such as diabetes or cystic fibrosis), cardiac problems, kidney diseases, genetic disorders, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are other physical reasons for Failure To Thrive.
If The Issues Are Based In Intolerances and Sensitivities
And, sometimes child and infant Failure To Thrive is brought on by the infant's body responding to normal things in the environment as if those normal things were toxic. This is a sensitivity to or intolerance of some things in the environment which the child's body thinks is toxic.
This response to this "toxic attack" could include shutting down the infant's normal developmental process as a temporary protective tactic until the "attack" goes away. But, because these things in the environment are not toxic to others, the family and the medical professionals do not know to eliminate these "toxic" factors from the infant's environment. In this case this temporary protective defensive reaction continues without stopping. This means that the infant's own defenses interrupts the infant's normal development on an ongoing basis, because of the child's intolerances.
Diagnosis For The Issues In Medical Problems And Environmental And Social Causes
Doctors diagnose Failure To Thrive when a infant's weight or physical development is much less than what it should be when compared with past measurements or standard height-weight charts. If the physical development is adequate, the infant may be small for his or her age but still developing normally.
To determine why a infant may be failing to grow normally, medical practitioners ask the parents specific questions about feeding, bowel habits, social, emotional, and financial stability of the family, which might affect the infant's access to food, and illnesses that the infant has had or that run in the family. The doctor examines the infant, looking for signs of conditions which might explain the infant's growth delay. The doctor makes decisions about blood and urine tests and x-rays based on this evaluation. Additional testing is performed only if the doctor believes there is an underlying medical condition.
Determining The Child's Intolerances and Sensitivities
There are some published diets (GFCF Diet and Feingold Diet) which attempt to address these intolerance issues. These diets work well for those children who are sensitive to the things which are specifically restricted by these programs. But, for the majority of children whose intolerances are affecting their growth and development, these diets are incomplete and not specifically tailored for them.
It is best to have a specialist, who knows how to perform this specific test for intolerance, work with your child to determine your child's precise list of intolerances. Those who perform this testing can include chiropractors, nutritionists, and other wellness practitioners trained for this type of evaluation.
Treatment and Prognosis For The Issues In Medical Problems And Environmental And Social Causes
The medical difficulties and environmental and social issues approach assumes there is something wrong with the infant's body or the child's social environment. These treatments are focused on a fault in the infant's nutritional processing or access.
Treatment depends on the root of the problem. If a medical disorder is found, specific interventions are performed. Otherwise, treatment depends on how far below normal the infant's weight is. Mild to moderate Failure To Thrive is treated with high-calorie nutritious feedings given on a regular schedule. Parents may be counseled about family interactions that are damaging to the child and about social and financial resources available to them. Severe Failure To Thrive is treated in the hospital where social workers, nutritionists, feeding specialists, psychiatrists, and other specialists work together to determine the most likely causes of the child's Failure To Thrive and the best approach to recovery.
Treatment For The Issues In Intolerances and Sensitivities
The interventions for the intolerances approach is to determine which things in the environment the infant is responding to and eliminates those from the infant's environment. When the infant is no longer reacting to those things in the environment, the normal process of development kicks in and growth and development can proceed normally. With this intervention, food is absorbed appropriately and growth and development starts to catch up. There are specialists in Failure To Thrive syndrome who can determine your child's intolerances and coach you in getting your child back on track.
Summary
The environmental and social approach for Failure To Thrive children assumes that something is wrong in the infant's social environment in such a way that nourishment is not available or is not accepted by the infant.
The medical difficulties approach for Failure To Thrive infants and children assumes that nourishment is not being processed and absorbed by the infant because of some medical disorder.
The intolerances approach for Failure To Thrive children assumes that the infant is having defensive responses to environmental factors and these defensive responses are shutting down the normal growth and developmental process.
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