"I Owe It All To The Institutes"
A mother finds important information that helps her son by attending the What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child Course and the Lecture Series Program. Along the way she discovers that diet and nutrition play a critical role in her son's everyday success.
I AM A PROFESSIONAL MOTHER of two beautiful children, Amanda, 10 and Clayton, 7. I have also completed the Lecture IV Series at The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential. I attend these lectures for my seven-year-old son, Clayton. Although he is not on The Institutes Intensive Treatment Program, I have come to learn more about his condition, its limitations, and ways to improve it.
If it were not for the How To Multiply Your Baby's Intelligence Course (the Professional Parent Course that I took in spring 1996), I would not have known what to do with my son. I knew when he came home from the hospital two days after his birth that he was not a normal child. A normal child does not scream bloody murder and turn black and blue all over because he wets his diaper. This occurred for several weeks, every time he wet his diaper. I knew he was overly sensitive. When I mentioned this to his pediatrician, his response was, "After turning black and blue, he'll just faint and then wake back up." He also acknowledged that Clayton is overly sensitive but offered no solution.
I knew that other problems would follow. While Clayton was coming through the birth canal, I was asked to stop pushing because the nurse-midwife had not arrived. The Institutes philosophy is: "the person present is the best person to deliver the baby." The pressure exerted on this head caused a cone to form on the right-rear side of his head. His pediatrician said it would take about twelve weeks to normalize.
As Clayton reached two months of age, he was a colicky child, the dreaded time for all parents. His father and I were quite familiar with this colic period from our daughter's experience. However, Clayton's colic period was not normal. There was intense crying, far too long, every night for weeks. Many times I took him outside to cry (we lived in the country), because his crying was extreme. Some parents take their colicky children for car rides. Clayton, however, dreaded any car ride. If he were in his car seat for more than ten minutes, he would cry intensely, followed by vomiting. Once again I spoke to his pediatrician about this colicky behavior; he offered no real solution. Later, Clayton was also diagnosed with asthma and bronchitis.
As time passed, so did the colic. Clayton developed another problem: a rash around his mouth. The allergist called it periodontal dermatitis and treated it with an ointment that seemed to take care of the problem. He also developed shingles. His eyes were also examined because his pupils are unequal. As I learned in my studies at The Institutes, it is a direct result of intracranial pressure.
Things seem to settle down for Clayton. As he grew older, he became what I described as a spirited child. He was fussy at times and always on the go. He could never sit in a chair while eating a meal, and if he tried would fall out of it.
Before Clayton reached three years of age, I had him tested for peanut allergies since his sister is allergic to peanuts. Test results revealed he was severely allergic to peanuts and would not be able to eat them or any peanut product.
When Clayton was three, he did not seem normal. I could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong, just not normal. He was overly sensitive to sounds, most fabrics bothered him, and he was fussy, disruptive, forgetful, clumsy, and whiney. Another thing that bothered Clayton was change. He did not like changes in his bedroom or routine, or anything unexpected. He was so unhappy and so miserable. He repeatedly bit and hit his sister, and his behavior was causing tension in the household.
Many times instead of attending family events, I stayed at home with Clayton, because he would actually have a breakdown. He cried and cried for hours. He could not be touched or held because he said it hurt when he was touched.
So many times speaking to or with Clayton seemed impossible. Even when I raised my voice, he still did not seem to hear me. Yes, I had his hearing checked, and it was normal. There were also times when he looked spaced-out. Clayton's eyes were glassy and he constantly drooled. I was at a loss. I did not know what was causing all this-only that his behavior along with my own sanity was getting worse. Clayton was also doing extremely poorly at school.
In the meantime, I was looking forward to a new school year for Clayton at the Montessori school. However, unknown to any of us, Clayton was headed for a major downfall. I was repeatedly receiving complaints from Clayton's teacher. They had included not sitting in class, not paying attention, and not doing his work, but now he was disrupting the other students and kept them from doing their work. Lectures at home were useless. Clayton stated he would try to do better, but improvement never came.
