This is an awesome report on a study that was conducted at Tx Christian University.
Quote "The little girl?s behavior wasn?t the only thing that was transformed after the program. Simple urine tests showed that Julie?s brain chemistry, wildly out of sync on day one, had improved dramatically as well. These findings dazzled the TCU researchers ? that a child could be pulled back from the brink of mental illness by helping her connect with her mother and teaching her to navigate the world."
NO DRUGS.
.....Purvis agreed to coach the Johnsons through an intensive home program if certain conditions were met. The family had to curtail their daughter?s outside activities, and one parent was to remain within three feet of her around the clock for many weeks. With Purvis? help, the Johnsons developed a list of simple rules for Julie and wrote them on a big chart. (Rules like ?Listen to Mom and Dad,? ?No hurts,? ?No growling,? and ?Use my words.?) The couple were explicitly trained in how to respond when their daughter broke any of them. The discipline was both playful and firm and remained intently focused on retraining, not punishing. Positive feedback and encouragement were given whenever possible.
The researcher taught the parents strategies to help the little girl manage her deep-seated trauma, self-regulate her emotional and physical needs, and gain trust in and respect for her adoptive parents. To interrupt violent episodes, the Johnsons learned a physical restraint that transitions into a nurturing cuddling session once the child has calmed down. The goal is to restore a healthy attachment between parents and child through a careful balance of structure and nurturing.
Julie?s behavior improved tremendously during the course of the three-month program. Her outbursts diminished, and her affection and happiness increased. And these gains have held steady. The only medication Julie needs now, nearly a year later, is a sleeping aid to counteract persistent insomnia.
The little girl?s behavior wasn?t the only thing that was transformed after the program. Simple urine tests showed that Julie?s brain chemistry, wildly out of sync on day one, had improved dramatically as well. These findings dazzled the TCU researchers ? that a child could be pulled back from the brink of mental illness by helping her connect with her mother and teaching her to navigate the world. The findings in Julie?s case dovetail with Purvis and Cross? groundbreaking research into the interaction of brain chemistry and behavior, which is already pointing the way to more effective therapies for troubled youngsters. The professors? work ? an unusual combination of applied field work and research ? has begun to draw national and international notice in the adoption field.
All the North Texas parents interviewed for this story emphasized how difficult it was to find the right diagnosis and treatment for their troubled children. (None of the family members? real names is used, to protect their privacy.) Many visited professional after professional, getting conflicting advice and diagnoses, before coming to the TCU program.
The researchers know that when children get aggressive or can?t sit still, their behavior often masks a profound fear or frustration at their inability to articulate feelings. So the camp works to reduce fear and help the youngsters express themselves ? all in a playful, relaxed environment.
First and foremost, the camp emphasizes an atmosphere of ?felt safety.? Purvis and Cross reason that even though parents or counselors know that the children are safe, what?s critical is that these deeply traumatized children experience the safety for themselves.
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In 2003, Cross and Purvis were asked to provide local support to a Fort Worth family going through a home program led by Virginia neuropsychologist Ronald Federici. This particular home program, involving an at-risk child called Dane, was documented on an NBC Dateline segment.
Biochemistry researcher Gottfried Kellerman, who saw the tv segment and obtained Dane?s neurochemical profile, contacted Cross and Purvis to share his worry that the boy was currently being abused, because the biochemistry levels looked wildly dysfunctional, especially the levels of neurotransmitters ? substances that control excitability, depression, and aggression. The TCU professors assured Dr. Gottfried that in fact Dane?s adoptive home was loving and stable. They concluded that his neurotransmitter levels were still out of whack because of earlier mistreatment. The three got to considering how abuse can leave a legacy in a child?s brain, and a research collaboration was hatched.
Kellerman is CEO of Neuroscience, Inc., a Wisconsin company that produces nutritional supplements designed to boost and optimize neurotransmitter levels in the body. Neurotransmitters interact in a carefully synchronized dance. Some neurotransmitters stimulate us, while others, like serotonin, soothe and calm us down. The right balance is crucial to good mental health and appropriate behavior.
As part of a collaborative study with Neuroscience, the TCU researchers followed the biochemistry of 97 adopted children. Through urine tests, they tracked eight different types of neurotransmitters and mapped those levels against the children?s behavior. Cross and Purvis say that theirs is the first study to track so many neurotransmitters in this context.
Initial results confirmed what they had found with Dane: The vast majority of the adopted children, even while living in a stable new home, still had the neurochemical fingerprint of their early abuse. Physically, their bodies and minds remained overstressed and were not functioning optimally. For example, virtually every child came into the study with low serotonin levels.
In another striking example, the children averaged three times the normal level of phenylethylalanine (PEA). ?At normal levels PEA has to do with creativity and good thinking,? said Purvis, ?but at high elevation it has to do with psychotic disorders.?
Using Neuroscience products, the children received TAAT (targeted amino acid therapy) treatment, which provides nutritional supplements that can be used by the child?s own body to create the specific neurotransmitters they need. ?These are products you could buy under 20 different names in any grocery store,? explained Purvis.
At first the kids? depleted bodies couldn?t handle the flood of needed neurotransmitters. So they were switched to slower release and more individually customized forms of the supplements, which were tweaked as needed
Over the course of the study, the researchers saw that aggressive, delinquent behavior correlated with certain levels of two neurotransmitters (dopamine and histamine). Other conditions, like attention problems and anxiety also could be predicted by neurotransmitter levels.
Purvis marvels about how much they?ve learned about complicated brain chemistry as a result of the TAAT study. ?It?s really an exponential advance,? she said. Cross has documented the initial results in a report that will soon be reviewed by a panel of experts. A follow-up report will examine the interplay between behavioral treatments and the supplements.
Perhaps the most telling result is that 20 percent of the test families were so delighted with the results that they begged for their youngsters to continue supplementation even after the two-month study was finished. These families have been referred to local certified nutritionists to continue treatment.
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