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Seeing Is Believing

Early Learning Foundations is a program developed by Jan Bedell, the Brain Coach, who was the founder of Little Giant Steps. It is program based on the Neurodevelopmental Approach. For those lucky enough to seek an educational program that also addresses the root causes of learning struggles, they will discover the difference between teaching coping and compensating techniques, and actually fixing the underlying problem.

Ok, now be exposed to what this mom has to say about Early Learning Foundations:

“We received the package you mailed us with the student work book and Bible flash cards….THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!  We are greatly enjoying our “new” school time and the boys love having their own workbooks!  With this, I thought it would be nice to share the big hug with you that my second son gave me when I pulled out his very own workbook…so please consider yourself bear-hugged by my 5 year old this morning!

Please also extend our appreciation to Jan and the rest of the team for their loving endeavor to provide an easy to follow “structured” approach to combining math and the basic block of ND program exercises through the Early Learning Foundations Curriculum!  This curriculum has really helped us stay more on program the last two weeks AND has made integrating our personalized programs into the day much more achievable!  Needless to say, our boys are enjoying the school-exercise routine that’s finally getting (consistently) set in our home! The bonus for us as parents is that we’re really beginning to SEE differences in their processing and social skill abilities since adopting this ELF program into our personalized exercise program….the consistency and repetition really do help(!).  So, thanks for physically showing us HOW to integrate it altogether with ELF so we that could achieve this new level of growth in our ND program!

Thanks again for your help with our inquiries and blessings on you!  We’ll look forward to working with your team again for the next level of ELF! JP & Co.     Have a great day from all of us at Little Giant Steps!

 Little Giant Steps has seen children leave behind learning disabilities when dominance is addressed.

Dominance is a huge determining factor in the brain’s ability to store and retrieve information.  In order to be neurologically efficient (like a defragged computer), your brain must be neurologically organized – one hemisphere must dominate and coordinate your entire body.  The determination for dominance starts with the hand.  Hand dominance is genetically predetermined and should not be encouraged one way or the other.  It should emerge by the time a child is 3 to 8 years of age. If an individual is right handed it is much more efficient for the right ear, eye, and foot to be dominant as well.  If left handed it is best to be completely dominant on the left side. To be right eared or eyed does not mean that you have better hearing or vision in your right; it means that your right directs which hemisphere of the brain information is stored.

Where is all that information going that I teach my child each day?

Reasoning, analytical and logical thinking are the job of the dominant hemisphere of the brain and when neurologically organized (dominant all on one side) you have much more access to these vital skills. Thus, when you go to retrieve information, it is easily accessible.  If you are mixed dominant, your sub-dominant ear or eye will file information in your sub-dominant hemisphere, which is where music, creativity and emotion take place.  Information stored here is much more difficult to retrieve.

Individuals with mixed dominance are typically more emotional, easily upset and hard to calm down.  When they are under stress or pressure they often do not have access to information they know.  These are the children that do not test well or baffle the parent because they know something perfectly one day, but the next day, they don’t recall ever being presented with the information.  This can be extremely frustrating for both parent and child!  When a child is frustrated day after day, you will have a child with low self-esteem, long-term memory problems, and often emotional and behavior problems as well.  This happens because they are functioning using the sub-dominant (emotional) hemisphere of the brain.

Symptoms of mixed dominance include:  long-term memory problems, inability to stay on task, reading difficulties, number and letter reversals, emotionality, spelling difficulties, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, poor testing ability, and inability to retain information.

For information about testing for dominance and what to do if your child is mixed dominant, read this article:  Learning Disabilities

Please Visit Us, Like Us, And Get Special Discounts (there will even be Freebies)!

Little Giant Steps is please to announce we have joined the Homeschool Block! We invite you to drop in, see our booth,  and don’t miss out on the book shelves! Be sure to scroll down from the booth and get a great view of our best products to help your child or family member become the best student, improved communicator and have the highest performance possible! 

Many of our clients are homeschooling, and we thought it was high time we join the ranks of service providers on a national basis.  Jan Bedell, M.Ed., M.ND. also known as “The Brain Coach®”, has devoted the past twenty+ years to creating curriculum, educational supplements, tools, and aides that will “Make Learning Easier.” Little Giant Steps rescues those who are suffering from learning issues, struggle with memory, or have special needs. By the way, you are never too old or young to gain increased abilities!  The brain retains the ability to change for the better due to a unique feature called neuroplasticity. This  feature allows injuries to heal, new neuro-pathways (connections) to develop, and  offers developmental steps that may have been missed when you were small to be acquired.  One of our clients exclaimed, “This so great!  Now, I can remember what I know, I can retain what I’ve studied, and I can get 100% on my test scores!”  One of our adult clients said, “For the first time in my life, I can drive to a location without studying a map or using GPS….. I just remember and go ~ life is so much better without the anxiety and the frustration I’ve had all my life!”

