Your child may not be sick, but sometimes a parent can sense when something just is not right. Behavioural difficulties, learning delays, coordination problems: there seems to be no easy solution. Brookvale's Brainshape and Freshwater Chiropractic work as an integrated practice to address these concerns.

"We work with families: mums and dads with children," says Dr Zoe Braund, founder and co-owner of Brainshape. "The majority of our clients are kids experiencing challenges with either a learning delay, emotional regulation, focus or attention problems, movement coordination or muscle tone, or task avoidance; and then from the chiropractic side, mums that just aren't coping or are overwhelmed." With over 25 years in the field, Dr Zoe is experienced across all ages but is in her element working with children, particularly those with developmental concerns. Often, medications are prescribed for neurodevelopmental conditions, but side effects mean medication is not a long-term solution.

At Brainshape, development is approached differently, using advanced technology and holistic integration of body and mind. Dr Zoe starts by assessing foundational development and primitive reflexes. "These are the automatic movement patterns babies are born with, such as sucking, grasping and reflexive movement. These reflexes should naturally integrate or disappear by 12 months of age as the brain develops. When they remain active, they can affect coordination, learning, posture and emotional regulation."

For struggling kids, there is often an imbalance between left and right brain development. "The left brain is go, the right brain is stop, but they work together. The left brain handles reading, words, maths, numbers; it's very literal. The right brain is the drive to connect and attach," explains Dr Zoe. Brainshape's neurotherapy programs work to mature this connection. "The brain is very plastic in a child: neuroplasticity. We're working on giving sensory input in the right way to develop that brain."

Treatments focus on stimulating the brain in the right ways, using infrared light and red light lasers, vibrations, electrical stimulation and a technology called Stimpod to drive the vagal nerve, helping kids move out of fight-or-flight mode. "Most kids really love it. There are balance exercises, gaming, all sorts of things, but it's multilevel stimulation. Our goal is always regulation." Families may start with an intense program two or three times a week, with improvements quickly noticed by parents and teachers, before continuing with less intense treatment for up to twelve months.

Brainshape looks beyond symptoms to address developmental challenges at their foundation. "The fate of the adult brain lies in the child's development. If we can check early and make sure the child is developing the way they're meant to, we can make a real difference," says Dr Zoe. The earlier symptoms are addressed, the more effective treatment will be. Book a session at brainshape.com.au or call (02) 9905 1856.