Is a diagnosis label enough to help my child?

A label can guide support, but it doesn't explain the underlying neurological skills involved. A functional neurology assessment looks at the foundational functions beneath the challenge so support can target the root, not just the category.

Can the underlying skills behind learning challenges be strengthened?

Often, yes. Because learning rests on developing neurological foundations like sensory processing and coordination, targeted approaches can help build those capabilities rather than only accommodating the difficulty.

How is a developmental challenge assessed beyond standard testing?

By evaluating the sensory, motor, attentional, and cognitive systems that support learning together — identifying which foundations need support for that individual child.

Developmental & Learning Challenges

A range of differences in how a child's brain develops and processes information — affecting attention, learning, coordination, or communication — that benefit from understanding the underlying neurology.

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The CHallenge

Why Developmental & Learning Challenges is so often misunderstood

When a child struggles to learn or develop on pace, families are often given a label and a coping strategy, but little insight into the underlying neurological skills involved. Support is frequently organized around accommodating the difficulty rather than strengthening the foundational functions beneath it. That can leave parents feeling their child has been categorized but not truly understood.

Also known as

ADHD, autism, ASD, sensory processing, dyslexia, learning disability, Tourette's, developmental delay, neurodevelopmental, executive function

ICD-10

F90 (ADHD), F84 (Pervasive developmental disorders), F81 (Learning disorders), F95 (Tic disorders), F80 (Speech/language disorders)

The Opportunity

How focused education closes the gap

Clinicians trained in functional assessment learn to identify and address what standard screening overlooks — building the skill set patients in this position genuinely need.

Clinicians trained in developmental neurology look at the underlying systems that support learning and development.- Assess the sensory, motor, and cognitive foundations beneath a child's challenges- Identify which underlying skills need support, not just which label fits- Translate findings into a targeted, developmentally-informed plan

Education for Developmental & Learning Challenges

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Multi-Format

On-Demand

ADD, ADHD, ODD, OCD, PDD-NOS… And the rest of the alphabet

Understand and manage ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD, and related childhood disorders. This 25-hour course covers diagnostic criteria, causes, and functional care strategies for executive and behavioral dysfunction.

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45.00

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45.00

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AI Eye Movement Neurorehabilitation

A 1-credit ISCN lecture exploring AI-enhanced eye movement technologies for neurorehabilitation in stroke patients and children with neurodevelopmental neglect and learning challenges.

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45.00

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45.00

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hours

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Developing Brain: Plasticity & Play

Explore critical early neurodevelopment through primitive reflexes, neuroplasticity, and play neuroscience to optimize infant and child brain function.

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Functional Neurology Excellence Bundle

A complete framework for understanding how the brain develops, adapts, and changes-equipping providers to find and fix neurological "software" problems invisible on imaging, yet life-changing when corrected.

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Carrick Institute Faculty

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Sensory Integrative Therapies, Orthoptic Exercises, and Layering Cognitive Function Therapies

Learn to integrate sensory, orthoptic, and cognitive rehab strategies for concussion care. Improve outcomes in oculomotor control, attention, memory, and sensory processing.

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47.50

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47.50

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hours

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The CNS Curriculum™

From neurodevelopment to complex neurological presentations, this comprehensive program has been approved by CAGEN to qualify for the ACNB Diplomate in Chiropractic Neurology and the ACFN Fellowship in Functional Neurology examinations. It builds a deep, system-by-system understanding of the nervous system-giving you the tools to observe, examine, interpret, and address functional brain and nerve disorders with greater precision.

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Carrick Institute Faculty

Understanding Developmental & Learning Challenges

What it is

Developmental and learning challenges encompass a broad range of differences in how children acquire skills — including attention, reading, math, language, coordination, and social communication. These challenges are common, and they exist along a spectrum rather than as fixed categories. A functional neurology perspective views them through the lens of the underlying neurological systems involved, recognizing that the visible difficulty usually rests on more foundational functions. Rather than focusing solely on the label, it asks which of those foundations — sensory processing, motor coordination, attention regulation, the timing between brain regions — may need support, with the goal of building capability rather than only accommodating difficulty. That distinction matters because strengthening an underlying skill can change the downstream challenge in a way that accommodation alone cannot. For parents who have a diagnosis but little sense of what's actually driving their child's struggle, an assessment of the developmental neurology beneath it offers both understanding and a constructive path forward. Strengthening the foundation, rather than only accommodating the difficulty, is what can change a child's trajectory rather than merely managing it.

Symptoms & presentation

Developmental and learning challenges can present in many ways depending on the child:- Difficulty acquiring reading, writing, or math skills on pace- Trouble sustaining attention or following multi-step instructions- Delays in speech, language, or social communication- Coordination or motor-skill difficulties- Sensitivity to sensory input or difficulty with transitions- Frustration or avoidance around specific learning tasks

Why it's clinically complex

Learning and development rest on a foundation of integrated neurological systems — sensory processing, motor coordination, attention networks, and the timing between brain regions. When one or more of these foundations develops atypically, the downstream skill — reading, focus, coordination — is affected, even when the child is bright, capable, and motivated. Standard approaches often address the surface skill or provide accommodations, which genuinely help, but may not strengthen the underlying function itself. Understanding the developmental neurology beneath a challenge, as functional neurology does, is what allows support to target the root capability rather than only the visible difficulty, changing the trajectory rather than just managing it.

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