All parents want their children to be happy, healthy, and successful, but your child is struggling developmentally.
Liz Strawbridge, M.D.
After suffering a stroke and severe meningitis, my 4-year-old son was left with right sided motor impairment, difficulty with short and long-term memory, spatial disorientation and sensory processing issues. As many parents who suffer the trauma of having a brain-injured child, we could see his heart and soul were still bursting with abundant life and beauty.
It’s hard for you to see your child frustrated, sad, and struggling to reach their true potential.
The experts are telling you there is very little you can do.
You worry about your child’s future – will they be able to take care of themselves when you are not there anymore?
You want your child to get better, but they are not making progress.
No matter what, you will not stop looking
for ways to help your child.
Thompson Family
Our second child, Ben, started receiving services for autism at age two and a half. We were very proactive and diligent in seeking therapies and advice from the best, but…Ben, at age eleven and a half, still struggled immensely. I wanted to go to the movies or church without having an emergency exit plan.
I wanted my son to have the internal motivation to do things for himself or others, and not constantly have to bribe him with screen time or treats. I wanted him to learn to ride a bike, tie his shoes, bathe himself, create stories, respect people’s things, and engage with his family. After nine years of conventional therapies, none of those goals were achieved. We knew more was possible; we just had no idea how to achieve it.
The experts say your child can’t improve.
We are sure they can.
We’ve helped thousands of parents significantly strengthen their children’s neurological abilities.
We look forward to partnering with you to teach you how to do the same.
Liz Strawbridge, M.D.
As a physician, I was very familiar with the conventional treatment plan of PT and OT laid forth by his brilliant team of doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital. I was struck by how these therapies addressed the symptoms (muscle weakness) rather than the root of the problem (a hurt brain).
It made much more sense to me that we should be working on creating new neurological pathways rather than trying to fix the manifestation [of the] broken ones. We saw significant gains after working on the program with our son for 6 months. Both his neurologist and neurosurgeon have been blown away by his progress. The program helps your child adapt and become more resilient, not just get ‘band aid solutions’ that don’t promote his or her potentiality and evolution.
The Thompson Family
If you were ever told that your child is incapable or have been force-fed a “doom and gloom” prognosis, then it is time to remove those professionals from your roster and sign on new talent. For the last five years we have been implementing the comprehensive neurological approach designed by the FHC team.
We as a family have witnessed neuroplasticity and continue to see that growth is possible…we are no longer fearful. We know our power. We know the brain grows when a family rallies behind the one struggling and stands united in implementing an evidence-based systematic approach in a loving home. Ben is now independently bathing, riding a bike, tying his shoes, writing and reading, balancing a checkbook, doing chores, running, playing sports, and so much more.
Meet the Directors
Matthew and Carol
For the past 40 years, we’ve studied the neurological origins of disabilities in children and researched practical, effective ways of promoting brain healing and growth.
We started our own family during the early part of this 40-year journey. Two of our children faced complex neurodevelopmental difficulties.
We applied the same approaches to our children that we teach to all parents, and with lots of love, hard work, and dedication, our children overcame their challenges.
Today, our daughters are confident adults with meaningful relationships and purposeful professional lives.
So, we have two perspectives to share with you—one as parents and one as professionals.
As parents, we truly understand what you are going through, and we know how resilient you are.
As professionals, we know that with few exceptions, every injury to the brain is capable of healing – given the correct approach, dedicated effort, and time.
Directors of the Family Hope Center
How To Help Your Child
Learn How Your Child’s Brain Works And Grows
- The Parent Training Course is the fundamental first step in helping your child.
- Understand how injuries and poor function in the brain show up as developmental delays, learning disabilities, and other diagnoses like ADHD and autism.
- Gain a comprehensive understanding neuroplasticity and nutrition, and their impact on child development.
Liz Strawbridge, M.D.
