| HANDLE SERVICES AND BENEFITS (Last Updated 05/28/2008) | ||||
| Perspective | Comprehensive Program | Screening Program | Certified Professionals | |
The HANDLE Institute offers an effective, non-drug alternative for diagnosing and treating most neurodevelopmental disorders across the life span. The institute offers clinical services, community information, and professional training programs.
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HANDLE acknowledges labels and diagnoses as a form of shorthand to describe clusters of symptomatic behaviors. The HANDLE approach goes beyond labels, to the root cause of the disordered behaviors and offers families effective non-drug methods to promote efficient neurological functioning and learning.
The Holistic Approach to NeuroDevelopment & Learning Efficiency (HANDLE) has helped thousands of people of every age. The vast majority of those following HANDLE programs have achieved significant results without drugs or expensive equipment.
We encourage informed decisions regarding appropriate treatment options for each individual situation. To help you decide if the HANDLE approach can address your concerns, we offer information at community presentations and via audio CD, as well as by e-mail and telephone.We Invite You To:
- Browse our website or call us at (206) 204-6000 for a wealth of information.
- Speak with clients and professionals who are familiar with the HANDLE approach and services.
- Request us to share information on our approach with your physicians, teachers, counselors, and others.
- Call and discuss your concerns with one of our interns or practitioners.
- Order an audio CD that explains HANDLE theories and offers insights into treatment possibilities.
How has HANDLE benefited others?
M. Hern, a Traumatic Brain Injury survivor, relates: “Before I was evaluated by HANDLE, I felt as though I were a square peg being put through a round hole.... As hard as I tried, I could not fit or achieve .... Typically, my difficulties were viewed as psychological in nature. It was as though I spoke a different language; and indeed that was the case. HANDLE was the ‘interpreter,’ and provided me with the key and the pathway toward becoming functional again. I am so eternally grateful to be out of the abyss, and for HANDLE’s expertise.”T. Geer says of her 8½ year old son: “Our child had been diagnosed Autistic/PDD/Hyperlexic. His expressive and receptive language skills were at half his chronological age. We received at HANDLE the most careful, specific, and individualized services we have yet experienced in 8 years of contact with professional providers. We saw results within two weeks’ time.”
R. Heinrich shares: “One of the things that impressed me the most was the first meeting after the assessment. Within minutes I could tell that they put all the pieces of the puzzle together--they had a clear, whole picture of my child.... I really feel that had we not gone to HANDLE and had them guide us in understanding and treatment, that our child would be at a very different place in her development right now.”
Just as no two fingerprints are alike, so also no two people have the same arrangement of pathways that carry messages to, within, and from their brains. That is, each of us acquires slightly different neurodevelopmental patterns. Many children and adults who experience difficulties in learning, task performance, or social interaction have neurodevelopmental differences which interfere with processing. When the systems that support vision or the sense of position in space, for example, are not strong enough, then reading, math, general organization and efficiency may suffer. Trauma may further complicate matters.
The HANDLE approach, developed by Judith Bluestone from more than 30 years of diagnosing and treating neurodevelopmental differences, is unique. It is truly developmental in nature, treating problems at their roots, rather than merely providing short term solutions or compensatory techniques. Its goal is to help each client achieve functional outcomes. HANDLE incorporates research and techniques from many disciplines. It includes principles and perspectives from medicine, rehabilitation, psychology, education and nutrition. It is founded on an interactive, developmental model of human functioning. It relies on certain facts, among them:
- The nervous system is designed to adapt continuously, and the types of stimulation we receive influence the patterns in our brains.
- Movement reflects our neural organization, and provides stimulation to our systems.
- The nervous system, especially its weak parts, responds to overwhelming stimulation by stress, and stressed systems shut down.
- There is a unity to the senses. Irregularities in one area may resonate symptomatically in other areas.
