Posts Tagged ‘Dyslexic’

  Infants Sitting Upright Most of Their Waking Hours = Developmental Gaps

 I learned the hard way about this.  I was a germ-a-phob (frightened of having too many germs around my children). Therefore, my son spent very little time on the floor where he should have had the opportunity to strengthen his muscles, establish strong efficient neuro-pathways between his brain and body and help map the brain as to the location, locomotion, and responses of his limbs and mobility of his body.  Thanks to the Neuro-Developmental Approach, (a methodology Little Giant Steps has implemented for thousands of children with learning issues) my son’s brain and body were brought into alignment as God intended and his future became very bright and still is today!

Without the pressure, tactility, experience of temperatures, textures, and all those experiencial factors being practiced each day, he was left with gaps in his development.  He was bright, but unable to do things like tracking sentences with his eyes. Color within the lines. Coordinate movements.  His brain was very disorganized as was evident when he talked and of course his constantly loosing his stuff and creating messes where ever he landed for ten minutes.  Even developing either his right or left handedness was still up in the air by the time he was ten!  Yes, his developmental status was leaving him in a dysfunctional position with his school work, trying to read, write, and achieve what he was capable of intellectually.

Sitting upright in swings, car seats, high chairs, etc. does not allow those little toes to push against the hard surface.  Nor, do the arms, elbows, hands, and fingers experience the weight of the body and the pushing up, which is crucial in developing the muscles that will allow the child to bring their heads up so the development of sight gets off to a good start.  It’s a cascading effect on physical and cognitive development and each year the child gets further behind if no intervention is implemented.

What Is The Solution?

The solution if you see them struggling with organizing their thoughts, struggling to remember, muscles being weak, reading and tracking objects with their eyes, comprehending, failing at phonics, is to get your child evaluated, put on a neurodevelopmental program and pick up all the stages of development they lost due to ignorance as to the cost of leaving them in all these “gadgets” that look great, but are really best for dolls, not living, breathing, developing infants!

Here is the article that will more fully address this issue:  Teaching Babies .  But simply what is the best you can do for your new born?  Have them on a hard surface (floor so they won’t fall) and allow them to “root” and “scoot” around for as long as they will. I know it’s not as convenient for you, as you can’t see their face quite as easily as when you’ve got them in a car seat sitting on the counter, but the dividends in creating a neurologically efficient child who’s body and brain are truly in sync allows them to reach their full potential!  Don’t just think about this….Do It! Your child’s future is the most important thing you can affect positively and establishing an efficiently functioning brain that will last him/her a lifetime is worth more than gold!

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!

A White Paper You Need to Read

#Little Giant Steps’ #founder, Jan Bedell, M.Ed, M.ND (Master Neuro-Educational Specialist) boldly declares a statement of truth that can ignite a revolution against old school ideas and can set a young generation free from dyslexia. Jan produced a “White Paper: #Dyslexia#, The Neurodevelopmental Approach” when completing her masters degree. In 2009 she created  “Dyslexia ~ A Workshop For Parents” to help parents understand what can be done to eliminate the symptoms of dyslexia. It can be downloaded immediately.

Parents Can Be Equipped To Help #Dyslexia Be Eliminated#

Hear from a mother who knows how the truth has set her son free. The Neuro-Educational Programs available through Little Giant Steps has many success stories from real families who know the truth. Knowing the truth about the root causes of dyslexia can empower parents and teachers to blaze a trail through traditional mindsets and perhaps stop an epidemic of learning disabilities that currently claims the lives of one in five children. Does anyone care about these disheartened children? Will anyone help their struggling families? Is anyone brave enough to champion a life-saving effort?  Jan Bedell, mother of a mentally challenged young adult, has sacrificially labored for two decades to work with dyslexic children utilizing The Neurodevelopmental Approach  and has successfully addressed root causes of dyslexia. She has set them free from debilitating symptoms by using brain-based, scientifically proven methods that she makes available to parents, teachers, and tutors. Dyslexia is no longer a life sentence. There is hope! It’s up to you to change the course of your child’s life encounter with his full God-given potential and release him/her from the symptoms of this disabling learning issue: Dyslexia.

