The Experience Miracles Podcast

Q&A | Why Do Seizures Increase During Developmental Leaps?

Jan 2, 2026

Why Seizures Increase During Developmental Leaps, And What It Means for Healing

Episode 170, Experience Miracles Podcast | Host: Dr. Tony Ebel, DC, CACCP, Pediatric Chiropractor & Founder of PX Docs | Published: January 2, 2025 | Duration: ~42 min

Key Takeaways

  • When a child’s brain is reorganizing during a developmental leap, neurological activity temporarily becomes hyperactive and disorganized, which can increase seizure frequency, meltdowns, and sensory challenges. This is a sign of forward progress, not regression.
  • The process of neuroplasticity, the brain rewiring and building new pathways, demands intense metabolic energy. Children with preexisting nervous system dysregulation have limited energy reserves, making them more vulnerable to this temporary instability.
  • Three signs that a seizure uptick is part of healing: it coincides with a clear developmental surge (new skills, new speech, new motor capacity); it is short-lived (weeks, not months); and the child is otherwise eating, sleeping, and engaging reasonably well.
  • If seizures change dramatically in type, duration, or severity, or if the child is losing previously gained skills, that requires prompt medical review. These signs distinguish true regression from temporary neuroplastic reorganization.
  • Dr. Tony Ebel recommends increasing chiropractic adjustments during developmental surges, adding calming sensory inputs (Epsom salt baths, predictable routines, deep pressure), maximizing sleep and quiet time, and tracking all symptoms alongside developmental gains in a journal or spreadsheet.

Why Do Seizures Increase During Developmental Leaps?

Seizure upticks during developmental leaps are one of the most frightening and misunderstood experiences for parents of children with epilepsy. The standard reaction, from parents and many providers, is that an increase in seizures signals a setback. But the neuroscience of neuroplasticity tells a more nuanced story: when the brain is actively reorganizing, rewiring, and making developmental progress, it temporarily enters a state of instability. Seizure thresholds can drop not because the child is getting worse, but because the nervous system is working harder than it ever has.

Neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to form new connections, prune old pathways, and reorganize its wiring, demands enormous metabolic energy. For neurotypical children, this happens with relatively little disruption. But children with preexisting nervous system dysregulation, subluxation, and sympathetic dominance already operate with a deficit. Their systems are running near their stress threshold. When a developmental surge adds another layer of metabolic demand and neurological reorganization on top of that fragile baseline, the system can temporarily tip into instability, producing more seizures, more meltdowns, more sensory challenges, more motor planning difficulty.

This is not failure. It is the nervous system doing exactly what it needs to do to move forward. As Dr. Tony Ebel puts it, the goal is to distinguish between “stepping forward requires two steps back temporarily” versus true regression, and to support the nervous system through that window rather than panic and abandon the plan.

Introduction: A Question Every Seizure Family Asks [00:00:00 – 00:05:30]

Dr. Tony Ebel, DC, CACCP: All right, parents. It’s the Ask Dr. Tony episode. This is the Experience Miracles podcast, and I’m your host, Dr. Tony Ebel, an expert in pediatrics, neurodevelopmental disorders, and drug-free nervous system focused healthcare.

Today’s question is a big one: Why do some kids have increased seizures during developmental leaps?

I want to start by saying that this question actually reaches well beyond seizures. You could swap out that word and insert meltdowns, tantrums, behavior issues, PANS/PANDAS flare-ups, motor planning collapse, focus and concentration struggles, immune system challenges. The neurophysiology behind all of it is the same. We’re going to teach the science that answers all of those questions, but I’ll stay focused on seizures because that’s one of our four main clinical specialties, and it’s personal.

I watched my son have two seizures when he was a brand-new infant. We were in the NICU, the epilepsy, neurology, seizure world for a short time, and it was awful. He’s now seizure-free and thriving. So I’m speaking from a real dad perspective, as I always do on this podcast, and I want you to know: there is so much hope on the other side of this, even with the raw emotion you’re feeling right now.

If you’re navigating seizures and the intensity of what we’re going to talk about today feels like too much to handle alone, reach out to our team about our intensive care program. About half of our intensive patients are epilepsy cases. Our PX Docs network is trained to take on these tough cases.

Reframing the Seizure Uptick: What If It’s Actually Healing? [00:05:30 – 00:11:00]

When seizures increase during a developmental leap, the first response is almost always dread, from parents and from medical providers. “Things are getting worse.” “This is a setback.” But what if that framing is wrong?

What if the brain is simultaneously healing and continuing to develop? What if the uptick is the nervous system working hard to leap forward, not backward?

