YOUR KIDDOS STARTED CARE: NOW WHAT?

Getting your kiddo started with neurologically-focused care at LUMINOUS (or anywhere else) is such an awesome thing. It is usually a time filled wit excitement and anticipation for all the wins to come along the way. From our experience talking with parents, especially those that have taken their family to other offices, is that having a provider give clarity on the journey can be……. lacking.

It is always our focus to help mothers and families understand the journey to come with as much clarity as we possibly can. There is no crystal ball or magic spell that we do in order to figure this out because, well, there is no way to 100% know how things will unfold for a kiddo once their nervous system starts to engage in change. There is, however, a predictable framework that the nervous system will go through that gives parents a general understanding of where their kiddo (and the nervous system) is at on the journey.

We talk about the 3 R’s .REGULATION - REORGANIZATION - RESTORATION

These are the 3 main phases that a nervous system will go through on the journey back to thriving! I use the word ‘back’ in that sentence very intentionally. It is my belief that a childs (or anyone for that matter) ability to thrive is never lost or disappears. We were all brought into this world ready to thrive. It is literally built into the fabric of our DNA and who we are meant to be. Certain events, situations, and experiences may come along and put the brakes on that, BUT it is never gone. We can always help our kiddos (and ourselves) find our way back!

That is the foundation that the care at LUMINOUS is built on. Your kiddos nervous system is remarkably intelligent! It knows exactly what it needs to do to help them thrive. All it needs is the opportunity to do so. That opportunity is a nervous system that is more calm, more at ease, and more ‘flexible.’ When the nervous system can function from a place like this it is less likely to get overwhelmed, over stimulated, and over protective!

Simply put, the nervous system cannot be in GROWTH & PROTECTION at the same time.

To help a nervous system get back to a place of growth where the focus (especially for kids) is on neurodevelopment and aiding those processes in flourishing the 3 R’s are how the nervous system works.

REGULATION

This is the first phase that the nervous system will go through at any point where there is a challenge present that the nervous system needs help integrating. This is the phase where care is usually the most ‘intense,’ In this context intensity refers to the amount of care your kiddo is receiving. In the regulation phase we are seeing kiddo more often because we are trying to encourage the nervous system to do a very specific thing…

Pause.Stop running on autopilot and start INCREASING the brain-body connection.

What this looks like for the nervous system is a chance to finally put the brakes on and actually get a fuller understanding of what’s going on with the ENTIRE system. A key piece that many miss is that in a place/ time of challenge the nervous system (in an effort to protect us) will create certain patterns/ compensations to put a ‘cap’ on it. This happens because in that moment the nervous system does not have the resilience & flexibility to fully handle/ integrate in the moment.

How many times in your adult life have you been presented with a situation that felt really scary or that you were uncertain of and you, for lack of a better way of saying it, did nothing about it? Pushed it to the side for later? Said something like “I’ll come back to this when I’m ready?” The nervous system is doing the same thing!

In the regulation phase, we are helping the nervous system go back and start to unwind the most recent patterns to start to get momentum working in your kiddos favor. We are reconnecting and reengaging the nervous system in the processes it has ‘put on the back burner’ for some time.

This is why this phase requires the higher frequency of care. To help the nervous system unwind those patterns and get momentum working in you kiddos favor, simply, takes more effort. That effort in the beginning usually yields some initial shifts that tell us we are on the right track.

These changes truly come down to the person and the challenges that may or may not be present. For kiddos, this may look like a change in the 3 ‘soft signs’ aka eating, sleeping, and pooping. For adults, this often looks like a shift out of the current, dominant pattern that preceded care. Likely a noticeable change in sleep, energy, focus, pain/ discomfort. We also start to see shifts in the INSiGHT scans.

These changes are a great thing, BUT they are not the things we are after in a plan of care like this. They are simply stepping stones on the journey. This is likely where the nervous system begins to shift into the next ‘R.’

REORGANIZATION

This its where things can get interesting during care. I say that, agian, very intentionally because this phase is where the proverablly “s*&t can hit the fan.”

If you have been under care with us at LUMINOUS you have likely heard me talk about the ‘messy middle’ in conversation. Well, the reorganization phase is exactly that. It can differ in length from person to person or child to child, but it is almost always there.

Don’t fret! We got you!

Knowing this we plan for it. In doing so, we lessen the confusion for parents and can help the system move through it with more ease. What that generally looks like is a longer time period with lesser frequency. At this point, momentum has been rolling and the focus has shifted to giving the nervous system the lasting support required to continue shifting it towards more ease & regulated function.

More on the ‘messy middle'…’

This often is most present in the INSiGHT scan results during this phase. They can often look ‘wonky’ ( my favorite technical term for it) or down right weird compared to the scans prior. More activity. More colors.

While at first glance this may look like things ‘worsening’ when we look at them in a global sense to the initial scans and what is going on at the current time in life and care we most often see that it is evidence of change.

Dr. Z analogy time….

When you're cleaning out your garage, does it start out looking nice and organized? NO! You have to take it all out, make a bigger mess, and THEN get it all back together neat & organized.

During this phase of care, the nervous system is ‘making the bigger mess.’ It’s clearing out the old patterns, the old stress, the old tension to make way for something new. That something new being a free & clear nervous system you have been so desperately seeking out for your kiddo (or yourself)!

This can also be where some of the old patterns try to re-ermerge. As we continue to nudge the nervous system towards the new we inevitably ‘bump into the edges’ of what it deems safe. In doing so, you may start to notice some old patterns show up in you kids day to day life, but somehow different in some way.

GOOD!

That is more evidence of change and ‘moving the needle’ of the nervous systemin the direction we are desiring to it go! Again, I know this is likely to happen so we continue on supporting the nervous system on its journey. Supporting your child, you, your family on this journey of health, healing, and well-being!

The journey is never the straight, quick, and easy path we desire it to be, but that is why we are here. EVERY. STEP.OF.THE.WAY!

As we are tracking change along the way with your help and our trusty INSiGHT scans we eventually start to the messiness settle. More coherence and ease emerge. Shifting into the the last ‘R.’

RESTORATION

You’ve seen (or felt) the initial shift.

You’ve made it through the messy middle.

This is what we have been working so diligently towards. RESTORATION!

Many see this as the end or the destination where things stop…

While some may choose that for their children or themselves this phase is actually just that, the next phase. It is where we have done our very best, focused our energy, and helped the nervous system reach a new place of connection, ease, and regulation. This is where we have seen or are seeing the true ‘magic’ unfold in your childs (or your) life.

You are seeing them in a way you always knew was possible. That light that you always knew was there is shining and it’s shining BRIGHT! I will often hear parents say ‘they never knew they could feel this good’ or share that their kiddo is doing x,y,z for the first time when they never thought it could be THEIR reality.

Truth is, when we give the nervous system the support, the time, and the right ‘stuff’ it is truly capable of ‘miracles.’

At LUMINOUS, we expect that because we know the miracle doesn't need to be manufactured.

The miracle is already inside your child (you) and we are here to help it shine at its brightest!

Zach Thomas - Chiropractor