The One Thing Missing From Every Autism, ADHD, and SPD Protocol
So today, I want to dive into what we call
The Perfect Storm.
It’s a term we use for the cascade of stressors that often lead to neurodevelopmental and behavioral disorders in kids—things like ADHD, sensory processing disorder, autism spectrum disorders, OCD, anxiety, and even depression in older children.
While these labels are different, they often share a common root cause. And to understand it, we have to go all the way back to the beginning—in utero.
STAGE 1: Prenatal Stress
In over half the cases we’ve worked with, we’ve found significant mental and emotional
stress in the mother during pregnancy—chronic work stress, emotional trauma, relationship challenges, or personal health struggles.
This matters because the umbilical cord is not just a lifeline for nutrients—it connects mom’s nervous system to baby’s.
If mom’s
stress response is running high, baby’s developing nervous system begins to adapt to that environment. Cortisol, stress neurotransmitters, and the fight-or-flight programming all get baked into the baby’s early neurodevelopment.
That’s strike one.
STAGE 2: Birth Intervention Trauma
In nearly every case, we also see medical interventions during labor and delivery:
- Inductions
- Epidurals
- Forceps
- Vacuum extraction
- C-sections
Each of these can create significant tension and traction injuries to the newborn’s
fragile neck and brainstem.
The brainstem governs
vital early life functions like:
- Latching and nursing
- Digestion and elimination
- Calm and sleep
When compromised, babies struggle with things like colic, constipation, reflux, poor latch, and constant crying.
That’s strike two.
STAGE 3: Early Life Stress + Antibiotics
As these babies grow into toddlers, their unresolved
stress leads to immune suppression and chronic inflammation.
We see repeated infections, excessive antibiotic use, and the compounding breakdown of the gut-brain axis.
This often progresses into:
- Constipation
- Reflux
- Food intolerances
- Allergies
- Asthma
- That’s strike three.
STAGE 4: The Toddler and Sensory Years
Now the labels begin: sensory seeking, tantrums, trouble regulating emotions, developmental delays.
Parents are doing everything
right —gluten-free, dairy-free, OT, PT, speech, supplements—but it still feels like their child isn’t
connecting.
Why? Because no one has addressed the baseline neurological
dysregulation.
STAGE 5: School-Age Labels
By the time kids are in school, these same nervous system stress patterns start to look like:
- ADHD
- Autism spectrum behaviors
- Anxiety
- Emotional dysregulation
This isn’t new - it’s a progression.
STAGE 6: The Teen Years
At this stage, we often see nervous systems that are simply burnt out.
Kids are anxious, angry, depressed, withdrawn. The labels change, but the root cause is the same. Years of sympathetic dominance and unresolved trauma.
STAGE 7: The Adult Experience
Unresolved, this Perfect Storm evolves into adulthood as chronic
stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and functional disorders.
But it doesn’t have to go that far.
Rewiring the Foundation
What we’ve found is that when you address the nervous system first —when you restore connection at the brainstem and spinal cord level—everything else starts working.
Speech therapy, diet changes, emotional regulation techniques—they finally gain traction.
You’re not spinning your wheels anymore.
We’ve seen kids say “I love you” for the first time. Go to the bathroom independently for the first time at 13. We’ve seen colic disappear, reflux stop, constipation resolve.
Because when the nervous system is regulated, the body finally starts to thrive.
So whether your child is 6 months, 6 years, or 16—it’s not too late. But the sooner we reset the foundation, the sooner your child (and your family) can start to heal.
–
Dr. Lee Horine
May 22 2025 08:31:29 PM
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