Sensory Processing for kids- Adam's Story
- O Institute
- Jan 14
- 6 min read
Adam’s Story - Establishing a Neurologic Foundation
Corpus Callosum and the Cross Crawl Exercise
It was 2 am and the sudden shrill cries woke me with a start.
Oh my God I am so tired.
First comes shock.
Quickly followed by the realization of fatigue.
I ran up the stairs to my sons room to find him lying in bed, screaming like someone was sawing off his arm with a butter knife.
I picked him up to calm him down. No good.
We walked, and I spoke with him to stop crying.
After what seemed like hours, in reality just a couple minutes, he finally stopped.
I just want some sleep.
Night terrors. Some bizarre, unexplained phenomenon where children just scream in the middle of the night. Great. Just what we needed.
My son didn’t like to sleep.
He had a little bit of a tough time latching to breastfeed.
He was constantly hungry.
My wife and I were not sleeping.
Oh the joys of parenthood.
Is this normal?
Is this what all parents go through?
At this point, I am quite certain I will not have another kid.
Hell, I don’t think I will live through this one.
That’s how things started with my son and our introduction to parenting. As he got a little older, his sleep issues improved and although he was still not fond of going to sleep, he was at least not screaming in the middle of the night.
Everything seemed to be going pretty smoothly but we noticed a few things.
He didn’t do well if we had last minute changes in plans.
When I say, “didn’t do well,” I mean he pitched a fit.
We ran “funny.”
When my son, around three years old, tried to run, he stomped harder and “faster” but didn’t really go anywhere. It was cute but something wasn’t quite right.
…..
Birth trauma
To better understand some of this we have to go back to his birth time.
My wife started to feel labor pains in the early morning of October 1st, around 3-4am. We spent the whole day tracking the time and intensity of contractions.
We took walks.
A bath.
Later that evening it started to get closer and closer so we went to the hospital at a leisurely pace.
It would be a few more hours before my son decided to make his appearance.
Long story short, he took a long time to get out and although he was natural, no epidural (yes, my wife is a badass), he arrived with a massive cone head.
When I say massive cone head, I mean like the movie coneheads.
Not kidding.
Now, being a chiropractor who is an expert in cranial work, I figured, “I got this.” It looks really bad but I know that we can make it all better.
At the time, I was not an expert in child development and sensory processing disorders. I had no idea what this could and would lead to later in his life.
What do I mean?
C-sections, vacuums, forceps, twisting, turning, late births, long births, early births….they are all considered “birth trauma.” And birth trauma has an impact on how the brain processes information. This can lead to babies that are “colicky,” poor latching, poor suck reflex, and some other developmental disorders.
Who knew?
…..
Become the expert you wish you could see
Sometimes life puts us in a position where we have to get help. We needed help with our son. But there was no good doctor who could explain all this stuff.
So, I did what many people do. I learned.
I found the people of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.
I found the doctor who specialized in development and sensory processing and I learned.
It all made sense.
When a kid has sensory processing issues its like the volume is turned up way too loud… on everything.
Now you have to try to filter through all that information…as an infant…without being able to communicate.
Get it?
The veil of ignorance and confusion was starting to be lifted. My son’s “issues” were becoming clear to me and it all made sense.
We just had to turn down the noise and clean up the signal.
…..
“Normal” Development
As infants we go through a progression in our development. That progression looks something like this:
We lift our heads, push up on all fours, sit up, crawl, walk, and eventually run.
All these milestones in movement and coordination support the development of our nervous system and brain.
Our brains are actually two separate hemispheres. Each hemisphere is connected via a thick bundle of nerves called the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum ensures that there is clear communication back and forth between the two sides.
This communication has three main parts:
1. Sensory- what we feel and sense
2. Motor- how we move
3. Cognitive- thinking and communication
If the connection of the corpus callosum is severed, it can lead to significant dysfunction, including:
1. Speech
2. Memory
3. Physical disability
4. Intellectual disability
5. Social disability
Clinically, we have seen children and adults with birth traumas are at a higher likelihood to suffer from issues associated with poor information exchange between the two hemispheres of the brain.
Some examples of people with dysfunction in the corpus callosum can be:
1. Sensory processing issues-
2. Craving touch or repelling from touch
3. Speech and learning challenges
4. “poor” coordination
5. Increased likelihood of injury, especially in youth sports
Besides birth traumas, other developmental milestones that can create problems are things like: limited to no crawling or unusual crawling, early walking, lack of belly time, persistent primitive reflexes.
…..
Cross Crawl
Neurologic baseline can be re-established via exercise.
Cross pattern exercises have been shown to improve communication between the two hemispheres of the brain.
Its pretty simple actually. It just takes 30 repetitions for 30 days to re-establish the basic foundations.
Obviously, its not just cross crawl exercises.
But this is the start. It's important to work with a Occupational Therapist who specializes in this or a chiropractic pediatrician who works with kids with sensory processing issues.
This was Adam's journey.
Next steps, we added:
Axial loading on gymball
Coordinated arm elevation on gymball
Leg extensions on gymball
Rockerboard standing
Rockerboard with fields of gaze
Rockerboard with weight and spinal movements
Half squat on rocker board
Half reverse lunge
Reverse lunge with arm movement
Full reverse lunch with arm movement
Forward lunge
Mountain climbers on knees
Mountain climbers with foot drag
Mountain climbers normal
Mountain climbers cross over
Mountain climber frog leg
Make no mistake, it took a long time, years.
And Adam was such as great kid for doing all the work,
Today, he plays baseball at a college level.
What a leap from the kid who "ran funny."
Medical Wisdom Mission
Our goal with these case studies is to support the development of future clinicians with a more holistic perspective of care. This perspective, we hope, will facilitate a revolution in health care. A revolution that creates a separate discipline of care dedicated to promoting optimal health NOT an alternative to traditional medical therapy.
If you are a practicing clinician and have questions regarding this case or our model, reach out to us via info@hjieerarchymedicine.com. We are happy to connect.
If you not a clinician, please DO NOT contact us as we are not able to treat your unique case remotely.
Author
Dr. Thomas Kim, D.C.
Chiropractic Physician
Chief Wellbeing Officer, Hierarchy Medicine
References
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The university of Queensland Australia, Queensland Brain Institute, Textbook on Brain Anatomy, 2017
Wuebbens, Stephanie Ann, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, Agenesis of the corpus callosum in preschool children, 1991
Bartenieff, I. & Lewis, D. (1980). Body movement: Coping with the environment. New York: Gordon and Breach.
Hannaford, C. (2005). Smart moves: Why learning is not all in your head (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City, UT: Great River Books.
Hackney, P. (1998). Making Connections Total Body Integration through Bartenief Fundamentals. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach.
O’Hearn, K., Asato, M., Ordaz, S., & Luna, B. (2008). Neurodevelopment and executive function in autism. Development and Psychopathology, 20, 1103–1132.
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