October 21, 2024 • 33 mins
Discover the incredible potential of neurofeedback therapy with our special guest, Sheri Reichman, a seasoned neurotherapist. Together, we navigate the promising world of neurofeedback, offering hope to families seeking alternative therapies for children with special needs. This episode promises to unveil how training brainwaves can lead to remarkable transformations in behavior, cognitive function, and emotional regulation. Sheri and I share personal stories of how incorporating neurofeedback and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) into our children's routines has significantly reduced reliance on medication and brought about positive changes.
Explore the unique benefits of neurofeedback therapy for nonverbal children, especially those on the autism spectrum. We dive into the science of EEG monitoring, explaining how it allows children to engage without verbal communication, often resulting in breakthroughs in emotional connections and communication. With insights from reputable institutes, we highlight how neurofeedback addresses symptoms of ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression. Learn about the holistic approach involving HBOT and the importance of adaptability and healing through therapies offered by East Valley Naturopathic Doctors, which include specialty labs, genetic testing, and nutritional counseling. Join us for a transformative discussion that could just be the key to unlocking new possibilities for your child's growth and development.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Special Parent Podcast.
I'm Dr Deanna Iverson, a proudmom of three boys and two
incredible kids with specialneeds.
I'm here to remind you thatyou're not alone on this journey
.
Whether you're navigating thehighs, the lows or those moments
in between, this podcast isyour weekly dose of hope, help
and heartfelt guidance.
(00:20):
Together, we'll celebrate thevictories, tackle the challenges
and connect with a communitythat truly understands.
So grab your favorite cup ofcoffee or tea, settle in and
let's embark on this empoweringjourney together.
You've got this.
Have you ever wanted to explorenew therapies instead of
(00:42):
medication to help your childwith any of their struggles,
whether that be autism, adhd?
Today we are talking about twotherapies that you can try
instead of medication to helpyou and your child improve,
whether that be behavior, healthfactors, all of those good
things out there.
So welcome to the SpecialParent Podcast.
(01:03):
I'm Dr Deanna Iverson and I'mhere with my special guest,
sherry Sherry, welcome back.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Thank you for joining us again.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Thanks for having me back.
Could you just real quickly, incase someone missed part one,
which you can go tospecialparentorg to catch up if
you missed it?
But if they missed part one,could you give them just a quick
synopsis of what it is you do?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Right, I am a neurotherapist, and a
neurotherapist is one who is aneurofeedback clinician, who
teaches individuals how toregulate brainwave activity
using EEG monitoring.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
It's great.
We're going to learn more aboutthat.
So if she just spoke German toyou, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I know you can't avoid it, right, exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Well, last time we talked about one of the first
therapies, which we called HBOThyperbaric oxygen therapy and
how beneficial that is.
But HBOT pairs very well within fact, you used a great word
last time pairs very well withneurofeedback, and there's a lot
of research that supports bothof these for autism, for ADHD,
(02:07):
for children with disabilitiesof all different kinds,
including cognitive functioning,behavioral modifications, all
of those.
So today we're going to talk alittle bit more just about neuro
therapy or neurofeedback.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yeah, it's kind of the same thing.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Yeah, same thing, it's kind ofthe same thing.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Therapizing the neurons, therewe go.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Like it, I love it.
I discovered your office fromtalking to another parent, so
that's why I'm like, hey,parents, we've got to get
together, we've got to betalking about it and networking.
And so my older son has beenthrough both HBOT and
neurofeedback.
In fact he did 40 sessions ofneurofeedback over time and huge
(02:48):
difference Changes in hisbehavior, changes in his ability
to function in class.
He is completely off allmedications.
He's on none, zero off allmedications, and he was on a
mood stabilizing medication anda medication for ADHD when we
started this.
My other son, he's at the sametime doing HBOT and
(03:13):
neurofeedback and just fromgoing through the little bit
that we've done, we've alreadybeen able to take off one
medication, that Adderallmedication, that narcotic class
drug that we don't like to giveour kids because of the strong
side effects.
We've been able to get him offthat.
He's still on another one, butI have hope and I have just a
(03:33):
lot of.
I think it's going to work.
In fact, I just kind of know itis.
I've already seen it work andI'm so excited for what's to
come.
So, since we're talking aboutneurofeedback today, especially
its impact on autism, adhd andchildren, we know it can help.
Research supports anxiety.
Research supports at helpingeven with depression.
(03:55):
How, what are?
What is it?
First of all, what does thismean?
We called it neurotherapy.
That's my way of putting it.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
What is this?
So neurofeedback is a form ofbiofeedback.
It is a way to train brainwavesto learn to function in a more
organized or balancedfunctionality.
So, as a result, you start tofunction better, you can think
(04:25):
more clearly, you can shift yourattention from work to play and
from play to work, from awaketo sleep.
It increases sleep quality, soyou're resting and regenerating
and healing, as you need to dowhile you're sleeping and then
waking up feeling better, and itimproves your mood.
But it can be healing on somany levels, from traumatic
(04:50):
levels either emotional orphysical trauma like a TBI or
concussion, and then also it canhelp those with learning
disabilities that are born withdysregulation and they just need
a little nudge and a helptoward learning to balance that
function.
And it's done withneurofeedback.
(05:10):
We can talk more about how itworks exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
And what I love about that is what we're talking
about is neurons and theirability to make connections in
the brain, and so my son, mymiddle son, has a rare genetic
disorder and KBG syndrome.
The shortening of the gene orany impact on the gene actually
impacts neuroplasticity, as wellas some other things, but
that's what we're talking abouttoday impacts neuroplasticity.
(05:37):
Neuroplasticity is neuroneurons plasticity, flexibility,
ability to change molds, so theability of the brain neurons to
change and therefore learnedright.
What I've noticed with him iswe've had an increase of his
just understanding of the worldaround him.
(05:57):
We've had a huge increase ofthat just in this short little
amount of time.
What I also noticed with bothof my kids so I want parents to
expect this is that when youfirst start any therapy,
including these therapies,sometimes you see an increase of
behaviors and I talked aboutthis the first time but, if you
missed it, an increase of thenegative side of things before
(06:18):
you start to see that regulationstart to play out.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
There's a little aggravation.
That happens when things arestarting to change.
Then it's a little aggravatingto the system.
However, I can tell what you'reabout to say.
Those increase in aggravationor that results in increases in
negative behaviors.
Soon, really, quite quickly, inlike six sessions or less, they
(06:41):
start to become less intenseand shorter lived.
So they're getting over thesetriggering moments, they're
stopping themselves, they'rereflecting and they're using
their words more appropriatelyto express how they feel when
they're upset.
It's really amazing and yeah,you're right, it is due to the
(07:01):
increase in neuroplasticitythat's happening that that brain
that was once so rigid I hadthat did not have the ability to
be flexible enough to beaccepting of negative things
that may happen to them thatthey don't like, or be
challenged in a way where theyhave to figure it out and get
through this project or problem.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah so.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And it just keeps getting better and better it
does.
It does keep getting better,and one of the things that I
also noticed was, as Jar'sbehavior was is beginning to
improve.
He is having a lot more of theturnaround time, so he'll he.
One of the things that he doesis he gets.
