“Autism cannot be diagnosed until the age of three.  However, based on our finding, when your son turns three, he will be diagnosed with Autism.”  Wait!  What?  “We have also found that he has SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder).”  What!?!  We were not ready for these answers, and it just compounded and compiled so many more questions!

The biggest of all the questions: “What’s next?”  It sucks (excuse the expression) getting news like that!  And yes!, we ran through so many questions like why and how, but what came next, quite honestly was a whirlwind of research, therapies, God’s intervention, and determination to get Luke the help he needed!  We began feeding groups, speech therapy, OT (occupational therapy), and eventually Chiropractic Care.

The Bible tells us that “Man makes his plans, but God directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9), and this could not have been more true.  In the midst of all this “chaos,” I had recently graduated Chiropractic School and was working to get my office off the ground.  As I researched this new “world” we had entered, I reached out.  I “found” some seasoned chiropractors with extensive experience and results working with kids…especially the “difficult” ones (Autism, ADHD, SPD, Seizures, etc.).  It was through these ‘soon to become’ mentors of mine that we found hope in this situation.  We had faith and hope in God, and that He knew what He was doing, but now we had some hope in knowing what we were supposed to do, and could see that God was directing our steps, even if we still did not know the totality of that nor the outcome.

This “reaching out” and many exhaustive and extensive conversations between Sandy and ,I as well as the experts and mentors, lead us to an overnight road trip.  A road trip to central California, with a “Sensory-Spectrum Kid” that did not really like the car, and hated any bed other than his own (thank God for a portable DVD player and Dora the Explorer…another obsession…I swear I thought that when he did eventually start talking, it was going to be in Spanish).  He cried!  He cried A LOT!  I am pretty sure Sandy and I cried too! 

This trip was brutal, but worth the inconveniences, difficulty, and challenge…It completely changed our lives!

It was this trip, and through these mentors, that I finally saw, with clarity, my vision, mission, and purpose in practice.  I finally “got it.”  Nine years of college, and well over six figures in student loan debt…but I got it!  Drs. Monica Buerger, Claudia Anrig, and a host of other God sent mentors spoke into my (our) life and challenged and taught me how to help my own kid…and, not to stop there!  They challenged me to fight with everything I had for Luke (a task I am sure any decent parent is up for), but also gave me the “weapons” and “tools” for the fight.  There is nothing more frustrating, gut wrenching, or soul crippling as seeing your child stuck, trapped and struggling, and not being able to do anything.  This trip cracked that shell of desperation and let light seep in.  We now had direction.  We now had a plan…one different than most and mainstream.  One that we could look ahead of and see testimonies of kids that were actually getting better, and being changed rather than taught to cope.  Ultimately, we got hope.

Little did I know at that time, but what we learned from these mentors in how to help Luke was also laying a foundation and building a platform for helping so many other kids.

This resonated deep within me.  You see, I knew I wanted to help people, and see kids in my office, but I had a very limited view of what chiropractic could do.  Yes, I was a “chiropractor” at the time, but honestly, I believed the misconception and misunderstanding that most people do, that chiropractic is just an alternative to medicine and/or medical treatment (i.e. the false assumption that Chiropractic is just about back pain or headaches, etc.).  The truth is that chiropractic care does usually help with those things, but as a side effect.

Back to Luke … At Luke’s assessment in Central California, it was found that he had several areas of concern and dysfunction in his neck.  Specifically, the dysfunction in Luke’s neck, called a Vertebral Subluxation, which was located in the upper most part of his spine (C1) was causing significant disruption and interference in his nervous system.  This nervous system compromise, officially called Dysafferentation, leads to inappropriate and misconstrued messages being sent between the brain and the body, thus hindering the brain and body’s ability to respond appropriately to the environment (i.e. Sensory Processing Disorder).  Most importantly, recent research (which has come out in part before Luke was going through this, and more since) shows that removing Subluxations of the spine can change the function and increase the activity of the brain by 20%, specifically in the Pre-Frontal Cortex, which is responsible for: planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior.  (read a study here).

Now, again, I was a Chiropractor at the time, and I knew how to adjust (i.e. correct, remove, or reduce) a Subluxation, but on a Kid, let alone a Spectrum kid?  That’s a totally different ball game. Luke was getting adjusted, and had been adjusted since birth, but not with the frequency, consistency, or skilled specificity his little body needed.  That’s where Dr Buerger stepped in and radically altered our path and Luke’s future, and forever changed our lives.  She showed me exactly what to do, and exactly how to do it (remember, I “made plans” and was a chiropractor...now that “path” was being “directed” or re-directed).  Dr. Buerger asked questions that nobody had.  She asked about pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the first days of Luke’s life.  She explained that 80% of children are born or acquire Vertebral Subluxation from trauma associated with the birth process, even those classified and natural and healthy.  She went on to reported that the onset of symptoms is often delayed and subtle.  Like I said previously, she told us how Subluxations inhibit Brain and Body communication, and affected Luke’s perception of the environment. She listened to us, and applauded us for our persistence and dedication…for our drive (not just 8 hours each way to see her), but that force inside that kept pushing us for answers (even those we didn’t want to hear).  She complimented our courage to step out of the “medical box” and going against our pediatrician’s recommendations (which, is “let’s do nothing” really a recommendation, when something needs to be done?).  Then Dr. Buerger said it; a phrase that has forever shaped us, and my practice.  A beautifully simple truth, that has become a filter and guide for every case and child I now see… “Never underestimate mama’s intuition.”  Remember, Sandy has her degree in the field, but the intuition she had that Luke’s characteristics were abnormal initiated the whole process of seeking help, and kept fueling the fire and devotion to keep looking until we found the answer.

