A Cup of Coffee With ...
Carol Garner-Houston
Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer , Brain Harmony TM
Q . How do you help the autism community ?
A . Brain Harmony has supported children and adults on the autism spectrum for over 25 years — using a unique , scientifically-proven , and award-winning approach to bring balance to the parasympathetic nervous system and to create major improvements in brain function — especially around sensory integration , attention , and focus concerns , non-verbal / communication struggles , emotional dysregulation , sleep issues , and academic struggles .
What we do is so different . We have countless , incredible outcomes with our autism friends because we have turned the old clinical model of therapy on its head . We take a comprehensive approach to rewiring the entire neurological system from the ground up using evidence-based neuroplastic tools .
In just 30 minutes a day , we are able to achieve profound change faster and easier than ever thought possible . We saw ( and continue to see ) a major gap between outcomes and accessibility in the community , so we developed a 5 Step Plan of Care to Achieve Neurological C . A . L . M . Our licensed occupational therapists , specializing in neurological development , create completely customized programs and then train caregivers and families on how to apply our protocols and modalities in their home . We support and guide families in a way that traditional treatments just aren ’ t able to do .
Q . what are you working on at the moment ?
A . Well , we found ourselves on the radar of some big health influencers after receiving the National Board of Certified Occupational Therapists ’ Impact Award and have since been doing a lot of podcasts and summit interviews ! We also launched the Brain Harmony Quiz , an online quiz to help parents better assess and understand the state of their child ’ s neurological system . https :// www . brainharmony . com / brain-harmony-quiz
Q . who or what inspires you and your work ?
A . At Brain Harmony , it ’ s all about the outcomes ! There is nothing more inspiring than helping a family ’ s 4-yearold go from grunting in frustration to speaking in sentences in just 5 months . Or to hear the mother of an autistic son say , “ for the first time in my son ’ s life he is engaging with our family and smiling ! We rarely saw him smile before . I can tell that he is happy !”
Q . what ’ s one piece of advice you ’ d like to share with autism parents ? A . Don ’ t give up . It ’ s impossible to predict the path of someone on the autism spectrum , especially with the continued advancement in tools and technologies that directly impact neurological development . We are so optimistic based on our ongoing search and evaluation of these innovations , as well as the outcomes we are seeing when integrated with our protocols .
Q . what are your plans for the future ? A . We are implementing new data systems to allow us to fine-tune our model of care and achieve even greater outcomes for the families we serve . We also want to continue to push the envelope of a low-cost , easily accessible “ toolkit ” that allows greater access to everyone .
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