Free Sample Exercises for Brain Growth & Repair

In late 2008, one very active mother in the community of autism contacted us and asked if we would be interested in participating in a series of short educational interviews. These videos are the result of Claudie's interviews with Dana Gorman of thrIIIve.

Instructions

If you are interested in trying Multi-Sensory Therapy at home, one way to do it is to do the following at home on your own for 14 days:
(For more details on the different trial options and on what to expect during the trial follow the link to the trial page of this web site.)

Watch all the videos,
Combine all the protocols described in the videos into a 5-minute session,
(It does not matter in which order you combine these games, except for Multi-Sensory Therapy One, which should be done first)
Do each combined session twice a day,
(Make sure there is at least a 4-hour gap between each session)
Do the program every day for 14 days.
(Ideally, you would also stop any interfering modalities during this two-week period. For more on requirements and interferences, follow the link to the requirements page of this web site.)

Samples Summary

Along with some basic principles and theoretical training to support your free trial, you will find 5 sample games described in the videos below:

Multi-Sensory Therapy One
Smell and Gentle Touch
Strawberry and Ice
SPA Treatment
Eye scanning: Look at art

Note:

A useful trial would include all five protocols, including the anti-seizure protocol that acts as a very strong tool to help the brain stay aligned and in control. During the trial, the brain will undergo some changes. During this period, which we call the storm, the brain will appear as though it is getting worse instead of better. Strawberry and Ice helps minimize the loss of control during this period.

Smell and Gentle Claw is an exception among the other 5 games. Gentle Claw and smell should be done every two hours, during wake hours.

Introductory comments by Dr. J. Moreno who runs the Holistic Medical Center in Los Alamitos, CA.

Reveal/Hide Transcript for this Interview

Dana Gorman

Dr. Moreno, you're one of my favourite doctors. I hope I am not going to cry. But I don't want to talk about you. I want to talk about Claudie Gordon-Pomares, who I have just finished a dozen of little modules with.

Dr. Jorge Moreno

OK!

Dana Gorman

Wow! First of all, everything she talked about is completely consistent with everything that I believe, which I believe I presented at the summit, which has had global consensus as far stress and all that stuff. And she just has so many practical things to do with these kids, that are simple with these kids, that are all based on University studies.

What has been your experience with her? Because I met her through you. How did you meet her?

Dr. Jorge Moreno

I met her through a mom. A mom recommended that I find out about her about two years ago. She had really good results with her child. It took me some time to meet with her finally.

A second mom told me about her and her son is progressing. He has brain injury, cerebral palsy type and he is doing better. He has better balance, he has better swallow. He had something called "difficulty to thrive", where he had no interest in eating, he had difficulty swallowing, he would just gag, he would throw up and he is doing better.

So, I've met Claudie through moms. I have seen the benefits on others.

What she does is based on research and she is using the sensory systems to improve neurological functioning in children which is amazing.

She came to our office to do some lectures a couple of times, because I think it is fascinating what she has put together.

Dana Gorman

So, if any parents were considering going to unlimitedbrain.com and going on thriiive.com and looking at Claudie you would encourage them to...?

Dr. Jorge Moreno

Yes, look into it!

Dana Gorman

If it resonates, try it! See if you get a response.

Dr. Jorge Moreno

I have spoken to a few moms who are doing it or who have done it and they seem very pleased and are very happy with the results.

Dana Gorman

Are there any specific kids that you can think of, that you kind of "wow, that was amazing!"?

Dr. Jorge Moreno

You mean that had amazing results! Well, yeah! There was a little girl who was 12. She was diagnosed on the spectrum. I met her about two years ago and she wasn't verbal. She would say things but I never understood anything she said. Her mom could understand some things. In terms of receptive speech she seemed to get some of the things we said, but it was really hard to say.

Now this little girl, it's two years after the fact. She has worked with Claudie for a year and a half and I talked to her mom maybe two months ago and she said: "I can't shut her up now!" And I thought "What?"

She went from non-verbal, I couldn't understand her, to now her mom "Gee! Can I have a minute?"

She never wanted to leave the house. Now, her child is fourteen, wants to go out shopping with her, wants to do things with her. She is doing much better in school, just all around. Her mom is just thrilled with her response to Claudie's work.

Dana Gorman

I know you have read a lot of areas that you have pulled together with your patients. Does Claudie's work fill a need that you've always knows was there?

