SPECT...making decision what to do next???

December 31, 2003

Happy New Year to Everyone!!!

My daughter (apraxia) was referred for a SPECT scan with Dr. Uszler at UCLA

on Oct.31. I haven't gotten an official copy of her results yet, but in

corresponding with Dr. Uszler her abnormalities are as follows:

Hyperfunction in the deep brain areas, the cingulate gyrus, the basal

ganglia, the thalamus and the frontal lobe. There are scattered areas of

hypofunction throughout the cerebral cortices more prominently in the right

temportal

lobe. These findings are 2 or more standard deviations from normal. Dr. Uszler

believes the HYPERactivity and HYPERperfusion are what cause her her

difficulties and this is what needs to be addressed. The referring doctor was

quite

surprised with the findings...not at all what he was expecting to hear.

He pointed out that her spects are identical to certain individuals with ADD

and suggested that I read Change Your Brain Change Your Life by Amen.

He said as a closing remark that if she were his daughter, he would seriously

consider treating her for ADD. I took it one step further and asked if by

treating the ADD, it might help the apraxia and he said yes. I ran right out,

bought the book and read it that night, and sure enough, my daughter looks to be

like what Dr. Amen describes as Type 3 ADD (over focused, OCD, etc).

We've been working on using the pocket-neurobic with HEG which several folks

in the field honestly believe will be our answer. I'm thinking I have 2

options to move forward on this. One is to take her to the Amen Clinic in

Fairfield, CA for a concentration SPECT and complete evaluation. The other is

to get

her to Florida to work with one of the best and more successful doctors in the

neurofeedback field for a couple weeks to get a boost on the training (he

estimates it'll take upwards of 200 sessions to see change but can coach me from

a distance too).

My child is doing well in most areas Her biggest issues are verbal apraxia

and her OCD which really limits her potential. Does anyone have any suggesions

or thoughts on which way I should look for help at this point knowing what I

do now about her brain function?

Susi

Recommended Posts