virtual autism treatment; sensory processing, ADHD

brainconnex@gmail.com

Clinically proven online movement & sensory programs to improve development, learning, sensory processing, behavior, and attention & focus in children.

Brain Connex Therapy online primitive reflex & brain integrations program was created for children with developmental & neurological delays, autism, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, cerebral palsy, and more. Our foundational programs provide a combination of primitive reflex integration, neurodevelopmental movements, sensory stimulation, and brain hemispheric balance techniques to bring optimal results…all in the comfort of your home. We focus on accelerated outcomes and greater access to care for all families in need.

Brain Connex Therapy is designed to develop:

*Balance;

*Muscle tone, stamina, and controlled motor movements;

*Posture and control;

*Body and sensory awareness;

*Gross and fine motor movements;

*Self-control, persistence and organization;

*Language, rhythm and communication skills;

*Attention, listening and processing of sound;

*Self-esteem and confidence;

*Improved reading, writing, and learning ability.

Children who demonstrate delays and/or difficulties in the following areas can benefit from our program:

*Concentration/Attention/Memory

*Speech, Language

*Written Expression & Reading Comprehension

*Social Communication/skills

*Behavior

*Fine motor delays

*Gross motor delays

*Anxiety, Depression, Decreased self-worth

*Processing Speed

*Sensory Processing

“Our mission is to improve as many lives as possible while empowering clients with knowledge, and passionately learning from continued research in neurological movement to continuously improve treatment methods for optimal results.”

Results seen with Specific Conditions

Autism

ADHD

Sensory Processing

Dyslexia & Learning

Dyspraxia

Vision Issues

brainconnextherapy

Do you remember when you were learning to drive a

Do you remember when you were learning to drive a car? You had to focus so hard on all the elements....making sure you looked in all the mirrors; pressed down on the brake in time to give you enough space between cars; watch for pedestrians in the cross walk; and constant visual scanning of the environment for other cars.
Do you remember it taking almost 5 minutes to change lanes or back out of a parking spot? Because you had to do so many things consciously before making the move. And you probably turned the radio down to concentrate, LOL!

This is how we learn. We consciously engage all motor & sensory systems needed for a task. We repeat this over and over until the cerebellum makes the movements automatic.

Now when you drive you can have the radio blaring, drinking your coffee, and talking to a passenger....all while changing lanes on a highway going 75 mph!! It's because our brain automated so many tasks that you don't need to consciously think as hard as when you started.

This is how our kids learn as well. But our children with neuro- and developmental delays do not have the developed cerebellum that gives them a foundation to automate movements in the first place. So they can practice a task (balance, throwing, catching, kicking, biking, etc) over and over to exhaustion without it becoming an automated movement. The brain needs to foundational skills FIRST, then the cerebellum is able to grow and create automated movement patterns.

This foundation, in order, includes:
* primitive reflex integration
* sensory & motor system integration
* cerebellum (brain training): visual-motor, balance, coordination, bilateral integration
* cognitive/academic skills

The cerebellum is the part of our brain where we learn and develop skills like reading, writing, hand-eye coordination, and more. It's full of latent potential, which just means it's where the things we learn ""exist"" until we have fully understood a new concept or skill.

At Brain Connex Therapy, our programs focus on making the fundamental brain-body skills as automatic as possible so that the brain can continue to learn!!

Check out our services here: www.brainconnextherapy.com

Autism, ADHD, and other childhood neuro-developemn

Autism, ADHD, and other childhood neuro-developemntal disorders have sky rocketed in the past several years. Along with other chronic illness such as Alzheimer's, autoimmune conditions, cancers, and Parkinson's to name a few.

Research has determined these conditions have not skyrocketed due to genetics but rather environmental and lifestyle factors. Much has changed in our society over the past 30 years with the growth of technology. We move less, eat less nutritious foods, and are bombarded with chemicals from the air we breathe to the products we rub on our skin.

Often on this page, we talk about helping children via primitive reflex integration & brain hemispheric integration, but our lifestyle & environment are just as important to your child's healing journey. Without a "brain healthy" lifestyle, neuroplasticity will have a harder time no matter how much neurologically-based movements you do on a daily basis.

So what can you do today to start improving the landscape for the brain to change?

