cover image Healing Your Child’s Brain: A Proven Approach to Helping Your Child Thrive

Healing Your Child’s Brain: A Proven Approach to Helping Your Child Thrive

Matthew and Carol Newell. BenBella, $17.95 trade paper (270p) ISBN 978-1-950665-43-3

Parents should focus on their child’s neurology to help them thrive, advise Matthew and Carol Newell, married founders of the Family Home Center, in this unorthodox guide. They take the perspective that treating ADHD, autism, and dyslexia with a pathology-driven approach obscures the root of the problem, and instead suggest a program based on neuroplasticity. The authors present a simple overview of neurology, breaking down each area of the brain, and provide a chart to help parents evaluate skills associated with seven areas of brain function (a child should be able to recognize shapes by two months, for example). Activities are based on the idea that brain growth comes from sensory stimulation: light and dark training sessions strengthen the light reflex in blind children who lack it, while crawling exercises can help with focus and attention (even for older children). The authors also make a variety of standard holistic parenting suggestions, such as eating a diet free of processed foods, getting sufficient sleep, and using toxin-free cleaning products. “Family Success Story” sidebars serve mostly as testimonials for the Newells’ in-person program. Still, parents frustrated with discouraging prognoses and traditional approaches will find this guide clear enough to understand the philosophy, and straightforward enough to give some of the ideas a try. (Feb.)