The Brain Possible: Recent Episodes
Emily Abbott
The Brain Possible podcast shares the inspirational stories of parents and caregivers--as well as interviews with doctors, authors, leading thinkers, and paradigm-shifters in the realm of pediatric health and wellness--all in an effort to change the conversation around childhood brain injury from limitations to possibilities.
Jim Sporleder retired in 2014 as Principal of Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA. Under Jim’s leadership, Lincoln High School became a “Trauma-Informed” school, gaining national attention due to a dramatic drop in out of school suspensions, increased graduation rates and the number of students going on to post-secondary education. These dramatic changes at Lincoln caught the attention of Jamie Redford, who spent a year filming the documentary, Paper Tigers, which tells the Lincoln story. The documentary was released at the May 2015 Seattle International Film Festival and received positive reviews. Jim is currently working as a trauma-informed coach/consultant and is based in Walla Walla, WA.
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For more than two decades, Trent McEntire has been helping people gain back their mobility – a story he knows well. Born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy, Trent experienced pain and stiffness every day from the time he was a child. However, Trent's creative problem-solving abilities kicked in transforming his movement capabilities to participate in his love for sports. What Trent discovered to repair his own body became the foundation for what would be his life’s work.
For more than 20 years, Trent has taught his transformational neuro-movement methods and tools to thousands of clients and movement professionals across the globe. Trent’s work has helped many people move past their most debilitating situations -- children who struggle with focus; seniors who have lost their balance and mobility, individuals experiencing neurological conditions; and athletes who have suffered concussions, injuries, and other debilitating situations. Today, Trent’s mission is to get his methods and tools out to everyone who needs help. The Fire Up Your Brain program was created as a fun, engaging, and affordable way to support this mission.
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Over the past 15 years, Dr. Jody Carrington has assessed, treated, educated and empowered some of our most vulnerable and precious souls on the planet. She is a child psychologist by trade, but Jody rarely treats kids. The answer lies, she believes, in the people who hold them. Especially when kids have experienced trauma, that’s when they need big people the most. Some of her favourites include educators, parents, first responders, and foster parents. Jody has shifted the way they think and feel about the holy work that they do.
Her first book, Kids These Days: A Game Plan for Reconnecting with those we Teach, Lead & Love, sold 20,000 copies in just three months. It is now on Amazon’s Best Sellers List. Her second book, Teachers These Days: Stories & Strategies for Reconnecting, was on Amazon’s Best Sellers List within the first 24 hours.
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Liza Blas is a speaker, coach, and the host of the Very Happy Stories podcast. She brings hope, empowerment, and validation to parents raising kids with unique challenges. Liza delivers inspiring stories and shares her best practices through her podcast, speaking engagements, and personal transformational coaching. Her stories are inspired by her personal experience navigating the complex conditions of her two children, including depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, ASD, Tourette’s Syndrome, and Lyme disease.
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Cass and Len Arcuri are the hosts of the Autism Parenting Secrets podcast and the founders of Warrior Parent Coaching. Their mission is to empower parents to transform into Warrior Parents who are better equipped to find answers that are right for their unique child. They believe the greatest gift a parent can give their child is their own transformation into a stronger, calmer, more capable, and more loving version of themself. So much more is possible when the parent transforms first!
Cass understands the body’s innate power to heal and specializes in the healing power of food. She's invested over 15,000 hours in the kitchen creating recipes to accommodate allergies and special diets. Cass is a certified Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Len is a problem solver and is obsessed with helping other parents identify and address the root cause of anything that's holding them or their child back. He's a certified Human Potential Institute Coach who leverages proven productivity tools and biohacking to get results faster with greater ease.
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Dr. Pejman Katiraei is a board-certified pediatrician who is also boarded and fellowship-trained in integrative and holistic medicine. He completed his undergraduate at UCLA and then obtained his osteopathic medical degree at Western University of Health Sciences. He completed his pediatric residency at Loma Linda University, where he stayed on Pediatric Chief Resident, and then as teaching faculty for over 4 years while he founded the Loma Linda University Wholistic Medicine Clinic. Dr. Katiraei (Dr. K) also completed two fellowships in integrative medicine, one with the University of Arizona. Dr. K's second fellowship was in Endobiogeny, a European systems biology medical model. Dr. K is one of a few physicians in the country with mastery of osteopathy, functional medicine, functional endocrinology, medical herbalism and more.
Dr. Katiraei is now in private practice in Santa Monica, where he focuses on helping children with severe behavioral challenges. He is also working with an amazing team to build Wholistic Minds, an online portal that helps parents understand the root cause of their child’s behavioral issues and what steps they can take to help resolve it.
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Nichole Perkins is the founder and CEO of PrimaFoodie, a modern lifestyle and wellness brand aimed at making nutritious, clean living accessible for everyone. PrimaFoodie publishes inspirational and informative content centered around holistic health, healing foods, accessible low FODMAP and SIBO-friendly recipes, and advocacy for an equitable food system.
A self-described “food warrior,” Nichole started on a journey of healing through food more than seven years ago after struggling with various autoimmune conditions. Frustrated by the lack of answers provided by western medicine, she changed her healing trajectory and took autonomy over her health. Through voracious research, real foods, and the counsel of functional and alternative medicine practitioners, Nichole began to heal. She created PrimaFoodie to offer access to all that she continues to learn, and to prove that an empowered, clean, healing lifestyle is a human right and an individual journey.
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In today's episode, we learn about Help Hope Live from Outreach Manager, Sonny Mullen. Help Love Live is a national, non-profit organization that helps to facilitate fundraising for medical expenses not covered by insurance. With a personal connection to Help Hope Live’s mission, Sonny uses her experiences to connect with individuals in the disability community with the goal of helping them raise money for their medical care and expenses.
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Allie is an occupational therapist specializing in sensory integration. Allie is the founder of Play 2 Progress and the author of Play to Progress: Lead Your Child to Success Using the Power of Sensory Play. She uses the science of child development and the joy of play to boost childrens’ confidence and enhance development within all areas of their life, from social and emotional to physical and academic. Allie believes that the best way to support children is by arming their parents, from inception, with the knowledge and skills necessary to encourage their child’s development for success through childhood and beyond.
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Today on The Brain Possible podcast, we have the pleasure of speaking with Dr. James Greenblatt, a pioneer in the field of Integrative Medicine. Dr. Greenblatt has treated patients since 1988. Specifically, Dr. Greenblatt has seen 1000s of children and adults struggling with symptoms of ADHD, hyperactivity, inattentiveness, impulsiveness, and often irritability. Rather than simply prescribing medication for their ADHD symptoms, he tailors remedies to his patients' individual needs, detecting and treating the underlying causes of the condition. In his book Finally Focused, he provides proven natural and medical methods to treat such problems as nutritional deficiencies or excesses, dysbiosis microbial imbalance inside the body, sleeping difficulties, and food allergies, all of which surprisingly can cause or worsen the symptoms of ADHD. Using Dr. Greenblatt's expert advice, millions of children and adults with ADHD finally can get the help they need to achieve true wellness.