He gets mad whenever he's askedto do something, and now he
(07:47):
still gets mad when he's askedto do something that he doesn't
want to do in the moment.
But I will say Trevor is at theright response and he'll.
No, mom, it's not.
Whereas before we had a battlefor a while, yeah, and sometimes
he never even came back aroundto it, it was just we had to
move on, and now he's came backaround to it.
It was just we had to move on,and now he's coming back around
to it.
Both of these therapies, unlikesome other counseling type
(08:10):
therapies, also can work withnonverbal children, and so I
think that that's an importantthing, because we have so many
nonverbal children in the autismspectrum and and they don't
have to be able to verbalizewhat's going on for these
therapies to work.
They can be watching well,trevor's, I think, in the middle
of Spider-Man right now.
Yep, he's watched a few ofthose.
(08:31):
Yeah, so they're watchingsomething and the therapy is
happening, right, the therapy ishappening, and so it's amazing
to me that we have foundsomething that doesn't have
these negative side effects ofmedication and can work with
children all over the spectrum,including nonverbal, because
nonverbal children are some ofthe harder ones to work with in
(08:53):
therapies because they can'tcommunicate back to you in the
same way.
Right, and this therapy doesn'trequire that communication back
.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Exactly.
It's done automatically andinstantly through EEG monitoring
, which is kind of the beauty ofit and why it's such a good fit
for nonverbal autisticcommunity.
They don't need to communicateand, as a result, they many
times gain the ability to startverbalizing.
I've had that happen withseveral nonverbals they start
(09:21):
communicating and it just it'smagical, it really is, and it
just changes their lives andtheir family's lives when they
start answering a question andreplying and using words, and
that's amazing.
Yeah, showing compassion too.
That's another thing.
That it's like how.
What drug can producecompassion Right?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
It can't.
That's a, that's a connectionin the brain.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
They're asking how you're doing, how are you
grandma?
You know I've had that from asweet little boy.
He for the first time asked howgrandma was doing and she was
just in tears.
She was just so happy, like wow, he's thinking outside of
himself, he's aware he'sconnecting.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
And that happened because of these brain
connections that weren't able tobe made before because of what
was happening.
And now, with neurofeedback,they're happening.
These brain connections arebeing made and these children
are developing in a way thatthey may not have developed
otherwise.
The Drake Institute I always domy research.
(10:22):
The Drake Institute said thatneurofeedback can treat and even
may eliminate many symptoms andco-occurring symptoms of ADHD,
autism, anxiety, depression.
The National Institute ofHealth also included improved
cognitive functioning, sleep andbehavior, which are some of the
(10:44):
ones you've mentioned.
I've noticed that my children,on days that we have
neurofeedback, go to bed earlier.
Nice, they're just tired, yeah,and I think, well, it's because
the brain worked, but it workedin a good way, yeah, and
they're not.
Even if they do watch theirelectronics later after
neurofeedback, they're not still.
Their brain's not as fired upby the electronics, as much as
you can tell.
It's just trying to not still.
(11:04):
Their brain's not as fired upby the electronics, as much as
you can tell, it's just tryingto rewire.
It's really amazing.
So what is it?
You bring your child in forneurofeedback?
What is it that they shouldexpect, especially if they have
to set their child up, because Iknow that they have to put a
cap on and stuff.
So what is it that they shouldbe expecting from this?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Well, first off, we start with a brain map.
And a brain map, or QEED, isthe initial appointment where we
take a measure of the brainwaveactivity and get an assessment
of the health of it.
That enables us to create orfind protocols that are unique
to that individual, that aregoing to help them the most
(11:40):
where they need that help andsupport the most.
So with that information, thenthey can start the training,
which is what you're kind ofdescribing.
Well, the brain mappinginvolves a cap on the head, so
there's some sensory challengesto work around there, depending
on their level of sensitivities,and we're very good at thinking
(12:01):
outside the box, for workingaround.
If a child can't handlesomething on their head, we've
handled that and we've been ableto do workarounds where we
don't have to use the cap.
It takes longer, but we keepthem entertained.
And parents are fantastic withbringing in things and they help
so much.
I couldn't do it without you,special parents.
(12:22):
You guys are awesome, youreally are rock stars.
But yeah, so we'll get the brainmap and then they come in for a
session and that's when weplace just individual leads in
certain areas of the brain,their sensors, and they just
rest on the scalp with a littleEEG paste just holds it in place
(12:43):
and allows us to monitor theirbrainwave activity.
While that's being monitored,they watch a TV screen and
ideally we'd love them to belistening through headphones.
If they can handle that, that'sgreat, because the feedback
comes through to them throughthe visual and auditory process
of watching the screen andlistening to the sounds that are
(13:05):
involved with the movie orcartoon or whatever it is they
want to watch.
It doesn't matter what theywatch.
It's not about the content,right, it's about the delivery
of feedback to the brain,telling it when it's behaving
optimally and not and thatscreen and the noise responds to
get the brain to react again,yeah.
(13:26):
And then the screen and thenoise responds to get the brain
to react again.
Yeah, there are cues givenvisually and auditorily by the
screen getting bright when thosebrain waves are in that ideal
range for optimal function.
And the sound follows as well.
The sound also gets a littlelouder, easier to hear and
softer and not so easy to hear.
So it's all happening kind ofbehind the scenes.
The child watches and theynotice, sometimes they go.
(13:46):
Why is the screen getting dim?
And that's part of the process.
It's a brain workout, we tellthem.
Your brain will figure it outand soon it won't fluctuate as
much.
And that's kind of magical too,because by the sixth session
the brain is figuring it out andyou'll notice that the screen
does not go as dim as often asit once did in the first few
sessions.
Um, and that's about when youstart to notice the symptoms
(14:11):
getting better too.
It's around session six, maybesix to ten, everybody's
different, but yeah.
So they just sit in a cozychair and watch a movie.
It is a cozy chair, it's arecliner, yeah, they're in their
own little little unit and theyjust get to watch what they
want.
And that's why it's so great,because it's like parents, you
know, take that opportunity andgo okay, well, you behave, you
(14:31):
do X, y, z.
Then you get your screen timeand your neurofeedback session
and then they really lookforward to going to their
appointment and some save their,you know, if they're watching a
movie, we pause it and then wesave it for next time.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
And then we pick up where they left off and they
just love that, yes, and thentrevor has loved that.
I mean, I can speak to that.
Every time I got I said, oh,what'd you watch today?
He tells me all about it.
He doesn't even realize hisbrain got a workout.
He's all talking about themovie and you guys have been
awesome.
So, like you said, you allowparents to bring in whatever's
going to help their child becomfortable, of course, within
reason, but most of us would notbring anything out of the
ballpark.
You've included, allowed.
(15:10):
So we have a therapy dog in ourhouse, not a service dog, it's
a therapy dog.
And you've allowed us to bringin the therapy dog and she sits
with Trevor in the chair duringhis neurofeedback session and
she just sits there andoccasionally Trevor will be be
like, oh, she wanted to get up,but I just, you know, held on to
her and she sat back down, andso and it's 30 minutes, yeah.
(15:31):
So she just sits in the chairwith him for 30 minutes and
relaxes and it gives him thatkind of that comfort.
So if there's a blanket theywant to have, or, especially, a
toy they want to hold, orwhatever is needed, you guys
have been very flexible inallowing that.
