Customer Reviews

Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders

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Hi,
Just to let you know, my daughter was ONCE profoundly autistic. She was so severe that doctors told us to just give up on her and just let her live her life. Well that is quite hard to do when your child is so aggressive and struggles so much with everything and anything to just not give her a chance. If I had given up, I would not have found Brain Balance. I am forever grateful to Dr. Melillo, his staff, and this wonderful program.

It was so exciting to see her at her birthday party this past week and see her eat cake, bowling, and have just a blast with her friends. She went from being so far into her self and getting worse to an outgoing, curious, humerous, lover of life little girl. I am thrilled with her willingness to try with school and her eagerness to learn the world around her. It is wonderful for her to read me a book, draw me a drawing, help with dinner, participate in Karate, and have friends that do not question whether or not she ever had any issues. She finally has a life.

I know for a personal fact that these stories are not made up. The only reason that others may think this program is to easy or to good to be true, is because our society has taught us to think only one way. We have grown to believe that there is no hope or cure. I never knew this to be true for my daughter, or her two brothers who also completed the Brain Balance Program for ADD and severe allergies. This is a very powerful program that I urge every parent to look into for the future of their child.

I am very excited that this book is finally out. I have looked forward to it for quite some time, in the hopes that families can at least experience what we have gone through. Brain Balance has brought such peace to a household that was once under so much chaos. I had three children at one time dealing with a severity of issues. I cannot even go into detail or put into words how wonderful it is to finally wake up from this nightmare. This program is such a blessing!

Please who ever is reading this, hold on to hope and faith. And never listen to those that are skeptical. This program can turn your child and your families life around as it did ours. Hold on to Believing!!!
Peace,
Jaime

Our daughter began exhibiting mild "tics" at the age of 7 (throat clearing, humming, sniffing, eye blinking). Our regular pediatrician said it was a normal part of brain development and not to worry (not necessarily true).

At age 9 she began pulling her eyelashes out (a disorder called Trichotillomania). This can progress to be a very life altering behavior in which individuals can pull eyelashes, eyebrows, and even scalp hair until the point that they have large bald patches and may be forced to wear wigs.

Through a round-a-bout contact, I discovered a doctor that was a student of Dr. Melillo. We took our daughter to see him and he ran a series of approximately 100 neurological tests to determine what was happening in our daughter's brain (everything from balance tests, to eye tracking, etc.).

He was able to determine that our daughter had a highly stimulated "left brain" (she has tested in the top 2 percent in the nation academically), but her "right brain" was slightly under stimulated. This made the communication between the two sides of her brain increasing difficult. Because the "left brain" was so stimulated, and unable to communicate properly with the right side of her brain, the over stimulation would "escape" or "release" itself from the brain in the form of her "tics" and the eyelash pulling.

We were given homework to stimulate our daughter's right brain to balance out the two sides of the brain (physical, sensory type exercises that were tailor made for her brain needs). Within DAYS our daughter's tics and eyelash pulling stopped (it has been several months now - and they have not returned). Even more amazing, is the fact that (without ANY prompting) she has stopped biting her fingernails. This child had been a nail biter since she was a toddler. She would bite them so far down that the skin would puff up over the ends of her nails. She confessed to me that the reason she started pulling her eyelashes out - was because she could no longer find enough fingernails to bite. Additionally, she has been able to stay better focused in school and we were told by the teacher that she is less "fidgety". Although she has always been highly intelligent, it has always been difficult to keep her on task and focused (I once suspected that she had ADHD).

Sometimes, we slack on doing the exercises and I will see that she can become easily distracted again - which tells us we need to get back to the exercises. However, the eyelash pulling, tics and nail biting have never returned.

I highly recommend this book and finding a doctor trained in Dr. Melillo's theories. Our regular pediatrician was suggesting "psychotherapy" and medications (which have been proven to make things worse). I shudder to think of what her future would have been if we had drugged her with Ritalin and forced her to look at ink blots.

Thank you Dr. Melillo! You're brilliant and I can only hope that I will see every pediatrician trained in this concept in my lifetime! I understand that this same concept works with adults also, and my husband and I are both looking forward to doing our own "brain balancing".

This program has worked for us and some of the changes are very easy to implement. My review is kind of long, but if you're out hunting for a solution, I think more details help.