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Janine Halloran is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who has been working with children, teens, and their families for 20 years. She has been helping children and teens build their coping skills throughout her career in a variety of settings, including schools, mental health clinics and in her private practice. She is the author of several books, including the bestselling Coping Skills for Kids Workbook and the Coping Skills for Teens Workbook. Her work has been featured in the Boston Globe, CNN, Huffington Post, and The Skimm® Newsletter. Janine lives in Massachusetts with her husband and two children.
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Dr. Robert Melillo is one of the world’s most sought after and respected experts in Developmental Functional Neurology, Brain Imbalances, hemispheric integration, and the diagnosis and correction of most neurobehavioral disorders and learning disabilities. He is also a successful businessman and entrepreneur and has developed many successful businesses. In 2006, he created Brain Balance Achievement Centers which has approximately 150 centers and has helped tens of thousands of families. He is a prolific author and brain researcher, he has published one major textbook titled Neurobehavioral Disorders of Childhood an Evolutionary Perspective. He has co-authored approximately 20 chapters in other texts on various subjects related to Dyslexia, Attention, Frontal Lobe Development etc. and he has also published approximately 50 peer-reviewed papers. In addition, Dr. Melillo has also written 5 best-selling books including his best known Disconnected Kids which has been translated into 8 languages.
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Charles R. Solis, Jr. and Conceição Solis are the co-founders and directors of the REACH Family Institute, an educational organization specializing in teaching parents how to “parent with the brain in mind”. REACH serves children of all levels of ability from all segments of society. REACH focuses specifically on work with children with special needs and, under REACH's umbrella, BrainFit Kids focuses on work with "well" children. Charles has degrees in Biology and Human Development and 46 years of experience teaching parents how to dramatically transform their children’s lives through enhanced brain development. Conceição studied nursing, speech therapy, and Human Development. She has 44 years of experience teaching parents how to dramatically transform their children’s lives through enhanced brain development. She is an expert in the development of human functional ability.
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Charles Barth is a founding member of School of Lunch, Inc, heads up Slow Food Ventura County, a non-profit dedicated to supporting local food systems and artisan producers. He has served on the CDFA/Certified Farmers Market Advisory Committee and operates Wildwood Heritage Provisions, sourcing foods directly from farmers and artisan producers in the SoCal region. He has led citizen science projects in schools utilizing Continuous Glucose Monitors(CGMs), teaching chefs, students, staff, and parents the direct effects of food and lifestyle on blood glucose levels. His mission is to help as many as possible establish deep-rooted, ancestral-based healthy habits around food.
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As a preschool teacher for 25 years, Carol observed many children with sensory processing differences, ADHD, and mild autism. To help them become more competent in their work and play, she learned to identify their sensory processing challenges and steer them into early intervention. In her writings and workshops, she explains SPD's effect on children’s learning and behavior, and suggests fun and functional "In-Sync" activities. Her first book in the "Sync" series, "The Out-of-Sync Child," has been translated into 15 languages, including Spanish and Chinese, and has sold one million copies. Her most recent publication, with Joye Newman, is a calendar called "A Year of Mini-Moves for the In-Sync Child." A graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University, Carol has a master’s degree in education and human development from The George Washington University. She lives in Maryland, plays the cello, and dotes on five sensational grandchildren. Visit www.out-of-sync-child.com and www.insyncchild.com for more information.
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Charlie Hartwell is the Managing Partner of Bridge Builders Collaborative, a group of highly successful investors who have been investing in start-up companies in the space of mental health, consciousness, and spirituality. Some of their investments include Pear Therapeutics, Insight Timer, Headspace, and Happify Health. A Harvard Business School graduate, Charlie has served and led organizations in 14 different industries, including starting a nonprofit in the slums of Kenya in 1986 that has now served health care to several million patients. Maureen Pelton, MSSW, is a social scientist and spiritual teacher with 36 years of professional experience as a Holistic Psychotherapist, Executive Coach, Organizational Consultant, Adjunct Faculty, and Group Facilitator. Maureen is a teacher on Insight Timer, and is a Certified Advanced Practitioner of Quantum Neuro Reset Therapy, QNRT™ and is a partner of Bridge Builders Collaborative
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Rupa Mehta is a teacher, entrepreneur, author, and all-around health advocate. Rupa Mehta is here to talk about the importance of social-emotional learning, but with a bit of a twist. Rupa is the founder of the Nalini Method and NaliniKIDS, unique and revolutionary workout regimens which combine physical and emotional exercises for optimal health. As a fitness instructor, Rupa saw firsthand that encouraging her clients to work through their emotions while working out resulted in strengthening their bodies and minds, and knew that kids could benefit from this approach as much as adults. And now, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Rupa has also created a free social-emotional curriculum for kids called Subject of Self, which aims to help students understand the who, what, and why of themselves, the same way they would strive to understand any subject. The idea being that social-emotional awareness comes first from an awareness of your own self. Developing a solid self-knowledge is vital in order for kids to learn to regulate their emotions, understand and deal with stress, and become better-equipped to navigate everything they face in life—whether it be a math exam, a great opportunity, or perhaps even a global pandemic.
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Laura Sheehan is a former Pedi ICU and Neonatal ICU nurse for 15 years and for 18 years a family Upper Cervical Chiropractor. Her chapter in Pediatric Chiropractic has some interesting case studies of children exhibiting neurological challenges who were helped with the Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic evaluation and adjustment. She loves babies and children of all ages and supports and salutes parents who think outside mainstream media and medicine.
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Dr. Laura Graye, founder of Medigraytion, LLC*, is a metaphysician and visionary scientist practicing the art of medical intuition. She has clinical practices in Boston and Nashville and is the creator of Walk the Talk: Shifting Your Consciousness One Step at a Time, 90-minute conscious therapy sessions walking around Boston Harbor (MA) and Radnor Lake (TN). Since she was a child, Laura has had a voracious appetite for exploring consciousness. Today she devotes herself to helping others witness and optimize the remarkable magic of vibrational medicine; the powerful role energy plays in our reality and how we all can tap into consciousness to improve our life and our health.
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After doctors made her daughter ill with psychiatric drugs for her bladder infections, Dr. Mary Ann Block went to medical school at the age of 39 to save her. She not only learned what doctors learn but also what they don’t learn. This knowledge helped her think outside the box and save her own mother from metastatic, “terminal” lung cancer. In her medical practice, working with those diagnosed with ADHD and Autism, she invented Clarity Chair, a medical device that helps improve cognitive symptoms such as remembering, focus, behavior, communicating, listening, coordination, self-stimulation and improves the symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury.
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Michelle Perro, MD, is a veteran pediatrician with over thirty-five years of experience in acute and integrative medicine. More than ten years ago, Dr. Perro transformed her clinical practice to include pesticide and health advocacy. She has both directed and worked as attending physician from New York’s Metropolitan Hospital to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Dr. Perro has managed her own business, Down to Earth Pediatrics.
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Christine Muldoon is a former educator turned Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and mom of 3. Using ancestral nutrition and conscious parenting, Christine specializes in educating and supporting families in perinatal and childhood nutrition. She is the founder and creator of Nourish the Littles, an online community that offers parents education with an online course and one-on-one consultations related to nutrition and feeding families nourishing foods. She believes nourishing the body goes beyond just food.
