Progress Report Time!

You have all heard me talk and talk about how amazing the boys are doing and all of the improvements we have seen.  I still can't believe that all of this has happened in ONE 12 week session at Brain Balance.  It doesn't even seem possible, but it happened!  I can't wait to see what will come with each session that we do.  Brody will only need one more - almost sure of that.  Wyatt will need at least 4 and that is all we know at this point.  The great thing is, even if it takes Wyatt a few years, I KNOW that he will continually improve and that we will reverse this thing called Autism until it is no more.

So, since you have heard enough from me, here are the results as the Brain Balance Center sees it.  (From their very comprehensive testing of course..)

Brody:  (Note: I don't have time to explain what all the items mean at this point, but you can email me with questions if you like)

• Started with 8 of the 8 primitive reflexes, ended with only 3.  Still have work to do, but that is great!
• Computerized-eye muscle coordination/balance:  Went up 2 levels
• Computerized-Visual processing assessment:  Went from age 5 to age 7
• Arm-Touch sensation (literally being able to feel his own body) Went up 4 levels
• Leg-Touch sensation:  Went up 4 levels
• Eye movements/reflexes:  Went up 12 levels!  (highest on this is level 12!)
• Smell identification test:  Went down one level (which is good because he had a hypersensitive sense of smell)
• Eye Movements/Reflexes: Moved up within the program, but didn't move up on assessment levels
• Pupil Light response:  Went up three levels
• Auditory assessment:  Went up one overall level (this is one of his greatest deficits)
• Auditory Processing: Moved up within the program, but didn't move up on assessment levels.  Again, this is a hard area for him.  In the test they actually noticed he was missing bits and pieces of information.  The words ball and car would be played in his ears at the same time and he would only hear "all"  and "are".  He almost always was missing the beginning sounds of everything he heard.  You can see how that would cause issues....
• Fine Motor assessment:  Went from age 5 to age 7
• Proprioception (body's spatial awareness): Went up within the program, but didn't move on assessment levels. 
• Balance Beam:  Went from age 10 to age 11! (He was already above his age in this before!)
• Gait/Aerobic and endurance:  Went from age 5 to age 12!!!  (I totally saw this happening)
• Postural Assessment (muscle tone) - These are crazy results!
• Supine Core: Went from age 6 to age 10
• Prone Core:  Went from age 7 to age 9
• Lateral Core:  Went from age 6 to age 9
• Abdominal Core: Went from age 5 to age 11!!!
• Upper Body Strength:  Went from age 5 to age 12!
• Brachiation (hand strength) Went from age 4 to age 11!
• Interactive metronome (Bilateral/Unilateral Rhythm and timing):  This one is hard to explain but basically he should be at about 78.0 as his score for his age.  The lower the score the better.  His initial score was 331!!  She said she has not seen many that are that terrible... His exit score was 146!  So he made HUGE gains, but still has a ways to go.  
• Inner ear balance:  Went up one level

As for his Cognitive results they administer the WIAT-II which is a standardized assessment.  I wish I had his initial test with me (I need to find it somewhere!) so I could tell you his overall score.  I will at some point.  But his Post score was 92 percent!  The reason that is so great is because average score of kids his age is 50% and College prep level is 70 percent.  The director stated that he was "very very gifted".  :)  Of course I always knew he was bright, but I don't know if I knew just HOW bright.  This is of course partially due to the fact that  his left brain is so highly developed and the rest is credited to his father.  That is truly what makes me so sad about all of the kids struggling with these types of issues.  They are SO smart, SO darling and have SO much potential, but they just can't get there because there brains are not functioning properly.  I am so very grateful that Brain Balance changes all of that.

Here are some breakdowns:

Word reading:  Was at age 10.4 and ended at age 10.4
Reading Comp: Was at age 12.8 and ended at age 13.4
Pseudo Decoding: Was at age 17-19 and ended at age 17-19
Numerical operations: Was at grade 1.5 and ended at grade 2.2
Math reasoning:  Was at grade 2.4 and ended at grade 3.1
Spelling:  Was at grade 2.6 and ended at grade 3.5
Written Expression:  Was at grade 1.8 and ended at grade 3!
Listening Comp:  Was at grade 4.5 and ended at 7.2
Oral Expression:  Was at grade 4.7 and ended at grade 5.1

So there you have Brody!  As you can see, besides my observations of his obvious gains and improvements, there is CONCRETE EVIDENCE that he has changed and improved in all areas and some were HUGE.  This means his brain is changing and will continue to change.

I am trying a new thing since moving home - it is called "getting some sleep".  :)  I am trying to go to bed earlier so that I can function in this crazy life that I live.  Therefore, I will be posting Wyatt's results tomorrow!

Goodnight!