PSN Issue
By: 
If my son could talk, I’m
sure he’d have a few words to say about all of the alternative treatments his
adventurous mother has used with him.
Shall we start with Doman Delacatto Patterning
when he was only eighteen months old?
How about he eighty wonderful, caring people who came to the house to
move his limbs and encourage his crawling? After this treatment, he started to laugh, look at others
and even say a few words. Then came the hours of therapy: physical,
occupational, and speech. Jeremy
has undergone many chiropractic treatments, as well as acupuncture, diet
changes, homeopathic remedies and supplements.
The
alternative strategy I would like to tell you about, however, was administered
when Jeremy was 32 years old, and it was, by far, the most important and
effective treatment of all. This
was the H.A.N.D.L.E. approach which stands for
Holistic Approach to Neuro-Developmental Learning
Efficiency. A
big name with a big result.
After only one day, there was a perceptible change in Jeremy’s
alertness, focus and ability to stay calm. I thought I might be imagining this change until it was noticed by his bus driver, care givers and speech
therapist. So, what exactly is
this HANDLE approach?
The
HANDLE Program is a drug-free approach to addressing the root causes of
challenging behavior and difficulties in attention, learning and social
interaction. It
was developed by Judith Bluestone, who overcame seemingly insurmountable
obstacles of her own, and who taught her approach to others through the HANDLE
Institute. HANDLE has provided countless individuals with hope of
improved function and a better quality of life. The approach is useful for addressing inefficiencies in the
nervous system that lead to learning disabilities, attention challenges,
developmental delays, as well as those issues that stem from neurological
trauma such as brain injury. The
HANDLE program was validated in the July 2006 issue of the Journal of Neuro Imaging.
For more information about HANDLE, go to www.handle.org
So,
what changes have I observed in my own child and in some of my students? First
of all, Judith Bluestone taught “gentle enhancement”. This means that one must remember to speak to the person
with the challenge in a respectful and gentle manner, never pushing, but rather
moving gently at the child’s pace.
This has made all the difference in my ability to accept and encourage
continued development well into my son’s adulthood. It means understanding that there are times when a child is
not ready to move forward. Pushing
is not the answer. Encouragement opens the door to possibilities. After Jeremy’s
first HANDLE assessment, I observed that he was no longer perseverating on
single words, was visually alert and connected, and was able to be around
others without anxiety and emotional upset. In other clients the results have
been profound. Some children have
suddenly become intelligible, started to create sentences, and demonstrated the
ability to learn with enhanced ease.
Judith
Bluestone’s passing was a great loss to all of us. It is my commitment to keep her information and ideas alive.
Donna B.
Wexler, M.A., CCC-SLP , Speech/Language Therapist
Parent of
a special needs young adult dbwex@mindspring.com
Disclaimer: All information on this site is of a general nature and is furnished for knowledge and understanding only.