Portion of Speech

May 2005 Seminar in San Francisco Bay Area
"New Dimension For Children With Learning Disorder & Autism Program"
Portion of Speech

Speaker: Rex F. Wang/Brain Enhancement Program CEO

[SKIP GREETING]

The Brain Enhancement Program (BEP) is not a traditional medical treatment. There are no drugs, either by injection or tablets, involved. BEP uses energy and electrical frequencies to improve the brain capillaries, raise the energy level of brain cells, enhance the biochemical function of the brain and increase the interconnectivity of the nerve system. BEP is not only safe but also free of side effects.

BEP was originally designed for normal adults and children and is a treatment used to enhance abilities acquired after birth. Who among us does not want to improve the physical and intellectual abilities of our offspring?

The first child with learning disabilities participated in the BEP in LA in 2002. The treatment was effective. My intuition was that if we were able to successfully use BEP to cure people that had suffered a brain stem stroke, significantly improve the physical ability of people in the initial stages of Parkinson disease and treat memory loss in senior people, then it was likely that BEP would improve the brain functions of children with learning disabilities. Therefore, I did not pay much attention to this first child's disability and felt that the improvement was well expected.

Then the mother of child brought her son from the Bay Area to see me in LA. This was my first encounter with an autistic child. This child's soul seemed to be lost somewhere and I was touched. As the mother explained the situation with her child I realized that a large population of autistic children exists. I do not think my lack of knowledge of autism is my ignorance. In Taiwan, shamefully, most autistic children are hidden away from the eyes of society, so I was unaware of autism and the sadness it brings.

Prior to this session with the child and mother I thought only adults suffered from autism. In order to treat this child, I read through all the literature I could find regarding autism. I examined all possible treatments currently available and studied the theories behind those treatments. I was surprised that I could find no treatment related to the brain. Except for a few anti-depressants and stimulants, there is no medication for autism. And the side effects of the anti-depressants and stimulants are substantial; it is worse to take the drugs than not take them. I could find no large scale institute devoted to autism research and its treatment. Is the lack of treatment centers and research budgetary? Or is it so difficult to cure autism that the medical community chooses to not even try?

I studied many research reports which unanimously point out that brain abnormalities are the real cause of autism. The most recent research merely combined relevant viewpoints and added some new ideas. There was no actual and concrete method for treatment cited.

Neurology should be at the heart of treating autism and learning disabilities. But why is it that the neurologists only prescribe anti-depressants, tranquilizers and stimulant for patents and perform no further treatment?

Maybe you don't know that for many nerve related disorders the doctors think their job is done after the diagnosis is complete. They explain to you, apologetically, that the latest drugs, which you need, have not yet been invented.

After researchers complete their work and produce a theory, they always seem to conclude that "hopefully one day a new drug will be developed based on our new theory and directions we have developed".

I consulted with my aunt and her husband about this issue. Both of them worked at the Rotter Pharmaceutical Company in New Jersey for more than 30 years. My aunt is a pathology analyst. Her husband has a PhD in bio-chemistry and was in charge of new drug development where he invented Vitamin H. They both explained to me that the objective and scope of their research are under the directives of the company. The purpose of their research is to develop drugs to replace other treatments. Currently, drugs for less complicated Parkinson and Alzheimer disease have not been developed. Certainly there is no mention of new drugs for the complicated problem of autism. And they have heard nothing about drug research for autism.

Researchers appear to encourage each other. However, the ball keeps being kicked around and nobody knows where it will end up going!

There were no observation groups or comparison study groups working on the multi-complexity of autism and learning disabilities in adults or children. These were only a few single isolated cases in the literature.

You need to understand that there are quite a few diseases which can be cured on their own, for example, children with asthma and food allergies. Once the body condition changes and the immune system improve the symptoms will be gone. Many animals can perform tasks well after being trained. This training of animals is the result of repetitive practice. The phenomenons are reflective actions based on training from the brain's cerebellum and have nothing to do with understanding the meaning behind the tasks. We can, for instance, train a child to get a cup of water on his own. But does he realize that it is proper manners to offer a cup of water to house guests?

