Wednesday, August 15, 2012

To Brain Balance or not to Brain Balance.....

From August 1st until now my brain has been operating in total mush mode. Not because I am pregnant and can barely complete a thought before losing my train of thought....no it's because that is the day our Brain Balance journey began. I became familiar with the program about two years ago when we were in the midst of finding programs that best suited Ethan's needs. It was not somethiing I had ever heard of before and therefore it got put on the back burner of all the things I "NEED TO DO" but never seem to find a spare minute for. Flash forward to today and my ex-husband and I have had nurmerous discussions lately and feel as though we have hit a brick wall with Ethan and his current therapies. Thus enter Brain Balance again..... My current husband and I decided to pay out the money and go forward with the extensive evaluation process for Ethan. It would prove to be quite overwhelming when the results came back, but needless to say Ethan more than qualifies for their program and most definitely has an "identified" brain imbalance. I read their recommended material "Disconnected Kids," and I too came to the same conclusions that the people at Brain Balance did.....Ethan has a right brain disfunction.....but where does that lead....????? Joey and I attended the results meeting and I think we both agreed with the findings from the eval. Coupled with the severe issues we have been having this school year (despite being only 8 days in.....) and I think we were both ready to dive in to a new program with the hopes of seeing great results for Ethan. Well....that diving in would come with a hefty price tag and A LOT of changes and time commitments on our parts. For starters, the first 12-week program will cost us $9500.00 (insurance pays a whopping $0) and a lot of the beginning work would be done at home. Joey and I would be properly trained on excercises to do with Ethan 3X a day to eliminate his primitive reflexes which did not drop off naturally as he went from birth to toddlerhood. Ethan would then go 3 afternoons a week to their program and work exclusively on sensory and cognitive development skills designed solely to "build up" the right side of his brain. In addition, we would work very closely with a Nutritionist to develop a plan for Ethan...which will more than likely be Gluten and Casein Free. We will add suuplements that many children with neurological disorders are deficient in and we would get constant support from the Brain balance staff as we adjust to this new normal. WOW!!!!!! I dont think I have yet to catch my breath. I left feeling hopeful, intimidated, overwhelmed financially, scared, and utterly without a clue as to what the right thing to do was going to be. AND NOW....I sit here over a week later and I am still all of those things above, but mostly just OVERWHELMED by it all. I have spent all day today reading blogs of parents who's children are doing the program. I have studied GFCF eating and the things that must be eliminated ASAP from Ethan's diet (mostly every single thing he currently enjoys....) and we are still at a crossroads as to how to move forward. I am on the brink of just "going for it" because the reviews are amazing and the blogs of these mothers that have been incredible results made me tear up and want to grab Ethan and drive there right now! So instead....I type....because it is some sort of a release....and perhaps a friend will read this and know of someone who could share their testimony of Brain Balance with me and my family so we may make a more sound decision. Until then.....I will continue to worry, stress, fret over the decision we are faced with.....all the while knowing that the clock is ticking and we are losing precious time that we can not get back. Sitting on our thumbs will lead to nothing.....