Chiropractic Care for ADHD, Autism and Sensory Processing in Lafayette, CO

A calmer nervous system, not a different child

If your child melts down at transitions, cannot settle at bedtime, covers their ears in loud rooms, or seems stuck in overdrive all day, you are seeing a nervous system that is having trouble shifting gears. Chiropractic care at The Well Healing Center in Lafayette, CO is not a treatment for ADHD, autism or sensory processing disorder, and it does not change who your child is. What it addresses is regulation: how easily the nervous system moves between alert and calm.

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If you are reading this at the end of a hard day, you are not the first parent to find us that way. The same nervous system work applies to you, and plenty of parents end up in care alongside their child.

Dr. Michelle Green is CACCP-certified through the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA), with 200 hours of advanced pediatric training. She is also a Certified SOT Pediatric Practitioner (CSSPP) through the Peak Potential Institute and a PX Docs certified pediatric and family chiropractor.

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What we mean by nervous system regulation

Your child's nervous system has two modes. One is alert and protective. The other is calm, digesting, sleeping, socially engaged. Children who spend most of the day stuck in the alert mode look dysregulated: reactive to noise and touch, hard to settle, quick to escalate, slow to recover.

Physical tension through the upper neck and spine is one input feeding that alert state. Gentle chiropractic care reduces that tension. It does not remove a diagnosis. What families often report is a shorter runway to calm.

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How we assess before we touch anything

We start with INSiGHT scans, which measure nervous system function without radiation and without your child needing to sit still for long or answer questions. For children under four we use heart rate variability and surface EMG; from about age four we add thermal scanning. The scans give us a baseline and a way to show you change over time rather than asking you to take our word for it.

We also take a full history: birth story, milestones, sleep, digestion, and what a hard day actually looks like in your house.

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What we actually use, by name

NetworkSpinal, Sacro Occipital Technique (SOT) and Logan Basic. All three are low-force methods. NetworkSpinal uses light, precise contacts along the spine, usually at the neck and sacrum, to help the nervous system release tension it is holding. SOT places padded wedges under the pelvis so body weight does the work, alongside light cranial contacts. Logan Basic is a sustained, very light contact at the base of the spine.

No twisting, no popping, no sudden movements. For a sensory-sensitive child that matters more than anything else on this page.​

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What an adjustment looks like for a sensory-sensitive child

Children who do not want to be touched are not forced. We work at the pace your child sets, often with them sitting up, in your lap, or playing. There is a toy area kids actually want to be in. Some children may take two or three visits before they let us do a full assessment, and if that is your child's starting point, it is not a failure. We will meet your child where they are.

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What a first visit looks like

Nothing is decided on the first visit, and nothing happens to your child that they have not agreed to.
We start with a conversation. You tell us the story: the birth, the milestones, the sleep, the digestion, what a hard day actually looks like. Then we run INSiGHT scans, which take a few minutes and involve no radiation and nothing uncomfortable.

At the follow-up, you will be walked through what the scans showed in plain language, and what we would and would not expect care to help with. You decide from there. If we do not think we are the right fit for your child, we will say so and point you toward who might be.
Book a nervous system assessment, or call or text 720-722-1622 if you would rather ask questions first.

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Where chiropractic fits, and when to see someone else

As chiropractors, we do not treat, diagnose or cure anything. What we work on is the nervous system, so your child's system can function and adapt more easily. Chiropractic is not a treatment or cure for autism, ADHD or sensory processing disorder.

 

We work in conjunction with occupational therapists and speech therapists, and families often tell us their other therapies land better once the nervous system is less stuck. We do not advise stopping anything your child is already doing.

Some things need a medical provider first. Seek evaluation for regression or loss of skills already gained, seizures, a significant change in behavior with fever, feeding refusal with weight loss, or any new neurological symptom. We refer, and we are glad to coordinate with your pediatrician or therapy team.​

 

Serving families across Boulder County​

Families come to our Lafayette office from Lafayette, Boulder, Louisville, Erie, Superior, Broomfield and Longmont. This page is one part of our wider pediatric chiropractic care in Lafayette, which covers newborns through teenagers.

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More on this from our blog

When everyday noises feel like a five-alarm fire: sensory processing in kids

Why transitions cause meltdowns

School refusal and the nervous system

What subluxation means in a child's nervous system

Your child's diagnosis isn't their destiny

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ADHD, autism and sensory questions, answered

Is a chiropractor good for kids with autism?

Many autistic children are living in a nervous system that sits in a high alert state, and that is what chiropractic care works on. Parents commonly report better sleep, easier transitions and faster recovery after a meltdown. Care is not a treatment for autism and does not replace developmental therapy, and the published evidence is mostly case reports rather than large trials. What it offers is support for regulation, alongside everything else your child is doing.

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Can chiropractic help an ADHD child?

Chiropractic care focuses on nervous system regulation, which is often what sits underneath the trouble settling, sleeping and self regulating that parents describe. Families frequently report their child winds down more easily and bounces back faster after a hard moment. It is not a treatment for ADHD, and any decision about medication belongs with your prescribing provider. It works alongside what your child is already doing.

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What doctor treats sensory processing disorder?

Children with sensory processing differences are often living in a nervous system that sits in a high alert state, which is why ordinary noise, touch or transitions can land like a threat. That alert state is what chiropractic care works on. Parents commonly report their child recovers faster after being overwhelmed and handles transitions more easily. Sensory processing is usually supported by a team, and occupational therapy is the most common starting point. Many of the families we see in Lafayette are working with an occupational therapist at the same time, and we coordinate with them.​​​

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Can a child outgrow sensory processing disorder?

Many children develop stronger regulation and coping skills as they grow, particularly with support, though sensory differences often persist in some form into adulthood. The goal is usually not a child who stops being sensitive, but a nervous system that recovers faster when it does get overwhelmed. That recovery capacity is what we work on.

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Book a nervous system assessment

Call or text 720-722-1622 with questions first