Colleen Bain was made aware of Processing and Cognitive Enhancement (PACE) through another mom whose child had a brain injury.  The results were so impressive with the child who went through PACE that Colleen began researching the program and after six months decided to become a provider and trainer.  Colleen hoped to help not only her own two children but many more children in her community. Today, Colleen currently coaches 8 students through 12-24 weeks of PACE and MTC. 

Mrs. Bain holds a Master's in Special Education and New Jersey State Certifications in Teaching Children with Disabilities and Elementary Education.  She has over 18 years of professional business experience. Mrs. Bain has basically homeschooled Shannon along side her public education, substituted in different school districts as replacement special educators and basic skills instructors.  She has worked with many children with special needs including, Asperger's, Autism, Learning Disabled (LD), ADHD, multiple disabilities, cognitively impaired and others.  Mrs. Bain understands that the child's disability does not define who they are and that the disability is a very small part of them.  With hard work and desire, the disabilities can be improved greatly to the point of appearing to be corrected through the building of new neural pathways alongside the injured or malfunctioning parts of the brain.  The brain is "trained" to use the new neural pathways to enable the student to function to their potential.

Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids is using PACE to help empower students and enable them to learn content and concepts that were once difficult to understand, internalize and retain.  Students are becoming active participates in the learning process and enjoying their everyday lives.

Why PACE is the Program of Choice for Enhanced Learning Skills for Kids

On April 25, 1998, Colleen and Thomas Bain rushed their 11 month old baby girl, Shannon, into Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  Shannon was sent there from her pediatrician after the doctor witnessed Shannon's eyes literally "dancing" around.  Shannon had a very bad cold, double ear infection and was starting to lose balance whenever she moved around. 

After being in C.H.O.P. for two weeks, the neurologist came in and informed Mrs. Bain that Shannon most likely had neuroblastoma.  The fact that Shannon's eyes were dancing around probably meant she also had Opsoclonus Myoclonus Syndrome (OMS).  The two usually pair together but the docs wouldn't know for sure until they found a tumor.  They did find a tumor after looking for two weeks and the tumor was quickly resected.

Colleen and Tom would later find out that the OMS was worse than the cancer itself.  Being a very rare disorder that impacts only a handful of children around the world each year, little was known about OMS other than it would cause a brain injury if not treated immediately.  Apparently, there were  only two doctors in the world, at this time, that were researching and studying OMS.  C.H.O.P. was privileged to have a doctor on staff that was familiar with OMS and had seen it a few times before Shannon.  They were quickly assigned to their first of many neuro-oncologists at C.H.O.P. 

OMS turned out to be an auto-immune disorder where Shannon's B and T cells (antibodies) were attacking her brain on a daily basis whenever she had a viral or bacterial infection.  The docs used immunosuppressant therapy to stop the attacks and successfully placed her "bad" antibodies into remission within three years of treatment.  However, Shannon's brain did suffer from injury but Colleen and Tom would not know the extent of the injury as OMS is thought to injury at the synaptic level.  In other words, even if Tom and Colleen requested a picture of Shannon's brain, the injury would not be visible because the injury is so deep within the brain.

Shannon was treated with speech, occupational and physical therapies immediately because the OMS completely stripped Shannon of all her learning skills.  Once able to speak, crawl, stand, sit and communicate as little ones do, Shannon was now held captive within a small body that lay lifeless unless she had great assistance from those around her. 

Shannon made great strides from the onset of OMS through the years to learn to sit, talk, walk, run and even ride a bike!  Her disability is considered a hidden disability because in most areas Shannon looks like any other girl her age.  However, once Shannon needs to use her learning (cognitive) skills to read, write and do math, Shannon then exhibits the impact of her brain injury.  Shannon is considered to have a Language Learning Disability - Mild that impacts her academically and in every day life.

Like every other parent of a child with disabilities, Colleen and Tom sought after every possible therapy that might "cure" Shannon's brain injury and allow her to learn to read, write and do math.  They did help Shannon compensate through individualized programs that worked her strengths and avoided her weaknesses.  At age 10, Shannon resided at about a first grade level in reading and beginning second grade level for math.  Shannon had no fluency in reading and could not do math mentally.  Tom and Colleen, like other parents, blamed the school.  They could not understand why the school was not "teaching" Shannon and  why they were not about to "close the academic gap".  Later, they would realize that the teachers were teaching but Shannon did not have adequate learning (cognitive) skills to internalize, retain, and retrieve new concepts or material.  Basically, if Colleen and Tom so chose, they could send Shannon to a tutor for help but they would always need the tutor.  The tutoring would never end unless they were able to get Shannon cognitive training to strengthen her learning (cognitive) skills.  Then, Shannon could go to a tutor for a limited time to close the academic gap. 

Colleen coached Shannon through PACE and is still working through Master the Code.  Shannon will be the first to tell you that PACE has helped her learn to read (fluency).  Shannon was able to read "Enjoy the Show" on the movie theatre screen the other day.  She screamed out I just read that all by myself!!  You'd think she just won 10 million dollars.  Her work with PACE is supporting her teachers and their efforts in helping her progress in her ability to read, write and do math and much more in her everyday life.   Shannon has a way to go yet and the important message for her to internalize is that she is perfect the way she is right now.  She is no "less" than others because she has an academic gap.