What Do You Know About Failure To Thrive In Children?

Failure To Thrive is a lag in normal increases in height and weight that could be the precursor to slow-downs in the normal development and maturation.

Failure To Thrive is a description of a condition given to children who are consistently less than the normal weight for their age or who do not gain weight for unclear reasons. There may be many reasons for this. Many causes involve environmental and social elements that work together to keep the child from getting the nutrition the child needs. There are times when medical issues prevent a child from developing normally. Another important cause is the child's own intolerances and sensitivities.

If There Are Socio-Environmental Causes

Many environmental and social elements can be a part of Failure To Thrive. Parental abuse or neglect, parental emotional health difficulties, and disfunctional family conditions in which regular, nutritious meals are not provided, may all interupt a child's appetite and food intake. The amount of money a family has to spend on food and the nutritional value of the food they have also affects growth. Inadequate food intake may reflect inadequate parenting and environmental stimulation.

If The Roots Are Medical Problems

Sometimes Failure To Thrive Syndrome is brought on by a medical disorder in the child. The disorder can be as minor as difficulty drinking, chewing, or swallowing (as a child might have with a cleft lip or palate). Medical problems, such as gastroesophageal reflux, esophagus narrowing, or poor intestinal absorption, may also affect a child's ability to obtain nutrition from food. Infection, tumor, hormonal or metabolic disorders (such as diabetes or cystic fibrosis), cardiac problems, kidney disease, genetic disorders, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are other medical reasons for Failure To Thrive.

If The Roots Are Based In Intolerances and Sensitivities

And, sometimes child and infant Failure To Thrive is brought on by the child's body reacting to normal things in the environment as if those normal things were toxic. This is a sensitivity to or intolerance of some things in the environment which the child's body thinks is toxic.

This reaction to this "toxic attack" could include shutting down the child's normal developmental process as a temporary protective measure until the "attack" stops. And, because these things in the environment are not toxic to others, the family and the medical professionals do not know to eliminate these "toxic" things from the child's environment. In this case this temporary protective defensive response continues indefinitely. This means that the child's own defenses suspends the child's normal development on an ongoing basis, because of the child's intolerances and sensitivities.

Diagnosis For The Roots In Medical Problems And Socio-Environmental Roots

Doctors diagnose Failure To Thrive when the child's weight or physical development is much lower than what it should be when compared with past measurements or standard height-weight charts. If the physical development is adequate, the child may be small but still developing normally.

To find out why a child may be failing to develop , medical practitioners ask parents specific questions about feeding, bowel habits, social, emotional, and financial stability of the family, which might affect the child's access to food, and illnesses that the child has had or that run in the family. The medical practitioner examines the child, looking for signals that may explain the child's delay in development. The medical practitioner makes decisions about blood and urine tests and x-rays based on this evaluation. Additional examinations are performed only if the doctor thinks there is an underlying medical condition.

Finding The Child's Intolerances and Sensitivities

There are some published diets (GFCF Diet and Feingold Diet) which attempt to address these intolerance and sensitivity issues. These diets work well for those children who are sensitive to the things which are specifically restricted by these programs. But, for the majority of children whose intolerances and sensitivities are affecting their growth and development, these diets are incomplete and not specifically tailored for them.

It is best to have a specialist, who knows how to perform this specific test for intolerance and sensitivity, work with your child to determine your child's precise list of intolerances and sensitivities. Those who specialize in this kind oftesting can include some chiropractors, nutritionists, and other wellness practitioners trained for this specific type of evaluation.

Treatment and Prognosis For The Roots In Medical Problems And Socio-Environmental Roots

The medical disorders and environmental and social issues approach assumes there is something wrong with the child's body or the child's social environment. These treatments are focused on a fault in the child's nutritional processing or access.

Treatment intervention depends on the cause of the difficulty. If a medical problem is found, specific treatment is given. Otherwise, treatment depends on how far below normal the child's weight is. Mild to moderate Failure To Thrive is treated with high-calorie nutritious feedings given on a regular schedule. Parents may be counseled about family interactions that are damaging to the child and about financial and social resources available for their family. Severe Failure To Thrive is treated in the hospital where nutritionists, social workers, feeding specialists, psychiatrists, and other specialists work together to determine the most likely causes of the child's Failure To Thrive and the best approach to recovery.

Treatment For The Roots In Intolerances and Sensitivities

The interventions for the intolerances and sensitivities approach is to determine which things in the environment the child is reacting to and eliminates those factors from the child's environment. When the child is no longer reacting to those, the normal developmental process kicks in and growth and development can proceed normally. With this intervention, nourishment is absorbed and growth and development starts to catch up. There are specialists in Failure To Thrive syndrome who can determine your child's intolerances and sensitivities and coach you in getting your child back on track.

Summary

The environmental and social approach for Failure To Thrive children assumes that something is wrong in the child's social environment in such a way that nourishment is not available or is not accepted by the child.

The medical disorders approach for Failure To Thrive infants and children assumes that nourishment is not being processed and absorbed by the child because of some medical problem.

The intolerances and sensitivities approach for Failure To Thrive children assumes that the child is having defensive reactions to environmental factors and these defensive reactions are shutting down the normal growth and developmental process.