Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders (The Disconnected Kids Series) Paperback – March 3, 2015

Our daughter began exhibiting mild "tics" at the age of 7 (throat clearing, humming, sniffing, eye blinking). Our regular pediatrician said it was a normal part of brain development and not to worry (not necessarily true).At age 9 she began pulling her eyelashes out (a disorder called Trichotillomania). This can progress to be a very life altering behavior in which individuals can pull eyelashes, eyebrows, and even scalp hair until the point that they have large bald patches and may be forced to wear wigs.Through a round-a-bout contact, I discovered a doctor that was a student of Dr. Melillo. We took our daughter to see him and he ran a series of approximately 100 neurological tests to determine what was happening in our daughter's brain (everything from balance tests, to eye tracking, etc.).He was able to determine that our daughter had a highly stimulated "left brain" (she has tested in the top 2 percent in the nation academically), but her "right brain" was slightly under stimulated. This made the communication between the two sides of her brain increasing difficult. Because the "left brain" was so stimulated, and unable to communicate properly with the right side of her brain, the over stimulation would "escape" or "release" itself from the brain in the form of her "tics" and the eyelash pulling.We were given homework to stimulate our daughter's right brain to balance out the two sides of the brain (physical, sensory type exercises that were tailor made for her brain needs). Within DAYS our daughter's tics and eyelash pulling stopped (it has been several months now - and they have not returned). Even more amazing, is the fact that (without ANY prompting) she has stopped biting her fingernails. This child had been a nail biter since she was a toddler. She would bite them so far down that the skin would puff up over the ends of her nails. She confessed to me that the reason she started pulling her eyelashes out - was because she could no longer find enough fingernails to bite. Additionally, she has been able to stay better focused in school and we were told by the teacher that she is less "fidgety". Although she has always been highly intelligent, it has always been difficult to keep her on task and focused (I once suspected that she had ADHD).Sometimes, we slack on doing the exercises and I will see that she can become easily distracted again - which tells us we need to get back to the exercises. However, the eyelash pulling, tics and nail biting have never returned.I highly recommend this book and finding a doctor trained in Dr. Melillo's theories. Our regular pediatrician was suggesting "psychotherapy" and medications (which have been proven to make things worse). I shudder to think of what her future would have been if we had drugged her with Ritalin and forced her to look at ink blots.Thank you Dr. Melillo! You're brilliant and I can only hope that I will see every pediatrician trained in this concept in my lifetime! I understand that this same concept works with adults also, and my husband and I are both looking forward to doing our own "brain balancing".

Every parent who has a child with any degree of a behavioral and/or learning disorder should run and not only purchase this book but Reconnected Kids as well. It presents a new, noninvasive way of helping children given the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia and other neurological disorders. I can't comment of the Brain and Balance Centers as we are fortunate to live in NYC and were able to be seen by Dr. Melillo himself.Over the past 4 years have spent a FORTUNE on so many different kinds of doctors and therapists to help my now 7 year old son but he was just getting worse. We couldn't figure it out. He was diagnosed to have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Disorder and Food Sensitivities. All the doctors we saw were the tops in their field and even though some provided temporary improvement along the way, none ever addressed what I now clearly understand to be my son's root problem: an imbalance between his right and left brain functions. As I read through the books, I not only got a deeper understanding as to why my son is having the struggles he is having, but discovered simple noninvasive ways to treat them!After seeing Dr. Melillo, we have tremendous clarity, specific exercises for our son's imbalances and equally important, a strategy to help our family heal! (Reconnected Kids)For anyone who has struggled with a "special needs" child, you know how all consuming it can be and the toll it takes on your marriage/partnership and family is undeniable. No matter how well-intended parents are, the family often gets thrown out of whack. In the sequel, Reconnected Kids, Dr. Melillo presents a simple plan with clear guidelines to help bring structure back to an often "broken" or "injured" family. My husband and I are already incorporating Dr. Melillo's suggestions into our family dynamic because we understand that as treatment progresses and our son's brain improves, he will need need clear boundaries and expectations. It sounds obvious but when your 7 year old's brain is causing him to exhibit the behavior challenges of a 3 year old, trust me…. it can get tricky.