Yeah, and I think that that'skey for parents too is to know
that you know they have a, theyhave an office that's going to
work with them.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Right, exactly, yeah, I mean, if it's a very young
child, they can snuggle together, they can hold their child in
their lap and they can havetheir snuggle time, or, once the
child's comfortable and doingthe session by themselves, and
the parent can take that time tothemselves and we have a nice
quiet.
We call it the meditation room.
You've relaxed in there manytimes and it's just a nice
(16:13):
little place where you can getsome work done or take a nap.
I mean, heck, take advantage.
I did one day.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
I took a nap one day.
I remember it very clearly.
I was like my eyes are prettyheavy, I'm just gonna lay my
head down and all of a.
My eyes are pretty heavy, I'mjust going to lay my head down
and all of a sudden Trevor wasthere.
He's like I'm done, I'm asleep.
So, yeah, no, I also talk a lotabout the importance of parental
self-care.
Yes, in a sense, this therapyprovides a little bit of time, a
(16:42):
couple days a week, for someparental self-care.
Maybe you just want to play agame on your phone as a parent,
maybe you want to watch yourfavorite show or binge watch
something, or maybe you need anap, or maybe you just need to
get some work done.
You can bring your laptop in.
So, yeah, it helps everybody inthe family.
Totally Honestly, it reallydoes help everybody.
And so we talked abouthyperbaric oxygen therapy, hbot,
(17:04):
last time, and so we concludedby talking about how these two
can work together.
But in case I didn't hear it, Ikind of want to review that how
do HBOT and neurofeedback, howcan they help each other out?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Right, right.
So the wonderful word ofthey're synergistic with each
other, hyperbaric really helpsthe hardware of the body, so the
physical structures of thebrain and the gi tract in the
system, and reducing theinflammation so that those can
(17:37):
function better.
And then the neurofeedbackhelps optimize what we would
call the software or theprocessing centers of the brain.
So yeah, they don't clash inany way, they're totally
synergistic.
So, like your son Trevor goes,he does them back to back.
And if you have the time to dothat, it's totally great.
(17:59):
In either order, it doesn'tmatter Hyperbaric first and then
neurofeedback, like you do, oryou can do it the other way
around.
Either way it's going to bebeneficial and the results are
lasting.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And you mentioned the home care unit.
So we, in the beginning, whenwe started neurofeedback, trevor
was in junior high and so hedidn't get home till 4.30, which
meant we were unable to get tothe office to access the
equipment.
And you guys, we have a homecare unit, so what?
I loved it because it gave usan ability to start when we
(18:34):
couldn't get to your office,which was so important because I
knew Trevor really needed this.
After I'd seen the results in myolder son, I just knew we
needed to do this, but we justcouldn't make it in, and so we
had a home care unit, whichactually was installed on my own
laptop.
So I had my laptop.
I didn't have to learn newequipment per se my laptop and
(18:55):
the equipment plugged into mylaptop.
You guys trained us on where toput stuff, how to hook it all
up, and then we were able to runit at home.
The only thing is, at home wehad to make sure that there
weren't other distractions thatwe're going to put in play, and
so that might be something theyhave to tackle, but in general,
as long as we kept thedistractions low, we were able
(19:15):
to run it three, four days aweek because we were home and it
was just 30 minutes of hey,you're going to jump on and
you're going to do this.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
So we explained to them what you send home and how
that works, because it was superhelpful for us.
Yeah, home training is a reallygreat option because, as you
had mentioned, it's timeconsuming to find the time to
get into an appointment timethat works for you Especially if
you're in school.
Yeah, our afternoon appointmentsfill up so fast because there's
only so many chairs and roomsin the office to set up, and we
have a pretty substantial set up.
We can accommodate five at atime.
(19:52):
So home training is just sogreat too, because you can do it
at home whenever works for you.
We severely discount it becauseyou're doing what I call the
heavy lifting.
You're the one taking the timeto set them up.
But it is very easy.
Yeah, it's we.
If you have a compatible laptop, which is not hard to find Most
(20:14):
have a Windows-based laptop itdoes have to be Windows-based.
It will work on a Mac if you'reable to put a Windows operating
system on a Mac.
So that is an option.
But yeah, we send you a link todownload specific software to
run.
And this is all assuming you'vehad a brain map and and we have
(20:36):
a plan for you.
The brain map can't be done athome, that has to be done in
office.
But as far as following throughwith the therapies, then we can
set you up with a home trainingunit, um, so you just need a
laptop, software and then wegive you the hardware
neurofeedback training hardware,which is just a little little
um amplifier and sensors thatplug in there, and that's the
(21:00):
tutorial that we schedule.
We spend a good hour maybe hourand a half if needed with me
showing you how to um correctlyattach the leads, where on the
head to put them and how to carefor them and clean them after
you're done, walking you throughthe step-by-step, you know,
using the software.
The software is veryuser-friendly.
You just basically follow theprompts and it gives you quality
(21:23):
checks before starting thesession so you can be confident
that you have everythingattached right and that you're
going to have proper feedback.
Um, and then and then you justgo and it turns itself off and
then you're done and you justput it away and get ready for
next time, yep, and, like yousaid, user friendly.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
So I was running Trevor and Jaden at home at the
same time and Jaden could hookhimself up.
Yeah, and he was 16.
He could hook himself up, hecould follow the prompts.
He even knew his logininformation and he could get
himself going on it, probablybecause he's a teenager.
He actually did it easier thanI did, and then I started being
(22:03):
like, well, since you're so goodat this, can you do your
brother?
But this is again the older sonwho has been through the HBOT,
who is now.
This was his last 10 of 40sessions and we've seen these
huge jumps with him and that'swhy I was able to trust him to
do these things, because we'veseen these improvements.
His neuroconnectivity isdefinitely running at quite an
(22:26):
efficient level now, whereaswe've come a long ways.
So I thank you guys for thatfor sure.
You talked about holding asmall child.
Is there an age range that'sgood, better for either of?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
these right um, hyperbaric can be any age um,
assuming the checks have beenmade as far as, like you know,
the hole in the heart, you knowyou can't do h-bot with that
yeah, there are some things youneed to be aware of, so check
their website, east ValleyNaturopathic Doctors, and you
can listen to our previousepisode on HBOT are really
(23:01):
limited to age seven and above,which is a wide range, but under
seven brain mapping can stillbe used.
(23:21):
It's difficult, though, to get asix-year-old or younger
especially one with specialneeds to sit still enough to get
a quality measure.
And two, the database that theinformation is sent to for
processing compares that dataagainst seven-year-olds and up,
like you put in your age, and itcorrelates that data with a
(23:45):
normative database of theappropriate age.
So that's also why it'simportant to just wait till
they're seven.
There are special circumstanceswhere, if you've already seen
the doctor and um he re and weknow neurofeedback would be
beneficial, it is safe for underage seven Um, we just have no
(24:07):
negative side effects.
Um, I've done as young as twoum with specialized protocols
and application techniques.
So I it is possible to trainthem at a younger age.
Usually we start them with HBOTto kind of stabilize them a
little bit better, and then, ifneeded, then we can segue into
neurofeedback training.
