MeRT for Treatment of Autism Testimonials and Reviews

Here are just some of the testimonials and reviews that we have received from parents or caretakers of patients with Autism who have been treated with MeRT and who experienced significant symptom improvement.

Autism – J. Her – Father and son from Korea

Flying over to the US from South Korea just to get MeRT treatment was not the easiest decision I had to make. But I definitely think it was one of the best decisions I have made for my child for his autism. I want to say that MeRT has changed my son’s life. I want to thank everyone who works at BTC Newport Beach! Dr. Kim was always very nice and kind to our family. She answered all of our questions, even the ones we thought it was too trivial to ask. 

All of the technicians at BTC Newport Beach were awesome. They were all very patient with my child, who is very sensitive and has a very low level of concentration, so that he could go through everyday’s therapy with no problem. I really felt like every technician truly cared about all the children who were there getting MeRT, and I personally think this is the most important aspect to consider when getting MeRT, because the staff are the ones that the children would interact with every day. Last, but not least, the patient care coordinators were very helpful with the schedules, documents, etc. They made our visit much more comfortable. Thank you all very much! 

I want to discuss how MeRT has helped my child. There are 3 major changes I have noticed about my child after 8 weeks of treatment.

First, the eye contact. Like most autistic kids, my child’s ability to keep eye contact was very poor. His eye contract would only last for seconds, so I had to keep asking him to look at me when I was talking to him. After the treatment, his eye contact lasts much longer, many times for the entire conversation. Not only does he look at me longer, but he really LOOKS at me.

Second, his awareness has improved. When I tried to talk to him before, he would mostly repeat what I had just said. After the treatment, he seems to better understand what I am saying to him. Now, he demands more, he is more insistent (in a good way), and he also uses many new words. Our communication is much more meaningful.

Last, he has improved in fine motor skills. My child did not show much interest in using pencils or scissors, because he simply could not use them very well. But now, he draws pictures and writes letters with different writing tools, and even cuts out complex shapes with scissors. 

MeRT did not cure my child. However, out of many different therapies I had for him for the past several years, this has been the most effective therapy by far which brought noticeable changes in a short period of time. I hope this testimonial   would help the parents who are considering MeRT for their child, and also wish that more autistic children can benefit from MeRT!” – J. Her 

Mother of 5-year-old daughter with Autism – April 3, 2024

Our experience at Brain Treatment Center – Newport was truly life-changing for our family. From the moment we stepped in, we were embraced like family. The decision to commit to treatment(s) wasn’t taken lightly; the cost and the impact on our daily lives (being 6 hours from our home) was a big factor. We ended up taking a leap of faith for our 5-year-old daughter struggling with autism-related challenges after exhaustive research. Our decision to go to BTC- Newport paid off beyond measure! Within just two weeks of treatment, we noticed significant improvements in our daughter’s behavior—extended eye contact, improved speech, and reduced nighttime struggles. By the end of the six-week program, her nighttime routine had transformed, and her overall happiness was noticely elevated. The progress didn’t stop there; even after returning home, her development continued, with milestones like asking to turn off the lights and sleeping in her own bed for the first time. The impact was so profound that we’re intending to return as a family for further treatment. Our experience with BTC and Mert has underscored the vital importance of prioritizing our brain health!” – Kristen H

Autism – Anonymous – 5-year-old girl – October ‘22

We have just finished our first round of MeRT therapy. Very worthwhile for us so far.

Gains so far – our 5 year old girl who already has great language capabilities but would often not respond at all to us (low receptivity), started becoming very outspoken about what is on her mind and giving us waaaay more insight into her thought processes and overall just way more responsive. I feel like I’m truly getting to know her for the first time. She has been able to have more patience (previously could not wait for us to finish a conversation to ask her question and would end up exploding), now she counts while waiting for her turn. She also is more easily taking turns with toys when sharing with friends and siblings. Her rigidity of thinking is very much down. She can now go with the flow much more and can be reasoned with if things don’t happen the same way as before or as she expected. She’s less picky with food, for example would previously eat a burger in each of its individual components but now eats it ‘combined’. There’s a heap more but these are the main ones. The only tricky thing has been increased agitation and minor hitting but that has since faded to zero. I think she had a lot of brain activity increase that might have caused her to feel overwhelmed temporarily.

Also, should say in addition to us parents, her Nana and uncles were taken aback by her responsiveness to them after our time away for the therapy. She would never say hello or goodbye and now says it all and engaged in back and forth conversation with them too.”