The most precious part of a human being is the high level thinking present in our cerebral cortex. The purpose and efforts of these treatments are touching, but what are the targets for "successful improvements"? Is it for stable emotion, the ability to learn or self-care skills?

The children that attended the BEP last year show tremendous improvement in mental capability, comprehension and learning ability. However, we cannot conclude that they are cured, it can only be said that they have made a significant step forward.

Let's start with discussion on brain functions to see where the problem resides.
There are four major areas in the cerebrum:

• Frontal lobe: responsible for reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions and problem-solving.
• Parietal lobe: responsible for perception of stimuli related to touch, pressure, temperature and pain.
• Occipital lobe: responsible for vision.
• Temporal lobe: responsible for perception and recognition of auditory stimuli and memory.

Each area is in charge of different cognition functions.

Memory, thought, comprehension and language are high level functions that require simultaneous work from these areas of the brain. Intelligence is not determined by the size of the brain, but rather by the number of neuron connections. Learning begins from memory. Memory is the basis of all the mental activities. Once a person loses his memory he basically loses himself. We have seen a few unfortunate patients with serious problems: they have no past and no future. They live only in the present because they have no memory or lost the capability to have memory.

One of the latest theories is that memory is a coded protein stored in RNA. Each thought and all sensory messages will change the biological structure of RNA and generate a single unit of memory. The brain is the memory bank, or storage tank, of human beings. And RNA is the memory bank of every brain cell. All genes are stored in the nucleus and cellular areas of RNA. This is the information center of cells. But there is a prerequisite condition: information needs to enter the brain first then RNA can code it into memory.

There are three types of information that enter the brain: vision, hearing and touch. These memories are called visual memory, hearing memory and motor memory. Each area in the cerebrum is responsible for different memory coded in different nerve cells. The information is transmitted via electrical current, which is the biochemical function of the brain. We can say that memory is a bridge between a molecule and intelligence through a mutually understood language that unlock the codes. In other words, memory is the function of intelligence starting from the molecular level to a cell, from a cell to the cerebral system and from the cerebral system to the function of intelligence.

The "nerve system" is a very intriguing message system. The "nerve cells" keep reflecting the contact of our body to the environment including vision, hearing, touch and compressed wavelength.

Dr. Eric R. Kandel, the Nobel price biological medicine winner in year 2000, discovered that the signals from these neurons are the same. The nerve signal from vision is the same as nerve signals from hearing and taste. The signals from sensory input into the nervous system are identical as those signals coming out from the muscles. Therefore, he pointed out that one main principle of the "cerebral function is that the message transmitted by the nerve is not determined by the message itself. But rather determined by the pathway of the message in the cerebral. The cerebrum analyzes and explains the transmitted message based on the specific nerve pathway, thus generating comprehension and actions".

To further explain this theory: Consider the Do tone of C major tunes in piano. The width of the frequency is about 1 meter and the width of each note is different. Music is composed of various notes. The ear nerve systems send these different widths of frequency down different pathways. Then these different pathways reflect an electrical wave form to let the cerebrum differentiate and enjoy the music. This is a very astonishing discovery.

"Memory" is processed by a neuronal network. There are about 100 trillion synapses interconnecting all these neurons. This represents the memory ability in the cerebrum. When one neuron cell dies the memory will automatically be transferred to another neuron thus saving the memory. This is called "redundant circuitry" in medical terms. Therefore it can be deduced that unless there is major brain damage in children with autism or learning disabilities, we do not need to worry whether or not there are enough brain cells. There are. What we need to worry is that how to achieve the highest efficiency from the existing neuronal synapses.

As research on "autism and learning disabilities" proceeds, scientists have reached a consensus that the culprit is due to insufficient integration of the brain. A new theory named the "underconnectivity theory" was jointly published by scholars at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh in 2004. This theory has received unanimous, international support.