But yeah, typically age sevenand up, but special
(24:29):
circumstances we can do it withyounger than seven, but you just
need to see the doctor aboutthat first.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, absolutely, that makes sense.
Well, that's good to know.
Is there a benefit in repeatingtherapy, which I am asking for
myself personally too?
Is there a benefit in repeatingtherapy after some time has
passed?
So let's say you did it atseven or 10.
And now your child is 15.
Because we know that hormonesand growth change the brain.
So is there a benefit torepeating therapies, and is
(24:59):
there a recommendation on thatat all?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, it's always safe to repeat or do another
program Right.
You're always in, it's alwaysenhancing the functionality of
the brain, and you know we livein a toxic environment, no
matter how clean we try and keepour diets and our environment,
and two accidents happen andthose types of things can kind
(25:23):
of set us back from any progresswe may have made in a previous
program.
So, yeah, it's always an optionto you know, revisit more
neurofeedback training.
We just need a fresh map to geta fresh.
You know, look under the hoodand see what's going on now and
where's our target area and whatdo we need to work with at this
(25:45):
point in time.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yeah, that would be great Because, like I said,
asking for myself, asking for afriend, right?
No shame, no shame in needingit again.
Or you know Well, and again,again, I've seen such incredible
progress.
I just feel like, well, let's,let's give some time for the
brain to do its thing, fordevelopment to happen, because
(26:06):
we know the brain is not donegrowing until almost age 28, and
so let's give some time forsome development to happen.
Then let's jump back in and seeif we can work some things.
Sometimes life experienceswhether it's an injury or you
have a it could be an emotionaltrauma.
Even that emotional trauma isbrain trauma, neurotrauma, and
(26:26):
so we need to rewire thatneurotrauma to not be reactive,
in a sense, to triggers or tocircumstances or situations, and
so it can couple withcounseling and everything else
like that too.
And as a as a therapist, Itruly believe in brain healing
in all the ways that you can dothat.
So East Valley naturopathicdoctors does more than HBOT and
(26:51):
neurofeedback.
We talked a little bit aboutthat last time.
I've had, with Trevor, the stoolsample, but we did it and it
was incredibly valuable.
In fact I had.
I submitted it to his GI doctorand they're like how did he
even get those?
We wouldn't test for this.
And I'm like, well, I'm so gladI went to someone else, because
I would have constantly beenfighting inflammation in my son
(27:15):
and the inflammation wasn'tgoing to go anywhere because I
wasn't treating the right thingRight.
And so the stool sample.
We now treated the twoparasites and we've seen
turnaround from that.
We've talked about his vitaminlevels.
We know he has an egg allergy,but it's not the anaphylactic
kind, so the regular doctordidn't catch that, those kinds
of things.
So what is it that East Valleynaturopathic doctors offers in
(27:39):
addition to these two lovelytherapies?
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Right.
We do specialty labs.
We can even do genetic testing.
The doctors have access tonutritional counseling and
support.
That's huge.
If a child has gluten, dairy,sugar sensitivities, that's like
the worst because it's so hardto eliminate those.
(28:02):
But a lot of you know you needhelp and guidance.
Well, what can this child eatwithout aggravating the system?
Speaker 1 (28:09):
If someone says, eliminate gluten, you walk out
in the world and that isstrangely hard to do, but once
you get used to it with guidance, it becomes super easy.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah, so yeah, there's no going back, because
once you see the benefit it'slike oh, I wouldn't touch that
with a 10 foot pole, right?
Yeah, cleaning up theenvironment we have educational
series on our website.
It's hidden, it's hard to find,but at the very top of our
homepage there's a calendar taband if you click on that you'll
find a calendar of events and wehave different educational
(28:44):
series like cleaning up toxinsin your home and in your diet,
or breathwork classes.
Soon we're going to be addingother nutritional classes,
cooking classes, all kinds ofthings.
So it's always fun to justcheck out the website.
It's a living document.
It always has new things addedto it.
(29:04):
But yeah, we have lots ofservices.
Meeting with the doctor first,like I said in the beginning,
when you do your initialappointment, you get the brain
map and you review with DrPorter.
Initial appointment you get thebrain map and you review with
Dr Porter.
He can call for labs that youknow to test for other
underlying infections that maybe present that you're unaware
of.
We do a lot of testing for Lymemold exposure.
(29:28):
Pans, or PANDAS, is another bigone.
That's a big one Really.
Just it throws people for aloop and you just don't know
what to do, and neurofeedback ishelpful for that too, as well
as you know.
You got to get that infectionunder control, so it does become
a very dynamic experience, justwith the labs alone.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Yeah, and that actually reminded me that when
we started with you guys andpart of the labs we discovered
Trevor, really and I'm probablygoing to butcher this because I
forgot to look it up before wetalked about it but something
with this fungal count wasreally high and or off, or I
forgot how they put it.
But first thing he asked, drPorter asked me was he said he
(30:13):
goes has your son had a lot ofantibiotics?
And I was like, oh Lord, yes,let me tell you, you know, and
it's ear infections and sinusinfections, because he has a
cranial facial abnormalities.
Just on and on and on and on.
He'd been on antibioticsprobably since at least four or
five months old through his life.
Every time he went into surgerythey pump you with an
(30:35):
antibiotic, every time, you know.
So it's like and that's the goto treatment for just about
anything that is an illness witha kid is an antibiotic.
And so I was like oh, yes, he'shad a lot.
And he's like well, yourbacteria and your fungus balance
each other out in your body andif you've killed off your
bacteria this many times, we'vegot some high fungal counts and
(30:55):
so that's causing inflammationand we treated that and that
brought things down and changedthe brain map again.
And so there's just so much thatI believe in utilizing multiple
doctors.
You know, your primary caredoctor, your GI doctor, you have
to have a team, and anaturopathic doctor should
(31:16):
absolutely be part of that team,because you're looking at
something from a completelydifferent angle, exactly, yep,
and it's so, so important and itreally is a non-side effect
holistic angle, right, and Ilove that about you.
So last question for you todayAre there any specials that your
office is offering at this time?
Yes, yeah, are there anyspecials that your office is
offering at this?
Speaker 2 (31:35):
time.
Yes, yeah.
So anybody who calls in wantsto visit the office and make an
appointment with the doctor,we'll give them $50 off of an
initial brain map.
And, like I mentioned earlier,when you do an initial brain map
, that includes a one-hour visitwith the doctor, porter, and so
(31:55):
that's a significant savings.
And when you do the twotogether because they are
offered individually if you'rekind of on the fence about well
I don't know that I need a brainmap, I just want to see the
doctor You're saving over $200by doing the two together.
Initially it's a huge savings,and then you'll save another $50
off the top of that.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
So, yeah, I just mentioned you heard about us on
the special parent podcast andwe'll happily apply that
discount and your website has somany other resources and Dr
Porter also does a lot of talkson different topics, so you can
find those on the website.
So go to your website, find allthe resources and I joked about
(32:39):
last time.
The only resource on thewebsite is you.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
I know.
Well, maybe a clip of this willget on there, or I don't know.
There we go.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
I love that idea, we'll see.
