Anat Baniel Method

So, as I was listening to the Thrive Doctors on Contact Talk Radio, I was introduced to a new therapy method called the Anat Baniel Method for special needs children.  Anat Baniel is a disciple of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais who developed the technique for body rejuvenation and recovery back in the 1940's in Jerusalem.  Baniel tweeked his system and started her clinic in Marin County up in San Francisco. Claims have been made that children who doctors have dismissed as hopeless cases are thriving and living beautifully as adults.  One such story recounts a girl who has 2/3 of her cerebellum missing but started the method at 6 months and now at 20 years of age has earned two masters degrees, is a practicing social worker, wears high heels and is to be married!   I am so intrigued by what this method can do for Lucas that I paid the $100 for a 10 hour training video from the Anat Baniel Center.  I also found a practitioner here in Long Beach.  I am hoping to attend  a free seminar held at the We Be Well Wellness Center in Long Beach with Gabriel to find out more information.  I doubt the therapies would be covered by Kaiser insurance but if it indeed yields  the amazing outcomes they claim, then I am so willing to pay out of pocket.  The center does offer discounted rates for purchasing multiple sessions at one time.  I wonder how many sessions need to be booked before results can be seen.

There are so many different modalities for treating autism and neurodevelopmental delays and I am not sure what would work for Lucas.  There is the Relationship Development Intervention(RDI Method) and the  neurodevelopmental learning institute program in Marina Del Rey.  "Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) is a trademarked proprietary treatment program for autism spectrum disorders (ASD), based on the belief that the development of dynamic intelligence is the key to improving the quality of life for individuals with autism. The program's core philosophy is that individuals with autism can participate in authentic emotional relationships if they are exposed to them in a gradual, systematic way. The goal of treatment is to systematically build up the motivation and tools for successfully interacting in social relationships, to correct deficits in this area that are thought to be common to all people with autism." (Wikipedia)

 six objectives are: 

• Emotional referencing: The ability to learn from the emotional and subjective experiences of others 

• 

  Social coordination: The ability to observe and control behavior to successfully participate in social relationships 

• Declarative language: The ability to use language and non-verbal communication to express curiosity, invite interactions, share perceptions and feelings and coordinate with others 

• Flexible thinking: The ability to adapt and alter plans as circumstances change 

• Relational information processing: The ability to put things into context and solve problems that lack clear cut solutions 

• Foresight and hindsight: The ability to anticipate future possibilities based on past experiences 

(from Autism Speaks)

RDI focuses on cultivating the building blocks of social connection—such as referencing, emotion sharing, coregulation, and experience sharing—that normally develop in infancy and early childhood. RDI is a family-based program, where trained consultants support families to alter their interaction and communication styles. There is a period of parent education, followed by an assessment of both the child and the child-parent relationship. After that consultants support the family through a set of specific objectives to build a "guided participation" relationship between parents and child that will allow the child to once again become a "cognitive apprentice" to the parents. Once the cognitive apprenticeship is in place, the family can move on to specific cognitive remediation objectives for the child. These are developmentally staged objectives designed to restore optimal neural connectivity through a series of "discoveries" and "elaborations".

The latter method is claimed to provide "measurable, significant improvements in general intelligence, and IQ, language and auditory processing, cognitive abilities, memory function, learning abilities and academics which consistently outperform other singe-method approaches." Both sound costly and not covered by our insurance.  In August, we are to have our first Regional Center meeting at the school district and I have to decide what I am going to do about his education.  Do I send him to the crappy Montebello School District public special education program, an expensive private school like Walden or Montessori or the Westmoreland School for autism in Pasadena - nonpublic school (whatever that means)?  Where would he do best?

Lucas is getting taller and heavier, although he still looks very lean.  He climbs out of his playpen and has bonked his head on the floor twice, already!  He has started all his services and I am a busy mom on the days I am not working.  He has PT, OT, infant stimulation twice a week for one hour each session; ABA three times a week for 2.5 hours per session for a total of 7.5 hours per week, speech therapy once a week and now I am thinking of adding a session of Anat Baniel method.  He seems to enjoy his sessions and the attention he gets from everyone; he thinks it's play and not "therapies".  I, on the other hand, am exhausted by the end of the week.  I think the main energy drain is carrying him around as he can't walk yet and is getting bigger and heavier.  My days feel like a puff of smoke that is gone too fast...

I pray God lead me to wisdom and good judgment in choosing the therapies which work best for him.