The Comprehensive
HANDLE Program
Available from Certified HANDLE Practitioners only
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Evaluation |
HANDLE practitioners
observe client’s response patterns during a unique battery of
rapport-building adaptive activities. They analyze processing modalities
artfully. Seemingly perplexing behaviors come together as pieces of a
puzzle and are charted into a profile of the individual's core
neurological processing. |
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Presentation of Results and Recommendations |
The family receives thorough discussion of the results of the assessment, explanation of the recommendations, and skilled guidance in implementation of an individualized program of therapeutic activities. The HANDLE Practitioner provides clients virtually all special tools required for implementation of the activities. |
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Home Treatment Program |
Each program is customized for effective application in clients' homes or other supportive settings. Programs usually require less than a half hour daily. Some activities may require support from a caregiver. The focus is always on Gentle Enhancement® to strengthen the client's neurological functioning without producing stress. Videotapes made of all clinical sessions provide the clients a tool for easy reference at home. |
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Fine-Tuning and Program Reviews |
Within two weeks of starting a customized HANDLE home-treatment program, a fine-tuning session ensures understanding and application of the activities. It also provides an opportunity to adjust the program to client progress. Many clients see significant results within the first few months. However, each client is encouraged to benefit from six months of fine-tuning to support optimal progress. Some clients select to receive off-site fine-tuning, via e-mail discussion and videotapes. |
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Additional Support |
Most clients achieve their goals through their home implemented programs. Occasionally, clients may benefit from therapy sessions with their practitioners. HANDLE practitioners are dedicated to meeting whatever level of support our clients need. Additional consultations and program reviews can be arranged to support the client in achieving ever-changing goals. |
Available from all Certified HANDLE Screeners and most Certified HANDLE Practitioners
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Screening |
The HANDLE Screening Tool was designed to be used for those, 5 years and older, with mild learning and behavioral challenges. A Certified HANDLE Screener conducts a short assessment based on information from an intake form and a series of tasks the client performs designed to check his processing ability. Some of the areas checked include: auditory sequential memory, eye teaming and tracking, differentiation, balance, muscle tone, and sensory integration. The goal of the screening is to discover which sensory systems may be contributing to academic, work and behavioral difficulties or which may impede future learning. The Screener then creates a neurodevelopmental profile and develops a short program of deceptively simple HANDLE movement activities that help to strengthen and integrate neurological processing. The movements help the brain to organize and process information more efficiently, which leads to improvements such as better attention and focus, increased ability to follow instructions or to sit still, enhanced visual ability for tracking and for changing focus from near to far; strengthened impulse control and better handwriting. The Screener may also offer nutritional recommendations to enhance the brain’s functioning, along with suggestions for compensatory measures that the client may wish to employ for a time while working on his or her program. In addition, the Screener may recommend specific complementary therapies. If the results of the screening show that the scope of the client’s needs are outside of the parameters of a screening program, the Certified Screener may recommend a full HANDLE assessment and treatment program. In that case, 10% of the cost of the full program will be credited to the client, up to but not exceeding, the cost of the screening. |
Certified HANDLE Professionals
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HANDLE Trained Professionals |
Certified HANDLE® Practitioners assure expert, in-depth evaluations with individualized program development and follow-up across a wide range of disorders of varying severity, including Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADD/ADHD, Traumatic Head Injury, learning differences, behavioral disorders, and more. Full programs, with follow-ups, employ Gentle Enhancement® and reduce stress, while enhancing the affected neurodevelopmental systems. Certified HANDLE Practitioners have completed the 90 hour Advanced Course, with at least 200 hours of supervised clinical experience. Practitioners' areas of expertise will vary; see individual listings for each Practitioner's qualifications. Certified HANDLE® Screeners can screen five-year-olds through adults for mild neurodevelomental differences, and can recommend abbreviated HANDLE programs which will reduce stress while employing Gentle Enhancement® to help remedy learning and behavioral difficulties. Certified HANDLE Screeners have completed the 40 hour Intermediate training and a 24 hour supervised Screening Practicum. The Certified HANDLE® Activity Coach for ASD is a new level of certification. With guidance from a 12 hour intensive course and information from The Fabric of Autism by Judith Bluestone, ASD Activity Coaches have the tools they need to begin to see the patterns in ASD behaviors that indicate neurodevelopmental irregularities, to make recommendations to reduce stress and employ Gentle Enhancement® while beginning to strengthen systems that are compromised by the unique way autism expresses itself in each client. To locate qualified HANDLE professionals in your area, search this list or call the HANDLE Institute at 206-204-6000. |
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HANDLE Interns |
The HANDLE Institute is a training and research organization. Most of our interns come to us from human service professions such as education, occupational and physical therapy, speech and language therapy, social work, educational psychology, nursing, medical practice, and complementary treatment modalities. Interns always work under the supervision of a Certified HANDLE Practitioner who has also completed the Supervisory Training. |
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European Regional Education Director |
Catherine Stingley manages her home clinic in Homer, Alaska, and she provides clinical services and professional training there and in Europe in cooperation with HANDLE-Europe. Before seeking HANDLE training, Catherine worked for decades in the related fields of special education, mental health, and emergency medical services. The HANDLE Institute continues to certify instructors to help with the growing world-wide demand for training. (Click here for a list of Certified HANDLE Instructors.) Courses are now being offered across North America, as well as in Europe and South Africa. |
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Founder and Director
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The originator of the HANDLE approach, Judith Bluestone, directs HANDLE programs and publications. She brings to this work over 12 years of advanced study in education, counseling, human development, neuropsychology, visual processing, sensory-motor integration, and more. She is an experienced licensed educator – regular and special education – for all ages. A public hospital system in Washington created a special credential to reflect the unique perspective she brings to the field: Neurodevelopmental/ Educational Therapist. Some of Judith’s achievements during nearly 40 years of professional work include:
Judith has served as a consultant for many local agencies, including:
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