Brain Harmony’s 5-Step Plan Of Care For Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a term used to describe a broad spectrum of developmental conditions. On this spectrum, challenges are often identified with communication (both verbal and non-verbal), learning, problem-solving, and social skills[*].
In the United States, Autism is one of the fastest growing developmental disorders, impacting approximately 1 in every 54 children, with many more adults being diagnosed and realizing how misunderstood they have been for most of their lives.
Although there's some controversy as to why and how so many are developing autism, one general consensus is that the right early intervention allows for the best opportunity to support healthy development among our young friends with autism[*].
Autism: Characteristics
You may notice different characteristics within the spectrum of this condition depending on the individual and their developmental age.
In general, common characteristic of autism include[*]:
Feeling emotions strongly
Delayed speech and language development
Sensory based emotions
Blunted facial expressions, flat or sing-song tone of voice
Delayed sensory processing maturity
Delayed social interaction skills
Difficulty making friends or keeping them
Difficulty understanding the point of views of others or difficulty predicting the actions and behavior of others
Repetitive behaviors - repeating words or phrases, intense interest in a particular topic or subject
Dependent for self care and executive functioning skills
Struggling to adjust and adhere to changes in routine
Increased or decreased sensitivity to sensory input
Trouble relating to others
Trouble understanding other people's feelings or talking about their own feelings
Prefer not to be held or cuddled
Having trouble expressing their needs using typical words or motions
May require biomedical needs like healing of gut, detoxing and solving adrenal fatigue.
These characteristics are pervasive but can be improved with specialized therapies and interventions.
The Traditional Approach
When most receive an autism diagnosis, they're sent through a series of time-consuming and expensive traditional interventions. The primary concern with conventional methods is that they aim to decrease negative behaviors but rarely address the root cause of the behavior nor to they aim to awaken the gifts in the individual. In doing so, they attempt to suppress intrinsic autistic behaviors, which can be a traumatizing, adding an additional layer of complexity to the rehabilitation process.
One common treatment is Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), which is a behavior-reward process. I have watched families declare bankruptcy as they spent their life savings to fund an ABA process. Aside from the price, solely behavioral approaches undermine the organic autistic processes of learning and work solely as a reward-based intervention. Although this popular method of treatment has become a go-to for many parents, the data shows that after a year of ABA treatment, 76% of participants show little to no change in symptoms.
However, even more startling is that many individuals who undergo ABA present with signs of PTSD due to the trauma of the therapy. As you can imagine, if a program sets you up to only receive a reward when you work against your own natural neurology, it can feel impossible, frustrating, and demoralizing[*].
These approaches miss out on the opportunity to give someone with autism a chance to address the root cause of their disorganized nervous system while awakening access to their unique skills and aptitudes.
That’s where Brain Harmony comes in.
Brain Harmony’s 5-Step Plan Of Care For Autism
The primary difference between the traditional approach to autism, and Brain Harmony's approach, is that we focus on treating the nervous system and creating a foundation for growth instead of simply treating symptoms. To get to the root of behavioral and communication challenges, we begin by getting the nervous system back into balance. Once this foundation is created, we can work up from there.
Here is a breakdown of our 5-step plan of care for autism:
#1 Vagal Regulation
One of the key characteristics of autism is sensory seeking behaviors and emotional dysregulation. Anxiety, stimming behaviors, and being stuck in sympathetic response are all hallmarks that the autonomic nervous system is disorganized. In step one of our autism plan of care, we work on vagal regulation, which helps our friends’ nervous systems feel safe and secure. Working on the vagus nerve's parasympathetic response eases you into a state of relaxation, and pauses the fight or flight response. Only then can we access the speech and language parts of the brain.
This is one of the main reasons that Brain Harmony is so successful with clients of all kinds of backgrounds, diagnoses and ages. Only when the nervous system is neurologically safe can we reach out and BE SOCIAL.
Sure, you can train a person to look at you by giving them a skittle, but that is not the human connection parents are looking for. By using vagal regulation techniques and modalities, we awaken what it means to BE HUMAN.
#2 Neurological Organization
In step two, we use various interventions given in a specific order to allow for holistic rehabilitation of the human system. Your OT/COTA develops the customized program to meet the needs of each individual.
We begin this step with sensory integration, which can only happen once step one (vagal regulation) is awakened. Now that our friend is feeling safe and better able to access their words, we can connect them to their superpowers.
We can change IQ points, gain years worth of language arts and math skills, as well as bring adults who have never spoken to access their words. It's not only the interventions themselves but also the order in which they're given that allows our clients to build neurological organization daily -- right at home.
#3 Therapeutic Activities
In step three, we provide therapeutic activities that tune the input to the nervous system through fun and targeted play or work.
We layer these activities into the program, which can further strengthen the nervous system outside of modalities. The experience of your therapist will allow for you to bring the most powerful and effective activities known to balance your nervous system on a regular basis.
#4 Reflex Integration
In step four, we work on reflex integration. Friends with ASD require integration of specific primitive reflex patterns that can restrict development in everything from eye movements to emotional regulation, to turning off the fear/paralysis reflex, to bladder control at night.
