Tuesday, June 05, 2007

The Re-Wired Brain: Possible hope for children with Autism and sensory processing disorders

Mark Woodman had his kid's brain hacked; three months ago he took his 7-year-old son, Caleb, through a neurological treatment at the Sensory Learning Program in Boulder, Colorado, designed to recalibrate his brain. And he is happy to report in detail, in an article in Wired, that the hack has made a huge difference.

In Mark's blog diary, he also discusses a term that was unfamiliar to me: neurological diversity.
He was criticized for 're-wiring' his son's brain rather than accepting him as he is; that autism is just a different form of human thinking. It's hard for me to understand this criticism -- my first inclination, as a parent, is to do whatever necessary to prevent or alleviate suffering for my child -- and while I recognize that different forms of thinking or interpretation of sensory stimuli can lead to new ways of looking at the world, it's hard for me to imagine having to function with a brain that doesn't allow for the simple pleasures of childhood.

Thank you, Mark, for being brave enough to share the journey of you, Caleb, and the rest of your family with the rest of us!

Full text here.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your comments, Linda. It has been exciting to see the world opening up to my son in a new way.

The program doesn't "cure" Autism, of course, but it at least helps Caleb experience the world more fully... most people who think that through don't have a problem with it.

Regards,

Mark Woodman