Everyone can benefit from having a better organized brain, improved processing abilities, and internal efficiency in communication between the brain and body! Oh, by the way, this modality of making learning easier is called, The Neurodevelopment Approach!  It can be a family affair!  It can be fun, too!  All it requires is about 2 min. a day, twice a day.

Many of Jan’s programs give you video training,some are CDs and all give written instructions.  The activities are not difficult to do, they just need to be done as directed…. after all…. you are creating an environment in which more efficient neuro-pathways are being constructed in the brain.  All this is so you or your loved ones can think, remember, comprehend, and even perform better!  Please accept our invitation!  We’ll see you on the block!  God bless.

I just had to share a few more things from parents about the Early Learning  Foundations program and thought you might like more information about it. There is level 1 an level 2.   You can start your 2 to 5 year-old child on the road to success with this multi-sensory curriculum for early learners, and this program is a real bonus to those with learning difficulties. Best of all it’s fun and the children love it!  We’ve added a new DVD to teach you how to use this program more effectively! All facets of the activities within this program will stimulate the brain to improve and enhance your child’s Auditory, Visual, Tactile and Gross Motor abilities. You’ll be amazed at your child’s new found skills when they become neurologically organized. They will be able to stay on task, follow directions and they will enjoy learning.  Now, let’s listen to the parents:

“My 3 year old grandson absolutely loves to do his Early Learning Foundations each day. In fact, he would like it if I’d let him continue past the two pages you recommend. Each day he wants to do more. He had terrible ear problems between ages 1 & 2. He missed a lot due to not hearing and his speech was distorted. It’s amazing how he’s picking up in his speech now that we’re doing some of the neurodevelopmental activities. Thank you for helping our children!” C.R.

“My three year old really enjoys working on the activities. One day I got some other activity books out that I had bought at the department store, my little guy said, “no mommy, I want my big school book (meaning the Early Learning Foundations notebook)” K. C.

Come visit the Little Giant Steps Store and see all the wonderful curriculum we’ve developed.

  Who says learning difficulties only happens in children?   There are adults who have spent their whole lives trying to figure out why they struggled so hard to learn, when they knew deep in their hearts they were smart, but for some reason they just couldn’t seem to receive and retain information like other people did.  Some got lost along the way due to never having rewarding experiences in their years in school. Some either dropped out, or chose paths that have lead them into conflict with people, institutions, and some ran afoul of the law.  Can you imagine what could have happened to these very discouraged souls if only they had someone to reach out and say, “Hey, you are smart, but your brain just needs a little help to prepare it to be ready to learn.”  So many of the adults we meet along the way have had lives of chaos and experienced very little confidence that they could ever be a success, not because they didn’t have the intellectual capacity, because they did!  What they had was a disorganized brain, poor early developmental experiences, very low auditory or visual processing skills. 
I have some good news! Lucky for those who are searching; there is a solution.  The brain can change,be trained and organized at the lower levels even if you are an adult.  As long as you are alive, the neuroplasticity of the brain is entirely ready, willing  and able to build new connections. There are techiques to make the changes so the brain becomes organized and all processing deficits, and other areas of dysfunctional symptoms in learning can be remediated and brought up to speed.
One of our Neuro-Educational Specialists has been working with an adult client with whom she shares the pleasure of watching a new world unfold for her as she embarked on her personal journey ina Neuro-Developmental Program. I’ll let the client tell you about her progress:
“I received the program. Thank you. Also, I’ve noticed that my ability to sight-read at the piano is better. I’ve really only been able to actually play a piece of music if I memorize it because, if I ever had to look down at my hands and back up at the music, I would be completely lost as to where I was on the page and as I would struggle to find where I was in order to keep tempo, it’s like all the notes on the page would be moving. It was so frustrating that I never wanted to read music again and decided to start doing my own thing at the piano. This isn’t happening as much anymore! P.C. Houston, TX”
We are so delighted she has discovered, like so many other of our clients; life can be very different, encouraging, and rewarding when the brain has had an opportunity to pick up those steps of development that were either missing, or needed proper stimuli to get them functioning.  Working in the world of Neuro-Education is a really rewarding experience.  We see people begin our programs with pain and struggle, then as they move on into more normal function; they blossom into people they’ve always wanted to be!  Now, that is exciting to watch!

Little Giant Stepswants to thank all of you who have been faithful in following our posts this past year. It is true, we are here to serve those who have trouble with academics, memory, and feeling confident about their abilities to learn and perform like others you know.  It is our privilege to have served a population for almost 20 years who deserve to and can be set free from anxiety due to neuro-inefficiency.  Folks, being unable to perform due to learning issues is not a life sentence.  We know most cases are a matter of having been raised in an environment that didn’t allow you to complete all the stages of development that set the stage for academic achievement.  The good news is that you are never too old to rectify the deficits and improve your ability to function mentally, socially and emotionally.  There is nothing as good as success.  So, before you go too far thinking 2011 will not be much of an improvement in your level of confidence about what you CAN do, read these stories, then make a commitment to yourself  for either your sake or your child’s and seek new information and programs that can change the course of your or your child’s life!  Now, go have a great New Year!  God bless you and your family.

It may seem strange to have LD and thankfulness in the same sentence.  But, the fact is we are so thankful that the LGS Neuro-Educational Programs are successful at remediating and even eliminating learning disabilities.  After 20 years we see the successes in the lives of those children, teens and adults who came to us struggling to learn, but meeting failure (despite the fact they were smart, some even were gifted) .  LGS was able to bring the good news: Learning Disabilities are not a life sentence.  They discovered what it was like to leave the failure-laden experiences in the past and turn to a new life of liberty and freedom to do well in their future.  Yes, we’re very, very thankful.

We are counting the days before we gather with our families to give thanks to God for the many blessings we are afforded in this great nation, the United States of America.  We want to tell you why we as an organization  (LGS ~ a Neuro-Educational Consulting Group) are so very very thankful.

We are thankful that through the intervention of using the neuro-developmental approach and our neuro-developmental programs, an eight year old girl with autism was set free from being a non-verbal child to one who could look you in the eyes and count toys on our desk.  She began to speak for the first time in her life after just four weeks on the LGS Neuro-Education Program.  Yes, that is not typical to see such a quick response, but it makes it all the more joyful for us.  You see, she and her family have waited eight long years to hear her speak, to look into their eyes, and for the first time see her acknowledge them and smile!

Not everyone with learning issues works with our professional team. We do have an At-Home Program ~ Developmental Foundations  that can help children, teens or adults with getting started in better neuro-efficiency. For some individuals, it’s all they need!  We are so thankful for the development of this program to help those who are ready to make a difference in their life or the life of their child. Those who have used this program are thankful they could do it right in the comfort of their own home. We equip you, the parent or adult, with the skills and knowledge to bring about the reduction of learning  issues and symptoms.  How we learn is all in the wiring!  With missed developmental steps; gaps and deficits occur.  Lower levels of the brain do not get organized properly.  Our programs simply restore or create the needed connections and the root causes of the symptoms of learning disabilities are either eliminated or measuredly improved. The really good news?  The changes made last a lifetime!    See the test results..

 Today I received a picture of my 5 year old grandson dressed as Dracula!  He looked pretty scary.  I’ve seen him through many costumes.  My favorite was when he was a little leprechaun, at age one and a half!

So while children dawn all kinds of scary outfits for this weekend’s Halloween, I wanted to address something I’ve found that parent’s are sometimes frightened about when it comes to their children.

A parent told me of  her child struggling with schoolwork.  She knew she was bright enough, but she couldn’t seem to organize her thoughts or remember things from one day to the next.  She said she was scared for her child’s sake.  She is loosing all her self-confidence and seems to be loathing herself, because she’s just not doing as well in school as she knows she can and she’s frustrated most of the time.

With a worried look on her face,  she asked,”What does Little Giant Steps do?”

First, we are a neuro-educational consulting group. I explained we simply test the child to see what a child’s, teen’s or adult’s current academic placement is by utilizing the same testing instruments utilized in schools. Those scores establish benchmarks as to the current academic performance.  Next, we check to see how neurologically efficient they are functioning in areas required for learning. Lastly, we look at their developmental status.  They are checked on 6 levels of  functional abilities and 9 levels of development.  The Neuro-Educational Specialist does the evaluation, then based on those areas where the child, teen or adult is having difficulty or show symptoms diagnosed in learning disabilities, an individual program is devised and very specific activities, cognitive and physical are recommended to help develop those areas in the brain that are not functioning up to that person’s grade or age level.   Then we teach the parent how to work with the child at home.  We  re-evaluate every 4 months and re-adjust the program until all of the symptoms or deficits are remedied or they are functioning at grade or age level.  This type of neuro-educational intervention is effective on so many kinds of developmental and educational under-performance.  It works for Dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, Autism, PDD, Dysgraphia, Cerebral Palsy, Down syndrome, and many other learning disabilities, even brain trauma.  It works because its a matter of re-wiring the brain so it can function with be best possible neurological efficiency, organization in the lower levels of the brain, and processing abilities and many more advantages when it comes to learning.

