Week 11 of Neuro-feedback

It's week 11 and we are exhausted....but oh, so encouraged.

It's been weeks since our last update on how the Neuro-Feedback sessions are going for several reasons.  First of all we are just tired.  The schedule of early morning appointments an hour away in Salt Lake City, combined with Matt's work pressures and the normal demands of young children and schoolagers with homework, has stretched our family's energy levels.

Additionally, as Dr. Hammond explained to us, sometimes the therapy can exacerbate symptoms.... and it has.  The anxiety from everything from schoolwork to appearance to peers.  The paranoia about safety even in our own home with the dad home, doors locked and alarm on.  The waking in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep.  The increased moodiness to the extreme.  We've had to think once or twice...."Is this working?!!"

BUT, here we are starting week 11 and we are so thrilled to report that the anxiety is down, the mood recovers are faster, and the paranoia hasn't been mentioned in 2 weeks.  The night time wakings are still there, but the fatigue levels are not too dibilitating.  There are now reports of good dreams, waking up rested and happy- literally popping out of bed instead of crawling or being pulled for 30 minutes.  We also are hearing much more laughing and giggling.  Just fun, light hearted behavior which is so very exciting to us!

The disappointing part of the week was when Matt called me 15 mintues after the Monday morning session started explaining that they were headed back towards Alpine because Dr. Hammond had accidentally double booked, which sadly meant one extra unnecessary early morning this week.  So sad but still so worth it.

Five Fav Parenting & Child Development Books

Here's a list of my top five parenting or child development books....in no particular order.

1.  Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka-  Whether or not you feel you have a "spirit" child (but in my experience almost every family has at least one...I just happen to have 4!) this book has sound child development practices.  Seriously, if I had to just give one suggested read, this would be it.

2.  Siblings Without Rilvary by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish-  Read this in grad school & then had teh chance to attend a conference seminar given by Adele Faber.  Practical, brilliant parenting advice!  I think I need to read it again for my boys.....

3.  The Five Love Languages of Children by Chapman & Campbell-  Took good principles from his The Five Love Languages for adults.  You can not apply the principles in the same way to children.  Excellent read on finding you and your child's ways of giving and receiving love.

4.  Three Steps to a Strong Family by Linda & Richard Eyre-  Took a lot of guidance from the Eyres on family traditions & how to teach children about economic responsibility.

5.  Touchpoints by T. Berry Brazelton-  Basic Children Devlopement reference guide.

The above list are the must reads for parents.  The following books are on the as it applies list.

6.  Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber-  Especially helpful with babies and toddlers.

7.  Teaching Children Joy by Linda & Richard Eyre-  Enjoy their Joy School Program with my youngest.

8.  Quirky Kids  by Perri Klass & Eileen Costello-  When to worry and when not to.

9.  The Perfect Parent (as taught in the scriptures) by Gary Taylor-  Excellent!  Don't let the title scare you!

10.  Is This Your Child? by Doris Rapp-  Excellent introduction to allergies in children & adults.

I do have another list....this one is specific to the special needs of my children.  I'll share this list on another day.

Do you have a favorite child development or parenting book recommendation?  Do share!

Measuring Sticks

Wise parents understand that we should not "compare" one child to another.  However, wise parents also watch, listen and learn from other wise parents and sometimes we can fall into a trap.  Sometimes we can take the measuring stick that others use for their children to measure our own children.  

I've been caught in this trap.  

While there are important child rearing principles which should be taught to all children:  honesty, obedience, respect, hard work, kindness;  we must be careful to appropriately choose the expectations we set upon each child.  When inappropriate expectations are placed upon a child, both the child and the parent will become discouraged.  This is especially true for children with unique or "special" needs.  I've seen this at home with my children, and in working with other children through teaching in school and church settings.

-When I see my friend's child come the first time she is called.....and I have to give a 5 minute, 3 minute, and 1 minute warning to transition to dinner or bedtime or the grocery store.....;  I sometimes wonder, "What am I doing wrong?" "Why does my child not respond like other children?"