Clayton's unhealthy behavior was escalating at school. He damaged teaching materials, bit a girl on her leg, and then urinated on a girl's clothing that was in storage. Clayton had spiraled out of control. The school director stated that he needed to be examined by a child psychologist. She described the psychologist as a wonderful man that helped her with her son. She felt he was a miracle-worker that walked on water. I was hopefully skeptical.
I scheduled an appointment to have Clayton tested. He was examined and tested on three different occasions, all during October 2002. This took two to three weeks to complete. During this time, the psychologist suggested a book to read to help me understand Clayton's situation. While reading this book, I became angry. It spoke of nothing but ADD and ADHD children and the benefits of Ritalin. I knew where my son was headed. I told his father that I refused to give him Ritalin and that the psychologist was not interested in treating the problem, only masking it. If he truly wanted to help our son, he would find out what was causing the problem.
During the final meeting with the child psychologist, known as the treatment phase, I knew what he was going to say; that Clayton had ADD and needed to be placed on Ritalin. I was correct in my conclusion, except that Clayton also had ADHD. I began to ask a series of questions, only never getting the answers I sought. Understand that I am not an ordinary parent. I am a concerned, professional parent, and attribute this solely to The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential.
I absolutely disagreed with the psychologist's treatment and told him that Clayton would not be drugged. He raised his voice and stated that I did not know what I was doing. He added that Clayton's teachers would be hounding me to put Clayton on Ritalin. I left there dismayed, but solely resolute that I was going to find the cause of Clayton's disorder and the proper treatment. The doctor was furious.
Shortly thereafter, I called The Institutes and spoke to Harriet Pinsker, the course registrar. I called to take the What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child Course, which would be held in December 2002. Once I registered, Harriet said to remove from Clayton's diet any refined sugar, ice cream, and food colorings. Finally, I had someone who offered hope and support.
I arrived in Philadelphia and was ready to learn all I could about my son's condition. The warmth and compassion I felt walking into The Institutes offered me a sense of security and hope. I observed the parents that were present. They were from all over the world; many of their children had severe brain injuries. I knew that they, like me, came here as a last resort, seeking the knowledge that no one else can possibly give them.
Like everyone else in class, I listened attentively to the lectures. I was sitting next to a woman who at one time worked for Dr. Leland Green, a member of The Institutes medical staff. She stated that he was an excellent allergist who used effective alternative treatments.
During the breaks, the doctors and support staff were available to answer questions. I spoke to Dr. Green and asked many questions concerning Clayton and his recent behavior. Dr. Green expressed concern that my son has brain allergies and that he is chemically sensitive. Dr. Green mentioned many things that should help my son, including the types of tests to run, removing chemicals from the home, removing carpet, changing diet, and even the books I should be reading to better understand my son and why he is the way he is. How I wished that I could have held onto his shirt collar and begged him not to leave because I felt assured that I was getting the help for my son. I could have spent many hours with Dr. Green but knew that was impossible. I am, however, forever grateful to Dr. Green.
Another doctor, Dr. Coralee Thompson, also provided invaluable insight into children like my son. One of the treatments was eliminating gluten and casein from the diet. I learned more about gluten and casein in my personal research. I am truly grateful to Dr. Thompson.
When I returned home, I was excited about sharing the information I had learned. My husband did not agree with the program. In fact, he decided to leave us and I found myself truly alone-just me, Amanda, and Clayton.
I have since learned that Clayton was affected in the posterior cortical midbrain, and I also learned the effective treatments used at The Institutes to help children like my son. They include creeping and crawling, masking, the TEAS auditory treatment, the rotation diet, and many other tests and treatments that can be conducted and are proven successful in correcting this condition. I also share some of this information with my daughter to help her understand Clayton's condition. She now knows that when his behavior changes it probably has to do with something he has eaten.
Today, I am a single professional parent attending the Lecture Series to learn more and to implement what I can to better the lives of myself and my children. Clayton is an exceptionally happy and healthy child who is attending first grade in a regular school.
He has his moments, generally due to something he should not have eaten.
