Peirson Center for Children

03/06/2026

We want to share an organization doing something very meaningful for families in the Down syndrome community.

The Selah Foundation provides direct financial support to families so children with Down syndrome can access important health resources such as functional nutrition, dental care, and supplements. They also help families afford 1-on-1 support so children can participate fully in camps, homeschool programs, and other community activities.

In addition, they provide compassionate financial relief to families who have experienced the loss of an infant in the NICU, helping relieve the burden of hospital debt during an incredibly difficult time.

Removing financial barriers can make a profound difference for families navigating complex medical and developmental needs.

If this mission resonates with you, please consider making a donation to support their work and the families they serve.

Learn more here:

Giving every child the tools to thrive Eliminating barriers that prevent children with Down syndrome from flourishing and empowering grieving families with assistance to be debt-free. Our mission is to fill the gaps in family care by providing direct financial assistance for functional healthcare, i...

03/02/2026

Since 2019, our clinic has been routinely testing for folate receptor antibodies (FRA) and supporting children who test positive with treatment. Over the years, we have seen firsthand how profoundly this immune issue can affect brain function, development, behavior, speech, and overall health. We have also seen how meaningful improvement can be when it is recognized and addressed appropriately.

Because we began incorporating FRA testing early, we now have many years of clinical experience interpreting results, guiding families through treatment, monitoring progress over time, and supporting the broader nutritional and metabolic factors that influence how well treatment works. This is not a new or experimental area for us. It is a well established part of how we evaluate children with developmental concerns, regression, autism, Down syndrome, and other complex neurological presentations.

We are sharing an example of a test result (with all identifying information removed) simply to increase awareness. Many families and even many clinicians are still unfamiliar with this condition, despite a growing body of research.

Folate receptor antibodies can interfere with the transport of folate into the brain, potentially creating a functional cerebral folate deficiency even when blood folate levels are normal. This is why standard labs can miss it.

If your child has unexplained developmental challenges, regression, speech delay, or neurological symptoms, this is one piece of the puzzle that may be worth discussing with a knowledgeable, experienced provider.

Awareness is important. Early identification is important. Working with experienced physicians who understand how to evaluate and treat this condition is especially important.

As always, this post is for educational purposes and not individual medical advice.

To learn more, please visit:
https://www.peirsoncenter.com/folate-receptor-antibodies.html

02/17/2026

Every child is biochemically unique.

Dr. Peirson recently had the privilege of joining the Autism Parenting Secrets podcast to talk about why two children with the same diagnosis can respond completely differently to the exact same therapy, diet, or supplement plan.

In this clip, they discuss how understanding your child’s individual biology can unlock progress that once felt impossible.

If you’ve ever wondered,
“Why did that work for someone else’s child but not mine?”
this conversation is for you.

🎧 Watch the clip and listen to the full episode here:
https://autismparentingsecrets.com/post/harness-biochemical-individuality

You are not failing.
Your child isn’t broken.
They’re unique. 💛

02/05/2026

Do you know your child’s intermolar width? Especially if they have Down syndrome, you should.

Children with Down syndrome almost always have maxillary hypoplasia, which means the upper jaw and palate are smaller and narrower than ideal. This is not just a dental issue. It is an airway issue.

Intermolar width (also called transpalatal width) is the distance between the upper molars across the palate. In young children, we measure between the baby second molars. In older kids, between the permanent first molars.

This number tells us how wide the upper jaw really is.

Why does that matter so much?

A narrow palate often means

• Less room for the tongue to rest on the roof of the mouth
• More mouth breathing
• A higher risk of enlarged tonsils and adenoids (due to mouth breathing)
• Increased risk for sleep disordered breathing and sleep apnea

The palate is also the floor of the nose and part of the airway. When the palate is narrow, the airway above it is often narrow too.

Ideal pediatric intermolar width is roughly:
Age + 24 mm

So a 6 year old should be around 30 mm
An 8 year old around 32 mm
A 10 year old around 34 mm

If your child with Down syndrome is undergoing palate expansion, it is very important to ask:

👉 What is their current intermolar width?
👉 What is the target width based on their age and airway needs?
👉 Are we expanding enough to truly support tongue posture and nasal breathing?

