Archive for the ‘Disruptive Behavior’ Category

                                               TWICE HIT, ONCE BITTEN 

When a child has a learning issue (ADD,  ADHD,  Dyslexia, Developmental Delay, Downs syndrome, mental challenges), they are hit by a one-two punch.

First, there is the difficulty in engaging with the subject matter that is being presented to them.  School is not the first place this has been noticed, by the way.  Parents typically have been dealing with a child that can’t follow directions, remember or retain information they’ve been given, show signs of disorganization in their thinking and play habits, don’t comprehend many concepts, and habitually looses stuff!  Unfortunately, many parents think, “Oh that’s just (name). They’ve been like that since they were little. They’re always in trouble, because they just don’t listen, or are never careful about anything!”  So, this child’s frustrating patterns have been logged into the parents awareness, but most will just dismiss it as the “child” not conforming, and most parents just deal and accommodate the situation.  Few, unfortunately, have a clue that there is a rather simple, natural solution to what the entire family is struggling with by now.

The second punch is the debilitating slow erosion of the child’s self confidence in him or herself, the loss of curiosity and interest in the world around them, the anxious frustration that often times get turned inward to self-loathing which leads to very self-distructive behavior as they approach their teens and beyond.  Is it any wonder 80-85 percent of the inmates in prison have learning disabilities?

THE SOLUTION

Little Giant Steps has been treating thousands of children, teens and adults.  Please for the sake of your child, yourself, and both of your future, read about the Neurodevelopmental Approach.  Read the Learning Disabilites article, as well.  Investigate, Learn, and set your child free!  There is affordable help now.  See all about the professional evaluations and the in-home programs!

Learning Difficulties Can Be Resolved

At this time of year many of us are looking for the right costume for Halloween.  Children get very excited about “what they’re going to be this year”.  At our house, it looks like the “Caveman” costume will prevail.

As I think about children dawning masks and disguises, I immediately think about those daily challenges children with learning issues hide or cover up.  #Little Giant Steps#, a neuro-educational consulting group, is all about eliminating the need for children, teens or adults to wear a disguise about what they are able to learn or understand. In fact, there is a name for this behavior of “covering up”.  It’s called “Coping and Compensating”. 

Relying On Coping and Compensating Is Always Second Best.

There are programs out there, many grace the halls of our educational systems, that only teach coping and compensating.  Unfortunately, that is not the best solution for us today, in light of the research and developments concerning the function of the brain and body and how most learning issues can be eliminated if we address the root cause of the problem.  When I say root cause, I am talking about the symptoms that the individual displays.  How do you think our society decides on the diagnosis of learning issues? By looking at the symptoms.  Now the big brave question is; “Can these symptoms be treated at the source”?  Where’s the source? In the brain. Yes, they can and have been addressed through the Little Giant Steps Neuro-Educational Program quite easily, because we are talking about the root cause of our functional abilities, which is reflected by what happened to us as infants with our early steps of development.

What Intervention Is The Best? 

What #Little Giant Steps# has seen over the years is by utilizing the feature of the brain called “plasticity,” specific stimulating activities that mimic early developmental steps and stages can, in fact, cause the brain to become organized at the most primitive levels of the brain (the pons) and can also positively effect the mid-brain.  It allows the brain to create many new connections not only within the brain itself (that have been delayed in developing for a variety of reasons), but also establishes effective and efficient communication neuro-pathways (connections) between the brain and body. Our programs have been likened by our clients in this way, “It’s like going from a dial-up connection to high speed connections on the Internet.”  

#Little Giant Steps’# intervention methods are totally natural, no drug therapy needed, allows the areas of dysfunction and deficiency to heal or change and develop into what God had originally intended.  When a child, teen or adult reaches their appropriate level of function or grade level, the individual graduates from the program. The assist (completed development) that was needed to get the “connections” functioning properly has set the course for even more complete and total developmentally functioning brain and body are in order, as was designed by the Master of Creation.