Autism – Daniel H. – 10-year-old girl

My 10 year old daughter just finished MERT.  Even though she is an older kid, the change in back of the brain was pretty significant and in the middle and front part, we see better alpha and lower theta and beta. I am good with the charts. How about in real life? We will see when she goes back to school next week. But we see better speech, more patience, better play time with her younger sister, and better understanding and follow up on directions given. Side effect? Didn’t see any headaches or anything. She got really “hangry” but after the last session, that is gone. The clinic explained that that is normal as the therapy is pushing the brain to work out, so she might have felt more hunger.”

Autism – Laura G. – September ‘23

My daughter was non-verbal before MeRT. We had MeRT August 14-September 8, 2023. She started repeating what I said (in Spanish) yesterday!  I can only credit MeRT for this!”

Autism – Anonymous – 5-year-old male – January ‘23

Before doing MeRT Therapy, I was very skeptical because I didn’t know how it would affect my son. We found out he was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 3. He was starting to regress severely. At the age of 5, he wouldn’t pay attention to his surroundings, wouldn’t react to his name being called, had no sense of awareness, no eye contact, became completely non-verbal, and had minor symptoms of ADHD.

My husband and I did a lot of research before starting and were really nervous to start. However, we can now say that we are glad we took that leap of faith. Our son is now making eye contact when we speak with him, has gotten his first haircut without crying, is starting to be verbal by saying words, repeating words back from his tablet, humming and slightly singing, and it truly feels good to hear his voice. His speech therapist says she is seeing much more progress compared to before and behavior has gotten way better in school.”

 

Autism – Roe L. – 5-year-old male

For us, MERT was life-changing! Our gains have continued over a year later! We look forward to doing it again! My son is less anxious, has a happy disposition, less rigidity, sensory issues, and more language.”

Autism – Brandi B. – March ‘23

Last day of MeRT! He had a six week treatment. Had great feedback from his teachers about how he is so more alert and engaged than they have ever seen him. Huge improvement in mood, much less irritated and his depression is gone after 4 yrs [of being depressed]! Benefits continue to come post treatment. I think in 3-4 months I will do another QEEG and track his post treatment.”

Autism – Anonymous – March ‘23

My kiddo is finishing up her last two weeks of treatment and I cannot be more excited about the gains/progress we have had in the last 6 weeks. She was very aggressive, high anxiety, no eye contact when talking. One to two words when communicating. Now we can have a relay back and forth conversation at least 3 times with a lot more words. No meltdowns. She has become more social with 

her sibling and peers at school. Better sleep hygiene. Independent with her hygiene morning routine and improvements in school. We will do maintenance at the end of the summer for 2-4 weeks.”

Autism – Anonymous – 3-year-old male – November ‘22

3 month post MERT, emotional regulation has improved dramatically.  I am able to take him out on my own.  Two of us went to the farm today as daddy was working and we enjoyed it.  Walked by himself the whole time, no running away from me, would not go too far from me and would come back to me when I called.

In the farm café, I even asked him to sit at the table looking after my bag and I went and got us a Coke,  he was aware and was holding my bag while remaining sitting and also looking at where I was to make sure I was in his sight (I was lining up at the counter to get the coke and he could see me from the table).

The whole thing would not be possible one month ago as he would just run away from us if he saw things he liked (not aware of danger).   He would just meltdown/run away if I insisted to hold his hand to stop him from running. He would lay down anywhere when having meltdowns even in the middle of traffic.  We would always go out with dad so if he started running into traffic daddy could pin him down.

We have seen so many gains, but his gains have grown slowly and gradually.  He just turned 4 in September.  He has always been a fast learner, but after treatment he has been smashing all of his goals with his therapy.

Good luck all the parents, hope is there”

 

Autism – Anonymous – Male – September ‘22

We did 6 weeks of MERT and last session finished last week. Major Gains we have seen:

– speech would be the biggest part, trying to describe things and trying to form sentences, his therapist is shocked how much he is talking now

– sleep, prior to Mert lots of  flipping around in the middle of the night, now no more flipping, he sleeps through the night for 10-12 hours (wow, I know )

– hyperactivity has reduced

– playing more games, stays in the same game for longer period of time

– trying more varieties of food, will ask to try new food.

Autism – Mother of 31=year old adult with ASD

This place is amazing. The people are wonderful. As a mother of a 31-year-old autistic son, this place has given me hope. My son is doing much better and we are excited about our future. Seeing changes in him that I only dreamed of. The staff is incredible. Thank you so much!” – Justin

Autism – Ashley – young adult

Watch Dina describe her daughter’s experience at the Brain Treatment Center in Newport Beach!