Jan Bedell is helping families. Jan Bedell has produced a scholarly piece as a way to introduce new information and evidence about dyslexia.  She’s prepared an article entitled, “Dyslexia: The Neurodevelopmental Approach” ~ a shortened version of the research paper.  If you wish to see the entire paper, please email cj@littlegiantsteps.com with Dylexia Paper in the subject line and I’ll send it all to you.  Thousands of families have been helped and are deeply grateful for your neurodevelopmental solutions.

Neuro-Educational Programs Work

From time to time we like to share with you a real life story.  Here’s Steve’s changed life in his own words: 

I can’t believe how much this program from #Little Giant Steps# has helped me. It changed my life! Immediately in the sports I can see the ball traveling at 65-70 mph coming straight at me and I can hit it. My stats were 21 at bat and 15 hits and that is incredible for me. I think I was one of the best on the team. I went from the bottom of the batting order to close to the top!

Steven Schuetz age 14 Congratulations Steven! It always thrills us when we see what is possible when people such as yourself have done the #Little Giant Steps# Neuro-Educational Pogram and then experienced all of the wonderful side benefits! Not only is learning made easy, but life becomes more fun and satisfying, because our potential is enhanced in all areas! God bless you and your parents efforts in truly changing your life for the better! ~ the LGS Staff

 Evident Disparity Between Intellect and Motor Function

At Little Giant Steps  special children with Special Needs bring so many wonderful things to us. Often when we least expect it, they can tell us things that only when we’ve had time to gain perspective, does the “light” go on.

One of those teaching moments happened when my preschooler, who we would learn later, had severe Dyslexia helped the light to go on about the disparity I had seen since he was 3 years old between his intellect and his motor function. When I asked him about his struggle with his gross and fine motor skills, he replied, “I have trouble doing things because I have “fluffy hands”! It took me several years to figure out what he was really telling me. When I became aware of The Neurodevelopmental Approach his “fluffy hands” mystery was solved. The only way he could describe the lack of sensation he noticed that were different in his hands and fingers from other parts of his body was to tell me what he experienced, and his best description was “fluffy”. I came to learn that crawling (which he didn’t do much of) is a crucial step in developing lower level brain organization. Without developing strong neuro-pathways which carry signals from his limbs to his brain, the registering of clear tactile messages wasn’t happening.  The brain is made up of 93% connections and 3% cell bodies. So the early developmental experiences is what creates the neuro-connections or pathways in the brain and between the body! The goal of our early development is always to bring us to a state of neuro-efficiency.  This efficiency refers to the lightening speed of the brain receiving messages from the sensory systems in the body and then acting in concert with those messages, so we can function seamlessly with rapid responses and appropriate mental tasking. He was not sending and receiving these messages quickly and accurately, because the network of connections weren’t fully developed. Therefore his gross and find motor skills were seriously lagging.  His vocabulary was that of a gifted person, his ability to grasp concepts at an early age was mind-boggling, but he couldn’t read successfully, and doing any kind of writing, coloring, or other eye-hand required activities (gross or fine motor skills), well he was unable to respond with any organization, clarity, correctness in any shape or form.

Developmental Delays

I later learned he was suffering from Developmental Delays. I am glad to report it was not a life sentence! I learned how (with the help of a Neuro-Educational Evaluation and an individualized program like Little Giant Steps offers) to help my child through brain stimulating activities that would create the much needed pathways and improve the communication between the brain and body. I am so grateful for The Neurodevelopmental Approach! My child is totally functional because of it! In fact, today as an adult he daily serves people with his professional skills at his dental office!  Yes, he’s a dentist who performs advanced procedures such as dental implants, root canals, etc.  Receiving brain-based stimulation at age 10, saved him!  He now daily carries out his God-given potential by serving God, his family, and his community.