For background, we started to realize that T had an issue when he was 2 and still wasn't speaking. He was a late walker and never really crawled properly, but we didn't realize those were issues until after the fact. When we brought up the speaking issue to our GP, it was dismissed. He's a boy, he's learning 2 languages, etc. I feel like this was the first mistake. We let ourselves be reassured instead of getting on the waitlist for services. At 3 years old, our daycare worker, who was wonderful, told us that T had issues with speach, gross motor and socially connecting. He had no friends and he would just stop and stare at other kids, rather than playing with them. He did not play with toys appropriately, but he loved the blender and food processor - taking them apart and putting them back together. He would stay occupied with these things for 30 - 40 minutes, but couldn't sit at the table for more than 2 minutes. We were constantly chasing him around with food so that he'd eat. On the other hand, his eye contact was good, he was loving with lots of kisses and hugs and he didn't spin or flap his arms. We were concerned, but not overly concerned at this point. Our GP referred us to a pediatritian. The pediatritian appiontment was shocking. She reviewed T for an hour and then told us that at 3 1/2 years old, he was at a 2 year old level. She said she'd send us to a neurologist to check his brain and get blood work done to rule out genetic disorders they could test for, but she didn't have anything positive to say. She didn't explain the various services available, what an OT does vs. speach vs. gross motor vs. behavioral. We left her office lost. We were already on the speach and OT wait list (14 months and 10 months respectively in Canada). I felt the peadiatrician meeting was a call to action and hired a private speach therapist. She was amazing. She spend 90 minutes with us the first visit doing an evaluation. She was the first person to tell us that T had an attention issue. We had no idea his lack of attention wasn't normal. She taught me lots of things, but most importantly that no therapy would work unless I learned it and did it every day with him. I've applied this to the speach/OT/Gross motor people we've worked with since.

By the time T was 5, he had continued to progress, but continued to be about 2 years behind normal. He was almost on par with his younger brother. He got his first frient at 5 - a boy 2 years younger than him. Grade 1 was looming and I felt pressure to do more. He was falling into a 'grey' zone where he had most of his self-care skills, but was not normal, so funding was scarse. I went searching for new ideas and found Dr Robin Pauc and then Dr. Mellio. I liked the ideas in the book, but better yet, I liked that the program itself tested before and after and that it wasn't subjective. At this point, I felt that both my husband or I were having trouble telling where T was and what improvements he was making. I also liked that it dealt with diet and supplements as well as exercises. It felt holistic. We went to Chicago and got T tested. He was operating at a 4 y or below level. He was 5 1/2 at the time. They also told us he couldn't smell (didn't even know how), he would have trouble feeling pain or feeling anything to do with his body (something we had not noticed at all). I moved me and both my boys to Chicago for 3 months to do the program. It was a huge commitment as I had to get a leave from work as well as the expense. For 3 months we did everything the Dr told us. They tested his blood for nutriets and IgG allergies. They found a bacterial infection, low protiens, an allergy to eggs. We removed gluten and casein over the first 3 weeks. We removed eggs the 4th week. He attended class 3x a week for an hour. At week 4, I got homework to start with him and we introduced supplements. I'd already started cod liver oil and vitamin D in the spring. These had an impact - after 4 months of cod liver oil and 1 month of vitamin D, T started riding his bike - an immediate improvement in his balance/coordination. He's also had very dry skin on his hands and now that's gone away. Until then, he had been scared to ride it as he would fall off. Now he's ready for no training wheels and he's so happy. We started a good probiotic for his bacterial infection. After 3 months, his stomach has gone down by 2 inches and he's looking normal. He's started pooping normally; he was always constipated before. Week 4 was horrible with some of the worst behavioral issues we've ever had, but things got better after that. T started being able to deal with delayed gratification (e.g. eat your snack and then you can...), something he couldn't have done before. He also woke up one morning and said - I smell breakfast. You're cooking pancakes. Really cool. He drew his first picture of bear with eyes, ears, arms, legs and nose. At 10 weeks, he started to feel pain. He spent 3 days learning to watch his hands, toes and head as he'd never had to do that before. This was really surprising to me as I had no idea that he couldn't feel them very well. Overall, the diet/supplement recommendations of this program follow the DAN (Defeat Autism Now) recommendations, so we've really had the benefit of both the DAN recommendations and the exercises of Dr. Mellio.

In the end, for work reasons, we couldn't continue the program for another 3 months. The Dr would have like to have T there for 6 months of one on one and 3 months of one on two with 6 - 9 months of homework. I'm pretty sure that if we could have continued, I would have a 'normal' boy by next Christmas. Instead, we are continuing at home. We've maintained the diet and supplements. We're still active outside and doing the homework. We'll see if we can go back next summer to do antoher program. I have so much hope for my son and I feel like I have a path to follow. T is now in school and his teachers are very happy. They have only had on definat moment but it was handled easily. They want him to move to grade 1 with his peers in Jan. We are not done yet, but we're on a good path.

If I were doing it over again, I would start the GFCF diet and an omega 3 supplement and vitamin D first for at least 3 months, so I got the most out of the program. I would commit to doing the program wholeheartedly (with the caveat of you are your kids guardian, so look up everything anyone suggested first and convince yourself it's safe). If I couldn't get to the program, then I'd start simple things at home - be more active, some of the exercises in the book. Don't get overwhelmed, just be patient with you and your child and know that every bit helps. Good luck!

I'm a mom of a son diagnosed with adhd and dyslexia. My son has been enrolled in the Brain Balance program that is described in this book for 6 months. The only improvement we have seen as a result of these 6 months is a moderate improvement in his gross motor skills. BUT while bringing my son to the program 3 days a week for 6 months, I have met other parents who HAVE seen wonderful results and they are thrilled. These parents have previously tried other therapies and biomedical interventions with much less success than with Brain Balance.

