Brain Balance Brings True Miracles

For those of you who haven't heard me say this yet: 

BRAIN BALANCE IS NOT JUST ANOTHER POSSIBLE WAY TO HELP ADDRESS THE SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH AUTISM, ADHD, BEHAVIORAL DISORDERS, LEARNING DISABILITIES, ETC. 

IT IS THE ANSWER

The science is there.  The real life examples, stories and testimonials are there.  It works.

Brain Balance brings PERMANENT CHANGE.  It is not just another "therapy" that "might" help your child.  It WILL help your child.  How do I know this?  Because I have watched miracles happen before my eyes.  True miracles.  Today I am just going to talk about one of them but there are many MANY more. 

Let's talk about Food.  For those of you who are new, you can read this earlier blog:

Picky Is an Understatement  This was written only 3 weeks into the Brain Balance Program.  Amazing.

It gives all the background on Wyatt, his HORRIBLE picky eating habits, his many different dietary interventions and restrictions, etc.  It then shows a video of the first time EVER eating off of a spoon (since his regression at 18 months that is..) and he is eating applesauce!  This was a HUGE miracle because he had not EATEN OR EVEN TRIED a new food for 4 years.   

This is an excerpt from a post in May:

1. In the last week he has now tried/eaten the following new foods: ONE WEEK!
2. Homemade applesauce
3. Chili
4. Split pea soup
5. Apple
6. Grapes
7. Pineapple
8. Kiwi
9. Strawberry
10. Raspberry
11. Steak
12. Shredded Beef
13. Shrimp
14. Green bean
15. Broccoli
16. He has been loving Freeze dried Pears and asks for them non-stop and now they are gone! (HUGE CAN!)
17. I gave him the freeze dried apples (that we tried for 2 years to give him in ABA, etc. and he had even thrown up on more than one of his therapists trying them) and he ate those great!
18. Today he tried a bite of a mushroom! 
19. Today he tried a bite of an apple!
20. In FOUR YEARS I could not get him to touch ANYTHING new.  I was able to switch him from round waffles to square, but that was about the extent of the change.  For FOUR years he has only eaten the following items:  Waffles, chicken nuggets, pumpkin muffins (that was actually a big change, even though it is essentially same taste/texture as waffles), turkey burgers, homemade crackers.  That really was pretty much all he ate.  (During the GFCF time he was allowed to have things like Fritos, Lays chips and french fries which of course he ate and were terrible for him) But otherwise NO other food was allowed near him even with hours of Behavioral therapy, heavy reinforcement, etc.  THIS IS A MIRACLE!  HUGE!   I had gotten to the point in my life (before Brain Balance) that I started thinking that this would never happen and that he would eat the same 4 foods for the rest of his life.  I truly did not think it was possible to get him to eat anything different.  THANK YOU BRAIN BALANCE!

Now let's talk about what is going on now.  I must say that we are still living in a bit of chaos since moving home.  There have been birthdays, family gatherings, 2 week jaunts to New York for training, etc!  We just still don't seem to be settled and into a good schedule.  I am only telling you this to make excuses as to why I have not been great at offering Wyatt new foods.  He has been kind of just stuck in eating the same old things again.  When I got home from New York, I knew this had to change - so I have started offering Wyatt new and different foods.  When I used to say that, it was that I would try to offer something a TINY bit different, but basically the same color and texture.  Even when doing that, it NEVER worked.  We would spend HOURS with every reinforcement possible to get him to even TOUCH a new food with his finger, and if we waited him out for an hour we might get him to touch it to his lips.  

So ..............  A couple of days ago I was eating some delicious spaghetti squash from my Dad's garden.  I decided to get Wyatt to try it.  It is squash and it is stringy....  didn't think he was going to go for it at all.  I had to use some reinforcement but he tried it very quickly and even let me finish feeding him the whole bowl.  When it was gone we asked him if he wanted more squash and he said "squash" so we gave him more and he ate it all!  WOW! 

Next, two nights ago for dinner I made gluten free pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce.  Noodles with a chewy texture, red sauce all over them..... didn't think he was going to go for it at all.  Again I used reinforcement, but very quickly he took a bite!  He gagged a little with the different texture, but still ate it.  He ended up eating a small bowl of spaghetti!  THIS IS AMAZING!

Then, this morning, I made some gluten free oatmeal with a little bit of honey on it.  Again a strange food with a strange texture and my sweet little Wyatt ate it!!!!  By the end he actually seemed like he liked it because when some dropped off of the spoon he picked it up off of his pants and put it in his mouth! 

Again, I know that eating food may seem like nothing to get excited about, but I assure you, it is.  When your child has eaten the same handful of foods for 4 years, isn't gaining weight, is deficient in vitamins and minerals, etc, eating new foods is a huge breakthrough.  Especially considering how hard we have tried in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY to get him to try new foods. 

So, When someone like me starts the Brain Balance program and within 3 weeks their son who is the pickiest eater on the planet all of the sudden starts eating applesauce from a spoon - that is a miracle.  A miracle that without a doubt happened because of the Brain Balance Program.  

To those of you who are struggling with their children on any level:   Behaviorally, developmentally, academically, emotionally, physically, socially, etc.  (regardless if they have any type of label or not)    I URGE YOU to take your child to the nearest Brain Balance Center and have them assessed.  They do a 1200 point assessment to make sure your child's brain is functioning and developing properly.  If it is not, then Brain Balance can change that.  It is such a small price to pay to ensure that your child's brain is developing properly and that your child will be able to reach their full potential.  So many of us don't even realize that the problems we are facing with our children are beyond their control.  They literally can't help some of the things they do, the way they act, the way they feel, etc.  They are not bad kids and we are not bad parents.  There is help. 

The people who have researched and developed this program over the last 15 years are inspired.  They are so amazing and truly have created this program to help all of the struggling children and families.  They are not in this for the money and neither are the people opening centers all over the nation.

So to wrap up, I would just like to say that I am so grateful to the amazing people at Brain Balance that have changed my life and my family's life forever.  Through their hard work, effort, love, sacrifice and determination they have given our family a future and for that I can never repay them.  What I can do is pay it forward :)  When our center opens and I can hear even ONE mom tell me that their child called them "mama" for the first time or that they ate spaghetti for the first time, it will be worth all of the effort, time and money that we have invested. 

Love,
Tammy