Meet our March Provider of the Month Tom Burkard founder and creator of IMprove Japan. Tom began his journey with IM in 2004 when he traveled from Japan to Hawaii with his 11 year old son who has ADHD for IM training. Find out of how IM helped Tom's son and many other lives overseas!

Meet Lisa Poe from A Focused Brain in Mississippi, the February IM Provider of the Month. Lisa is an occupational therapist and has been an IM Provider since 2009 and an IM instructor since 2010. 

Find out what makes her such a great IM Provider and how she makes the most out of IM in her clinic!

Why Can’t I use a Regular Metronome?

Some parents have asked me if they could just use a regular musical metronome and get the same results as Interactive Metronome at home or IM-Home. A standard metronome is typically used by musicians to help them practice the tempo of music. They have also been used in traditional therapy to help patients with their timing and rhythm, however there is one piece that is missing. – FEEDBACK!

“It feels good to get going again!”

By the time Margaret contacted me to enquire into IM services, she had progressed to the point of requiring a seated rollator walker for mobility and numerous adjustments to her work and home functional routines. Her decline had been insidious, over the course of several years, and then at the age of 48, she was stricken with lower limb partial paralysis following a 12 hours nursing shift. Following a 10-day work up in hospital, she was approached by her medical advisors with her official diagnosis: Multiple Sclerosis. As she progressed to the point of discharge home, she knew from her nursing background that therapies could help her to adapt to the influence of MS in her life...but she wondered if there was anything available that could actually IMPROVE her skills.

“IM not only gave me back my life - it became a part of my life”

Joanne had no idea what was in store for her when her daughter enrolled her grandchildren into one of my IM programs. As the weeks went by and the children started to show dramatic signs of improvement, her daughter’s plan to help her began to unfold. It started with an innocent e-mail “I see how much IM is helping my children, do you think it could help my mother?” - and so the plot began to thicken...

Brain or neural efficiency:  Is it quickness or timing?

It is time I return to where I first started the description of my journeyto understand Interactive Metronome (IM) and the human brain clock.  To recap, I firstbecame interested in the human brain clock after consulting on a school-based IM intervention study that produced positive results.  Next, I reviewed research and theory that suggested that for a brain-clock based intervention (IM) to work across multiple human performance domains, the technology must be modifying some form of jack-of-all-trades central brain mechanism.  I subsequently was excited to discover research that suggested that the human brain clock could be fine-tunedvia non-drug interventions.  Finally, it was the research discovery described below that sealed my fate as a scholar interested in the applied potential of brain-clock based neurotechnology interventions. 

New Year’s Resolutions!

Well 2011 has gone by, and now we have a whole fresh 2012 ahead of us! This is the time of year when we all make New Year’s resolutions to get healthier and fit. I think that it’s time that we include some brain fitness! Let’s face it; no one is getting any younger! There are many programs out there promising improved brain fitness and memory, but which one should we use? IM or IM-Home could be a good match for you. It has the research and case studies to back it up and has been around for many years now!

When we at Interactive Metronome announced that we were going to do Beta testing for IM-Home, we had a ton of IM therapists beating down our doors to be a part of it. The call was for IM Providers and they were supposed to pick their own patients for the test, but a mom of a child with PDD heard about our product and inquired about it for her son. I wasn't expecting that a patient would approach us for the testing, but I thought- "why not?" So I set her up with one of our virtual therapists, April Christopherson, OTR/L. The family lived in California and April was based on Colorado, so they never saw each other in-person, but they did use Skype and communicated via e-mail and phone. "James" made some great gains over the testing period and she was excited to share her story with us. This was the first time that we realized a completely virtual model could work. We could not extend our reach and not expect clients to come to the client 3-4 times a week! See the mom tell you her experience below

While no one is 100% fluent, stuttering is defined as three SLDs per 100 words. Thanks to IM therapy, William is no longer clinically categorized as a stutterer. IM therapy not only made William a more fluent individual, it gave him the confidence that he needed to engage new people and participate in conversations. Check out his story here.

It seemed like the end of the road for this near-drowning victim. Adam suffered from a plethora of impairments due to his accident. IM was introduced as part of Adam’s therapy plan to help with his attention and focus. Before IM, Adam could not sit unsupported or feed himself… and now he has received the Chair Scholar Scholarship, a prepaid four-year college tuition for students with significant disabilities seeking a regular diploma. Find out how IM helped him succeed.