Dr. Jorge Moreno

Definitely! Us holistic doctors are very aware that patients need to detox, patients need to stay away from foods, patients need supplements, patients need structural work on their body and they need very specific therapies, maybe energy therapies.

This is something that a lot of holistic doctors, including myself haven't figured out yet, a specific way of getting the brain to repair and to wake up.

What Claudie does, is that she'll exercise a part of the brain that's near an injured part and that brings more neuronal flow which brings regenerative capacity to the area nearby which then gets an overflow of benefits basically.

It makes complete sense neurologically. She's getting the results and we need more people like her that are doing this type of work with children especially.

Introductory comments by Claudie Gordon-Pomares, who developed Multi-Sensory Therapy for brain repair.

Reveal/Hide Transcript for this Interview

Dana Gorman

Our goal this morning is to discuss the program that you have developed, called Multi-Sensory Therapy. Which like is so common in the world of autism is an acronym and so what I would like you to do is explain what this acronym stands for and tell us what it is.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Okay. Well, every letter stands for a part of the treatment and I hope that just by understanding the name people will understand what we are doing. The first word "monitored"

Dana Gorman

(Laughter) I told her I would probably have to repeat this word. For all the Americans out there this word is "monitored", which means that you very closely keep track of the responses of the child. Is that correct?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Yes, and also, before hand we exactly know which part of the brain we want to address with the different exercises. So we are in control.

So, monitored multi-cortical means that during an exercise we always are using several areas of the brain at the same time. This is reinforcing, connecting, allowing the brain to bridge between areas that are not connecting well for all kinds of reasons.

An example would have an exercise doing fine motor, vision, smell and vestibular. So inside the game you have all these different exercises for the brain, all these challenges.

So, that is for "multi-cortical activities for" and that is the purpose of Multi-Sensory Therapy, "additional pathways and synapses."

Pathways are all the connections, the roads between the different areas of the brain. This treatment promotes the growth of new connections.

Synapses is the number of connection places inside the brain, that little place where the brain cells talk. We want more of them and we can do that because nature says so, so that's what we do with Multi-Sensory Therapy!

Dana Gorman

So, you found that this particular protocol –which the next segment there is going to be a look at, is Multi-Sensory Therapy One– you found out to be very successful with no only children with autism but children with others brain disorders like cerebral palsy. Any damage to the brain you feel is reversible, is that correct?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Absolutely! Just simply I like to use a simple metaphor. I compare things and people and understand if something is broken in the body, where ever that it is, that means that nature and God have put within our body what it takes to fix it. I give you the example of the skin. You cut your skin, two weeks later, without you being worried, you know your skin is going to be perfect again. If you break a bone you're going to put on a cast and you know that no doubt you're going to walk again.

What do we have in this skin, what do we have in the bone that makes them fix themselves? Nothing fixes the skin but this can't itself. Stem cells.

For example, where in the body do we have more stem cells than anywhere else? Of course, in the brain. So I believe in our own self repair tools. I believe in prompting the brain to go fetch these tools and do the job.

Dana Gorman

So, any parent, probably most parents with a special needs child that has some form of developmental disorder will have been told "oh, you know, there is an age limit on healing the brain." "I am so sorry your child is this page or that age, because there is only so much we can do." And you just think that is crap. Right?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Yes, absolutely, I will agree with that word. (Laughter)

Dana Gorman

Your experience is that the opposite is true, that you've seen these kids…

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

I have a joke that I make with families. They call and say "my child is sick, my child is 27," or "my granddad is 91, is it too late?" And I asked "is the person breathing?" "Yeah. Not too late!" We don't do dead people, but we do people that are alive. If you have a brain and it's still there, even if it's just partly there and if you breathe, and your heart is beating there is enough life to just start the process of brain repair. Right now the oldest person we have worked with has Alzheimer's and is 91 years old.

Dana Gorman

Wow! I really want people to walk away from this little succinct segment with number one having a basic understanding of what Multi-Sensory Therapy is, number two having hope that no matter what age the person is that they are trying to help, where the brain is doing different things than they are hoping for that this protocol can probably help, and number three I want them to look at the Multi-Sensory Therapy segment and realize that it's so easy! It's straightforward.

I was never able to do DDT or ABA with my son, it made me want to jump out the window. Because, you know, I think in my heart of hearts I knew that it just wasn't the right thing. You know what I mean? But having done this segment with you already on what Multi-Sensory Therapy One is, it just feels right!