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Kathleen is a mother to three boys. When her children were struck by autoimmune issues she became aware of the dangers that exposures to toxic chemicals pose in our children’s environment. For many years, Kathleen has been doing her part to encourage communities to eliminate children’s exposure to toxic pesticides on school grounds and in parks. With the help of scientists and medical professionals, she led the movement in Irvine, CA by starting with the schools, and then working with a group to approach the city. Kathleen is a founding member of Non Toxic Communities, an Accredited Organic Land Care Professional (AOLCP) and served as Head of Climate and the Environment on the Irvine Mayor’s Council. She now works in the private sector, helping more districts, cities, and homeowner’s associations adopt organic landscaping methods, and continues to support Non Toxic Communities in an advisory role. She is now representing Contact Organics, an effective non-toxic herbicide that is safe to use around cities, schools, farms, and homes. She figured the only way to solve the issues of toxins being used in landscaping was to go out and provide solutions.
Kathleen's Email: k.hallal@contactorganics.com
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Dr. Mara is an educational psychologist turned root cause medicine practitioner. Dr. Mara specializes in prevention of chronic illness and neurodevelopmental disorders with pre-conception nutrition, as well as healing neurodevelopmental disorders and other chronic illnesses, and stealth infections such as Lyme, Mold, and Heavy Metal Toxicity.
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Speech-language pathologist Kelly Vess is the author of "Speech Sound Disorders: Comprehensive Evaluation and Treatment" with Thieme Publishers. Kelly has spent 18 years as both a therapist and researcher "at the drawing board" in an ongoing quest to create best practices for preschoolers.
Her research and experience show that maximally effective practice is possible, even in the face of today's real world in-person and virtual constraints. Kelly also serves as an off campus clinical instructor for local universities. Along with these graduate students, she is always researching best practices.
Links from Episode:Speech Sound Disorders Comprehensive Evaluation and Treatment clip: https://youtu.be/pFndAsTwTyg
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Kerry Magro is an award winning national speaker and best-selling author. Kerry has become a rolemodel in the disabled community. Non-verbal at 2.5 and diagnosed with autism at 4, Kerry has overcame countless obstacles to get to where he is today.In May of 2019, Kerry received his doctorate in Educational Technology Leadership from New Jersey City University to become Dr. Kerry Magro. He currently is CEO and Founder of KFM Making a Difference, a non-profit corporation focused on disability advocacy and housing.
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Randy Gomm has a history of being an adrenaline junkie--a story we hear in this podcast. But his greatest obstacle was not faced on any mountside, in any rapids, or in any firefight. He experienced pain so significant that he had to leave work, eventually being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It turned out, though, that he was high in both toxins and heavy metals.
He used an infrared sauna as part of his recovery and became so passionate about how it helped his healing that he created a company, Radiant Health, to share the technology with therapists, doctors, and individuals--something he’s been doing for 25 years.
Today, we’ll learn how these saunas work, who they can help, and what you should consider if you’re thinking of trying the therapy. Shop the saunas here.
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Katie Jackson--mama warrior and functional nutritionist--on her journey with her daughter and her calling to whole food nutrition
Katie Jackson is a nutritional therapy consultant, restorative wellness practitioner, certified personal trainer, and functional nutritionist from Wisconsin. We’re excited to speak with Katie because she has a special story and mission--one that is steeped in her passion for empowering parents with that sought-after combination of knowledge and hope.
Besides the titles we mentioned earlier, perhaps the greatest doesn’t come with fancy credentials: Katie is the mother of four teenagers, one of whom suffered a brain injury as an infant, resulting in cerebral palsy. Through her daughter’s journey, she has seen firsthand what whole food nutrition and root-cause approach wellness can do to bring innate healing to the body.
Katie’s story is a great example of why we do what we do. And she has a lot to share, both as a parent and a practitioner. Let’s get started.
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Dr. Natasha Beck MPH, Psy.D is a parenting expert and founder of Dr. Organic Mommy, an online resource focused on pregnancy, parenting, and non-toxic living. We are fascinated by her journey and inspired by what she shares with her followers and community. Dr. Beck has a wealth of knowledge on parenting and healthy living, and our focus today will be where those two collide the most: in the kitchen.
Is it possible to get your kids to care about healthy food? How? Why is that so important in the first place? Can you engage your kids in such a way that they are excited about helping in the kitchen? Where do you start?
If you’re tired of having the challenging “eat your vegetables” conversation around the dinner table over and over, you’re not going to want to miss this episode.
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Yafa Crane Luria, an ADHD pioneer since 1984, has dedicated her life to helping those with ADHD and their families. As a person with ADHD herself, she coaches parents that there is nothing wrong with their children or their parenting. At The Brain Possible, we strongly resonate with this message.
Yafa is the author of "How To Train Your Parents in 6 ½ Days" and the Amazon Kindle Best Seller: "Getting Schooled: 102 Practical Tips for Parents, Teachers, Counselors, and Students about Living and Learning with ADHD." Her most recent book is "Six-Word Lessons for Parenting Your Child with ADHD: 100 Lessons to Take Your ADHD Child from Blocked to Brilliant."
In this episode, we’ll uncover some of those lessons and learn all we can from Yafa.
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On this episode of The Brain Possible Podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with Sameer Bhide, author of the new book One Fine Day: Overcoming Adversity and Embracing the New Normal with Grace and Gratitude. In it, Sameer shares his remarkable journey of how he survived a rare, massive hemorrhagic stroke at the age of 47, what therapies and treatments he pursued to help him heal, and the mindsets he kept/lessons he learned along the way.
We are grateful Sameer is here today to share his story with us--and you. Enjoy.
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On today’s episode of The Brain Possible Podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with Professor Claudia Gray, a pediatrician based in Cape Town, South Africa with a subspecialty in allergology. Professor Gray is currently working in the UK as an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Cape Town as well as a specialist in her own practice, the Kidsallergy Centre. In her work, she examines all aspects of pediatric food allergies and has a keen interest in the particular correlation between food allergy and eczema.
We know food is so important, and we know many of you listeners out there struggle with food issues, whether that be the feeding patterns of your exceptional kiddos or managing food allergies. That’s why we’re especially interested to hear from Professor Gray! Thank you for listening.
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Navigating social situations without anxiety or emotional overload can be a challenge for even neurotypical kids and their parents. Throw in some of the challenges exceptional kids face, especially around regulating emotions and connecting interpersonally, and the stakes get higher. A seemingly small outing can feel anything but small.
In this podcast, we have the opportunity to chat with an expert in this field: Elizabeth Sautter, author of Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick: Practical Strategies to Help your Child Manage Emotions, Navigate Social Situations and Reduce Anxiety. Elizabeth is also a mom, a speech therapist, and the co-owner of Communication Works--a company that provides speech therapy to schools and individuals in the San Francisco Bay area. Together, we have a lot we can learn from Elizabeth. Let’s get started.
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When we say it is our honor to speak with Matthew and Carol Newell, it truly is. Those of you who know our story know that we took our son Carter to The Family Hope Center--founded by the Newell’s--to receive therapies. We believe in what they do, and we are excited they are sharing it on a wider scale in their new book, Healing Your Child’s Brain.
In this podcast, we’ll unpack a little of the wisdom the book holds. How can you create an empowering context for your child’s life? How do you evaluate your child’s unique challenges and capabilities? What do you need to know about the brain’s potential? How can you not just “survive” this parenting experience, but embrace and find joy within it? We’ll discuss all that and more. This is a podcast you’ll want to come back to again and again.
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We recently had the opportunity to speak with Heather Boorman, the founding director of Boorman Counseling in Western Wisconsin. Heather is the author of The Gifted Kids Workbook and a blogger/podcaster at The Fringy Bit, where she shares her journey of homeschooling her three kids with twice exceptionality, or 2e. In this conversation, we’ll learn more about what 2e means, why Heather has dedicated her life to this work, and what it means to her family and perhaps even yours.
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At The Brain Possible, we are dedicated to exploring all the paths to healing--and what that healing looks like. As we continue our journey, we’re delighted to speak with Jodi Cohen. Jodi is the author of Essential Oils to Boost the Brain and Heal the Body: 5 Steps to Calm Anxiety, Sleep Better and Reduce Inflammation to Regain Control of Your Health. She is also the founder of Vibrant Blue Oils, where she has helped over 50,000 clients heal from brain-related challenges, including anxiety, insomnia, and autoimmunity. On this podcast, she’ll share her wisdom with us on how essential oils can be used to heal the brain.
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If you’ve listened to our podcast in the past, you know we’re always especially delighted to speak with parents of exceptional children who are also experts dedicated to helping other families. We’re excited to bring you that powerful combination again as we speak with Margaret Webb.
Margaret is a certified Master Life Coach, parenting coach, former teacher, wife, and mother to a 17 year old son who is autistic. She’s been sharing the strategies that have worked for her family for twelve years in her course “Parenting the Child You Didn’t Expect While You Were Expecting.”
Margaret believes parents should experience more ease and joy with their children and less isolation and judgment. We could not agree more!
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On this episode of The Brain Possible Podcast, we had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Melnia Roberts--author, naturopathic doctor, and one of the top biological medicine practitioners in North America. She specializes in treating digestive issues, chronic conditions, and cancer . . . but that’s not all. She’s also a huge proponent of healing the gut, balancing hormones, detoxifying the body, and building healthy children--topics we all care deeply about here at The Brain Possible. In this conversation, we learn what we can do to optimize our brain health and physical health.
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On this episode of The Brain Possible podcast, we’re delighted to speak today with Dr. Rudrani Banik, a healthcare entrepreneur, functional medicine doctor, and founder of Envision Healthy NYC. Dr. Banik is an expert in all things eyes, combining principles of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine to treat and manage conditions ranging from dry eye all the way to macular degeneration and even multiple sclerosis. Here, we learn about her unique approach, including how to optimize nutrition for eye health and what we need to know about digital blue light exposure--something that’s especially important as we’re all behind more and more screens.
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We started The Brain Possible Podcast last year and have worked hard to bring the voices of this community--practitioners, parents, therapists, nutritional experts . . . and even, in one case, musicians--together to share their insights. This year, we plan to do more of the same. We’re delighted to speak today with Dr. Eric Zielinski, the author of The Healing Power of Essential Oils and The Essential Oils Apothecary. You may have also seen him online at NaturalLivingFamily.com, a site he started in 2014. Dr. Z is an expert in all things essential oils--how they fit into the natural health approach, how they may be used to fight chronic disease--and much more.
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As we know, not all brain injuries occur during or directly after birth. In fact, according to data from 2016, almost two million neurotypical children under the age of 18 get concussions per year--from sports injuries alone. Obviously, these numbers are higher in 2021--and even higher if we factor in the number of accidents that can happen outside of sports (falls, car accidents, etc). We had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Sasha Blaskovich (Dr. B) and Ethan O’Brian, co-authors of “Dr. B’s Concussion Breakthrough: Exploring the Hidden Connection to Neck Injuries and a Simple Guide to Naturally Heal Your Brain” and founders of the Concussion Recovery Kit. Over his career, Dr. B has advised many parents with concussed children, and Ethan has been in their shoes, having experienced ten concussions himself between the ages of eight and nineteen. Together, Dr. B and Ethan share practical strategies for recovering from a concussion naturally, without costly or potentially harmful drugs or surgery. This is a topic I’m very passionate about, and I'm excited to bring you this meaningful discussion.
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Usually, our founder, Emily Abbott, interviews others—parents, therapists, caregivers, nutritionists, and other experts--on The Brain Possible podcast. This time, though, we flipped the script. We invited Polly Ely—a marriage and family therapist, creator of The Lab Method (a tool that help parents meaningfully communicate with their children), and a friend of the show—to get Emily’s story.
How did the Who Is Carter Foundation and The Brain Possible start?
Who is Carter, really?
What happened to bring Emily and her family to where they are today, and what did she learn along the way?
The resulting inspiring and heartfelt conversation covers all those bases—and so much more. Here’s a sample.
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As you know, here at The Brain Possible, we’re all about the possibilities for your child, not their limitations. That’s why Dr. Vaish(VIIISh) Sarathy, with a background in chemistry and functional nutrition, speaks our language. We’re drawn to her work at Functional Nutrition for Kids, where she works with families of children with Down syndrome, autism, and other “intellectual disabilities,” helping them to optimize health, behavior, and learning.
That term “intellectual disabilities” is in quotes on purpose, as another key to Vaish’s story is her own journey with her differently-abled son. After being told her son would never be able to learn, today his progress is astounding. He even writes poetry! In today’s discussion, we’ll learn about Vaish’s personal journey--and how she uses that passion and robust knowledge to help her clients.
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We love bringing you stories that have the potential to further open our minds and our hearts. We have one of those again today, as we’ll be speaking with Elijah Stacy. At only nineteen, Elijah has accomplished so much: at fifteen, he started a foundation to help find a cure for his disease--Duchenne, a fatal form of muscular dystrophy. At seventeen, he wrote a book about his life. And today, he continues to share his story in hopes of lifting up others.
Besides his own battle with muscular dystrophy, Elijah’s brother, Kai, has the same illness. His other brother, Max, suffered a brain injury as an infant and passed away as a teen.
On this episode, we’ll hear from Elijah about what it’s like to have a sibling with a brain injury, how Max’s life and death affected him and his family, and how Duchenne’s continues to impact their lives today.
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We’re always eager to speak to practitioners, mama bears, or experts on holistic living--or, of course, any combination of the three. On this episode, we were lucky to check a couple of those boxes by speaking with Shawna of @alittlelesstoxic. If you don’t already follow her on Instagram, trust us--you’re going to want to start after hearing our talk today.
Shawna uses the power of social media to show us that living less toxic--in the food you cook, the environment you cultivate, and the products you use--can be accessible, affordable, and even fun.
From using scraps to make your own vegetable broth, to creating one-pan stirred natural cranberry sauce instead of the canned stuff, to sprouting your seeds (or legumes) before cooking to make them more digestible, Shawna’s advice is always practical and surprising--in a good way.
For example, she’s recently taken to taping her mouth shut at night when she sleeps. We learn why--and so much more--on this podcast.
