The Wave by: Kimberly Larochelle

I sat stunned while I waited at the traffic light, as I gazed at my little boy, Levi riding in the car in front of mine with his daddy. The car in back of me tapped on their horn to break my paralyzed state.  “He just waved at me…HE JUST WAVED AT ME!” my voice broke to no one but myself as I drove alone.  I was speaking of my son, who had just waved at me with a grin from ear to ear, for the 1^st time in his life!  He is 10 years old, and I just got my very 1^st wave from him…Amazing!

It was amazing because it was a REAL WAVE, not something that he HAD to do or had been trained to do…No…he “emotionally felt” this wonderfully simple and yet powerfully complex gesture.

Of course, what makes this situation so noteworthy is the fact that my son was diagnosed with Aspergers.  What is a wave to someone with Aspergers? Certainly, my son never understood the meaning emotionally.  And now…NOW he DID!!!

His eyes were alive and danced with understanding and emotional awareness.  This made my heart leap, and every fiber of my being exploded in a crescendo of happiness.  I thought to myself and even spoke aloud, “He’s going to be ALL RIGHT…”, and my eyes filled with joy unsurpassed.

Since that “Wave”, there have been many more small and yet huge gestures of emotional awareness and fellow feeling shown and my heart applauds each one.  We have seen “blowing kisses”, “winks”, “grins and smiles of enjoyment”, “thumbs-up gestures” and of course “waves” of hello and goodbye…all accompanied by the most beautiful eye contact you have ever seen!  Those olive-green eyes of awareness and understanding are by far the dreamiest and most breathtaking that I have ever gazed upon.

As these emotional “jewels” manifest themselves, other less desirable traits seem to be diminishing.  Things such as anxiety, frustration, and fear.  His demeanor seems calmer, happier, and more secure.  As a matter of fact, this calmer and happy state has had a runoff effect on the entire family.  There is a peacefulness that has settled in our home and it has replaced worry and apprehension.

There are many tiny miracles around us and we experience them in many ways everyday…some of these are as simple as a smile, or a

…“WAVE”…

By: Kimberly Larochelle

ABC’s Lissette Campos Features HIT

I had the pleasure of being on ABC’s  Positively Tampa Bay last week with Lissette Campos. She is absolutely a genuine person who cares about the community and what she is doing. I feel like she showed a sincere interest in our cause, promoting awareness for Autism Spectrum Disorders and seemed interested by Hemispheric Integration Therapy also.  I was happy because I got to speak about HIT again in a public forum and continue in my goal of getting the word out about Functional Neurology, Hemispheric Integration Therapy and the benefits it has for those on the Autism Spectrum. Here’s the clip  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udl_Lq4EPKA

Student of the Week

I received a phone call yesterday from a mom that was beaming with pride as her son who is six and has difficulty reading and with aggressive behavior won both the reader of the week award and the student of the week award. She said that he even read aloud in front of the class which is very unlike him. She was thrilled as you can imaging. As usual, no one is as happy as the family but I think I come in a close second after that. Seeing these changes in the children and the reactions of the families is what makes treating these children with Hemispheric Integration Therapy so rewarding and is my greatest satisfaction. It is wonderful when parents share these stories with me and I hope it inspires others to not give up.

New Autism Documentary Preview

Brian Dery an award winning producer is making a new documentary on Autism Spectrum Disorders that will not only increase awareness but create hope and inspire those involved with the autism community. The movie will debut in June but Brian has released a preview to the film for which we have provided the link below. The film will feature various treatments included Hemispheric Integration Therapy  and so will also increase awareness for us as it it our office and our patient which is featured in the film. This film will help spread the word regarding the success that qualified practitioners of Functional Neurology and Hemispheric Integration Therapy are having with children and adults on the Autism spectrum.  Check out the clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQIVp9x1xLI