What if the current medical, psychological, and pharmaceutical approaches to developmental delay are all on the wrong track? What if there was a cultural solution to these problems that you could do at home and all the symptoms would be gone in a few months?
The current wisdom for these developmental difficulties is that there is no cure, you might grow out of some of the symptoms over time, but you really need to take these medications that are prescribed. And, you may need to take the medications for the rest of your life.
Developmental difficulties or developmental delay or developmental problems shows up as some combination of these conditions:
* A lack of focus and concentration
* Poor coordination
* Inability to do anything for more than a few seconds
* Inability to sit still
* Inability for follow instructions
* Inability to connect to the context
* Impulsivity
* Extreme sensitivity to light, sound, or touch
* Poor self control
* Poor self image and self esteem
* Poor athletic performance
* Poor musical performance
* Poor academic performance
* Poor speech development
* Poor emotional development
* Poor social development
The current diagnostic process for developmental difficulties involves identifying how many of these behaviors a child displays. But, what if none of these specific behaviors is really important with respect to a solution for the child? What if the solution is something really basic?
In the last few years, I have worked with over 300 children and adults who have developmental difficulties. My experience is that between 70% and 80% lose all their symptoms by following a rigorous exercise program. Ill tell you more about this later.
Discoveries uncovered in research in the last few years are leading to new paradigms in many fields. In many instances, a multidiscipline approach is leading to new insights because of the unique frames-of-reference from those multiple disciplines. Many people working together from different fields are sharing ideas and learning from each other. These shared ideas are leading to dramatic improvements in understanding for all involved.
However, in the areas of developmental difficulties, many disciplines are all looking at the problem, but few are sharing what they are discovering. Because they are holding onto their own paradigms, little advancement is being made. There does not seem to be any major advancement because everyone is sticking within their paradigms. Advancements all seem to be in how to get more precise labels and descriptions. No one seems to be coming forward with anything significant in the areas of treatment or prevention.
I recently visited a university and talked with a director of the psychology department. This department of this university was focusing on Autism and Aspergers (a high functioning form of Autism). Their education and their research efforts were focused on identifying the minute and precise symptom differences between Autism and Aspergers. The Psychology paradigm for these disorders is that there is no cure and there never will be. They are not looking for a cure. They are only focusing on how to get better at the diagnosis of these conditions.
When I told this university psychology department director of my own personal experiences of working with hundreds of children with these conditions who lost their symptoms, he explained that there is no way to achieve symptom reduction and elimination. My experience did not fit his paradigm, so it was not something he could hear. I approached this university in search of graduate students who need research projects for their doctoral studies. Their paradigm is so strong, no one from that university wanted to explore my techniques, even though I have remarkable results with developmental difficulties.
The same is true for medical doctors, clinical psychologists, and teachers. They think there is no way to fix these conditions and so they concentrate on precisely identifying these conditions. All efforts for treatment are designed to help parents, teachers, and other children cope with the children with these conditions.
What will happen when we talk about a program you can do at home for 40 minutes per day, three days per week, for only three months, and all the symptoms will be gone in six months? This does not fit the current paradigm, so the professionals will not review it, study it, prescribe it, or tell anyone about it. For them, this does not fit their current paradigm, so it cannot exist.
Well, there is hope. |
