Changes With 40 Hours
Half-way into our midbrain session, we ask parents to write what changes they’ve observed since their child first started the program. At this point, kids have completed 40 hours of lower brain development work.
On these questionnaires, parents often list more positive behaviors than when they first answered this same question at the 12-hour marker point. In general, parents now note improvement with attention, transitions, coordination, and other behaviors related to midbrain development.
Moreover, some negative behaviors are truly gone at this point in the program. For example, parents who previously noted that meltdowns were decreasing in frequency, duration, and intensity after 12 hours of lower brain work, now usually write that meltdowns have completely disappeared from their children’s lives.
However, other changes, such as those related to friendships, impulsivity, organizational skills, sensory defensiveness, appetite control, perseverance, writing proficiency, and improved grades are still not usually seen on these 40-hour lists. That’s because such changes typically only appear after more of the brain becomes organized.
Click on each category below to read a sampling of the parents’ responses. These exact quotes reflect typical answers from more than 1,500 midbrain questionnaires that we have collected at this 40-hour marker. Note that responses among individual participants with the same number of lower brain work hours may vary as children begin the program at different levels of development.
Attention and Focus
Sits still at dinner time
Longer attention span
More focused
More “present"
Teacher has noted that he is sitting much better at Circle Time
Better staying on task with homework
Behavior
Meltdowns gone
No longer frustrates easily
Gets teasing and plays along
Less impulsive
Gets up in the morning, bright-eyed and ready-to-go
Seems more mature
Seems more confident
Not putting hands over ears when there is noise
More responsible with belongings
Eating new foods that he avoided in the past (the texture does not seem to bother him as much)
Builds more difficult Legos with more ease
Sleeps better
Dry through the night
Subtle change in over-reacting to situations
Biting nails less often
Less overall frustration
More helpful around house
Doesn’t react as “emotionally” to being told, “No, you can’t do something.”
Doesn’t get upset or cry over little things
More ability to reason
Ability to self-regulate
School Work
Ability to retain information has increased
Doing homework quickly and independently
Doing homework more accurately
Willingly sits down to do homework
Academic gains in reading
Improvement in math
Notices details more
More desire to write/learn letters and numbers
More positive to doing homework
More organization skills
Speech and Language
Initiates questions such as, “How was your day?”
Follows multi-step directions
More inquisitive
Uses broader vocabulary
Using more complex sentence structures
More responsive to talking about a situation
Engaging more with other people
Easier to talk to and to understand
More vocal and talkative
Doesn’t repeat words anymore
Coordination
Rides his bike (first time ever!)
Ties his shoes (after years of no success)
Not falling off the chair
Handles self with ease
Can do things that wasn’t able to do (e.g. obstacle course at the park). He reminds us that the last time we were here, he could not climb it and now he can!
Way easier getting dressed
Reflection
Readily admits that he’s more focused
Said, “Building brain highways makes me happy.”
He has mentioned being smart – he was not feeling that way a few months ago
He’s aware that his is happier
Says feels less anxious
Says he can finally make the words match what he was thinking
Flexibility
Willing to try new things
Less rigid/more flexible
Transitions easier
Open to changing behavior