If  you have a child with Dyslexia here are two resources:  John’s Mom & The Dyslexia Workshop

If you have a child with Developmental Delays here is an excellent in-home program: Developmental Foundations

If you have a school you’d like to share our success with please share our Little Giant Steps Educational Services Site

Let us know how we can help at http://www.littlegiantsteps.com/ 

 Special Days For Special People

As we approach the Labor Day weekend, I am reminded how all of us arrive through the labor of our mothers. Then as we grow, both our parents (we hope and pray both will be involved with their children’s growth and development) begin a life-long teaching role. Little Giant Steps knows that for a child who suffers from learning issues, parents can make a significant difference as to whether their child moves beyond the difficulties they experience, or they stay in the realm of never experiencing academic success.

Is It Really A Choice?

Yes, in today’s world we have enough research and experience documented that shows “something” can be done to help a child, teen or even an adult move beyond their level of disability that in the not-too-distant past was thought to be a life sentence.  What is required of the parent is to commit is gaining new skills, knowledge and then working with their child twice a day for two minutes per activity until the symptoms of the disability no longer remains.  The length of time is unique to each child and is not all that predictable, because what the neuro-developmental programs do is to change the brain’s physiology. No one can predict how long it will take to repair, rewire or create new neuro-pathways in an area of dysfunction.  What we do know is that if you are faithful in working with your child you can create improved academic success.  Little Giant Steps has twenty years of experience of working with the Neurodevelopmental Approach and as these parents will attest, it works:

“This is working!!! We are seeing improvement upon improvement in Allison. She’s not my unreliable, unpredictable, immature little girl anymore, but has blossomed into a very responsible enjoyable 14 year old! I have also used our experience to encourage so many other moms. When God is in the middle of something (and He is in this) the blessings extend far beyond what we ever imagine. Thanks for your ongoing encouragement. It makes all the difference in the world.”

“I finally completed the boys monthly status report and I am mailing it out tomorrow, but, I wanted to share something with you that happened this week that is not on the report. Trent wanted to invite a friend over to spend the night, but we were in the car and the number was not accessible. I told Trent that he could call him on my cell phone and amazingly he remembered his friend’s home number, but that is not even the best part. His friend was at his grandparent’s home (who he stays with quite often). I asked Trent if he knew that number and at first he said that he didn’t, then, Trent said, Wait, I think I know it and sure enough it was the right number. My heart leaped for joy. Last year this 13 year old boy was doing good to remember his own phone number and now he is a walking phone directory. Praise God!!!!!! We have seen other signs of progress that I included on our monthly report, but this one was a dozy. I think God knew that we needed the encouragement to keep going and finish the race. Thank you guys so much.”

“Wow! Nate is really doing so well with academics now. He is learning his math facts, a new vocabulary word every day and his reading has just soared over the last few weeks. Now that his auditory digit span is up to six, he is able to sound out words phonetically.

The most amazing changes have occurred in the way he relates to people and life around him. We recently took a family vacation to Orlando, FL. It was wonderful – because of Little Giant Steps, my son was able to “cope” with large crowds, changes going on, communicated with people, and was socially interactive with people. He even found a friend at the pool – a little British boy that was his age that was there on vacation. A year ago, we went on the same trip (my husband goes to an annual conference in Orlando) and it was a total nightmare. Nate couldn’t deal with anything. It was an awful time. This time, he was just like any other “normal” child; instead of freaking out, he would say to me, “…mom, my feet hurt and I’m hungry…” which was a blessing to us. We purchased a behind the scenes walking tour Sea World – got to pet a penguin and a shark, got to feed stingrays and dolphins, we had lunch with Shamu, etc. He participated in all of it – an enjoyed it to boot! It was a great family vacation for us – thank you so much for helping us help him. I can’t thank you enough!”