Just last week an articleappeared that again confirms what we have known for two decades, but without brain scans:  “Imaging Study Reveals Brain Function of Poor Readers Can Improve.”  The study appears in the May 1 Biological Psychiatry and was funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), one of the National Institutes of Health.  According to Dr. Sally Shaywitz (a member of the research team), the results show that “Teaching matters and good teaching can change the brain in a way that has the potential to benefit struggling readers.”  I am happy to report we are in our third year of working in public schools, gathering research data, teaching teachers how to utilize our programs and this year one of the schools we are in our second year of working with them, they went from academically unacceptable to an exemplary school!  So, now we hope to teach the teachers what we have known and done for thousands of individuals.  We know it’s all about input and stimulating the brain to get more efficient and re-wire or create new neuro-pathways.

The one thing about being a parent of a child, or even being that person who doesn’t seem to function like everyone else around you, is that there is nothing to fear.  Learning disabilities are not a life sentence.  Much can be done to alleviate and even eliminate the symptoms of learning issues.  It  matters not whether you are gifted, typical or mentally challenged.  Life can become less frustrating, more satisfying and successful when a program like Little Giant Step’s is undertaken.  So, stop being scared for you child, or for yourself, or someone you know and love.  It is never too late to get over these deficits.  The neuroplasticity of the brain, is what allows the brain to change. It serves in re-routing and creating new neuro-pathways around areas not functioning well and builds stronger and more efficient neuro-networks that can increase the communication between the brain and the body and can open doors for you, your child or your loved one.  All can experience what it’s like to approach something new without anxiety, dread, and/or frustration and fear.  Investigate, educate and act.  That’s all it takes!  Have a blessed harvest season and stop being fearful of doing something that will change a life for the better.

   Several years ago I had the privilege of visiting a prison in Texas.  There are several ministries that assist inmates in their last 24 months of incarceration to prepare them to deal with the realities of the world outside the confines of the prison walls.  All of these programs are voluntary and they are prisoners who want to leave their past history behind them.  They lead exemplary lives in these programs. I went there to explore LGS doing a pilot research program and to talk about our  neuro-educational program. I presented  how over 15 years we had seen how through treating learning disabilities at the root causee (in the brain) had made significant functional differences in peoples lives.  Statistics show that most of those who are incarcerated in our society have some form of  learning disabilities.  I spoke not only to a group of 39 inmates taking part in the ministry program, but also to the Representatives serving on the Texas Criminal Justice Committee, as well as the warden.  There were two issues keeping us from providing such services and getting a research project off the ground:

1. Did this program resonate with the inmates.  Could they see the value and would they participate?

2.  Where could we find the funding for this project?

Before I finished my presentation, there were a flurry of notes being handed forward and put on the desk close to where I was standing.  After the presentation, I looked at these notes. Everyone of the inmates in attendance said they would participate in a research project.  As I described the symptoms of  learning disabilities and the symptoms, it was instant recognition for them.  Some even described their self diagnosis, or struggles they’d encountered since they were little and how negatively it had impacted their lives.  They talked about they were not dumb, but just couldn’t get things to stick in their minds, or couldn’t concentrate, but most of all they recognized themselves as I described the kinds of learning problems our clients encountered and the problems associated with these quirks of learning.  The inmates recognized there was hope.

So, why would LGS consider working with prisoners?  Because we know it’s never too late!  We know the levels of frustration, the helplessness and hopeless that comes when a child repeatedly experiences that when they try to do things academically it  never comes out right.  We know how the impulsivity is fed by the rage of failure after failure, year after year. We know it leads to drop-outs in the school system.  Bad decisions become a way to vent the rage and hostility they feel and the self-hating behaviors that always leads to them falling though the cracks in our society.

Through the LGS Neuro-Educational Program, we have seen children, teens and adults come back from lives that were on the brink of  being out of control.  We have seen them finally try and succeed.  We see their self-confidence build into purposeful positive actions and lives.  The inmates are still there. I pray God will help LGS find a way to make life-long positive changes for them at those crucial places in their brains, where the lower levels of organization, processing and comprehension abilities can be remedied so they can learn, know, understand and succeed like others on the outside.

If you wish to support these efforts.  Please send tax-deductable contributions to our non-profit:  Steps Of  Hope