So I just want parents to have hope with this one that there is something new, that we didn't really know even existed. I did not know personally, and I have been researching for a long time. That offers a huge amount of hope and that they can just look at the Multi-Sensory Therapy One video, try it, and see if they see anything.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

You're right, what we want to tell people it is that you are not allowed not to hope. This is not permissible. It's illegal not to hope when you're a parent, when you have a loved one in pain. Hope is his word, and it's one that makes you work. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that that child is not going to get better. There is no way.

Dana Gorman

And not only that but the Multi-Sensory Therapy One protocol is a free thing to do. It costs nothing. So they can for free figure out whether or not his hope that you are offering is plausible.

An introduction to Multi-Sensory Therapy One, the most powerful brain boost protocols we have ever developed. It works with any brain, any time, any age, anywhere. I do it with my children. I do it myself, when I am a good boy.

Reveal/Hide Transcript for this Interview

Dana Gorman

I am so excited with what you are bringing to the table. This should really be segment number two that they watch. Segment number one is an overview of what is Multi-Sensory Therapy, as far as what is the acronym and the teeny little bit about what it means and the hope that it should provide you and that there is no age limit on healing. Now this segment is going to be, before you go and look at the segment on Multi-Sensory Therapy ONE's tutorial, some basic information about it.

The biggest point she is going to make is that this is all scientifically verified. So, let's talk about Multi-Sensory Therapy, how you came up with it, what we need to know about it.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Well, let's say that initially I was a researcher, I was working with a lab coat in a hospital with brain-damaged babies and my field had made me approach this wonderful concept of brain plasticity, neurogenesis. They are big words to say that the brain can grow, that the brain can repair itself. And those are wonderful things, and have been known for 70 years. One of the fathers, Prof. Rosensweig, you can find his book in any bookstore, usually in the library of a university, and read it.

Dana Gorman

What is his name?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Prof. Rosensweig. He was at Berkeley. There is another place of knowledge, which is Scientific American, where you can just type in scientificamerican.com and you type "brain" and you learn. The wonderful thing that we know today, which is that the brain is moving, the brain is able, the brain wants to get better.

So what I did with the knowledge that's available is ask myself "how come we're not doing it, how come were having more and more happy rats in the labs and more functional cats?" Because, really, the research is fundamentally to make people's lives better.

Dana Gorman

So, let me see if I get this right. In your research, in these labs where you were trying to study how to steal the brain of these rats and these cats, because that is what you got your in experiments on, you saw that they were healing, and you were getting frustrated that "why are we getting these rats and cats better, but there is this continued idea in medicine that we cannot do the same for humans?" And that's where you took off from.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

I started with a group of healthy children. "Let's see what enrichment, which is what we called it at the time, not Multi-Sensory Therapy, does to the brain of little kids in daycares from three months to three years." With those results, which were amazing, on nonaggression, on how they were learning, how they were talking, I went to the scientific community in France and they said "okay, now you're going to work on brain-damaged infants!", which I did for several years, with a very severe condition which was, for those viewers who know, Pierre Robin syndrome, C.H.A.R.G.E. association, extremely severe damage. A child cannot breathe, cannot swallow, is tied to a bed.

So, we were doing Multi-Sensory Therapy with those babies. Those kids who could not eat or breathe on their own were sent back home at four months of age. Typically they were kept in the hospital, tied up, for a year and a half.

So, I got a little bit upset and nervous and said "we need to do more!" And there's nobody else. And this is how I decided to do it, and I moved from France to Canada, opened a clinic. And yes, it does work, because all the protocols we use our redesigned so that they are going to be fun for the child and they're going to be pleasurable, they're going to be always very short but they are all the exact application of research.

Dana Gorman

So, you basically take the research that's done in the University on cats and rats and what ever animals stay research on. They publish the data, and say "look, this works, this works." You scour this data for that takeaways that he can then safely apply to these kids, you create these games that take that data and apply it to these kids and that's where you found your success.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Yes

Dana Gorman

That is so exciting! That's just crazy exciting! How many years have you been doing this?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

30 or something.

Dana Gorman

There is a lot of studies going on the on autism right now, at the University level on every acronym you can possibly put together. Somebody in studying some way of helping those kids with autism. But I think most of them are "we have these 15 kids with autism that are signed up for our program. What are we finding that's working? And let's augment that." Versus what it feels like you're doing, you went back to the beginning and said "what are those things that the university level are working on the brain? And then how do I take that information and apply it to the kids?" Totally different model!

