Jonathan was born after a full term pregnancy seven years ago. Initially he developed as a normal child. He was crawling and moving around at roughly the same age as his older sister and showed good eye contact. He even had some manual skills at a rather young age already.

However, at around 8 months of age, Jonathan had a bacterial infection which was severe enough for the pediatrician to use antibiotics. When Jonathan was about one year old, he seemed to be constantly fussing. He also seemed to have diarrhea very frequently. Since this was around the same time that Jonathan was teething, we attributed this, as well as the fussing, to the teething problems.

The 18 month check-up at the pediatrician was the first time that Jonathan had not met his developmental milestones. The pediatrician recommended to simply try and spend more time with him and to provide more stimulation. The areas where Jonathan had fallen behind were speech development and social interaction and imitation.

In this one session with the pediatrician, Jonathan also received vaccinations that had normally been scheduled for two separate sessions. He responded with a bout of almost hyperactive behavior.

“He was developing strange and obsessive behaviors.”

Jonathan, 2 1⁄2 years – He was still completely non-verbal, and showed excitement through tippy-toeing and hand-flapping Initially we thought that the diagnosed developmental delay would disappear again by itself. What reason was there to worry?

It only took a few more months for us to realize that Jonathan was not catching up with his peers. On the contrary: Whenever he got excited about something, he would flap his hands and bounce up and down on his tippy toes.

“By the time he was coming up on this third birthday, Jonathan was no longer able to feed himself with a spoon, drink from a cup, or put together simple puzzles that were meant for kids 12 months younger than him. Jonathan was still completely non-verbal at three years of age. He could not do simple things that a child a year younger could do”

“We removed gluten and lactose.” The turning point came when a friend of the family commented that we might try and check for food allergies, because Jonathan still had digestion issues. The most common foods that we could think of that caused digestive issues were gluten and lactose, so we decided to remove those two from his diet for a while and see what happened.

“The result was immediate”

The effect was almost immediate: He behaved much less hyperactive. He seemed calmer and more focused than at any point during the 12 months prior. Now Jonathan was making some progress which was more than we had seen up to this point. During the next year, I kept looking for alternative treatments or therapy options. At some point, I came across the success story of a child that had been to The Institutes and recovered from “Autism”.

We attended the What To Do About Your Brain-injured Child course in Philadelphia in that year and brought Jonathan for his initial visit three months later. By then, his was chronological age was five but his neurological age was determined to be little over two years. We received our Program and got to work.

Once we put our program into action, the advances we saw were nothing short of amazing. In hindsight, we are convinced that the 12 months of nutritional and detox program that improved Jonathan’s metabolic system before we found the Institutes, played a huge role here. Without knowing it at the time, we had gotten our son as ready as he could possibly be for The Institutes.

We had stopped Jonathan’s conventional physical and speech therapy right after we attended the course. We also pulled him out of his special needs preschool.

The move caused some raised eyebrows with the school district administration. His teachers had been excited about the advances they saw over the last few weeks of that school year (this was after we had already started The Institutes’ program at home).

“Academically he is a Rock Star”

There was one definite moment when we stopped getting inquiries on whether Jonathan was going to re-join the special needs class: A team of his (former) teachers, therapists and education specialists reviewed Jonathon’s skill and knowledge levels. Jonathon is officially placed in a regular class -no special school The result of this evaluation was that Jonathan got the school district’s clearance to attend a regular kindergarten the following September. One of his evaluators wrote “academically, he’s a Rockstar” Jonathan officially graduated out of the special needs class right after we pulled him out of school.

The school district has not questioned his homeschooling since.

When Yuya was a baby he was very quiet and developed at a slow rate. As a toddler, he could walk but he could not talk. When he finally did begin to speak, he only imitated what others said to him.

He played by himself, putting objects in a row, over and over again. He insisted on having things in the same order, and when a change occurred, he began hitting his head against the wall. By three years of age, he was diagnosed as autistic.

In kindergarten, he was far behind the other children his age. He did not answer when asked a question and did not join in games. He continued to spend his time playing by himself, or chasing the other kids and striking them.

When Yuya was six years old, his parents attended the What To Do About Your Brain-Injured Child Course. After the course they realized Yuya had convergence problems and that he was hypersensitive to sound. He often covered his ears in crowded places. He was overly sensitive to touch and would change his clothes anytime he came in from the rain, even though he was only a little damp.

He had poor balance and ran awkwardly. He could not stand on one foot or hop like the other kids his age. He was not able to hold a pencil or crayon properly and could not eat with chopsticks. He was hyperactive, had shallow breathing, and had difficulty chewing.

One year after atteding the course, they saw significant improvements.
For the first time he could express himself in full sentences.

For the first time, his parents understood what was wrong with him and what to do about it . Mother and father began a Home Treatment Program as outlined in the course. In one year, they saw significant improvements. Yuya’s balance had improved and he no longer fell while walking or running. He could hop on one foot and ride a bicycle for the first time.

He was much less hyperactive, and he no longer hit himself when he was angry. He was calmer, even in crowds, and more reasonable. He could now read , and he enjoyed reading about his favorite subjects: dinosaurs and cars. He began to understand time and the days of the week. For the first time he could express himself in full sentences.

The Institutes staff designed a new home treatment program to include running and gymnastics. He quickly became a gymnastics star!