Well thank you so much, Sherry,for joining us and talking to
us about these therapies thatthere's so much research backing
it but yet it's not well knownout there in the community and
I'm hoping to get it out thereto help all of the kids and
therefore their parents, yeah,so thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
I'm happy to be a part of that, spreading the good
news that there is somethingthat you can do about these
issues and help support thesekiddos and yeah, therapies that
are not medication.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
It's really, really helpful.
So, thank you so much, mypleasure.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
I look forward to seeing youagain and remember you've got
this.
This program is made possibleby friends and partners of the
Special Parent Podcast.
For more information and tojoin our mailing list, visit
specialparentorg.
Welcome to the Special Parent Podcast.
I'm Dr Deanna Iverson, a proudmom of three boys and two
incredible kids with specialneeds.
I'm here to remind you thatyou're not alone on this journey
.
Whether you're navigating thehighs, the lows or those moments
in between, this podcast isyour weekly dose of hope, help
and heartfelt guidance.
(00:20):
Together, we'll celebrate thevictories, tackle the challenges
and connect with a communitythat truly understands.
So grab your favorite cup ofcoffee or tea, settle in and
let's embark on this empoweringjourney together.
You've got this.
Have you ever wanted to explorenew therapies instead of
(00:42):
medication to help your childwith any of their struggles,
whether that be autism, adhd?
Today we are talking about twotherapies that you can try
instead of medication to helpyou and your child improve,
whether that be behavior, healthfactors, all of those good
things out there.
So welcome to the SpecialParent Podcast.
(01:03):
I'm Dr Deanna Iverson and I'mhere with my special guest,
sherry Sherry, welcome back.
Speaker 2 (01:07):
Thank you for joining us again.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Thanks for having me back.
Could you just real quickly, incase someone missed part one,
which you can go tospecialparentorg to catch up if
you missed it?
But if they missed part one,could you give them just a quick
synopsis of what it is you do?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Right, I am a neurotherapist, and a
neurotherapist is one who is aneurofeedback clinician, who
teaches individuals how toregulate brainwave activity
using EEG monitoring.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
It's great.
We're going to learn more aboutthat.
So if she just spoke German toyou, it's okay.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
I know you can't avoid it, right, exactly.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Well, last time we talked about one of the first
therapies, which we called HBOThyperbaric oxygen therapy and
how beneficial that is.
But HBOT pairs very well within fact, you used a great word
last time pairs very well withneurofeedback, and there's a lot
of research that supports bothof these for autism, for ADHD,
(02:07):
for children with disabilitiesof all different kinds,
including cognitive functioning,behavioral modifications, all
of those.
So today we're going to talk alittle bit more just about neuro
therapy or neurofeedback.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yeah, it's kind of the same thing.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Yeah, same thing, it's kind ofthe same thing.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Therapizing the neurons, therewe go.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Like it, I love it.
I discovered your office fromtalking to another parent, so
that's why I'm like, hey,parents, we've got to get
together, we've got to betalking about it and networking.
And so my older son has beenthrough both HBOT and
neurofeedback.
In fact he did 40 sessions ofneurofeedback over time and huge
(02:48):
difference Changes in hisbehavior, changes in his ability
to function in class.
He is completely off allmedications.
He's on none, zero off allmedications, and he was on a
mood stabilizing medication anda medication for ADHD when we
started this.
My other son, he's at the sametime doing HBOT and
(03:13):
neurofeedback and just fromgoing through the little bit
that we've done, we've alreadybeen able to take off one
medication, that Adderallmedication, that narcotic class
drug that we don't like to giveour kids because of the strong
side effects.
We've been able to get him offthat.
He's still on another one, butI have hope and I have just a
(03:33):
lot of.
I think it's going to work.
In fact, I just kind of know itis.
I've already seen it work andI'm so excited for what's to
come.
So, since we're talking aboutneurofeedback today, especially
its impact on autism, adhd andchildren, we know it can help.
Research supports anxiety.
Research supports at helpingeven with depression.
(03:55):
How, what are?
What is it?
First of all, what does thismean?
We called it neurotherapy.
That's my way of putting it.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
What is this?
So neurofeedback is a form ofbiofeedback.
It is a way to train brainwavesto learn to function in a more
organized or balancedfunctionality.
So, as a result, you start tofunction better, you can think
(04:25):
more clearly, you can shift yourattention from work to play and
from play to work, from awaketo sleep.
It increases sleep quality, soyou're resting and regenerating
and healing, as you need to dowhile you're sleeping and then
waking up feeling better, and itimproves your mood.
But it can be healing on somany levels, from traumatic
(04:50):
levels either emotional orphysical trauma like a TBI or
concussion, and then also it canhelp those with learning
disabilities that are born withdysregulation and they just need
a little nudge and a helptoward learning to balance that
function.
And it's done withneurofeedback.
(05:10):
We can talk more about how itworks exactly.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
And what I love about that is what we're talking
about is neurons and theirability to make connections in
the brain, and so my son, mymiddle son, has a rare genetic
disorder and KBG syndrome.
The shortening of the gene orany impact on the gene actually
impacts neuroplasticity, as wellas some other things, but
that's what we're talking abouttoday impacts neuroplasticity.
(05:37):
Neuroplasticity is neuroneurons plasticity, flexibility,
ability to change molds, so theability of the brain neurons to
change and therefore learnedright.
What I've noticed with him iswe've had an increase of his
just understanding of the worldaround him.
(05:57):
We've had a huge increase ofthat just in this short little
amount of time.
What I also noticed with bothof my kids so I want parents to
expect this is that when youfirst start any therapy,
including these therapies,sometimes you see an increase of
behaviors and I talked aboutthis the first time but, if you
missed it, an increase of thenegative side of things before
(06:18):
you start to see that regulationstart to play out.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
There's a little aggravation.
That happens when things arestarting to change.
Then it's a little aggravatingto the system.
However, I can tell what you'reabout to say.
Those increase in aggravationor that results in increases in
negative behaviors.
Soon, really, quite quickly, inlike six sessions or less, they
(06:41):
start to become less intenseand shorter lived.
So they're getting over thesetriggering moments, they're
stopping themselves, they'rereflecting and they're using
their words more appropriatelyto express how they feel when
they're upset.
It's really amazing and yeah,you're right, it is due to the
(07:01):
increase in neuroplasticitythat's happening that that brain
that was once so rigid I hadthat did not have the ability to
be flexible enough to beaccepting of negative things
that may happen to them thatthey don't like, or be
challenged in a way where theyhave to figure it out and get
through this project or problem.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yeah so.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
And it just keeps getting better and better it
does.
It does keep getting better,and one of the things that I
also noticed was, as Jar'sbehavior was is beginning to
improve.
He is having a lot more of theturnaround time, so he'll he.
One of the things that he doesis he gets.
He gets mad whenever he's askedto do something, and now he
(07:47):
still gets mad when he's askedto do something that he doesn't
want to do in the moment.
But I will say Trevor is at theright response and he'll.
No, mom, it's not.
Whereas before we had a battlefor a while, yeah, and sometimes
he never even came back aroundto it, it was just we had to
move on, and now he's came backaround to it.
It was just we had to move on,and now he's coming back around
to it.
Both of these therapies, unlikesome other counseling type
(08:10):
therapies, also can work withnonverbal children, and so I
think that that's an importantthing, because we have so many
nonverbal children in the autismspectrum and and they don't
have to be able to verbalizewhat's going on for these
therapies to work.
