Brain Balance Therapies

We understand the cause of Autism at the cellular level. The prefrontal lobe of the brain, right behind the forehead is the part of the brain that controls higher, more sophisticated thought processes.  This is the part of the brain that makes man such a unique species. Relating the past and the future, planning, making choices, and controlling emotions are some of the functions of the frontal lobe.  Weak neuronal transmissions in this critical part of the brain are the cause of autism spectrum disorders.  Impulsivity, difficulty with planning, poor working memory, inadequate problem solving skills, and hyperactivity can now be positively and dramatically influenced by brain exercises. Every day experiences and challenges can be turned into mental exercises by parents who have acquired the skills to implement a training program for their children.  Teaching these exercises is one of our main focuses.  Autism is a conduction deficit at the neuronal synapse (a synapse is a microscopic space between two neurons critical to nerve conduction and transmission of information).  If the conduction of an inhibitory impulse is weak, when the child has an urge to dart into the street, wander away from is mother, or to hit someone, he will do so without ever going through the inhibitory steps of considering the consequences.  If the conduction is a stimulatory impulse and it is weak, the child (or adult) will show signs of inattention, forgetfulness, and an inability to focus. All mental activities need either neural stimulation or inhibition. ¹

 Left Brain Skills                                  Right Brain Skills

                                                       Think of the Left Brain as a Gas Pedal            Think of the Right Brain as a Brake pedal

                                                                      -Starts Things                                                             -Stops Things

                                                                     -Starts Movement                                                      -Stops Movement

                                                                     -Starts Thoughts                                                        -Stops Thoughs

                                                                     -Small Movements                                                     -Big Movements

                                                                     -Small Details                                                             -Big Picture

                                                                    -Early Academics                                                       -Social Learning

                                                                    -Rote Memorization                                                   -Reading and Math Comprehension

                                                                    -Verbal Communication                                           -Non-Verbal Communication

                                                                    -Generates Approach Response                           -Generates Withdrawal Response

                                                                    -Likes Routine                                                            -Stimulated by something New

                                                                    -Stimulated by high frequency                                 -Stimulated by low frequency

                                                                   (Video Games/TV/Computers)                                            (Nature Sounds)

 Children suffering from AD-HD, hyperactivity, and Autism Spectrum Disorders show a decreased frequency of firing of the right brain. This decreased FOF is called a “Functional Disconnection Syndrome (FDS)”.  For example, if a child has FDS of the right brain, the child will lose his “brake pedal” and have an inability to: stop thought processes and movement, to have proper social etiquette, to comprehend math and reading, and to have and interpret non-verbal communication accurately.

Conversely, a FDS of the right brain also means the child’s left brain is over-stimulated.  This means his “gas pedal” is pushed to the floor.  This leads to an uncontrolled ability to start things such as movement and thought processes. They have fine motor skills and rote memorization. They like routine, and do not like change.  They are stimulated by high frequency activities such as watching TV, playing video games, and flashing lights.

 Brain Based Therapy for children suffering from ADHD, ASD, and hyperactivity is geared towards increasing the frequency of firing of the right brain’s function through multiple modalities such as nutritional counseling, vitamins and supplements, olfactory stimulation, visual stimulation, gross motor and postural exercises, Chiropractic adjustments, and the Interactive Metronome.

An Explanation of a Few of the Brain Balancing Treatments We May Use with Your Child

-Nutritional Counseling, Vitamins, and Supplements-After running our detailed lab-work to determine your child's specific needs we will develop specific nutritional protocols to provide the support for proper brain development.

-Primitive Reflexes Remediations-Many children who suffer from ADD, ADHD, and other autism spectrum disorders have primitive reflexes still present.  These reflexes should disappear (become inhibited by the brain) by one year of age.  The inhibition of these reflexes is essential for your child's motor activities to develop normally.  Without this proper sequencing in your child's development the different hemispheres fail to mature at the same rate resulting in functional disconnection.

-Olfactory Stimulation-Right brain specific sensory (smell) stimulation

-Visual Stimulation-Right brain specific sensory (vision) stimulation

-Auditory Stimulation-Right brain specific sensory (hearing) stimulation

-Cerebellum Stimulation (Balancing Exercises)-The cerebellum plays an intimate role in the coordination of your child's thought and movement patterns.

-Vestibular Stimulation-Otolithic and Canal stimulation designed to reconnect the left and right hemispheres.

-Gross motor and Postural Exercises-After the primtive reflexes are remediatied we initiate specific exercise programs to bring postural reflexes on line.

-Specialized Chiropractic Adjustments-Specific adjustments tailored to your child's neurologic needs. The adjustments are all performed in a gentle and specific manner to stimulate your child's right brain.

-Interactive Metronome- This is an assessment and treatment tool used in therapy to improve the neurological processes of motor planning, sequencing and processing. The IM program provides a structured, goal-oriented process that challenges the patient to synchronize a range of hand and foot exercises to a precise computer-generated reference tones heard through headphones. The patient attempts to match the rhythmic beat with repetitive motor actions. A patented auditory-visual guidance system provides immediate feedback measured in milliseconds, and a score is provided.

          Over the course of the Interactive Metronome treatment plan, patients learn to:

• Focus and attend for longer periods of time
• Increase physical endurance and stamina
• Filter out internal and external distractions
• Improve ability to monitor mental and physical actions as they are occurring
• Progressively improve coordinated performance.