Conference Speakers

Supporting Self-Regulation in Children with ASD, ADHD, PANS/PANDAS, OCD & Anxiety: A Parent’s Guide

Navigating the challenges of raising children with clinical issues demands a deep understanding of self-regulation. This presentation equips parents with insights into recognizing both under and overstimulated behaviors indicative of dysregulation, and offers effective strategies for nurturing support.

By identifying the unique challenges faced by dysregulated children, we can provide the right intervention and support, which can lead to improved outcomes, including better social skills, learning outcomes, and emotional balance.

Our discussion will cover a range of practical interventions tailored for these specific conditions:
*Nutritional and Dietary Adjustments: Demonstrating how strategic dietary choices can positively impact brain function and emotional health.
*Physical Activity and Structured Routines: Highlighting the importance of regular exercise and predictable routines to enhance mood, reduce anxiety, and improve cognitive function.
*Brain-Based Therapies: Examining targeted therapies such as neurofeedback, PEMF and biofeedback, discussing their relevance and application.
*Psychotherapeutic Techniques: Detailing therapy modalities that foster emotional management and self-regulation skills.

Parents will be armed with the knowledge and strategies needed to facilitate their children’s path to improved self-regulation across all life facets. Participants will leave with a deep understanding of self-regulation challenges and a suite of interventions to foster mental well-being and life quality in neurodivergent children.

Coming Soon!

Science behind Autism – The Future of Diagnosis and Management

Autism is a behaviorally diagnosed disorder with unclear underlying etiology in which effective treatments are lacking. Neuroimaging, neurophysiology, genetic, molecular and metabolic studies have provided evidence for some of the basic pathophysiological mechanisms underlying autism. Other studies focusing on medical co-morbidities have highlighted the many organ system associated with autism suggesting that autism manifests as a multisystem disease in some patients. This evidence has started to provide an emerging picture of how biology drives behavior and has pointed to novel promising approaches to treatment.

Dr Frye is a Child Neurologist with expertise in neurodevelopmental and neurometabolic disorders. He received an MD and PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University. He completed a residency in Pediatrics at the University of Miami, Residency in Child Neurology and Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Learning Disabilities at Harvard University/Children’s Hospital Boston and Fellowship in Psychology at Boston University. He also received a Masters in Biomedical Science and Biostatistics from Drexel University. He holds board certifications in Pediatrics, and in Neurology with Special Competence in Child Neurology. He has authored over 300 publications and book chapters and serves on several editorial boards and is currently the Editor-in-Chief for the Section on Mechanisms of Diseases of the Journal of Personalized Medicine.

Coming Soon!

LECTURE ABSTRACT: This presentation is designed to help parents understand the scientific rationale for herbal treatments of Lyme that are both cost effective and efficacious. The information will be presented in an easy-to-digest manner, and participants will leave the presentation with the knowledge of simple, safe, and effective treatment options to discuss with their practitioners.

Teresa is a Family Practice Physician Assistant and Owner of Victory Health. She is a fellow of the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs and a Member of the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness as well as a Former Assistant Professor of Medicine. She has a Master’s in Rural Primary Care Medicine and has completed Doctoral Coursework in environmental health and medical writing. She is the author of CARDIOLOGY ESSENTIALS, HOLLER FOR YOUR HEALTH, and ON MEDICINE AND MIRACLES. Teresa has been a speaker for the American Academy of Physician Assistants, North Carolina Integrative Medicine Society, Medical Academy for Pediatric Special Needs, LymeBytes, the Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants, and more. She has been featured on NPR, FOX TV, Good Morning Arizona, The Dr Jill Show, Advance for Physician Assistants, and more.

Her website is TeresaHoller.com

Microglial and Mast Cell Activation From Toxin-mediated Gut Disruptions in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Environmental toxins compromise various organ systems including the gut, the micro and mycobiomes. If infants or genetically vulnerable individuals are exposed to any additional or excessive toxin load, such as environmental mold toxin exposure, this collective load disrupts the gut and causes it to enter a perpetual cycle of dysfunction and inflammation. This creates an environment that is highly conducive to bacterial and fungal dysbiosis. These combined events lead to chronic microglia and mast cell activation, endotoxemia, and abnormalities in histamine. These combined dysfunctions alter neurophysiology and chemistry, and can lead to severe states of anxiety, OCD, abnormalities in the fear response and sensory pathways, etc., and thus the manifestation of autism. This presentation discusses these events and offers a simple treatment to improve the clinical findings associated with autism in this subset of individuals.

The Gut, Brain Allergy, and Autism

Environmental toxins compromise the gut, the micro and mycobiomes. If infants or genetically vulnerable individuals are exposed to any additional or excessive toxin load, such as environmental mold toxin exposure, this collective load disrupts the gut and causes it to enter a perpetual cycle of dysfunction and inflammation. This ultimately leads to the activation of microglia and mast cells, along with chronic endotoxemia and abnormalities in histamine. These combined events can alter neurophysiology and chemistry and lead to anxiety, OCD, abnormalities in the fear response and sensory pathways, and thus the manifestation of autism. This presentation discusses these events and offers a simple treatment to improve the clinical findings associated with autism in this subset of individuals.

Pejman Katiraei (Dr. K) was born in Iran, and he and his parents had to flee their home to avoid persecution. His parents instilled in him a strong sense of morals, ethics and values. Dr. K was the curious child who always wanted to know how everything works. It was this curiosity that encouraged Dr. K to explore and later specialize in holistic and integrative medicine.