The Parent Training Course is a crash course in neurodevelopment which dovetailed beautifully with recent data around the science of neuroplasticity.“
Liz Strawbridge, M.D.
The Family Hope Center use(s) detailed anatomical and developmental neural network maps in the brain to evaluate where along the timeline of brain development your child suffered injury, causing a dysfunctional pathway for that particular network resulting in downstream consequences.“
Assess Your Child’s Current Neurodevelopmental Abilities
- Use our proprietary tool to assess how your child’s brain is developing and find out which neurological pathways and physiological systems need the most support.
- Parents complete this in Lesson 3 of the Parent Training Course.
Implement Your Child’s Individualized Home-Based Neurodevelopmental Treatment Plan
- Take personal control of your child’s neurotherapeutic activities and nutrition as you implement their treatment plan in your home.
- Parents complete this during Lessons 6-10 of the Parent Training Course.
Liz Strawbridge, M.D.
They design a personalized plan for each child based upon the particular sequence of neural dysfunctions and help strengthen the network from the origin of the dysfunction rather than fixing the symptom that is revealing itself. It is a complete multi-modal brain health approach: optimizing nutrition and fuel for neuro-regeneration, using physiology of breathwork to enhance oxygenation of brain tissue,
incorporating body and energy work to repattern pathways, creating a unique sensory stimulation program, and returning to basic motor and reflex pathways such as crawling to develop a strong foundation for the most effective brain development.
Update Your Child’s Neurodevelopmental Treatment Plan As They Develop And Progress
- Periodically reassess your child as they experience the positive changes that come from neuroplastic growth
- Each reassessment will provide you with an easy and objective way to see how your child is progressing and will be the basis for your child’s updated treatment plan.
At the Family Hope Center, we work with parents of children who have an extensive and complex array of neurologically based challenges, (dis)abilities, and disorders. If your child’s difficulties are of neurological or neurodevelopmental origin or if they have a medical or genetic condition with neurodevelopmental consequences, we can help.
We work with parents of children who have received the following diagnoses:
Measuring Results
The effectiveness of any therapeutic approach must be periodically assessed using standardized and validated measures. The Family Hope Center assesses the effectiveness of its approach using the WeeFIM®, the pediatric version of the Functional Independence MeasureTM (FIM®).
Both the FIM® and WeeFIM® were developed by Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR) from the World Health Organization’s bio-psycho-social model of disability. They are functional assessment tools for evaluating essential abilities in individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities along three dimensions: self-care, motor function, and cognition.
UDSMR notes: “Since its inception in 1987, the FIM® instrument has been widely regarded and adopted by clinicians and researchers around the world for its brevity and reliability. A sizeable library of supporting research and study sustains the FIM® instrument’s reliability and validity. To date, more than 1,300 published articles support the FIM® instrument, and ongoing research and study continues.”1 (Read more clinical research about the WeeFIM® here).
Our WeeFIM® results show that children’s neurological and functional capabilities significantly improve through the Family Hope Center’s parent-implemented home-based therapy.
We believe that loving families make the best therapists. We also know that the brain has an incredible capability to heal.
Our job is to give parents the tools to make that happen.
With that in mind, we make the following commitments to you:
Nellie, Pete’s Mom
We didn’t realize our child [Pete] had special needs until he was about twelve years old. He just seemed quirky, and like a very bright young man who just didn’t want to do schoolwork and couldn’t get along with people. I was embarrassed by his actions most of the time and was getting desperate for help. My loving friends told me about the Family Hope Center and dragged me to the 3-day parent training. At the training, many of the behaviors I’d observed were no longer a mystery.
We carried a heavy burden of guilt for not helping Pete sooner, for not seeing his needs, and for not being able to do all the program. Yet, we kept at it. Today, Pete is nearing the end of the program, and he is motivated to do it on his own. He’s nearly eighteen years old. Without the concerted effort of getting him [neurologically] organized, Pete wouldn’t be driving, working, or graduating high school. I’m not worried about him ending up in jail because he exploded at the wrong time. He has friends and will be able to self-regulate in the stresses of life. His anxiety is gone, he has a bright future, and he’s a delight. The program is a gift. The results are priceless.