Please see part of the thousands of children we’ve helped to become whole and reach their full God-given potential by viewing the results of our testing them on Math, Word Recognition and Comprehension.  All programs are done at ones convenience at home with parents, siblings, or (if a family prefers) with a tutor trained by Little Giant Steps.  We’ve made the whole process easy, convenient, and while you may be busy for a time, there comes a time when you’ll see your child (or maybe yourself) making progress in academics, coordination, behavior, conceptual abilities, and most important ~ you’ll see an individual who has mastered his or her abilities and now approaches the world with a healthy curiosity, and confidence to seek and enjoy the many mysteries of life and learning.  The need to disguise, mis-direct, act out, or create distractions are no longer needed. The coping and compensating that drains energy disappears. Life does not need a mask any longer.  And, as one little boy who was on program for the #symptoms of dyslexia# told his father, “Dad, I don’t have dyslexia anymore.  I’m over it!”  Now, the whole family has a new outlook on life, as what he said was true.  He no longer is required to struggle. In fact, he’s functioning above grade level! He is functioning with neuro-efficiency!  His mind and body were now working in unison, the way God intended.  It’s all a matter of  fixing developmental function for those at Little Giant Steps, and it’s the best life-long answer!

P.S. Please check out our Professional Programs and our At-Home Programs : “#Developmental Foundations# or pre-school: “#Early Learning Foundations#” . If math is the problem, see “#Rapid Recall System#” ~ you may what to check out the research done in public & private schools on this one! It’s amazing!  OH!  I almost forgot those of us over 18:  #Memory & Motion #.  God bless!

Setting Up An Academic Foundation Is Essential

Can you imagine building a structure such as this one, pictured on the right, if you didn’t pay attention to the foundation?  Like anything functional, there must be a logical approach to the beginning of  building a skill set.  God, in his infinite wisdom, created us to have a period of building that lasts our entire lifetime. He also provided a way to set that building process up, and it is called development.  There are natural rules that must be followed in order to have optimum development. Little Giant Steps builds solid foundations upon which the academic lives, successful thinking and living will be built. We are game-changers for those who missed some of those developmental steps, regardless of the reason for it. We are neuro-foundation specialists!

The Foundation Has Massive Wiring

The brain and body must function efficiently together through solid and massive connections in order for us to establish the foundation upon which our five senses are developed and vast functions are built. Our thinking , remembering, and expression of the world and all the experiences we encounter rests on the learning foundations that began on the day we are born and continues throughout our lives.  What science has confirmed with the availability of brain scanning technology, is that function can be restored through the use of brain-based stimulation that does, in fact, create new neuro-pathways and can eliminate the symptoms of learning disabilities by “developing” a stronger and bigger foundation with strong and vital connections. The brain is 97% connections and 3% cell bodies. When there is trauma, deprivation of stimulation, absence of activities that produce the required developmental cues for normal growth and development; we result in having gaps – unseen gaps in our abilities to function successfully in the academic setting or in learning.

What Does Little Giant Steps Do?

Essentially, we are foundation builders.  When a child is struggling with learning, or is noticed to be slightly off the normal developmental track, parents notice.  In school, teachers notice, but no one typically is quite sure what to do about it.  If more people would know that these deficits can typically be easily remedied; they’d do something about it.  It is my hope and prayer that more people will hear our message and will be encouraged to investigate the Neuro-Educational Approach.  It’s a natural way to intervene in problems areas.  No drugs are needed, because we work with what God created ~ the neuro-plasticity of the brain. Our articles are an excellent resource to start in learning, gaining skills, and most importantly, to do something to help your child.  Read them, please.  We also have DVDs if you prefer to learn from videos on our store..

If A Child Shows These Signs, Then Let’s Get Their Problem Solved

• Is your child seems smart, but can’t seem to be successful in school?
• Are you seeing inconsistent recall from a “bright” child?
• Does your child seem to know something one day, but not the next?
• Is he or she able to carry out directions without getting all confused?
• Is your child messy and seems not to have any sense of organization?
• Does your child consistently do things but rarely completes them or even knows they are incomplete?
• Does your child lack logical thinking ability?
• Is your child unable to stay on task?

There are many signs and symptoms that goes along with a disorganized brain, low processing ability (auditory & visual), and mixed dominance.  These are the things we can fix by addressing the foundational dysfunction.  To see how we go about doing that please check out our evaluation services and read the articles: “Learning Disabilities” and The Neurodevelopmental Approach.  Then look at the positive results of our programs in the lives of many children and their families.

