Other Conditions

I have seen several clients with “other conditions,” such as learning and emotional problems arising from premature birth, and from “chemo brain.” While there are only a few client stories in this category right now, I am very encouraged by the profound effect of Brain Integration.

Client Stories…

Problems Resulting from Premature Birth

Scott Clark

Scott was extremely premature, weighing just over two pounds at birth. He came for Brain Integration Technique at age 16, and his mother’s letter, below, describes his lifelong issues and his dramatic response to Brain Integration Technique.

November 19, 2012

Dear Lynn:

I am writing this letter to provide you with some feedback regarding the brain integration therapy you conducted on my son, Scott Clark, on September 24 and 25, 2012.

My son was extremely premature, born at only 24 weeks of pregnancy and weighing a mere 1080 grams (just over 2 pounds). Scott was born by Cesarean section, in the middle of the night, as his vital signs reached alarming lows. His eyelids were fused and his ears were flat. I had been given two steroid shots to help advance his lungs about a week before he was born. He had no remarkable medical issues, he was not given any oxygen, but he was put in a closed incubator for about a month. I think it is relevant to point out that studies show that babies who received steroids spent fewer days on ventilation and required less supplemental oxygen, which are clearly major benefits, however, had a much higher chance of developing brain abnormalities. Scott was in the hospital for almost three months, and was just over 4 pounds when I brought him home. He developed RVS at about a year old, but completely recovered from it without complication. Throughout his childhood, he has suffered from ear infections and the usual cold brought home from school, but nothing major.

His milestones were delayed though, each and every one of them. Scott did not walk until about 18 months, his speech was unrecognizable until about 3 years 3 months old. Yearly hearing screenings were within normal limits, his eye exams were all good. Scott has had an IEP every year in school, from 1st grade until present. He has always had difficulty focusing with the background noises in school. In 1st grade, he had been classified as “Speech and Language Impaired” and received special services through the school. He had remarkable problems with dexterity, and was in Occupational Therapy three times a week. He had major difficulty holding his pencil.

Scott also showed signs of being emotionally unstable and was classified as “Emotionally Disturbed” due to his lack of social skills and inability to cope with any teasing from his peers. He frequently was removed from class and sent to see the school psychiatrist. He had many parapsychological evaluations, and it became clear early on that there was something off about him, but hard to pinpoint exactly what. Until recently, he frequently would stare into space oblivious to his surroundings. He was very mild mannered most of the time, but would have emotional outbursts when the other kids would tease him. He has always been somewhat unstable emotionally. As he has aged, his emotional issues seemed to progress. It was obvious that he had juvenile depression issues. It was obvious that he had low self esteem and very strong feelings of no self worth. I am sure that you can imagine the heartache of watching your only child grow up with such issues. Every parent wants to see their child happy, and emotional issues are especially hard to deal with. If I had to describe, in a word, how I felt for most of his life, I think it would be “helpless.

He is 16 years old now, and as I am writing this letter, my son is different now. Since the BIT two months ago, Scott has progressed in so many areas, it will be hard to list them all! He now speaks clearly, he sits up straighter, he actually offers conversation whereas before, he was very hard to get to come out of his room much less socialize. His ability to retain information now is uncanny. We are amazed.

Since the BIT, he has brought home the best report card ever, and the class that he was failing before the BIT has showed consistent improvement every single week. No more falling asleep in class, no more spacing out. He is alert now. His teachers also noticed the differences in him, nothing sudden. He has improved in every area of his life. He is so happy now, his hygiene has even improved ! He does his homework without being told to, and has been steadily turning everything in. It is just remarkable how much my son has progressed since having the BIT.

I think that all kids struggling in school should get BIT, the earlier the better. Lynn, the work you do is so important and has absolutely changed my son’s life for the better. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please feel free to offer my phone number to anyone that is considering BIT, nothing would make me happier than to convince the parents of a child that struggles like mine did to go ahead and have the therapy. There are a number of Preemie Support Group websites that should know about BIT. The world should know about BIT.

Very Sincerely Yours,

Nikki C. Prescott, Arizona

 

Isaac

Isaac weighed less than 3 pounds at birth, needed oxygen and a feeding tube for three months, and was growing up with numerous debilitating issues. This letter is from his mother, after she brought him for Brain Integration at age 7:

My son is extraordinary in every way. He is a determined young man and has been so since birth which was a good thing because he had to overcome some tremendous hurdles. He was born premature at 29 weeks gestation, weighing only 2lb. 11 ozs. He needed oxygen for 3 and a half months, a feeding tube for 3 months, and was left with various physical problems one of which was labeled ADHD by his physicians.

