It’s been such a pleasure to meet so many families and children.  I am endlessly impressed   with the dedication parents have for finding solutions for their children with special needs.  I remember being told that I should just go along with what the teachers and other professionals were telling me was best for my child. I even recall a doctor telling me not to listen to anyone with “new” ideas because they were just preying on parents with special needs children.  The message they were sending, “There is no hope”, was one I was not willing to hear. They wanted me to believe that they had the answers and my son could achieve nothing more than their predictions.  Well, I am so fortunate that I also had people with vision, intelligence, and love giving me concrete ideas to make a difference for my child.  It was my job to keep searching, to follow through, to be his advocate and educate myself about what my son needed in his life.  

The parents who find solutions outside the mainstream are those who are not willing to settle.  They are questioning and searching for new or more effective options.  If no one ever did, there would be no new discoveries and no better solutions.  No wonder it is such a pleasure to meet these proactive, intelligent parents.  I feel quite fortunate to have the opportunity.

This year I travelled to Copenhagen, London, and Saipan multiple times.  When a family has hosted my visit, gathering 2 or 3 more interested parents to share the costs, I am able to show and speak locally about how neuromovement (ABM, Feldenrkais, Relfex) can help special needs children.  Word spreads quickly and I never have spare time to explore the sights.  It’s not a tough choice to make because my memories of the kids learning and growing and the parents so open to learning is so satisfying.   There are requests for longer visits, and waiting lists getting longer and longer.  Maybe some day I’ll be able to add some extra days to relax and enjoy – but you know what?  There is a good chance they will get filled with giving more lessons.

I’ve  worked in these locations with about 25 children.  4 charming kids with Autism or Autism Spectrum, 6 children with Cerebral Palsy, 2 with hemiplegia from stroke or other causes, and many other conditions.  Along the way I’ve added on lessons for a professional bowler, an elite tennis player, an adult relative with stroke, 2 pregnant mom’s, and 2 infant siblings who received well baby lessons.  So much interest has developed in Denmark with families with special needs children that there is now a Scandinavian Neuro Movement Center organized to make more opportunities available to the families in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.  I’m thrilled to be a part of what is developing.

My experiences in life have brought me to this point.  I am able to do what I do because I raised a brilliant young man with cerebral palsy, because of my time in the medical nursing field, because of my Feldenkrais practitioner training with Anat Baniel, the 2 year advanced baby seminar that we begged her to teach, and all the years supporting the growth of the Anat Baniel Method.  I took classes with Dr. Masgutova, and I constantly learn from my colleagues like Marcy Lindheimer, Suzi Marks, and Syvlia Shordike.  

I look forward to more travels to new locations meeting families and children and being able to make a difference in their lives.  I am a very fortunate person to be able do what I love to be doing.