“The temporary disorganization and flare-up can be a sign of forward progress even when it feels like a step backwards.”

Here’s what’s actually happening: when neurological healing begins, when a child who has been stuck, suppressed, and delayed starts to get unstuck through Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care, the nervous system gets back on a developmental track. That is work. Massive amounts of work. Moving from state A (suppressed, delayed, lower functioning) to state B (healing, reorganizing, moving forward) costs energy, demands metabolic resources, and requires extensive neurological reorganization.

Those three things coming together, energy demand, metabolic load, and neurological reorganization, produce a window of instability. That instability is normal. It’s expected. And it’s temporary.

Your initial gut reaction when you see seizures increase is real. I know it. I’ve felt it. But that emotional response can lead you to make decisions that actually aren’t helpful in the long run, changing medications, abandoning care plans, bouncing between interventions. You’re going to make no progress with emotionally-driven, gut-reaction decisions. Take a step back. Ask the question: is this a step forward or a step back?

The Neuroscience: Neuroplasticity, Metabolic Demand, and Temporary Instability [00:11:00 – 00:17:00]

The scientific term at the center of this conversation is neuroplasticity. When the brain is reorganizing and rewiring during developmental windows, brain activity can become temporarily hyperactive or disorganized.

Temporary. Check that word. Remember it. It can become hyperactive, more activated, more active, more disorganized. Temporarily. Not permanently. Not progressively. Temporarily.

“When the nervous system is reorganizing, when it’s healing, when it’s developing, it has to temporarily become disorganized before it can reorganize in a better, more functional way.”

The process of neuroplastic reorganization requires enormous energy. What does that mean practically? The threshold for seizures, meltdowns, motor collapse, emotional dysregulation, and sensory overload can temporarily decrease. The system is in a state of reorganization, preparing to move forward. The extra metabolic demand of healing and developing creates a short window of instability.

For kids without neurological challenges, this developmental surge happens with minimal disruption, the nervous system has what I call “slack in the system,” enough neurological stability and resilience to absorb the extra demand and keep moving forward without tipping into seizures or meltdowns.

But children with nervous system dysregulation, subluxation, and sympathetic dominance already have a fragile baseline. Their systems are already running near capacity. When the developmental surge adds another layer of stress, more energy demand, more reorganization, motor and cognitive systems trying to level up, you’re adding stress on top of stress. That can trigger a flare-up in seizures, meltdowns, sensory challenges, whatever their vulnerable system expresses.

What we’re seeing is not the problem we think we’re seeing. We’re seeing a system transition from survival-stress mode into healing mode.

The brain during a developmental surge is actually less stable than usual. There’s more electrical demand, more sensory processing, more synaptic connections and communication across brain networks happening all at once. The brain is working to increase its bandwidth and capacity, and on the path to doing that, it’s not stable. It needs to go through the final phases of pruning, reorganizing, and restoring efficiency before it can return to stability.

Why Vulnerable Nervous Systems Struggle More During Leaps [00:14:00 – 00:17:00]

Not every child with epilepsy sees increased seizures during developmental leaps. In fact, seizures may stay stable or even temporarily improve in some cases. The difference comes down to neurological resilience.

For children with preexisting neurological stress, sympathetic dominance, and subluxation stuck in the nervous system, the baseline is already vulnerable. When the developmental surge arrives, it lands on a system that is already less resilient, already dysregulated, already not as stable and strong as it needs to be.

The four direct reasons seizures uptick during developmental leaps:

One: The brain is working harder, more neurological firing, more potential for misfires in kids who already have neurological instability.

Two: Systemic stressors sneak in alongside developmental leaps. Sleep often regresses during growth spurts. The immune system gets destabilized. Less sleep equals less neurological stability. Add immune system challenges, fever, or inflammation on top of that, and seizure thresholds drop further.

Three: As the brain builds new pathways, old compensatory patterns can resurface. Neurons that fire together wire together, when the nervous system is under stress, even positive developmental stress, it can default back into old dysfunctional patterns. In a Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic model, that means the original pattern of subluxation and nervous system dysfunction may temporarily re-emerge and needs to be addressed.

Four: Metabolism shifts during growth spurts. As height, weight, and physiology change, medication levels may need adjustment, that’s a conversation for the neurologist and epileptologist on your care team, not something chiropractic addresses. But it’s a real factor worth tracking and flagging.

Three Signs That Distinguish Healing From Regression [00:17:00 – 00:22:00]

This is the critical question: is this seizure uptick part of a healing developmental leap, or is it a true regression requiring different support?

“Healing is not linear. Development’s not linear. Healing is getting back on track developmentally.”

Sign One: Context, is a developmental surge actually happening?

