Pediatric Genomic Testing · IntellxxDNA
Genetic testing for kids: when the missing piece is written in how your child's body works.
You've got the folder. The labs that came back "normal." The specialist reports that named the problem but never explained it. And a child who is still struggling in ways nobody has been able to fully account for.
When nothing adds up, it's usually because nobody has looked at how this particular child's body actually works. That's what genomic testing gives us. Not a label. Not a prediction. A closer look.
WHY GENOMICS
Why I use genomics in my practice
Genomics has transformed how I work with kids — and not for the reason most parents expect.
It's not about predestination. Your child's genes are not their destiny. What genomic testing reveals is biochemical individuality: the unique way your child's body processes nutrients, handles stress, clears toxins, and responds to their environment. That's where personalized medicine actually begins.
I use genetic testing to understand what's happening at a cellular level, so I can tailor support to match your child's specific biology — rather than defaulting to a one-size-fits-all protocol that was never designed with your child in mind. You've probably already lived through enough of those.
A variant tells me where to look and what to ask — it never tells your child who they are.
WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT IS NOT
Clinical genomics — not a curiosity kit.
This is not a 23andMe kit. Direct-to-consumer DNA tests were built for ancestry and curiosity — they weren't designed to guide medical care, and they don't tell the whole story.
The testing I use, IntellxxDNA, is clinician-ordered and clinician-interpreted. It looks at SNPs — small, common variations in your child's genes that change how well certain body systems run. One variant might mean your child converts folate inefficiently. Another might mean their cells make energy sluggishly, or their body clears histamine slowly, or their stress response runs hot.
None of these variants is a diagnosis. I want to say that clearly, because it matters: genomic findings are research-level tendencies, not verdicts. A variant tells me where to look and what to ask — it never tells your child who they are. What it does do is end the guessing. Instead of trying supplement after supplement and hoping something sticks, we start from how your child's body is actually built.
Hundreds of clinically significant variants. One personalized plan. Zero guessing.
WHAT IT REVEALS
What genomic testing can reveal.
The IntellxxDNA Neurodevelopmental report analyzes hundreds of clinically significant gene variants across the systems that most shape how a child feels, focuses, and grows.
01
How your child's cells make energy
Mitochondrial Function
When I see kids on the autism spectrum or kids with PANS/PANDAS, I often look closely at mitochondrial markers. Mitochondria are the energy factories inside every cell — and when they're under-supported, you can see it in fatigue, regression after illness, low tone, and a child whose system just can't keep up with demands. Genomic testing gives me a much closer look at how your child's cells are producing energy. If there are mitochondrial concerns, it genuinely changes the plan — I may reach for nutrients I wouldn't otherwise have considered, in an order I wouldn't otherwise have chosen.
02
ADHD, ANXIETY, BEHAVIOR
Neurobehavioral Precision
For kids with ADHD, autism, anxiety, or other behavioral health concerns, SNP testing offers real specificity. It shows me how your child's unique biology handles neurotransmitters — the brain's chemical messengers — along with detoxification and stress response. That means recommendations targeted to your child: which nutrients their brain actually runs on, which pathways need support, and why the thing that worked beautifully for your neighbor's kid did nothing for yours.
03
FOLATE, REPAIR, INFLAMMATION
Methylation & MTHFR
If you've been in parent groups, you've heard about MTHFR. It's one piece of a much bigger methylation picture — the system your child's body uses to build neurotransmitters, repair cells,
and manage inflammation. Genomics lets me see the whole pathway, not just one famous gene, so support is matched to the actual bottleneck. (I've written a full parent guide on this: MTHFR in Children: Cerebral Folate Deficiency )
04
IMMUNE, INFLAMMATION, METABOLISM
Where your child's system may be more vulnerable
Genomic patterns can also suggest where a child's system carries more vulnerability — immune regulation, inflammatory signaling, metabolic and neurodevelopmental pathways. I treat this information the way it deserves to be treated: as tendencies, never predictions. But it lets me get ahead of problems with earlier, smarter support instead of waiting for a system to visibly struggle.
05
VACCINOMICS — EMERGING RESEARCH
Immune & vaccine response
Vaccinomics is a young field of research studying how genetic differences shape immune
responses — including how robustly the immune system responds to challenges of all kinds. I follow this research closely, and I bring it into visits the same way I bring in everything else: as context for an unhurried, individualized conversation about your child's immune system. Genomic testing is not a tool that declares any intervention safe or unsafe for a specific child, and I don't use it that way. What it supports is the thing I care most about — a conversation where your questions get taken seriously instead of brushed aside.
THE TOOL
Why I use IntellxxDNA specifically.
There are a lot of genetic reports out there. I chose IntellxxDNA because it's built for clinicians, grounded in published research, and designed to lead to action — every variant in the report is linked to evidence-based intervention options spanning nutrition, environment, lifestyle, and targeted supplements.
The Neurodevelopmental report I use most often analyzes hundreds of clinically significant gene variants across neurotransmitter function, mitochondrial factors, neural connectivity, brain nutrients, methylation, and detoxification. IntellxxDNA's genomic approach to autism care has been published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine — this is not fringe science. It's precision medicine finally reaching pediatrics.
And here's the part that matters most: the report doesn't make decisions. I do — with you, in plain language, one finding at a time.
WHAT IT REVEALS
How the testing works
Simple, and completely doable with a wiggly kid. A saliva/buccal sample at your kitchen table — no blood draw, no lab visit, no tears.
01
I order the kit
Simple, and completely doable with a wiggly kid.
02
You collect a cheek swab
No blood draw, no lab visit, no tears. A saliva/buccal sample at your kitchen table.
03
Mail it back
Postage is prepaid. You'll get an email when results are ready — typically a few weeks.
04
We meet & walk through it together
Every finding translated into plain language, in order, with a plan attached.
IN PRACTICE
How I use this information.
Genomics is one tool in a larger functional medicine toolkit — a powerful one, but never the whole picture.
I combine your child's genomic findings with a detailed history, microbiome testing, nutrient panels, and a real look at your family's daily life. The genetic picture tells me how your child's body works. The rest tells me why symptoms are showing up right now and what's missing or out of balance.
From there, we build a personalized plan: removing what's aggravating the system, adding what's genuinely missing, and supporting the resilience your child already has. Not a template. Not a generic supplement list. Something built for the child in front of me and the life your family is actually living.
WHETHER IT FITS YOUR CHILD?
Is genomic testing right for your child?
The families who get the most from genomics usually sound like this: you've tried the therapies, the diets, the strategies. Labs keep coming back normal. And you know — the way only a parent knows — that something biological is driving what everyone else keeps calling behavioral.
I most often recommend genomic testing for kids with:
01. ADHD or focus struggles that haven't responded predictably
02. Anxiety or OCD-spectrum patterns
03. Autism and neurodevelopmental differences
04. PANS/PANDAS and post-infectious changes
05. Complex or "doesn't fit anywhere" presentations
06. Kids who react unpredictably to supplements or medications
If you're not sure whether it fits your child, that's exactly what the free consult is for.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
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Last Words
Here's what I want you to hold onto: your child's genes are not a sentence. They're information — and information is the difference between guessing and knowing.
The most common thing I hear after a genomics review is some version of "for the first time, my kid makes sense to me." That's where everything changes. Not because the report is magic, but because you finally stop fighting an invisible opponent.
You are not failing your child. You are not overreacting. And you don't have to keep guessing.