Online Adult Assessment

Home
About
Free Screening
Results
Special Needs
Programs
Products
Blog

Home > Free Screening > Online Adult Assessment

A FUN, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM TO IMPROVE LEARNING, FOCUS, AND BEHAVIOR

Free Screening

Local Screening FAQs

San Diego Screenings

Denver Screenings

Online Program Assessment

Online Adult Assessment

Adult Brain Organization Checklist

It’s possible to evaluate pons and midbrain development, vestibular and proprioceptive processing, and eye teaming and tracking by having participants do specific movements.

However, while such screenings are easy to do at our local Brain Highways Center (since staff is trained to facilitate such assessments and interpret the results), they’re tricky to recreate on the internet.

So, since not everyone has access to our centers, we wanted to provide an alternative for adults to be screened. Since there is a direct correlation of certain behaviors to incomplete lower brain development, the Adult Brain Organization Checklist provides an easy way to give you a sense of whether you’ve been compensating for retained primitive reflexes and incomplete lower brain development.

We suggest you first read the links below before completing the Adult Brain Organization Checklist.

Explaining the Link between Screening Symptoms and Lower Brain Development

When the lower brain development is incomplete, there’s often a tug-of-war for control between the higher and lower centers of the brain. Now, the cortex must work much, much harder than it is intended to do. It must keep retained primitive reflexive reactions from surfacing. It must find ways to compensate or take over for those parts of the brain functions that are automatic when the lower centers of the brain are fully developed.

Unfortunately, there is a price to pay for this “disorganized” brain. With the cortex expending so much energy on overriding retained primitive reflexes and compensating for missing automatic functions, it cannot attend to thinking, learning, social interactions, paying attention, and more—without distraction. Consequently, we’re not able to show our true potential or perform maximally at any given time.

Selection of Screening Checklist Symptoms

How did such a random set of behaviors come to appear on this screening checklist? Well, in our 13+ years of experience with over 5,000 participants, these are the behaviors that are present when people have retained primitive reflexes and underdeveloped lower centers of the brain.

For example, if we have an underdeveloped pons, we’re still naturally “wired” to go into flight behavior whenever we’re feeling uncomfortable or threatened. So, instead of using our cortex to assess a situation and explore options, we may just abruptly “quit” whatever we’re doing the minute it doesn’t go as we wanted. In other words, we react—rather than “act.”

We’re also confident in our list of behaviors because we’ve additionally had the opportunity to see such behaviors often disappear once such participants organized their brain in the way it’s intended to function.

In fact, such changes often appear more dramatic in our adult versus children participants. That’s because adults have been doing these unproductive behaviors for decades—and over the years, they had often tried numerous approaches to eliminate them without success.

So while there may be an inclination to think a child just “matured” (as the reason for new, positive changes), such thinking does not apply, for example, when a fifty-year-old participant—for the first time ever—is now no longer experiencing the unwelcome behavior.

Variables

Signs of incomplete lower brain development will vary among people. Differences are related to the degree of underdevelopment, age (it becomes more difficult to compensate as we age since there are more demands on the cortex), and whether compensations are “notable” or bothersome to ourselves or others.

Note that we may not always be experiencing symptoms. For example, if our current load is minimal and our compensations are working well, then we’re doing “fine.” In contrast, symptoms may surface as soon as we’re tired or sick or overly stressed or feeling overwhelmed. In fact, inconsistent behavior is a hallmark of a disorganized brain.

The Problem with Self-Assessment

If we have retained primitive reflexes and underdeveloped lower centers of the brain, our perception of ourselves often differs from how others view us. The problem is . . . we may not be aware of that.

This is why it’s useful to have someone else additionally complete the Adult Brain Organization Checklist for you—and not in your presence. You should pick someone who knows you well.

After you both complete the screening and total your points (if you have any), you then compare the two subtotals.

If there is more than a five-point spread between them, this is telling. For example, if your score is much lower than the other person assessing you, this may confirm that you’re not always aware of how you respond (which is very common when the lower centers of the brain are not fully developed).

On the other hand, if your score is much higher than the other person’s total, this may show that you’re compensating well enough that others aren’t aware that you’re struggling in some areas. For example, some adults don’t share their anxiety with anyone, but will admit (when asked in our program) that they “feel” angst all the time.

Resistance Red Flag

In truth, it takes less than five minutes to go through the checklist, and there are no physical “risks” to doing so. There is also zero obligation to act on any information that may be gleaned from doing this exercise.

Yet if we have incomplete lower centers of the brain, our brain often receives distorted messages—and then we act on that (without awareness of the distortion).

So that’s why someone with an underdeveloped pons may perceive the Adult Brain Organization Checklist as threatening—especially if that person has been working overtime to give the appearance of having it all together.

In such case, these people will likely respond to completing the checklist with a fight-or-flight reaction. With the former, they’ll just refuse to do the exercise and become angry if pushed. With the latter, they’ll be “sweet” but offer multiple excuses (e.g. I’m so busy) that prevents them from actually ever doing it.

Some people may do the exercise themselves, but will not have someone else also do the assessment of them (as the directions indicate). This, too, could be a red flag as it suggest a distorted fear or angst (both are also hallmark of an underdeveloped pons) of someone else “knowing” something about them.

On the other hand, there are many adults who already have a strong sense that they are compensating—but just don’t know why. This group is always eager to jump right in and do the exercise.

Interpreting the Results

Of course, it goes without saying that there could be other explanations for many of the behaviors listed on this checklist. But for the purposes of exploring the possibility that such behaviors are related to incomplete lower brain development, you can proceed as follows.

Once you have your final score (i.e. the average of both scores), determine which category of lower brain development applies to you.

Note that if a person has not previously participated in any prior brain organization program, a perfect score (0) is rare. Yet this score is expected after doing the work.

Also keep in mind that, collectively, the common thread among these behaviors is they reflect what we’d expect if different parts of the lower centers of the brain are not fully developed. Therefore, the more points you have, the more likely you have incomplete lower brain development.

So, what do you do with your results?

Well, you can glean whatever you choose from this exercise. For example, such knowledge may now make you more aware of why you do certain behaviors. Or, you may decide that you’d like to organize your brain by participating in our online adult program.

Related Links: