Dyslexia - difficulty with written language. Dyslexia affects reading, spelling, writing, memory and concentration. Sometimes called a "specific learning difficulty." Dyslexia can be developmental or acquired.

Neurodevelopmental disorder or disorder of neural development, is an impairment of the growth and development of the brain or central nervous system. A common use of the term may refer to a disorder of brain function which affects emotion, learning ability and memory and which unfolds as the individual grows. The term is sometimes erroneously used as an exclusive synonym for autism and autism spectrum disorders.

Dr Damien Downing on Dyslexia, learning difficulties, neurodevelopmental disorder

As with Autism and ADHD, there is a considerable overlap between these conditions — and between them and Autism, ADHD and so on — that is not always appreciated. It is easy to assume that a diagnosis will open the way to effective treatments appropriate for that diagnosis alone, but it’s not that simple. Firstly, a child (or indeed adult) can have several problems affecting them at once, and being given a single diagnosis can actually prevent other problems being identified and tackled; a good educational psychologist should be able to help with that. Secondly, giving the problem a name doesn’t tell you what caused it, and that is where ecological medicine may be able to help.

There are three elements of ecological medicine that play a part in learning and neurodevelopmental disorders, and of course they interact considerably.

Nutrition:

My colleague and respected long-term researcher Dr Ellen Grant showed 20 years ago that children with dyslexia were likely to be Zinc-deficient and have other nutritional deficits. This is even more true now, as many parents have been raised on poor diets. Good nutrition is essential to enable children to deal with dyslexia.

Environment:

We all live in a world full of toxins, increasing every year. The mercury in many fish (as well as in many vaccines) is the same mercury that drove Alice in Wonderland’s hatter mad, and it is even more harmful to developing brains. The flame retardants that are in the livers of polar bears in the Arctic are also in our systems, coming off the furnishings and electrical equipment in our homes, and they clog up our ability to detox through the liver. These and many other toxins all add up to harm to our brains and immune systems, and to developing ones in particular.

Individuality:

There are certain combinations of gene patterns that can reduce the capacity to get rid of toxins in the body (through the liver mainly), and will make you or your child more vulnerable to them: toxins such as a range of metals (mercury in vaccines and in food, cadmium from smoking, etc) and man-made chemicals (pesticides, flame retardants etc). We can test for these genes if we agree it is useful.

Our treatment is always planned for the individual child, but it is likely to involve several of the following:

Nutrition: Diet and supplements to correct deficiencies and improve defences against toxins and immune problems.
Detoxing: there are a number of ways to improve and support the removal of toxins from the body.
Genomic medicine: where needed a number of diet and lifestyle changes, supplements and other agents can help your child's system to make the best of the genetic hand he/she has been dealt.

The main purpose of treatment is always to enable your child to take best advantage of the learning and development opportunities offered to him/her - which is up to you, although we can always advise on what approaches are likely to be best.

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