We are thrilled with the progress Preston has made in just 3 months! It's incredible!
In primitive reflexes, Preston improved one level in three of the eight primitive reflexes that are tested at Brain Balance, two levels in one primitive reflex, and stayed the same in four primitive reflexes. I actually was surprised that so many didn't move because we are so vigilant with exercises, but I know that in time they will move. And if it's like most things with Preston, it will take a long time and then out of nowhere a huge leap in development will be seen.
During Brain Balance sessions, Preston spends half of his time in the sensory motor room and the other half in the cognitive room. Most of his gains in these areas can be attributed to the time spent in the sessions.
Vision
From level 1 to level 7, with 15 being the goal in OPK. Again, that is the test where black and white alternating lines move across the screen from left to right and their eye movements while watching the screen are tracked for one minute. The results of this one actually surprised me because I feel like Preston still struggles so much with this exercise, but I'm super happy about his progress. Moving 6 levels on anything in 3 months is AWESOME!
VOR is when you start out looking straight ahead at an object and then turn your head to the side but keep your eyes on the object. You can see that Preston has moved from a level 9 to a level 13. But...it's even cooler than that. When he was first evaluated, he got to level 9 with help. The person giving the test actually had to help him turn his head on the first evaluation because it's difficult for a lot of the younger kids to understand what is being asked of them. So the first test was with someone physically turning his head while he tried to keep his eye on the object in front of him (I think it was just looking at himself in a mirror) and the second test was turning his head on his own. That is so much bigger than 4 levels of improvement because the "control" part of the test is different.
Hearing
The next part of the test is hearing. I can hardly type this part without getting emotional. There are two parts they test. One has more to do with their perception of sound and the other is auditory processing, which has to do with how they process the sound.
When we started testing Preston to figure out why he was struggling developmentally, we learned that he had difficulties on both ends of communicating. This website does a pretty good job of explaining the communication process. The steps to communication are listed on nursing-help.com as follows: ideation (sender decides to share and develops an idea or selects information to share), encoding (putting meaning into symbolic forms - speaking, writing, or nonverbal behavior), transmission, receiving (receiver's senses of seeing and hearing are activated as the transmitted message is received), decoding of the message (the receiver defines words and interprets gestures during the transmission of speech) and response or feedback (sender must know that the message has been received and accurately interpreted.
The purpose of the website is to increase communication skills, but it is helpful for me to use the information to explain Preston's challenges. At 4 years old, he struggled with ideation (so coming up with a new idea - even when given a new toy or activity) was hard for him and the decoding stage of hearing was a challenge, which is what eventually lead to his diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder. He could physically hear, but couldn't interpret what was being said or asked of him. In other words, the problem with his hearing was with his brain, not his ears. I found this article that breaks APD down in a way that's pretty easy to understand if you want more information.
This is the part that makes me cry! You have to know that Preston had already made significant progress in his auditory processing with the other therapies we had done with him the past few years. But from his initial test in August to today, Preston went from level 11 to level 15 (100%) in his perception of sound. And in auditory processing (the way he processes that sound in his brain) he went from age 4 to age 11. In three months! So my child who had a diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder and could not understand what I was asking him a few years ago, is now more than three years older than his chronological age for auditory processing. Seriously! It's INCREDIBLE!! He was already doing so well compared to where he had been. So well. But in three months, he gained 7 years of ability in this area.
Smell
His sense of smell has moved up 3 levels from 8 to 11, with the end goal being level 15. He's definitely improved in this area. He notices what I'm cooking, good smells, bad smells, etc. He's even become a pickier eater (which I know doesn't sound like a good thing, but it is developmentally speaking).
Touch
Preston's sense of touch on his arm went from a 4 year old level to a 7 year old level. He's almost to his age level on that. Amazing! And his sense of touch on his legs improved from age 5 to age 9. Again...incredible!
Fine Motor
Preston went from age 2 to age 5 in fine motor skills. Again, absolutely amazing! He has struggled with fine motor skills for so long. Everything has been a challenge. It always felt like his hands were just randomly attached to the ends of his arms the way he moved them around and tried to maneuver things. We still have a ways to go, but three years gain in three months is awesome!
