The 3-day seminar led by the Newells and their team was a crash course in neurodevelopment which dovetailed beautifully with recent data around the science of neuroplasticity. They use detailed anatomical and developmental neural network maps in the brain to evaluate where along the timeline of brain development your child suffered injury, causing a dysfunctional pathway for that particular network resulting in downstream consequences. They design a personalized plan for each child based on the particular sequence of neural dysfunctions and help strengthen the network from the origin of the dysfunction rather than fixing the symptom that is revealing itself.

It is a complete multi-modal brain health approach: optimizing nutrition and fuel for neuro-regeneration, using physiology of breathwork to enhance oxygenation of brain tissue, incorporating body and energy work to repattern pathways, creating a unique sensory stimulation program, and returning to basic motor and reflex pathways such as crawling to develop a strong foundation for the most effective brain development. As parents, we are not just shown an action plan which is extremely empowering, but we are given hope, support, and community.

We saw significant gains after working on the program with our son for 6 months. Both his neurologist and neurosurgeon have been blown away by his progress. The program helps your child adapt and become more resilient, not just get “band aid solutions” that don’t promote his or her potentiality and evolution. Now I have applied aspects that I’ve learned from the program with my other children, myself, and even my patients. I am excited to use this book as a resource in my office and share it with my community.

I left the conference feeling contagiously overjoyed at how attainable and do-able the steps to healing can be. Complexity was exchanged for plain and simple truths, demonstrations, testimonies, and results. Yet a sense of awe was maintained at how intricately the brain was designed. Simple ways to experience the magnificent. It was like being given a road map with milestones and beacons to follow through steep mountain paths.

The Family Hope Center team has trodden and carved out these paths over years of research, experience, and training. Their pioneering walk has made the path now possible for everyday parents to walk – every day in their own shoes, in their own homes. And the paths bring thousands to new places and heights and viewpoints.

As I sat in the conference, like being on a mountain top – my eyes were gently opened to realize how God has given us all we need for healing – the air we breathe, the water, the food, the ground under our feet, and the love for our children, and it took my breath away. I will never be the same. And I am ever grateful that the Family Hope Center took me to the precipice; where I did not want to be challenged and with a safe guardrail of evidence and science opened my eyes to look over the edge at new frontiers of hope.

For my wife, Renee, and I, our journey began with a son who had developmental delays and social challenges in a spectrum disorder. We noted within the first couple of years that although our son was developing physically, he had severe difficulty interacting with others in normal social environments (preschool, church, and other social gatherings). We had our son evaluated several times. We were encouraged by both his teachers and conventional medical providers to put him on medication for ADHD, but never elected to do so. Instead, we were looking for alternatives to help him succeed. Therefore, when one of my colleagues at the Pentagon informed me of the work that Matthew and Carol were doing with their three children, I was cautiously intrigued. He shared the impacts that they were seeing in their children’s progress, which was a personal perspective that I could see firsthand.

Renee and I chose to go to a three-day parent training conference to research the actual methodology being implemented at the Family Hope Center. Employing a very holistic approach, Matthew and Carol demonstrated the observable impacts they have seen over nearly forty years of clinical experience. During our time there, I studied all the material that was provided and researched as much medical literature as I could obtain on neuroplasticity and brain healing. Although I still did not fully understand all the underlying physiology of the healing that they were observing, Renee and I decided to partner with Matthew and Carol and the team at the Family Hope Center to see what impact it would have with our son and family because I was convinced that sufficient evidence existed in literature and in the early research Matthew and Carol were completing.

We did have to make some changes in our life to integrate the holistic approach to obtain improvement for our son. The biggest changes were in our schedule (time management and calendar planning) and our diet. The whole family made some adjustments. However, the results were unquestionable. Our son’s improvements in his physical abilities, social interactions, and application of cognitive learning were immense. I was unsure how my son would be able to survive in the world with the deficits we were seeing, but now we are confident that he will be able not only to survive but to thrive in the world around him.

As the fields of neurocognitive research, neural development, and brain healing continue to develop, it is exciting to see pioneers that continue to partner with families and to see clinical impacts in the lives of young men and women. Both as a physician and a father, I am thrilled to witness this work being published. It is imperative these perspectives on healing be shared.

This book will begin to provide insights into the application of the principles that Renee and I have used to see the improvements in our home. These clinically proven results based on this fresh approach will positively impact more families, providing hope!