Friday, October 25, 2013

Day 32: The Controversy surrounding Brain Balance

A friend brought a huge bag of Organic Apples
to the school today.
 
I looked up some Gluten Free pie Crust recipes.
Can't wait to have the Pie for dessert tonight...
 
I have been reading the book, "Re-connected Kids."  I started to become concerned that we wouldn't be close to the level of recovery I had thought Taz would be by the end of our 12 week session in this program.  The book really is a good read, and it gives more behavioral modification ideas which are useful for us right now.  And in reading it, I realized that there will be much more modification needed to help Taz recover from the ravages of this spectrum disease.  I shudder to think of the ways I unknowingly contributed to it... immunizations (5 in one day at age 15 months, not to mention giving him the Hep B at the premie age of 7 days, born at 35 weeks).  I could go on an on, but this is for another day's post.
 
At this point in our therapy, I have discovered that there are those out there who hate the Program.  Although they know precious little about it, they are convinced that it is Quackery, and are loudly proclaiming such to me and to others who know better.  The worst offenders are those who have similar programs, who stand to lose if Brain Balance is successful.  This saddens me.  Why not work together for the good of the children who so desperately are in need, instead of hacking away at something that make sense and is effectively working?
 

 

To the questioning moms and dads reading this blog, and to keep it simple...if you are intrigued or even interested in the program, check out the book "Disconnected Kids" at the library, and read it. This will cost you nothing but the time it takes to pick it up and read it.  Isn't your child's life worth this much, at the very least? 

There is MUCH criticism of the Brain Balance Program out there on the internet.  I spent a year saving up so that Taz could experience the program, and did TONS of research during that year to make sure we weren't being Duped.  In the end, what sold me 100% on the Program were the Parent's comments... such as this one:

Shelley.ma says:
"As a parent who has had a child in the Brain Balance Center program, I challenge anyone who is skeptical to put a child through the program before you make comments. Within the first month, my 6 year old daughter not only could read for the first time but was excited about reading and school. She even brought a Dr. Suess book into the center to read to the teacher , that is how proud she was! Before the program, my daughter had no social skills and no friends. She now has girls in her grade coming up to her to be her friend. She was withdrawn and “in a shell”. She is now happy and outgoing, connecting to others for the very first time. I would have spent $100,000 to have a happy, well adjusted child; $6000 seems like the deal of a lifetime!"

I agree with Shelley above.  Dr. Melillo has given us all the tools to do our own assessments, to start our own program at home, with the cost being about $11 on Amazon (if you decide to buy the book).   If you want more, go to an information session and ask lots of tough questions. Just like everything else, this program is a fit for some and not a fit for others, but to our family has been more than worth it.  We have seen more changes in the short 4 weeks than in any of the programs we have utilized before.  These included:  Play Attention, Martial Arts, Occupational Therapy for Handwriting, Independent work with a Special needs "specialist."

 
 
Shine a Light for Helping the Children!



 
More arguments FOR Brain Balance:
 
Martha R. Herbert, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical Professor and neurologist at Mass General Hospital stated regarding a common mechanism in autism, ”some kind of abnormality in brain connectivity-i.e. the structural and/or functional factors related to brain connections and coordination.” Problems with connectivity in the brain is the mainstream scientific model. Other researchers have demonstrated “cortical underconnectivity” in autism and other learning disorders: Just, Koshino, Villalobos, Castelli and Herbert to name a few. Other research findings into ADHD have demonstrated right hemisphere deficits on fMRI and others have theorized a decrease in inhibitory activity as a result of diminished frontal lobe activity.
Your attack on the website’s list of environmental factors also demonstrates your almost absent knowledge of current studies in this field. There have been recent studies that have drawn a direct connection between watching TV and attention deficit and a more limited vocabulary. One study that found a link between attention deficit and TV involved 2600 toddlers between the ages of one and three. Furthermore, the Academy of American Pediatrics recommends no TV for children under the age of two.
 
  Obviously this pertains to sedentary activities and learning difficulties.
Research into epigenetics using Agouti mice and historical research on behaviors of populations in Sweden have demonstrated that the manifestation of behaviors can be passed onto your offspring for up to four generations. This has obvious implications with regards to our behaviors around the current use of digital technologies. ADHD expert and Harvard psychiatrist, Edward Hallowell, MD has linked the rise in ADHD and the electronic media.
 
 
Finally, all the other critics should just look around at the “accepted” treatment for the conditions. All require spending money. You could take drugs but then you have side effects and not all people respond to the drugs. But the benefit of the drug only lasts for a few hours. You have to keep taking it. It doesn’t cure the problem. There are schools that charge up to $80,000 per year for helping children with these disorders.

I have a daughter who is now 22. But we spent more on a educational consultation than the brain balance program costs. That is not to mention the special school we put her in. And she was not cured of her program.

Would you call that “fraudulent?”

You bloggers out there should do some real homework before you spread your negativity about a program that has helped many families.


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