They can be watching well,trevor's, I think, in the middle
of Spider-Man right now.
Yep, he's watched a few ofthose.
(08:31):
Yeah, so they're watchingsomething and the therapy is
happening, right, the therapy ishappening, and so it's amazing
to me that we have foundsomething that doesn't have
these negative side effects ofmedication and can work with
children all over the spectrum,including nonverbal, because
nonverbal children are some ofthe harder ones to work with in
(08:53):
therapies because they can'tcommunicate back to you in the
same way.
Right, and this therapy doesn'trequire that communication back
.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Exactly.
It's done automatically andinstantly through EEG monitoring
, which is kind of the beauty ofit and why it's such a good fit
for nonverbal autisticcommunity.
They don't need to communicateand, as a result, they many
times gain the ability to startverbalizing.
I've had that happen withseveral nonverbals they start
(09:21):
communicating and it just it'smagical, it really is, and it
just changes their lives andtheir family's lives when they
start answering a question andreplying and using words, and
that's amazing.
Yeah, showing compassion too.
That's another thing.
That it's like how.
What drug can producecompassion Right?
Speaker 1 (09:43):
It can't.
That's a, that's a connectionin the brain.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
They're asking how you're doing, how are you
grandma?
You know I've had that from asweet little boy.
He for the first time asked howgrandma was doing and she was
just in tears.
She was just so happy, like wow, he's thinking outside of
himself, he's aware he'sconnecting.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
And that happened because of these brain
connections that weren't able tobe made before because of what
was happening.
And now, with neurofeedback,they're happening.
These brain connections arebeing made and these children
are developing in a way thatthey may not have developed
otherwise.
The Drake Institute I always domy research.
(10:22):
The Drake Institute said thatneurofeedback can treat and even
may eliminate many symptoms andco-occurring symptoms of ADHD,
autism, anxiety, depression.
The National Institute ofHealth also included improved
cognitive functioning, sleep andbehavior, which are some of the
(10:44):
ones you've mentioned.
I've noticed that my children,on days that we have
neurofeedback, go to bed earlier.
Nice, they're just tired, yeah,and I think, well, it's because
the brain worked, but it workedin a good way, yeah, and
they're not.
Even if they do watch theirelectronics later after
neurofeedback, they're not still.
Their brain's not as fired upby the electronics, as much as
you can tell.
It's just trying to not still.
(11:04):
Their brain's not as fired upby the electronics, as much as
you can tell, it's just tryingto rewire.
It's really amazing.
So what is it?
You bring your child in forneurofeedback?
What is it that they shouldexpect, especially if they have
to set their child up, because Iknow that they have to put a
cap on and stuff.
So what is it that they shouldbe expecting from this?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Well, first off, we start with a brain map.
And a brain map, or QEED, isthe initial appointment where we
take a measure of the brainwaveactivity and get an assessment
of the health of it.
That enables us to create orfind protocols that are unique
to that individual, that aregoing to help them the most
(11:40):
where they need that help andsupport the most.
So with that information, thenthey can start the training,
which is what you're kind ofdescribing.
Well, the brain mappinginvolves a cap on the head, so
there's some sensory challengesto work around there, depending
on their level of sensitivities,and we're very good at thinking
(12:01):
outside the box, for workingaround.
If a child can't handlesomething on their head, we've
handled that and we've been ableto do workarounds where we
don't have to use the cap.
It takes longer, but we keepthem entertained.
And parents are fantastic withbringing in things and they help
so much.
I couldn't do it without you,special parents.
(12:22):
You guys are awesome, youreally are rock stars.
But yeah, so we'll get the brainmap and then they come in for a
session and that's when weplace just individual leads in
certain areas of the brain,their sensors, and they just
rest on the scalp with a littleEEG paste just holds it in place
(12:43):
and allows us to monitor theirbrainwave activity.
While that's being monitored,they watch a TV screen and
ideally we'd love them to belistening through headphones.
If they can handle that, that'sgreat, because the feedback
comes through to them throughthe visual and auditory process
of watching the screen andlistening to the sounds that are
(13:05):
involved with the movie orcartoon or whatever it is they
want to watch.
It doesn't matter what theywatch.
It's not about the content,right, it's about the delivery
of feedback to the brain,telling it when it's behaving
optimally and not and thatscreen and the noise responds to
get the brain to react again,yeah.
(13:26):
And then the screen and thenoise responds to get the brain
to react again.
Yeah, there are cues givenvisually and auditorily by the
screen getting bright when thosebrain waves are in that ideal
range for optimal function.
And the sound follows as well.
The sound also gets a littlelouder, easier to hear and
softer and not so easy to hear.
So it's all happening kind ofbehind the scenes.
The child watches and theynotice, sometimes they go.
(13:46):
Why is the screen getting dim?
And that's part of the process.
It's a brain workout, we tellthem.
Your brain will figure it outand soon it won't fluctuate as
much.
And that's kind of magical too,because by the sixth session
the brain is figuring it out andyou'll notice that the screen
does not go as dim as often asit once did in the first few
sessions.
Um, and that's about when youstart to notice the symptoms
(14:11):
getting better too.
It's around session six, maybesix to ten, everybody's
different, but yeah.
So they just sit in a cozychair and watch a movie.
It is a cozy chair, it's arecliner, yeah, they're in their
own little little unit and theyjust get to watch what they
want.
And that's why it's so great,because it's like parents, you
know, take that opportunity andgo okay, well, you behave, you
(14:31):
do X, y, z.
Then you get your screen timeand your neurofeedback session
and then they really lookforward to going to their
appointment and some save their,you know, if they're watching a
movie, we pause it and then wesave it for next time.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
And then we pick up where they left off and they
just love that, yes, and thentrevor has loved that.
I mean, I can speak to that.
Every time I got I said, oh,what'd you watch today?
He tells me all about it.
He doesn't even realize hisbrain got a workout.
He's all talking about themovie and you guys have been
awesome.
So, like you said, you allowparents to bring in whatever's
going to help their child becomfortable, of course, within
reason, but most of us would notbring anything out of the
ballpark.
You've included, allowed.
(15:10):
So we have a therapy dog in ourhouse, not a service dog, it's
a therapy dog.
And you've allowed us to bringin the therapy dog and she sits
with Trevor in the chair duringhis neurofeedback session and
she just sits there andoccasionally Trevor will be be
like, oh, she wanted to get up,but I just, you know, held on to
her and she sat back down, andso and it's 30 minutes, yeah.
(15:31):
So she just sits in the chairwith him for 30 minutes and
relaxes and it gives him thatkind of that comfort.
So if there's a blanket theywant to have, or, especially, a
toy they want to hold, orwhatever is needed, you guys
have been very flexible inallowing that.
Yeah, and I think that that'skey for parents too is to know
that you know they have a, theyhave an office that's going to
work with them.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Right, exactly, yeah, I mean, if it's a very young
child, they can snuggle together, they can hold their child in
their lap and they can havetheir snuggle time, or, once the
child's comfortable and doingthe session by themselves, and
the parent can take that time tothemselves and we have a nice
quiet.
We call it the meditation room.
You've relaxed in there manytimes and it's just a nice
(16:13):
little place where you can getsome work done or take a nap.
