Family Hope Center ~ Understanding Child Brain Development DVD Review

Have you ever found yourself looking at your child saying, "WHAT were they thinking???" Or, maybe you have seen your child struggle with simple reading activities or games. Since my daughter is still young, she really hasn't begun reading or writing to the fullest extent but I have noticed a few things that are slightly concerning. First of all, she tends to look at a three letter word (very VERY early reading stage) and will read it backwards. This happens very rarely but when it does, I am perplexed. Also, she can swap out letters and add letters that are not there to begin with. She is a smart girl and is really sharp but what is the reason for these small issues? This makes me wonder just what a child's brain development should be and at what pace it should be developing properly.

Today, I am going to introduce you to the Family Hope Center and their DVD, Understanding Child Brain Development. To order the DVD, you can call 610-397-1737 or you can order Understanding Child Brain Development from IEW.  Here is a bit more about their mission...

We Treat Every Child As a Unique Individual In your search to do the very best for your child, how often have you felt that you are no longer in control? Continuously being told that your child will never be able to lead a full-life and that you will just have to do the best you can? Now you can do what’s best for your child. At the Family Hope Center (FHC), we firmly believe that you should be in the ‘driver’s seat’, knowing what to do and how to do it. We also believe that every child is different and deserves individual treatment, which means with our unique diagnostic chart, we design a Program specifically created to develop your child to be the very best they can be.

While Family Hope Center's program focuses on children with disabilities, it is also VERY helpful and appropriate for any family dealing with a wide spectrum of issues. Children can struggle with various aspects of development and those struggles make themselves evident in behavior...sometimes unruly and odd behavior. I love the fact that Family Hope Center focuses on helping parents better understand and "shepherd" their children and they call it their ministry. Their center is an actual treatment center in which they treat and guide families from over 17 countries and they work with children who are comatose, blind, deaf amongst other shortcomings and disabilities.

Matthew and Carol Newell have been married for 20+ years have worked with children with disabilities. They founded Family Hope Center to give people HOPE when it comes to helping their children and they seem like wonderful people!

So, for this review I was sent the Understanding Child Brain Development DVD. As soon as the DVD began, I loved listening to Matt speak about his and his wife's capabilities and skills...they are fully equipped to educate anyone about neurological development. Matt is an exceptional speaker that draws you in and interacts with you...I was able to relate to him within the first 10 minutes.

Some questions that were presented and answered in this DVD were:

• Why do children struggle even though we have such an information-packed society?
• Are all children brain injured?
• Is my child a collection of disabilities and/or syndromes?
• Does my child have a disease? 

Another thing I learned is that I am NOT the problem...I am the solution. My child is not having problems because of me, they were injured at some point in their life and I am here to help them through this period of their life. I can help to restore their brain. One thing that Matt says in this DVD is that we need to focus on what our child CAN do as opposed to what they CAN'T do and stop seeing things as disabilities. Wow. That really struck me. If I can see past my child's issues and see their strengths, how empowering that is for me as a parent.

One thing we need to understand is what wellness is. I learned that the brain alone in a baby is 30% of his weight! So, a baby is ready to learn immediately after birth. That is amazing! Understanding wellness is very important to understanding the development process. Matt takes you through how the brain develops, starting at birth and he very clearly explains how the brain functions at each stage. I found this to be very interesting as I am always enthralled at how babies are so smart at birth. (Mine were, anyway...or was it just because I was a bit partial?? Hmmm....  :)  ) He explains why doctors check babies eyes...they are looking for blindness based on how their eyes respond to the light - reflexes. Another thing relating to neurological development is HOW the baby is born. Another issue Hannah had...when she was born, she was born via Cesarean Section. Her body didn't go through the important process of birth and from what I learned during watching this DVD was that her brain didn't connect with me through the lifting of the baby to my chest and immediate nursing process that most babies experience after birth.

Oh, and did you know that we are the only mammals that put babies on their backs??? Hmmmm. Not good in terms of neurological development. As I was watching this particular section of the DVD, it hit me. Hannah NEVER crawled on all fours. She did an (what I called) "elephant walk", where she put her palms on the floor and put herself in an "A" position and did that instead of crawling. This was very bad for her and is now causing her problems. Jacob is not yet in school but he has issues with responding immediately to me and sometimes gets very involved in his activities and ignores me completely. Thinking back, he never crawled either. Oh boy. He sat on his backside and scooted around the house. His brain development is not where it should be either. So I learned that crawling is ESSENTIAL to proper brain development. Very, very interesting.

Another thing that Matt talks about is the fact that babies are constantly moving in utero but when they are born, we take them off that pathway by putting them on their backs. When they are on their bellies, this can help their digestion, help them pass gas more effectively which, in turn, will equal a baby who does not suffer from colic.  Hannah was also the poster baby for colic. She screamed C.O.N.S.T.A.N.T.L.Y. Babies connecting with their mothers is also imperative to their development.

I was thankful to have the opportunity to review this DVD because it showed me exactly why my daughter and son are the way they are. There is SO much information in this DVD, I couldn't possibly tell you all about it in this single review without going over 15,000 words. :) I would strongly encourage you to check out Family Hope Center and get this DVD. It was encouraging, educating, and presented very well. I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone, even if you don't have children who are disabled or challenged.

Again, to order the DVD, you can call 610-397-1737 or you can order Understanding Child Brain Development from IEW for $19. Every child has issues in some way shape or form. Learning about the brain and how it works is essential to raising and helping our children develop properly. The brain can be strengthened and restored...how encouraging and what wonderful hope it gives me as a mom. THANK YOU Matt and Carol for your ministry. :)

Check out what my other blogger friends on the Schoolhouse Review Crew had to say about this DVD by clicking the banner below.