Why Can’t I use a Regular Metronome?
Some parents have asked me if they could just use a regular musical metronome and get the same results as Interactive Metronome at home or IM-Home. A standard metronome is typically used by musicians to help them practice the tempo of music. They have also been used in traditional therapy to help patients with their timing and rhythm, however there is one piece that is missing. – FEEDBACK!
Has your child ever had trouble concentrating on daily tasks? Although Mason Roach, a 6-year-old boy, was not diagnosed with ADHD, he still showed similar symptoms. Mason had trouble following through with simple tasks, such as taking a shower and brushing his teeth. His Mom came to Lisa Poe, OTR/L for help...
The media sums it up pretty well. This is from an article last Sunday in Central PA’s Patriot News:
When a head injury, disease or behavioral disorder disrupts that carefully synchronized brain clock, everything from breathing and body movements to intellect and emotion can be undermined. But a relatively new therapy known as Interactive Metronome has restored the internal timepiece in the brain of many patients with autism, cerebral palsy, ADHD, stroke, traumatic brain injury and other cognitive disorders.
Multi tasking and IM
The ability to multi task is a very important skill that we learn at a very young age. Typically when we enter a classroom, we are required to listen to a teacher while filtering out extraneous noises or while writing notes. This skill requires a tremendous amount of good quality focus that can be held even through distractions in our environment...
A Brain-based Approach for ADHD and LD
Donna Abler, a holistic occupational therapist, is accepting summer registrations to help children overcome motor, behavioral and cognitive challenges associated with attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities (LD) through a natural, drug-free approach. Developed in the early 1990s, Interactive Metronome (IM) is a computerized, brain-based therapy tool that has gained national attention as a breakthrough intervention to support processing abilities in the brain, including language, motor and cognition skills. Its effectiveness is backed by clinical research...
Brain training helps Topeka child with ADHD
When Aaron Davis hears a beat his brain fires a reaction to his hands or his feet. When his parents, Richard and Brenda, see the mental to physical connection, they remember at one time the simple task was impossible. Richard says, "We get emotional. It's incredible, the difference."
A year ago, Aaron struggled in school, lacked social interaction, and seemed to be in a world of his own. Brenda says, "We were told he had a wheat allergy and he had a gluten allergy and to take all of that out of his diet. So we did that for a month and there was no improvement. Then we were told the natural food market has these wonderful vitamins and that will help. We tried that and nothing worked."
Doctors then told Richard and Brenda their son had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. The solution: medication. But Richard says, "He was still struggling in school, he was still behind."
Nothing made Aaron better. Just when the family had given up all hope, a friend suggested Interactive Metronome. A program that retrains the brain. Doctors say IM uses a repetitive exercise that changes or remaps neurons in a certain part of the brain resulting in a change in behavior. Brenda says, "The first time he went to IM, that night, we already saw...
TUSTIN CHRONIC CONDITION CENTER
The Tustin Chronic Condition Center has incorporated a new software program called the Interactive Metronome. The software helps children who have ADD or ADHD, autism, dyslexia and learning disabilities. The equipment helps children with working memory, attention, processing information, sequencing information in order and motor coordination.
“Our new Interactive Metronome®helps us work with and improve the function of the frontal cortex. The fontal cortex controls things like impulsiveness and attention span, and it’s where the personality “lives”. It’s also where things like depression and anxiety are created, and for these children it’s the region in the brain that’s not working as well as it could be.”
Visit The Tustin Chronic Condition Center for the full details.
A new tool for the Autistic!
When it comes to the treatment of autism, early intervention is key—yet African-American children are typically diagnosed two years later than Caucasian children. Now here’s some better news: Interactive Metronome is a health program shown to improve the brain functions of people with autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD, According to a 2011 study published in The American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
Nicole Dye-Anderson credits roller-skating lessons with alleviating her daughter's ADHD symptoms. It was Jenna's skating coach who noticed the 11-year-old seemed to prefer her left side over her right. She suggested physical therapy to improve Jenna's balance.
That's how Jenna wound up at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children using the Interactive Metronome, a computer-based rhythm program that uses simultaneous sound and images to help with the brain's processing, specifically when it comes to attention, motor planning and sequencing. Computer program benefits a variety of young patients
There has been more than one occasion when behavioral issues really impact the outcome of our IM sessions and the changes that can take place. Sometimes honestly the kids just aren’t interested in what you want them to do, and they want to do it their own way. Sometimes there are behavioral issues that have become intertwined in their environment, and they need a fresh start. This can definitely have an impact on the effectiveness of your IM sessions, and what progress you see both in the clinic, and in their other environments.