 If your child need help, make sure next Labor Day finds him with a renewed confidence, skill sets that he thought he’d never have, and especially knowing he is very special and learning is easy.

First Step: 

 Get your child neurologically organized.

Little Giant Steps has been providing education for parents and teachers for many years, so they can assist their children to reach their full academic potential.  All learning begins with the brain. So, first let’s get the brain ready to learn. Everyone, regardless of age or I.Q. will improve in their abilities if their brain is better organized and neurologically efficient.

A child arrives in this world with many areas of the brain still developing.  One of the crucial stages of early development includes establishing the central nervous system so the brain and body get connected (we call this “becoming neurologically organized”).  When a child is neurologically organized, information can travel effortlessly between the senses (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell).  When a child is neurologically organized, his movements are coordinated and he has age-appropriate fine and gross motor skills.

Most children become neurologically organized without any outside assistance.  God designed the human brain in such a way that when an infant begins moving, the brain receives the stimulation required to develop higher function.  Infants start out with very random and primitive movements, and then, as the brain develops, their movements become more complex.  It is the cross pattern movement of crawling and creeping that is so vital to a child’s continued progress and development.

If your child didn’t spend much time crawling and creeping, or if they skipped this important developmental stage, there is good news!  It is not too late!  Young children, teenagers, and even adults, can benefit by spending time every day crawling and creeping on the floor in a good cross pattern.  It just takes 2 minutes, twice a day each for cross crawling (like an army crawl) and cross creeping (up on hands and knees).  That’s just 8 minutes a day, five days a week!  Make sure the opposite hand and knee hit the floor at the same time (this cross pattern movement provides the proper stimulation to the brain).  The benefits will amaze you!  Improvement can be seen within 2 to 4 months in academics, behavior, social interaction, coordination of movement and other functional abilities.  It would be best to do these cross pattern activities for at least 6 months to ensure that the brain has received enough stimulation to make these positive effects permanent! 

See you next time with Step 2.  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. 

 Working With The Brain Pays Big Academic Dividends

“From the beginning, EVERYTHING about Little Giant Steps has been exactly what we needed. Jan Bedell, The Brain Coach, has been a tool in God’s hands to literally begin to transform my son’s life in a few short months. Luke has struggled from day one with an array of challenges from physical to learning (dysgraphia, dyslexia, processing issues and at age 9, he still was unable to read). Once evaluated, we began our Individualized Neurodevelopmental Program (INP) and within 6 weeks Luke was reading. His retention seemed to double, his tactile issues lessened and over all our son’s confidence began to change.”

Little Giant Steps has been seeing these kinds of results for the past twenty years with thousands of children.  Typically we see every four months a full year gain via academic testing. 

Incremental Success Builds The Base

One thing that has been so much fun working with Jan Bedell’s neuro-educational programs, is seeing the children improve and succeed each day as we see the lower levels of their brains get organized (they begin to think and comprehend in organized ways ~ a big advantage especially in gaining math skills). While her programs provide curriculum supplementation, like Rapid Recall for math facts, they really ready the child for better processing of what they hear, see, say and touch.  Their short-term memory improves with the practiced design of ”The Brain Coach’s” educational programs.  These programs deliver life-long imprinting on the brain, because they actually create new neuro-pathways.  They close developmental gaps that may exist.  It is exciting to see more and more learning disabilities being remedied via the use of neurodevelopmentally focused supplemental curriculum and educational tools. 

Seeing Is Believeing 

This past year we had the pleasure of working the the Summit Christian Academy.  It is an elementary school (NAUMS) and therefore we had a great deal of participation not only with the teachers, but parents.  We kept hearing reports about how the kindergarten loved doing their Rapid Recall (Math Facts) each day.  So, here it is for you to see for yourself.  Kindergarten 2011 Math Speed Test!

If interested in more information on our work at schools, go to Little Giant Steps’ YouTube Channel.