In summary the report says:

1. Activity level in Wernicke's area in the cerebrum is much higher than in Broca's area for autistic children. Wernicke's area is responsible for understanding of specific word meaning in a sentence. This explains the fact that some autistic people have amazing ability to handle single words.
2. Boca's area is responsible for comprehension of the entire sentences. Due to lower activity in this area most autistic children have a hard time understanding complicated sentences.
3. Interconnectivity within the cortical language system is poor. This explains the inability of autistic people to handle integrated matters. This finding is consistent with other research in that autistic people have defects in the gray matter (neocortex) of the brain resulting in failure of the neuronal network.
4. Activity level of Occipitoparetal area is low. Consequently, autistic people have difficulty imaging the description of something by hearing the words. According to the underconnectivity theory, we can understand that one of the major symptoms of autism is loneness. Autistic people are unable to conduct normal social behavior which further limits their performance in other area of integration. The final conclusion of this theory is that they "hope to design most appropriate therapies based on their findings and hope that new medicine can be developed to treat autism". In other words, new findings have been discovered; however, no new treatments are in sight.

Regardless, these researches have positive significance. In the past experts and scholars searched for solutions in a variety of fields. On the surface their efforts appear to be isolated and irrelevant. In fact, the research forms a basis of background knowledge that can be likened to a sieve, the finer the mesh, the less likelihood of losing new knowledge. This background knowledge is like a frame work on which new knowledge can be placed. Eventually these pieces of knowledge, all put in the right places on the framework, create a new piece of knowledge. Knowledge is power. By continuously replenishing new knowledge and using a systematic analytical approach, new concepts are gradually being shaped.

The main topic of my presentation in the Bay Area in April, 2004 was "How To Improve Integration Of Brain Functions?" At that time this theory had not yet been published. Starting January 10, 2003 I began using the method to improve the capability of children with learning disabilities. In both in LA and the Bay Area there were many people that questioned my ideas. After the theory was published people began to understand and agree with my idea. This is a good illustration that new knowledge, published by large institutes, can bring agreement and consensus to the professionals and to lay people.

Before treating each child we conduct a detailed examination of the various brain functions using high tech equipment. We discovered that the brain functions are different from child to child. So far we have found no identical cases. In a way, this finding should not be surprising since there are no identical human beings. However, there are two common results: low energy level at the Hippocampus and the 39^th area of the brain.

The 39^th area of the brain is the neocortex located at the upper back are of the brain and is the most advanced portion in the brain. When the neocortex is injured it is very difficult for the patient to have imagination, memory, attention and self awareness. And it is typical that the person is unable to read, distinguish letters, spell, make computations and integrate sensory information. In simple words people lose intelligence when the 39^th area is damaged.

In 1989, Dr. Demon, then head of the Lawrence Labs of UC Berkeley, was asked to conduct a biopsy of Einstein's brain. He found that the 39^th area was exceptionally robust and contained large amount of "neuralgia cells". This is a very significant finding.

"Neuralgia cells" exist in all parts of brain. Their main function is to support metabolism of neuron cells. Neuralgia cells are called the "house-keeping" cells and neurons are called the "thinking cells". Neuralgia cells are the support troops for the neuron cells.

Dr. Demon found that the amount of neuron cells in the 39^th area of Einstein's brain was about the same as normal people. However the amount of neuralgia was much larger than in normal people. Because Einstein did a tremendous amount of thinking he needed large amounts of neuralgia to support his metabolism. It is clear that the famous scientist's neuralgia was exceptionally developed.

Later the Lawrence labs used animals to experimentally verify this theory. They found that the sixth branch of neuron cell synapses is obviously lengthened and more matured. This pointed to a new "direction" of thinking.

The major function of the limbic system is to determine the relevancy of each memory. It determines the memory's EQ (emotion quotient) then decides whether the memory is worth while storing or not. The limbic system contains the hippocampus and amygdala. The hippocampus determines non emotional information and the amygdala determines emotional information. If not for the presence of the hippocampus and amygdala to do the sieving and transporting new memory would not be generated and stored into long term memory.