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Here at The Brain Possible, our passion for nutrition--and our focus on gut health in particular--is not new. An expert on both is Hilary Boynton, a certified holistic health counselor, GAPS diet expert, cookbook co-author, influencer, and . . . lunch lady. Yes, we said lunch lady. Clearly, we have a lot to discuss! I’ve personally been working my way through Hilary’s cookbook, and I’m inspired by her journey to feed her family (and students at the school where she works) nutrient-dense, organic foods from local sources. In today’s discussion, we’ll cover what drew Hilary to the GAPS diet in particular, her take on the importance of gut health, and much more. You don’t want to miss this one.
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If you’ve been following our podcast, you know we have a passion for harnessing the power of nutrition. There’s no one better to discuss this topic with than Dr. Lindy Woodard. We’ve spoken to her in the past about the big picture of using food as medicine, covering her journey to integrative medicine, her love of food, and more.
Lindy considers homeopathy, nutrition, and gut health to be the framework for understanding wellness and curing disease. In today’s discussion, we’ll dive deeper and discuss practical steps you can take to set yourself up for success in the kitchen.
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I am always excited to speak with inspiring practitioners and parents on this podcast, but today I am especially grateful for the opportunity to introduce you to Johannes and Signe Skovgaard. That’s for several reasons, one of which is that we are friends. I met Johannes and Signe at the ABM Center in California. They were there with their daughter Anna, and we were there with our son Carter. Though they live and practice in Denmark, we have maintained our friendship.
Johannes and Signe did more than take Anna to the ABM Center . . . they started one of their own, back in Denmark. It’s called the Scandinavian Center of Neurodevelopmental Movement.
On this podcast, we’ll learn more about this incredible family and the work they’re doing to bring the science of neuromovement to children from around the world.
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At The Brain Possible, we love connecting with fellow mama warriors who fiercely advocate for their exceptional children. There’s an energy they bring to the table--one filled with tenacity and love--that’s impossible not to gravitate toward. Now, we get to do that again.
On this podcast, we’ll be speaking with Rachel Pastiloff. Her son Blaise has autism as well as Prader Willi Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that means, if left alone, he will literally eat himself to death. Rachel’s other son Maddock has ADHD and a mood disorder. Oh, and did we mention she’s a single parent?
We're excited to speak to Rachel because she’s outspoken about what it’s really like--the hard days and the wonderful days and everything in between--raising not only one, but two exceptional kids. Her authenticity in how she shows up in this world feels like fresh air. We recently wrote about her on our blog--which you can head over to the website to find--but we wanted more. We wanted you to hear her voice, because it’s such an important one. Together, we’ll explore Prader Willi and what it’s like for Rachel and her family. You don’t want to miss this conversation. Thank you for being here.
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If you’ve listened to the podcast before, you know we have a variety of guests--mama warriors, practitioners, authors, the creators of amazing products for our community, and more. Today, we are going to check a couple of those boxes at once!
Our conversation today is with Tara Cohen. Tara is the marketing director of a company called Lauren’s Hope that makes beautiful and important ID bracelets for exceptional children. But more than that--she’s a mama warrior who has some timely perspective to share about what virtual schooling in the pandemic really looks like for kiddos who can’t possibly sit still in front of a computer screen for hours on end.
The pandemic is disproportionately affecting exceptional children who can’t simply switch learning modes. Besides what we’ve already lost to COVID--all the lives, our sense of normalcy, etc.--the truth is that the most vulnerable of our kids have lost their right to free and equitable access to education.
We've been thinking about this exact topic a lot lately, and we're grateful for the chance to speak to Tara so we can all learn from her story.
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We always love talking with fellow mama warriors—strong women who fiercely advocate for their children, who are constantly asking “what can be next for my child” and going in that direction. Recently, we spoke with Deniece Smith of Wellness Beyond the Spectrum. Today, we’ll be speaking with Lindsay Bachman to learn about her family.
Lindsay and her husband Pete raise their two daughters, Chandler and Landry, on a farm in Central Illinois. In June of 2020, Landry, their youngest, was diagnosed with an ultra rare genetic disorder called CHAMP1. At the time, she was only the 68th person worldwide with this diagnosis. Through partnership with other families and the CHAMP1 research foundation, they are on a mission to raise awareness, advocate for inclusion, celebrate diversity, and ultimately, to find a treatment.
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On this podcast, we meet Deniece Smith of Wellness Beyond the Spectrum. Deniece takes a holistic approach to treat her young son’s autism and her other child with an informal diagnosis of ADHD, focusing on removing toxins from their environment, carefully choosing which foods her family eats and which to avoid, and more.
She has used her YouTube channel along with other social media platforms, Instagram in particular, to share her family's journey with autism but also to bring awareness to how using nutritional and holistic measures can help you find healing and optimal health.
She has a career background in Pediatric and Obstetric nursing but as a result of her son's diagnosis, has started a new career path into the holistic wellness and nutrition community. I am the founder of Wellness Beyond the Spectrum, where I focus on helping others navigate nutrition, achieve wellness, and healing.
On this podcast, we’ll learn more about her family and her wellness approach that is helping her son heal.
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We talk often about creating empowering contexts for our children, in life and beyond. This is a feeling many of you who know Emily Abbott's story know she's faced first-hand when her son, Carter, passed.
In this episode, Emily has the pleasure to speak to Thorald and Isaac Koren: two brothers who make up the folk duo Francansisco. They have a story of their own to share about Thorald’s late son Jack who passed at fifteen months due to complications from a brain injury he sustained at birth—and how they turned to music in their time of loss.
The brothers recently released a song to commemorate Jack’s life and the impact it had on their whole family. The song, More Than You Know, is heartbreakingly moving. We hope to learn how art and creativity—in this case, songwriting and music—have helped this family heal.
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Nature can be so incredibly healing. We've covered it in-depth on our blog. On this podcast, we take it one step further by exploring specific therapies that you may not know so much about and also involve nature: surfing and horseback riding (or hippo-therapy). Who better to guide us than Dr. Jillian of Surf and Turf Therapy, a California-based organization whose mission is in “bettering lives through non-traditional therapeutic activities?”
Dr. Jillian has been an equestrian for over 25 years and a surfer for over a decade. She received her doctorate in physical therapy in 2014 and her Hippo-therapy Clinical Specialty in 2017. In her role, she doesn’t teach children how to surf and ride. It’s a clinical setting, rather, in which she and her team focus on improving daily life skills like walking, talking, postural alignment, and more.
Her goal is to help to improve the lives of exceptional children and to make non-traditional treatments like these accessible and known. Our conversation with her was enlightening! Enjoy.
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It’s not a far stretch to say the world can feel very scary sometimes--and now, especially. If it feels that way for we adults, have you ever wondered how it affects our children? What can we do to guide them--and ourselves--through choppy seas and trying times? How can we work through stress with our children, and what should those conversations with our kids look like?
These are hard questions. Luckily, they’re questions we don’t have to answer alone. Our guest today is Dr. Abigail Gewirtz, a professor at the University of Minnesota who has written a book that could not be more timely: When the World Feels Like a Scary Place: Essential Conversations for Anxious Parents & Worried Kids. Dr. Gewirtz is a mother of four, a child psychologist, and an expert on how stress affects families.
We clearly have a lot we can learn from Dr. Gewirtz, and we are grateful we get to share our conversation with you today.
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There are so many factors medical teams examine when a baby is born. The standard is pretty clear: in a healthy birth, nurses note length, weight, APGAR scores, and so forth.