For example,when friends are considered to be easily victimized or present with bullying-types of behavior, we look to the nervous system to understand and address the root cause of the behavior. We identify if there are any infantile reflex patterns still present and teach you how to break apart these restrictions that contribute to the dysfunction. You can see how this is different than just providing a behavioral modification or punishment for these behaviors but instead freeing the nervous system from limitations that result in dysfunctional behaviors.
Our Brain Harmony therapists are trained in the Masgutova Neurosensorimotor and Reflex Integration developed by Svetlana Masgutova which is considered the gold standard for reflex integration. Brain Harmony therapists add their touches to the protocols for a robust intervention. We train our caregivers like we would train a therapist in the clinic so that you can be empowered to continue to organize the nervous system with critical movement patterns at home.
#5 Self Care
One could say that independence is the primary goal of all parents for their children, and it's no different for families with ASD. Appropriate achievement of self-care includes everything from morning routines with teeth brushing, getting dressed, to preparing meals, digital hygiene and balancing a checkbook.
At Brain Harmony, this is not accomplished through route repetition of steps. Instead, we work on organizing the nervous system in a particular order and with accelerants to the process, so self-care skills percolate to the top when the foundation is built well.
Our program applies to non-verbal children and friends with astronomical IQ but limited social skills to high functioning adults and everything in between. It's not just for low or high-level friends; it will provide the greatest organization to the system no matter what level of care is needed. We frequently "hear" the smiles from a mom when she states that her child is consistently dry at night, is now speaking with complete sentences, is now able to sit for longer periods of time and read, able to self initiate breakfast meal preparation, able to test better on assessments, able to communicate through the use of their eyes, and able to have a natural back and forth tone in conversation. From autistic adults, we hear reports of decreased anxiety and distracting stimming behaviors, to just having a better quality of life.
That’s real Brain Harmony.
An Integrated Approach
Along with Brain Harmony's 5-step plan, we highly recommend working with a functional medicine doctor that can help you treat autism from a cellular healing perspective.
One of the strongest correlations that we see in our autistic friends is a genetic marker of the MTHFR (methyltetrahydrofolate reductase) gene. MTHFR is responsible for several vital processes in your body, including the detoxification of unwanted compounds. Since friends with MTHFR genes have a harder time detoxing, many families will modify their vaccine schedules, to ensure that they do not overload the immune system. Establishing a relationship with a Functional Medicine MD to manage these genetic predispositions, makes logical sense since 90-98% of our friends on the ASD spectrum have the MTHFR marker and 40-60% of the population has it as well. Therefore, watching out for any dietary and environmental factors that may increase your toxic load is crucial for those with autism.
Dr. Kurt Woeller with The Great Plains Laboratory was a great resource for me and other families when beginning their journey to heal on a cellular level and we enjoy working with an independent lab. You can also schedule consults with Dr. Kurt Woeller or another functional medicine doctor for more hands-on support.
Micah’s Success Story
Micah was developing normally until 15 months of age and he began to regress. Diagnosed with Autism at 2 and a half years old, Micah suffered from sensory issues, was primarily nonverbal, and had severe trouble engaging with his family and surroundings. After only a few months of Brain Harmony therapy, Micah began to make eye contact and engage with his family. He has become a happy, vibrant, and engaged child. He shows affection, his sensory sensitivities have reduced, and he has made great progress in school and speech. His family is thrilled with his progress and they can’t wait to see what comes next!
“The two things I would say is that he is just more engaged and he’s just happy, he’s smiling. He’s just happy to be with us, and I think he’s happier with life. Honestly for two years we rarely saw him smile, and he has a wonderful dimple so when he smiles the whole world melts and we’re like, oh my gosh we’re seeing him smiling now, and we never saw that before. And of course as a mom all you want for your kid is to be happy, so to see him just happy, to just be alive, it’s just really cool, and I’m just super pleased with that.”
Levy’s Success Story
Levy is 15 years old, the oldest in a family of six. When he was young, he didn't display typical signs of autism and wasn't diagnosed until he was 13 years old. Although Levy wasn't a tantrum thrower, he would get angry quite often, especially with his other siblings. He was also very argumentative and impatient, and learning was very difficult for him.
Since starting Brain Harmony, Levy is enjoying school instead of dreading it; he doesn't complain about food textures, he's more confident, and he's much less argumentative and impatient. He's even asking to help out around the house, initiating interactions, and communicating more clearly.
"I knew that somewhere in there was my Levy, my child, and the potential that God had given him to do wonderful things, but it was trapped in there. It's been amazing to have the experience of Brain Harmony not only because I see it doing things for him but also because it's making him more confident...as parents, it makes a huge difference not just to see your child growing and changing but to have the support when you need it."
- Levy's Mother
If your child is struggling with signs of autism and you're looking for a comprehensive approach, schedule a Free Consultation today and see how Brain Harmony can awaken super HUMAN powers.