The Brain Clock: It is possible to fine-tune the human brain clock

The Brain Clock: It is possible to fine-tune the human brain clock

In this fourth installment of my introduction as an IM-Home blogger, I share one more piece of the puzzle that convinced me that brain clock-based interventions hold considerable promise. 

In my first post I reported how my scientific skepticism initially kept me arms-length from an IM school-based study, the positive results which stimulated my subsequent search for scientific and theoretical research to explain the IM effect.  This search resulted in the Brain Clock blog and the conclusion that synchronized metronome tapping and other rhythm-based interventions must be improving a central “jack-of-all-trades” cognitive mechanism (the topic of my second post).  The recent IM-Home “Sound of Music” post, which was abstracted from a post at the Brain Clock blog, featured the link between rhythm-based music therapies and recovery from brain injury, in the case for Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.

Research evidence that continued to “close the door” on my initial IM skepticism, and which now has me blogging at the Brain Clock and the IM-Home blogs and, more recently, has me near completion of the 15th session of my first personalized IM-Home...

A “Real Birthday Party” was in order for Raymond this Year!

 

A “Real Birthday Party” was in order for Raymond this Year!

Several years ago, I met a 9-year-old boy named “Raymond”, who had recently been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. He was very bright and got A’s in classes like math and history. Raymond knew a lot about video games and video game systems, and was willing to tell you every detail about them. He also confided in me that he had no friends and that kids laughed at him and turned the other way when he came over to them. The reason that he came to me was that his handwriting was illegible and very slow. And during his OT evaluation, I discovered that his coordination was well below age level (much more like a 4 year old) and that he had weakness throughout his body. I also noticed that his focus and concentration was very poor for non-preferred topics.

Can IM help a child with a TBI? YESS!!

Children who have a Traumatic Brain Injury typically go through a course of rehabilitation. It seems that although there are clusters of similarities in these patients, there are rarely ever 2 that exhibit the exact same difficulties after their injury. I met a 7 year old who had fallen off of a truck, and had suffered a TBI. He required surgery to repair a hole in his skull from the fall. This little guy received OT, PT and speech for a year in an intensive program and did very well. One year post his accident, he was demonstrating great recovery in every area – walking with no support or braces, cognitively intact and able to complete 1st grade work without assistance, speaking clearly and without difficulty. His last resulting effect was a left hemiplegia. His left arm dangled from his side and was non functional. This was very frustrating to him and to his family.

Holiday season, fun and games for some and overstimulation for others…

 

Holiday season, fun and games for some and overstimulation for others…

The holiday season is here and is packed with a frenzy of a million things to do like: gift-wrappings, relatives coming to town, meal preparations, and chaotic shopping. If you feel overwhelmed from this then imagine the potential effects on your child. Many parents of children with ADHD or Autism may be somewhat used to dealing with the effects of overstimulation. Under the right circumstances any child can be over stimulated.  Here at Interactive Metronome® we want to wish you the best holiday season ever, and in order to facilitate that we have gathered some tips that could help you deal with overstimulation.

 

Cool Fonts For Dyslexia

 

Check out these cool fonts!

ABC News recently posted an article by Carrie Gann, that talks about how some fonts could help people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities like APD and NVLD, better intake printed information. Christian Boer, the Dutch graphic artist who designed the font is dyslexic himself and fully understands the struggle that people go through when reading. Read the full article.

The Brain Clock: The brain clock as a “jack-of-all-trades” brain mechanism that can be fine-tuned to improve human performance

The Brain Clock:  The brain clock as a “jack-of-all-trades” brain mechanism that can be fine-tuned to improve human performance

In my inaugural IM-Home blog post (Brain Clock: My journey to understand the science of mental timing interventions), I concluded with the following statement:

I am now convinced that the IM-effect is impacting a fundamental and critical cognitive mechanism (or set of mechanisms) involved in a wide array of human cognitive and motor performance domains.”

Cognitive and intelligence researchers have long sought for (and argued about) the “holy grail”of intelligence—an underlying core essence or mechanism that plays a role in most all intellectual and human performance situations.  It is typically referred to as g, or general intelligence.   The general consensus touches on the concept of neural efficiency.  Such a general mechanism or process is considered a domain-general cognitive mechanism as it works across multiple domains of human ability, or in other words...if you improve this one area of ability, it in turn improves several areas of ability in the same person like cognitive skills (focus, attention, memory), speech/language abilities (articulation, auditory processing, reading), and motor skills (coordination, gait, balance).   It works across multiple domains of human ability.  Some have referred to such general mechanisms...

Timing drives Self Esteem & Coordination for CP child

 

Some children with cerebral palsy have great difficulty with coordination and timing. They may have difficulty with their fine motor skills, catching a ball or walking smoothly. In watching these wonderful kids over the years, I have noticed 2 things, (1) that their timing can be off when they try to perform coordinated tasks. For example when they work on their ball skills they close their hands too early or too late to catch/bounce the ball and (2) that they sometimes lack self confidence in their physical skills making them less likely to practice them. Many of these kids have been in therapy for their entire life, and then when they reach 10, 11, 12 years old they grow tired and weary of the typical weekly sessions of practicing the skills themselves. While practice of skills is definitely necessary, I think we are learning to go a step further to address the underlying issues of timing and coordination with the Interactive Metronome program. 

Joanne answered the phone for the first time ever and talked to her Mom!

Mom came to me one afternoon, and in telling her story her eye’s teared up. She had phoned home from work one afternoon, and her daughter answered the phone! This was the first time that this had EVER happened! Mom was thrilled as she was able to ask her daughter questions and have them answered. She also noticed that her daughter was much more interested in going to school and church functions. She actually asked to invite a classmate over for a play date. Read the full story

Dyslexia: Ann’s Story

Ann is 14 and diagnosed with Dyslexia, she also was a sub-performing athlete, lacking some basic stamina skills of other kids in her team. After IM therapy Ann not only improved significantly with her reading scores, she also improved considerably as an athlete and performed better in both her lacrosse and cheerleading team. Read the full story.

Quadriplegic improves quality of life through IM therapy

"Gary" is a 39 year old male with a diagnosis of C4 quadriplegia, onset 12/04 when he was struck in the back. His initial symptoms included mid back pain which quickly progressed to right foot numbness, then loss of sensation to both legs up to the chest level. "Gary" underwent decompression and fusion. At discharge "Gary" was independent with all self-care activities, including showering and dressing, all wheelchair transfers, meal preparation, laundry, dishes, and house cleaning. He gets in and out of his home independently, which requires three steps to enter with bilateral hand rails. Read his amazing story!

 

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