* Move, move, move and then move some more!!
* Limit screen time.....SERIOUSLY -- our children's brains are turning to mush and their attention is horrible
* Eat healthy, whole, nutritious foods -- things that grow in the earth or on a tree. Organic if possible to reduce pesticide exposure.
* Avoid foods that cause inflammation -- for most that is gluten, dairy, and sugar!
* Get Sleep -- a good 7-8 hours for adults and even more for kids.
* Get Outdoors -- reconnect with nature. Stand on the earth with your feet barefoot. Disconnect from technology and reconnect with the world.

#brainhealthylifestyle #brainoptimization #getoutside #decresaeinflammation #movemovemove #beactive #grounding #earthing #brainhealth

The vestibular system is one of the main systems t

The vestibular system is one of the main systems that helps us stand upright against gravity. And gravity is a sense that is always challenging us. So what happens when your child has an under-active or over-active vestibular system?

A child with an under-active vestibular system will appear clumsy and bumping into things often. They may be a sensory seeker that can spin and spin all day long without getting dizzy.

A child with an over-active vestibular system will get motion sickness while driving in a car, possibly have a fear of heights and is very cautious with their movements.

Either way they need remediation of this important sense to help develop their brainstem & cerebellum. The majority of the stimulus to our brain comes from the vestibular system, proprioceptive system, and oculomotor system. The trifecta for helping your child move better, have better awareness and learn!

Children first develop their vestibular sense via automatic movements called primitive reflexes. As they grow connections in the brainstem they are able to stand upright and practice balance, eye-hand coordination, and other skills that grow the cerebellum. And then higher-level cognitive tasks become easier and easier. If your child's vestibular system did not develop properly it's best they remediate the problem by implementing a good at-home primitive reflex integration program, like our Online Primitive Reflex & Brain Integrations Program. Then they can add brain training via our Connextions program to help grow the cerebellum and develop their brain to it's full potential.
(links for both programs in comments).

#vestibularsystem #spinningforever #nonstop #sensoryseeker #sensoryplay #primitivereflexintegration #primitivereflexes #purposefulmovement

The brain and the body are essentially connected.

The brain and the body are essentially connected. Movement from the body elicits growth of neural connections from infancy and beyond. But all movement is not the same. There is a specific way the brain learns from a bottom-up perspective that enables optimal functioning in all areas of growth & development.

First is our neurological foundation created by automatic movements through primitive reflexes, stimulated by sensory information in our environment. The integration of primitive reflexes lays the foundation needed for further, optimal learning in motor skills that lead to higher-level learning. It also assists in sensory integration.

Next we develop core strength and posture. Once primitive reflexes are integrated we are able to move each body part independently giving us volitional control of our movements. We develop postural reflexes that help us stand upright and in turn develop core strength to move and flow through our lives.

Then skill development occurs. The eight essential movements will be covered below. This includes specific skills each child needs in order to have optimal brain connections and connectivity between the right & left hemispheres. Any area of weakness will be seen with challenges in higher-level academic learning.

Finally, once our neurological foundation is strong, and essential motor skills develop, our brain is ready to learn. It can take in new concepts such as math, reading, comprehension, and organization. These four stages are depicted below in the Pyramid of Development & Learning.

Read the full blog post here: http://www.brainconnextherapy.com/essential-movements-for-academic-achievement/
#cerebellum #braintraining #primitivereflexintegration #brainbalance #coordination #motorskills #visualmotor #academics #learning #troublelearning #troublereading

With all the changes in media access, don't forget

This video goes along with the previous post...how

This video goes along with the previous post...how to test the palmar reflex.

#palmarreflex #graspreflex #primitivereflexintegration #speech #nonverbal #motorskills #occupationaltherapy

The palmar grasp reflex is not only an important r

The palmar grasp reflex is not only an important reflex for grip and fine motor skills, but did you know it is related to speech development? The hand and the mouth are connected and two fo the largest areas for sensory information in our body.

The sensory nerve endings in our body (as displayed by the crazy looking guy - homunculus) demonstrate that the hands and tongue/lips have the most sensations of any part of the body. Babkin-Palmomental is one such reflex that directly connects pressure in the palm to an opening of the mouth.

It's important to note if your child has fine motor delays + a speech delay, or articulation challenge. Test palmar reflex easily by swiping across your child's palm. If their fingers bend in or try to grasp the object it is unintegrated. If their tongue and mouth moves it may be unintegrated.

Working the hand via squeezing a ball, and isolating fingers help to develop & integrate the hand reflexes. In turn, the oral-motor development should improve too.

