CHILDREN'S HEALTH


general articles

children's
cranial articles

vaccines

adhd

case profiles

Children's Health | general articles

Pictured: Doctor Richards performing a cranial adjustment on one of her patients.

Colic
The University of Southern Denmark published the results of an important follow-up study on infantile colic in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics (JMPT, Oct 99). JMPT is a peer-reviewed journal of the highest caliber and the study's design conformed to the randomized, controlled trial model so beloved of the medical profession. more...

Health Risks from Acetaminophen
Acetaminophen (Tylenol the most familiar brand) is extremely dangerous. When I was in school, our instructor in drug toxicology (who was a pharmacist and had practiced at LA County General Hospital) pointed out that acetaminophen was the leading cause of death by accidental poisoning in the pediatric population. What made the statistic even more startling was that the drug was almost always administered by the parents - with the intention of helping their child. more...

Health Risks from Acetaminophen
INFANT TYLENOL IS 3-1/2 TIMES STRONGER THAN CHILDREN'S STRENGTH TYLENOL
Early in July Associated Press performed an important public service. They released a story which highlighted a serious public health problem. Parents, in particular, need to take note of this information. Acetaminophen (Tylenol the most familiar brand) is extremely dangerous. more...

Vitamin E, Asthma, and Pre-natal Risk
They found that low intake of vitamin E during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk among offspring for developing persistent asthma, beginning during the first two years of life and continuing to at least until age five. more...

Suppressing Information About the Swine Flu
The FDA is pursuing and shutting down anyone on the Internet that offers "cures" for the swine flu – other than the FDA endorsed vaccine, Tamiflu or Relenza. more...

Children's Health | cranial

Skull Deformities (Plagiocephaly) and Developmental Delays in Children: The Benefits of Cranial Care
"Why cranial adjusting for infants and children?" you may ask. That is an excellent question, and I will attempt to give you an overview of the subject. First of all, it is important to realize that the most dramatic increase in brain volume occurs in the last 3 months of gestation and the first 2 years of life. Head growth in the fetus and infant is largely determined by brain growth. Please take note that the brain reaches 90% of adult size by 1 year of age; it is 95% of its ultimate adult size by 6 years of age, and growth is complete by age 7. Therefore, birth to 2 years of age gives us the greatest opportunity to intervene to maximize outcomes. more...

Cranial Surgery for Infants
I found the information so outrageous and alarming that I needed to share it with everyone. The headline reads "Some Physicians Do Unnecessary Surgery On Heads of Infants." It seems that neurosurgeons are removing infants' skulls, "remodeling" the bone, and reattaching the skull to correct what is a simple, functional problem - positional molding. more...

Cranial Care for Infants and Children
For many children, as the infections continue and the immune system becomes more and more depressed by the antibiotics they are given, the eventual result is a surgery, with the placement of tubes in the ears. Both of these therapies are now being called into serious question by current medical information. more...

Children's Health | vaccines

Vaccines?
Now that President Bush wants to reintroduce universal small pox vaccinations, the American Academy of Pediatrics is warning that the vaccine is unsafe, and may be life-threatening in certain cases. This after a world-wide campaign to eradicate small pox via vaccination. Didn't the risks to people in other parts of the world matter? more...

Hepatitus B Vaccine
The recent media blitz regarding school children and Hepatitis B vaccine is of extreme concern to me. Hepatitis B vaccine is mandatory before registering your 7th grader in school. (For those of you who are unaware, Hepatitis B vaccine is also administered in the hospital to newborns.) What you didn't hear is that, in California, you can request a waiver based upon personal conscience and belief. more...

Swine Flu Vaccine Alert
It seems that the swine flu vaccine contains mercury. If you want mercury-free vaccine, you have to make a special request. Not only do you have to request it, but you have to wait, because it isn't yet available. more...

Children's Health | ADHD

ADHD
Do you realize that Ritalin is a cocaine analog? That, in fact, the tablets when ground up and inhaled, give the exact same high as cocaine? Well, the kids do. Ritalin is the fastest growing abused drug today. And most of it is obtained through legal prescriptions! more...

Case Profiles

Case Profile (Pediatrics)
We brought our 3-1/2 year old daughter to Dr. Richards in June 1993. She had numerous problems interfering with her development. Her walk was very awkward; she could not run; and she did no jumping or climbing. For the most part, she was physically inactive. She had a cleft in her soft palate which contributed to her very limited speech. Most everything she tried to say sounded like "ma ma." She wore glasses for the correction of farsightedness and had difficulty keeping her eyes from turning in (strabismus). We had been told that the only correction for this was surgery. The most frustrating thing for us was the fact that she was unresponsive much of the time, showing little or no emotion. Most often, she was irritable and minimally cooperative. This made speech therapy less than successful.

