Non Linear Learning - Rethinking Education for Neurodivergent Learners

In this episode Vaish and Jodi Cohen talk about how essential oils can be that "bypass" or "magic bullet" that can stimulate the vagus nerve, calm fight-or-flight, and bring children (and adults) into a parasympathetic state. Essential Oils can work when more traditional foods and supplements don't, because they can diffuse through the skin, and reach the brain quicker through the olfactory system.  If you have a child that is a resistant eater, or with significant GI inflammation, this podcast may be of use to you.

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

Nutritionist Jess Sherman brings back simplicity to the sometimes very complicated world of dietary interventions for "picky" eaters.

She asks us as parents to:

Get Curious and Ask What is going on in the body with her 3-pillar framework:

1 Address Nutrient Deficiencies

2 Resolve Stress / Digestion 3 Deep dive into Digestive imbalance and dysbiosis. 

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

If you are looking to address:

-mood

-behavioral dys-regulation

-focus and/or

-hyperactivity,

there are a few fundamental principles that can help you design a diet (often mislabeled as an Autism Diet) that helps your child through the symptoms that they struggle with.

This is more accurately a food-based approach for symptoms that often co-exist with Autism, but are truly more common these days for everyone.

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

In this podcast for parents facing anxiety and sometimes delayed trauma like symptoms, Dana Frost leads us through

• the 4 qualities of a healthy breath.
• heart rate variability
• heart-centered breathing
• how to change your default trigger state.

All of these techniques can be used also by children that have some control over their breathing. 

Listen on...

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

Danille Ryan Broida is a mycologist, the National Educator of FOUR SIGMATIC and is teaching the world about a life on Functional Mushrooms. 

We discuss:

-MUSHROOMS AND CONNECTIVITY

-WHEN DANIELLE USES MUSHROOMS THEREPEUTICALLY

-MUSHROOMS FOR COGNITION AND FOCUS

-HOW ARE CULINARY MUSHROOMS DIFFERENT FROM FUNCTIONAL EXTRACTS?

-HOW TO CHOOSE MUSHROOMS?

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

OCD can be debilitating for children, frustrating and many times more so for kids with expressive difficulties, non-speaking for example.

Autism and OCD expert Dr. Elisa Song talks to us about very accessible means of tackling OCD step by step. Always find a Functional Medicine Doctor to help you with any supplements. 

2:10 The first things that Dr. Song addresses: GUT , NEUROTRANSMITTERS, FOODS IMPACTING GUT AND BRAIN.

5:45 Could this be PANS or PANDAS

8:30 Diagnostic testing

10:00 Anti-inflammatory Supplements

11:00 Inflammation

13:05 Is Diet the first step for all?

14:40 Targeted supplements for OCD

15:50 How long does healing take?

16:30 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

19:20 Flares and Remissions

23:00 The 5R approach of Functional Medicine

24:45 Fight or Flight Response and Vagal Tone

26:15 What parents can do right away for OCD?

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

Functional Medicine, unlike conventional medicine, treats psychiatric and neurological issues as not just silo-ed conditions associated with the brain but as whole body conditions. 

Dr. Stein in her podcast breaking analogy talks about chronic inflammation affecting the body and the brain as the continual war between India and Pakistan!

Conventional Medicine addresses acute infection. Dr. Stein brings in her comprehensive SHIFT model to describe how functional medicine addresses chronic infection and inflammation. 

Stress

Hormones

Infections

Food

Toxins make up the SHIFT model.

Dr. Stein gives us a peek into how puberty might shift the immune system. 

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

Neurodevelopmental therapist Kay Ness talks about

-the fundamental principles behind this technique: heirarchichal model of brain development and neuroplasticity.  -how lack of stimulation at appropriate age can interefere with brain development

-the number 1 thing to address in a child with Down Syndrome is Auditory Processing. 

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

Dr Julie Buckley wows us with revelations about GABA levels and ways to address GABA and anxiety puberty and beyond, especially in autistic teens. 

Listen on to hear about:

-GABA supplementation

-CBD

-Diet and 

-Presumption of Competence (isn't it amazing how this finds its way in the most seemingly unlikely of places)

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.

Dysbiosis (sometimes overgrowth of pathogens or the wrong microbes) can often result in symptoms of Dysregulation.

It is important to understand that this is not "behavior" and it is a physiological effect. 

A 2017 study found that Candida abundance in guts of children with autism was more than double when compared to neurotypical controls.  This podcast explores long term strategies to impact dysregulation due to infections or dysbiosis. 

Disclaimer: The information in this Podcast is for educational purposes only. Vaishnavi Sarathy, Ph.D. is an educator, not a doctor, specifically not your child’s doctor. Please consult your physician before implementing any supplement or diet recommendations.