Guest guest Posted April 17, 2008 Report Share Posted April 17, 2008 http://www.forbes.com/healthcare/forbes/2008/0505/054.html?feed=rss_business_hea\ lthcare " O'Dell's form of therapy--intensive sensory and motor-skills training to help the brain build and strengthen neural pathways--has never been subjected to an unbiased clinical trial or peer-reviewed by a medical journal. Nor have her results been replicated by others. On those scores it is not different from discredited autism therapies such as chelation, listening to Mozart, gluten-free diets and swimming with dolphins. But there is evidence that the theory underlying O'Dell's therapy has some scientific validity. The theory is that the brain is, to a degree not appreciated by doctors a few decades ago, " plastic " ; it can adapt to neurological deficits. " " Harvard Medical School pediatric neurologist Martha Herbert, who has not looked at O'Dell's school but has published papers on brain imaging of people with autism, says, " We'd be crazy not to look at this. If you can get kids to change, and study the changes, it will tell us things about the situation, so we're not trapped by broad labels. " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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