Rhythmic movements and primitive reflex integration make a big difference for speech, sleep, and more!
When Gabriel was young and just diagnosed with PDD, his mother was told there was no hope for him and that he should be put in an institution. His mother took the Brain and Sensory Foundations course and Gabriel quickly learned to focus using these special movements. After some years and various therapies, Gabriel continued to improve and became an honor student in high school!
Submitted by B.L., parent
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Unable to pay attention in class | Few to no attention issues in class |
| Attention issues were preventing learning and test completion | Huge gains in math scores |
| Bedtime was a struggle, often hours long and with tears and arguing | Falling asleep hours earlier, without a hard transition or negotiation |
| Significant language delay | Progress in clarity of speech |
| Struggled writing | Writing ability has improved dramatically in both form and speed |
| Ignored classmates | Showing classmates that he likes them |
Gabriel is a 7-year-old boy, in first grade, and has a diagnosis of PDD. He has multiple challenges, including auditory processing disorder, dysgraphia, significant expressive language delay as well as memory and attention issues. He is also challenged socially due to his communication disorders, and has difficulty staying still in class. The following time-line shows his progress as he worked with Neurodevelopmental Movement. His home movement sessions with parents included 3-4 times per week of reflex integration for 20-30 minutes, plus 7-10 minutes nightly of Rhythmic Movements [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course]. The following descriptions are written by Gabriel's mother.
Nov. 15, 2009
I wasn’t sure if our kids were going to be one of those instant success stories, but it looks like we are! For years we’ve struggled to get our kids to bed. We’ve tried so many things, but it’s always with fuss and tears and trying just to get them to lie down and be calm. Our 3-1/2-year-old (Jeremy) has been a bad sleeper since the early months, and didn’t even sleep through the night until 15 months old. Our kids usually end up going to sleep around 9:30 pm because it takes us from 8 pm to 9:30 to accomplish the task. Tonight Jeremy was asleep by 7:40 pm!!! Gabriel asleep by 8:10 pm. After our movement, I read my older son 3 stories, and then he lay down and said, “Good night, Mommy” and went to sleep. Holy cow! That’s usually the point in the evening when the arguing and negotiation begins.
Nov. 29, 2009
Steve [Gabriel's father] and I almost daily are astounded by Gabriel's progress. It's like he's waking up from a haze or something. He's become incredibly aware of minute details in his environment, and commenting on them. He's also able to complete some tasks without getting distracted, which is just incredible. The other day he spent 2 HOURS sitting QUIETLY listening to children's songs, then the days following kept singing them over and over. This is a child who rarely sang before. I just can't wait to share this with everybody!
Dec. 7, 2009
In only 3 weeks we have seen noticeable progress in:
- Ease and quickness of his writing
- Clarity of his speech
- Awareness of his environment - particularly notices small details and comments on them
- Increased ability to focus on "boring" tasks and to follow through without distraction.
- He is engaging in activities that require close listening (like listening to kid song CDs) which before he would avoid.
- He is going to sleep with greater ease! Actually, both Jeremy and Gabriel go straight to sleep after spending 10 minutes doing some of the Rhythmic Movement [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course] . It's a miracle!
January, 23, 2010
They say the proof is in the pudding, and Gabriel for sure shows how effective Neurodevelopmental Movement [from the Brain and Sensory Foundations course] can be. He absolutely loves doing it, and even when I'm tired he will beg for the movements. In just two short months we have seen such tremendous strides, we are amazed. The biggest areas of change have been:
- Writing ability has improved dramatically. Not only in form, but in speed.
- His speech has changed for the better, and he is asking a lot of "Why" questions, which previously he didn't.
- His awareness of his body in space has definitely increased, and his perception of his environment has taken on a whole new level of observation.
- His loving nature has expanded into beautiful expressions of love and compassion. I hear the girls at school aren't too thrilled with this, but it warms a mother's heart to hear that he is showing his classmates that he likes them--especially when he previously ignored them.
Feb. 8, 2010
This past couple weeks we have seen a huge milestone leap for Gabriel. His attention abilities have improved so much he was able to do an entire math test by himself -- and he got 100% on it! Not only that, for a portion of the day they do these one-minute, mini-timed math tests, and for months he could not pass level 1. Suddenly in a matter of one week, he passed level 1, level 2 and level 3! Before Neurodevelopmental Movement Gabriel would have to be repeatedly reminded to stay on task, but clearly that has changed. We are thrilled with his progress! I had read about movement therapy and heard about dramatic results, but I never dreamed we would be seeing anything so wonderful.
September 24, 2010
This is amazing, the teachers said they are having little to no attention issues from Gabriel in class! Wow! He does need extra prompts because he is not hearing instructions, and he often delays starting because he is looking around to see what others are doing (they assume to make sure he heard correctly). He does have a full-time aide, but they said he pretty much just needs the aide when the class is noisy and he can't hear instruction. For the most part, he is right there with the teacher. He's not even wiggly in class!! [This was a huge problem for Gabriel last year.] When they said that I said, "Well, that just proves that the neurodevelopmental movement works." Hah!
Also, and this is also amazing, yesterday the teacher asked a question about how the students solved a math problem. In other words, what was the process/logic used. She said Gabriel was the first to raise his hand and he got up and answered the question so eloquently, the teacher was stunned. She said he explained it better than she could have explained it. Finally he is being seen for the bright boy that he is!!"
[Edited for length and clarity. emphasis added]