Get to know me
- Children’s Health
- Behavioural Disorders
- Learning Disorders
- Clinic Fellow in paediatric anxiety, OCD and tics, PANS & PANDAS
Sophia Leighton specialises in children’s health with a strong interest in treating conditions that can have a big impact on their lives – learning and behavioural disorders.
As a parent it can be difficult to know what is impacting your child’s behaviour. Is it too much sugar in their diet? Too much screen time? Or are they just acting out? With any number of specialists, diets, supplements, and protocols to choose from, it can be an isolating and difficult path for many parents to navigate in search for deeper answers unto their child’s health concerns.
Behavioural and learning disorders can initially present as seemingly naughty, irrational, or bad behaviour, with symptoms ranging from a lack of focus and concentration, difficulty in learning, mood changes, fidgeting, poor sleep, and fussy eating.
Nutritional deficiencies in growing children can have a significant impact, not only affecting their health, but also on their behaviour, mood, attention span, daily energy, sleep, confidence, and even creativity.
Nutrients are the building blocks of our bodies, and when it comes to focus, mood stability, and overall school performance, rectifying nutritional deficiencies can make a big difference! In fact, correcting iron deficiency has demonstrated improved achievement at school, concentration, short-term memory, and IQ.
Having personally experienced a childhood of fussy-eating and the health detriments of not getting enough nutrients, Sophia is passionate in supporting these foundations of health in children. Sophia loves being able to help parents and children navigate their key health concerns by addressing the root causes of these disorders and working together to develop a treatment plan of small achievable steps that will carry them through to their health goals.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to healthcare and as a scientific, evidence-based practitioner, Sophia values thorough case-taking and the use of functional pathology in order to determine the most appropriate personalised treatment plan to achieve lasting resolution and optimal health outcomes for her patients.