Ken Bryant “Paralysis Recovery Specialist”

Who is this Ken guy you ask? And what in the world is a PRS? Well, Ken Bryant is a self-proclaimed Paralysis Recovery Specialist. That sounds fancy, doesn’t it? I think that’s the point. While it sounds fancy, it doesn’t mean anything.

It’s not a degree or actual certification; he’s referring to his healing touch… and he charges $250 AN HOUR out-of-pocket just to experience that healing touch. Yes, he claims it’s a gift from God, and he cannot explain how he does it. He is a self-proclaimed miracle worker.

Let me rewind this story a bit. About a year ago, I read a post on an SCI group that inquired about this Ken Bryant guy, and if anyone had success working with him. The answers were fascinating. Claims of fraud, religious people saying it was a gift from God, and some actually claiming success were a few of the responses. I was intrigued as the comments kept rolling in. I had to figure out who this guy was.

I contacted him and asked if we could talk. After begging him to talk to me for nearly a month, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t going to happen, and my suspicions were confirmed by him saying “I don’t really do interviews.” I was really disappointed because I wanted to give him the chance to tell me what exactly it is that he does, right from the horse’s mouth. I guess you can’t expect to hear from the horse’s mouth, when you’re talking to an ass.

Upon further digging, according to his Linked-In he is a “neurological rehab therapist” who received a bachelors degree of science in Adaptive Education and Social Services from Northern Illinois University. There was no mention of any other physical therapy school, and he stated that he attended the NIU on his Facebook as well. I didn’t even know what “Adaptive Education” was, so I looked it up on the university website.

Is this a scam?

That’s when it started getting interesting. There was no bachelors program on Adaptive Education, only a Masters degree. Maybe they offered a bachelors back then, but when I asked Ken to confirm his education he got defensive. Even if they did offer that as a bachelors degree years ago, this is the program description:

“The Master of Science in Education degree in adapted physical education is designed for physical education teachers to learn the skills needed to deliver individualized and inclusive programs for children and young adults with special needs. This program prepares you to teach, assess students and develop programs for individualized educational programs as well as overall program development related to adapted or special physical education.“

The program is for teachers working with special needs kids! Not even adults! Keep in mind that this guy is offering physical therapy services to adult spinal cord injury patients, which he charges a pretty penny for.

I thought maybe his Linked-In was wrong, and maybe he was a Masters graduate, so I got on Florida’s Department of Health website which allows you to search for licensed individuals. AND THERE HE WAS! However, under the type of license, there was not a physical therapy license, just a massage license!

I continued my investigation, and came across his YouTube channel, which delivered pure gold. In a video titled, “Ken Bryant explains his program to reverse paralysis” he claims to “beat science.” The description of the video is, “Ken Bryant explains the difference between his program and other programs designed to find a cure for paralysis.”

There were also client interviews. One Mom wanted her 15 year old daughter to have every opportunity for recovery, but she was a public school teacher who couldn’t afford the $250/hour payment, so the Grandma paid for it.

The girl went to Ken for a week and got nothing more than a $2,500 bill. Then there was a surprise; he doesn’t charge if you’re under 12 years old. Well, that’s great, but if they want to continue after 12 years old, they had better pay up. There were multiple accounts of people spending thousands of dollars chasing hope and receiving no recovery.

One client told me that there was someone scheduled right before and right after them. Just do the math. Let’s say he has just four clients a week, on the low end he charges $2,500 per client per week and let’s say he takes seven weeks off a year… That’s $450,000 a year!

I have talked to some of the people that have paid him, and they’ve expressed the hardship they went through to see him. People borrowed, begged, and hustled in hopes of a miracle. When I asked him if he felt bad for taking their money when they didn’t recover, he ignored me.

Now don’t get me wrong, there are actual Ken Bryant supporters (but they’re much harder to find). I spoke to a few people who still liked him after working with him, but in my experience, after asking questions, it was because he was charming and made them feel good, not because he had healed them in any way.

They believed that they “have better balance“, but not that they had an actual recovery. I also found one woman who posted over a year ago that he was a miracle worker for her loved one, but after reaching out to her, she responded with “Sure, I think it’s a scam.”

I’m not one to base my thoughts on assumptions and an uneducated eye, so I got in contact with some well-known licensed therapists that work with spinal cord injuries, and they confirmed my suspicions. Due to the fact that they are so well known, I had to keep their information private for professional reasons.

They went on to explain that without isolating the muscle use, you can compensate with other working muscles (which Ken claims is a miracle). One therapist flat out called him a fraud, while another said he was committing highway robbery. Both had clients that had seen him previously, and they both had no recovery.

Then the biggest shocker, someone mentioned he was blind and that he had told her he could only see black shapes. He had a seeing eye dog and his assistant helped him. I was floored. In all of his YouTube videos he seems to be able to see just fine. I started asking around. One guy who saw him this year said he was definitely not blind.

Another woman mentioned that it had seemed fishy when he claimed to be blind, but would open the door to meet them outside, and also pointed out the color of her son’s shorts on multiple occasions. I’m not saying he’s lying, but I’m just confused.

I haven’t been able to get a straight answer on his claims. I’ve attached a few photos of him over the last year. In fact, that one of him driving the bumper cars was in July of 2017, the same time he told the Mom of one of his patients that he was blind.

I was only able to find one photo where he had a seeing eye dog that he walked on a leash, but for the rest of the photos, his eyes must have healed that day.

I pressed Ken for answers, but he would not speak to me other than a few short responses. One of those questions was to explain his process, and he said, “The ability to restore muscle control is a gift from God.” Somebody call CNN, we have a miracle!

Filing a Fraud Claim

“If you or a loved one has been defrauded by Ken Bryant, you have legal options. You can file in small claims court. For more information, click this link.”