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

And sometimes I do tell the parents that we are on a different planet from what they've done so far. Instead of going from the dysfunction in, trying to fix the dysfunction from outside hoping to fix the brain, fix the brain first and, of course, the dysfunction disappears.

Sample 1. Video Demonstration of the Multi-Sensory Therapy One protocol.

Listen to 45-minute teleconference training on Multi-Sensory Therapy One

Why we need to relieve stress for brain regeneration.

Reveal/Hide Transcript for this Interview

Dana Gorman

Hi! We are here with Claudie Gordon-Pomares again and we are continuing with our conversation about her brain regeneration protocols that are called Multi-Sensory Therapy, which we've explained pretty well in our last two segments. Now, I would really like to talk with her about the role that stress plays in the rehabilitation of the brain.

I would just like to say that in my seven years of experience trying to facilitate the situation for my son to thrive in, we only had an appreciation for stress once he started having seizures and once we went to a facility called futuresunlimited.com where I can't wait to get you together because they come from the same place where stress is playing a huge role in thwarting what otherwise could be some successful treatment protocols.

So, talk to me about what your belief is when it comes to not just stress as we tend to think about it but how you perceive stress and what causes stress in these kids.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Let's do a little bit of a review of what are the functions of the brain. The first reason we have a brain is to protect ourselves. That's the first job of the brain. So if we have that in mind, we will know that the brain is ready for protection all the time.

If anything happens that the brain does not understand it feels it has to protect us, and we have a higher level of cortisol, we start to have a higher rate of heart beat. One thing that happens during those defence times, stress times, is we lose Serotonin. Because the brain has to process a lot of translation of information. So it just burns out the Serotonin.

Dana Gorman

Ok, so for us Americans out there, the work that you are using in American speak is Serotonin. It's a neurotransmitter and what I feel like you are saying is that Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is utilized at a very high rate when we are feeling stressed or feeling like we are not sure what is going in the world around us and so we have to figure out "Are we going to fly or are we going to fight?" And so Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that we utilize for fulfilling that process and we run out of it. Would you say that?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Absolutely.

Dana Gorman

And the other thing from my biochemical, physiological sort of approach to all of this is these kids are in a what we call sympathetic lock almost all the time. They are constantly in a state of fight or flight. They sympathetic nervous system is constantly using up what you say Serotonin. So from the physiological side of the model this is completely consistent.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Serotonin is helping you understand the environment, and if something in the environment is attacking you because you do not understand it you are going to evaporate the Serotonin. Gradually, the environment seems more and more dangerous. So you have a constant state of adrenaline rush in the child.

So what is something that is stressful?

Sometimes parents tell me "He has 8 sisters, is that stressful?" I say: "No No! That's not stressful, that's life!" But, if you ask of this child who cannot talk and you sit him in a room and you say: "Repeat 'B'! Repeat 'B'!" And he does not really understand the question but he knows you are expecting something. He feels under attack. That is stressful for that child. It's not stressful per se, it is stressful for that child who does not understand.

Dana Gorman

Wouldn't you go on and say to these parents and say that one of the things that is faulty in the communication of most of the children with autism is that although they can be under tremendous stress they are not going to be able to show you that they are under tremendous stress.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Exactly, exactly

Dana Gorman

Okay. So continue.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

And very often we see that when we give the child a holiday of demands some words pop out. They were here all the time and the child understands a lot. And all those works mom and dad have been telling this child are in there. They're just locked because different connections don't exist.

So, two damages caused by stress. You lose your Serotonin, so you will not sleep, you will not eat. You will start stimming because your anxiety will rise. You will have seizures. Your dopamine will not work because Serotonin is in charge of your dopamine function. So you will start needing to run around even though you are exhausted. Because you don't have motor control any more.

So, that is one of the damages that is temporary. Another part of the damage is tremendous and is not as easy to fix, which is the damage to the hippocampus.

Dana Gorman

From the stress you mean?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Absolutely.

Dana Gorman

So chronic stress hat these kids are under because they don't perceive the world that you and I do necessarily, and so all this incoming data that is processed in the way they feel in a way like "oh, no problem! It's a comfortable situation." Instead this data to processed in a way that they are constantly not quite sure about what they should be doing to ensure that they are safe. Would you say that this is correct?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Yes

Dana Gorman

Okay, so it's creating this situation that you say is causing damage to the hippocampus.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Yes

Dana Gorman

Ok, so let's go into that!

