Following is an excerpted version of the inquiry we received:
My pediatric neurologist said that there is no hope. I don’t want to give up.
My 2-year old child suffered from autoimmune encephalitis followed by encephalomalacia [the softening or loss of brain tissue] which left severe neurological sequelae [medical conditions associated with damaged neurons resulting from a previous disease, injury, or other trauma].
He is almost blind and has no motor activity at all. Even his head control has been lost and he is not verbal. Here in Egypt, I couldn’t find any professional practitioner to help me. My pediatric neurologist said that there is no hope but I find that my baby knows voices and sounds very well. He can remember anything he loved before his illness. He can feel my hug and has intact sensation with good lower limb power and movement. My baby is on regular physiotherapy from the day he was discharged from the hospital but with no response after 6 months. And he is always crying in the session and refusing to cooperate. I DON’T WANT TO GIVE UP. I need your advice.
Answer
Thank you for reaching out to us. From your inquiry, given that it sounds like your child is responsive, we believe that Anat Baniel Method® NeuroMovement® is definitely worth a try.
We have worked with numerous kids with severe assaults to their brain who have shown clear progress. They don’t necessarily recover full function but they certainly have recovered some function which improved both their and their family’s quality of life.
Our suggestion is to get sessions from an Anat Baniel Method NeuroMovement Practitioner certified in working with Children with Special Needs. You are welcome to bring your child to our ABM Center Practitioners in San Rafael, CA, or you may prefer to work with a practitioner in Europe.
Feel free to contact our Scheduling Coordinator Dalit who is extremely knowledgeable and can help guide you further. Her email is scheduling@anatbanielmethod.com.
You can also search for practitioners that may be closer to you by searching on the name of the country: www.anatbanielmethod.com/search.
If you do decide to try ABM, we recommend doing an intensive, which is 2 sessions a day for a minimum of 5 days. This should give both you and the Practitioner a clear sense whether or not your child is responding to the work.
As for him crying in physical therapy, that, in a sense, is a good sign because he knows what feels good to him and what feels bad or even painful. We recommend that you request that the physical therapist works and only does things with him that are comfortable for him.
A good idea is to suggest that the therapist read Anat’s book Kids Beyond Limits if s/he is able to read in English and to follow the Nine Essentials as best s/he can. Otherwise, your child’s brain is learning and creating patterns around negative experiences and failure, which makes his recovery and improvement less likely.