Stop the struggling.  Investigate our approach to solving their dilemma. Set them free so they and you can discover their true potential.  It’s there, but the wiring is not quite working efficiently. Little Giant Steps can fix that. 

 It all started when a mom of an autistic daughter decided this:

“It is my heart’s desire to encourage others as a family to directly affect their children and their children’s future.  After all, we all start out as children and all end up as adults.  Other recent events in our family have taught us that the best thing we can do is to “pay it forward” in all we do.  As you get older you see all the times God has used someone to move you forward and I just want to do the same for others.”  Kimberly, Amy’s mom.

What The Neuro-Educational Approach Has Brought About

“I am still singing Little Giant Steps praises to family and friends and loving what we see happening in Amy’s life and consequently as a whole family.  Two things happened just on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  One was a “twilight zone” type of experience  with a neighbor’s dog.  While walking by on just a daily walk I realized, “ Oh, the neighbor’s dog is here wanting to play with our dog.”  Their garage door was open, no one was answering the door, then I made the connection that it was the time of day for her to be at the bus stop, etc.  So we just waited ‘til they came home (it was a wee bit crazier than this brief descript…) but through it all Amy stayed calm, followed directions, met the other kids without any fears, and when I told her okay lets go on with our walk she came right to me without lashing out!  This was the first time I felt a “normal” feeling (I think ever) with her!  And I’m not exaggerating.  It hit me when we got home how what could have been disastrous and totally exhausting for me was “a piece of cake!” 

Then yesterday we realized our doggy had a cut on one of her pads.  Two part (Praise The Lord):  I had the energy to want to take both girls and go alone to the vet and both girls where wonderful.  I didn’t have Amy sliding on the floor, twirling away, fighting against me to go “look” at something and they were quiet little “audience” members while in the exam room. 

We Don’t Need To Be Perfect To Get Results

Now, we missed program yesterday; mom didn’t have it all together or the energy to do both yet!  But what this said to me is if just getting through the neurodevelopment part of our Individual Neurodevelopmental Program (INP) once was turning out these results then  how I long to get to everything twice!  So the prayer request becomes Lord grant me the strength and give both girls the desire to get to the frequency and duration of our program.” 

Raising an autistic child can be an exhausting, frustrating, demanding, and “testing to your limits” experience.  Please read the the experience of other parents who are learning how to make a difference in their autistic child’s life through natural brain-based techniques. They have worked and triumphed by utilizing the Neurodevelopmental Approach, an approach that is loving, kind, fun and effective.  God bless!

Hearing Is Believing

Some of us need to have those professionals who are in the thick of the solutions in school let us know the truth about possibilities and potentials of programs for our children.  Little Giant Steps has been creating multi-sensory Neuro-Educational Programs for 20 years. Why? Because we are in and have been in a slow decline in our children’s learning abilities.  In fact, we actually are experiencing an epidemic within the U.S.  The ranking of our national academic scores is in 9th place worldwide!  What happened?  Our society has changed from an auditory society (listening to people talking, high verbal interactions several times a day with family, gaining instructions verbally) to a visual society.  The rub comes in the fact humans are set up neurologically to retain short term memory via our auditory system. Each person’s auditory processing ability has a global affect on their lives and functional capabilities.  Auditory processing is vital for picking up on social cues, following conversation, reading comprehension skills, following directions, attending, ability to read with a phonetic approach and many other skills needed to be successful in school and life.  For instance, behavior is greatly influenced by one’s auditory functioning.  If you have a 12 year old who is functioning (processing) on a 4 or 5 year old level, he is developmentally more like a 4-5 year old. He will be socially more immature, getting along better with younger children and interrupting conversations so that he won’t forget what he wants to say, because he has trouble retaining information in his short term memory. (We have free auditory test kits so you can check your child.)

Look, Listen and Learn

I would invite you to view videos from a school as to what an impact our programs have made in their students lives.  First let me introduce Liz Sweet, Dean of Curriculum.  She has insights you will enjoy hearing that reflect their school’s results and responses to the Little Giant Steps Neuro-Educational Programs.   Next, listen to the principal’s remarks.  Now let’s drop into a classroom taking their 2 min. speed test.  Why are the children excited?  Because it’s always a confidence builder when you get the answers right!  Once these children have mastered (integrated these math facts into their brains) they will have rapid recall for a lifetime.  Now that’s exciting whether you are a student or a student’s parent!

