By Daisy Lin and Bruce Hensel |  Thursday, Aug 23, 2012  

A Camarillo-based organization is using Interactive Metronome to help improve brain timing.

Children as young as 4 years old are being allowed to take drugs for ADHD and other behavioral problems. But some parents, like the Solomons, were desperate to find a drug-free alternative for their son, Adam. They turned to a new drug-free way to treat ADHD that uses a game-like therapy called Interactive Metronome. Dr. Bruce Hensel reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2012.

IM-HOME readers may have wondered why I have been MIA from the IM-HOME blog. I simply have been swamped this summer.  I have been very busy accumulating the latest brain network research—research that has direct relevance to understanding how IM improves focus, controlled attention, working memory, and executive functions.  The problem has been that the research literature has been exploding at such a rate that I can barely keep up with reading it—let alone write about it.

But…I now have a goal to start blogging (again) on a regular basis.

First, I want to thank IM for the advance press regarding my IM Keynote in October.  The pressure is on.

You’ve heard about him, you’ve read his blog posts, and now you can meet him in person at the IM Professional Conference 2012 in San Antonio, TX October 26-28!

…drum roll…Dr. Kevin McGrew A.K.A. The Time Doc²

Dr. McGrew will be the Keynote speaker for the Conference and we excited to have him lead the conference with the Presentation: 

I think...therefore IM

The "why" of the cognitive benefits of IM training (e.g., controlled attention; selective on-demand focus; quieting the busy mind; increased neural or brain efficiency) will be placed in the context of contemporary cognitive neuroscience research and theory.

You won't want to miss meeting Kevin and our other instructors at the conference!

Register before 9/15 and receive the Early Bird Discount!

When Fred Davis lost both of his legs to infection --he thought his walking days were over.Then he was introduced to a therapy that combines movement and timing to help the brain redevelop motor skills. It’s called Interactive Metronome. For six months, Mederi Caretender therapist Tameka Walker has been helping Davis relearn to walk. "Left hand, right toe, left hand, right toe. Got it?” she instructs. To the chime of a cowbell, Davis steps one foot forward on a mat – and then pulls it back. Then, it’s the other foot, always sticking to the beat. If his rhythm is off, he hears an unpleasant buzz. Davis suffers from diabetes. In 2005 -- he injured his toe. The untreated injury led to gangrene and an eventual amputation. In February of this year, another injury led to the loss of his right leg.

Check out the Time Docs Blog post on the Aurora Shooting as it relates to a victim who suffered a brain injury

As summer approaches, the world changes for a child with a sensory processing disorder. The type of clothing you wear, the temperature, the foods you eat, your daily schedule, where you play, the list could go on and on. These changes can put our sensory kiddo’s over the edge. But, there are things you can do to help!!

Learn how IM helped improve Michael’s communication.

Michael is following 1-step commands that are given to him. He is pointing at and identifying simple shapes. He is focusing on a fine motor activity for up to 15 minutes in duration without exiting the activity.Michael’s family is thrilled with the progress he has made with IM. He loves to go to music class and has started singing Baa Baa Black Sheep, Row, Row Your Boat and Itsy Bitsy Spider. When they go to lunch, he grabs his tray and moves it along the lunch line. He’s also opened up to his classmates, and is thoroughly enjoying their company!

Preventing falls among patients in healthcare settings requires a comprehensive approach. As therapists we find that falls can result in hip fractures, head injuries or even death. In many cases, adults aged 65 years or older,who have experienced a fall, have a hard time recovering and their overall health deteriorates. One half of all older adults hospitalized for hip fracture never regain their former level of function. For our patients, the fear of falling results in self-limiting activities. It causes reduced mobility and fitness and ultimately predisposes them to falls.

A new therapy, called Interactive Metronome, uses a steady beat to help improve cognitive and motor skills, and help amputees such as Frederick Davis of St. Petersburg to walk again.

Self awareness impacts so much of our daily life. Awareness of where we are in space has a huge impact on safety. Awareness of other people around us impacts development of our social skills. Awareness of how we maintain our body impacts development of self care skills. 

Most of us don’t realize how important focus is to the development of gross motor skills. Jumping, running, walking, throwing a ball – they all require some amount of focusing skills, especially for those who have a medical condition which impacts the development of those skills. 

The law of individual differences is the only proven law in psychology.  This law has resulted in decades of research regarding theories and models of intelligence and individual differences in intelligence.  Within the past two decades a general consensus has emerged from the psychometric intelligence research that the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of intelligenceis the most empirically supported taxonomy for understanding the structure of human intelligence.

[Note – this is the first in a series of posts intended to present an integration of intelligence, cognitive neuroscience, and applied neuroscience research with the goal to advance a set of hypotheses or model(s) that explain how the Interactive Metronome® (IM) technology results in improved cognitive functioning—specifically focus or controlled attention]

By Mary Jones OTR/L, LMT, CIMT 

Frank and I had known each other for years.  We became acquainted first socially through a mutual friend and then, sadly, on a professional level.  Headaches had led to brain scans and then on to brain surgery and he had requested that I be his primary therapist.  Traditional therapies were helping but only to a point and following three months of outpatient services I was saddened to hear that his physical therapist was ready to discharge him.  Having known Frank before his accident, I had the advantage of familiarity with his drive to succeed and his passion for independence.  Despite his initial skepticism, Frank had begun to accept his fate that Interactive Metronome was the one card as yet left unturned towards his recovery.  

This 2008 study published in Contemporary Issues In Communication Science and Disorders demonstrated the effect of IM training on expressive and receptive language skills in an adolescent female with a language learning disorder (LLD).  According to the study, the subject (Renee) was in 7^th grade and was experiencing difficulty with both oral and written language.  Renee was extremely frustrated and required several special accommodations at school like increased time for test-taking, altered or shortened assignments, modified grading scale, open book exams, and shortened verbal instruction. She spent part of the time in the regular classroom and received special education services in the areas of reading, writing, and math.  The IEP showed specific emphasis on word retrieval, syntax (with pronouns specifically), reading, writing, and math.

Sabado, J.J. & Fuller, D.R. (2008). A Preliminary Study of the Effects of Interactive Metronome Training on the Language Skills of an Adolescent Female With a Language Learning Disorder. Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders, 35, 65-71.

By Dorothy Foltz-Gray 

An interactive natural remedy treatment helps calm a boy with ADHD.  

Last year, Aaron Davis, now 10, was picked as a class project leader, charged with keeping four of his classmates on task. The irony wasn’t lost on his parents, Brenda and Richard of Topeka, Kan.: Just two years ago, a simple command like “turn off the computer” was impossible for their son, diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after he started kindergarten.

Jim Cassily was the inventor of the patented technology behind Interactive Metronome®.  Through a serendipitous set of events I recently learned about the early days of his development of the original “time machine.”  The purpose of this post is to share a portion of Jim Cassily’s role in the IM story.  I give special thanks to Jim’s wife, Katie, who has graciously supplied me with original documents, pictures, and anecdotes regarding Jim’s passion for sharing the technology he developed to improve the lives of others.  I consider it an honor to amplify a portion of Jim’s legacy via efforts to share information regarding the brain-based mechanisms involved in the IM neurotechnology (see Brain Clock blog). 

I have been blogging about brain-clock research at my home base (Brain Clock Blog) for many years and more recently have been blogging at the IM-Home website and blog. A problem with sharing information via blogging is that we bloggers make desired connections via hyperlinks. We insert them so the reader will read prior posts for related or background information. Often readers don’t want to take the time to bounce back and forth between linked stories...