Core Muscle Testing
All the core muscle testing is based on age. You can see that he's made substantial gains in all the different core strength tests. I can't imagine that the push-ups test is completely accurate. It's quite possible that he is at a 5 year old level, but I don't think he was at age 4 before. When we started the program, he would whine and complain about how hard push-ups on the wall were and would only do 2 or 3. Now he is doing around 10 push-ups on his toes in one minute. To me, that is much greater than a one year improvement in push-ups.
Spacial Awareness
Preston's maturity of balance and equilibrium is still at level 13, with 15 being the goal. However, he has improved two years in his proprioception, from age 3 to age 5. We still have a ways to go, but two years improvement in proprioception is awesome!
I explained a little bit about proprioception in my post on Dylan's 3 month assessment, but am including the link here as well. If you don't know what proprioception is, this will give you a better idea.
Synchronization
Preston is way above his age level on the balance beam. He started out at age 10 and is now at age 16.
On gait and aerobics, which measure the bilateral coordination, he improved from age 4 to age 6.
On the interactive metronome, which measures processing, rhythm, timing and motor planning (again, read Dylan's post for more details) Preston improved from age 5 to age 7.
Academics
You can see from his scores how difficult learning is for Preston. I was told he was pretty tired of testing by the time they got to the cognitive portion of the test. The testing took close to 3 1/2 hours with only one short break after the sensory motor portion. I'm guessing some of the results of the second test can be attributed to his desire to be done with testing. I doubt his listening comprehension decreased from the 63rd percentile to the 27th percentile, although sometimes regression happens in certain areas before big leaps in development. We have a long way to go with academics, but he will progress as primitive reflexes are integrated and his sensory motor skills continue to improve. Again, it's a building block process with the cognitive being the third section of the pyramid. So...it makes sense that his gains in this area were smaller. However, I did want to point out one significant gain in ability - oral expression. This shows his oral expression going from the 4th percentile to 37th percentile. That's HUGE and one of the things we have noticed most. He has so much to say and is able to express himself so much better now. And discovering just what he has been thinking about now that he is better able to express himself has been the most joyful part of this whole process.
Parent Observations
I had a billion forms to fill out while the boys were testing. It was like taking the ACT again, but with two other kids to watch during the process. So stressful and time consuming! It took me 3 1/2 hours.
Three of the four forms are forms used by schools or clinicians to help determine a possible diagnosis for a child being evaluated for a specific disorder. The other one is a test specific to Brain Balance and was much longer and more detailed than the other three. The Brown's Scale is a test to screen for ADD/ADHD, GADS is a form to screen for asperger's, and GARS is a form to screen for autism. I included these just so you can see how much improvement he has made with regard to behaviors at home observed by a parent. It's pretty substantial.
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It's crazy when I look at pictures from this past August. Preston has always been the child I have to watch the most for weight-gain, but with the chaos in our family as a result of a job change and move (which fell through and created even more chaos), he really chunked out this past summer. The physical differences alone are INSANE! The recent picture is a little goofy, but I wanted to get a picture with his shirt off so the pictures would be similar. Of course once his shirt was off, he decided to "flex" his muscles and the awkward pose is a result of his desire to show off his bulging muscles. Gotta love it!
It's strange to say he's a different kid, but in so many ways, he really is. He's still my precious Preston, a boy without guile, filled with love and compassion for everyone. But his ability to function well in the world has increased dramatically. We've still got a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead of us, but I am so filled with hope for this boy and his future. At one point, Marcos and I had no diagnosis and no direction as to why Preston had so many developmental delays. We weren't sure if he would even be able to live on his own one day, if he would graduate from high school, or if he would be able to get a job. We had so many questions and very few answers. At the time, we grieved for Preston and the future every parent wants for their child. We were grateful for the spirit entrusted to our care and knew he was unique and extraordinary in every sense of the word, but we had to let go of some of our expectations for his future. I kept seeking answers. They came little by little thanks to an all-knowing God who loves me perfectly and directs my life when I ask, wait patiently, and am willing to take action when answers come. I never gave up hope, but I always worried how much progress Preston would make and what his future would like. Today I can say that I finally feel confident that Preston's potential for growth is immeasurable. It is not easy!! The past three plus months have been incredibly challenging for our family. It has required time and effort and going against the grain, which can feel lonely and isolating at time. I have to shout it from the rooftops! There is HOPE!! A child with challenges can improve and make huge gains in development. It's truly incredible! We are so thrilled with Preston's progress and can't wait to see the changes that occur in the next three months of this journey.
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