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Limbic LOVEThe Emphasis Project is on a mission to close the gap between Speech-Language Pathology, Neuroscience, & Mental Health, for the children AND the families served.
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Families & Children Benefitting from Limbic LOVE Have Been Affected by:
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The Limbic Lifeline Of Vital Emphasis (LOVE):
In children, targeting speech, language, and learning skills without identifying and addressing executive function weaknesses is like building a house with no foundation. Targeting executive function without addressing a dysfunctional limbic system is like the foundation being made from sand. And in families, raising a child with special needs with a chronically hijacked limbic system is like driving to a foreign land with no GPS system. Hence, the development of Limbic Love, for the children we serve AND their families.
How Can Limbic Dysfunction Present Itself (leading to Executive Dysfunction)?
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Speech-Pathology & The Limbic System
The Limbic Love approach began when we acquired an ever-evolving specialization in identifying and supporting executive dysfunction, with a particular focus on ADHD, learning differences, and trauma-informed care. Our executive function system is the maestro to the cognitive orchestra and is positioned above the limbic system (the emotional/behavioral brain). It's the system that enables us to perceive our environment, sustain attention, inhibit our responses, use our verbal and nonverbal working memory, monitor and correct our actions, shift our thinking, stop or transition an activity, plan and pace ourselves, and a whole host of other critical cognitive skills.
As Brandy Storck came to understand her own childhood trauma and the effect it had on her learning and social/emotional experiences throughout academia, as well as the false beliefs it created that were carried over into adulthood, she realized that the work she did in helping children establish new pathways in the prefrontal cortex was only as effective as her functional understanding of the health of the limbic system operating below it.
She also realized that the information, education, and understanding supporting this connection across fields, and amongst the general public, was painfully limited, to the detriment of optimal, wholistic child development. She is on a mission to close the gap between Speech-Language Pathology, Neuroscience, and Mental Health, and not just for the children served. In adding a functional and ever-evolving understanding of the limbic system to her treatment planning, she came to realize that the limbic system cannot be overlooked when developing best practice for her clients AND their families. In fact, when warranted, it should be embraced and healed in delivering best practice for cognitive habilitation.
As Brandy Storck came to understand her own childhood trauma and the effect it had on her learning and social/emotional experiences throughout academia, as well as the false beliefs it created that were carried over into adulthood, she realized that the work she did in helping children establish new pathways in the prefrontal cortex was only as effective as her functional understanding of the health of the limbic system operating below it.
She also realized that the information, education, and understanding supporting this connection across fields, and amongst the general public, was painfully limited, to the detriment of optimal, wholistic child development. She is on a mission to close the gap between Speech-Language Pathology, Neuroscience, and Mental Health, and not just for the children served. In adding a functional and ever-evolving understanding of the limbic system to her treatment planning, she came to realize that the limbic system cannot be overlooked when developing best practice for her clients AND their families. In fact, when warranted, it should be embraced and healed in delivering best practice for cognitive habilitation.
What is Limbic Love? |
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Created by Brandy N. Storck, MS CCC-SLP/L, LSLS Cert. AVT, Limbic Love is, both, a wholistic treatment plan in supporting Listening, Language, and Learning as well as a collaborative of carefully selected professionals and services supporting the full scope of presenting needs in the family. A merger of Speech-Language Pathology, Neuroscience, & Mental Health. The mental health needs of children AND families of children with special needs have been chronically unsupported or, at best, sparingly supported. We seek to include that piece, with creative and wholistic strategies and resources, in developing best practice for the families and children we serve and beyond.
How Did Limbic Love Get Its Name?
When we hear "cardiac" we know its referencing our heart. When we hear "pulmonary" we know its referencing our lungs. We hear "limbic" and most find ourselves Googling the word, despite the fact that it's the system largely responsible for our emotional, behavioral, and mental quality of life. A system whose health governs the optimal functioning of the higher-level brain functions of language, learning, memory, reasoning, decision-making, and intelligence. In children, targeting speech, language, and learning skills without identifying and addressing executive function weaknesses is like building a house with no foundation. Targeting executive function without addressing a dysfunctional limbic system is like the foundation being made from sand. And in families, raising a child with special needs with a chronically hijacked limbic system is like driving to a foreign land with no GPS system. Hence, the development of Limbic Love, for the children we serve AND their families.
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Limbic Loving the Child |
The prefrontal cortex (where executive functions reside and govern all learning and development) is incredibly malleable to effective therapy strategies, yet also highly vulnerable to going "offline" in the presence of limbic system dysfunction (essentially chronic/toxic stress and/or trauma). Chronic/toxic stress and trauma in a child isn't always what you might consider.
Unresolved toxic/chronic stress and trauma have the potential to change your child's brain chemistry, brain anatomy, and even gene expression, which can lead to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, physical, and mental health. Effective cognitive habilitation is highly dependent on the emotional health and healing of the child.
- Poor communication skills, limited social skills, and learning difficulties can all become chronic stressors.
- Social/emotional/physical bullying and/or rejection/exclusion can all become toxic stress and even trauma.
- Poor attention and inhibition can lead to increased disciplinary measures from misinformed educators or caregivers resulting in chronic stress.
- Adoption, even at birth, into the most loving and secure family environments is still processed in the brain as trauma.
- Trauma a mother experienced during, and even after, her pregnancy can be stored in a child's limbic system as trauma.
