Did the Brain Balance program work for your child? (credit, home)

[leelee2]

I am interested in peoples experiences with the Brain Balance program. My child is currently going thru the program right now.

[smsmom]

My daughter is 5. At 4 years old, we started seeking help for her behavior problems. We were not interested in medication as an alternative. We saw one psychologist, she said "your daughter is exhibiting signs of ADHD, one of the worst cases I have seen". After several sessions, she released us from her care, saying there is nothing more she could do for us. We lived with the behavior issues the best we could. One day, my daughter spit on a boy in her gymnastics class. After a couple more weeks of sitting talking with the other mothers, we all became very friendly. The little boys mother asked me if my daughter ever sat still...I said no, she doesn't. She told me about Brain Balance Centers. I went to the next free parent lecture, signed her up that night. My daughter has completed 2/3 of her individalized program. We have seen incredible results. If she does absolutely no more improvements, we are still thrilled. However, from what I understand, she will keep improving, even after the program. It is the best money we ever spent....ever...period. The money we would save on medication, therapy, tutors can not even be added up. But, the best thing about it, even besides the money, is we have a family now. Instead of embaressing me in public, she is evolving into a beautiful little girl. oh, and by the way, I haven't been head butted in about 5 weeks! I am pleased, my husband is pleased, my mom is pleased! Her teacher from Pre K would not recognize her as the same person, of that I am sure.

[sapnapg]

Originally Posted by leelee2

I am interested in peoples experiences with the Brain Balance program. My child is currently going thru the program right now.

Just interested in finding out what the diagnosis was for your child...ADD, ADHD, PDD, Aspergers??? I have a 8 year old with Aspergers and am looking to start Brain Balance but have not heard too many parents with positive feedback so was interested in finding out how it is going for your child?

[boys007]

It did not help our child!!!!! Save your $6000 and go to a good psychologist! They often stimulate the wrong side of the brain and really only help a handful of kids.

Ask them what happens if you aren't satisfied? They only offered us more sessions for another $6000!!

[Parent_of_2]

I am considering putting my son through the program. He is 9 and is diagnosed with ADHD and learning disability. I only hear positive feedback, but nothing negative.It seems like it is too good to be true.

Any feedback would be great.

Thanks,

[bryantm3]

it is too good to be true. look at the post count of the users above— one post. they aren't really members here and only joined to praise this scam, the most likely scenario is that they work for the company.

go take your son to a psychiatrist if he's having serious problems. a "brain balance" is only going to result in an empty wallet for you and possibly trauma for him.

[thinkfink]

My son is 9 years old and has ADHD issues, nothing on the autism spectrum. Mainly distracted, emotional outbursts when you ask him to do something hard like chores or homework. We are about halfway through the program and I have not seen any improvements at all. He loves going there, but $6000 is such a HIGH price to pay without there being some sort of gaurentee for improvement. If my son had the same type of successes I only read about from other parents, then I would say that it is worth $6000. I diet is extreme and the daily exercises are hard to do when I have 5 kids and we are on a budget. If I only had 1 child it would be more feasible.

[jcarlson914]

I have a 10- (then 9) year old son who started Brain Balance in Minnesota June of 2018. He took 72 sessions for 3 hours a week plus at home exercises every day. The cost was $12000.00. It was a huge challenge/sacrifice/leap of faith for the entire family.

He was given an IEP in May of 2018 with results pointing to a vision processing disorder. He had short term memory issues and severe trouble decoding letters and numbers. He would turn them around while writing plus get frustrated when reading. He would see white lines through the letters and they would jump around at him. He attends a Montessori school, so we probably caught the issues a little later than usual, however he was able to participate in class, was a natural leader, had lots of friends, extremely creative, and had a ton of enthusiasm for walking through those school doors everyday. (which as a side note I wholly credit the Montessori method for this behavior...he was supported fully) However, we could see the creeping of self deprecation and possible behavior issues coming to light. After he received his IEP; I went to the internet to see how we could best support him without medication or accommodations from school that will not happen in the "real world." And here I will say he did not show any of the precursors for a learning disorder; he is articulate, no delays in development, he has good understanding of the world around him and constantly curious.

So now we fast forward to our recent IEP meeting 1 year later. "I could not believe this was the same kid" Occupational Therapist from school. She tested him before brain balance and three months in, when school had restarted in September. These were her direct words. He no longer needs her services. He has met 2 of the 3 goals for the IEP. His trajectory is no need for IEP in a year if his development keeps pace. (subjective I know but this is what was said by the professionals at meeting) He is reading graphic novels, he has better self regulation, he is doing well in school. He is still creative, still a leader, still curious. It is everything we hoped for................

I don't know if Brain Balance is miracle cure for everyone. I think it is unnecessarily expensive, I wish this information was available to everyone, I wish everyone would talk about primitive reflexes (in schools too), I think there should be complete transparency, I think there should be blind studies, I think the assertions are too broad and grandiose.

BUT it worked for my son. Maybe it was the repetition and regulation he had to practice everyday, maybe he just needed a lifeline- some help in a world he was not able to decode, maybe it was maturity, maybe it was timing. I don't regret it, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I needed something like this when we made the plunge; its so hard to trust reviews given on their actual website. It seems so self serving.

[DreamerD]

My previous message didn't go through. Is Brain Balance backed by science? I'd like to see studies on this. I've never heard this "treatment" recommended.

[jcarlson914]

The best I could find for studied, secure and tested science back up was a NCBI article relating to the basis of Dr Melilo's hypothesis of "brain balance"...It was a scientist from the 80's and she had some solid footing to back up these claims..I personally think this is where he got his ideas from but I could be wrong definitely. Anyway, I don't think you would find a pediatrician who would prescribe this treatment but I do think you could find some that would recommend it. I hope they do more studies, I hope some of the treatments can work its way into our everyday culture for special needs kids. It is holistic and non medicated, I think it could benefit a lot of people. It is unfortunate that it has been privatized and thrown into "let us make some money" club.
For now, there is no solid scientific back up. It truly is a leap of faith treatment.