I mean, heck, take advantage.
I did one day.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
I took a nap one day.
I remember it very clearly.
I was like my eyes are prettyheavy, I'm just gonna lay my
head down and all of a.
My eyes are pretty heavy, I'mjust going to lay my head down
and all of a sudden Trevor wasthere.
He's like I'm done, I'm asleep.
So, yeah, no, I also talk a lotabout the importance of parental
self-care.
Yes, in a sense, this therapyprovides a little bit of time, a
(16:42):
couple days a week, for someparental self-care.
Maybe you just want to play agame on your phone as a parent,
maybe you want to watch yourfavorite show or binge watch
something, or maybe you need anap, or maybe you just need to
get some work done.
You can bring your laptop in.
So, yeah, it helps everybody inthe family.
Totally Honestly, it reallydoes help everybody.
And so we talked abouthyperbaric oxygen therapy, hbot,
(17:04):
last time, and so we concludedby talking about how these two
can work together.
But in case I didn't hear it, Ikind of want to review that how
do HBOT and neurofeedback, howcan they help each other out?
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Right, right.
So the wonderful word ofthey're synergistic with each
other, hyperbaric really helpsthe hardware of the body, so the
physical structures of thebrain and the gi tract in the
system, and reducing theinflammation so that those can
(17:37):
function better.
And then the neurofeedbackhelps optimize what we would
call the software or theprocessing centers of the brain.
So yeah, they don't clash inany way, they're totally
synergistic.
So, like your son Trevor goes,he does them back to back.
And if you have the time to dothat, it's totally great.
(17:59):
In either order, it doesn'tmatter Hyperbaric first and then
neurofeedback, like you do, oryou can do it the other way
around.
Either way it's going to bebeneficial and the results are
lasting.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And you mentioned the home care unit.
So we, in the beginning, whenwe started neurofeedback, trevor
was in junior high and so hedidn't get home till 4.30, which
meant we were unable to get tothe office to access the
equipment.
And you guys, we have a homecare unit, so what?
I loved it because it gave usan ability to start when we
(18:34):
couldn't get to your office,which was so important because I
knew Trevor really needed this.
After I'd seen the results in myolder son, I just knew we
needed to do this, but we justcouldn't make it in, and so we
had a home care unit, whichactually was installed on my own
laptop.
So I had my laptop.
I didn't have to learn newequipment per se my laptop and
(18:55):
the equipment plugged into mylaptop.
You guys trained us on where toput stuff, how to hook it all
up, and then we were able to runit at home.
The only thing is, at home wehad to make sure that there
weren't other distractions thatwe're going to put in play, and
so that might be something theyhave to tackle, but in general,
as long as we kept thedistractions low, we were able
(19:15):
to run it three, four days aweek because we were home and it
was just 30 minutes of hey,you're going to jump on and
you're going to do this.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
So we explained to them what you send home and how
that works, because it was superhelpful for us.
Yeah, home training is a reallygreat option because, as you
had mentioned, it's timeconsuming to find the time to
get into an appointment timethat works for you Especially if
you're in school.
Yeah, our afternoon appointmentsfill up so fast because there's
only so many chairs and roomsin the office to set up, and we
have a pretty substantial set up.
We can accommodate five at atime.
(19:52):
So home training is just sogreat too, because you can do it
at home whenever works for you.
We severely discount it becauseyou're doing what I call the
heavy lifting.
You're the one taking the timeto set them up.
But it is very easy.
Yeah, it's we.
If you have a compatible laptop, which is not hard to find Most
(20:14):
have a Windows-based laptop itdoes have to be Windows-based.
It will work on a Mac if you'reable to put a Windows operating
system on a Mac.
So that is an option.
But yeah, we send you a link todownload specific software to
run.
And this is all assuming you'vehad a brain map and and we have
(20:36):
a plan for you.
The brain map can't be done athome, that has to be done in
office.
But as far as following throughwith the therapies, then we can
set you up with a home trainingunit, um, so you just need a
laptop, software and then wegive you the hardware
neurofeedback training hardware,which is just a little little
um amplifier and sensors thatplug in there, and that's the
(21:00):
tutorial that we schedule.
We spend a good hour maybe hourand a half if needed with me
showing you how to um correctlyattach the leads, where on the
head to put them and how to carefor them and clean them after
you're done, walking you throughthe step-by-step, you know,
using the software.
The software is veryuser-friendly.
You just basically follow theprompts and it gives you quality
(21:23):
checks before starting thesession so you can be confident
that you have everythingattached right and that you're
going to have proper feedback.
Um, and then and then you justgo and it turns itself off and
then you're done and you justput it away and get ready for
next time, yep, and, like yousaid, user friendly.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
So I was running Trevor and Jaden at home at the
same time and Jaden could hookhimself up.
Yeah, and he was 16.
He could hook himself up, hecould follow the prompts.
He even knew his logininformation and he could get
himself going on it, probablybecause he's a teenager.
He actually did it easier thanI did, and then I started being
(22:03):
like, well, since you're so goodat this, can you do your
brother?
But this is again the older sonwho has been through the HBOT,
who is now.
This was his last 10 of 40sessions and we've seen these
huge jumps with him and that'swhy I was able to trust him to
do these things, because we'veseen these improvements.
His neuroconnectivity isdefinitely running at quite an
(22:26):
efficient level now, whereaswe've come a long ways.
So I thank you guys for thatfor sure.
You talked about holding asmall child.
Is there an age range that'sgood, better for either of?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
these right um, hyperbaric can be any age um,
assuming the checks have beenmade as far as, like you know,
the hole in the heart, you knowyou can't do h-bot with that
yeah, there are some things youneed to be aware of, so check
their website, east ValleyNaturopathic Doctors, and you
can listen to our previousepisode on HBOT are really
(23:01):
limited to age seven and above,which is a wide range, but under
seven brain mapping can stillbe used.
(23:21):
It's difficult, though, to get asix-year-old or younger
especially one with specialneeds to sit still enough to get
a quality measure.
And two, the database that theinformation is sent to for
processing compares that dataagainst seven-year-olds and up,
like you put in your age, and itcorrelates that data with a
(23:45):
normative database of theappropriate age.
So that's also why it'simportant to just wait till
they're seven.
There are special circumstanceswhere, if you've already seen
the doctor and um he re and weknow neurofeedback would be
beneficial, it is safe for underage seven Um, we just have no
(24:07):
negative side effects.
Um, I've done as young as twoum with specialized protocols
and application techniques.
So I it is possible to trainthem at a younger age.
Usually we start them with HBOTto kind of stabilize them a
little bit better, and then, ifneeded, then we can segue into
neurofeedback training.
But yeah, typically age sevenand up, but special
(24:29):
circumstances we can do it withyounger than seven, but you just
need to see the doctor aboutthat first.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, absolutely, that makes sense.
Well, that's good to know.
Is there a benefit in repeatingtherapy, which I am asking for
myself personally too?
Is there a benefit in repeatingtherapy after some time has
passed?
So let's say you did it atseven or 10.
And now your child is 15.
Because we know that hormonesand growth change the brain.
So is there a benefit torepeating therapies, and is
(24:59):
there a recommendation on thatat all?
Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, it's always safe to repeat or do another
program Right.
You're always in, it's alwaysenhancing the functionality of
the brain, and you know we livein a toxic environment, no
matter how clean we try and keepour diets and our environment,
and two accidents happen andthose types of things can kind
(25:23):
of set us back from any progresswe may have made in a previous
program.
So, yeah, it's always an optionto you know, revisit more
neurofeedback training.
We just need a fresh map to geta fresh.
You know, look under the hoodand see what's going on now and
where's our target area and whatdo we need to work with at this
(25:45):
point in time.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Yeah, that would be great Because, like I said,
asking for myself, asking for afriend, right?
No shame, no shame in needingit again.
Or you know Well, and again,again, I've seen such incredible
progress.
I just feel like, well, let's,let's give some time for the
brain to do its thing, fordevelopment to happen, because
(26:06):
we know the brain is not donegrowing until almost age 28, and
so let's give some time forsome development to happen.
Then let's jump back in and seeif we can work some things.
Sometimes life experienceswhether it's an injury or you
have a it could be an emotionaltrauma.
Even that emotional trauma isbrain trauma, neurotrauma, and
(26:26):
so we need to rewire thatneurotrauma to not be reactive,
in a sense, to triggers or tocircumstances or situations, and
so it can couple withcounseling and everything else
like that too.
And as a as a therapist, Itruly believe in brain healing
in all the ways that you can dothat.
So East Valley naturopathicdoctors does more than HBOT and
(26:51):
neurofeedback.
We talked a little bit aboutthat last time.
I've had, with Trevor, the stoolsample, but we did it and it
was incredibly valuable.
In fact I had.
I submitted it to his GI doctorand they're like how did he
even get those?
We wouldn't test for this.
And I'm like, well, I'm so gladI went to someone else, because
I would have constantly beenfighting inflammation in my son
(27:15):
and the inflammation wasn'tgoing to go anywhere because I
wasn't treating the right thingRight.
And so the stool sample.
We now treated the twoparasites and we've seen
turnaround from that.
We've talked about his vitaminlevels.
We know he has an egg allergy,but it's not the anaphylactic
kind, so the regular doctordidn't catch that, those kinds
of things.
So what is it that East Valleynaturopathic doctors offers in
(27:39):
addition to these two lovelytherapies?
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Right.
We do specialty labs.
We can even do genetic testing.
The doctors have access tonutritional counseling and
support.
That's huge.
If a child has gluten, dairy,sugar sensitivities, that's like
the worst because it's so hardto eliminate those.
(28:02):
But a lot of you know you needhelp and guidance.
Well, what can this child eatwithout aggravating the system?
Speaker 1 (28:09):
If someone says, eliminate gluten, you walk out
in the world and that isstrangely hard to do, but once
you get used to it with guidance, it becomes super easy.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yeah, so yeah, there's no going back, because
once you see the benefit it'slike oh, I wouldn't touch that
with a 10 foot pole, right?
Yeah, cleaning up theenvironment we have educational
series on our website.
It's hidden, it's hard to find,but at the very top of our
homepage there's a calendar taband if you click on that you'll
find a calendar of events and wehave different educational
(28:44):
series like cleaning up toxinsin your home and in your diet,
or breathwork classes.
Soon we're going to be addingother nutritional classes,
cooking classes, all kinds ofthings.
So it's always fun to justcheck out the website.
It's a living document.
It always has new things addedto it.
(29:04):
But yeah, we have lots ofservices.
Meeting with the doctor first,like I said in the beginning,
when you do your initialappointment, you get the brain
map and you review with DrPorter.
Initial appointment you get thebrain map and you review with
Dr Porter.
He can call for labs that youknow to test for other
underlying infections that maybe present that you're unaware
of.
We do a lot of testing for Lymemold exposure.
(29:28):
Pans, or PANDAS, is another bigone.
That's a big one Really.
Just it throws people for aloop and you just don't know
what to do, and neurofeedback ishelpful for that too, as well
as you know.
You got to get that infectionunder control, so it does become
a very dynamic experience, justwith the labs alone.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Yeah, and that actually reminded me that when
we started with you guys andpart of the labs we discovered
Trevor, really and I'm probablygoing to butcher this because I
forgot to look it up before wetalked about it but something
with this fungal count wasreally high and or off, or I
forgot how they put it.
But first thing he asked, drPorter asked me was he said he
(30:13):
goes has your son had a lot ofantibiotics?
And I was like, oh Lord, yes,let me tell you, you know, and
it's ear infections and sinusinfections, because he has a
cranial facial abnormalities.
Just on and on and on and on.
He'd been on antibioticsprobably since at least four or
five months old through his life.
Every time he went into surgerythey pump you with an
(30:35):
antibiotic, every time, you know.
So it's like and that's the goto treatment for just about
anything that is an illness witha kid is an antibiotic.
And so I was like oh, yes, he'shad a lot.
And he's like well, yourbacteria and your fungus balance
each other out in your body andif you've killed off your
bacteria this many times, we'vegot some high fungal counts and
(30:55):
so that's causing inflammationand we treated that and that
brought things down and changedthe brain map again.
And so there's just so much thatI believe in utilizing multiple
doctors.
You know, your primary caredoctor, your GI doctor, you have
to have a team, and anaturopathic doctor should
(31:16):
absolutely be part of that team,because you're looking at
something from a completelydifferent angle, exactly, yep,
and it's so, so important and itreally is a non-side effect
holistic angle, right, and Ilove that about you.
So last question for you todayAre there any specials that your
office is offering at this time?
Yes, yeah, are there anyspecials that your office is
offering at this?
Speaker 2 (31:35):
time.
Yes, yeah.
So anybody who calls in wantsto visit the office and make an
appointment with the doctor,we'll give them $50 off of an
initial brain map.
And, like I mentioned earlier,when you do an initial brain map
, that includes a one-hour visitwith the doctor, porter, and so
(31:55):
that's a significant savings.
And when you do the twotogether because they are
offered individually if you'rekind of on the fence about well
I don't know that I need a brainmap, I just want to see the
doctor You're saving over $200by doing the two together.
Initially it's a huge savings,and then you'll save another $50
off the top of that.
Speaker 1 (32:17):
So, yeah, I just mentioned you heard about us on
the special parent podcast andwe'll happily apply that
discount and your website has somany other resources and Dr
Porter also does a lot of talkson different topics, so you can
find those on the website.
So go to your website, find allthe resources and I joked about
(32:39):
last time.
The only resource on thewebsite is you.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
I know.
Well, maybe a clip of this willget on there, or I don't know.
There we go.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
I love that idea, we'll see.
Well thank you so much, Sherry,for joining us and talking to
us about these therapies thatthere's so much research backing
it but yet it's not well knownout there in the community and
I'm hoping to get it out thereto help all of the kids and
therefore their parents, yeah,so thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (33:04):
I'm happy to be a part of that, spreading the good
news that there is somethingthat you can do about these
issues and help support thesekiddos and yeah, therapies that
are not medication.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
It's really, really helpful.
So, thank you so much, mypleasure.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
I look forward to seeing youagain and remember you've got
this.
This program is made possibleby friends and partners of the
Special Parent Podcast.
For more information and tojoin our mailing list, visit
specialparentorg.
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