Before graduating cum laud with a degree in Biology from UCLA, Dr. K started the UCLA Stroke Force where he led over 70 undergraduate students to educate the senior community about strokes.

After UCLA, he went onto obtaining his osteopathic medical degree from Western University of Health Sciences. He then started his pediatric residency at Loma Linda University. Early in education and training, Dr. K questioned why some diseases “just happen” without any conventional explanation? Why would some patients die of horrible infections and others never have any problems? These questions ultimately led Dr. K to complete a fellowship under Dr. Andrew Weil at the University of Arizona and then to start the Loma Linda University Wholistic Medicine Clinic, of which he was the Medical Director until 2014.

The challenging cases Dr. K saw in this clinic inspired him to expand his training through the Institute of Functional Medicine. He would regularly lecture to large groups of medical students, physicians and other healthcare professionals on various holistic topics such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, ADHD, Mental Health, Detoxification, and general holistic medicine. Dr. K has also published a scientific paper on irritable bowel syndrome and has helped numerous patients with severe gastrointestinal problems.

Dr. K was blessed with his own health challenges that later became his greatest teachers. It is one thing to study a topic; it is another thing to experience it. Dr. K suffered from anxiety, depression and ADHD. In addition to food reactions, Dr. K discovered in himself a significant genetic mutation (MTHFR) that could have had disastrous future consequences for him including heart attack, stroke and even cancer. By learning his own biochemistry, Dr. K has learned how to eat and care for his body based on its needs to be in great health and vitality.

Despite his clinical proficiency and education, Dr. K believes he can do more to help his patients. In May of 2012, he started a second fellowship in endobiogeny, which is a sophisticated study of how hormones and our nervous system interact with one another to control health and disease. This endless desire for professional growth and learning is a testament to Dr. K’s desire to help the sick regain their health and his commitment to keeping children healthy by identifying and treating subtle imbalances as early as possible before they ever turn into a disease. Dr. K hopes he can serve the children in Wholistic Kids and Families with the same mindset as the Chinese practitioners thousands of years ago.

LECTURE ABSTRACT: A neurological event affects visual processing interfering with development, learning abilities as well as socialization. Symptoms, such as blurring, double vision (diplopia), photophobia, headaches, balance difficulties and dizziness, are often mistaken for other problems and/or overlooked due to the prioritization for medical treatment.

Vision is more than just the image that we see. Vision occurs in the brain but is facilitated by the eyes. A neurological or systemic event will affect the brain and in turn affect the visual processing causing difficulty with tracking, convergence and focusing. These are not eye muscle problems but are characteristics of dysfunction in visual processing in the brain.

This presentation will explore the visual process and its two modes of organization: the focal process delivering consciousness and attention and the spatial process. The spatial visual process is often overlooked. It is the platform of the higher seeing process.

Research will be presented to demonstrate an evidenced based model and approach to diagnosing and treating visual processing dysfunction.

The presentation will provide an understanding how compromise of the visual process causes interference with development, learning and motor function as well as how treatment through lenses and prisms can provide a means to reorganize visual processing.

William V. Padula, O.D., is a graduate of Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University of Health Sciences. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association International (NORA), and the National Academy of Practice.

Dr. Padula completed a fellowship at the Gesell Institute where he was also Director of Vision Research. He was the founding Chairman of the Low Vision Section for the American Optometric Association, and the founding President of NORA. Dr. Padula was appointed the National Consultant in Low Vision Services for the American Foundation for the Blind. He has also served as Consultant to the Committee on Vision for the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. Recently he has served as a consultant to the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. He is the Past Chairperson of the National Academy of Practice in Optometry, and is the Treasurer of the National Academy of Practice (NAP).

Dr. Padula founded the first low vision clinic at the Zhongshan Eye Research Hospital in Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China, which was named in his honor. He lectures and consults internationally in China, India, Italy, Mexico, etc., with programs regarding children’s vision related to learning and development, and adult vision problems related to stroke, TBI and other physical challenges.

Dr. Nancy O’Hara is a Pediatrician. Prior to her medical career, Dr. O’Hara taught children with autism. She graduated with highest honors from Bryn Mawr College and as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She earned a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh. After residency, chief residency and general pediatric fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. O’ Hara entered general private practice in 1993, and in 1998 began her consultative, integrative practice solely for children with special needs. Since 1999 she has dedicated her functional medicine practice to the integrative and holistic care of children with chronic illness and neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, PANDAS/PANS, OCD, Lyme and ASD. She is also a leader in the training of clinicians, both in the United States and abroad. Dr. O’Hara has written a comprehensive guidebook, Demystifying PANS / PANDAS: A Functional Medicine Desktop Reference on Basal Ganglia Encephalitis, which is available on Amazon in e-book or soft-cover formats. For more information on her membership and mentoring program, please visit www.drohara.com.

Coming Soon!

LECTURE ABSTRACT: The gut microbiome is integral to a child’s immune system development and is linked to various immune-related disorders. Research has linked gut microbiome imbalances and several health issues, including allergic disorders like asthma and eczema, autoimmune diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IDB) and behavioral conditions like ADHD.

Shotgun metagenomic technology stands out as an innovative tool in this field. It provides a detailed analysis of the microbial composition in children’s guts, offering tailored ranges specifically for the pediatric population, actionable insights and probiotic strain tracking.

This presentation will explore why using shotgun sequencing is so transformative in children’s healthcare. It will showcase how shotgun metagenomics not only enhances our understanding of pediatric conditions but also supports the advancement of targeted treatments and preventive strategies for children’ health with focus on allergic diseases.

Coming Soon!