I am learning so much on this journey. I have chronicled my journey, you can read it here A New Journey and The Journey Continues.
Thanks to a comment made on the first blog post of this journey, I am reading a book called Disconnected Kids by Dr. Robert Melillo. I haven’t finished it yet, but I’ve already learned some interesting things.
[SIDE NOTE: Thanks for your comments, readers. Sharing your experience here can be life changing for another person!]
In his book Dr. Melillo tells parents what is happening in their kids’ brains, what the problems are, why they present specific symptoms, and gives parents tools to change it. Some children have issues learning academically, some children have issues with social learning 
and discerning nonverbal behavior. All these challenges are the result of a functional imbalance between the two hemispheres of the brain.
The functional imbalance or disconnect in the brain happens as the child is developing. Genes that would turn on to build connections in certain areas in the brain are not turning on as they are supposed to. So what a child ends up with is a maturity imbalance where one area of the brain is growing and developing normally and another area of the brain – usually the other side of the brain – is delayed. You can have a child with an area of the brain that is 10 years old and another part of the brain that is four years old, functionally. And, given the imbalance, the child cannot actively engage the immature part of its brain in the learning process.
There is no destructive or degenerative process occurring in the brain, it is merely a communication problem. The two sides of the brain are processing at different speeds and therefore cannot work together. If you were to take my old 386K IBM compatible computer that I used to work on when I first entered the workforce, and you connected it to the lightning-fast computer that I use today… they just wouldn’t be able to work together. This is a good analogy of what is going on in our children’s brains.
A child will be affected differently depending on where the immature portion of the brain is located. Children with autism, Asperger’s, ADHD, OCD, and Tourette’s all suffer from right-brain weakness. They tend to be very intelligent/high IQ, but they struggle socially, emotionally and can’t read nonverbal communication. They are clumsy and awkward in their gross motor skills. They tend to be anxious, hyper, impulsive.
Children with dyslexia and learning disabilities tend to suffer from left-brain weakness. They are slow in school and have a hard time remembering things. They have poor fine motor skills. However, they can be incredibly empathetic.
I am still reading and still learning. Thanks for joining me on the journey.
MUAH!
Xoxo
~ Sugah
For more blogs by Sugah click here.
Hey sugah,
you have mentioned in your post,you had a friend who helped with the detox treatments,is she is Doctor doing treatments.If so,can you mention her whereabouts.
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Sugah, PLEASE keep reading! That book completely changed my life! And if you need any clarification on anything, I’m your girl. We relocated to Atlanta for 5 months last year, so that Aidan could attend the Brain Balance Program. I got a crash course in functional neurology from Dr. Peter Scire at the Roswell Brain Balance Center, where Aidan attended. I needed to understand EVERYTHING that was happening with Aidan, and Dr. Scire was happy to oblige. By the way, Mimi’s grandson from the comment above is my son, Aidan. I chronicled our entire journey through the program (and beyond) on my blog http://www.brainbalanceaidan.blogspot.com The program is tough, but completely worth it. Without a doubt, Brain Balance is the best investment we have ever made in Aidan’s future. KEEP READING!! xoxo
This may not be relevant at all, but we really thought before my son’s regression that he was going to be right-handed (our pediatrician swears this in our imaginations, and that it was too soon for handedness to be determined). He’s left-handed now, and I wonder if he ended up switching because his left-brain wasn’t functioning enough…
Thank you for the review. This book is going on my read list.
Dear Sugah, KEEP READING! My seven year old grandson spent all of last summer in the Brain Balance program. This program helped change his life! Today, he is a second grade honor student! He still has his moments, sometimes entire days, where his issues come to the forefront but my most amazing daughter has the tools to help him turn his day around. I have received many blessings in my life. Brain Balance is one of them!
That is wonderful news! I am looking into the program myself. I love hearing/reading about others experiences. Thanks for sharing.
My son Ian, has autism, he is non-verbal & has CP(He was dx’d with a perinatal birth injury) I have been in the revovery process since he was almost 3 yrs. Of age. He is 11 now. He is so much healthier now, but still struggling. He said his first word 8/12/12, “mama” 10 days before he turned 11. <3<3 but no verbaling since. He does use an iPad2, using an AAC device since 3 1/2 yrs old. He does spell when prompted, uses it for requesting otherwise. His body awareness has increased, still in pul-ups, but started independantly changing last week.I am so proud of him!! He wears leg braces, the doc wants him to get surgery next month to cut & stretch(lengthen achilles tendon) his hamstrings are also very tight. I have had epilepsy for over 20 yrs., left temporal lobe, I am due for surgery, because it is intractable. But I am afraid, because my son needs so much care. I decided to get VNS implant instead. Sorry for TMI, lol, but just wanted to let you know I am also left brain affected, not severley though. Sending much love to you & all the Independent thinkers out there!! <3<3 and my son is my world…love him so & all the children out there xoxxo
Oh, lol, and thank you so much for this!! I am getting this book 😀
Thank you so much for sharing, Nicole.