Larry began to experience symptoms in September of 2007, including fasciculations that became more and more severe, difficulty manipulating his fingers especially when it was cold, and trouble with fine motor skills for tasks such as buttoning his shirt, tying his shoes, or snapping his fingers.  After working as a steel fabricator and crane operator for 35 years, Larry attributed his symptoms to “arthritis.”  However, over the next 2  1/2 years it became gradually more difficult to lift heavy objects, to do intricate work with his fingers such as threading a needle, and it eventually became difficult to write.  By the middle of 2009,   Larry began to notice muscle atrophy in his hands and forearms.  In March 25, 2010, after several EMGs and MRIs, Larry was given the devastating diagnosis of ALS.  

By Scott Barry Kaufman | April 15, 2015 One minute we’re being told that brain training makes you smarter, and the next minute we’re told it’s all bogus. Confused? I don’t blame you. The research literature on brain training is confusing and even sometimes contradictory. This is the way of science. I believe, however, that there is hope in making sense of things if the field and the media can move beyond broad conclusions to look at more nuanced effects. In his recent New Yorker piece, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Gareth Cook concluded that working memory training will not make you smarter. According to Gareth, “Playing the games makes you better at the game, in other words, but not at anything anyone might care about in real life.” But is this really the most informative conclusion we can draw from the data?

When she was just 15, Meg was involved in a devastating car accident where she sustained a traumatic brain injury. With shortened school days and impaired performance defining her new reality, Meg felt desperate to find a way to reclaim the life she once knew and to help others in her situation, leading her to begin a career as a physical therapy assistant at the very same clinic she completed her rehabilitation.  After just a week of treatment her movements developed fluidity and by the second week her ability to concentrate on the tone dramatically improved. Meg’s sense of balance and physical coordination returned to her by her sixth session. At 21 years old, Meg has done more than simply achieve her goal of regaining the life she thought she lost in her car accident- she’s been able to create a fuller, more satisfying life, one in which she helps others achieve the freedom of thought and movement she feared she lost forever.