New ADHD Study Supports Hemispheric Integration Therapy
Tampa, Aug 23,2010
Improvements as much as 2 to 4 grade levels upon pre-and post-WIAT (Wechsler Individual Acheivement Test) with regard to reading, comprehension, written and oral expression and math reasoning were observed after a 12 week program of Hemispheric Integration Therapy. The program consisted of procedures such as aerobic and strength conditioning exercises, motor training including rhythm and timing exercises, sensory stimulation as well as academic training. A WIAT is a common test used by psychologist and the school systems to assess children with ADD and ADHD as well as other learning disorders. The WIAT includes subtest such as word reading, reading comprehension, math reasoning, spelling, written expression, listening comprehension and oral expression. The Brown Scale an ADHD assessment tool also showed improvements. The study was conducted by the F.R. Carrick Institute for Clinical Ergonomics, Rehabilitation and Applied Neuroscience, University of Haifa, DeMontfort University, and the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies.
Tampa Dr. Nelson Mane D.C., is a pioneer in the use of functional neurology and Hemispheric Integration Therapy for the treatment of ADHD, learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders said “ This is definitely a great day for functional neurologist applying the concepts of hemispheric integration to neurobehavioral disorders!” This type of treatment is growing in popularity due to the improvements that parents are seeing their children make. There is a great amount of research behind the concepts of Hemispheric Integration Therapy, last year the concept of functional disconnection syndrome was presented in the scientific literature and now the first outcome study was published in the “International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health.” I have personally seen many children go from worst to first in their class and have standardized testing scores improved. Parents are most impressed with how quickly their children can make gains. In the world of ADHD and learning disabilities to see such significant improvement in a 12 week period amazes many parents and teachers alike. I am a clinician and am grateful to the researchers providing outcome studies which will advance these procedures into the mainstream for the one in ten children with ADHD and the one in six children with a learning disability. As this is a drug-free approach, funding from the large pharmaceutical companies is not available and so it will probably take many years for Hemispheric Integration Therapy to become a standard practice. This is a great first step.
Dr Nelson Mane a Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist has been interviewed by Spectrum Magazine, and the Tampa ABC, CBS, NBC affiliates as well as Bay News 9 for his work applying Hemispheric Integration Therapy and functional neurology for children and adults with ADHD, learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. He was featured in the Autism documentary “Walking in the Dark: Finding the Light in Autism.”