Tucked into the Shoppes at Westchester in Midlothian VA, is a small storefront that is making big change in the lives of children and their families. The center is Brain Balance and their mission is to create hope and help for children who struggle with attention, behavior, social or academic challenges.
Dr. Rebecca Jackson, co-owner and director, explains why they see such positive and consistent results in the kids at their center. “The Brain Balance Program combines sensory-motor training and specific cognitive activities with nutritional support to achieve optimum brain and body function. It is the combination of these areas that provides a broader depth to the scope of change we see. For example, a child that comes to us struggling with attention and academics will leave the program more successful in these areas as well as demonstrating improvement in athleticism and an increase in social maturity and self regulation. Nothing in the brain happens in isolation, so the child that struggles with focus will also have negative impact in many other areas of development.”
Doug Jackson, co-owner states, “we had no idea how far our reach would be when we first opened but quickly began to realize the lengths families would go to in order to help their child. Families have come to to do Brain Balance from all over the world, as well as from our backyard. The number of families driving multiple hours each way and temporarily relocating in order to participate speaks to the power of the program and its outcomes.”
Children who benefit from the Brain Balance program do not always have a diagnosis, but often exhibit characteristics of ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and other learning, processing and developmental disorders.
At Brain Balance they don’t just work with a child’s strengths or provide strategies to compensate for a weakness. They address the fundamental problem. At the core of these disorders is the brain which is lacking proper connections and communication between different areas. This faulty communication creates the complexity of these disorders which impacts other functional systems in the body: motor, sensory, immune, visual-spatial, and cognitive. Each child has a unique combination of functional weaknesses and challenges which must be addressed individually.
By promoting the development of new pathways and stronger connections in the weaker regions of the brain, processing speeds increase and the communication between the two hemispheres is restored. This results in academic, behavioral and social improvements which stick with the child.
If you feel your child is not reaching their full potential from an academic, behavioral or social perspective you can visit their site www.BrainBalanceCenters.com, or better yet you can give them a call at 804-379-0007.
Fortunately, for our local families Brain Balance is just down the road!