Lynette Louise

Born in Calgary, Alberta (Canada) in 1957, Lynette Louise left school at 15, married and had two children before turning 20. By the time she was 29, she had adopted four toddlers, all boys with varying degrees of autism. Along the way, she added two troubled teenage girls to the mix, one with learning disabilities, completing the family with eight children in all. The story of how these children not only survived but flourished is a testament to Lynette's persistence, unconventional approaches, and steadfast love. A major turning point came when Lynette moved the family to a shelter after discovering that her third husband had destroyed their marriage of ten years by molesting one of her biological daughters. Following this painful episode, Lynette worked an array of odd jobs - everything from mail carrier to advice columnist - in order to support the children as a single parent. But she kept returning to her first love; the theatre. Throughout the years, Lynette has performed stand-up (winning the title of Toronto's funniest comedian in 1990), landed parts in several movies, and even hosted a weekly television cooking show on Canada's Life Network. She also independently produced comedy and music shows, turning the family into a traveling theatre troupe. In the early 1990s she wrote, produced, and performed Behind Bars, a musical show that toured prisons in Canada and the United States. In the pursuit of helping her children, Lynette relocated to the United States in 1996. Today as young-adults, all of Lynette's children function independently except for Dar (26), who continues to live with her. In addition to self-education and first-hand experience, Lynette became certified as a child facilitator by the Autism Treatment Center of America and as a neurofeedback practitioner, studying with leaders in the field, including Catherine Rule of Northampton, Massachusetts and Dr. Harold Burke of Westlake, California. In 2004 Lynette founded the Brain and Body Clinic, a treatment center for autism and other brain disorders using neurofeedback, a therapy that improves functioning by training individuals to control their own brainwave activity. Although based in Santa Monica, California, Lynette works on site with clients and their families all over the world. Lynnette is currently (2008) performing around the country in her one-woman play Thing To Thing To Thing - From Crazy To Sane With Biofeedback, Autism And The Brain. Full of funny, heartbreaking, and triumphant stories drawn from her life, the show is a composite of monologues, brain science, and music during which Lynette recounts her 20-year search for ways to help her special needs children develop into independent adults.