METHOD
12-week program of Cortical Integrative Therapy
RESULTS
At the conclusion of the 12-week treatment program, D.L. showed considerable gains in his ability to understand directions as noted by an independent examiner, a school psychologist. His overall academic performance, as noted by his classroom teachers and parents, was also significantly improved especially in the areas of reading comprehension and memory. D.L.’s febrile seizures appear to have ended.
DISCUSSION
Heterotopias associated with cortical malformations are often causal for major intellectual deficits and severe learning disabilities. D.L. had been stymied throughout his academic career by these conditions and his quality of life was severely restricted. But when a multimodal approach using techniques aimed at facilitating inter-hemispheric communication was provided, evidence was produced to indicate that when such techniques are applied, the prospect of indirect neuronal or network modulation occurring as cortical pathways are stimulated becomes a real possibility worthy of further investigation. In addition, there are valuable intangibles effecting quality of life. Prior to participation in Cortical Integrative Therapy, D.L. “hesitated to speak up in almost any situation and answered in mumbled monosyllables when he had to speak,” according to his mother. Subsequent to the alternative treatment regime, he is “talkative, outgoing, and happy” and “speaks in a voice that has some confidence to it.”