 There are two kinds of people… 

 There are those who are always skeptical and really don’t believe in much outside themselves.  What they don’t know about is outside their realm of tolerance in many cases.  Then there is the other individual who is a believer, and their biggest cross to bear is being discerning enough to keep their life on track with their faith and beliefs.

I must say we see both kinds of individuals.  Some time it is the wife who is the believer, and often will notice and recognize things are NOT  going quite right for her child. Then, we often see the husband a true skeptic.  What I have noticed is that when a child is struggling with school, often times it is seen by the skeptic that his or her child is just misbehaving or hasn’t developed a good ethic and is seen as lazy or disobedient.  Being a mother, having worked as a nurse therapist with children and family services, I’m still astonished that at the root of many of these father’s perception of the situation lies in denial, “There is nothing wrong with my child.”   Regardless of which which your propensity seems to be, your child will change in relation to the parent stepping back, and looking objectively at their children when they’re struggling in school.  Expect lots of questions to be asked and answered as you seek out what’s happening.

How Do We Find A Way To Help Everyone In The Family?

A few things are important at the outset: 

First, we must agree if your child is struggling in school, failing to remember from one day to the next things he knew, seems disorganized in thinking, doing chores, is super emotional and melt-downs are a part of his/her M.O., and is having  bad days associated with learning new things; it makes sense to me to look at the root causes. Our brains come into this world in a pretty under-developed state.  God made us that way so we can get our brains and bodies efficiently wired neurologically during those early years as random movements signal the brain where the arms and legs are, then with each month that refinement of functional movement improves, and helps to develop sight, focusing abilities, and on down the line our language skills become a useful tool for us. Each year of a toddler, is an act of refining the neuro-pathways, mind/body interaction, organizing the brain, and preparing children for learning from experiences.  We are very complex creatures! 

Secondly, we want each parent to fully investigate resourcesavailable for children with learning issues. It doesn’t matter whether your child is gifted, typical, or challenged.  Anyone (child, teen, adult) can all have a gap in their developmentthat renders them helpless in some learning environments.  See these test results of many of the children we’ve worked with over the past twenty years.  Then look at the test results of the work we’ve done in schools these past few years.

Third, when you find a methodology, or resource that makes sense to you pursue it with all your heart, mind and soul. You hold the keys to your child’s academic future.  Gain as much knowledge as possible.  That is why Little Giant Steps has provided free articles that contain enough information if you studied what has been set before you, there is enough information to help your child in the next 4 months! 

Fourthly, parents must commit to solving this problem with their child.  Our intervention is natural, no drugs, it will cost you some time, and if you were to check our costs verses some of these other “learning programs” on the market today, you will see we have a mission first to God. We make our services available and priced so home-school families can participate.   No one knows your child better than you.  Only a parent has enough compassion to look beyond the bad behavior to seek something new and effective. Only a parent will hear from his/her child’s heart what the daily toll  of being unable to learn (even some simple things) costs your child day after day and basically feeling like are a failure.  Often these children will drift along until a real crisis come up and then we’ll see parents begin to mobilize.  If your child is better, your life will become amazing and wonderful, as well.

How do we give parents the ability to look at a “root cause”? 

Like so many of our “Neurodevelopmental and Neuro-Educational Programs,” it’s simple. If you can follow directions, work with your child daily for a short time in their lives, you can literally begin to see their full academic, reasoning, and curiosity potential emerge.  Where do we recommend you start?

• 1. Order An Auditory and Visual Test Kit. Read all the benefits and when you give your child these two tests you’ll see and know their processing abilities and whether  they are functioning up to grade level.  It takes two minutes each.

 2. Read All The Articles.  Not only will you gain knowledge, but you will soon understand our Neurodevelopmental Approach, Philosophy and Methodology.If you are looking for an answer, we have the solution.  Oh, and don’t forget to read about our services in “Evaluation Overview“     If an “At-Home Program” appeals more to you than a professional evaluation, the check out our curriculum.  There are two complete programs Jan Bedell, The Brain Coach, has created for different age groups. These kits have access to our online resources available we use with our client Early Learning Foundations (ages 2 – 5, and good for those challenged). For students (from first grade through college) The Brain Coach create Learning Foundations.  These are rich in instruction, optional ways to complete the activities (some on the computer, some done with the parent).  If you decide you recognize your child needs more professional help…. there is even a discount coupon enclosed!