The hippocampus specifically stores "book learning" and "sentence memory" while the amygdala handles emotional memory. Generally speaking, "children with autism and learning disabilities" have better emotional reaction than learning ability. Examination of more than ten special children indicates the function of the amygdala is better than the function of the hippocampus.

One time a parent told me that "his autistic child is high functioning and he could remember many parts of computer terminology or detailed map information". I knew at once that this child's limbic system had problems and his hippocampus and amygdala could not decide what relevant memory is. Instead, he had memorized lots of unorganized and irrelevant information. So, to me, there is no difference between high or low function in autism.

I have noted a common phenomenon in the children I have treated: the energy level of the entire cerebrum is relatively low. Let me further clarify. There is a limit of cerebral energy level for everyone, even ordinary people. Occasionally everyone feels tired, dizzy or cannot focus after long periods of hard thinking which causes low cerebral energy. Everyone needs sleep to let the cerebral rest and recharge. The brain needs sleep but sleep is not necessary for muscles. In fact, muscle tissue can restore energy after adequate resting.

After one day of cerebral work the energy level of the brain is low. When a person is very tired, is it possible to study for a PhD dissertation? Probably not. Except for unexpected and extremely intriguing events, what else can get your attention? Not much.

It has long been known that the most effective way to interrogate a prisoner is to deprive him of sleep. After a few days of continuous interrogation and sleep deprivation, the energy level of the cerebral is completely depleted and the prisoner will become disorientated, lose concentration and begin to babble away.

A child with autism or learning disabilities has a similar situation. His brain is constantly at a low energy level. Of course he appears to be indifferent to people and to his surroundings. He does not want to think, thinking is hard work, and he has a lack of attention. And, since information cannot be processed by his brain, he surely is unable to learn.

Because of the brain's plasticity, meaning the brain is capable of rejuvenating itself to some extent; it is possible that the damaged and insufficient portions can be restored to some level. As long as we can find the reasons, we can find the solutions.

To improve integration of various areas of the brain we need to start by improving the overall "biochemical" functions while simultaneously increasing the function of the brain, nervous system, endocrine system, circulation system and metabolism. Please refer to the second question in the Q&A section on the website for more details.

The first step to improve the quality and energy of the brain cells is to improve the circulation function of the capillaries. The circulation function of the capillaries is critical to everyone. The width of a capillary is about 2 nanometers (about 0.002 the width of a hair) and is easily clogged by insoluble proteins, or blood lipids.

When a capillary is congested, the oxygen and nutrient supply is cut off which leads to the death of its nerve cells. This is commonly known as a stroke. Almost everyone has this kind of a stroke but is unaware of the event.

As for clogging of the capillaries, I reviewed all relevant literature and found that only aluminum is known to potentially clog capillaries in the brain. Mercury does not block brain capillaries but, because of its high density, does congest kidney capillaries which damages kidney function. The Japanese eat large quantities of sea food, fish and crustations, which contains mercury. Subsequently, kidney damage among the Japanese is high. There is a theory that excessive heavy metals, such as lead, mercury and aluminum, which are detected in autistic of children, might be the cause of autism. But how can one explain that the same levels of metals can be found in normal persons?

The micro circuitry problems in an autistic's brain cannot be cured with modern medicines. And, surprisingly, the top ten causes for death are related to this problem. It is obvious that the first step to increase micro circuitry in the brain, improve brain biochemical functions and enhance the quality and energy of brain cells is to tackle this problem.

In an attempt to unravel this problem we designed a set of specific electrical frequencies and energy levels that can be introduced to the brain:

1. When this energy is transmitted to the body it generates a vibration, or oscillation, of the oxygen atom in the water molecule which produces energy in the form of heat. Common micro wave ovens work on the same physics principle: vibration of the oxygen atoms within the water molecule causes friction which releases energy as heat. At the same time the diameter of the capillaries increases to 140%. Vibrating the water molecule causes it to shrink and, because it is smaller and more energized, it carries oxygen in and out of the capillaries easier.
2. We use a set of specific electrical frequencies and energies to raise the energy level of the neuron cells and increase the interconnectivity of the neuron cell's dendrites.
3. These steps need to be done carefully and applied to the patient in various phases. Because each child has different needs, the procedures and phases will necessarily be different, for instance:

• Some children have a certain electrical energy at 7.8 Hz frequency applied to the central nerve system. This is the most stable frequency that can be used in the central nerve system and can reduce muscle intensity, increase immunity, lower cortisol production and increase blood flow to the brain by 25%.
• There is another specific energy and frequency that is transmitted into the limbic system to improve quality and energy of the hippocampus cells. This will restore short-term memory function, enable balanced secretion of the pituitary gland and enhance synthesis of actylcholine, dopamine and norepinephrine.

After the functionality of every area of the brain has been gradually improved we use another frequency to create a specific waveform that improves the interconnect deficiency in the neuron pathways.

The direction of treatment must be accurate and precise. The problem of autism and learning disabilities reside in the brain nervous system, endocrine system and circulation system. To treat the overall problem we start with the treatment of the brain.

The modern medical world is highly specialized and treatment of three systems, nerves, endocrine and circulation, belong to three different fields. Considerable is known about how to treat each of the systems independently, but not as an overall three part system. That is why there is no cure for autism and learning disabilities at the present time. The treatment methodology needs to be accurate. However, if we only have direction without methodology, everything is futile. Many treatments only provide direction without methodology. They circle around and end up at the same place from which they started, for example:

It only takes twelve hours to travel from Taiwan to the US in an airplane. Suppose I chose to swim to the US. I would not be able to do it no matter how much preparation was made beforehand. I may be confident of success. I may have all the equipment necessary for the trip, food, drinking water, a floating device and compass to guide me in the right direction. But the ¡¥direction' ends up being wishful thinking. Traveling by airplane is much simpler and more efficient, not to mention faster. It is leading edge technology that brings progress into our daily life.

The problems arising from the neuron system, micro circuitry, endocrine system and metabolism cannot be improved with the current treatments. The problem of autism and learning disabilities is complicated beyond the knowledge of the known treatments. You should know that if today's treatments were effective, there would be no problems with autism and learning disabilities. (Consider that after the Salk vaccine was invented and administered polio all but disappeared.) There would have been no need for Congress to pass a bill last spring providing a one billion dollar, 10-year research budget to work on issues of autism and learning disabilities. Even if promising results come out of this project 10 years from now, how old will your children be? What are you waiting for? You need to hurry up! Bring your child to the best brain expert and request him to do the most expensive and extensive testing on your child to figure out the problems. These children are racing with time; please do not waste their life.

Although the current treatments do not address the fundamental issues I think they can be integrated as supporting treatments.

BEP is not a fairy tale. A brain expert or a PhD in high energy physics can immediately understand what BEP is. Today we provide you with solid evidence and hope that future research can use this information as a basis for future systematic treatment research.

Currently, children with autism and learning disabilities are placed in some sort of special education system which pretty much lets them develop on their own. This has been criticized by many people. The goal of BEP is to improve these children. And the final target is for them to be ¡¥normal' like other children or even better than normal children.

New problems surfaced for those children who participated in BEP last year. The quality and energy of their brains improved and their intelligence level elevated. This created enhancements in various other areas. Memory, comprehension, attention and social ability increased. There is more and better social contact. However, there is a gap between their mental age and chronological age and it appears that age and mental age are incompatible.

These ¡¥over-aged' children now have a different starting point compared with normal children. They need new education content, education methods and new behavior training. For example: it takes about sixteen years for a normal person to complete schooling from elementary school to college. However, if a normal child were to study the same grade one material for 16 years, his level will remain at grade one level. He hasn't learned much. As an example, child #BEP04001 has made tremendous learning progress but the progress is uneven. He can solve computational problems compatible with his age group. However, he still needs to be in special education classes for problem solving. He has to catch up and learn what he should have learned at a younger age.