#reflexdevelopment #integratedreflexes #speechdelay #speechless #primitivereflexes #palmargrasp

Hyperactivity is a common symptom we see in many c

Hyperactivity is a common symptom we see in many children, especially boys. There are many factors that can contribute to hyperactivity including lack of movement, underdeveloped nervous system, nutrition deficiency, and more. We outline three simple ways you can improve your child’s hyperactivity at home.

1) The nervous system needs movement. But not just any kind of movement. Too often we rely on swings and crash pads to allow our children to “get their wiggles out” when really their body needs a more developmental approach and progression to movement. When a child is hyperactive they need a combination of vestibular, proprioceptive, and visual activities to calm the nervous system and provide the stimulation needed for integration.

2) Lack of nutrition leads to hyperactivity. Did you know that hyperactivity is a symptom of gluten & dairy insensitivity and glutamate? Gluten and casein (protein in dairy) can create an opiod type effect on your body – giving your child the same stimulation as a drug. Opioid Peptides can cause the following symptoms: addiction to foods (does your child love cheese & bread??), high pain tolerance, inattention and spacey behavior, aggression (to self or others), stimming, mood changes, poor eye contact, and anxiety/depression.

3) Children need downtime in nature. Today’s children are spending less and less time outdoors and have adopted the “indoor lifestyle” that so many adults live. Wake up, get ready, then spend the majority of days indoors at school (with very little recess/outdoor playtime); then off to a sport or dance class which is indoors; next back home to dinner and tv/homework before bed — spending the entire day indoors. Our bodies were not meant to live inside. We need to connect back to nature.

See the full blog post here: http://www.brainconnextherapy.com/three-ways-to-calm-a-hyperactive-child/
#hyperactivity #hyperactivechild #sensoryseeker #sensoryprocessing #cantsitstill #autismlife #ADHD #nonstop #nature #autismandnature #nutrition #kidsnutrition #eatrealfood

Although small (nicknamed our "little brain") the

Although small (nicknamed our "little brain") the cerebellum, which only accounts for 10% of our brain, holds over 50% of the total number of neurons in the brain. Talk about a powerful structure!!

The cerebellum is mostly known for it's control of smooth coordinated movements and it's ability to perceive errors, adjust, & learn. But many are now understanding it's implication with higher-level cognitive functions such as learning, social skills, and emotions.

When damaged later in life (adulthood) the cerebellum does little to cognitive functions; but researchers are finding when the cerebellum development is delayed or disorganized (as with ASD) in childhood it can have major effects on learning, socialization, and more.

Delay in cerebellum growth in infancy leads in moderate motor skills issues, but cognitive and social functions are particularly vulnerable.

The cerebellum also integrates much of the sensory input coming into the body. Multi-sensory deficits seen in many children with ASD and SPD can indicate cerebellar dysfunction.

Can treatment of the cerebellum via foundational neurological movements help to increase connections and growth of the cerebellum to help children understand and connect with their world better?

#cerebellum #autismandsensory #sensoryprocessing #movementbased #autismtreatment #neurodevelopmentalmovement

As a parent to a child with special needs can atte

As a parent to a child with special needs can attest, every child is individual and each one has symptoms that are a little different from the next child. Common symptoms help give us clues as to what brain mechanisms are involved, or which systems are not fully developed. Below you'll find a list of varying symptoms and what cortical systems may be involved and needing additional treatment.

*Low muscle tone (hypotonia): vestibular underdevelopment; retained STNR; poor postural muscular
*Poor coordination: bilateral integration challenges; retained ATNR
*Poor balance: vestibular underdevelopment; immature righting reflexes
*Gross motor coordination challenges, (riding a bike): vestibular, visual-motor integration, proprioceptive issues
*Hand-eye coordination challenges, (catching a ball): visual integration; oculomotor challenges; retained reflexes
*Letter, number, word reversals: vestibular underdevelopment; auditory discrimination; cerebellum
*Fine motor skill delay: retained reflexes; vestibular underdevelopment

These are just some of the mechanisms we see affecting higher level learning and motor skills. As you can see many areas are affected by retained reflexes, an underdeveloped cerebellum, and the vestibular system. Reflexes and sensory systems are tied together during infancy and if they do not develop fully or integrate there will be challenges later on with skills higher up the developmental pyramid.

Going back to basics and laying the foundation again with primitive reflex integration exercises teamed with sensory integration will reap the most benefit from your child's brain and body to develop.

#neurodevelopmentalmovement #neurological #developmentaldelays #pediatricoccupationaltherapy #pediatricconditions #coordiantion #cerebellum

The most consistently identified feature in autism

Are you looking to help your clients get functiona

Vision is more than 20/20. I'm sure as many of you

Vision is more than 20/20. I'm sure as many of you know our visual perceptual abilities are different from our visual acuity.

