Rewiring baby’s brain to manage developmental issues

The most number of brain connections, as seen on this computer display, are formed when we are children. — MCT filepic

I recently attended the opening of my friend’s clinic. It is basically a developmental centre for young children. He tries to diagnose childhood brain disorders early, such as autism, and then teaches the child’s brain to rewire, thus preventing the disorder from becoming worse. Is there such a thing?

Yes. 

The brain is a complex and fascinating thing.

It can be rewired, especially in children.

When a child is born, its brain is still developing.

As he or she sees, hears, feels, smells, tastes, and basically experiences the world through the senses, the brain learns and shapes/rewires itself.

What babies experience in their formative years will last long throughout their ­emotional and learning development.

This is especially true if the child is below three years old.

It is possible to rewire the brain in a good way, especially during this period, so that a ­disorder, such as autism, can become better or does not become worse, even if it cannot be cured completely.

How do babies’ experiences affect them?

If a baby has positive experiences with their caregivers, such as their mothers or whoever takes care of them, their brain development is also facilitated positively.

Positive experiences include cuddling, singing, smiling, talking, rocking and being held close to the adult.

Conversely, if the baby experiences negative stimuli, such as shouting, being left alone and not having their needs tended to, the brain will be rewired in a different manner.

How can a brain be rewired?

A baby is born with more than 85 million neurons in their brain.

These neurons are extremely important because they transmit information between one another through chemical and electrical means via synapses.

Neurons and their synapses form neural networks.

These neural networks ­connect with one another in a series of ever-growing connections.

This is what we mean by “rewiring” the brain.

These neurons grow a lot in the first few years of baby’s life, even before he or she can walk and talk.

The first three years of life are crucial because the synapses in a human being’s brain increases from 2,500 to 15,000 per neuron!

So when a baby experiences or learns something for the first time, a strong neural connection is created.

Repeat this experience, and the neural connection is reactivated, and even strengthened.

If the experience is not repeated, then the neural connections are removed.

The brain is constantly ­evolving, and that includes removing what is no longer needed to function.

So when the child grows into adulthood, the brain has removed or “pruned” so much of what is not necessary that the number of synaptic connections will have reduced to half of what it used to be.

This is what scientists mean when they say: “If you don’t use it, you lose it!”

So, how can a child who has something like autism be helped?

It is not just autism; it can also be dyslexia or some other ­neurodevelopmental disorder.

Any child with a developmental disorder or developmental delay is experiencing a different rewiring of their neurons, i.e. different from what a child without developmental delays experiences.

This rewiring is not ­considered good or helpful because it causes the child to have difficulties in communicating with other people, ­socialising and doing a lot of other activities neurotypical children have no issues performing.

So, it is optimal to catch the child’s developmental issue early on.

However, it can be very ­difficult for you as a parent to detect this yourself, especially in a baby, because you do not have the expertise or equipment to do so.

Once an issue is detected and diagnosed, you can bring your child to a childhood developmental centre that will help your child “rewire” their brain early on to get rid of those unhelpful neural networks and build new helpful ones to allow them to function better.

This neural stimulation is best done before the age of three years for the best results.

How will I know if my child has a developmental disorder when they are a baby?

There are certain milestones that a baby needs to reach by a certain age.

Any significant delay in reaching these milestones should prompt you to take your baby to a paediatrician to see if there is something wrong.

Look out for these in your baby:

• Delay in rolling over
• Delay in sitting up
• Delay in learning how to crawl
• Delay in learning how to walk
• Talking late or having issues with talking.

Then, when your baby becomes a toddler, look out for them having:

• Trouble understanding what you say
• Trouble doing things that involve fine motor skills, such as holding a spoon or pencil
• Difficulties in solving simple problems
• Social skill issues, like failing to connect with other children at their pre-school or daycare
• Difficulty in remembering things
• Unable to connect actions with consequences.

Dr YLM graduated as a medical doctor, and has been writing for many years on various subjects such as medicine, health, computers and entertainment. For further information, email [e-mail]. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such ­information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to ­property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.