Track not just the seizures and challenges, but also the wins and gains. New motor skills emerging, rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, running with more efficiency? New speech sounds, words, phrases? Trying new foods? Better eye contact? More social engagement with family, siblings, friends? These are the signs that the brain and nervous system is healing and progressing forward. If those gains are present alongside an uptick in seizures, you’re likely in a healing leap. If there are only losses and no gains, that’s different. That requires reassessment.

Sign Two: Duration, is this actually temporary?

A developmental leap and neuroplastic reorganization window lasts at most a few weeks. That is a short window. If increased seizures or challenges have been going on for months, that is no longer a temporary reorganization. That is the system regressing, and it needs more support, different support, or something in the current plan isn’t working.

Sign Three: Overall health and function, is the child otherwise doing reasonably well?

Are they eating well? Sleeping reasonably? Engaging with people? Able to do the things they were doing before? If yes, and the uptick is primarily in seizures, that points toward a developmental healing window. If the child is lethargic, exhausted, losing function across the board, unable to do what they were doing before, that is a sign the brain is in serious trouble and needs more support.

What Parents Can Do: Regulation, Sleep, and Metabolic Support [00:22:00 – 00:30:00]

When you’ve assessed the context and it points to a developmental healing leap, the job is to support the nervous system through that window, not to panic and change everything.

Increase chiropractic adjustments. In our office, during a developmental surge with signs of instability, we increase what we call boost adjustments. If a child is being adjusted three times a week, we may go daily. If daily, twice daily. The goal is more nervous system regulation during the period of heightened demand.

Add calming sensory inputs. Epsom salt baths, essential oils, white noise machines, weighted blankets, pressure vests, brushing protocols. Anything that calms the sensory system and brings the nervous system back toward a parasympathetic state.

Prioritize predictable routines. For neurologically stressed children, schedule consistency and routine predictability are not optional, they’re therapeutic. Uncertainty and unpredictability are stressors. Keep the environment as stable as possible during a developmental surge.

Maximize sleep and quiet time. Go to bed earlier. Keep the house quiet during sleep periods. Reduce stimulation before bedtime. And remember, this is not just about sleep hours. It’s about minimizing input coming into the brain and nervous system. Extra naps, even quiet rest periods, count.

Add vestibular and organizing sensory inputs. Rocking, crawling, deep pressure. These are neurologically organizing for the brain and nervous system and support stability during high-demand periods.

“Maximize sleep, maximize rest, maximize quiet time. Support the immune system and metabolic stability with great hydration, electrolytes, quality foods, and the right supplements.”

Metabolic Demand, the Immune System, and the Vagus Nerve Connection [00:26:00 – 00:32:00]

Developmental leaps and growth spurts demand enormous metabolic resources, energy for the nervous system to reorganize, heal, and develop. For children with epilepsy and chronic neurological conditions, metabolic systems are often already struggling. Mitochondrial function, cellular energy production, and nutrient availability are frequently compromised in these kids.

When the developmental surge hits and the brain needs even more energy to build new pathways, that metabolic deficit deepens. The practical support:

  • High-quality hydration and electrolytes
  • Anti-inflammatory foods
  • Avoiding known dietary triggers (which are often manageable during stable periods but matter more during a surge)
  • Quality supplementation to support mitochondrial and immune function

The immune system is the other variable that sneaks in during developmental leaps. In fact, immune system challenges may be the single largest trigger of seizure upticks, even more than developmental surges themselves. Fever, inflammation, illness, and congestion all drive neurological instability. When the immune system goes sideways during a developmental leap, you’re dealing with compounding stressors simultaneously. If illness is severe enough, significant fever, dehydration, lethargy, that warrants its own medical conversation.

The Vagus Nerve plays a central role in all of this. As the primary nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, the calming, healing, rest-and-digest side of the Autonomic Nervous System, vagal tone directly regulates neurological stability and influences seizure threshold. During developmental leaps, when the Autonomic Nervous System is being reorganized, if vagal tone is already poor from birth trauma, subluxation, or chronic nervous system stress, the child has far less buffer. Improving vagal tone through Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care is one of the core mechanisms by which these children build long-term neurological resilience.

Regression to Progression: Understanding the Long-Term Healing Arc [00:32:00 – 00:40:00]

The long-term goal is clear: a child whose nervous system is so well-healed and stable that developmental surges, immune system challenges, and life stressors no longer trigger seizure upticks at all. That is what Dr. Tony Ebel calls having “slack in the system”, enough neurological resilience to absorb what comes.

Getting there takes time. In the early and middle phases of neurological healing, which can span months and for some children years, it is entirely normal for developmental surges to produce temporary upticks. Two things can be true simultaneously: the child is progressing and healing, and there is still more work to do.