Pete, Nellie’s Son
At the time of this writing I am seventeen years old. I’ve been doing this program for just over three years now. And whereas at the start, when I didn’t see the point of what I was doing, I now see the benefits. I missed pizza and soda, and a load of other stuff. In short, I hated the diet. I hated the exercise. Now that the end is in sight, and my neurology has pretty much caught up to the best it’s going to be, I can say for certain that this program is easily worth its weight in gold. I have friends now.
I can react to change, learn, and grow as a person. I’m a better human being. You’re the parent, you make them do it because eventually they will want to as well. Then you’ll get to stop pushing. I’m grateful my mom made me do it.
Get To Know Us More
Expert Perspectives on Our Publication
Linda Baker, MD, CCH
If you’re the parent of a special needs child, please read this book. You will find an empowering and refreshing way of viewing your child’s condition.
The information presented here will help you to understand what is happening, to get to the root cause of the problem and give you a roadmap for helping your child to heal. Recent studies are showing that our brains have much greater ability to heal than is generally appreciated. In this book you will find a scientific, practical, and well researched method for assisting that healing process. During the years I consulted with families at FHC [Family Hope Center], I saw hundreds of children who surprised me with the progress they made on this program, well beyond anything I’d seen or been taught to expect in my pediatric training. If I were a child with a brain injury, I would be hoping that my parents would find this book and follow its recommendations.
Nancy Werner, MD
It is thrilling to see the decades of dedication spearheaded by Matthew and Carol Newell and their diverse team at the Family Hope Center encapsulated in this book.
In it, their philosophy, approach, and results in overcoming neurological injuries—even the most severe cases—are made accessible to professionals and families alike. Yet, beyond their extensive experience in the recovery of neurologically injured children, their work demonstrates exciting potential in the enhancement of well-being and achievement in youngsters of “normal” families. I can attest to the brilliant results this program can elicit through its solid and well-documented multidisciplinary agenda in nurturing families who deal with the enormous challenges of raising an injured child, and the benefits that spill over to siblings and parents. In the fullest sense of the word, the Family Hope program can “raise” an individual to her fullest potential. This book provides a broad picture of previously unsuspected possibilities in neurological recovery and effective parenting.
Mira Helena Bergkvist, MD
This book is so rich in enlightenment and knowledge of how parents or other close relatives can bring hope and development to children and adults suffering from neurological disorders.
Stephanie Ale, DPT, MDT, CSCS
As a medical professional, I’ve heard countless lectures in neurology and read numerous textbooks for courses. As a parent, I’ve had conversations with neurologists and neurosurgeons from the best hospitals this area has to offer.
None of them can explain the brain like Matthew Newell does. He understands the brain and can easily describe any area of it and how it relates to function. More importantly, he understands it enough to teach you what you can do to make an impact on that particular area. The information I’ve learned from him has changed how I think, how I treat my patients, and how I raise my children. His book will be a game changer for those who take the time to read it and let it change how they think!
Kerry D’Ambrogio DOM, AP, PT, DO- MTP, AdvCBI, AdvCBP, SrCBI
I had the pleasure of meeting Matthew Newell when he attended one of my classes. Since then, I have had the opportunity to spend time learning from him and his exceptional staff.
During my visits with Matthew, I have found him to be not only extremely gifted, but also incredibly focused and determined to find better answers for his clients. In the work he and his staff do with children who have brain injuries, he has found that educating parents and caregivers has been an integral component to the success of the program. With this book, Mathew can now share the wealth of knowledge he has accumulated over the years working with countless numbers of children with a wider audience and succeed in his mission to educate others beyond his program. I, for one, am grateful that Mathew has decided to offer us all his insight and experience by writing this book, and I know it will be an incredibly helpful resource for everyone who works with this special group of children.
