Combining clinical and professional experience and expertise with a passion to help children, Dr. Chris Turnpaugh and his partners opened Brain Balance Center of Mechanicsburg in 2011. Since then, more than 65 children suffering the challenges of behavioral issues and learning difficulties have enrolled in the 36 session program, which utilizes sensory and academic exercise, along with a non-pharmaceutical, nutritional component to meet each child’s need.

The program’s creator, Dr. Robert Melillo, a world-renowned expert in the field of learning disabilities, discovered more than 10 years ago that the source of learning challenges was functional disconnection within the brain. When one side of a child’s brain is weaker than the other, the two hemispheres do not communicate properly, resulting in less-than-optimal function. Designed to balance the hemispheres in the brain, kids with attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, Asperger syndrome, dyslexia, Tourette syndrome and other developmental disorders who complete the program are able to return to the life they were intended to live at home, at school and socially.

“We don’t change the sailboat, but we do change the direction of the sail,” explains one of the program directors, Kim Holl.

The center’s success lies in its results. When non-verbal autistic children begin to speak, parents believe their prayers have been answered. When parents witness their kids with Asperger syndrome becoming more social, coordinated and interactive, they know they have found the answer. When ADHD medication is no longer needed and school grades improve, this signals to parents that their child can live a fully productive, happy, healthy and independent life.

After completing the program, kids often experience significant shifts in energy levels and personalities begin to bloom.  More facial expressions and contact are used to communicate, and it is common to witness a general “slowing down” with less fidgeting and disruptive behavior. More importantly, kids become more excited by life and parents begin to see their child reaching his potential.

Location: 5521 Carlisle Pike, Ste. A, Mechanicsburg. To learn more about the program and to schedule an assessment, call 717-697-5340 or visit BrainBalanceCenters.com or find them on Facebook. Summer Programs are enrolling now.