When Emily began IM she struggled in all academic area areas although she did enjoy the social aspects of school. And after only 15 sessions, she is she can solve mental math calculations that she was not able to do before. Emily spends more time thinking and working through things mentally. She is also able to maintain and match the rhythm of the horse during her riding lessons.  These improvements over the course of the year can be attributed to the integration of IM in her therapy sessions. Read the full story below.

IM is not only for those with a disorder. Did you know that among other sports teams we have worked with Notre Dame? IM works on timing and precision speed which are critical for an athlete. Check out this media clip

Emma had many difficulties ranging from attention problems to sensitivity to certain clothing fabrics. After receiving traditional OT sessions, Emma started doing IM therapy; it was there where improvements started to appear. Because of Emma’s sensitivity to headphones, and an issue with sweaty palm, her training was difficult but after minor adaptations, she got to enjoy certain exercises. She completed 17 sessions and not only her family, but her teachers and friends noticed the change. At school, she was attending better during classroom activities and completing her work on time. At girl scouts she was now earning badges which required memorization and direction following. Her mother noted that at a party she was able to participate in the party games, and even won a game! All of these things added up to a much more self confident little girl. Emma began asking to have friends over more often, and struggled less to complete homework every night. 

Learning and not left behind!

How many of you have a child that has problems in reading or math? Well you aren’t alone. According to the US Department of Education, as many as 1 out of every 5 children have a learning disability and what’s even more alarming are the statics that these children are likely to suffer from:

• 75% - 80%of special education students identified as LD have their basic deficits in language and reading; Source: National Institutes of Health
• 35% of students identified with learning disabilities drop out of high school. This is twice the rate of their non-disabled peers. (This does not include the students who are not identified and drop out); Source: National Longitudinal Transition Study (Wagner )
• 50% of all students in special education in the public schools have learning disabilities -- 2.25 million children; Source: U.S. Dept. of Education
• 60%of adults with severe literacy problems have undetected or untreated learning disabilities; Source: National Adult Literacy and Learning Disabilities Center
• 50%of juvenile delinquents tested were found to have undetected learning disabilities; Source: National Center for State Courts and the Educational Testing Service
• Up to 60%of adolescents in treatment for substance abuse have learning disabilities: Source: Hazelton Foundation, Minnesota
• 62%of learning disabled students were unemployed one year after graduation; Source: National Longitudinal Transition Study (Wagner)
• 50%of females with learning disabilities will be mothers (many of them single) within 3-5 years of leaving high school; Source: National Longitudinal Transition Study (Wagner)
• 31% of adolescents with learning disabilities will be arrested 3-5 years out of high school.

Source: http://www.ldhope.com/statistics.html

So what this tells me, is it’s important to address LD sooner than later. Your child doesn’t have to become another statistic. That’s exactly what Conner’s mom decided to do and look where he is now! 

Seniors take to metronome to add stability to gait, even to golf game

A senior community is taking advantage of IM by incorporating it to different therapy sessions for its residents. Read how Marjorie Treadwell refuses to succumb to a fate that has disabled many of her friends and neighbors.

Miranda has become an outgoing, communicative, sweet little girl. She has always had a flair for dressing with style, and now she is communicating with style, too! Read her story here.

Collin always had trouble focusing, being attentive in school, and behaving with other kids, with little to know headway made during his therapy sessions. After incorporating IM into his session, both his parents and his teachers began to see dramatic improvements in Colin’s behavior, attention to detail, and ability to focus. Read the full story and find out how.

A 10-year-old girl named Amanda is another living trophy for us at Interactive Metronome. Amanda now stands without her walker or crutches for support and no longer falls, even when distractions are present. Before IM, she couldn’t do simple tasks, such as self-feeding, showering, getting into a vehicle, and buckling herself in a car independently and now she can! IM helped Amanda become a more functionally independent little girl. Read the full story here.

18 month old recognizes her father for the first time

Seeing a father feel the love of his daughter is a priceless reward for us at Interactive Metronome. Emma’s father, a U.S. Navy sailor, found her daughter alert after coming back from an extended out-to-sea period. He tearfully said “For the first time ever, she knows who I am. She recognizes me when she sees me.” After hearing so many diagnoses and the disheartening news about his daughter’s future everyone in Emma’s family couldn’t believe the amazing improvements that IM therapy had made in such a short time. Emma now makes and maintains eye contact, smiles, and shows emotion. Her startle reflex is greatly reduced, and she is totally non-defensive when her feet or hands are touched. Read this amazing story to see the power of IM.