-When I hear my friend's child accept correction without responding with a self loathing rage;  I sometimes wonder, "Why can't my child be teachable?" OR "Am I not building my child's self esteem enough?"


-When I children easily wear socks, puts their shoes and church clothes on happily and gets in the car for church without crying; I sometimes wonder "Why do we have the same battle week after week and how does this child end up walking the church halls barefoot?"

Finding the appropriate measuring stick becomes particularly tricky when you have more than one child.  I remember telling my mom that it was not fair that she punished me differently than my brother.  My mom was wise.  She tried to teach my brothers and me the same lessons of life, but she realize that she needed to apply a different measuring stick to each of us.  My brothers and I are different people.  We have different strengths and have had different experiences in our adult years, but as children we each felt loved and valued for the child we were, because my parents worked hard to set individual expectations for each of us.


So, how do we set our own measuring sticks?


Parents with special needs children need to abandon the idea that their child should be measured against typical developing children.  Most often, a parent of a special needs child will find more comfort and validation (as well as strategies for working with that child) from the pages of a book specifically addressing their child's needs, than from talking to a neighbor they may admire as a parent....unless that neighbor has a child with similar struggles.  I have found trusted recommendations for such books from the websites of support foundations for my children's disorders.


And when you realize that your child and your life will never look or be typical then you will cry tears, dry them, and resolve to find appropriate expectations which will challenge but not frustrate your child and yourself.

How does it work?

This morning was another Neuro-Feedback appointment.

Matt walked in and said, "Dr. Hammond, we have just one question on our minds.....how does it work?"  How does Neuro-Feedback really work?  We know about what he does, but we want to know the HOW.

Dr. Hammond's response:  "We do not know.  We just know the results we get."  And then he proceeded to give more examples of children who have benefitted from Neuro-Feedback.

That's enough for us.....

The Brain Scan Results & The First Two Treatments

It's taken us a few days to process and begin to understand just a fraction of the brain scan results we recieved on Monday.  Above is a picture of just one page of the results.

As you look at this photo you will several different colors.  The colors indicate overactive (red), underactive (blue) and normal (green).  Light green is the middle between blue & green.  Yellow is the middle between green and red--so there are concerns in this areas, but not at great.

It's as if Dr. Hammond painted a picture to the smallest detail of our child without having a personal relationship with our child. For example, by analyzing the brain scan data, Dr. Hammond would say: "it appears that your child is worrying and dwelling on things which I assume is adding to and creating anxiety, because I am seeing a very high level of brain activity between the areas of the brain that control both long and short term memory" or "see this area in 'red,' this is the area controlling physical sensitivities it is also overactive which would lead to your child feeling uncomfortable with how things feel against their body, and this overactivity is requiring your child's brain to overprocess these sensory inputs, which is affecting other areas in the brain--as shown in the correlation between several other areas of the brain being acted upon by this area that controls processing physical sensitivities."

Can anyone make sense of any of that?!

To simplify, this is what we have taken away so far.  Our child's most significant concerns are:

1.  Over sensitivity to sensory inputs recieved through the skin.
2.  The "worry" areas of the brain are rings of fire--over active.
3.  The memory areas of the brain are being greatly affected.

Everything that comes into our child's brain is being processes at least 2 to 4 times--which causes worry, "over thinking" and slow processing.  In other words I've been emotional to realize just how hard our child is working to learn and to function in life.

Dr. Hammond explained that after reviewing the brain scan for our child, these are our child's most important points to focus on first and then we will move to the next areas of concern.

This morning our child completed the second day of Neuro-feedback treatment.  Dr. Hammond targeted the areas of sensory, worry and memory.  An eletrode was placed on the ear and one on the specific point of the brain.  He looked at that area and for simplicity's sake he said something like, "Oh, this area is suppossed to be running at 40 mega hertz per second and it is running at 20 mega hertz."  He would then apply the smallest amount of electricity (less than my cell phone) to that spot to bring the brain waves to 40 mega hertz and hold it there for 5 seconds.  Over time this is to re-pattern the brain impulses in that area to a "normal" more typical pattern.