He started to write at eight years of age, and his writing continued to improve, as did his speech and his maturity. The staff of The Institutes and Yuya’s parents agreed he was ready to start school. He succeeded as a part-time student with his peers and continued his Intensive Treatment Program. He then entered school as a full-time student at his age level.

At the time he entered school his reading ability was now significantly above his peers. He could take notes well and was a very fast typist. He successfully passed every test in every class. Physically, he excelled and learned new skills quickly. His behavior was excellent, and he had no social difficulties in any situation. He no longer had debilitating headaches; in fact, he was very healthy.

He was meticulous in his daily life. He planned his time well–both his work schedule and his leisure time–and kept to his schedule completely independently. One mother commented, “I watched Yuya and thought to myself that he must not have been very hurt to be so well now.”

Yuya is highly responsible and trustworthy. His older sister admires him very much and would like to do as well as he does. He is a fine gymnast and as an enthusiastic Boy Scout. In hiking, his speed and endurance is exceptional. The staff of The Institutes decided that Yuya was ready to graduate from the program. Parents with children on The Institutes Program from all over Japan attended Yuya’s graduation ceremony.

Yuya’s advice for other kids: “Even though it may be tough and sometimes hard, if you work hard and you are patient, you can accomplish what you want.”

Looking back on the 18-year journey that Yuya has traveled, it is hard not to be impressed by his determination and persistence. While other little boys enjoyed their childhoods, he was often alone and isolated by his sensory problems, or ill and confined by his allergies. Those times are a distant memory now. Although Yuya has had to work hard to get to this point, today he has a life of accomplishment and pleasure. Wherever he goes and whatever he does, he has the confidence and discipline to get the job done.

Siao was born via an emergency C-section. The newborn was found to have the umbilical cord around his neck, and he was born with cyanotic hands and feet. The next day, he was severely jaundiced.

Parents recall “We noticed that Siao Siang had a problem when his speech was diminishing and he was also no longer making as much eye contact when he was 13 months old. By 18 months he totally lost his speech and no longer made eye contact with others.”

Siao Siang did not interact socially and was isolating himself increasingly. Their concerns grew to alarm as their son was clearly hyperactive and sleepless at night. He developed asthma at 2 years of age, and was hospitalized five times for asthma attacks.

“The paediatrician we consulted disagreed with us that Siao Siang had a problem and he told us that Siao Siang was just one of a number of boys who were late bloomers.” Finally Siao was diagnosed as autistic, a frightening and concerning diagnosis. “We knew about Autism, we knew that he might be given that diagnosis and placed into that category. Of course, we were sad and anxious, but my wife and I felt and knew we could do something to help him. We definitely started to love him more, but we didn’t know that he had a brain injury.”

When their son was three years of age, Siao’s parents attended the “What to Do About Your Brain Injured Child” course , and learned how to help him. At three years of age, he was still not speaking and did not understand his surroundings well. He continued to be hyperactive and inappropriate in his behavior. Both his respiration and his sleep were poor and he had difficulty using his hands in any practical way. He seemed unaware of sirens yet he was bothered by household sounds. He often used humming to drown out the noise of crowds. He was insensitive to pain, he walked on his tiptoes and he was not able to run.

After attending the course, parents began a treatment program at home.

Father remembers “The single most important thing we learned is that Siao Siang is a complete human being with a lot of potential , just waiting for us to bring it out. He is just trapped by the injuries and he desires to be loved and treated like everyone else. After the first lecture, we found hope that we can recover our boy.”

After three years of an excellent nutritional program, a carefully designed basic neurological program and a very stimulating intellectual program the now six-year-old Siao Siang had improved substantially. He could now read three years beyond his age level. It was hard to get a book out his hands. He understanding was age level or above and he reacted appropriately to loud sounds and pain. He was able to run 100 meters in one minute, and was able to speak in sentences. He able to write for the first time in sentences.

By fourteen he was a speed reader, loved the sciences and was typing on the computer and writing beautiful poetry. Parents did not stop there – After each visit to The Institutes they had an updated and revised home program. This helped to speed his progress and enabled him to reach new heights. Their devotion was incredible, and the results from the program showed. By fourteen years of age, the young man was now a speed reader of adult level books. He especially enjoyed scientific topics such as geology, zoology, and genetics, and read two books each day. He was typing on the computer, and creating beautiful poetry. He could ride a bicycle and became skillful at gymnastics, he was now running 100 meters in 22 seconds’ time. He had been 100% healthy for over six years, not even a slight cold.

Today, Siao is a successful artist, creating lush and gorgeous landscapes and portraits, most especially of animals. He has written and illustrated a book, emblazoned bags and blouses, and displayed his work in professional settings.

Some of Siao Siang’s Accomplishments:
He has developed a deep love of animals and nature.
He has taught himself Chinese phonetics (better than his father)
His English vocabulary is excellent (larger than his Mother’s)
He has overcome many illness such as severe asthma
Physically he is a runner, a cyclist and a gymnast
He is learning the violin.

What advice would Siao Siang’s parents give to other parents of a brain-injured child?
“We think that parents should love their child even more. See the beauty in him or in her. Attend the “What to do“ course and start the intensive program as soon as possible. This will be the most rewarding thing for the family and for the parents.”