Our daughter recently turned 5. Looking at her today, it's hard to believe she's the same child. She now runs, hops, jumps and climbs, In fact, after her first visit to Dr. Richards, she tried jumping for the first time. It seems that now she rarely slows down to a walk. She still wears glasses, but her left lens has been changed to a weaker prescription. As long as she has her regular adjustments, her eyes remain straight. Surgery for strabismus is no longer being discussed. The most significant change has been in her personality. She giggles, laughs and smiles much of the time. She has been making good progress in speech therapy. She talks about everything. Although she is still shy, she responds to people in a positive way. Most importantly, she now enjoys life. --L and TA

This is one of those instances where nervous system coordination was being seriously impaired by what appeared to be a "simple defect. " The cleft palate resulted in torsion, misalignment and fixation in both the frontal and temporal bones. Since the vestibular system exists within the temporal bone, balance is affected. The emotional centers of the brain are immediately behind the frontal bone and frontal bone fixations have been documented to produce emotional distress - including depression, changeability, irritability, lack of concentration, etc. The best part of treating one of my "favorite patients," though, is the big smile and the hugs! --Dr. Richards

Case Profile (Pediatrics, Cranial, Allergies)
"I had heard about Dr. Richards from a friend of mine. My son, C, had a very aggressive relationship with his brother and his father. The fighting was more than just your typical quarreling. After discussing our options, my husband and I decided to take C to Dr. Richards while my husband and I went to a family therapist.

"After about three weeks, my husband and I had noticed a change. C. was fighting a lot less with his brother, his relationship with his dad was improving and he was more mellow. And that was after we stopped going to the family therapist. Dr. Richards and the entire staff were very good with C. and now I hope to take my other son for treatment too. --TC

This is simply another example of a situation where cranial distortions and food allergies result in difficult behavior. Children are very direct and they don't have a lot of ways to express their pain. Helping them become pain-free is quite a privilege. --Dr. Richards

Case Profile (Pediatrics, Cranial, Nutrition)
"In December of 1990, my husband and I visited Pitesch, Romania. Our visit was inspired by a segment on the TV show "20/20", which reported on the treatment and care of infants and children in Romania. When we first saw A and L, they were two weeks old and less than four pounds each. They were born two months premature and had suffered a trauma birth. (A and L are fraternal twins.)

"After a considerable amount of red tape, A and L were adopted at the age of four months by my family. From the time they were born until the day we were able to take them home, A and L were wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes that allowed little or no body movement. A had a severe heart murmur and L had severe colic and strabismus in one of her eyes. A's heart condition eventually became more normal but he seemed unusually quiet. He had no head movement and at first we thought he might be deaf or blind. We eventually brought him to a chiropractic doctor. After just one treatment, A was able to move his head. My husband and I were referred to a chiropractor in San Fernando Valley. The doctor was treating A and L and they were responding very well to the treatments. L's strabismus was clearing and A was able to move more. But the commute to San Fernando Valley was just too great. Then we were referred to the Richards Family Health Center.

"Dr. Richards has been treating A and L for over three months and both are steadily improving. In addition to their treatments, Dr. Richards has addressed their nutritional needs. Both A and L have benefited from the supplements and Bach Flowers we've obtained at the Richards Family Health Center. As a result, L's digestive system has now normalized. A's mobility and alertness has increased. I've noticed that when or L miss their treatment, A. becomes HYPO-active while L becomes HYPER-active. I'm confident that with their treatments and lots of TLC, both A and L will continue to improve. --RS

It is wonderfully rewarding to watch the twins blossom as we continue working with them. L is steadily catching up to her age level. A's deficit is more marked, but it warms my heart to see him hold his head up and look all around. --Dr. Richards

Case Profile ( Pediactrics, NOT)
"School was pretty frustrating for S. He is very artistic - a gifted artist and musician - but reading and study skills were very challenging. In fact, the school system had categorized him as a "marginal" student. S's learning difficulties were structural - at four, he had been hit on the left forehead with a baseball bat. After that incident, he was more emotional than others his age, had difficulty sitting still and trouble learning to read and write. Private tutoring in reading in first grade helped him compensate, but reading was a struggle. And dealing with the school authorities was an endless battle.

"When S was approximately 12 years old, treatment was begun with Neural
Organizational Technique. At first, the treatments were exhausting. It would be very difficult for him to perform the necessary tests, and he would need to sleep after every session. However, the results soon spoke for themselves. He went from a D average in junior high school, to placement in honors classes in high school. He graduated from high school at 16 by passing the State proficiency exam. Now, at 19, he's earned his certification as an Emergency Medical Technician, and is in training to become a fireman." --Aunt of SIS

"I would not have been able to achieve what I've accomplished so far without my NOT treatments. Life would have continued to be overwhelmingly difficult. --SIS

Case Profile (Pediactrics, NET)
"J has always had difficulty allowing anybody to touch his head, especially his eyes. During a regular chiropractic visit, Dr. Richards needed to make an adjustment on his eye muscles, but J was very adamant that he didn't want her to touch his face.

"At Dr. Richards request, I allowed J to have an NET treatment. Immediately J's anxiety about his eyes being touched went away. Interestingly enough, after the treatment, the area around his eyes no longer needed to be adjusted. --Mother of JT

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