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One of those methods is: Dr Frank Belgau’s Learning Breakthrough Program

While I have not personally used the Balametrics program I have used the Balance Board for many years to help children and adults with behavioral and learning difficulties.
The Balance Board works with sensory integration and the vestibular system, which helps organize the brain.

The Balance Board is a simple, yet profound piece of equipment that forms the foundation of the Balametrics program.

Dr Belgau’s program has been shown to help children and adults with ADD, ADHD and Processing Disorders. 

The author of this article uses the Balance Board daily for his own personal development to keep focused and organized throughout the day. I have found the board useful when helping children and adults with developmental or behavioral challenges.

Several years ago I was hired by a daycare to work with a three year old boy who had severe behavioral problems. As an Early Childhood Educator who had had some experience working with behaviorally challenged children I thought, “How bad could it be?” After all, he was only three years old. Tommy (not his real name) knew a lot of words; he favored “f_ _ _ you!” followed by a string of two to three word sentences of the same language. 

At first I tried the usual methods of behavioral management such as time-out, transitional methods (timers, communication of changes in activities etc), rewards and praise for good behavior, but all to no avail. It was at this point that I decided to use a new approach, new to me anyway; this was to use a wonderful piece of equipment called a Balance Board. 

The techniques of the Balance Board Program which I had learned did not fit with this situation, so I decided to change the method into a play-based routine. I introduced Tommy to the Rotational Balance Board. I started by taking Tommy to the staff room which was fairly large, open and free of distractions. At first I just sat on the Balance Board and spun around a few times; then I asked Tommy to do the same. Tommy tried it, quickly got bored, and then started jumping on the staff room furniture and pulling pictures off the walls. I persevered. With all this spinning I would get dizzy. Tommy found this to be really funny and would stop his negative behaviors to come over and laugh at me! I would hold my head, groaning, and tell him I felt sick. It became a game for Tommy, giving me a clue about how to reach him. 

Tommy started using the board. The first thing I noticed was that Tommy did not get dizzy; he would spin for five minutes, get up off the board and walk away (I later found out this could be a possible indicator that a person may have sensory difficulties). Another thing was his awareness of where he was in space; he would run his hand along the wall all the time (another possible indicator of sensory difficulties) and would slide on his back on the floor, bumping his head quite hard on walls, doors and furniture. 

When Tommy was used to the daily routine of five minutes on the rotational board I introduced the Rocking Balance Board. The method for the use of this board is to stand perfectly balanced (adjustable rockers can increase the level of balance difficulty) while carrying out certain hand/eye coordination activities (hitting targets, catching balls etc). 

I had Tommy stand on the board and throw a soft bean bag at my stomach. Whenever he would hit my stomach dead-on, I would bend over and say, “Ow! That hurt.” If he missed and hit some other part of my body I would not react as much. The more I reacted, the more he hit the target and the louder he would laugh.

Tommy’s behaviors had decreased a little and he was swearing less, but after two months, I began to doubt whether the balance board activities were having much effect. It was at this point that an amazing thing happened. One day after our usual five minutes of spinning Tommy stood up and said, “I feel dizzy.” Something had changed, which was not amazing in itself; the truly amazing thing happened the next day. 

The next day I was watching as a boy took Tommy’s train set. I quickly stepped    in to prevent Tommy from snatching back the train and hitting the boy as he typically would. To my surprise, Tommy came over to me and said, ”He has taken my train!” I asked Tommy, “What should we do about that?” Tommy replied, “He took my train set. Let’s go and ask for it back!” (twelve words, in sentences - truly amazing for this little boy). I helped Tommy get the train back by using his words. From that point on, Tommy’s use of vocabulary increased dramatically. He could communicate his needs and feelings and his violent outbursts decreased. Tommy still had behaviors, but more at the level of a developing three year old. Another interesting thing was that Tommy stopped running his hands on the walls, although he would still slide on the floor. He would however slow down and gently touch his head to objects instead of hitting them hard.

So there you have it. I believe laughter, compassion and sensory play are the best ways to help children develop. It is not about good or bad; it is not about fixing behaviors; it is not about finding solutions or diagnoses; it is about consistently providing: The Sensory Rich Environment.
The Balance Board can be part of that environment.

Paul Mackie is a professional Special Needs Early Childhood Educator and Community Rehabilitation Practitioner with special need adults.