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

by Carol Newell, Matthew Newell

Diagnosis is not destiny.

Autism. ADHD. Learning difficulties. Epilepsy. Cerebral palsy. Traumatic brain injury. From the moment your child is diagnosed with a special needs condition, you are plunged into a world of doctors, specialists, and therapists.

But the most important person on your child’s care team is you.

In Healing Your Child’s Brain, child development experts Matthew and Carol Newell arm parents with the knowledge, confidence, and tools they need to help their special-needs child flourish. The Newells have treated more than 20,000 children and are the parents of two special needs children. They know firsthand, as both parents and practitioners, what works—and what doesn’t.

Most treatments focus on managing symptoms but don’t address underlying neurological issues. This book guides readers through the stages of brain development and how they affect functioning, showing what wellness looks like at each level and how to identify—and tackle—problems.

Genres: Parenting

270 pages, Paperback

Published February 9, 2021

Reviews

[Shaina Shepherd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book because the Family Hope Center was recommended on David Quine’s Cornerstone Curriculum website.

While the book has many good principles to follow that will help a struggling child, it totally misses addressing the spiritual aspect of caring for individuals.

Man is made body and soul. This book addresses body with many practical helps, but not the soul. Our mind and body is so much more than neuron connections that may or may not be firing correctly.

Sometimes sin and/or childish foolishness is addressed as ‘an unorganized brain’ that simply needs reorganizing and correct stimulation.

Much of the book addresses examples of where children have differing abilities, struggle to comprehend and communicate, and are not developing mentally at their chronological age level. Much of the claim is that with the right structure, neural stimulation exercising the particular weaker parts of the brain, healthy organic diet and environment that eliminates as many toxins as possible, your child’s brain will be healed and therefore the parents and rest of the family have ‘hope’.

The reader should ‘glean from the truth and spit out the bones’. There are a lot of bones in this one, but the practical helps may be worth the read to some.

[Taylor Harbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I requested this book I didn’t realize it was a book for parents with children who have cognitive disabilities. While our daughter doesn’t currently have any known disabilities, this book was incredibly insightful for anyone whose children might. As parents we fear our child being “different” but after reading this book it gives tons of advice about how to help your child thrive despite their differences and make it seem less daunting, that there’s nothing to be worried about just that the child needs a different approach. I think the positive and hopeful, yet realistic attitude would be comforting to a parent with recently diagnosed children. I would definitely recommend this book and appreciate NetGalley for ARC.

[Kimberly Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must read for parents of children with disabilities. It provides valuable information to parents about the brain and how to improve the overall functioning of their child in so many different areas. When a parent is faced with a diagnosed disability in their child, they lose hope for their child's future. This book provides hope in the form of specific actions that can be taken by the parent in order to improve their child's functioning and therefore, overall quality of life. This book explains how the brain in children with disabilities is disorganized and requires specific exercises to improve the brain organization. These exercises focus on skills such as: listening, smelling, creeping and crawling in order to put the brain in order and improve overall cognitive functioning. This book is amazing in that parents can read it and implement the strategies right in their own home.

[Lauren Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt like a waste of time. It doesn’t actually teach you much about healing your child’s brain. Just the concept that you can heal your child’s brain. But the main point in this book is to sell you on their business of hiring them to teach you how to heal your child brain. Had I known that going into the book I probably would not have read it.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book. I found out that it is SO important for babies to lay on their stomachs at play, learn to scoot before they crawl, and crawl a whole lot before reaching up to walk. Important for much brain development. Thank you to the authors for your experience and guidance.

[Jess Macallan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jessica Michael · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNF this book. The ableism was rampant in this book. I couldn’t even try to power through it.

[Katie Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. The insight and help this book provides is incredible.

[Janelle Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a child with delayed development and I found this book to be fascinating and enlightening. Matthew and Carol have years of experience helping children with brain injuries, and now they are teaching parents how to best help their hurt child. They don't sugar coat the fact that it will take a lot of hard work and dedication, but they also offer a lot of hope for children with brain injuries based on the science of neuroplasticity. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, and understanding the design allows us to work alongside the Master Healer in bringing our children to their full potential.