What we check
- Upper-neck and mid-back movement, checked gently and one segment at a time
- Pelvic and hip mechanics, plus balance, gait, and how your child holds their head
- Muscle guarding through the jaw, neck, shoulders, and low back
- INSiGHT nervous-system scan readings for tension patterns, repeated over time
- History that adds load: birth, falls, illnesses, disrupted sleep, recent transitions
- Which sensations your child avoids or seeks, so visits are built around them
What to expect
Tell us before you arrive what your child needs — a specific time of day, no waiting room, headphones on, a heads-up phone call, whatever helps. The first visit is history, a nervous-system scan, and a hands-on exam, in whatever order your child can tolerate. We may get through all of it. We may get through the conversation and a scan and call that a win. At the second visit we go over the scan images with you and give you a plain answer about whether ongoing care makes sense. You will never hear us push a plan your child is fighting.
Book a first visitNothing Here Needs Fixing
A child who processes sensory input differently is not broken and does not need to be corrected into someone else.
- If your child is autistic or otherwise neurodivergent, we are not offering to change that, recover them, or make them less of who they are — anyone selling you that is selling you something
- We do not treat sensory processing disorder, autism, or any diagnosis
- We do not diagnose them either
- What we offer is narrow: an assessment of how the spine moves and how much tension the nervous system appears to be carrying
- Care for what we find, and an appointment that does not add to the pile of hard sensory experiences your child already has to get through
How the Nervous System Fits In
The nervous system takes in sound, light, texture, movement and pressure, sorts what matters from what does not, and decides how the body should respond. When it is already running hot, ordinary input lands harder: a tag feels like sandpaper, and a busy room is not busy, it is loud everywhere at once.
- That is a description of how sensing and regulating work, not a claim that we can change your child’s sensory threshold
- We look at the physical layer: whether the neck and mid-back move well
- Whether muscles are guarding
- What our INSiGHT scans show about tension held in the autonomic nervous system
- We address the mechanics we find, and we tell you what we did not find too
What a Low-Sensory Visit Looks Like
We build the appointment around your child instead of around our schedule.
- Your child stays dressed and stays with you
- Nobody is held down, ever
- We show every instrument before it comes near them — the scan sensor gets handed over first so they can feel it on their own hand
- We narrate each step in the same order every visit, because predictable is easier than fast
- Your child can sit, stand, lie on your lap, or keep a tablet or headphones on
- If the answer today is “no touching,” then today is a scan and a conversation
Your OT, Speech and Feeding Team Stays
Nothing we do replaces a therapy hour, and we will never suggest you trade one for adjustments.
- Occupational therapy, speech therapy and feeding therapy are doing the skill-building work — keep every one of them
- ABA if your family has chosen it, plus your pediatrician and any developmental specialist
- What we can do is coordinate: if your OT is working on proprioceptive input or postural control, tell us
- We will tell you what we see in how your child moves and holds their head and pelvis
- Dr. Tori’s care for kids with complex needs comes out of growing up as a sister to a special needs sibling, so the pace of these visits is not an accommodation we bolt on
What Families Report
The reports we hear most are about the ordinary end of the day.
- Getting to sleep
- Coming down from a hard afternoon a little sooner
- Sitting through dinner
- A few parents mention their child seems less braced physically — shoulders lower, jaw looser
- Those are parent observations, not results we can promise you, and not a change in diagnosis or in your child’s sensory profile
- Some families notice nothing they would report at all. We would rather set that expectation in advance than have you paying for months while waiting on something we never should have implied.
See a medical provider right away if you notice
- A sudden loss of skills your child already had — words, eye contact, coordination, toileting — needs prompt medical evaluation
- New severe headache, or pain that wakes your child at night, especially with fever — see your pediatrician
- Any suspected concussion or head injury — stop activity and get evaluated medically
- Limb pain with swelling, redness, or heat, or refusal to use an arm or leg — same-day medical care
- New feeding refusal with weight loss, choking, or dehydration — call your pediatrician
- Unexplained weight loss or persistent fever — medical evaluation first, not chiropractic
Common questions
Does chiropractic help sensory processing disorder or autism?
No, and we will not frame it that way. We do not treat either one and we are not trying to change how your child is wired. We assess spinal mechanics and nervous-system tension, care for what we find, and keep your therapy team in place.
What if my child melts down in the office?
Then we stop. That is not a failed visit — it is information. We can finish another day, start with a shorter appointment, or do the exam in pieces across two visits. No one here will be surprised or annoyed.
My child cannot lie down on a table. Is that a problem?
No. Kids get cared for sitting up, standing, or on a parent's lap regularly. The table is a convenience, not a requirement.
Should we pause OT while we try this?
Please do not. Occupational therapy is doing work chiropractic does not do. Run them at the same time, and tell each provider about the other.
Will the adjustment be forceful?
Care for children is low force. Dr. Tori is Webster Certified through the ICPA and proficient in the MC2 Tonal Technique, and pediatric adjusting is closer to sustained, gentle contact than anything you may have seen done on an adult.
This page is educational and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Chiropractic care does not treat or cure disease; it supports the function of the nervous system and spine. Please speak with your pediatrician or a licensed clinician about your family's specific situation, and seek immediate care for any urgent symptom.