Interconnected With A Purpose: How Your Health Benefits From An Interdisciplinary Approach for Children

How can children benefit from an interdisciplinary approach to healing?  

Let’s use a pediatric case as an example.

Say a parent comes in with a child who is struggling in school is also experiencing occasional headaches. 

Despite society’s tendency to label children who struggle academically, the truth is there are many reasons for this—beyond dysfunction in brain or an inability to focus from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD).  

As an osteopath, I would assess the child and may find there is restriction in his neck and upper back, which is affecting oxygenated blood flow to the brain, causing less-than-optimal brain function.   

Imagine trying to study and learn with your brain half asleep!

I could treat this in a few sessions, see some progress in the child, and be done. However, I know this is likely only part of the problem...

When I put on my collaborative-care-thinking-cap, I may discover the child’s eyes are not be tracking well, or straining to switch between varying distance (vision issues are common in children with academic performance issues and headaches).  

I quickly realize this child could greatly benefit from the expertise of our Vision Therapy team to help his eyes and vision function better.  

I’d also be curious about the child’s hearing, as it is possible he is listening with his auditory input, but the information is not clear as it travels to the brain for processing the information.  In this case, the Auditory Processing Team would play a role in decreasing a child’s frustration with how he processes what he hears.  

I would also pay attention to the child’s breathing, as improper oral function due to mouth-breathing affects the amount of oxygen he can receive.  In this case, our oral myofunctional therapists may help improve proper oral function resulting in better oxygenation of the brain.   

And if we’re to treat the whole person, we have to look at all the factors surrounding this, including any emotional and psychological components that could be addressed by our Homeopath practitioner.   

Then of course, we have to consider the patient’s nutrition and how that may be affecting his attention, focus, and learning ability.

As you can see, there are so many reasons a person may not be functioning optimally

Yes, sometimes in acute situations it’s a simple fix that one practitioner can address. 

But, in this modern world of complex and chronic conditions a multi-faceted approach is often the most effective and efficient road to full recovery. 

The Team members of Synergistic Healing strive to help You achieve a better state of health through collaboration of our different expertise and experience.   

In partnership with YOU, we can help decide what therapies will benefit you most during the different stages of your journey towards Health. 

Wishing you well-being,

– Dr. Julie Mai, DO