Developmental and pediatric issues, neurodivergence

Aarin, 3 yrs, Austism Spectrum Disorder - by his mum, Niyati Shah

I approached Niyati for my son, Aarin, aged 3 yrs, who has developmental delays, on recommendation from his occupational therapist to try Craniosacral therapy. Aarin had been doing PT and OT for 1.5 yrs before we tried Craniosacral. We had concerns about delayed milestones - he walked independently at age 2 and at age 3 we were working on jumping with his PT. He has oro-sensory issues, low muscle tone, behavioural issues and anxiety meltdowns.

I tried 6 sessions of Craniosacral for him to compare a before and after and I am amazed at the result and the overall progress that we have made. We became settled at school and were able to perform activities independently. We developed better social interaction with peers as we were not as overwhelmed. We achieved our basic jumping goal and started getting his compliance to do more activities. His sleep at night was better and there was a small leap in his overall immunity. Initially we did Craniosacral therapy twice a week, after 2 months we reduced the frequency to once a week.

We have found that Aarin is much more emotionally regulated with better compliance to perform in school in the last 4 months. He is able to sustain his focus and be more accepting of new foods, activities, experiences, people and situations. Craniosacral has been an additional support for him to go through rigorous occupational and developmental trainings.


Hari, 7 yrs, Autism Spectrum Disorder - by his mum, Renuka Pradhan

Niyati is wonderful with children and brings a warm, empathetic approach to her therapy. She asks thoughtful questions and is deeply committed to uncovering and addressing the root cause of concerns. Her work is highly patient-centred and her passion for Craniosacral therapy truly shines through in every session.

I recommend Craniosacral therapy for a neurodivergent child as it helps in overall integration of other therapies, brings down the stress level and improves the child's immunity. Hari's eye contact improved and he was more alert after receiving Craniosacral therapy. His gravitational insecurity decreased and his performance at sessions with his Occupational therapist improved. He also started making different sounds and vocalisations at home.

I noted improvements in his cognitive function, ability to focus on a task, sensory processing and social engagement. His nervous system became calmer and more resilient - its now a little easier for him to bounce back after a meltdown.