3. Stick With The Program Until They Achieve Freedom From Their Learning Disability.  We work with our students on one program for four months, then re-evaluate and adjust the activities based on what the child need.  One thing that always makes me smile when parents who’ve worked diligently with their kids and they discover that for ever four months on the program, the child has come up one full school year.  One mother just used recommendations from one of our seminars she’d attended. When she began to talk to me about the success she’d experienced with her 7 year old son, her eyes welled up with tears.  She said, “He was such a disruptor everywhere he went. He couldn’t sit still, learn what was being taught at school, or anything.  I listened and took notes while Jan (The Brain Coach) gave a seminar about the Neurodevelopment Approach.  I went home and started doing what Jan had told me to do twice a day 5 days a week  for two minutes.  It’s been four months and he’s like a different child. He’s compliant, gone is all the disruptive behavior, and most important was he had seemed like a little kid that hated himself…..no confidence, difficult to communicate with….  Now, he’s excited about learning. His curiosity about things outside himself haveexpanded immensely!  Finally, we have the son we always knew was there.  Little Giant Steps just had to help us discover him and discard the learning issues.”   

 Smile!  I am so glad I write this blog as a part of my daily act!  There are so many stories from parents who found “this right answer”.  I thank God it’s something I witness each and every day!  Now, go get’em tiger.

 It’s Education, Not Medical

Jan Bedell, The Brain Coach

 Little Giant Steps has been providing children, teens, adults, head injury victims and learning disabled individuals with Neuro-Educational Programs for two decades.  Jan Bedell, M.Ed, M. ND. (The Brain Coach) founded this faith-based educational consulting and training service as a result of her desire to find a way to help her daughter.  After seeing such remarkable results in her daughter’s abilties following a Educational Neurodevelopmental Program, she stopped teaching and became certified as a Neuro-Educational Specialist.  Since then she’s helped thousands discover their full God-given potential and know freedom from anxiety and frustration in learning situations.

The Neurodevelopmental Approach is a methodology of education, not a medical model. This approach has been around for forty-some years. It was born out of the need to help children effected with cerebral palsy to learn and grow into their God-given potential. It was developed at a time when medical brain research was of the opinion that the brain was hard-wired and static.  It was thought there was nothing anyone could do to change the brain.  At that time, no one really understood the neuroplasticity of the brain.

However as parents and educators worked with children suffering from many learning, mental, and handicapped challenges, these dedicated people didn’t care what the prevailing scientific thought was (nor did they believe it was true), they just pursued what worked for their children and believed in the spirit of themselves and their children’s abilities.  As a segment of people became convinced as they addressed learning issues through the symptoms of the dysfunction, they began to see amazing results in what these children could do academically.  Because they were outside the medical models, funding resources, and the fact they relied on the actual results they were seeing (anecdotal information was not acceptable to the scientific community), they were either ignored or discredited by the medical community.  Today with the advancement of technology, brain imaging, development of neurosciences, educational advances, the forbearers of this modality (The Neurodevelopmental Approach) have been vindicated.  They were right!  The feature of the brain called neuroplasticity allows the brain to change, create, repair, and improve processing, cognitive, and academic abilities through the use of brain-based stimulation that builds connections and improves neuro-efficiency (communication between the brain and body).

If It’s Working, Keep Going

Due to the fact this small band of professionals and parents were interested in cause-effect and results in improved function they were experiencing and witnessing in their families and clients, they continued working in the direction the successes lead. They labored for children’s advancement and developed an entire neuro-educational program that mapped the root cause of symptoms seen in learning difficulties and the appropriate brain-based activities that would create neuro-pathways to address those issues and close those gaps of dysfunction. This new way of working toward better learning abilities was called The Neurodevelopmental Approach.  It does not diagnose, nor medicate, or label the child.  It simply looks at the limiting symptoms or dysfuntion and provides recommendations of activities that will address those specific areas.  Much like a person going to the gym and lifting weights and seeing the change in the body’s ability to adapt with greater strength,  the goal with the Neurodevelopmental Approach is to gain function to the best of each persons capability, typically to grade level.  Since development is a long process, the Neurodevelopmental Approach is often likened to a repair service for foundations.  When a child, teen or adult misses steps or stages of normal development, they have gaps in the foundation of their learning abilities.  The Neurodevelopmental (ND) Approach is simply a “repair service” of those foundational areas of function.  For instance, if a baby misses the stages of crawling and creeping there are many areas in the development of the brain go missing i.e. lower level brain organization, mid-brain level of organization, impulse control, memory & learning, emotional responses, autonomic nervous system, endocrine system, immune system, and eye/hand coordination.   An ND evaluation illuminates those areas that will improve with intervention.