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

So, what neurologists have found is that children or adults who are exposed to stress, their hippocampus is just simply shrunk. They use the term shrink. We lose connections there. Your hippocampus is the heart of the brain. This is right in the centre of the brain. From the hippocampus information goes to the other areas of the cortex. If you see something it goes in here and then it is dealt with. So, if the hippocampus is not doing its job your cortex is then kind of wondering what is going on with life. It's not getting the information. This is very serious.

Dana Gorman

So, are you suspecting that the shrinking of the hippocampus in children with autism is because as a protection they have sort turned off as much sensory input? No?

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

This is the result of loss of Serotonin, and too much cortisol in the system and gradually the connections burn, like fuses. You burn fuses. And so you lose more and more ability of course. So, definitely, when a person a child is starting the treatment Multi-Sensory Therapy, we say: "we are going to reduce stress as much as we can."

There are things we cannot remove. We cannot remove his fright or his anguish with sounds until we repair those, but everything that we can we are going to take off to just slow down the decrease of Serotonin, remembering that the Serotonin is the fertilizer of new cells. We need Serotonin to grow new cells in our brain.

Dana Gorman

So, I want the parents to hear this if it's true. You feel like the recovery of the hippocampus and its growing back to a normal size is possible.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Yes, Everything that's broken can get repaired. When you have a loss caused by a viral infection or a stroke, what's gone stays gone. What is usually happening by experience is the brain ends up picking up other areas or reinforcing capacities of other areas. In the case of Autism, we very rarely see a disappearance of the hippocampus. It just decreases in size and abilities. In other cases, it could be a difference situation and another diagnosis.

Dana Gorman

So, I think what I am hearing you say is that as far as the brain repair, is that there can definitely be areas of the brain that can be damaged. What the brain is trying to do is rather than try to repair the damaged area it simply works around the damaged area in a way that the function becomes unimpaired.

Claudie Gordon-Pomares

Yes

Dana Gorman

They know that our brain has this capacity. They have always thought that it had this capacity.

Top 3 or 5 examples of what you did not know was stressful for a child with developmental disorders.

Sample 2. With the SPA treatment described here, Claudie says "every child in the world should be happy". ;-) A way of caring that too many moms have forgotten.

Sample 3. Video Demonstration of the anti-seizure protocol. With this simple technique, you can stop a seizure in its tracks and help the brain regroup quickly and naturally.

A quick testimonial about how powerful the anti-seizure protocol can be in stopping a seizures in its tracks.

Dopamine: why we all need more.

The Sense of Smell, one of the two most fundamental senses for brain regeneration.

Samples 4 and 5. 1) Smell anything you like that is natural to instantly up-regulate your dopamine. Faster and better than coffee. 2) Eye movement. Track from left to right. Look at art calendars with no other expectation than visual pleasure.

The emotion processing center in the brain is directly connected to the olfactory bulb, making the communication error-free, even in cases of poor sensory translation. See Prof. Leon's work at UCI on the sense of smell.

Serotonin: Need to Know!!!

Serotonin: High in the Blood, Low in the Brain.

Serotonin: the same thing that helps the brain regulate it is what stresses them out: gentle touch. How to circumvent that is described in this video.

Sample 5 (continued). The relationship between vision and Serotonin: increase brain levels simply by looking at art. See the work of Jon C. Horvitz on auditory and visual stimulation and its impact on the brain dopamine and Serotonin functions.

Love, a component of brain regeneration. Hope for autism and neurological disorders through brain plasticity.

The Sense of Touch, one of the two most fundamental senses for protection. Most persons with neurological challenges translate touch poorly because of a poor Serotonin function. Advice on how to re-habilitate gentle touch without stress.

The Sense of Touch, a way to boost the production of Serotonin. Gentle touch only, using the skin receptors for texture. See the work of Michael Meaney at McGill University.

Sense of Touch. Do's and Dont's about using the touch for brain regeneration. Only light touch information affects the brain's Serotonin production. Squeezing inolves proprioception which is a different sense altogether. Use touch to interrupt the vicious cycle of stress.

Work with what works. Example of Speech delay and how speech therapy is not necessarily the best first approach.

Goodbye Temper Tantrums!!! Tantrum911 and how to help a child settle naturally and safely in just a few seconds, using the god-given sense of smell. (See www.tantrum911.com)

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