Anybody have any experience with the Handle Institute?

I was on their website and found the following interesting.    I looked into Handle for my dd 8 yrs. ago.    At the time they emphasized more visual based issues and I was looking for auditory solutions, so I didn't pursue them.   It looks like they have expanded and find their program intriguing.     Judith Bluestone has an interesting background as well.  

I know my own dd's CAPD and Dyslexic symptoms have stemmed from poor interhemispheric integration, auditory discrimination and weak vestibular system. 

Dyslexia: A Neurodevelopmental Perspective

Dyslexia denotes significant difficulty in language function. Usually it refers to reading problems such as decoding and comprehension, sometimes including problems in written language (e.g., spelling). Frustration, low self-esteem, and even social behavior disorders may result. Traditionally, once an individual is diagnosed dyslexic, remedial education and/or compensatory processes are recommended. While such efforts can elicit some gains, progress is usually slow because remediation focuses on the symptom rather than those brain subsystems necessary to support reading.

Many studies claim that one specific center (e.g., the phonological processing center) is the critical area because its metabolic rate during reading is slower in dyslexic individuals than normal readers. However, neuroscience teaches that no one area of the brain operates in a vacuum. To develop and function, each area requires multiple simultaneous stimulation from other areas. These studies merely indicate, then, that there is a problem in one or more of the areas that communicates with the identified center. Discounting the interactive nature of brain function leads to over-simplification of Dyslexia. Recent studies claim a genetic factor may cause predisposition to Dyslexia. Despite this, neural plasticity (the nervous systems’ adaptation to repeated sensory-motor stimulation) allows for brain repair across the lifespan.

Some Underlying Causes of Dyslexia

• Many people with reading difficulties have poor binocular functions, that is, their eyes work poorly together, if at all. They may alternately suppress the vision of one eye and then the other, causing them to lose their focus or to jump around. 

• Light sensitivity can cause stress and optical illusions . Fluorescent lights (which flicker), white paper and white boards can create visual disturbances. 

• Individuals may compensate themselves for visual problems, but this requires extra mental energy that may detract from comprehension. Symptoms of visual problems include eye rubbing, squinting, red eyes, headaches, limited tolerance for reading, etc.

• If a reader has poor communication between the left and right hemispheres for the brain, meaning is lost, since the visual picture is not formed (right hemisphere) from the sequence of words (left hemisphere). This is also a frequent cause of inability to associate a letter with its name or the sound it produces. Interhemispheric integration is a factor in Central Auditory Processing, as well. 

• Some people have irregular auditory discrimination, causing distortion in the sounds they hear and their ability to retain a sequence of sounds.

• Individuals may have weak kinesthetic memory (muscle and joint memory) for word formation, and problems of laterality (identifying the right and left sides of their bodies and of letters).

• Most of these factors causal to Dyslexia are dependent on the inner ear (vestibular system) and interhemispheric integration—systems that respond well to HANDLE therapy programs.