Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children: What Colorado Families Need to Know About the Gap Between a Label and an Explanation
If you are a parent in Colorado who has spent the last several months, or several years, trying to understand why your child is struggling, you have probably encountered the phrase neurodevelopmental disorder. It may have appeared in an evaluation report, in a conversation with a pediatrician, or in your own late-night research after a hard day.
It is a clinical term, and like most clinical terms, it can feel both reassuring and frustrating at the same time. Reassuring, because it confirms that what you are seeing is real and recognized. Frustrating, because it often does not answer the question that brought you to the search bar in the first place.
That question is usually some version of this: why is my child experiencing this, and is there anything that addresses the cause rather than just managing the symptoms?
For families across Denver, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Lakewood, and the surrounding communities who are researching neurodevelopmental disorders in children in Colorado, this article is meant to be a starting point. It explains what these conditions are, how common they actually are, why they so often appear together rather than alone, and why a growing number of parents are looking for a deeper understanding of how their child’s nervous system is functioning.
What Neurodevelopmental Disorders Actually Are
Neurodevelopmental disorders are a group of conditions that emerge during early childhood development and affect how the brain grows, organizes, and processes information. They influence attention, learning, language, motor coordination, social interaction, behavior, and emotional regulation. The most familiar names in this category include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, intellectual disability, and the broad grouping clinicians often call developmental delay. Sensory processing challenges and developmental coordination difficulties are frequently part of the picture as well. What these conditions share is timing and origin. They begin in the developmental period, meaning they take shape while the brain is still building its foundational architecture. They are not the result of poor parenting, lack of effort, or a child simply choosing to behave a certain way. They reflect differences in how the developing nervous system has matured and organized itself. That distinction matters because so much of what these children experience is mistakenly read as willful. A child who cannot sit still, who melts down in a crowded store, who avoids eye contact, or who reads beautifully but cannot tie their shoes is not making a series of choices. Their nervous system is producing those responses, often automatically, at a level beneath conscious control.Just How Common Are They?
One of the most surprising facts for many parents is how common these conditions are. Neurodevelopmental and developmental disabilities are not rare exceptions affecting a small number of families. They are a significant and growing part of childhood across the United States, including here in Colorado. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 6, or roughly 17 percent, of children aged 3 through 17 in the United States have one or more developmental disabilities. That figure includes conditions such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, and other developmental delays. When researchers have looked at the broader category of developmental disabilities using national survey data, the numbers are similar. One analysis of National Health Interview Survey data covering 2018 through 2021 found that the prevalence of any developmental disability among children aged 3 to 17 was just over 16 percent. The same body of research has documented that this prevalence is not holding steady. The category of other developmental delay rose meaningfully across recent survey years, climbing from roughly 4 percent to about 6 percent. These conditions also do not affect every child equally. National data consistently show that developmental disabilities are diagnosed more often in boys than in girls, with the prevalence in boys roughly double that in girls. That difference does not mean girls are unaffected. It is increasingly understood that girls are often identified later or missed entirely because their presentations can look different from the patterns clinicians were historically trained to recognize. There is also an ongoing conversation in the research community about why the numbers appear to be rising. Some of the increase reflects genuinely greater awareness, broader diagnostic criteria, and improved recognition, especially of children who would have been overlooked in past decades. Researchers have also pointed to the developmental disruptions associated with the pandemic period, including interruptions to prenatal care, early screening, and the everyday social and sensory experiences that young children depend on for development. The full explanation is still being worked out. What is clear is that more families than ever are navigating these challenges.Why These Challenges So Rarely Travel Alone
If you have a child with one of these diagnoses, you may have already noticed something that the individual labels do not quite capture. The challenges rarely come one at a time. A child diagnosed with ADHD may also have coordination difficulties, sensory sensitivities, and trouble with emotional regulation. A child on the autism spectrum may also struggle with motor planning, anxiety, and sleep. A child with a reading disability may also have attention challenges and a history of clumsiness that no one flagged as significant at the time. This overlap is so common that researchers have a word for it. They call it co-occurrence, and it is the rule rather than the exception. The conditions cluster together so frequently that many researchers now question whether it makes sense to treat them as entirely separate problems with entirely separate causes. From the perspective we use at Omega Functional Health, this clustering is not a coincidence or a run of bad luck. It is a clue. When several challenges appear together in the same child, it suggests that there may be a shared underlying pattern in how that child’s nervous system has developed, rather than a series of unrelated and independent issues that happened to arrive at the same address. This is where the framework matters. If you view each symptom as its own separate problem, the natural response is to assemble a separate specialist and a separate intervention for each one. A reading tutor for reading. A behavior plan for attention. Occupational therapy for coordination. Each of those can have real value. But if the challenges are connected by a common thread in the child’s neurological development, then addressing them only one at a time, at the surface, may leave the underlying pattern untouched.The Difference Between a Diagnosis and an Explanation