A professional evaluation is provided by a Certified Educational Specialist.  First, a full battery of academic testing is done and the results will be utilized as the bench-marking system to chart any changes as a result of the Neuro-Educational Programs implemented.  Next, will be observing and evaluating  the levels of sensory in-put function (Visual, Auditory, Tactility). The next primary area evaluated is sensory out-put. The motor out-put function (Fine motor, Gross motor and Language). Then the individual is evaluated based on nine levels of development for each level of sensory in-put and out-put function.  The brain is 3% cell bodies, 97% connections.  Creating connections is the goal. It is the job of the Neuro-Educational Specialist to provide a program based on the individual results of each child, teen or adults evaluation.  Then the parent or individual is trained in the appropriate brain-based neuro-developmental stimulating activity for which they will do for a period of four months. A re-evaluation is performed every 4 months and if the problem is resolved, the individual is graduated from the program. If they still are in need of intervention, then a program adjustment is made, or possibly another area of dysfunction will be included and addressed in the new program.  When the individual is functioning at the appropriate grade level, then they graduate from the Neuro-Educational Program. When functioning successfully, they are considered to have neuro-efficiency.

Typically we see people who’ve been on the Neuro-Educational Program continue to improve and refine their abilities.  Symptoms such as Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD are eliminated in most cases.  Improvement in functional ability is assured when the Neuro-Educational Program is followed.  It’s a program that every human being could experience gain!  For more information, please see our free articles, Videos, U-tube Testimonies.

ADD and ADHD Can Be Left Behind With The Neurodevelopmental (ND) Approach

Children and adults have been given labels of ADD and ADHD in sky-rocketing numbers in the past few decades. As all labels, they are to describe an object or, in this case, a set of symptoms. LGS, Little Giant Steps, is an educational consulting group who is responding to the “root causes” of ADD and ADHD with life-changing methods utilized in The Neurodevelopmental Approach. We rely on the use of natural features of the brain to repair itself through specific brain stimulation techniques that any adult or child can do. See our website and learn more about this exciting technology that only God could have provided.

 Articles on ADD

ND program results for Reading Comprehension

ND program results for Math

ND program results for Word Recognition

Justin is much more dependable than he used to be. He can be trusted to do a job well and thoroughly and even has been trusted with training others to do some important things (milking the cow, for example). He also has made great progress in acting in more “socially acceptable” ways. Other people used to cringe when Justin arrived. Now, they actually look forward to his company! While he still “talks too much” and occasionally too loud, he catches himself (which is a “Giant Step”) As parents, we have repeatedly rejoiced over this.

Furthermore, while Justin has never been academically behind, his nearly illegible handwriting had always been a limiting factor in his schoolwork. While his penmanship is not “textbook neat” it is now entirely legible and is no longer holding him back in his other schoolwork. He has even begun to enjoy composition work, which in the past was his most dreaded task.
On LGS program from May, 2009 to August 2010 Marie, Karnes City, TX

ADD and ADHD Can Be Left Behind With The Neurodevelopmental (ND) Approach

Children and adults have been given labels of ADD and ADHD in sky-rocketing numbers in the past few decades. As all labels, they are to describe an object or, in this case, a set of symptoms. LGS, Little Giant Steps, is an educational consulting group who is responding to the “root causes” of ADD and ADHD with life-changing methods utilized in The Neurodevelopmental Approach. We rely on the use of natural features of the brain to repair itself through specific brain stimulation techniques that any adult or child can do. See our website and learn more about this exciting technology that only God could have provided.

Articles on ADD

ND program results for Reading Comprehension

ND program results for Math

ND program results for Word Recognition