One expert on the craniosacral fascial system is hoping to add another check--the Baby Brain Score (BBS). If you don’t know what the craniosacral fascial system is off the top of your head, you’re definitely not alone.
Today we’re speaking with the doctor who discovered it and who has used his program both in private practice and even at The Family Hope Center to help babies get off to stronger starts.
Dr. Gillespie developed The Gillespie Approach, which is a therapy that stimulates cerebrospinal fluid pumping into the fascial web. In laymans terms, it helps babies overcome trauma they may have faced during birth and sets them up for healthier futures.
That’s a lot to take in, I know. So, how does it work? Who can it help? Where does the BBS fit in? Where can you learn more?
We’ll cover all that and more in this episode!
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We’re so pleased to bring you our latest episode, which features The Brain Possible’s CEO and Founder, Emily Abbott, having a conversation with Chloe Weber. Chloe is the co-founder of a CBD and Chinese Herb company called Radical Roots that features, among other products, Remy’s Revenge—a mixture she developed for her exceptional child, Remy—and also the name of her website where she discusses diet, detox, movement, her experience practicing acupuncture, and more.
Chloe has been interested in biohacking her way through healing since, as a high school student, she was one of the first cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis (a type of skin infection) diagnosed in Costa Rica. From there, she developed an interest in public health and medicine and went on to study Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder. Eventually to Chinese medicine, Chloe graduated with a master’s in oriental medicine from Southwest acupuncture college in Boulder and also spent time studying abroad. Since then, she’s been busier than ever—co-founding a nonprofit sliding-scale walk-in clinic called Urban Herbs. Though she’s not accepting new patients at this time as she pursues her doctorate and continues to focus on caring for Remy’s medical needs, we encourage you to visit Radical Roots and Remy’s Revenge to read more about how Chloe’s extensive study of integrative neurology and functional medicine has motivated her to find ways to help children with neurodevelopmental issues and seizures.
In this episode, we’ll hear from Chloe on both her personal journey as a mama warrior and her professional journey as she aims to promote healing in her son and others.
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Sally Fallon Morell is best known as the author of Nourishing Traditions®. This well-researched, thought-provoking guide to traditional foods contains a startling message: animal fats and cholesterol are not villains but vital factors in the diet, necessary for normal growth, proper function of the brain and nervous system, protection from disease and optimum energy levels.
Sally’s lifelong interest in the subject of nutrition began in the early 1970s when she read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price. Called the “Charles Darwin of Nutrition,” Price traveled the world over studying healthy primitive populations and their diets. The unforgettable photographs contained in his book document the beautiful facial structure and superb physiques of isolated groups consuming only whole, natural foods.
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Dr. Lindy Woodard is a partner at Pediatric Alternatives, which is an Integrative Pediatric Medical Practice in Mill Valley, California. Dr. Woodard is a board-certified pediatrician and doctor of homeopathy who found her way to Integrative Medicine through her stomach. Her love of food, her brother’s battle with celiac disease, and her own digestive problems sent her to her laboratory – her kitchen. In this episode we're going to learn about homeopathy, one to one.
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In this interview Emily interviews serial entrepreneur, water activist and a New York Times bestselling author, Seth Siegel. Seth's critically acclaimed award winning book, Troubled Water: What's wrong with what we drink, sets forth an ambitious agenda for a fundamental rethinking of America's drinking water system. Seth has been recognized for his thought leadership and advocacy on water scarcity and quality. He's a senior fellow at the University of Wisconsin center for water policy. His commentary has appeared in many leading publications including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
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Elizabeth Walker is a DMD, MSD of TMJ, Sleep Therapy and Airway Orthodontics in Williston, Vermont. Committed to her patients and continuing education, Dr. Walker has extensive experience diagnosing and treating TMJ disorders and craniofacial pain. She integrates the evaluation of awake and sleep disordered breathing into her patient care. Dr. Walker’s mission is to provide her patients with the latest diagnostic technologies to identify the ORIGIN of symptoms to resolve pain, skeletal, dental and breathing challenges.
Dr. Walker notes, “Every single structure is dependent upon the quality and quantity of oxygen that we get. So systemically, the nose is the most important organ in the whole body, but now structurally as well.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott and Dr. Walker discuss obstructive sleep apnea and the potential symptoms and conditions that may arise from this. Listen in to find out about Airway Orthodontics and how it is used to not only straighten crooked teeth, but also to treat underlying breathing problems, so your child can sleep well and operate at their full potential.
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Polly Ely, MFT, is the Creator of The LAB Method, Life Support Project, and host of the Parent School Podcast. Polly received her Master’s degree from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, California in 2011. Shortly after graduating, she became a devoted practitioner of an experiential form of healing called Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) and is currently studying Relational Life Therapy (RLT). Polly has been married and in love for 23 years strong. Together, she and her partner have raised two stunning individuals.
Polly notes, “I created the LAB method because there were not enough people teaching ways for building a template to become the kind of parent I could be proud of.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott and Polly discuss the compounding effects that familial stressors and/or trauma may have on caregivers, which can lead to emotional, and even physical breakdowns. Listen in to find out more about how caregivers, and parents in general, can take care of their emotional health and nervous systems in big and small ways to make a huge impact on not only their wellbeing, but also on their family and partner in life.
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Joe Newman is the author of Raising Lions: The Art of Compassionate Discipline, and creator of the Raising Lions Method for adolescents presenting with ADHD. He has been featured on Goop, the Tools with Barry Michels, and many other podcasts. His method has been studied at the University of California in Santa Barbara, and he is currently writing his second book. He is the behavior problem child who grew up to teach parents about their own children. Joe notes, “You need to treat the child with a whole lot more respect and a higher expectation. You can do that compassionately. If you have that kind of relationship, while there's a natural cause and effect environment that naturally encourages the behavior you want, then you'll see a change.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott and Joe discuss how parents and caregivers can better understand their child’s challenging behavior and how to turn chaos into a peaceable, functioning family rhythm. Listen in to find out more about the Raising Lions method and why it’s so different than other parenting techniques.
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Howard Vlieger is a 3rd generation farmer and GMO and soil expert. We have foreign proteins in about 70-85% of the products in the grocery stores today. Fertility rates are dropping in both men and women. Autoimmune diseases are increasing in our country. 70% of our immune system resides in our gut. We are constantly feeding our bodies foreign substances. Our gut is trying its hardest to identify these substances, and the primary response is inflammation in the body. Howard notes, “Whenever they genetically engineer a plant, they are disrupting the natural balance that the creator gave that plant in its natural environment … The simplest explanation for why we have concerns about genetic engineering is that it disrupts that normal function of the plant.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott and Howard discuss what has been happening on farms over the past few decades and how it has affected not only the health of the livestock, but also the health of the employees preparing the crops. Listen in to find out more about how food that is BT, GMO, and antibiotic-laden is going to perpetuate poor health and decrease our children's overall wellness as they grow up.
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Jessica Burdg serves as Editorial Chair for The Brain Possible. She is a journalist by trade and is a Manuscript creative at Scribe Media. She’s also author of a new Amazon bestseller, More Than a Diagnosis: Stories of hurdles, hope and possibility from parents of children who are differently-abled. Joey Enos is a warrior father featured in the book who, along with his wife, fiercely advocates for his son Sammy’s health, wellness and development by taking a hands on holistic approach. Sammy’s story and the others in this book are raw, real, and will change the reader forever. Jessica notes, “It’s been a gift to do this... It’s made me a better parent and a better person, and that’s why I’ve continued to do this.”
