"Unexplained" Behaviors

In the post titled "Behaviors are Communication", I talked about how important behaviors are. I talked about how I didn't listen to my client's words, I listened to his behavior. All behaviors tell us something, even if we don't know what it is.

At Brain Fit, we have lots (well pretty much all) clients that come here with what many may call "unexplained" behaviors. It might be the parents that call the behaviors unexplained. Or maybe it's the teachers at a school. Or maybe it's a therapist- or even a doctor. But "unexplained" behaviors are a norm around here.

You may be wondering what type of behaviors I'm talking about. Would you like some examples? Let me list a few and see if you recognize any of these in anyone you know:

• Covering ears with loud noises
• Wrapping feet around chairs when sitting or "w" sitting
• "Deer in headlights" look when asked a question
• Awkward writing position or pencil grip
• Holding pencil so tightly the person has an indent on their finger
• Difficulty sitting in a chair or on a stool
• Difficulty with reading- keeping track of words on the page
• Extreme panic and anxiety
• Constant or prolonged "meltdowns"

What do you think? Recognize any of these in your child? Or maybe in you?? 

Like I said, at Brain Fit, we see kids with these types of behaviors all. the. time. And, this is only a short list!

Now, it's not that all of these children have come to Brain Fit and no one has ever tried to figure out where these behaviors come from- far from it. Many families come to us when they are looking for "someplace else" because they have tried other interventions, therapies, and so forth and haven't found the success or changes they were looking for.

So we have these kids come to Brain Fit. They attend a screening with a parent and we are able to tell them why their child may exhibit the behaviors they do. We can tell them why because we look at things that most people don't. We look at the way the brain and body are working together. We look at the primitive reflexes - those early motor patterns. We look, and we listen to the behaviors their body is showing us. And you know what else? Most of what we tell parents is new to them. It's new because not many people look at things the way we do at Brain Fit. 

Not many people are looking at the way the child's brain is organized. They aren't looking for the root cause of the behaviors. They aren't looking at where the behavior comes from, they are looking at how it manifests. They are looking at how to help the child based on the behavior they see, rather than looking deeper to find what's causing it in the first place.

It's not their fault- the fact that most people aren't able to "explain" the "unexplained"- they don't know what they don't know. 

But for us, we do know what to look for. We know what to look for and so it just jumps out at us. The fact that others aren't aware of this type of work is also why we are so passionate here at Brain Fit about getting the word out to everyone! It's not rocket science, and yet many just don't know about it. They just don't know what to look for or how to help.

Many, many people come to Brain Fit and tell us we just "get" their child.

Yeah- we get it. 

We get it because we know what to look for. We get it because we are able to "explain" the "unexplained". We get it because we can meet the child where they are and move them forward. We move them forward and things become easier. 

Explaining the "unexplained". Crazy cool work. Amazing changes.

That's Brain Fit Academy. 

Being Me- Amy B.

Some of you may have wondered (somewhere along the way) why I named my blog "Being Me- Amy B.". You see, when I started this blog in May of last year, there were two Amys working at Brain Fit- hence the "Amy B.". 

But the "Being Me" part? Well, that came from the fact that at that point I was feeling more and more like I was just "being me". I was doing "my thing" at Brain Fit. I had been working with kids and families for over a year and was just "being me" with them. I had spent as much time as I could learning and attending the adult classes we offer- over and over so that I had a really good handle on how to do this work. And, in doing so- I also worked on myself- which freed me up even more to "be me". 

As I've mentioned before, I became passionate about what we do at Brain Fit- and it happened very quickly and unexpectedly. All that I learned just seemed to "click" right away and I could "do my thing". In addition, I was seeing really great results with kids- which, of course, fueled the passion all the more.

So yes, that's where the name for my blog came from. 

But today, I want to talk about why I was able to "be me"- the new me. I say "new" because before Brain Fit Academy came into my life, the "old" me was overshadowed by fear. 

Fear can be mean. Fear plays tricks and makes us pull back when the "me" in us wants to move forward. Fear can make us think that we're in danger when really we're not. Fear- can overshadow and trick and disengage us. If we were in actual danger- would we want that? Yes, of course. But we don't want that fear to be with us all the time. We don't want it to become our way of life, and we don't want it to stop us from "being us". 

When we work with our clients at Brain Fit, we help them to find "them". We help them to dissipate the fear so that it doesn't overshadow. We help them to find their voice and we remind the brain and body that it is "safe".

Fear is a response in the brain and body. It's the innate Fight/Flight/Freeze Response that is built into us to keep us safe. But, if that response is constantly getting triggered- how can we be "ourselves"? How can we be calm, and rationalize and respond to a situation?  We can't. We literally can't because at that point our brain is working at the level of the brain stem- the "Baby Brain" as we call it, and we're in survival mode. 

I was talking to the mom of one of my clients yesterday. She works in a school and we were discussing how the kids are returning to full time school- many starting next week. She was telling me how there are some kids that are definitely not looking forward to everyone coming back into the school. Why would they? Those are probably the same kids that are triggered by sensory input. Easily triggered into the "MORO" Response. 