Besides that, because their learning ability has improved, these children quickly realize that the way their parents treat them has also changed. Previously they were praised for everything they did. Now their parents expect a lot more from them. These children are used to what it was like before. Now, all of sudden, they have to adjust themselves dramatically and also handle a larger amount of workload. This creates tension between the children and their parents and, rightly, the parents are very worried about this. No one can tell them how long this adjusting period will last. It simply has to be dealt with.

This last year I notice a mentality change in the mother of child # BEP04001. Her excitement over her child's improvements gradually diminished and she no longer makes comparisons between her child and other children. She knows that is not fair to her child. She begins to observe very carefully and tries to provide the best possible help for her child. However, education is the biggest problem. What child #BEP04001 needs now are new ways to teach him how to quickly adjust and learn. This is very difficult to implement because it is a fundamental problem for the education system. The mother of child #BEP04001 once consulted with an expert, a PhD in Education, at FCSN concerning the tension between her and her child. The expert told her that if the child still needs behavior modification after BEP, why bothers with BEP to begin with?

This answer was quite unexpected and shallow. Its like some one becomes ill and his doctor tells him not to bother with treatment because he will die eventually anyway. I personally think this expert has no clue about this problem at all.

When I started treating children with autism and learning disabilities three years ago many people got mad at me. They criticized me severely because they had never heard of this type of treatment. Some people even attacked me personally. I think there are two reasons why they are not happy with me:

1. A stranger suddenly enters this enclosed field without speaking the ¡¥common' language and with no background in autism and learning disabilities, but with different viewpoints.
2. These people were exhausted from all the work they did for their children. They had totally given up and did not believe there was any treatment that can help their children, especially any new and unheard of treatments. I can accept their doubts about my practice.

Three years have gone by since my involvement began in this area. Now, when the doubters witness the progress and see the outstanding performance made by many of the children undergoing BEP, they become more curious about BEP and become new friends of mine. Some of them even want to join me and help develop BEP.

In the last 50 years more progress has been made in understanding and treating autism and learning disabilities in than in the prior 500 years. And the last 5 years progress surpasses that made in the last 50 years. This means the past experience is not enough to evaluate the present let alone to evaluate the future. I am optimistic for the future of these children. I believe that even if I cannot accomplish it someone else will.

The parents of the children that participated in the BEP last year never give up on any treatment that can potentially help their children. After seeing significant the improvements from the BEP, they developed a website, on their own, to share their viewpoints and experiences with all parents of children with autism and learning disabilities. They spent four whole months organizing, designing and discussing every single word used in the website. Their perseverance touches me deeply. Let me end my talk with the article I wrote, Parent's Wish!

Thanks to everyone for helping set up the BEP web site.

Two days after Christmas in 2004, Spencer C., father of a boy undergoing BEP treatment (ID#BEP04007), suggested that a website be set up to share the BEP knowledge and experience with parents seeking help for their children with autism or learning disabilities. All parents in the room earnestly supported his idea. Spencer C. volunteered his technical knowledge to set up the website. This was a big commitment, causing him to work on the website day and night and every spare minute since he made the suggestion. The source of his determination and perseverance is a father's love for his son.

Shelly T. (mother of ID#BEP04013) also provided technological support for the website design and did some translation work. Priscilla M. (mother of ID#BEP04001) was responsible for coordinating all the work. She attended every detailed discussion to collect information, did some website design, edited the Chinese data, and did some translation work. Christine W. was responsible for typing and organizing the Chinese portion of the website. Karin L. (mother of ID#BEP04012), Helen T. and Lily H. helped translate some of the more technical documents. JS T. (mother of ID#BEP04011) did some translation and all final document reviews. Special thanks to Mr. Jon Drier, who did the final editing of the English translation. Many other parents offered their support to this website in various ways. Most of them have full-time jobs. With their children requiring special attention they often worked late into the night helping establish this website and they ask nothing in return.

One late night I called from L.A. to the San Francisco Bay Area to give them my regards while they were still in a meeting. They replied, "We are not setting up a website. We are giving out a new direction to all the children with learning disorders and autism."

This spirit of "seeing other children as my own children" is the noblest human nature. I salute them.