Visual acuity is what we refer to with the numbers, whether we are near-sighted or far-sighted. Visual perception is how the brain processes information coming into the brain.

Visual perceptual skills are the brain's ability to make sense of what the eyes see. It is important for everyday activities such as dressing, eating, writing, and playing.

It is very common that children with learning challenges have 20/20 acuity but have difficulty teaming the eyes together for visual processing. This can make many activities difficult such as, reading, writing, sports, puzzles, map reading, body awareness, etc.

The visual system is the most important sense and has profound effects on learning, movement, and speech. To make sense of our world and organize ourselves in space, we must use the visual system, proprioceptive system, and vestibular system.

It is important that your child's therapy program uses all the senses along with reflex integration to re-organize the neural pathways so your child can make sense of the world 🙂
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Did you receive our newsletter today? If not, you missed out on our end of year discount code! Good for use on all of our products including SSP, Parent coaching Reflex & Brain Integrations, and Professional Training.
#visualprocessing #dyslexia #readingtrouble #bodyawareness #visionandvestibular #vestibularsystem

I'm bringing back some old posts for the holidays

I'm bringing back some old posts for the holidays so I can spend more time with family....this one is rather recent but seems very poignant this year.

I've spoken with so many families recently about their children and screen time. Their kids are addicted to their screens and it's ruining their relationships to everyone. Kids only speaking to parents when they want something; having zero motivation to do anything besides gaming/screens; and major lack of respect & poor attitudes.

I'm begging you to take this seriously. Screens ARE ADDICTIVE LIKE COCAINE to the brain. Would you give your kids a little cocaine each day because they are bored??? NO!

I know if your child is older it's going to be hard to take them away...there will be fights and anger. But It will be worth if for your relationship & for their health most importantly. If your child is still young please do not start this horrible habit. KIDS SHOULD BE BORED!!! It is okay! They will not die being bored. What will happen is they'll become creative and make up games and learn new hobbies and maybe *gasp* go outside and play.

Our bodies & brain was created to MOVE. Children, and adults for that matter, should not be sitting on screens hours and hours per day. Take a moment to read from our blog post some of the stats what actually happens to the brain when your child is on screen time.....
http://www.brainconnextherapy.com/your-childs-brain-on-screens/
#screentime #getupandmove #optoutside #ditchscreens #optoutofthematrix #kidsandscreens #braindevelopment

The following movements are essential to help grow

The following movements are essential to help grow neural connection within the brain and enhance communication in the corpus callosum (superhighway between right & left hemispheres). Make sure you are getting in a few of these movements on a daily basis with your child.

1) Floor Movements: get on the floor with your child! Think log rolls, army crawl, regular crawling, and rolling like a ball. Even playful wrestling is considered floor play. Its good for adults too! Floor work gets your child moving in all sorts of directions increasing functional strength, vestibular integration, and integration of reflexes.

2) Prone Movements: Move the play down to your belly. Lie across from your child and pass a ball back and forth, read a book, or complete a puzzle. All the work against gravity helps to integrate reflexes, stimulates the vestibular systems integration, and increases strength in the postural muscles of the back & neck.

3) Cross-Body Movements: Creating stronger connections in the corpus callosum is essential for balancing the brain and bi-lateral integration. Working any movements that connect or engage both sides of the body at the same time send signals to both hemispheres. Movements like the cross-crawl, supine dead bug, and all 4’s bird dog are perfect for engaging both sides of the body & brain. Even marching to a beat with right arm and left leg movement alternating with the other side works!

4) Eye-Hand Coordination: Did you know that people who played racquet sports (tennis, ping pong, pickle ball, etc) lived longer with higher mental capacity than other sports being played? The coordination between the visual system and body creates strong connections in the brain. Because the visual processing system can be delayed/impaired in many children catching objects can be difficult. Working on catching balls, bean bags, scarves, and more is a great task to work with the brain. If your child can do these things already, add in a balance challenge by standing on an uneven surface.

5) Timing & Rhythm Movements: Moving to a beat is something our bodies innately do from in utero and beyond. Our hearts, breath and other autonomic functions move in rhythm.

Functional Disconnection Syndrome (FDS) was coined

Functional Disconnection Syndrome (FDS) was coined by Dr. Robert Melillo, after seeing so many children that had functional brains if looked at from an MRI, and perfectly healthy bodies....but they were struggling with learning, motor skills, language, behavior, and more. Demonstrating a "disconnection" between the brain and body.

