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May. 18th, 2011 07:40 amThis is kind of random but...
I'm getting super annoyed by the reviews I've been reading of Brain Balance Centers. The bizarre critiques being made are obviously being made by people who know absolutely nothing about the place or its methodology. I was really looking hard for both positive and negative criticism about it and am finding virtually nothing on the negative side that makes much sense.
First critique? That there are no scientifically based, placebo controlled, double blind studies done on their methods. Can someone point me to all the studies that meet this criteria on all the myriad drugs being given to children for these same disorders? Did you know that many, MANY of them have NEVER BEEN TESTED ON CHILDREN? Did you know that is exactly what happened with children's cold medications? They were never tested on children, they were just given in smaller doses and marketed as soon as possible. We all gave our kids these drugs for years before the FDA woke up and realized they were not only unsafe, many of them DIDN'T EVEN WORK ON KIDS! Give me break. Nothing the BBCs are doing is harmful in any way. The sensory-motor, behavioral and dietary therapy they give have just as much support as most drugs and no side effects.
Second critique? Like many of these "therapy" or "tutoring" centers they have not opened their methods up to public scrutiny and are proprietary and secretive. Okay, that one is just plain ludicrous. Dr. Melillo wrote two entire books outlining, in detail, not only the evaluations, but the entire program so that people who were so inclined could do it AT HOME! It is a somewhat complicated program and would take some major work and time to go through on your own, which is why there are experts on it working in the centers. Like any good therapy program, it is not just a "do this this and this and it will work". Someone with a lot of experience and training in the program will probably be better at it. This is why we have tutors and teachers and doctors to help us do things we can't or don't want to do ourselves. This is why BBCs exist. If you hire someone to landscape your yard because they have a natural knack for it, doesn't this make just as much sense? Sheesh.
Third critique? It is very expensive and they are not up front about this. Okay...this one I'm concerned about myself. However...the FOUR HOUR evaluation is not expensive AT ALL. It is true that they would not give me an estimate over the phone about the actual therapy because there were "just too many variables". But having the eval puts you under no obligation to use their program and they were very up front about the possibility that they could not help us. You child has to fit certain criteria. Also, after doing some research, I now have a pretty good idea of what it would cost and it is no more than any other private tutoring/therapy program I have found.
So...I'm done ranting. I'm just so tired of this crap. Why do I constantly feel the need to defend myself? Why am I so insecure? Part of it is that I really DON'T know what I'm doing right now and I freely admit it. I'm trying, desperately, to learn. And you know what? When you are learning you tend to make mistakes. Take wrong turns. Get lost a few times. But I also am trying to have faith in God and myself...that He gave me these kids for a reason and will help me navigate the path to raising them the best way I possibly can. And that I have been given the talents and abilities to do that. So I'm using them. Research and trial and error. It is all I've got right now. I may very well eat my words about BBCs. I don't "believe" in them anymore than I do any other kind of therapy for LDs and behavioral disorders. I just think they have what looks like a good option. So...whatever. I have a headache now.
I'm getting super annoyed by the reviews I've been reading of Brain Balance Centers. The bizarre critiques being made are obviously being made by people who know absolutely nothing about the place or its methodology. I was really looking hard for both positive and negative criticism about it and am finding virtually nothing on the negative side that makes much sense.
First critique? That there are no scientifically based, placebo controlled, double blind studies done on their methods. Can someone point me to all the studies that meet this criteria on all the myriad drugs being given to children for these same disorders? Did you know that many, MANY of them have NEVER BEEN TESTED ON CHILDREN? Did you know that is exactly what happened with children's cold medications? They were never tested on children, they were just given in smaller doses and marketed as soon as possible. We all gave our kids these drugs for years before the FDA woke up and realized they were not only unsafe, many of them DIDN'T EVEN WORK ON KIDS! Give me break. Nothing the BBCs are doing is harmful in any way. The sensory-motor, behavioral and dietary therapy they give have just as much support as most drugs and no side effects.
Second critique? Like many of these "therapy" or "tutoring" centers they have not opened their methods up to public scrutiny and are proprietary and secretive. Okay, that one is just plain ludicrous. Dr. Melillo wrote two entire books outlining, in detail, not only the evaluations, but the entire program so that people who were so inclined could do it AT HOME! It is a somewhat complicated program and would take some major work and time to go through on your own, which is why there are experts on it working in the centers. Like any good therapy program, it is not just a "do this this and this and it will work". Someone with a lot of experience and training in the program will probably be better at it. This is why we have tutors and teachers and doctors to help us do things we can't or don't want to do ourselves. This is why BBCs exist. If you hire someone to landscape your yard because they have a natural knack for it, doesn't this make just as much sense? Sheesh.
Third critique? It is very expensive and they are not up front about this. Okay...this one I'm concerned about myself. However...the FOUR HOUR evaluation is not expensive AT ALL. It is true that they would not give me an estimate over the phone about the actual therapy because there were "just too many variables". But having the eval puts you under no obligation to use their program and they were very up front about the possibility that they could not help us. You child has to fit certain criteria. Also, after doing some research, I now have a pretty good idea of what it would cost and it is no more than any other private tutoring/therapy program I have found.
So...I'm done ranting. I'm just so tired of this crap. Why do I constantly feel the need to defend myself? Why am I so insecure? Part of it is that I really DON'T know what I'm doing right now and I freely admit it. I'm trying, desperately, to learn. And you know what? When you are learning you tend to make mistakes. Take wrong turns. Get lost a few times. But I also am trying to have faith in God and myself...that He gave me these kids for a reason and will help me navigate the path to raising them the best way I possibly can. And that I have been given the talents and abilities to do that. So I'm using them. Research and trial and error. It is all I've got right now. I may very well eat my words about BBCs. I don't "believe" in them anymore than I do any other kind of therapy for LDs and behavioral disorders. I just think they have what looks like a good option. So...whatever. I have a headache now.
