“I adopted a special needs child who was developmentally delayed. She had OT and PT but still did not have full use of her right arm. I took her to a Brain Gym consultant who did a “balance” with her. After that balance she was able to use her arm fully. I was so amazed that I signed up for a class to learn more about Brain Gym. I use it all the time now for my children and for myself.”–parent
Thanks to Maurine Maslen, a licensed Brain Gym(R) Instructor wrote to share this story:
“Brain Gym has just changed my life!
One dream of mine and my life-long endeavor, is to see my daughter ride a bike without training wheels before I die. She is now 11 1/2 years old and is on the autistic spectrum. When I was at the Brain Gym course for Special Needs children, the instructor told me the exercises to perform with her before riding a bike. I was renewed with hope after the Brain Gym course, so much so, that I just bought my daughter a new bike.
Three days ago, my neighbors were cringing at the sight of my daughter trying to ride a bike. There was no balance or coordination. I have to admit it was a pitiful sight. Today was different. We did core activation and the cross crawls and off I launched her. Amazingly she rode 25 feet. Then 30 feet, then 10 feet, and then 50 feet. Before our half hour bike riding session was over, she launched the bike herself and peddled 10 feet. It was a miracle.
But there is more to the story. I was celebrating and so was she. I told everyone, even her 16 year old brother. Later that day, he decided without telling me that he was going to help her ride her bike. I heard some noise outside and I went running. He was pushing my daughter on her bike down the street. He yelled at me, “Mom, you said she could ride a bike, she can’t even balance on it by herself.” I could see her frustration and pain, and I ran 1/2 a block down the street to help her. I told her to get off her bike. We again did core activation and cross crawls. She got back on her bike and rode off with ease. If Brain Gym can change my daughter, then I will be doing this program for the rest of my life.”
“I would like to share with you what happened yesterday with my daughter, K. Late at night, at her father’s house, she became uncontrollably upset for a long time with no sight of calming down. After a while, she proposed to her father, on her own, that they practice PACE and other activities you taught her. He agreed and she soon calmed down and peacefully went to sleep. Thanks for the good advice. I am happy that K realizes the positive impact the activities are having on her and that she takes it upon herself to utilize the techniques.
Thank you!”
This is from a parent and Brain Gym student of Licensed Instructor Pam Formosa:
” Our son was born with a diaphragmatic hernia & given only a 35% chance to live. He had a number of operations before he was 2 years old. He is now in the 4th grade. We started noticing around two that he was extremely bright, but he was extremely sensitive to touch, taste, his environment, and especially noise. We have so many pictures of him with his hands over his ears.
Kindergarten was a nightmare. We looked everywhere for help. We had him evaluated for learning disorders, and received OT, speech & physical therapy. His sensitivities starting getting worse: tags on his shirt, loud noises, bugs, rain, different temperatures, etc. Everything bothered him.
At age 8 he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. We were constantly looking for ways to get him through the day without frequent meltdowns. It seemed like we tried everything.
Then, during the summer of 2006, I heard about Brain Gym®. At first, being skeptical, I did as much research as I possibly could. Brain Gym made sense to me. I contacted Pam Formosa of Pathways To Learning & signed up for the “Brain Gym® 101” three-day course. My husband took it as well. I fell in love with Brain Gym! I came home & started doing the exercises with my son and explained to him why & how Brain Gym works. He too thought that it made sense, and then he started seeing it work!
Wow! My son has made so much progress. He loves Brain Gym and he understands it! He is able to get through most of his days at school without major meltdowns. He has learned techniques from Brain Gym to notice “signs” of when he is on the verge of a meltdown, and he uses the exercises he has learned to stop the meltdown from happening and “stay in the loop”. Not only does Brain Gym help him with his anxiety and meltdowns, it has helped with his sensory issues as well. Brain Gym has also helped us as it gives the two of us something to do together to help each other out. I love it when I am feeling stressed, and he says to me, “Mom, you look stressed. Here is a hug. Now, maybe we should do some Hookups.”
My son loves Brain Gym so much that he has been sharing it with his teachers and classmates. His teacher now does Brain Gym every morning with his entire class. He recently told me that he has noticed a difference in his classes’ attention span since starting Brain Gym.
My son is a happier and healthier child because of it. Brain Gym will definitely be part of our lives for a lifetime! Thank you! ” E. B. – mother of C., age 9