What was discovered through research is that some children's brains are simply not organized well. But the interesting thing to note is that researchers were not able to identify what "diagnosis" a child had through MRI scans of these neural networks. They were able to tell which children had struggles and which did not based on the unorganiztion of these "hubs" of neural networks. So that means children with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities actually all showed different dis-organization in the brain - it was not indicative of a specific diagnosis.

Isn't that interesting???

And what's even more peculiar is that the majority of these children are super smart - but cannot control their bodies - and may appear inattentive, with lack of focus, and clumsy & uncoordinated. Yet they are almost geniuses! This is demonstration of how the higher level brain was able to grow without a strong neurological foundation, leaving the child with poor body awareness, visual-spatial processing, motor skills, etc that create a "disconnection" between the brain and body.

To help re-connect and re-wire the brain and body, we take a four step approach:

*Neurological Foundation - integrate primitive reflexes and sensory systems, supporting the weaker hemisphere
*Posture & Core Strength - enhance postural reflexes, core strength, and body awareness
*Skill Development - work the more advanced skills like balance, coordination, visual-motor to bridge the gap
*Academic Achievement - now the child is able to easily understand, attend, focus, read, and learn

Remember, “Movement is essential to learning. Movement integrates and anchors new information into our neural networks. Every time we move in an organized manner, full brain activation and integration occurs, and the door to learning opens.
#movetolearn #functionaldisconnection

I know personally as a mom to a child with special

I know personally as a mom to a child with special needs that I was told solely the mainstream avenues my chid needed. Consisted of traditional therapies once/week and ABA; neither of which made any significant improvements in my child's development.

As an OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST who studies neurologically-based treatments, I want to encourage you and let you know that you are not alone. One thing I wish I could have a redo on is to have listened to my gut instinct. We know deep down that our children don't need to be trained to say or do things; rather their brain needs to be helped in order to understand the world. Just as our children's brains need to be nourished with the right foods, not things from a box or created in a lab.

I am here to offer you an alternative. A way to get to the root cause of whatever developmental or neurological delay your child is experiencing. A solution that promotes our body‘s natural way of developing, learning, and healing. Our brain is a powerful thing and God created our bodies to naturally develop the right brain connections. Some children simply missed or had less-than-enough of the right experiences in infancy to develop all the connections. If you are looking for a gentle, natural, non-mediation, movement-based approach to address your child's learning, behavior, and development, I'm here to help.

Have you ever been frustrated concerning your child's development & learning? I know I was. I had been frustrated & sad and super anxious wondering what my child's future would be like. Then, one day after hitting walls with traditional treatment I stumbled into primitive reflexes & brain integration. As a holistic Occupational Therapist this was HUGE!!

Primitive reflexes & brain integration are the missing link in traditional therapy treatments for children with all sorts of developmental & neurological delays (autism, ADHD, CP, sensory processing, learning challenges, dyslexia, etc). Primitive reflex integration is an incredibly successful intervention that has been used for years and years. We work your child back in time through their natural developmental sequence and rebuild the foundation.

I would reckon to say that the majority of childr

If primitive reflexes are maintained beyond the no

If primitive reflexes are maintained beyond the normal age of integration, they may lead to difficulty in learning, socializing, academic success, hormonal balance, motor control.

Children with learning disabilities and other various types of developmental disorders are known to retain the primitive reflexes, which have contributed to their symptoms and the level of dysfunction.

Each reflex is linked to one or more of the sensory processing systems: space, taste, touch, smell, visibility, hearing, proprioceptive and / or interoceptive.

Therefore, if the primitive reflex is maintained, a child may experience dysfunction within one or some of the sensory processing systems. This can lead to what is known as a sensory disorder.

Primitive reflexes are automatic movements that are needed for survival and development during infancy. They emerge, mature, and integrate - or develop into postural reflexes throughout the first 1-2 years of life. When primitive reflexes do not fully integrate, higher levels of the brain and nervous system are unable to mature. Connections in neural pathways for higher-level learning, communication, behavior, emotions, coordination, and balance will be delayed or compromised.
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#interoception #sensoryprocessingdisorder #sensorydisorder #hypersensitive #parentingkids #primitivereflexes
Brain Connex Therapy offers a virtual program in Primitive Reflex & Brain Integrations for parents to help their children at home. Created and supported by an Occupational Therapist.

Is your child's picky eating related to their sens

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