The MORO is the primitive reflex that is activated by sensory input and unexpected changes. It's the "fight/flight" part of the "fight/flight/freeze". The sounds (think of a full cafeteria!) the visual stimulation that emulates from more children in the classroom, the bright lights that are on all. day. long., the demands of social interaction. Think of all that sensory input. Sensory input that has been lessened since the start of this school year with fewer kids in the building. Sensory input that those kids will now, all-of-a-sudden, be bombarded with. Again.

If you're not familiar with the reflexes- you may be wondering why they are important in understanding why kids (and adults!) might be more likely to be triggered into that fight/flight/freeze response. Please- read my post titled "Roots". I think it will help you understand. But basically- when the lower part of the brain isn't as "organized" as it should be, it's puts us at more risk of going into that fight/flight or freeze response- quicker, more easily and longer. Triggered perhaps, not by an actual true and present danger, but by every day occurrences and situations. 

Fight/flight. Freeze. Fear. When those three things take over- "being me" gets pushed aside. Survival mode kicks in and the true person can be hidden- overshadowed.

I know we all want what's best for our children (and ourselves). We want to be able to "be us". We want to see the true light shine through each of us. We want to push fear aside so that we can be confident and happy and have an easier life. Brain Fit Academy helps with that. 

"Being me" is what I am now- and it's what you (or your child) can be too. 

You'll see.

Rhythm

Humans are designed to have rhythm. Nature (in all its glory) is full of rhythm and patterns and beautiful chaos. So are our human bodies and brains. 

We are full of natural rhythm and patterns and beautiful chaos. Our brains build beautifully chaotic neural pathways that build our brain from the bottom up. Our brain builds with a timing and rhythm that is unique to each of us, yet from a "blueprint" engrained in our brain and body system. That blueprint has its beginnings in the primitive reflexes- especially those that are present to keep us safe and alive. And, as the primitive reflexes integrate, more voluntary movements can replace them.

And there's rhythm. 

Ah...rhythm. It plays a big role in developing the brain. Have you ever seen a baby rhythmically rocking on their hands and knees? That is the action of the brain and body stimulating the brain through movement. Stimulating the growth of nerve cells and myelination of the nerve fibers. And, in rocking, they are also working to integrate primitive reflexes. Linking up (so to speak) the brain stem with the other parts of the brain. 

Remember, that the brain stem needs to be "linked up" to the other parts of the brain. It needs the brain highways from the brain stem (what we call the Baby Brain) to the "Emotional Brain", the "Thinking Brain" and eventually, to the "Executive Brain" in order for the system to work more efficiently and easily. 

I think we (at least I do) take for granted the fact that nature is designed with patterns, rhythm and timing. If you've never heard of something called the "Fibonacci Sequence"- google it. Google "Fibonacci Sequence in nature". I think you'll be amazed at what you see because that mathematical sequence is present everywhere in nature. And, just like the Fibonacci Sequence- we see rhythm in babies and their movements. 

We also see rhythm in the movements that adults use with babies. What do most people do to soothe a crying baby? We rock them. We stand and rock, we walk around and bounce and rock, or we might use a rocking chair. I mean, rocking chairs are practically a staple in creating a nursery for a newborn! We rock the babies because it's calming and soothing for them. 

Remember how I said that at Brain Fit we talk a lot about babies? This is another time because rhythm is common with babies, but isn't used as much as children get older. 

Rhythm is a type of movement we use at Brain Fit Academy. Many of the rhythmic movements we use at Brain Fit come from a program called "Rhythmic Movement Training". And I will tell you- many of the rhythmic movements we use are among the favorites for kids. For example, one of the movements- the one we call "Milk Shakes" is one that is requested by kids- time and time again.

Why might these rhythmic movements be requested by kids? Well- it makes a lot of sense when you think about babies again. We use rhythm to calm babies, and we can use rhythm to calm older kids (and teens and adults too)! 

Humans are designed to have rhythm and when our brain and body doesn't have the kind of rhythm we need- or maybe we missed some steps somewhere along the way- we crave that rhythm again. At Brain Fit, we recognize that the body knows what it needs and sometimes what it needs is rhythm. I can't even tell you how many times I've done some of the rhythmic movements with kids and they just melt into it. Literally- they could go from talking up a storm (or moving up a storm) to calm in just a minute or less. Rhythm calms the brain. It helps build the pathways between the parts of the brain and many kids we work with need and crave it. 

Nature is beautiful. And it's chaotic, and full of rhythm. We can bring that beauty, wonderful chaos and rhythm back into the brain and body when it needs it. It's not rocket science, but it is powerful stuff. All you need are the right tools and the key to the door.

Brain Fit Academy is where you can find the key- and the tools. There is rhythm waiting to find its way back to where it should be- in the brain and body. Let's help that rhythm find the way. 

Help the rhythm find its way, and in doing so, we can bring back what nature intended- the rhythmic, beautiful chaos of the human brain and body.