In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott, Jessica, and Joey discuss why it was so important to Jessica to write this book and why Joey wanted Sammy’s story to be a part of it. Listen in to find out more about the inspiration behind Jessica’s book, and also to hear more about Sammy’s uplifting story and the advice that Joey gives to other parents of children who are facing a life-changing diagnosis.
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Stephanie Deusing is the author of Eyeless Mind: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen. She discovered, documented, and diagnosed the first known case of neuroplastic verbal visual processing in her genius artist son, Sebastian. Stephanie is a self-taught expert in the science of visual neuroplasticity, and also homemade marshmallows.
By necessity, she is bringing awareness to the public health crisis surrounding the diagnosis, education, and habilitation of people with neurological visual impairments. Stephanie notes, “We know that music and movement in early childhood have tremendous neurological benefits. Music and movement are the only things, when combined together, that force both sides of the brain to work together through the corpus callosum.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott and Stephanie discuss the power of Music Therapy, along with art, and the incredible impact that it had on her son and his well being. Listen in to find out more about Stephanie and her son’s journey with CVI.
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Dan Evison is the Founder and President of EMFSleepSafe, the inventor of the original EMF Kill Switch now known as the EMF Sleep Switch. Anthony Smith is the Director of Operations at EMF Sleep Safe. He is a partner with Dan and works in the Oregon office. Anthony notes, “We are all exposed to EMFs and we probably have 10 times more EMF exposure from cell phones and wifi and electrical devices than our parents had. And our parents have 10 times more than their parents had. This is an acute thing in society.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott, Dan, and Anthony discuss the 21st century toxic exposure of EMFs. Listen in to find out how EMFs in our home affect our health, and also what people can do to clean up their homes and lifestyles to protect their children from EMFs.
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Jennifer Ragazzo is a Functional Medicine Health Coach. In her practice, Keeping It Real, Holistic Health Coaching, Jennifer uses her training in Applied Functional Medicine to help her clients optimize their health by looking for the interconnectedness within their unique body, and identify and address root causes to the diseases and symptoms that they may be experiencing. She's particularly passionate about the gut and adrenal health, and preventing and/or treating autoimmune diseases. Jennifer notes, “When we are in a prolonged period of stress, that maybe we are not giving ourselves the opportunity to go from what we call the sympathetic dominant state, or fight or flight state, into a parasympathetic state, which is our rested state.
When we stay in that fight or flight mode for too long, it can have some negative effects on the body.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott and Jennifer discuss the physical effects of trauma and long term stressors on our bodies, and mamas' bodies in particular. Listen in to find out more about how being in a fight or flight mode for extended periods of time, or having experienced PTSD once or repeatedly from traumatic experiences affects our bodies, our adrenals, hormones, cortisol levels, anxiety, depression, sleep, and mood.
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Billy Price is the co-founder of BILLY Footwear, the shoes that embody universal design, meaning they both appeal to and work for everyone. After breaking his neck and becoming paralyzed, one of the things Billy struggled the most with was not being able to put on his own shoes, which is what inspired him to create this special line of footwear. Billy notes, “We wanted to be able to have something that just kind of leveled the playing field and offered the same product that would work for everybody.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott and Billy discuss how BILLY Footwear came to be and how the shoes wound up on the shelves of Nordstrom and on Zappos. Billy also shares his thoughts on mindset, overcoming failure, and the power of association. Listen in to find out more about how these shoes are an ideal fit for children of all abilities, and to be inspired to never give up.
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Glenn Wilhelm is the VP of Business Development at A Major Difference (AMD), manufacturer of the IonCleanse detoxification system. IonCleanse is a non-medical device, and the manufacturer cannot share studies or reports that link the product to conditions including Autism, auto-immune disorders, or other ailments. The IonCleanse by AMD is not intended to treat, cure, diagnose, or prevent any diseases or ailments. However, IonCleanse by AMD detox foot bath usage resulted in lower glyphosate levels in study participants as compared to the control group. Therefore, this method of detox appears to be a successful therapy in the excretion of glyphosate in humans.
The most beneficial detox benefit with the IonCleanse by AMD happens after the foot bath. In one study, there was sufficient data to demonstrate that using the IonCleanse system had statistically significant higher levels of excretion of toxic elements and heavy metals in the urine. Glen notes, "When we detox from the body into the foot bath, we are detoxing at the cellular level." In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder & CEO, Emily Abbott and Glenn discuss the IonCleanse foot bath that has been trusted by thousands of people and mentioned among our community at The Brain Possible as a fantastic detoxification option if one is seeking to move toxicants, heavy metals, or glyphosate from their child’s body. Listen in to find out how the IonCleanse foot bath can help aid in detoxification.
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Amy Ziff is a healthy living educator with a genetic predisposition to toxicity. She's also a mom to three young kids who share the same trait. Determined to make the world less toxic, Amy has reached millions of parents and caregivers with her buy better advocacy campaigns. She blogs about the chemical world we live in on her site, Amy Ziff's, NoTox Life. She is also the founder of MADE SAFE, and prior to founding MADE SAFE, she taught classes on a nontoxic life. Amy also co-founded the Variety Shop, a site, comprising safe non-toxic products.
Amy is changing the world for the healthier, one product at a time, one person at a time, and one home at a time. She notes, “We evaluate the materials and processes that go into making the stuff that we use each and every day. And that's the stuff that we can control. So if we do this kind of evaluation and we give companies this information, suddenly, even if they don't make it to MADE SAFE, they now have a roadmap to making a better product.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Amy discuss the major areas in our homes that harbor neurotoxins that are known to affect the health of our children and ourselves.
Listen in to find out why Amy created the MADE SAFE seal and how their team is changing the way consumers in the US can join her in this nontoxic movement to living a healthier life.
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Ashley Wood is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Northern California and has been in private practice since 2002. As she approaches her 20th year of practice, she feels rooted in her orientation as an experiential therapist. AEDP-Accelerated, Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy provides a roadmap for how she works with people. Topics such as mindfulness, neuroscience, and attachment theory are areas she regularly studies from a number of different experts around the world.
Ashley is also the mother of a child with Dravet Syndrome, a form of epilepsy. Ashley offers this piece of advice to other parents, “...Consider really surrounding yourself with support and being open to receiving support. Whether it's therapy, or friends, or mentors, or the spiritual community, whatever works for you, but find a way to help you process the feelings coming up, the grief, and the pain.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Ashley discuss Ashley’s journey with her daughter’s epilepsy, emotional wellness, and how the Lab Method technology, in particular, has supported her whole family.
Listen in to find out more and to learn about the deck of Life Support cards for families living with epilepsy that Ashley co-authored with Polly Ely, founder of Lab Method.
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Heather Burlison is a Whole Body Wellness Expert. She specializes in empowering, inspiring, and strengthening busy moms and encourages them to connect mind, body, and spirit to everything they do. Heather is a Health and Wellness Coach who provides simple and effective solutions for women’s busy lives. She’s also is the Creator and Founder of Sweat Sessions, a sold-out, boutique fitness experience that delivers killer 25-minute workouts. Heather recently added the RESTORE series to her program; which is a sequence of dynamic movement meditation as a way to calm, balance, and restore the central nervous system and mind.
