Anat Baniel Method® NeuroMovement® Is Life-Changing for a Family!
ABM Lessons Helps Brothers: A Child with Angelman Syndrome and a Typically Developing Child
We recently received a message from a parent about the Anat Baniel Method® NeuroMovement® lessons that both of her sons had. She described the long-term changes for her son who has Angelman Syndrome and the almost immediate changes she saw in her typically developing son after receiving lessons from ABM NeuroMovement® Practitioner and Senior Trainer Marcy Lindheimer. Her message follows…
Little did my husband and I imagine that the Anat Baniel Method (ABM) [NeuroMovement] would be our ultimate life saver not once, but twice in our lives. First with our son, Sebastian, who has special needs and has worked with Marcy Lindheimer since he was 18 months old, and most recently with our typically developing two-year-old son.
Our experience with the Anat Baniel Method [NeuroMovement] has been a life-changing experience for approximately 7 years, ever since the first day that we tried it with Sebastian. He has Angelman Syndrome and, thanks to Marcy and ABM, he was able to walk independently soon after turning 3 years old. Now Sebastian walks smoothly and with great balance, has learned to jump, and is in the process of perfecting his running.
Nicolas, our typically developing 2 year old, has been a very healthy, active boy until a few weeks ago when he woke up in the middle of the night crying as if something terrible had happened. He kept on holding his head and his neck and completely refused to move his body. After 8 hours of non-stop heartbreaking crying and a few medical exams, we were relieved to hear from our doctor that we didn’t have to fear the worst anymore; all Nicolas had was spasmodic torticollis and a very stiff neck. Unfortunately, he said, it was going to take him 1 or 2 weeks to recover after following some recommended stretching exercises 3 to 4 times a day.
That day, once again, our dear Marcy came to our rescue and was able to work with Nicolas right away. Nicolas was in so much pain at that point, that I had to carry him into Marcy’s office. I couldn’t sit him in his stroller nor in his car seat. I had to hold him in my arms supporting his head wherever we went. As soon as he tried to move the least bit, Nicolas would start crying in excruciating pain. (This coming from a toddler that usually falls down and stands up again as if nothing has happened.)
Nicolas was terrified to have Marcy touch him, because of the pain he experienced when the doctor stretched his neck earlier. Marcy worked with him very gently for 45 minutes while he was in my arms. He started to move a little better right away; however, he was still unable to move freely much less stand on his own. To our surprise, only 2 to 3 hours after the lesson, he slowly started to move better and better. Four hours after the lesson, Nicolas was jumping, running, and climbing everywhere. He was the active, energetic, happy boy that he was the day before!
We were completely in shock, especially because of the doctor’s prediction of his recovery. We knew that Marcy was an amazing ABM practitioner, but we weren’t expecting to see such an instant change in Nicolas. After that one session, Nicolas was completely back to normal. We continued with 4 more ABM lessons simply as a preventive measure to support the changes to his nervous system.
We were once more forever grateful to the Anat Baniel Method [NeuroMovement] for helping our family!
—Ana M., parent from New York City, NY
Ana, thank you so much for sending us your story about Sebastian and Nicolas. Best wishes to you and your family!
Anat Baniel
Additional Resources
Watch a video of Anat Baniel working with two children with torticollis.
Marcy Lindheimer is a Senior Trainer and a Certified ABM NeuroMovement® Practitioner in NYC. You can contact Marcy at marcylindheimer1@mac.com or call 212-362-8597.