The children I am personally aware of who have improved with this program are all diagnosed as autistic. I have also been in contact via some yahoo discussion lists with a mom who has seen noticable results (by herself,teachers, and therapists)USING THE BOOK for just ONE MONTH (vs. enrolling her child in a program run by professionals trained by Dr. Mellilo as we have). This mom's child is an autistic boy who has not responded to any other interventions.

As with all the interventions we parents have been pursuing to improve our children's (and our!) lives, every child responds differently. My child has not responded (yet???) but I know children who have so I would certainly give the book and its program a try ...

I'll be happy to respond to anyone who e-mails me with questions (check profile for e-mail). We're all searching for the answer for our families!!!!

My daughter is currently going through a program AT a Brain Balance Center. I have read portions of this book - but am finding it easier to have her go through the program and have professionals doing the exercises with her. We are only at week 5 of a 12 week program - but already I can see marked improvement. I hear that is typical of Dyslexic (right brained) children -- whereas left brained (ADHD, ADD, Autistic) children take a bit longer. I was very frustrated when special ed teachers, tutors and other helpers kept telling me there wasn't anything we could do to really "fix" Dyslexia - all we could do was "accomodate it" - and that perhaps we should focus only on having our daughter go in to the arts or other vocational areas - since she would never be able to properly read or write. I am SOOoooo happy I stumbled across the Brain Balance theories and centers on-line. My girl CAN read now and CAN spell. And can de-code symbols, numbers and words. She no longer calls herself stupid nor throws her books or rips up her homework. She is still struggling -- and works much harder than her brother; however, each week I can see this "decoding" and "fog lifting" going on in her brain. I am keeping my fingers crossed that we can "fix" a big portion of this Dyslexia - while keeping her wonderful, creative, colorful brain alive and intact! I'll update this after we finish the program. But at least for now -- I have hope.

Run, don't walk to get this book, particularly if you are a parent or a professional who deals with children with developmental delays! As a parent, who has engaged in all of the conventional methods, it took the work of Dr. Robert Melillo and the Brain Balance program to completely turn our sons' and our lives' around. Our son walked into the program non-verbal with significant developmental delays and walked out - able to say anything and significantly ahead of where he was in terms of reasoning, social play and understanding - just to name a few. Our family will stop at nothing less than 100% recovery and with Disconnected Kids and the Brain Balance program we will get there! This program has brought him farther, faster and more furiously than any of the conventional methods out there. We are forever grateful!

I have a 9yo son who is high functioning autistic -- major deficits are social skills and dynamic academics. Like most parents with autistic children, I have read many therapy books looking for solutions that might benefit my son. I have found no book to be completely on target for my particular situation however, this book offers enough information that most people would gain some benefit from reading. This is a good read and provides some interesting theories of brain and body development and the effect of diet and exercise. As a workbook, it is a difficult book to use -- it would have been better formatted as a 8.5 x 11 spiral book so you could lay it flat while you attempted to write responses to the questions and exercises. The diet portion is weak and incomplete -- you really need to get a certified nutritionist and doctor to determine what's best -- although the theory that children often have unique dietary issues that need to be resolved and some of the suggestions are on target. It does not refer to getting a SIPT -- Sensory Integration Processing Test -- done by a qualified OT which would help identify some of the neurological issues it discusses. Nor does it talk about getting an OT to help with some of the recommended exercises which some families might need if compliance or ability is an issue. Getting the SIPT done for my son was the 2nd best thing we did for my son -- it gave us a guide to address his sensory issues and helped us understand the things we didn't know he had problems with.

Let me first say that if you have a child with ADD, autism, sensory integration disorder, etc. you should read this book. Dr. Melillo's theories about these conditions are interesting and ring true much of the time. And you won't see them in many other places. However, the book has flaws. The first is the typical flaw of books written by people outside the mainstream medical profession. He outlines all his theories but doesn't back them up with anything other than his own opinions. It sounds as if he made this all up himself, and that his theories are the only real answers, so the whole premise is suspect. He has stories of severely autistic kids who are miraculously cured in only 12 weeks, which seems very exaggerated and suspect as well.

The biggest flaw, however, is sloppy editing. Throughout the book he talks about tests and exercises you can do on the right side and the left side, but it's frequently confusing whether he means right and left from the child's point of view, or right and left from your point of view. So you're not 100 percent sure which side he's talking about. I have to say it's ridiculous and very frustrating.

Despite all that I found the book enlightening and am tempted to try some of its methods, if I can figure out which side he's talking about.

People think that Autism or ADHD can be solved with parenting skill, and while that is important, it will not help these children much because they have a neurological disorder. This disorder can be diagnosed and treated effectively without drugs, and there is published peer reviewed studies proving it. If you or anyone you know has children with these problems, please read this book to get the help that you need. As a physician who has worked with these problems for 20 years, I have personally seen these methods work better than anything else and highly recommend them.
Mark S. Smith, DC, DABCN

As a health care professional working with kids who have learning and behavioral disorders, I've read a lot of books and used a number of techniques. This book by Dr. Robert Melillo is, by far, the most comprehensive/holistic, easy to read and easy to use, book I've ever read!

I've gained a number of insights on the subject and highly recommend this book to professionals and parents alike. What a difference this will make for children and their family members as to the stress they experience. Thank you, Dr. Melillo.