- Medical trauma an infant experienced during or immediately after birth can be stored in the limbic system as trauma.
- Medical interventions and surgeries can be stored in a child's limbic system as trauma.
Unresolved toxic/chronic stress and trauma have the potential to change your child's brain chemistry, brain anatomy, and even gene expression, which can lead to lifelong problems in learning, behavior, physical, and mental health. Effective cognitive habilitation is highly dependent on the emotional health and healing of the child.
Limbic Loving the Family |
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In addition to the limbic system challenges a child may be facing, raising and nurturing a child with special needs can present significant emotional and physical stress for the family as well. In fact, learning a child presents with a special need can be a trauma in and of itself; one that frequently goes unaddressed as the caregivers tend to the ongoing needs of the child. When the emotional needs of the caregivers go unsupported as they navigate their child's journey, it can have a negative impact on the efficacy of the therapies and educational supports provided to the child as well as on their own mental and physical health.
Additionally, when children present with various learning differences and special needs, emotional regulation is frequently affected as well. This can lead to the caregivers experiencing their own emotional dysregulation in caring for them. And because of the power of mirror neurons and the brain chemistry of attachment dynamics, this, in turn, causes their child to further dysregulate, thus entering a cyclical reciprocity of limbic dysfunction in the child AND the caregivers. The Emphasis Project aims to end that cycle by creating Limbic Love: A Whole Brain, Whole Child, Whole Family Approach.
Additionally, when children present with various learning differences and special needs, emotional regulation is frequently affected as well. This can lead to the caregivers experiencing their own emotional dysregulation in caring for them. And because of the power of mirror neurons and the brain chemistry of attachment dynamics, this, in turn, causes their child to further dysregulate, thus entering a cyclical reciprocity of limbic dysfunction in the child AND the caregivers. The Emphasis Project aims to end that cycle by creating Limbic Love: A Whole Brain, Whole Child, Whole Family Approach.
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Limbic Love:
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Each of the services below offers evidence-based practices in supporting the development of the whole child and/or family. Brandy will discuss the role each plays in supporting your child's unique needs during your sessions and help you decide when the addition of a service would be beneficial in meeting the goals of your family and child.
A Glimpse at the Science Behind Limbic Love
Addasu Family Chiropractic
Dr. Kevin Powell
Dr. Kevin Powell is honored to serve Williamson County as a Pediatric Chiropractor. He is native to Tennessee having been born and raised in Memphis, TN, where he was very active as a youth. Growing up, Dr. Kevin’s passion for healthcare came following his father around handling acute injuries as an athletic trainer and preventive conditioning as a personal trainer. A combination of the two led to him finding Chiropractic Care where he fell in love with the non-medical, non-surgical form of healthcare. Dr. Kevin received his Bachelors in Human Biology from Logan University and continued his education to earn his Doctorate in Chiropractic upon graduating in August of 2019. During his time at Logan, he was given the opportunity to serve with the largest chiropractic practice in Northern, OH. Following graduation, he was offered a position with the largest pediatric practice here in Middle Tennessee. These two opportunities allowed Dr. Kevin to serve hundreds of families on their road to a healthy life. Dr. Kevin, and his wife Ashley, are now excited to welcome you into their very own practice, as a member of the Addasu Family Chiropractic community. Addasu’s specialty in pediatric care is what truly sets it apart. Achieving incredible results from fussy colicky infants, to constantly sick kids, to sensory and spectrum challenges. |
Music City Family Therapy
Stacy Jagger, LMFT, RPT-S
Founder, Clinical Director Brandy approached Stacy about aligning services in seeking to close the gap between the fields of neuroscience, mental health, and speech-language pathology. The knowledge base and treatment philosophies of both practices revealed a synergetic match made in cognitive developmental heaven and a shared passion to support the entirety of the family unit. Stacy Jagger is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S), as well as an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. She is a mother of four, guest speaker, author, and mentor. A native of Nashville, Stacy is the founder and clinical director of Music City Family Therapy – a unique counseling practice serving Greater Nashville that specializes in integrating play and expressive arts therapies for children, individuals, and families. Music City Family Therapy utilizes a systemic, whole family approach to helping clients heal from disconnection, depression, anxiety, trauma, behavioral problems, divorce, addiction, and alcoholism. Stacy is the creator of Stacy Jagger’s Mountain Method™ – a proprietary experiential family therapy treatment process designed to help children, individuals and families heal, grow, and thrive. Stacy enjoys designing programs and products for the family, including her parent-child bonding program, Music with Mommie, and her highly effective Magic Mats communication tool that can be used as a resource for conflict resolution and connecting conversations in any relationship. She is the owner of The Little House at Sunnybrook Farm, an inspired retreat location in Columbia, TN. Stacy is on a mission to restore wonder to childhood, connection to families, and intimacy to relationships. Drawing on a decade of experience in treating and helping families, she integrates lessons from her own trauma history and offers hope to those who feel there is no hope. She enjoys growing flowers, writing songs and ballroom dancing. She has appeared on Nashville’s Talk of the Town, has written numerous articles for parents, has been featured as a child expert on the morning and evening news and is a regular guest on the local NBC affiliate show Today in Nashville. Stacy is a guest speaker for universities, churches and conferences, and enjoys offering clinical trainings and consultation for family therapists across the country. |
Bespoke
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