Slow or minimal expansion may improve crowding a little, but still leave a child with a narrow airway and ongoing mouth breathing.

For kids with Down syndrome, we are not just straightening teeth. We are trying to build a palate wide enough to support better breathing, better sleep, and better overall development.

Ask for the numbers. Make sure expansion goals are based on airway and function, not just cosmetics.

01/21/2026

This image from August 2019 came back to mind while rereading Dr. Peirson’s recent blog post, Navigating a New Diagnosis of Down Syndrome.

https://www.peirsoncenter.com/articles/navigating-a-new-diagnosis-of-down-syndrome

In the post, she writes:
“Just as no doctor can look at a newborn without Down syndrome and predict their future, the same is true for a child with Down syndrome. Prognoses are not destinies, and no child’s life unfolds according to a medical script.”

That truth is at the center of why this image still resonates.

Too often, when parents receive a diagnosis of Down syndrome, the conversation begins with an apology. What may follow are predictions framed as certainty: what a child will not do, who they will not become, what limitations are assumed before the child has even had the chance to grow.

But no physician can accurately predict the future of any newborn. Not intelligence. Not communication. Not independence. Not joy. When expectations are lowered early, it shapes how a child is seen, supported, and believed in.

A diagnosis should never come with a forecast of limitations. Children with Down syndrome deserve the same openness, curiosity, and hope afforded to every other child. Their futures are not predetermined, and their lives are not defined by a single chromosome.

Prognoses are not destinies. And no child’s story should ever be written for them at birth.

www.peirsoncenter.com

01/16/2026

We strongly encourage parents, educators, and clinicians to watch the opening statements from the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce hearing titled “Plugged Out: Examining the Impact of Technology on America’s Youth.”

This hearing reflects what many of us have been seeing for years in real children, real classrooms, and real families: technology is not neutral for the developing brain.

Children learn, regulate, and remember differently when a device becomes an extension of their thinking. When attention is routinely outsourced to screens, skills like sustained focus, emotional regulation, memory formation, and deep learning are affected.

In our own home, we have intentionally tried to counterbalance this by prioritizing handwriting, physical books, and note-taking by hand. We think of the human hand as a “second brain” and our son, now 18 years old, understands this well. Writing something physically changes how deeply it is processed and retained.

Seeing this conversation reach the Senate level signals a broader cultural shift. Concerns parents and clinicians have raised quietly for years are now being acknowledged publicly.

If you care about children’s cognitive development, mental health, and long-term resilience, I encourage you to watch, starting with the opening statements, where this video link begins.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a full committee ...

01/08/2026

Dr. Peirson has written a new blog post, "Navigating a New Diagnosis of Down Syndrome", and it is the most personal and important piece she has written in her career.

This post was written for families at the very beginning of the journey. The moment when a diagnosis is new, emotions are raw, and information can feel overwhelming or conflicting. Drawing from both her lived experience as a parent and her clinical work supporting children with Down syndrome, Dr. Peirson offers a steady, grounded perspective on what this diagnosis truly means and what it does not.

The importance of this piece lies in how early narratives shape families’ understanding, expectations, and sense of hope. The way Down syndrome is first explained can deeply influence how parents view their child, their future, and their own confidence moving forward. This post is meant to counter fear-based messaging with clarity, context, and compassion.

Rather than focusing on what is “missing,” this blog emphasizes understanding the whole child, supporting development thoughtfully, and recognizing that families are not alone in this process. It reflects the philosophy that guides our entire team in their clinical work and their commitment to walking alongside families with honesty and respect.

We encourage families, practitioners, and anyone supporting new parents to read and share this piece.

https://www.peirsoncenter.com/articles/navigating-a-new-diagnosis-of-down-syndrome

01/02/2026

At this time, Dr. Peirson will be temporarily suspending the acceptance of new patients so she can focus on the care of existing patients, ongoing clinical work, and dedicated writing projects.

We are grateful for the continued trust in our practice and want families to know that excellent care remains available. New families are welcome to work with Dr. LaRosa or Dr. Ast, both of whom are highly qualified clinicians and work closely with Dr. Peirson as part of our collaborative care team. Care plans are aligned, cases are discussed together, and our shared philosophy of thoughtful, individualized care remains the same.