Over the next year following our road trip, Luke continued OT and Speech.  Countless hours were spent on dry brushing and joint compression therapies to engage more proprioceptive input, which his brain was craving.  Each day hours were spent, either at home or in various therapy centers throughout the week, on pushing and pulling Luke outside of his comfort zone.  It was all about introducing variety for this linear little guy, so we could reprogram his brain to appropriately adapt and respond to his environment (called Neuroplasticity).  Luke was constantly being challenged and required (sometimes forced) to try new foods via feeding groups (remember the key lime yogurt from part one?) and touch various texture (difficult with clenched fisted with thumbs tucked in).  And, along with all these great and amazing therapies, Luke was also now receiving specific and consistent chiropractic care.  We know that all of these services helped then and helped to shaped him into the person he has become and is becoming.  They all served him and us so well, and we will forever be grateful advocates in them.  It was Chiropractic, however, that we believe had the greatest impact.

We took Luke back to be evaluated at three years old (remember what we were supposed to hear?).  What we heard brought tears to our eyes, but in a different way than before.  “We understand that Luke’s case was reviewed by multiple practitioners all independently landing on the same conclusion.  However, based on his current evaluation and assessments, while we do still see some sensory processing concerns, they are minimal, and your son no longer shows enough traits of being on the Autism Spectrum to qualify for services.”  It was and is amazing!  Some might say miraculous, and we would agree in large part, but miracles are unexplainable and not reproducible.  You see, beyond the results, there was something difference about Luke’s case than hundreds and thousands of others just like it…it was CHIROPRACTIC.  Luke received all of services the “typical” Sensory-Spectrum kid does, and like I mentioned already, they helped to some degree, and we are forever grateful.  In fact, as we deeply valued them, we continued many of the services (Speech, OT, etc.), paying for them ourselves, even though he no longer “qualified” for them.  And YES, God moved!, but in many explainable ways (and some unexplainable).  Perhaps most powerfully of all He moved through Sandy’s intuition and flat out love and dedication to Luke and our family!  Then, there were all the countless prayers, and “steps” of others directed to cross paths with us.  Praise God for all of it! And, in all of it, I noticed there were similar cases to Luke’s, receiving similar results as Luke…all through chiropractic care.

Being analytical (and a nerd), I needed more information and education.  I began taking post graduate courses in Pediatrics.  I studied on the side as well.  I networked with my mentors and their circles of influence and education in the Pediatric world.  Apparently, all this passion and drive created a buzz as I received an email from the President of Southern California University of Health Sciences asking if I would be interested in directing the Pediatric program and courses at the University.  I said yes, and have done so for the past five years, in conjunction with running my private practice (Straightahead Chiropractic in Redland, CA) where we focus on “Raising Healthy Families.”

As time passes, I have become increasingly more determined to help serve more kids, educated the masses, and reproduce the result we had with Luke for as many kids and families as possible.  After years of study, research, private practice, parenting, and directing a Pediatric Department on the University level I can confidently say there is hope!  It is time to be the loudest voice, because our silence is leaving children and families in unnecessary bondage. Results may vary from case to case, but results are happening!  Lives are being changed, and while the path we have traveled to get to this point had been rough (that’s an understatement), I can confidently and humbly say that seeing families transformed by the power of chiropractic every day is worth it!  The road is not as rough, and we all still face challenges, but I know one thing for certain…I can stand and fight in the trenches with these families because we were these families…and I can give hope, because hope is Straightahead.

So, what about Luke, now?  He is almost 15 years old, and was the first to read, edit, and revise this story.  He was the first person I even talked to about sharing it (get that? talked to…yes, completely intelligibly).  He’s a Freshman in High school, and ran Varsity for the Cross-country Team, gets almost straight- A’s, and is fully integrated and thriving in school. This kid is super sarcastic, which if you know anything spectrum kids, that is an opposing trait to their typical behavior. He’s funny, loving, loyal, socially popular, disciplined, and quickly becoming a man.

He’s been RESTORED!

Luke shared this story with his 5th grade class a couple years back, and announced with full certainty “I am a miracle.”  I couldn’t agree more, but do not think he (we) will ever know, in this lifetime, the depths of that truth as countless others are touched, moved, and restored by Luke’s story.

We each have a story, written by so many variables of life…some known and some not. Please do not read this story as a projection or promise that each kiddo in our office has or will have the same experience or results as Luke. Everyone responds differently with care, and quite honestly, we have seen many overcome even greater struggles than Luke, but the main focus of what we do is to restore the body’s ability to heal and regulate. Our focus is inside - out. Rather that treating the symptoms or behaviors, we seek to normalize neurology, and a normally functioning Nervous System is capable of incredible things!

We have all been created on purpose, for a purpose, and our vision at Straightahead Chiropractic is to help families fully live out their God-given purpose.