Learning disorders affect anywhere between 3% – 10% of school-aged children in the U.S. The numbers vary depending on the exact criteria that we use. And it is certainly true that individuals with these disorders often suffer from low self-esteem, low levels of motivation, loss of interest in school, academic difficulties and often have problems in social functioning.

Dr. Pauli suggest that any positive effects on learning disabilities may have something to do with improving function in the cerebellum. Most books will tell you that the cerebellum is simply involved in motor coordination, posture and balance. But that has long been known to be a limited view. Amongst mammals, humans have the largest cerebellum relative to the rest of the brain, and it is involved in coordinating not just motor functions, but also sensation, language, emotion and social functions.

Learning disorders primarily originate in the brain, hence they are central nervous system dysfunctions thought to be triggered by nerve interference or cranial and vertebral misalignments called subluxations. Dr. Pauli concluded spinal misalignments “alter the quality and quantity of neural inputs to the central nervous system and result in an asymmetric function of brain hemispheres, thus preventing the achievement of temporal coherence between the two hemispheres”.

Hence it’s believed a reduction of spinal misalignment through chiropractic care may restore proper joint and central nervous system function and improve motor balance overall. However also effective in treating children with learning disabilities is an area wherein I specialize, Craniosacral therapy.

Some of the causes of so-called “learning disabilities” include nutritional deficiencies, unbeknown toxic foods, yeast, parasite infections, and environmental pollutants. All of these other factors can be addressed but the results will still be unsatisfactory until the misalignments in the cranium and spine are corrected. Therefore, it is essential when treating children with learning disabilities that cranial adjusting (cranio-sacral therapy) be included in the treatment protocol.

Subluxation Principle

The principle of subluxation in the spine is that misaligned vertebrae pinch on peripheral nerves, causing either pain or malfunction. This principle also applies to the head (cranium).

Cranial misalignments can cause:

• Pressure directly on the brain interfering with its ability to function.
• Pressure on the nerves coming to and from the brain; interfering with communication.
• Decreased blood supply to the brain, further impairing its function.

These factors produce a brain that is unable to function at its full potential.

The brain misinterprets the messages coming from the peripheral nerves in response to various stimuli and sends inappropriate messages back to the various parts of the body. This results in bizarre behavior, incorrect answers, misinterpretation of instructions, and totally unrelated reactions to information.

Important Facts About the Cranium

• The bones in the cranium do not fuse together.
• They are joined together via sutures (outline of the plates of bone comprising the head that attach together at the seams of individual cranial bones) that remain movable.
• The sutures cannot be pulled apart but these bones of the cranium can jam up, overlap or compress together.

The birthing process is the major cause of skull misalignments. Instrumentation used in the birth process such as forceps, suction, and vacuum extraction can misalign the soft cranial bones. As well as a C-section and overzealous pulling on the neck and head during delivery.    

Other causes of cranial misalignments are head injuries from falling while learning to walk, hitting the edge of a coffee table or hard chair, and tumbling down the stairs. Blows to the head with instruments such as: a swing, baseball bat, ball, shovel, hockey stick, a punch, a kick or any other impact to the head can do damage as well.

Sports injuries work related accidents and habitual poor sleeping positions can also cause misalignments of the cranium. Many people reported the onset of such conditions as: learning disabilities, Autism, ADD, ADHD, and headaches, directly corelated to a head injury. Reach me if you would like to have a deeper discussion on how Craniosacral therapy can possibly help your child with a learning disability or challenge.