We are to watch for headaches, fatique or a sudden increase of energy or agitation and report these to Dr. Hammond.  On the first day of treatment our child demonstrated an uncharacteristic goofiness, and playfulness which is uncommon.

We are all trying to settle into a new schedule to accomodate treatment as this requires very early mornings and a total disruption to our family schedule.  It is so worth it, because it means everything just to have hope.

The Brain Scan

This is the electrode cap worn during the scan.

Tuesday was a the big day for the QEEG of my beautiful child's brain.

I quote, "This was the worst thing that has been done to my body."

It's not an easy test.  We washed hair 3 times with a special anti-residue shampoo.  Twenty-seven electrodes place on the head with a thick gel on each to help increase the connection to the electrical firings of the brainwaves.  (Imagine how an already sensitive child deals with 27 spots of goo on their head, in their hair and on their ears.)  A dull needle pressed against the forehead in multiple places to ensure the electrodes make contact with the skin.  One must sit perfectly still,  as the slightest movement of a finger or an eye will add additional brainwaves which will have to be "cleaned up" or removed from the scan for accuracy and yet avoid falling asleep in such a relaxed position.  The hardest part was the firm pressure which was placed on closed eyes to prevent the eyeballs from moving (twitching, or random eye movements or flutters).

The aftermath:  fatigue, a splitting headache, discomfort from the gel and two scabs on the forehead where the blunt needle was pushed repeatedly.

The wonderful perspective, even from my child is that the worst is over.  The Neuro-Feedback visits, which begin tomorrow, should only include one electrode on the ear and one on the scalp somewhere above the forwhead (no more goo necessary) sending out very, very small electrical currents which should not be felt on the scalp.

We know we are in good hands as Dr. Hammond is the leading Neuro-Feedback specialist in the country.  We are so grateful to live within an hours drive of the University of Utah Hospital.

We are so very anxious to speak with the doctor about the results.....but will have to be patient until Monday.

Interruptions or Stumbling Blocks

I am frequently asked, even as recent as this morning, "When is it time to seek help or intervention" for my child who is struggling in a particular way.

Here is my rule of thumb.

As parents we often use the terms, "It's just a phase," or "He's getting better," or "It's just part of her quirky personality."  These phrases can be true.....but when the particular behavior or concerns become so pervasive that they hinder or impair the daily routine of life, it is time.

CHILD DEVELPMENT TRUTH #1:  Early intervention is key--in any illness, disorder, learning impairment, or developmental delay.

Years of research tells us in the Child Development world that when a child's needs are identified early--and early depends on the particular disorder or delay and when it is manifested--when intervention and treatment happens early, many gaps can be filled.

Picture a ladder which is missing rungs and the child can not climb any hire than the lowest missing rung.  The child becomes "stuck" in his development.  If through intervention with the right doctor, therapist, or other specialist the missing rung can be taught or developed or enabled through medication, the child can continue on his development path, sometimes without even a hint of what the initial concern was.  Or sometimes the development continues until he hits the next missing rung and the work to intervene continues.

The brain is amazingly adaptable.  We now know through speech, physical, occupation or emotional therapies the brain can be re-trained.  The body can even develop new nerve pathways to communicate properly.

The concern with ignoring or putting off intervention is that unhealthly coping strategies WILL develop just to help the child function throught the daily routine of the day.  So, instead of the child's struggle being an interruption in life it can become a huge stumbling block.

I have witnessed many, many children, who with early intervention, successfully continue climbing their ladder of development.  I have also witnessed children who have not recieved this intervention and developed negative, unhealthly coping strategies just to try to navigate and survive their daily routine.

As parents we must have the courage to seek the necessary early intervention turning out child's struggles into mere interruptions rather than life altering stumbling blocks.