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.

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.

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.

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!

This is essential reading for anyone who works with someone with any type of brain injury, therapists and parents alike. Matthew Newell brings focus to the basic and most important aspect of rehabilitation, how to reach the central nervous system. His knowledge and approach bring hope to parents, injured and other family members. Parents will understand how to help their children and therapists will have the tools to work in a logical and methodical way to reach the potential in every individual they meet. This book should be a staple in every university level education that teaches about brain injuries in both children and adults.

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.