Hear from parents who completed the Parent Training Course
This program and The Family Hope Center provides a holistic view of how improved brain health brings better quality of life – and how to do it. This was the “full meal deal” – you also demonstrated what you taught in every detail, right down to the nutrition.
My background is in education – specifically special education, autism and special education. I feel as though I learned more over the past 3 days that could help my children and students than I did in all six years in formal education! Excited to join you to help my son this fall!
Thank you for giving us hope! I was starting to think things could never improve. Now, we’re going back to the beginning and helping my son develop his brain, instead of constantly trying to “therapy” him appropriately. This made sense to me. Wish I had known about FHC sooner. Feeling very hopeful and positive. Thank you.
I finally have hope. Even though I feel behind the 8-ball, I finally feel like someone actually understands my struggles as well as my child’s struggles. I sincerely thank you for what you are trying to accomplish.
We have really felt lost lately. I don’t feel so lost now. You really helped me realize that it wasn’t too late, that we could rebuild the brain at any age. Keep going! You’re doing awesome work.
It was Amazing! One of the most informative 3 days of my life! Worth the investment. I’m so excited. I feel like your knowledge saved us – we aren't surviving, we are living now. It is a good life against all odds. Thank you.
This conference was very thorough and intense, but worth it! It is definitely the best help and advice I have ever gotten. Thank you so much for educating me! I loved the simple, intelligent approach and after 3 days being able to go home with such great tools, which I know are going to change my life and my family’s lives. Thank you.
I am a rebel by birth, so the fact that you are bucking the system of Western medicine really spoke to me. I came into this knowing nothing with zero hope, now I have hope and know that there is a pathway to help our child. I am thankful for this.
This conference was really the most help I’ve ever had in improving my child’s wellness. I found it really fascinating.
Now I have an organized plan with hope and belief that [my son] can get better.
I am wildly excited about the information I received. All aspects exceeded my expectations, and I know understand specifics about brain development that I have been confused about. I’m very grateful for you all, and for what I learned.
This Conference left us with an actionable plan, and re-instilled a sense of empowerment to help our son. You gave us fantastic content that was delivered in a way that kept my attention (loved the stories!), and the additional speakers, testimonials and cranio-sacral demonstration.
This was amazing. I came in with somewhat of a negative/anxious attitude and have left with a new perspective on life; hope. I can see my son doing things I never dreamed of. Thank you!
The Family Hope Center offers a way out. They offer my daughter a shot at getting a perfectly normal life. The Family Hope Center makes me in charge! It gives me power, hope, and possiblity.
This was the most wonderful thing that has happened since my son's birth. Matthew makes it seem like he is speaking directly to you which makes it so personaly and easy to stay focused. The wealth of knowledge over three days! WOW! What you guys do is fabulous and I know I will be speaking about what you do to anyone who will listen.
I wish all the families with injured children could know this opportunity and that there is hope. Thank you for making this possible.
Its been a great experience and it opened new doors for my children. I'm grateful that someone told me about the Family Hope Center – it is like finding light in a dark room. Thanks.
I was so close to giving up, but now I know I'm going to keep fighting to make my son better.
I understand the brain better – development through stages. [I learned] why [my son] struggles, and gained compassion and excitement to help him make changes and progress.
As a parent of a 10 year old ADHD child, learning brain function & neurology so it all made so much sense!
My son is going to be fine and I don't need to worry anymore and I'll be able to sleep at night.
Now we know what to do to help our son. You have chosen the best way possible. Overall, this has been an excellent opportunity for parents to improve our hurt children's lives. Thank you so much for your dedication and commitment.
Our Specialists
Our interdisciplinary team specializes in multiple fields of medicine and therapy with one thing in common: helping you learn how to optimize your child’s brain growth and development.