By Trevor Keiser
Leader Staff Writer
Both the Oxford and Lake Orion chambers of commerce welcomed Brain Balance Center of North Oakland, located at 53 S. Washington St. in downtown Oxford, during a Jan. 13 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Brain Balance helps children who struggle with behavioral and learning issues such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder, Autism, Dyslexia, Aspergers and more.
For Dr. Robert Melillo, co-founder of Brain Balance and author of the book ‘Disconnected Kids,?, the center is about getting to the ‘primary problem? with whatever behavioral or learning issues a child might have. Melillo said he really started the program to help his own kids, who had some learning and behavioral issues. ‘My wife will tell you my kids are my guinea pigs,? he said.
Melillo had already been doing brain research. ‘I’ve been a clinician, focusing in nutrition and neurology and rehabilitation, for 30 years. I had already been teaching at that time and doing research, so I knew a lot about the brain, but I didn’t know a lot about these particular issues and these disabilities in kids,? he explained. ‘I couldn’t go forward without understanding what the problem was.?
After beginning his research around 1995, Melillo said he developed a ‘center-type concept? shortly after and connected it to his private practice.
He wanted to create something that was reproducible. ‘There is a lot of science and a lot of information, but I needed to make it so user-friendly that anybody could do it,? he explained.
In 2008, Brain Balance became a franchise company and it now stretches nationwide with around 90 centers in operation, plus another 20 in development.
‘We’re pretty much all across the country,? he said. ‘We have tremendous (demand) internationally at this point and we will go international, eventually.?
Part of what has helped the success of Brain Balance is many of its centers are run by families whose children have gone through the program and achieved amazing results. They want to help others achieve the same results.
Such is the case for Carrie Odrobina, center director/owner of Brain Balance Center of North Oakland.
‘My own son struggled from the time he was very little,? she said. ‘He missed milestones, didn’t crawl, walked late, spoke late, got early interventions with speech and other therapies. He didn’t make it through kindergarten the first time.?
Odrobina said they tried every specialist and type of intervention they could think of, which, after avoiding it for so long, eventually led them to drug therapy.
‘I knew he was great. I knew he had a ton of potential. There was just a block there.?
Odrobina was frustrated because no one could explain why this was happening to her son until someone referred her to Brain Balance in Birmingham.
‘I called and was describing what was going on and for the first time someone said, ‘We know what’s happening. We understand why your child is struggling and we can tell you. We know what exactly is going on with him that’s causing this.??
For the first time, Odrobina had hope.
?(It was nice to know that) there was something going on in the brain and (we could) now begin to understand that and be able to address the root cause, instead of just masking root symptoms,? she said. ‘We’re not anti-drug. It just only goes so far. It doesn’t resolve the underlying issue, so it’s exciting to have alternatives.?
She said that Brain Balance has an individualized program for every child based on the results of a very comprehensive assessment test.
‘How large the gaps are developmentally between where they are and where they ought to be, that will determine the length of the program,? she said. ‘Most students need between three to six months.?
The program is one hour a day, three days a week. In that hour, the kids spend half of their time in the sensory motor room, where they do things like exercises. The other half is spent in the academic room doing more cognitive exercises.
For more information, call (248) 716-5400 or visit www.brainbalance.com