Tapping into a Child’s Potential – A Parent’s Guide to dealing with the Unknown
How do you look at your first-born son and feel so hopeful and so confused at the same time? How can that very child that brings so much joy into your world feel like an unchartered, uphill challenge on a daily basis? A journey into unfamiliar territory with the only goal being a way to help them realize their ultimate potential? When you say goodnight every night, and look into his eyes, do you see that somewhere deep inside that gaze is something great trying to find its way out without knowing how to ask?
There are very few things that can make you feel as helpless as trying to find out how to help a child connect and make sense of their world. You see flashes of recognition but somewhere you just know there’s something missing. As a parent you only want what’s best for your child, and when you feel like you can’t help them it can absolutely break your heart. Well I can tell you that after more than 4 years, Brain Balance has helped our family start that healing process.
Max is an 8-year-old boy who has been diagnosed as a high-functioning autistic kid, someone with significant delays in speech & language development, and even auditory processing issues. We’ve had him evaluated and tested more than any kid should ever have to put up with. Luckily we were able to recognize some of his challenges at a young age, and through early intervention we’ve had him enrolled in speech therapy and other language services. While that has proved to be a benefit, we haven’t seen improvements and strides like we have in the past 12 weeks like we have with Brain Balance.
Max was evaluated in the summer of 2008 at a Brain Balance center and he was diagnosed with a severe Left Brain imbalance that impacted his overall cognitive learning and social abilities. In addition to Max’s imbalance, he tested on the “spectrum” as a high-functioning, highly intelligent child. Max’s physical development was also below the average for his actual age, and that proved to be a critical factor in his imbalance and overall brain development.
After the initial testing, a program specific for Max was developed that addressed his cognitive, sensory motor, and nutritional needs. Since that time of Max’s initial Brain Balance sessions, Max has seen amazing progress including some areas of over 300%. We have noticed a more focused, more socially aware, and physically coordinated boy compared to 12 weeks ago.
One of the first significant differences we saw was Max’s diet. A once picky eater who would only eat Chicken Fingers was now eating salmon, steak, carrots, grapes, and even broccoli for dinner! You can imagine how much of a shock that was for us. The desire for better nutrition was easily adopted instead of being met with refusal, tears, and downright drama. We’ve now even started to eat more as a family, and as a result we have noticed a difference in Max’s physical development.
While there is still more work to do, Max has reached Neuro-Typical levels in most areas of his initial Brain Balance evaluation. Max’s development is at, or near, levels that are appropriate to his actual age, compared to the 1-2+ year delays when he started. Needless to say, we are getting ready to start the second phase of his program and we are so excited to gauge his progress. The floodgates are starting to open, and it’s been absolutely amazing to witness it happening. That child inside that we always knew was there over the past eight years is about to emerge, and I can’t wait to meet him.
I’m not sure where we would be if we hadn’t enrolled Max in the Brain Balance program. I‘m very certain that the same parents that felt those feelings of uncertainty and anxiety would still be trying to figure this all out. I’ll admit that when we were first faced with the fact that our “special needs” son might not travel the conventional path, I tried to figure out what life was trying to teach me. As a parent, I’ve come to realize that life deals you what you’re capable of handling, and for that I think our whole family is learning something truly amazing.