Heather notes, “Our soul carries both dark and light. Most of us want to only live in the light, but we need to access the dark, so we learn and we grow, and we change, and we release.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Heather Burlison discuss the healing and vitality that comes from practicing Yoga, Meditation, and self-care; giving way to the release of stagnant energies, trauma, and even grief. Listen in to find out why it’s so important for our overall health and wellbeing to give ourselves permission to feel.
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Brittyn Coleman, MS, RDN/LD, CLT is a Registered Dietitian based in San Francisco, CA specializing in Biomedical Nutrition and Functional Medicine for children with ASD, ADHD/ADD, and other neurodevelopmental disorders. She helps parents take the guesswork out of special diets, supplement recommendations, and lifestyle changes to help their children live their best lives and be their best selves.
Her approach is focused on addressing the root cause, not just treating the symptoms, as she integrates biomedical labs to make recommendations based on results, not suspicions. She is a sibling of an individual on the Autism spectrum and is dedicated to helping parents lay the groundwork for proper nutrition for their children all across the Spectrum. Brittyn notes, “I take symptoms as a red flag for us to figure out that something's wrong. Essentially, we're treating the root cause, from the ground up, and a lot of the symptoms are going to dissipate whenever we focus on the root cause.”
In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Brittyn Coleman discuss why someone might want to consider working with a dietitian to support their child on the path to health. Listen in to find out why a parent whose child has been diagnosed with ASD, Sensory Processing Disorder, or other neurological conditions might benefit from a tailored nutrition plan.
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Carol J. Newell, Co-Director of the Family Hope Center, has traveled and lectured internationally on all phases of brain development. She has been teaching, guiding, and counseling parents of both neurotypical and special needs children for over 35 years. Her knowledge and training is extensive, highlighting full sensory integration – including visual stimulation/development and auditory processing, SoListen/Tomatis, FastForWord, language development, sign language, reading, emotional and social development, ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and RDI (Relationship Development Intervention).
She has also completed a 2-year fellowship course in Infant-Parent Mental Health at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Carol leads and mentors her specialized clinical team to educate parents to improve the overall development for their child. Carol notes, “When you have a child with special needs and they have difficulties, they can't learn as quickly as neurotypical children. So we have to break skills down for them, and therefore parents also have to learn how to break down those skills and how to intervene and support them in a way that they can learn.
In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Carol Newell discuss how The Family Hope Center gives parents and children just that -- hope. Listen in to find out more about Carol’s work with children with CVI, Autism, ADHD, mental health conditions, and Dyslexia.
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Lindy Woodard, MD, is a partner at Pediatric Alternatives, which is an Integrative Pediatric Medical Practice in Mill Valley, California. Dr. Woodard is a board-certified pediatrician and doctor of homeopathy who found her way to Integrative Medicine through her stomach.
There was also another point of entry into Integrative Medicine that was also poignant for her. Dr. Woodard notes, “I consider myself a biologist. And in a sense we all are. We observe systems, and then we learn from how the system is working. And Mother Nature, of course, is our most perfect system. Her purpose is to keep the system going, keep us alive and healthy. And so she's the one that we can observe the most.” In this episode,
The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Dr. Woodard focus on antibiotics and ear infections and discuss what causes them and why children with atypical neurological conditions might be more prone to them. Listen in to find out how Dr. Woodard recommends treating ear infections and making children more comfortable when they occur.
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Matthew Newell, Director of The Family Hope Center, has dedicated his life to helping children and adults with special needs and brain injuries since 1981. For more than 35 years, Matthew has created neurodevelopment programs internationally, working with parents and specialists from more than 34 countries. He has helped and educated well over 15,000 families.
After spending twenty years creating and managing development programs for an international clinic for brain-injured children, Matthew believed that integrating new advances in brain development were the keys to a child’s successful neurological growth and development. Matthew notes, “There’s a secret ingredient that is built into a family, that when surrounded by the love they share, plus an approach that is brain directed, it creates some pretty significant changes in children.”
In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Matthew Newell discuss The Family Hope Center and how it serves as a holistic and knowledgeable international resource center for healing children with atypical neurological conditions. Listen in to find out more about the center’s unique and highly effective approach.
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Michelle Perro, MD, DHOM is a veteran pediatrician with over thirty-eight years of experience in acute and integrative medicine. More than 15 years ago, Dr. Perro transformed her clinical practice to include pesticide and health advocacy. She has both directed and worked as an attending physician from New York’s Metropolitan Hospital to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.
Dr. Perro has managed her own business, Down to Earth Pediatrics, creating a new field of integrative urgent care medicine. She also co-authored the highly acclaimed book, “What’s Making our Children Sick,” and is Executive Director of a non-profit scientific-based website, https://www.gmoscience.org.
Dr. Perro notes, “We have a massive dummying down of American children via our food supply and what we are doing to them in the early part of their lives. Our kids have not been healthy for over 20 years, by no fault of our own.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Dr. Michelle Perro discuss her mission to reestablish vibrant health in our children and ourselves through education about GMOs and our modern environment as well as the effects on our children's health and prevention. Listen in to find out what is making our children sick and what steps parents can take to change the course of their health going forward.
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Author, educator and former healthcare consultant, Beth Lambert has monitored and documented the escalating rates of childhood chronic conditions for nearly a decade. Her first book, A Compromised Generation, provides a thorough analysis of the origins of this modern health crisis and documents how modifications to environmental and lifestyle factors can profoundly influence health outcomes, including full disease reversal. Beth is also the founder and Executive Director of Epidemic Answers, a non-profit organization dedicated to reestablishing vibrant health in our children. Beth notes, “The human body is like a vessel, and it can only take so much stress.
When you’re a child and you’re going through this complex growth and development process, you need all your energy and resources focused on that. When your body is dealing with toxic exposures and things it is not biologically adapted to deal with, it’s going to start impacting that child’s development and growth.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Beth Lambert discuss how Epidemic Answers came to be, and talk about the mission of the organization to reestablish vibrant health in our children and ourselves through education, empowerment, and prevention. Listen in to find out how our modern way of living is having a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of our children.
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Dr. Lindy Woodard is a partner at Pediatric Alternatives, which is an Integrative Pediatric Medical Practice in Mill Valley, California. Dr. Woodard is a board-certified pediatrician and doctor of homeopathy who found her way to Integrative Medicine through her stomach. Her love of food, her brother’s battle with celiac disease, and her own digestive problems sent her to her laboratory – her kitchen. Dr. Woodard notes, “I always go back to the food is medicine concept. Eat real foods, get outside in the sunshine to soak up a lot of Vitamin D, and also be a “person of the earth.” Literally get into the dirt, be barefoot in the grass. We are part of the energetic balance of the planet and absorb the planet’s electricity.” In this episode, The Brain Possible Founder and CEO, Emily Abbott, and Dr. Woodard discuss taking an Integrative Medicine approach to our overall health and wellbeing, and also talk about what people can do to boost their immunity during the season of Novel Coronavirus. Listen in to find out easy steps you can take to keep you and your family safe and healthy.
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