Have you noticed that when we make progress or an advancement with a discovery, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and that’s all we hear about?
Everyone seems to forget about the other pieces of the puzzle and thinks this ‘new advancement’ or ‘discovery’ is the answer to all of our problems.
Our culture loves a ‘magic solution’ and I am hear to tell you – there is no magic solution. There are no overnight fixes – not even ‘7 day fixes’ as a mom I was recently talking to was promised by a specialist.
Primitive Reflex Integration is Just the Beginning
I’ve talked a lot about primitive reflexes in recent weeks and how a recent study found that in a study of 1000’s of kids with learning and behaviour difficulties, ALL of them had retained primitive reflexes.
This is exciting and leads us to so many alternative solutions like primitive reflex integration therapy which has been shown to significantly improve learning and behaviour difficulties.
However, these reflexes are not the only problem that needs to be addressed to improve connectivity and organization in the brain.
When One Side of the Brain is Doing all the Work
Most of the time kids with learning and behaviour difficulties like ADHD, dyslexia and learning disabilities have one brain hemisphere that is underdeveloped and one side of the brain that is overdeveloped.
Identifying and developing the weaker brain hemisphere is an essential next step to optimizing brain development. Primitive reflexes alone are not enough. This is because primitive reflex integration is homo lateral meaning one-sided movement.
The crossover movement of creeping and crawling as the reflexes integrate are what develops the corpus callosum through the coordinated movements that are required of the limbs.
Brain Imbalance
Imbalance of brain hemispheres can occur when there is poor development of the corpus callosum or when one side of the brain develops at a faster rate than the other side.
Functional Disconnection Syndrome
It’s been known for decades that we all have a dominance when it comes to brain hemispheres, but if it goes too far then imbalance can occur.
The reason many children have learning or behavioural difficulties and are also gifted in certain areas is due to brain imbalance which is different than dominance.
Imbalance is when one hemisphere is highly developed while the other half can be years behind in development. After awhile, the overdeveloped side doesn’t even bother sending signals to the weaker side.
Dr. Melillo – The Founder of Brain Balance
In the 1990’s, Dr. Robert Melillo discovered that kids with learning and behaviour issues struggled because of a disconnection that was related to immature development of one side of the brain.
He found that overdevelopment could occur on the side that was compensating for the underdeveloped side that was not growing as quickly. Over time this resulted in the overdeveloped side taking over which contributed to what he called ‘developmental asynchrony’ or brain imbalance.
What Dr. Melillo found was that there was a disconnect between the two brain hemispheres and thus less electrical activity on one side of the brain.
He determined that this was not caused by an injury, brain damage, genetic mutation or chemical imbalance, but rather that one side of the brain was not functioning as well because of underactivity due to less connections and neurons that are not as well developed. He learned that this problem could be corrected and most importantly, this intervention is safe.
Why Different Kids Have Different Symptoms
Dr. Melillo discovered that depending on which brain hemisphere was under and over-developed determined different symptoms and diagnoses. He also found that brain imbalance created symptoms in the body as well and were not just related to cognition but could affect function of various systems such as immunity, motor skills, digestion, inflammation, sensory processing and more.
His method known as ‘brain balance’ or hemispheric integration stimulates and strengthens the weaker hemisphere which helps to bring the brain back into balance and thus the symptoms and even diagnoses can disappear.
Brain Hemispheric Integration Therapy
Integrating primitive reflexes is essential and the first layer of a bottom-up approach, but it is only the first layer of the foundation. So if you’ve tried that and your child is still struggling it is likely that other layers of that foundation have to be built: integrating brain hemispheres, vision exercises, improving vestibular and proprioceptive function are all areas that need to be addressed afterwards
In my 6 month program the Full Potential Formula, we work through all the brain levels and reasons for breakdown so that kids can build their brain from the bottom up and bust through their apparent limitations.
Schedule a free Clarity Call while my program is still on promo!
Sources:
Dr. Robert Melillo – Disconnected Kids
Ian McGilChrist – The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