This brings us to a distinction that we believe is one of the most important things a parent can understand, and one that often reframes the entire conversation. A diagnosis is a description. It is a name for a recognizable pattern of symptoms. When a child is diagnosed with ADHD, that label tells you the child shows a persistent pattern of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that is out of step with their developmental stage and is affecting their daily life. That is genuinely useful information. It can open doors to services, accommodations, and support that a child needs. But a diagnosis does not explain the mechanism. It does not tell you why those patterns exist in this particular child’s brain, which neurological systems are underperforming, or whether there are developmental factors that were never examined. It names the what. It does not address the why. Those are different questions, and they point toward different paths forward. A diagnosis points toward managing the symptoms. An explanation points toward understanding and addressing what is driving them. Both have a place. But many of the families who reach our office have done the diagnostic process thoroughly, followed the recommendations, and still feel like the deeper question was never answered. They understand the label. They are still asking why. Those are neurological questions. And they deserve a neurological evaluation that looks at how the nervous system is actually functioning, not just at which symptoms fit which criteria.A Functional Neurology Perspective on Child Development
Functional neurology approaches childhood challenges by asking a different opening question. Instead of asking only what diagnosis a child has, it asks how the child’s brain is developing, communicating, and coordinating as a whole. The brain does not develop all at once or all in the same way. It builds in a sequence, from the lower, more foundational systems upward to the higher systems responsible for attention, language, and self-control. It also depends heavily on input from movement, balance, coordination, and the senses to build and refine its networks. When that developmental sequence runs behind, or when different systems mature at uneven rates, the downstream effects can show up as exactly the cluster of challenges that parents and teachers recognize. This is why a thorough functional neurology evaluation does not focus on a single symptom. It looks at developmental history, primitive reflex integration, balance and coordination, eye movements, postural control, timing, and sensory processing. These systems offer a window into how efficiently the nervous system is working, and they often reveal connections between challenges that seemed unrelated for years. The encouraging part of this perspective is grounded in one of the most well-supported ideas in modern neuroscience: neuroplasticity. The developing brain is capable of change. It adapts and reorganizes in response to targeted, repeated experience and stimulation. The pediatric brain, in particular, is highly responsive. That is the foundation on which developmental and functional neurology approaches are built. It is worth being clear and honest here. This is an area of active research rather than a finished and settled science. Studies continue to explore how interventions focused on sensory and motor integration, timing, coordination, and hemispheric development may influence neurological function over time. The responsible position is to follow that evidence carefully, pair it with individualized assessment, and avoid overpromising. That honesty is part of how good care should be delivered.What This Means for Families in Colorado
If your child has one or more neurodevelopmental diagnoses, none of this is meant to dismiss the work you have already done or the professionals who have helped you. The evaluations were appropriate. The diagnoses were real. The support they unlocked mattered. The point is simply that there may be another layer worth examining. If your child has a history of developmental delay, skipped or unusual early motor milestones, persistent coordination difficulties, sensory sensitivities, or a cluster of challenges that has never been connected into a single picture, a neurologically focused evaluation can offer a different kind of understanding. Not another label to add to the file, but a closer look at how the nervous system is functioning and what that means for how your child can be helped. For many parents, that shift, from chasing individual symptoms to understanding the system underneath them, is the part of the process that finally makes the whole picture make sense.What This Approach Does and Does Not Claim
It is important to be clear about what functional neurology can and cannot do. We do not claim to cure autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, sensory processing disorder, or genetic conditions. We do not suggest that every child has the same underlying cause for their challenges, and we do not believe that any single intervention resolves every difficulty. What we do believe is that many children benefit from a deeper evaluation of neurological development, coordination, sensory processing, reflex integration, and brain and body communication. The research on neuroplasticity supports the idea that targeted, consistent, examination-guided work can improve the function of underperforming neurological pathways. Families should approach any program with clear expectations and a preference for providers who are transparent about both what the evidence supports and what it does not. At Omega Functional Health, that transparency is not a disclaimer. It is part of how we deliver care.A Starting Point for Your Family
Families across the Denver area, including Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Lakewood, Highlands Ranch, and surrounding communities, who have a child with a neurodevelopmental diagnosis or a history of developmental concerns, are welcome to contact Omega Functional Health to schedule a complimentary virtual consultation. The initial conversation is with parents, at no cost, and is focused on whether this approach is a good fit for what your family is trying to understand.References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Developmental Disability Basics. National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities; 2026. Zablotsky B, Black LI, Maenner MJ, et al. Prevalence and Trends of Developmental Disabilities among Children in the US. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, NCHS Data Brief No. 473; 2023. Li Y, Yan X, Li Q, et al. Prevalence and trends of developmental disabilities among US children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years, 2018 to 2021. Scientific Reports. 2023;13:17254. Jia T, Kong Y, Zhao G, Wang Y. Trends and cross-country inequalities in the global burden of neurodevelopmental disorders among children aged 0 to 14 from 1990 to 2021. Frontiers in Public Health. 2025;13:1609254. Melillo R. Disconnected Kids. 3rd ed. TarcherPerigee; 2024.Learn more about how we help kids with focus, coordination, and sensory challenges on our Melillo Method page.