If you would like to apply to work with our team to help support your child with complex medical and developmental needs, you may do so here:
https://www.peirsoncenter.com/new-patient-application.html

12/30/2025

✨ New blog post ✨

Dr. Peirson has finally written about an issue that comes up again and again in the children we serve, yet is often misunderstood: zinc status.

Zinc plays a critical role in immune health, gut integrity, growth, appetite, and neurodevelopment, but low or functionally inadequate zinc is common in children with Down syndrome and autism. Even more challenging, standard lab results don’t always tell the full story.

In this post, Dr. Peirson breaks down:
• why zinc matters so much for developing kids
• how to interpret zinc and copper labs more accurately
• why “normal” is not always the same as optimal
• how absorption, inflammation, and balance affect zinc status

If zinc has ever come up in your child’s labs, supplements, or care plan, this is a must-read.

https://www.peirsoncenter.com/articles/understanding-zinc-status-in-children-diet-labs-and-clinical-clues

Link in profile.

12/08/2025

This is progress. It reflects a much-needed shift toward individualized care and the recognition that medical choices should never be one-size-fits-all. No pharmaceutical product is universally safe or necessary for everyone, and honoring that truth creates space for more informed consent, informed decision-making, and respect for patient autonomy.

11/18/2025

Why does folinic acid need to be given in high doses when folate receptor antibodies (FRA) are present?

It comes down to two things:
affinity (how strongly a receptor attracts folate)
and density (how many of those receptors exist in the area that transports folate into the brain).

1. Folate Receptor Alpha (FRα)

FRα is located on the apical (top) membrane of the choroid plexus, the gateway responsible for transporting folate into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

FRα has:
🔸 Extremely high affinity for methylfolate (a very strong magnet)
🔸 High receptor density - meaning lots of these receptors are packed tightly on the choroid plexus surface
🔸 A direct route into the CSF

But when folate receptor antibodies are present, they block or disable this entire high-affinity, high-density transport system.

When FRα is blocked, the brain loses its main entry door for folate.

2. Reduced Folate Carrier (RFC)

RFC provides a secondary pathway, but it’s nowhere near as efficient.

RFC has:
🔹 Very low affinity for folate (a weak magnet)
🔹 Much lower density compared to FRα at the blood-CSF barrier
🔹 A location that is not well-positioned for transporting folate into the CSF (mainly basolateral side of choroid plexus + neurons/glia)

This means RFC is open, but it’s not strong enough or abundant enough to transport folate into the brain at normal physiological levels. It’s like the side door to the brain - narrow, inefficient, and not designed for the main flow of folate.

So why high-dose folinic acid?

Because with FRα blocked:

➡️ Only the low-affinity RFC pathway is left
➡️ RFC cannot “grab” folate unless blood levels are extremely high
➡️ High-dose folinic acid floods the system
➡️ Allowing a small amount to pass through RFC and reach the brain

This is why children with FRA often need high-dose folinic acid, sometimes 1-2 mg/kg or more, to restore healthy folate levels in the CNS.

11/17/2025

🌟 New Blog Post! 🌟
“From Food to Brain: The Long Journey of Vitamin B12”

Vitamin B12 plays a key role in your child’s energy, development, behavior, and brain health, yet most people don’t realize how complex its path is inside the body. Even when a child eats well or has “normal” labs, B12 may not be getting where it needs to go.

In this new article, I walk through:
✨ The two critical enzymes that rely on B12
✨ Signs and symptoms of deficiency in children
✨ Every barrier B12 has to cross - from digestion to the brain
✨ Why serum levels don’t tell the whole story
✨ The most accurate tests to evaluate B12 status
✨ The connection between folate and B12
✨ How to support healthy B12 delivery in the body

If you have a child with Down syndrome, autism, developmental delays, fatigue, speech challenges, or neurological symptoms - this one is especially for you. 💛

Read the full post here:

https://www.peirsoncenter.com/articles/from-food-to-brain-the-long-journey-of-vitamin-b12