Testimonials from Parents & Care-Givers for In-Person Intensives with Ann-Marie

“My husband and I became concerned about our son when he started school and developed a tic-like movement with his neck. We tried so many things to try and help settle it, but nothing seemed to work. I had heard of ABM® NeuroMovement® which interested me. When I chatted to Ann-Marie she was exceptionally kind and caring and showed a genuine interest in trying to help our son. We enrolled our son into an intensive group of 9 lessons over three days with Ann-Marie. When we arrived for our first session, Ann-Marie made our son feel comfortable and relaxed. Afterwards, when I asked him how he felt about his first session he said “I loved it.” Each visit after that our son showed an eagerness to attend. About a week after the intensive, we noticed a slight improvement in the neck movements, he seemed to not be doing them as often. It has now been nearly two months since we saw Ann-Marie and the improvement in his neck movements is astounding. From moving his neck constantly throughout the day, at the time of writing, we now only notice it occur about five times within the day. NeuroMovement® is a non-invasive, gentle approach and my son felt calm the entire time throughout his lessons. I would highly recommend trying this method early, and not as a last resort after trying other traditional therapies! We are so grateful to Ann-Marie and are amazed at what a positive affect NeuroMovement® truly has. The improvement we have seen in the reduction of our son’s tic and neck posturing has been amazing, thank you so much! ~ Bella, Mother.  

“I found out about NeuroMovement® when I read the book “Kids Beyond Limits” by Anat Baniel, which I found fascinating and exciting. I had to find a practitioner in Australia and that’s when I met Ann-Marie. I connected with her and without hesitation travelled to the Sunshine Coast to try an intensive. We saw immediate results. The changes were subtle but incredibly significant. So we continued to travel every 6-8 weeks for more intensives. My son had high spasticity and the lessons with Ann-Marie made a huge difference in his rigidity, range of movement and movement patterns. After each lesson, my son’s breathing improves significantly, and he connects with his surroundings much better. I can’t recommend these lessons enough. I think it’s very important to read the book and become familiar with the 9 Essentials so those significant subtleties can be recognised and supported as stepping stones. Ann-Marie is kind, gentle and passionate. She cares about our son and often gives us ideas or contacts of other professionals that could help us. My son has Cerebral Palsy and very complex needs.” ~ Fi, Mother

“Our son has spastic quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy and has been seeing Ann-Marie for NeuroMovement® intensives since her final year of her basic training in 2018. We were talking about the therapy over the weekend and the changes we have observed. When you start talking it is amazing what you suddenly are aware of. Spasms are very rare now. He does not cross his legs. More movement in both arms and legs. Eye contact is so much better. Response to questions are more vocal. Feelings are coming over more. Using the facilitated communication (F.C.) board is much easier and faster. He is now controlling his finger point. The list goes on, so when he said he wanted to attend your lesson instead of another appointment who am I to deny him that.  Thank you so much!” ~ Carol, Mother

“Lessons have been a help to his writing, he is doing some great work” ~ Carol, Mother.

Testimonials from Doctors & Neuroscientists supporting NeuroMovement®

"Scientists have defined the ‘rules’ governing brain plasticity. Anat Baniel, working in parallel along a completely different path, has defined almost exactly the same rules and interprets them in practical and understandable human terms as the Nine Essentials that should contribute richly to clinical intervention.” 
~ Dr. Michael Merzenich, PhD, “Father” of Brain Plasticity Science &
 Winner of the 2016 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience; Author of "Soft-Wired: How the New Science of Brain Plasticity Can Change Your Life"

"Following in the footsteps of the revolutionary scientist - clinician Moshe Feldenkrais, the greatest thinker about how to improve movement in the 20th Century, Baniel shows why our mainstream approach to these children [with special needs] is often wrong, and at times damaging, because they train children to “ape” developmental milestones they are not developmentally ready to meet. 

The approach here, far wiser, far more subtle, truly holistic, far more ingenious, far more in accord with how brain development occurs, shows ways to access the child’s own brain plasticity and yields far greater results, so that the children can spontaneously grow from within. I know because I have observed Baniel’s little patients on multiple visits, and time after time, I have seen children whose parents were told their brain-damaged children would never walk, or talk, or be able to think well or regulate themselves, begin to do just that with this gentle technique. 

I have seen the peace on the faces of these children as their minds and plastic brains suddenly begin to integrate what they have learned for the first time, the explosion of joy at their first steps and watched them grow and become more independent. Baniel is a master clinician for children with special needs, especially creative with brain-damaged children."
~ Dr. Norman Doidge: Faculty University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry, and Research Faculty, Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research; Author of "The Brain That Changes Itself" and "The Brain's Way of Healing"

“Anat applies the exact same principles when helping people overcome limitation that I used to recover my brain and body from stroke. She understands that for any meaningful change to happen in the way we think, move, and use our body, the change has to happen in the brain.”
~Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD, Neuroanatomist, and Bestselling Author of "My Stroke of Insight" book and TED Talk

“I think the Anat Baniel Method and Kids Beyond Limits has a great contribution to make to our collective practical efforts to make the best lives possible for children with autism—and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.”
~Dr. Martha Herbert, MD, Neuro-Pediatrician Mass General, PhD, Clinical Psychology, Harvard University, and Author of "The Autism Revolution"