Saturday, April 12, 2014

It has been nice this week seeing my daughter is becoming a bit more tolerant of other's weaknesses. She also went up in auditory processing and up a grade level in auditory processing.




Auditory processing was her lowest score from her original evaluation.  I have a niece who was diagnosed with auditory processing disorder, so it runs in the family.  We just had our progress report and she has moved up 4 age levels in auditory processing since we started.  They feel they can move her up seven more levels by the time she completes the program.  This is when you tell your child to get the paper from the first drawer on the right side of the desk, and they say "Okay" and then come back having no idea what they are supposed to be getting or where they are supposed to look.  

They have added more homework to her daily routines.  She continues all the original exercises, but now she also has an auditory processing exercise, a fine motor and timing & rhythm exercise and a proprioception exercise.  She also has a whisper phone that she places on her left ear and needs to speak in for 15 minutes a day.
The whisper phone allows her to hear her own voice and is placed on the left ear to stimulate her right brain.  For the proprioception exercise she has to stand on her left foot for 30 seconds with her eyes closed.  She was able to do it with a lot of wiggling and scooting around.  I couldn't even do it for 15 seconds.  I could do it forever with my eyes open, so I was really surprised how hard it was to do with my eyes shut.  Try it!  The goal is 60 seconds.

For fine motor and timing & rhythm she can play Bop-IT, Simon, Operation or Jacks.  She can also learn how to play the "Cup Song".  And for auditory processing she can choose between one of the following activities:

4 comments:

  1. Oops, sorry about that previous comment -- a misfire.

    Wanted to say that you really have to decide you believe in the scientific method (on which all of Western medicine is based) and are therefore skeptical of things like chiropractic neurology that have no scientific evidence supporting them. Or else you might as well believe in giving anything a try. Why not acupuncture, which at least has a history? Why not simply relying on prayer, which at least lacks a direct profit motive (unless you're praying with someone who is bilking you)?

    Listen, there's plenty of reason to think that the chiropractor program is providing some marginal benefits for your kid. Practice following directions, confidence building, buy in, perseverance. All of these things are natural results from the kinds of activities you describe in your blog. But it's the same kind of result you'd expect to get from boy/girl scouting, joining a soccer team, or engaging in a myriad of other normal kid experiences. Sure, these results might be worth thousands of dollars, but they don't actually cost that much. And scouting and soccer at least do have valid science measuring their impact on participants.

    That said, good luck to you regardless. Can't think of anything they're doing that is likely to cause any lasting harm. So give em your money if it makes you feel better.

    I am curious, however, if they've been up front with you about what kind of "doctors" your kid has been seeing and what kind of "doctors" came up with the whole brain-balance scheme. I don't seem to find any mention of that in any of the literature.

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    1. I have read an article similar to what you are posting here on some website when I was searching for information about Brain Balance. No doubt you have visited that site/possibly have some kind of connection to that site. All that site does is spew out negativity. You keep asking for some scientific studies and make fun of the "doctors" who run Brain Balance, and that's it. You keep saying the same things over and over, while completely ignoring or discrediting people who have something positive to say about it.
      What's your problem? If someone feels that it helps their kid overcome their issues, why do you have to hate? So what if Dr. Melillo isn't even an actual PhD? Why would I care if his program helped my kid? Do you have any idea how many dimwit PhD's I've met in my life who haven't done a DAMN thing to help me or anyone else I know, but still charged me an outrageous amount of money for their precious "time and expertise"? It's disgusting. So don't even try and tell me that a friggin "MD" behind someone's name should elicit any kind of automatic respect from me. Yes, they spent a lot of time in school and worked hard to get it I guess, good for them. Results are results, scientific or not, I'll go with what works over what science says should work any day of the week. Besides the fact that science likes to change its mind on a constant basis. Tomatoes are good, no wait, they're bad now, nevermind, they're good again.
      Bottom line, if people still feel like the money they spent was worth the results they got, why should you have some vendetta against the program (which you know absolutely nothing about btw)? I can get it if you are trying to warn people about a potential scam, and a fairly expensive one at that, but people who have been scammed seldom leave flattering reviews afterward. So go find something better to do with your time.

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  2. Paragraph one: I believe in the scientific method and am skeptical of things that have no evidence to support them. I did a lot of science research in school and have counseled others in nutrition based on what scientific research has said. There is something that not everyone knows about scientific research which is:
    When someone does research they submit their research to the professional journal to which their field applies. The reviewers look at it to see if they think it is worthy to publish. If you are one of the lucky winners, they then make you take out a ton of information so that it will be short enough to fit in the journal. This condensed version is then given to professional reviewers to critique. So if the journal made you cut out a part that would let everyone know it was a reliable experiment, then the critiques will say that your work has no value.
    I also believe in acupuncture, chiropractic care and most definitely believe in prayer. I have had enough experience to know that one method does not cure everyone, so why not try everything? Also, a few of these instruments they use have been proven using the scientific method to help with brain trauma and are used to treat patients in hospitals today.
    Paragraph two: No scouting or sport program has ever cured autism. And if I have the ability to pay $6,000 don't you think I already have my children enrolled in various engaging programs? She is currently in dance three days a week, and was in the Nutcracker this past December and does quite well. She is also in a goal oriented program where she meets every week and works to pass off life goals. Neither has ever helped with ADHD or improved her writing ability, nor has the baseball, chorus and gymnastics she attended previously.
    Third paragraph: Not nice.
    Fourth paragraph: They were very upfront with me. The lady over the local facility is a psychologist and the person who started Brain Balance is a chiropractor who has a Masters in Neuroscience and a Masters in Clinical Rehabilitation Neuropsychology. It is all in the book which you can probably check out from your local library if you don't feel like paying $10. The other people who work there are teachers and administrators with no medical background of any kind.

    Conclusion: I am writing this blog because of the lack of reviews online. All positive reviews are just testimonials and all negative reviews are much like the one you just gave. They know nothing about Brain Balance and have never been in the facility, nor have they known more than one person to ever attend Brain Balance. I don't know what the final results will be for my daughter, but I know that I interviewed several people here locally and they have had wonderful results.

    I will delete yours and my post in a week, not because of the negative review, but because your comments show that you haven't read all of my blog nor understand the intentions of the blog. I am leaving it up for a week because I know someone out there is wondering what the response to it will be, although my response is very repetitive of what I've said in my past blogs. If you know someone who has had an experience with Brain Balance please feel free to send them here to post comments. That's what the blog is about: Real life personal experiences that show just the facts so we can make our own opinions.

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    1. I recommend leaving that post up. I am also a chiropractor. What jommy doesn't understand is that neurology, anatomy, physiology, biology, chemistry, psychology, etc. are all studies. Neurology is neurology, there is no difference when it comes to the physical structures nor pathways of the brain and nervous system. He is uneducated to say chiropractic neurology is any different from neurology being studied or taught by various instructors. The board that oversees the license is the only thing that differentiates the title. Medical and chiropractic neurology only vary by the licensing board. Further a lot of the processes are used by both practitioners.

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