Empowering Parents to Heal their Children.
The tagline caught my attention immediately as I visited the website for The Family Hope Center. I was offered the opportunity to review their DVD, Understanding Child Brain Development, so I wanted to see what they were all about. After visiting the website to learn all I could about this company, I opted in for the following reasons:
- I’m a nurse and the brain just fascinates me. I hoped that I have enough of knowledge in the area of anatomy and physiology to discern truth from fiction.
- Ben has ADHD and there is nothing more important to me than finding a way to help him function successfully.
- The DVD is endorsed by one of my favorite homeschooling experts, Andrew Pudewa, from IEW. In fact, IEW sells this DVD on their website.
Understanding Child Brain Development is a live recorded seminar of expert Child Brain Developmentalists Matthew and Carol Newell teaching an interactive class about child brain development. The seminar is hosted by Andrew Pudewa and is attended by parents interested in the topic.
In Understanding Child Brain Development, I was taken on a tour of the child’s brain, beginning before birth. Different parts of the brain are discussed, along with their function, and what happens when there is disorganization in a certain area.
As an R.N. and a mom, I really thought I had a good handle on child brain development, so I was surprised at how much information I have not been exposed to before now. While much of the information about basic function, reflexes and which part of the brain is in charge of what function was familiar to me, the importance of development and organization of these parts of the brain as an infant somehow escaped me.
For example, Matthew points out (more than once) that our society is one that often prevents infants from spending much time on the tummy. We put our newborns on their backs and as they grow we move them to infant seats, jumping toys, and walkers. Because the brain becomes more active on the tummy and neural pathways are developed as they move when on the tummy, keeping infants from doing so causes issues later on because certain areas of the brain are not able to organized appropriately.
Throughout the seminar, issues all across the neurological spectrum are mentioned, from blindness, deafness and paralysis, to cerebral palsy, dyslexia, autism, ADHD and more. It excited me to learn more about what areas of Ben’s brain might be affected to cause issues with ADHD and some sensory issues with which he has had to deal. I was saddened to hear Matthew speak about how God designed babies to smell the mother’s odor during childbirth, followed by her sweat as he is placed on her chest, and finally her breastmilk. Ben missed out on all of these important milestones as he was born via C-section and immediately transferred to the NICU. I didn’t even get to him until he was 4 days old and being his adoptive mother, I wouldn’t have all of those smells anyway. While I know in my heart he and I have a strong mother-son bond, I do wonder if this could be the cause of some disorganization in his limbic system that perhaps is at the root of his ADHD.
Because of this realization, I love that the focus of The Family Hope Center is on the brain, not who is to blame. This quote by Matt Newell as he was discussing different neurological issues summed this up quite well —
Because of this realization, I love that the focus of The Family Hope Center is on the brain, not who is to blame. This quote by Matt Newell as he was discussing different neurological issues summed this up quite well —
Let’s look at the brain. If we look at the brain, all these things disappear magically and nobody’s at fault. We can put our grief over here, which is legitimate, and we can put our fears over here, which are legitimate, based on the fact that we didn’t have any information. You’re fearful when you don’t have information. You’re hopeless when you don’t know what to do. But if you know that this function operates through this part of the brain, then hope comes, fear disappears, action replaces fear, and then we can start looking at this thing in an organic way.
The goal of this DVD is to help parents understand that they are not the problem, but are the solution to the problems their children are having and to help parents understand that many seemingly disjointed issues may all be connected. They believe that answers can be found and that with support, the brain can be healed of many issues. It does not go into the therapies themselves. This is a service provided by The Family Hope Center.
The mission of The Family Hope Center is to assist parents in improving the capabilities and quality of life for their children. Using an integrative team approach, they seek to develop an individualized, comprehensive plan for kids with special needs. Unfortunately for me, they are located in Pennsylvania (I am in Kentucky). While I found the DVD very interesting and informative, it left me wishing there was a way for us to learn more about how The Family Hope Center might help Ben, without the time and expense it would take for us to travel to one of their 3-day seminars. The video below will give you a quick overview of what they offer.
Visit The Family Hope Center website to learn more about the services they offer. To order the Understanding Child Brain Development DVD, please call 610-397-1737 or visit the IEW website for $19, plus shipping.
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