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| The minute you hear that loud ka-thunka-ka-thunka sound, you know right away that your washing machine is out of balance. Sometimes you may even see your appliance get completely out of control and start to “walk” across the floor all on its own. You know that unless the washer regains its equilibrium, it won’t run efficiently and your clothes won’t come out very clean. It’s a similar situation when your vehicle’s tires are out of balance. You may not notice it at first, but when you speed up and go faster and faster, you begin to feel the shakes and the shimmies, and the car becomes more and more difficult to steer. Do you know what the signals are when a brain is out of balance, particularly with a young child or a teenager? Often, and in severe cases, you can recognize a brain imbalance by conditions such as dyslexia, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Asperger’s Syndrome (an autism spectrum disorder), and Tourette’s Syndrome (a disorder exhibited by physical spasms, uncontrollable tics, and unexpected vocalizations). Some brain imbalances are more subtle, but they can be easily identified by a whole network of added neurological conditions, says Dr. Tamara Eslich, executive director of the Brain Balance Achievement Center of Golden. These include a lack of motor skills, sensory issues, social disabilities, behavioral problems, cognitive dysfunction, attachment disorders, and pronounced learning difficulties. If your child displays any of these disorders, Dr. Eslich says that it’s time to make an appointment at the Brain Balance Achievement Center of Golden. Through her certification and former practice as a chiropractor, as well as her specialized postgraduate work and training in childhood neurobehavioral disorders, Dr. Eslich analyzes and then prepares an individually tailored plan for children and teens ages 4 through 17. She helps them overcome their disabilities, no matter how severe or slight. “Parents think their children have to have something really wrong before they visit us,” the doctor states. “Every child is a candidate for the program.” Dr. Eslich explains how the technique works: “We look at typical right/left brain delay and hemisphere imbalance,” she says. “The right brain acts as a brake pedal, and the left brain acts as a gas pedal.” After the problem has been identified, “the brain simply needs to be re-set.” This “re-setting” can be a godsend for a child who is suffering from ADHD. According to the Web site www.webmd.com, “The symptoms of ADHD can interfere with a child’s ability to succeed in school. Promoting school success will help your child academically, socially, and developmentally.” Increasing academic achievement, changing negative behavior, and increasing social skills is exactly what Dr. Eslich and her six trained staff members focus on. Unlike competitors’ programs, at the Brain Balance Achievement Center of Golden, Dr. Eslich says they start from the bottom (of each individual’s disability) and work their way up. Other programs may be more like “patching a roof,” she states, because they don’t examine the basis of the disorder. Instead, they aim toward more of a Band-Aid, quick-fix approach. As part of its trademark brand, the Brain Balance Program also involves a nutritional component. When you’re changing the brain, you also need to change the diet, the doctor remarks. “We are hemisphere specific as well. There’s no other program like it.” The program begins with an initial six-hour assessment featuring a private consultation for parents and their child with Dr. Eslich, plus on-site testing by other staff members. After that, Dr. Eslich creates a comprehensive, custom-tailored program. Sessions are scheduled with the child three times a week (one hour per session) over a series of 12 weeks. Each session provides proven methods to help improve hand-eye coordination, critical thinking abilities, social and emotional skills, and above all, scholastic achievement, Dr. Eslich states. The doctor and her staff also provide home programs and post-program support for continued improvement. One of the key ingredients for each child’s success is the way the Brain Balance Program is family focused, Dr. Eslich says. “Parents are very involved.” Sessions also include specialized sensory motor activities that are structured by Program Director Eric Eslich, Dr. Eslich’s husband. His area of the Brain Balance Achievement Center of Golden, the Sensory Motor Room, is similar to a light and airy gymnasium. It has balance beams, monkey bars, and huge exercise balls. Depending on the child and the disability, Eric’s programming may feature exercises such as crawling on the floor or creating “angels in the snow” by lying down and waving your arms and legs back and forth against the carpet. While these activities may seem basic, Eric points out that the Brain Balance Program starts by reaching children at their current level of skills and abilities. For instance, one of his newest clients, a 6-year-old, has the abilities of a 2-year-old. Therefore, the Brain Balance Program has to first engage the child at that starting point. Other sensory motor skills activities can include hands-on work with computers and pegboards, and wearing light-distorting glasses while balancing on a balance beam. By combining this variety of methods, “We can help stimulate all the senses,” explains Eric. Brain Balance Achievement Centers started out as the brainchild of Dr. Robert Melillo, who founded the cutting-edge Brain Balance Program and authored the popular book, Disconnected Kids. For more than a decade, Dr. Melillo has worked to relieve the symptoms of children with ADD/ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and learning disabilities. At the same time, his specialized program has helped children grow and improve mentally, physically, emotionally, and academically, Dr. Eslich says. As part of its outreach, the Brain Balance Achievement Center of Golden hosts periodic lectures for the public where parents, families, and professionals can acquire the most up-to-date information on the Brain Balance Program. In March, Dr. Melillo will be the featured speaker at four public presentations in Golden and Lakewood. Although the lectures are free, reservations are requested and can be made by calling 303-278-1780 or emailing them at golden@brainbalancecenters.com. The Brain Balance Achievement Center of Golden’s mission is to make this program available to as many children as possible so that each child can reach his or her greatest physical, mental, social, and academic potential, says Dr. Eslich. In other words, “What we want to give parents back is a typical, normal child.” Dr. Tamara Eslich’s practice is one of 22 Brain Balance Achievement Centers nationwide, and is the only one in the Denver metro area. The office is located at 1211 Avery Street, Unit 101 in Golden. For more information, visit the Web site at www.BrainBalanceCenters.com. |
Brain Balance |
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