School was particularly difficult because he could not sit still and focus for any length of time. An adult had to sit with him to keep him on task. He had an “I can’t” attitude before trying something new and when he did try, he was quick to call it quits. He was impatient and unreasonable with his siblings and my husband and me. Temper tantrums always ended with, “I’m so stupid!”

Things were escalating with my son and I was at wit’s end. Our family had known of Brain Integration for about two years, but it took some truly difficult circumstances to surface in our son’s life which forced me to reevaluate what options may be left that we hadn’t tried, it was then that we decided to call Laura Fields. Just speaking to Laura on the phone for the first time was a vital step in restoring a hope that had been dwindling for some time; her optimism was such a comfort in such a difficult time for our family.

Since Isaac was seen by Laura, he has so many notable improvements, many of which, I never anticipated. He is able to focus and listen when people speak to him. He is generally able to look in their eyes and has an overall sense of awareness that was not possible for him in the past. Isaac’s handwriting improved, when Isaac concentrates on his work he is able to write very nicely. In the past his handwriting was nearly impossible to read. His reading comprehension is substantially better and he recalls facts from literature, when before, he was unable to answer questions about what he read. Some learning assignments strike such a chord with Isaac these days that he brings them up in conversation outside of class because he is genuinely interested, which is something I could have never imagined before Brain Integration. Relationally he is much more successful than he once was. He is better with his peers and siblings than he was in the past. Isaac has been affected by Brain Integration both on a personal/relational level as well as academic.

We are forever grateful for the Brain Integration Technique and the growth that it has allowed for our incredible kid!”

 

 

Chemo Brain

Mia

Mia was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age 4 and underwent a series of chemotherapy treatments for almost three years. This formerly very bright and outgoing child had severe learning and emotional problems after chemotherapy, and her doctors said that this was due to the chemical effects of the chemotherapy – that she had “chemo brain” and that there was nothing that could be done about it. Fortunately, Mia’s mother called Laura. Here is what happened.

Our daughter Mia was diagnosed at age four with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Prior to diagnosis, Mia was in pre-school and doing very well. She was already writing and well ahead of her peers. We thought school was going to be a breeze for her. Unfortunately, that was not to be the case. With the diagnosis of ALL, Mia would have to take daily chemo, anti- nausea drugs, anesthesia, shots and steroids for 2 1/2 – 3 years. With that being said, the side effects of the chemo were very hard on her. She didn’t want to write anymore because her hands would shake so badly she couldn’t understand what she was writing and it was just so messy she would erase until holes were made in her paper. Reading was very hard as well. She couldn’t retain any information, so by the time she would sound out the first syllable, she couldn’t remember what she just said. Retaining any information, numbers, etc. was a difficult task for her. Her short term memory was horrible which didn’t help with a 6 year old trying very hard to read. We consulted with numerous doctors in regards to her learning and we were told that what she has is very common. They referred to it as “chemo brain”. We were told that her short term memory loss, poor concentration, not being able to multi-task and other things were all due to her long term chemo use. We noticed physical changes as well. She walked with a foot drag, which made it hard for her to balance or walk up and down stairs. She couldn’t march in place or do simple jumping jacks. Her eye hand coordination was off which made it hard to play games with her siblings. Her balance was off as well, she would wobble and fall off her bike even though it had training wheels on.

I heard about the wonders of BIT in regards to children with ADD/ADHD. I wasn’t completely sure it could help my daughter because her diagnosis was chemically induced by chemo. We met with Mrs. Laura Fields and decided to give it a try. Mia was 8 years old when we went for brain integration. Laura saw Mia a total of six (6) times in a two week period and the results were amazing! We noticed right away that Mia’s balance was better, she was able to go up and down stairs normally instead of putting the same foot forward with each step. We also saw great improvement in Mia’s ability to focus and concentrate which immediately was noticed by her teachers. Her reading and handwriting were improving as well. I sent an email to Laura to explain some of the changes we were noticing;

“As for Mia….where do I start!! I was walking into the school this Friday, the receptionist had Mia’s spelling test waiting for me. Mia actually spelled 11 out of the 15 words correctly! This would have been impossible before brain integration!”

“While we were waiting for the assembly to get started, her teacher recognized us in the audience and ran over to us and told us about her spelling test. She was so proud of Mia and she told me she has seen tremendous improvement and she is very impressed with her progress. Guess why we were at the assembly? Mia received A & B honor roll!”

“At home Mia is now riding her bike without falling and her eye hand coordination has shown major improvement. When we play Wii Mario cart she now joins us and is even winning!”

“One last big thing we are noticing is that she is now able to communicate better when it comes to her emotions. This has to be BIT because she was not like this before. I didn’t know her changes would be this drastic and this would help with communication and emotion. I’m speechless! “

“You have no idea how grateful we are!”

Brain integration has changed Mia’s life and ours as well!”

~ Harriet and Steven Chenoweth