Dad Here. On Monday 11/2/15 we took a trip up to St. George, Utah to investigate a possible new therapy for Jordan. The kids were off school for the Nevada Day (Halloween) long weekend. This Therapy was brought our direction by a coworker of mine at Zarkana. She has a neighbor who, if I remember correctly, suffered a stroke and had very similar symptoms as Jordan. After a series of treatments, how many I do not know, there was an increase in mobility. This was enough to initiate my investigation bug. So off on the research wagon I went. The therapy is Neurological Feedback, also known as Brainwave Mapping.
Here is the general primes of Neurological Feedback. Everyone knows there are two half's to the brain. Left & Right. There is a ton of speculation as to which side is analytical and which is artistic but nothing conclusive has been proved. However, they do know that the left and right sides to operate and function differently, and they know that when each side has the same output, the brain functions at it's best. Better known as Brain Balance.
So what the process of mapping Jordan's brain was to place a cap with twelve electrodes on his head. These do not introduce electricity but in stead read his brain activity in the twelve separate areas being measured. These areas are symmetrical. If there was one above his left ear then there was one above his right ear. Each individual location is related to various issues people deal with in our lifetime. It is very closely related to the newest Disney movie "Inside Out". One electrode reads the energy output at the "Worry" location while another is reading the "Anger" location and yet another will read the energy output for "Sadness". I need to go back and watch the special features of "Inside Out" to see if Neurological Feedback had any part in the development of the movie. It's too coincidental. Anyway, When you start pairing up each symmetrical side and reading their energy output, or lack there of, is when you are able to start identifying issues like depression, anxiety, short term memory problems, A.D.D. etc.
In Jordan's case, according to the clinician, there are some identifiable issues he could be dealing with. This is where it gets tough for Melissa and me. Jordan never shows any signs of anxiety, depression, worry, etc. and trust me, we look and observe very carefully for those signs while trying to push him as much as we feel he can handle. We do believe Jordan tends to be an "I'm OK" kind of kid. he showed a high tolerance for pain while in both Sunrise and Phoenix Children s Hospitals, so for him to play off any emotional issues is possible. His charts the clinician shared with us showed imbalance between the right and left hemispheres. Most points showed over activity and few others showed mild under activity. The big plus to take away from all this was, the general areas that had damage on the CAT Scan & MRI showed activity. Many times with an injury like Jordan's the area of damage usually shows very low activity. Most of Jordan's activity was very high or Over Active. Remember, the goal of this therapy is normal energy output at all points. only when all points show normal energy output will your brain be in balance.
So how do we move forward with trying this? Jordan and I will drive two hours to St. George on Monday's after school (I'm off work) & Fridays after school (I will need to leave work early). Complete the 1 hour session and then come home. This will happen for five weeks and then we will take another map reading to see if the levels have changed. Then we will reevaluate the next steps.
Here are some images to help you understand better what will happen.
Here is the general primes of Neurological Feedback. Everyone knows there are two half's to the brain. Left & Right. There is a ton of speculation as to which side is analytical and which is artistic but nothing conclusive has been proved. However, they do know that the left and right sides to operate and function differently, and they know that when each side has the same output, the brain functions at it's best. Better known as Brain Balance.
So what the process of mapping Jordan's brain was to place a cap with twelve electrodes on his head. These do not introduce electricity but in stead read his brain activity in the twelve separate areas being measured. These areas are symmetrical. If there was one above his left ear then there was one above his right ear. Each individual location is related to various issues people deal with in our lifetime. It is very closely related to the newest Disney movie "Inside Out". One electrode reads the energy output at the "Worry" location while another is reading the "Anger" location and yet another will read the energy output for "Sadness". I need to go back and watch the special features of "Inside Out" to see if Neurological Feedback had any part in the development of the movie. It's too coincidental. Anyway, When you start pairing up each symmetrical side and reading their energy output, or lack there of, is when you are able to start identifying issues like depression, anxiety, short term memory problems, A.D.D. etc.
In Jordan's case, according to the clinician, there are some identifiable issues he could be dealing with. This is where it gets tough for Melissa and me. Jordan never shows any signs of anxiety, depression, worry, etc. and trust me, we look and observe very carefully for those signs while trying to push him as much as we feel he can handle. We do believe Jordan tends to be an "I'm OK" kind of kid. he showed a high tolerance for pain while in both Sunrise and Phoenix Children s Hospitals, so for him to play off any emotional issues is possible. His charts the clinician shared with us showed imbalance between the right and left hemispheres. Most points showed over activity and few others showed mild under activity. The big plus to take away from all this was, the general areas that had damage on the CAT Scan & MRI showed activity. Many times with an injury like Jordan's the area of damage usually shows very low activity. Most of Jordan's activity was very high or Over Active. Remember, the goal of this therapy is normal energy output at all points. only when all points show normal energy output will your brain be in balance.
So how do we move forward with trying this? Jordan and I will drive two hours to St. George on Monday's after school (I'm off work) & Fridays after school (I will need to leave work early). Complete the 1 hour session and then come home. This will happen for five weeks and then we will take another map reading to see if the levels have changed. Then we will reevaluate the next steps.
Here are some images to help you understand better what will happen.
First of all, this is not Jordan. This is the assessment that measures the brain waves. This is not the treatment. The treatment will focus on one area each session with only two electrodes symmetrically placed, one on left and one on right, for whatever location they will be working. Jordan will watch a program on TV of his choice and the program on the computer will dim the screen and lower the sound which will cause his brain, without Jordan realizing it, to work subconsciously to bring the brightness and sound up. Painless and noninvasive.
Again, These are not Jordan's readings, but is similar to the charts we received. I have circled the scanned area that is in balance. Each one of the brain's above is a separate scan with different meaning. Yellow is Very High Activity, Red is High activity, Green is normal, Light blue is Low Activity, Dark Blue is Very Lo Activity.