Kids Beyond Limits: The Anat Baniel Method for Awakening the Brain and Transforming the Life of Your Child With Special Needs

by Anat Baniel

Discover the revolutionary way to harness the brain's capacity to heal itselfSupported by the latest brain research, The Anat Baniel Method uses simple, gentle movements and focus to help any child, who has been diagnosed with autism, Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy or other developmental disorders.

In this supportive and hands-on book, Anat Baniel guides parents through the nine essentials of the method, each one designed to harness the brain's capacity to heal itself -- with remarkable and sometimes immediate results.

By shifting the focus to connecting rather than "fixing," this powerful yet simple method helps both children and parents to de- stress, focus, and grow. Most of all, the it helps all children maximize their potential, no matter what their diagnosis.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Health, Psychology, Unfinished, Self Help

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 27, 2012

About the author

Anat Baniel has established an international reputation for her work with children with special needs. A clinical psychologist, she has refined her method for more than thirty years, and now runs the Anat Baniel Method facility in Marin County, California. Visit her website where you can download free chapters.

Reviews

[Heather]

This book is about creating connection with your child, rather than fixing them. We learn what we experience, not what we necessarily were intended to learn. Instead we learn the experience of our limitations - what we can't do, our what we do poorly. We have to begin where a child is right now in terms of what he can do so he can progress beyond his present limitations. Discerning and respecting what a child can or cannot do at any given moment is a key factor in helping them move beyond limitations. If they could they would. this book teaches you 9 essentials through which you will learn to focus and awaken the underlying process of your child's discovery and creation of self, which is at the heart of successful growth and development. It shows you how have to shift your focus away from what your child "should" be doing now according to age and stages.

I like how this book has short highlights for each section so you can get the basics without reading every section that is not pertinent to your unique situation & needs.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was not overly impressed with Baniel's essential tools for connecting with special needs children. She recommends slowing down, using touch, keeping flexible goals, varying activities, and promoting imagination among other essentials. I personally did not find her insights to be groundbreaking...or even insightful. Of course I need to slow down to connect with my child, and of course our movements and therapy must be slow and purposeful. Of course our goals need to be flexible. Variety is the spice of life. Perhaps I've already been tuned into most of these essentials before reading this. We adopted our daughter and have been focused on attachment parenting, and perhaps these "essentials" go hand in hand with what we've been doing to foster attachment with our daughter. At the most, this book was a good reminder of these things for me and an affirmation that we are doing beneficial things in meeting the needs of our child.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It gives really amazing advice on how best to communicate with your special needs child. I thought it all seemed too simple to make a difference BUT I applied what I learned with my daughter who has cerebral palsy and she has made huge changes in the last couple weeks. I can't believe how much better we seem to understand eachother, her spasticity is way down and she is attempting to crawl for the first time ever. Beware, though, it gives advice on HOW to do stuff with your child but not WHAT to do. I have been improvising. The book encourages you to seek Anat Baniel Method practitioners or come to their center to learn the WHAT to do part. So, it's a little frustrating because to really benefit you have to pay for lessons. BUT!...since it has helped so much doing it on my own with no idea what I'm doing, they have a new client!

[Sarah Mocca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, it took almost two years, but I finally finished this book. It was fascinating! The reason it took so long was not because it was boring or hard to read; quite the opposite is true! I spent a lot of time considering how to truly and effectively implement this book in every day situations, digest and re-read the information, and gain a real understanding of the topics. For a book on neural plasticity, it was exceedingly conversational and filled with real life cases and examples. This is a worth while read for anyone who has a special needs person in their life, but all of the concepts can apply to each of us, regardless of limitations.

[K, Nz · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far (just glancing at the book) the story of Michael, a young child who was in plaster is informative, and inspirational.

I've been recommending this book a lot, it makes so much sense, whether you are young, or older, have special needs, or not. For me it's inspirational, and yet again highlights the amazing nature of our brains while gently correcting long-held assumptions about how a brain learns/changes/adapts.

[Jan Patterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed the way I care for medically fragile children.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

My children are not diagnosed as special needs, but I was curious about this book because it was recommended somewhere to me (can't remember where). I skimmed/read this book very quickly. Her stories of helping children are amazing, nonetheless, I didn't feel like she gave a very clear method to implement in one's own home. Of course, it's not really fair to think people can replicate her success on their own by simply reading a book, when she has studied the subject extensively and had loads of experience. And yet, I did get some ideas of how to do some things differently with my own kids.

I think the biggest takeaway I got was to respect the kids where they are at their current level and work very slowly with gentle nudges to help their brains figure out the next step to whatever they're learning when they're ready (wish I had been more confident in this area when they were babies). Also, to look out for areas where my kids are struggling; if the brain is mapping a pattern of failure, then work to gently remap that pattern and give opportunities to succeed and change the pattern. I also learned that when my kids learn a new skill, don't ask them to repeat it immediately (which is often natural in the excitement). They likely need time to process and will return to it when they're ready. Lastly, respect when they're deep in their own awareness (she calls this "awaring"). They're learning something in their own way, and I should give them the space to do it without interruptions, if at all possible.

[Emtall53 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Kids Beyond Limits and found it both hopeful and validating as a parent/caregiver of a child with special needs. Anat Baniel presents a compassionate, strengths-based approach that shifts the focus away from “fixing” a child and toward awakening the brain’s natural ability to learn and change. This perspective felt empowering and refreshing, especially in a field that often emphasizes deficits and rigid developmental milestones.

