Whew...that was a much bigger break than we anticipated. We have still been doing home exercises and following the diet, but after the boys had their three month reassessment, it was so close to the holidays that we ended up taking the rest of December off before we officially started part 2 of sessions at Brain Balance. Dylan had a big role in the play Savior of the World (El Salvador Del Mundo) and had so many practices and rehearsals that coordinating schedules would have been nearly impossible. Plus the holidays are chaotic even on a normal year. But we're back and we're thrilled to continue to grow and develop with the amazing staff at Brain Balance.
After MUCH prayer and pondering, we have decided to have Dylan join Preston for the last half of our six month journey. I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say, we know that's what Dylan needs right now and so that's the direction we're taking. Both Dylan and Preston started back this week.
December was an emotional month with lots of highs and lows. My desire to help Preston has driven me to a lot of independent research on the brain and some of the factors that affect development. I am so grateful for the Brain Balance program and all I have learned there, but continue to read and study on my own as time allows. It seems like every time I read or reread a book related to neurology or child development, I learn more my and something new clicks. Because of some of this research, I am more aware of some of the signs that point to potential problems in the future. That is probably both a blessing and a curse. Either way, after noticing retained primitive reflexes in Marissa, Marcos and I have decided to have Marissa (our 4 year old) start doing home exercises with the boys. I had always intended on having the whole family do home exercises together, but realized after starting the program how difficult monitoring multiple children simultaneously can be. Marissa joined them on occasion, but I never made it a mandatory thing for her. However, we have now decided to have her join them three times a day for home exercises rather than waiting until the boys finish the program. This has definitely taken from our already limited time and added to my own stress, but we are grateful to have tools to use when such things arise, and feel it unwise to wait with the new understanding we have. For all intents and purposes, Marissa would be considered neuro-typical. She has no diagnosed learning or behavioral problems. But retained primitive reflexes can cause all sorts of problems that very greatly in intensity and can emerge at different times throughout one's life. Needless to say, home exercises have truly become a family affair.
I had always intended to blog more and explain this process along the way, but as we got started on this journey, I realized just how limited my time was, especially with children struggling behaviorally as major developmental changes take place. It's AMAZING, but SUPER INTENSE! For the most part, I have lived in survival mode for the past several months. As such, I have had to limit my posts to brief updates on the boys' progress. However, my desire to bring hope to parents with children who struggle with all sorts of learning and behavioral problems reminds me of the need to share this knowledge. I know when I start talking about food sensitivities, nutrition, supplements, home exercises, eye patches, ear plugs, smells, music, core strength, balance, screen time, right brain and left brain, it is overwhelming. There is so much information and research behind everything we do. Hopefully my next several posts will help break it all down a bit so it's easier to understand.