“On the other side of that reorganization, on the other side of that developmental leap, your child is going to be more capable, more functional, more engaged, more present.”

What does “the other side” actually look like? When a developmental leap completes successfully:

  • More motor capacity and independence, milestones reached, movement that wasn’t there before
  • More social and emotional engagement, eye contact, interaction, present with people
  • More cognitive development, ability to take on more, better focus, more awareness
  • Speech and communication breakthroughs, often speech explodes right as the behavioral and motor challenges peak

This is the pattern Dr. Tony sees clinically: when speech and communication break open, behavior often goes sideways simultaneously and motor planning gets messy first. That is not a contradiction. It is the nervous system doing multiple things at once.

Seizure families: increased seizures during a developmental leap are not a sign of failure. They are often a sign of the brain working as hard as it can to move forward, both with healing and with development. With the right support, these phases can become the most impactful periods of progress in a child’s entire healing journey.

Warning Signs That Need Medical Review [00:36:00 – 00:42:00]

Not every seizure uptick is a developmental leap. Know when to escalate.

Seek prompt medical review if:

Seizures change dramatically in type, duration, or severity. A shift in how seizures present, not just more frequent but different in character, needs a medical conversation. Duration especially matters. If a child is having longer seizures than before, that is not a developmental growing pains situation.

The child is losing previously gained skills. In a true developmental healing leap, the child should be gaining. New skills, new capacities, new engagement, even if neurological instability is increasing temporarily. If skills are being lost, the brain is in a difficult place and needs medical support.

Illness is driving the uptick. If high fever, significant dehydration, or severe lethargy are present alongside the seizure increase, treat that as its own medical situation. Immune challenges are the single largest external trigger for seizure upticks and can’t be folded entirely into the developmental leap framework.

The instability extends beyond a few weeks. A true neuroplastic reorganization window is short, weeks, not months. Extended instability is not growing pains. It is the system struggling and needing different or more intensive support.

Track everything. Keep a journal, a calendar with notes, or a spreadsheet. Log seizure frequency, type, duration, recovery time, responsiveness. Log sleep quality, bowel function, mood, motor patterns, social engagement, new skills. The more complete the data, the better equipped every member of the care team, chiropractor, neurologist, and parent, is to determine what is actually happening and what needs to change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do seizures increase during developmental leaps?

During a developmental leap, the brain works to reorganize its wiring through neuroplasticity, a process that demands enormous metabolic energy and creates temporary neurological instability. For children with preexisting nervous system dysregulation and subluxation, their systems are already near capacity. The added demand of a developmental surge lowers the threshold for seizures temporarily. This is typically a sign the brain is progressing, not regressing.

How do I know if an increased seizure is part of healing or a sign of regression?

Look at three things: Is a developmental surge clearly happening, new skills, new speech, new motor capacity emerging? Is the uptick short-lived (weeks, not months)? Is the child otherwise eating, sleeping, and engaging reasonably well? If yes to all three, you’re likely in a healing window. If seizures are changing dramatically in type or duration, if the child is losing previously gained skills, or if the instability has lasted months, that warrants medical review.

Can birth trauma contribute to why my child is more vulnerable during developmental leaps?

Yes. Birth trauma, from interventions like forceps, vacuum extraction, or C-section, can affect the brainstem and upper cervical spine, creating chronic nervous system stress that leaves children with less neurological resilience. These children have less “slack in the system” and are more prone to instability during any added stress, including developmental surges. Addressing subluxation from birth trauma is a core focus of Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care.

What can I do as a parent to support my child during a seizure uptick from a developmental leap?

Focus on regulation first: increase chiropractic adjustments if your child is under care, add calming sensory inputs (Epsom salt baths, deep pressure, white noise, predictable routines), maximize sleep and quiet time, support metabolic stability with hydration, electrolytes, anti-inflammatory foods, and appropriate supplements. Track everything, seizure patterns alongside developmental gains, and keep your entire care team informed.

What role does the vagus nerve play in seizure stability during developmental leaps?

The Vagus Nerve is the primary nerve of the parasympathetic nervous system, the calming, restorative side of the Autonomic Nervous System. Strong vagal tone helps regulate neurological stability and maintain seizure thresholds. Children with poor vagal tone from birth trauma or chronic nervous system stress have less buffer during developmental surges. Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care targets improving vagal tone as part of building long-term neurological resilience.

Where can I find a chiropractor trained in this approach?

The PX Docs directory includes chiropractors specifically trained in Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Care for children with epilepsy, seizures, and other complex neurological conditions. You can search by location at the link below.

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