One of the strongest aspects of the book is its explanation of neuroplasticity and the Nine Essentials of the Anat Baniel Method. Baniel clearly explains why attention, variation, slow movement, and emotional safety matter so deeply for brain development. The stories and examples throughout the book help bring these ideas to life and made me reflect differently on how learning happens—particularly for children with complex needs.

That said, while I appreciated the philosophy and overarching guidance, I found myself wishing the book included more specific, concrete examples of somatic movements or activities that parents could try with their child. The concepts are powerful, but at times they remain abstract. As a reader eager to apply the method at home, I wanted more step-by-step movement ideas or detailed descriptions of what a session might look like in practice.

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses on the mindset of creating connection with your child, rather than fixing them. We learn through our experiences and not necessarily what was intended to learn. We typically assess what a child can't do and don't spend enough time building on their successes. We need begin helping a child to build onto what the child can do to help them. Discerning and respecting what a child can or cannot do at any given moment is important in helping them move beyond limitations. The book reviews 9 essentials to help your children which you will learn to focus and awaken the underlying process of your child's discovery and creation of self, which is at the heart of successful growth and development.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about principles of child development, which work in harmony with the brain rather than in contention with it. This non-forceful and often counter-intuitive approach recommends acting in a slow, subtle, and aware manner right on the edges of the child subject's current state of development while they have self-attention, not pushing for predefined milestones, and not using positive reinforcement. Anat Baniel tells numerous stories and gives examples of outcomes that were superior to what was expected. What is written here may seem very obvious to many, is scientifically backed, and a descendant of the prior Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais method, but it is very different from many traditional medical methods.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy reading this book. I find his ideas interesting, but there's no real proof to his claims. My biggest frustration was that he didn't site his references in the text, so you really couldn't go look anything up for yourself. At least not easily. (Whatever happened to footnotes???) Also, some of the "essentials" were so idiotically simple that it felt like he was out of touch with what means to be a parent. If paying attention to your child could really cure him/her, no one would ever be born with disabilities. Kinda goes back to needing that peer reviewed evidence or further documentation.

It wasn't for me, but if you have a child with disabilities, it's worth a read and maybe it'll bring you hope.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for any parent or teacher of children with special needs. I love Anat’s gentle approach. I read this book from the library and now ordered a copy to keep. I will reread it as I got insightful ideas about how to deal with myself and my children even if we don’t have the conditions listed in the front of the book. We all have challenges we work with and every child hits blocks at some point either physically, emotionally, or mentally. This book has doable strategies to help you help your child.

[Shanna Mae · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sorry, but this is baloney. It's clearly a cash grab, preying on desperate parents of disabled kids. Not only is there no scientific backing or evidence that it is effective, there are other similar therapies that are available for much cheaper. I can see the principles being helpful, but to claim that they will help with everything from cerebral palsy to ADHD is ridiculous. She also claims that kids she worked with made miraculous changes in totally unrelated areas after just one session! It's farcical and I'm sorry I spent my money on the book.

[Tessa Gratzer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a parent to 2 children’s with complex medical needs, I found the book to be a spring board into changing my approach to their everyday care. The book also inspired me to take the training and learn from Anat in order to better help my family. The principals are not just something I reference in regards to my work, they are key in shifting my over all perspective so that everyday is lived a little fuller.

[Jose Abelardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deep and simple

Very good guide about the little details that parents can incorporate in the way they interact with their child that can make a big difference in the development of a child with especial needs.

[Mhairi MacInnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliantly absorbing book for all parents and children no matter what ages or needs...

[Milly Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

muy interesante!!!!

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good ideas and enjoyed reading the example stories. This book felt a lot like an advertisement for the ABM method rather than a learning experience for me though. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Walker Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read filled with informative and inspirational strategies to help children grow, develop, and reach their potential.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The exact method that the author uses to bring about these wonderful changes in special needs kids is very vague, and some of her 9 essentials seem just like common sense, nothing earth-shattering. However, I found myself taking notes on a couple key things, so I liked this book as a whole. It did make me curious to see this method in action.

[Katie Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book for any parent of a child with special needs. It lays out therapeutic techniques that can easily be applied by the parent - a good supplement for working with your child between appointments with the physical or occupational therapist.

[Jeannine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I believe anyone who has kids or who works with kids should read. Her method and the book are written specifically for kids with challenges but it has things that I really think could be useful for all.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative on how the brain and movement are connected. Gives insight into how we can heal the body through movement, while make new connections in the brain.

[Kim Decelles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing work with kids

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is of particular interest for parents of special need kids, but parents of typically developing kids can also get a ton out of it!

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though her "essentials" are great, they don't seem like anything really revolutionary.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book about neuroplasticity and highly recommend to parents of special needs children.

[Aslihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sadece özel ihtiyaçlı çocuk sahibi olanlar değil, her ailenin okuması gerekiyor. Çok faydalı bilgiler içeriyor.

[Sylvie Bourgeois]

This book really captivated me and opened up a whole new way of thinking. When it comes to the brain, there are no limits to improving it but you need to know how and have the right environment. When it comes to learning , our emotions play a crucial role in turning ON or OFF what she calls our learning switch. Neuroplasticity is so fascinating............ we can help the brain form new and successful patterns which is life changing for children with special needs. Anat Baniel gives you the tools and insights on how to make a difference. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in awakening the brains of our kids.